Life Doesn't Come with a Manual....it comes with a MOTHER

 

 

On this Mothers Day......

 

 

When I saw this video it truly touched my soul and I want to share it with you.

 

 

Life Doesn't Come with a Manual, it comes with a MOTHER

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0PTfOA0gF08

 

 

 

 Hoping you have a glorious mother's day!

 

 

With Love & Best Wishes,

 

Nann

Wow! What an Incredible Experience

My last post I wrote before I left for New York and then posted it RIGHT after the Today Show so you could have the recipe for the Superbowl. THANKYOU all for your sweet comments and well wishes here on my blog, on facebook and by email. It is SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE FRIENDS LIKE YOU!!!

Friday, Feb.1st  8am to 9am

 at Rockefeller Plaza, NYC

We are outside just ready to go on LIVE TV and are waiting for the anchors from the TODAY SHOW

See video here
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50664803#50664803
 

Sherri William from Florida, Malcom Bedell from Maine, Sunny Anderson from the FOOD NETWORK and me.

 

Sherri is one of the wings winners, Sunny was the judge, Malcom Bedell is one of the wings winners and me I'm a wings winner too. Malcolm won the 'Chicken Trophy' with his 'Ghost Chili Apricot Wings'. The trophy was a rubber chicken spray painted gold and sticking out of a trophy cup. It was hysterical!!!!

It was FUN, Fast Paced and SO SO exciting. Everyone was so very nice and treated us all so well.

 

 

 My daughter Carolyn went with me and here she is with Sunny Anderson after the shooting.

 

 Carolyn is in her last semester of College so she couldn't resist taking a couple of days off to go to NYC. She took most of the pictures for me.  What a whirlwind three days we had!!!

 

 

Our Schedule

 

Thursday afternoon, Jan. 31st we arrived in NYC after flying all day and had a dress rehearsal late that afternoon at the NBC studios

 

 

Friday Feb. 1st at 6:45am we had to be at NBC (across from our hotel at Rockefeller Plaza)  for them to do our hair and makeup. That was quite an interesting experience.

 

 

8am, 8:15 am and 8:30amThey took us outside to the tables to do some 'teasers' while the broadcast was going on  to 'wet' the TV audiences appetite before the chicken wing 'showdown' to begin.

 

 

 

8:45 am.to 9am the anchors of the Today Show came out and we were 'off to the races.'  It was VERY fast paced. They time things down to the seconds. Really!

 

 

 

12 o'clock noon Carolyn and I took a WONDERFUL 3 1/2  hour Food Tour. What they call a 'sample' is NOT like a sample you get from Costco with a little cup and a toothpick. They were like the size of a 4 inch square of a grilled sandwich(Italian) or a salad plate of pasta and sauce(Italian) or a half of a wrap (Indian), or 1/2 of a chicken breast and an empanada (Cuban), and a cup of one of the best tomato garlic soups I have ever taste (he gave us the recipe too)at an American Bistro or fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers at a Cheese Shop or a 4 inch fruit and chocolate tart at a Bakery. Plus a fabulous walking guided tour to all these  restaurants where we learned about the history of that part of New York. There was SO much to eat that we had to roll ourselves back to the hotel. You can see pictures and where we went here.
 

                                                                                 

http://www.zerve.com/FoodTours/GVSoho

 

4:30pm After the tour we took the subway back to the hotel. As we were walking from the subway we spotted the Lego Store and of course had to go in. How fun was that.

 Both of these pictures are of LEGOS. The detail was incredible.

 

 

 

I can see that this post has gone on long enough for now so I'll post the rest of our fun three days tomorrow.

 

 

THANKYOU for joining me. It's always so nice when you come by so please let me know that you were here.

 

 

My Winning Chicken Wing Recipe Finally Revealed

Well here they are. Hope you got to watch the Today Show on NBC this morning. I can now finally give out my winning recipe. Hope you enjoy these as much as I have in creating them.

