Prince's Smile Cocktail

Just open a cocktail book and pick a page! Ta Da! The Savoy Cocktail Book gives us Prince's Smile Cocktail from 1934. I wish I knew the story behind this name.

Easy to make but I hate dashes. Just give me exact measurements! 

Yep, avoiding people and shops so I used bottled lemon juice. The bottle is not pretty enough to include. I'm sure fresh is better but bottled is easier.

Looks pretty! Smells nice and fruity.

Okay...not bad...not special though.

I made this because I had everything on hand and the name is intriguing however it is nothing special. Maybe fresh lemon juice or calvados might make it a little more exciting. If you have everything, give it a try but your not missing anything if you don't.

My Rating: Just okay. Don't know why the prince is smiling...

Mint Freeze

Another day of teleworking, another cocktail! This evening my Sweetheart was over for dinner so he had the amazing opportunity to be a taste tester for a cocktail. Lucky him! Still no baked goods. I thought it would be nice to take a break from summer thoughts and try something minty, the Mint Freeze from Stouffer's Here How! from 1950.

Just look at that description! How Could I pass it up?! 

Sadly I didn't have crushed ice on hand. I was able to crush some by hand but I don't think it was the same.

Using the end of my white rum and some fresh mint form my patio.

There is something just crazy about a bright green drink! I was less than impressed with the bits of mint floating in it. Kinda weird...

Oh so minty!

This was a bright refreshing drink. Tasted more like spearmint rather then plain old mint. It could be the mint leaves. I do not remember what type of mint I planted/borrowed from another place...It looks better on my patio! I think it would taste better with crushed ice or as a snow cone.

My Rating: Interesting but will probably not make again.

Dylan's Rating: Whoa! That's mint! Tastes like a medicine I've had...not bad though.

Pineapple Dream

Well, I never expected to live through a time quite like this. Pandemics are in history books not in a modern America. Between the crazy people, the sick people, and trying to work from home I desperately needed a dose of summer.  Here is my summer, a Pineapple Dream for the 1950's Here's How! by Stouffer's.

All ingredients remind me of summer. Pineapple...Lime...Rum... :)

I can't remember why I had several small cans of pineapple juice but by lucky coicidence I did. Yeah!

Super easy to mix up and looks beautiful.

Yep. This is summer. Fruity and delicious. Now I just need a beach to relax on...
I may have had a couple just to make sure it is good tasting. It is. Even after the 3rd one.

My Rating: Keeper!

Star Cocktail No. 2

Well, not a lot people are wanting to be taste testers at the moment so I guess I'll have to stick to cocktails for the time being. I was just looking for something quick and refreshing that may go well with a bubble bath. The 1930's Savoy Cocktail Book gave me the Star Cocktail No. 2. The Star Cocktail No. 2 was too complex for this evening.

 Just two ingredients. It's going to be hard to mess this up! Luckily I had purchased a bottle of vermouth on my last shopping trip. I didn't have a cocktail in mind but I had seen it listed for several different ones so I picked it up.

I didn't have applejack but apple brandy is close. A quick online search and I discovered that Italian vermouth is sweet, red vermouth and French vermouth is dry, white vermouth. Further search revealed that vermouth is a type of fortified wine. So, this will be fun!

So easy and pretty and, most importantly, not pink! 

You could smell the sweetness as I mixed the drink. I didn't know what to expect but this was not it. Usually cocktails are very light but the vermouth made this one thick feeling. It tasted much more like a wine than a cocktail. With the apple it felt like a late summer drink. I could drink this under the fall foliage.

My Rating: Great if you have the ingredients but not too special.

Pineapple Coffee Cake

Lately for some odd reason, I haven't a clue why, I have been craving pineapple. Bright and refreshing! I think I am missing summer big time. Everyone is sick and tired of the rain but as soon as it stops the pollen jumps out at you. Fun! I don't have allergies but there is enough pollen in the air to give me a constant itchy nose. Thank good ness for flowers, specifically cherry blossoms, because I could easily skip Spring if not for them. Anyways, I quick search gave me either muffins or coffee cake. I went with Pineapple Coffee Cake from the 1950's 250 Breads, Biscuits, and Rolls. (Muffins may come later.)

