Foodie Friday

Thanks to Megan for "allowing" me to steal another blog title!

My last book club in Winston-Salem :( was Wednesday, July 8. I chose the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman and it was WONDERFUL. Better than the movie!

To celebrate, I made Syllabub and Shrieking Eel Cutlets (even though they are sharks and not eels in the book).

Impetus for syllabub:
Buttercup: "Oh Westley, I didn't mean that, I didn't, not a single syllabub of it."
Narrator: Now Westley knew she mean "not a single syllable of it," because a syllabub was something you ate, with cream and wine mixed together to form a base.

So I went on a quest. Does syllabub actually exist? Answer: YES! And I found a recipe for Lemon Syllabub at All Recipes. Yum! I made mine with Riesling to celebrate going to Germany, and it went over very well with the group (who doesn't love spiked whipped cream?). I followed the recipe exactly, including garnishes, but would like to add one note: when you are trying to determine what consistency to make it, remember that you are making whipped cream... I might have had issues with that b/c I couldn't quite wrap my head around the dish until it was mostly made). Oh, and five day old lemon syllabub does NOT make a good sub for creamer in your morning coffee!

My Shrieking Eel Cutlets (stolen from another fan) were pretty much a delicious heart attack: bacon wrapped wieners. I did choose turkey hot dogs instead of beef wieners because several of the women don't eat beef, and I wanted as many people as possible to eat them so I wouldn't have any to take home. The recipe called for an entire box of brown sugar sprinkled over them, but I decided to limit the sugar to a half teaspoon per cutlet. (I didn't regret it either.) My version:

1 package Turkey hot dogs
1 package thick cut bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
Wooden toothpicks (read: NOT plastic)
1 lightly greased 9x13
1 lightly greased loaf pan

Slice each hot dog into thirds. Cut each bacon slice into thirds or halves depending on the number of bacon slices vs. hot dog pieces you have.

Wrap each turkey piece with a bacon piece (bacon stretches easily if you think your piece may be too short to full wrap around the turkey. Secure each wrap with a wooden toothpick. Sprinkle each cutlet with brown sugar. Bake at 325 degrees F for one hour or until the sugar is melted and bubbly and the bacon is cooked to your liking.