 

My Wicked Wasabi Wings

                                         

Wicked Wasabi Wings (created by Nancy Judd)

3 pounds chicken wings, cut in half at joint and wing tips removed

½ cup light brown sugar

¼ cup orange juice

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)

4 (slightly rounded) tablespoons orange marmalade

2 teaspoons (or more if desired) HOT wasabi paste

*3 ½ -4 inch fresh whole jalapeno pepper (remove stem only) and finely diced (include seeds and membrane)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 inch or more piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced (should make at least 1 tablespoon minced)

3-4 tablespoons or more crushed HOT wasabi peas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Put chicken wing pieces on the pan and bake for 40 minutes then turn each wing over and continue another 10 minutes or more until wing pieces are golden brown and looks crispy. Remove pan from oven and let cool.

In a blender put the brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, marmalade, minced garlic and minced ginger. Blend on high speed for about 15-20 seconds. Pour mixture into a medium size heavy sauce pan scraping all sauce out of blender with a spatula into the saucepan.  Put sauce pan on stove and bring to a rolling boil and boil hard (stirring occasionally) for about 9 -12 minutes until like a very thick syrup. (The mixture should be dark and thick like molasses.)  Remove from heat and add wasabi paste and diced jalapeno and blend well.

Put one third of the baked wings into the sauce and cover completely with sauce. Remove wings and put back on pan. Continue with remaining pieces. Make sure all wing pieces are completely covered with sauce. Drizzle remaining sauce (if any) over top of pieces again.

Arrange chicken wings on a platter and sprinkle each piece generously with the crushed wasabi peas. Garnish platter with additional whole wasabi peas if desired.  Makes about 18 wing pieces and serves about 4. Expect rave reviews, finger licking and everyone clamoring for more!

 

NOTE: If desire even more heat add more wasabi paste and substitute a habanero pepper for the jalepeno pepper. For extreme heat add more wasabi paste and substitute chopped Thai chilies for the jalenpeono.

 

 

THANKS for coming by. I'll be back from New York

 

 on Sunday night and hope to be able to get a

 

bunch of photos up and tell about  ALL the

 

fun things we did. 

 

 We are taking (two) three hour food tours

 

of New York while there and with each tour they

 

take us to at least 7 restaurants to try the

 

the food. Someone will have to roll me home!!

 

 

 

New York City here I come!

Exciting News!

NBC's Today Show has invited me to come to New

York to be on their program to cook my chicken

wing recipe!!! It's called.....

 'Wicked Wasabi Wings'

 

‘These wings are ooey, gooey finger licking, sweet

 and spicy and literally grabs your Senses and your

Tastebuds  with your first bite. They are delicious

and addictive with  powerful punches of distinctive

yet delectable flavors!’

 

This is what I sent to NBC to describe my 'Wicked

Wasabi Wings.' And I was one of three winners out

of untold  hundreds of entries. I was absolutely

flabbergasted! I am SO thrilled and excited to be

chosen and to be able to have this fun and delightful

 opportunity.

But quite honestly I’m a nervous wreck!! 
 

I want to invite you to join me by watching

 

The TODAY  SHOW

This FRIDAY, February 1^st

NBC- TV

Between 8:00 am and 8:30 am.

 

  

I’ll be posting the RECIPE on Friday. I have to keep

it a secret until then. So be sure to check back on

 

 Friday. We will be taking lots of pictures in New

 

York and I will be posting those when we get back.

 

THANKYOU for joining me and sharing in my

excitement!! I can't wait to share every detail of our

 trip with you.

 

 

I'll be joining these linky parties:

A New Look and New Name

 

Greetings Friends.

 

  Well as you can see my blog has been completely revamped.  I LOVE the new header and all that has been done to the rest of the blog. A brand new blog button and now categories to make navigating my blog easier . And a New Name.....Lady Nann's Table. In other parts of my life and I am known as Lady Nann. I've had the psuedo name for quite awhile and was encouraged to name my blog with it. Among other things I am also known as Lady Nann the Grandmother Fairy. For many years I have been giving 'Fairy Parties' to delighted children. It's a fun fantasy and the kids love it. So the 'Grandmother Fairy' will be having a feature occassionally in my posts. I hope you like her as well as the kids do.

I want to THANK  Linda Primmer from Life and Linda

www.lifeandlinda.com

 She is my blog designer and I think she is terrific. She's not only creative but a fun person to work with. I saw her blog designs on some of my friends blogs 

Kitty from kittyskozykitchen.blogspot.com/

and

 Liz from www.infusewithliz.com/. 

