Friday Friend Recipes #317 and 318--Melissa's Italian Cheesecake and Yummy Braciolee

 

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #317 and #318

My wonderful niece's Yummy Braciolee and Italian cheesecake

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

...and the rest is cookbook history!

Just remember, the countdown is not all about pretty food and food design---it's about the people and the stories.

And (the most important thing) proving my husband wrong--and that I can and WILL make every recipe in this cookbook

And this time it's not about the photography AT ALL!

It looks like raw meat, but it's just tomato sauce that didn't spread.  It tasted good, just didn't look so great--for me.  I'm sure when Melissa makes it, it is stunning to look at.

See?  Here it is all ready to go into the oven---perhaps I should have drenched it in tomato sauce?

....drenched in the sauce,

So that it didn't come out looking like raw meat. 

But it tasted great and that's the most important thing, right?

(sigh--I do know that they say, you taste with your eyes first)

This?  This is the best!

And the photos turned out great.

It really was yummy!!

As I get closer and closer to the end, it makes me kind of sad---because now we will say good-bye to Melissa (in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown only)

But you can check out all her recipes here.  Just click here.  Do it.  Do it now.

I am surprised by how good her dishes are.  (only an aunt can say that, right?  Being surprised I mean.  LOL)

(well, it's because I still think of her as a little girl, that's all)

Now I need a Melissa story--

She's a Vet-tech by profession, a single mom doing her best every day, and apparently a great cook. 😘

But let me go back 3 spaces to the vet tech.

Most vets and vet techs love animals and usually have a few more than the average person.  Dogs, cats, perhaps a Guinea pig or two.  A rabbit, maybe?

Not my unique niece!

Oh, she has the pets alright --just not the kind you would think.

She has.... wait for it....

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

and

Hairless Egyptian Cats (Yes, plural)

Oh and some chickens.

Come on, don't get so creeped out. 

Someone's gotta love them, right?

And that someone is my niece, Melissa.

She's a lover of all things!

And see? Wikipedia says they actually make good pets.

See, even I am holding one. 

Or letting it be upon my hand.  

Do I look scared? Freaked out?  NO.  (well kind of)

It's just a harmless little hissing cockroach.

Who, by the way, live in rotting logs in Madagascar and don't roam your house at night. (just to be clear--they are clean and friendly)

The cats?  Poor little hairless things--they still need loving-- LOL

Actually, they're just like any cat, only they might have a bit more superiority complex. 

And the chickens, are well, just chickens.

She looks so normal!

Okay, we tease her, but we love her.  And she loves us.

And apparently a plethora of unique creatures.

They're all God's creations, right?

Again, I want you to check out all her other recipes--her complete series in the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown, as we say so long

just click here.

My friends I bring to you recipes #317 and 318.

Only 49 or 38 left to go! 

(I'm so confused now! 😂)

(Because if you remember, I counted wrong---but I'm 99% sure I only have 38 more recipes to post.)

Friday friend recipe #285 and 286 Melissa's Potato Pie and Fettuccini Alfredo

 

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook? I once had about 50 of my closest friends and family (from all over the county) on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends . At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 21 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday. (plus so much more....)

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who thinks he knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said,  "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him!  Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipes #285 and 286

My niece Melissa's Torta Di Patate and Fettuccini Alfredo

This was really good! 

It was a pleasant surprise from my little niece.

Well--I still think of her as little.

And her fettuccini? Probably not for the health conscious, but mmm, mmm good!

When I wrote that it was a pleasant surprise from my 'little' niece, it's because I still think of her as little!

This is my niece story...

As you know I raised boys, so girl emotions were foreign to me. You would think that because I was a girl, I would understand, but I was just not used to girl emotions after a bit.

Melissa and her brother Matt came to stay with us one summer and at that time there were 4 or 5 boys in my house and her.  She was looking thru my wallet--back in the day when we carried photos in our wallets-- and noticed that her cousin Brittney's picture was the first one in my photos sleeve.

She came wailing to me "WHY is Brittney's picture before mine in your wallet?"   I'm not exaggerating when I say wailing. 

And I didn't know what to say!   No one ever cared where they were in my wallet before.  I was speechless for a moment, trying to think what to say--and in that moment, her emotions took a giant leap and she wailed louder and stomped off and said, "no one cares about me! NO ONE CARES ABOUT ME!"

I did tho--I really did!!

She had to be a pre-teen at the time. She did.  She really did.

Photo is of a bunch of cousins.

Melissa on the left upper corner and Brittney on the right bottom.

Have you ever heard the term "country cousins"?

I read it in a book once and it meant the cousin of your cousin.

Right below Melissa is my nephew Jeff, from my side of the family (she and her brother Matt, the one showing off his nostrils, and Brittney are from my husband's side of the family.  The two sullen looking ones are my sons).   So, my nephew Jeff, (bottom left) and my niece Melissa are country cousins. 

I guess this only makes sense in a small town.

And yes, I meandered!  

I always do.

Anyway--there are Melissa and Brittney. Cousins.  And my photo of Brit first in my wallet was the cause of woe back then!

That's my Melissa story.

And then I'll share this cute little scene below because I still think of her as little! My sweet little niece.

This was years before her pre-teen angst.  She was 3 and that year we had a big family vacation (the Handyman's side--Brittney wasn't born yet) at the Oregon coast.

This was way before cell phone cameras and video editing, when we tried to make funny picture sequences by staging funny photos--didn't everybody?

Here is the story...

Uncle Scott was buried, and Melissa tried to save him!

She needed reinforcements, so in steps her dad.

Still, she couldn't get him out of there, so here comes Aunt Debbie (me)

Fun times!

I'm not sure if Uncle Scott ever got out of there or not.

Melissa grew up!

And went back to the Oregon Coast.

And she had her own little girl, Alice!

Who, holey heck, is buried in the sand!

Never Fear Alice! Your mom has experience in helping people out of the sand. She's an old hand at it.  Just ask Uncle Scott.

And these my friends are

recipes #285 and #286

Only 81 left to go!

I can do it!

WOO HOO!  I am below 100 recipes now.  Yay!  Yahoo! Whoopie!

Altho.... do you remember when I counted wrong before?  I think I did it again.

I keep counting what I have left by recipe AND by person and it does not add up to 81- it's more like 68. 

Which would make me very happy, but for now....I'll stick to the 81 until it gets closer to the end and I'll recount what I have left.