Not a lot to this. Had to get buy a can of pineapple. (Now I have a nice bowl of pineapple juice for cocktails!) It does not call for much sugar, definitley not as much I was expecting. Kinda concerned.

Sadly I do not have a ring mold so no party airs will be had.

 A little bit of this...little bit of that..

 I decided to try this cake by hand. No standing mixer this time.

 Mixed nicely together but it does take more time to cut in the shortening with only forks.

No party airs but I tried to get a little bit fancy. I pretty certain I used more than 1 1/2 cups of pineapple.

 It was difficult to try to spread the topping without ruining my beautiful design. Clumps work.

My apartment smells heavenly! Like a summer morning...I just need some coffee.

 It looks so bright and cheerful!

Sometimes I just don't want to wait to taste my experiments but I have learned better. Almost everything I've baked tasted better after it has cooled.

The topping was soft and juicy and the cake layer was dense and a tad dry. I was disappointed at first but then I remembered that it is coffee cake. The cake is suppose to be dry! I just needed the coffee. This was a nice twist on a coffee cake and a welcome change. The pineapple adds just enough sweetness. The best bite has a both the pineapple and the cake.

My Rating: Keeper! Great for a brunch.

Friends and Family Rating: "Oh, this is really good." "Did I like it? I ate a huge piece. It was great!"

Hilty Dilty

Crazy times call for cocktails! I actually made this over a week ago, before the world went nuts, but it seems the perfect time to post. This beauty is from Here's How! by Stouffer's from 1950. The cat is quite skeptical...

 I have high hopes for this. Just look at the description! How can you not?!

Just in case you, like I, had no idea what a California Cocktail glass is. I don't have one and never knew I needed it.  Guess I am going to have to hit the thrift shops.

For a while every cocktail recipe I looked at required apricot brandy. So I bought some. The only one I could find. And now I can't find any recipes that have apricot brandy in them...other than this one, of course.

 My cat still seems skeptical...

 I need to make something without grenadine. I'm getting a little tired of drinking pink.

Skeptical cat should not be so skeptical. This was delicious! and reminded me of summer, with a twist ...I miss summer. Easy to throw together with just a couple of ingredients. The apricot keeps the drink from being too sweet or peachy. Definitely high on the favorite list.

My Rating: If you have all the ingredients, through one together!

Banana Drop Cookies

Despite the crazy one day of snow and the single obnoxiously cold day, spring weather is in the air. Daffodils are blooming! And it is time to do a little spring cleaning. Goodie. My house is too messy so I decided to tackle the fridge and freezer and what do I find?! Frozen bananas! So I took a break to bake. I really wasn't in the mood for breads or muffins so cookies from The Cookie Jar were perfect. Bonus: I found my missing mini chalk easels! And I think I need to work on my handwriting. In my defense, they are tiny easels and the chalk is huge.

 Looks super simple with no unusual ingredients. I used walnuts.

 I did not include the bananas in the picture. They looked really gross.

I love directions with a little bit of mystery. These instructions and directions were not well laid out. I am assuming that the nutmeg is part of the group sifted together with the flour. The mixture is quite dry.

 See, I told you the bananas looked gross.

These came together easily. I made them smaller to have more to share.

 My house smells like banana bread! So yummy! Yes, there is a missing cookie. So what?

These looks so nice! A pleasant change from all the holiday chocolate.

These are delicious little bites. A mixture of banana bread and banana muffin tops that you can pretend is a healthy snack. The spices are very subtle and you almost can't taste them at all. I would add more cinnamon and larger nuts. They were not quite as popular at my workplace as other cookies but people are "dieting." And they are chocolate fiends.

My Rating: Great and a unique way to use leftover bananas hiding in the freezer.

Friends and Family Rating: "These are really good! I hope you have more." "Yum!" "10 out of 10"