I had previously done my homework and looked and corresponded with many wonderful blog designers. Once I found Linda though, I knew she was the gal for me. She is a whiz on the computer and does anything you want OR you can give her free reins and she'll come up with a custom design to reflect you. If you're interested in sprucing up your blog or even starting one,  then do consider Linda. She is reasonably priced too. One thing she had me do, was change my url from blogspot to .com. And it only costs $10 a year which is dirt cheap. That way it's a lot less verbage and easier for my family and friends to remember.  

THANK YOU for joining me today.  Let me know what you think. I hope you like my new blog as well as I do.

From my Table to Yours,

 

 

I will be joining these linky parties:

 

Wow us Wednesdays http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

 

Baby it's (still) cold outside....warm up with comforting SOUP

This has been such a bitter cold January. Here in my neck of the woods the temperature has been around 5 degrees for weeks on end. The most wonderful comforting food to deal with this cold is SOUP! Here is a recipe I created a few years ago & it's delish!

Italian White Bean Soup

It's chock full of good things like Italian sausage, lots of vegetables and white beans in a yummy thick tomato broth. Serve it with a loaf of crusty bread and a tossed salad and you have a meal.

Italian White Bean Soup

1 pound  bulk hot italian sausage  (you can use 1/2 ground beef  & ½ sausage)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups diced potatoes (for speed & convenience I use frozen southern style  hashbrowns)
2 stocks celery, diced
1 med large onion chopped
½ to l package julienned carrots (or grate 2-3 large carrots)
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 heaping tablespoons basil pesto
1 jar (24 oz) pasta sauce (I like Paul Newman’s Basil tomato)
1 – 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or Herbs d’provence
6 – 8 cups chicken broth
2 cans great northern beans drained and rinsed
¼- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more if desired (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Basil leaves for garnish (optional)
Parmesan cheese grated (optional) 

In a large heavy pot,  brown the sausage until no longer pink. Add onions and sauté a few minutes until softened. Add remaining ingredients accept for parmesan cheese and the fresh basil leaves and stir well. Bring to a rolling boil and then turn down heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the optional parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves in center. Serve. Makes 3-4 quarts of soup.

I know your family will LOVE this. And it's even better the next day. If you'd like, put it all together in the morning and put in a crockpot and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Add the beans the last two hours. ENJOY!

THANK YOU for joining me. It's always nice to have you drop by. Would love to know that you've been here. Your comments are always welcome and appreciated.

                    
        
I will be joining these fun linky parties:

The Cutest Turkey Shaped Dinner Rolls!

Greetings Friends...

This is an updated post from when I first started my blog a year ago and I wanted to share it with you. These darling rolls will bring you RAVE reviews and they are so delicious!! 

                      Turkey Shaped Dinner Roll Tutorial

                                         



                                                                             

To start you need a package of 24 frozen rolls. ( I use wheat rolls for the turkeys.)Take frozen rolls out of package and put on  large greased baking pans to thaw (I use 2 pans). When rolls are thawed but still cold preheat oven to 350* 
                                                                                                                

We start with one single roll.

                                           

With your hands press down to flatten but keep round.

                                                                        
                     

                                                                                            
                                                                                   



Flatten a second roll and cut off about 1/3 of dough. 

                                  

Flatten large piece to make tail and attach to first roll by pressing together

                           

                                                                             

 

                                                                          


Take remaining smaller piece and roll between hands to make a short rope.

                                                                             
                                                                                                                                           

Shape into an elongated S and press against front part of first roll to make the head and neck.

                                                                               

 

    With scissors cut a beak and make the ‘waddle.’

                                                                         

                           

           
                                                                                  

Push a pepper corn in for the eye and a thin slivered almond for the beak.

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                               

                

Here is a close up of the head, beak, eye and waddle.

                                                                               

                         

                                                                                

With scissors cut back of tail to make feathers.  

                                                                             

                                  

  Beat an egg well and brush over entire body and tail. (There is NO PHOTO showing this but it very important for the nuts and seeds to stick).

Take sliced almonds and overlapping press in dough to make feathers. Press pepper corns, cracked mixed pepper corns, finely chopped pecans or walnuts, small seeds like sesame or cracked sunflower seeds into body. Press in firmly.

                                                                                                                                                           

 I also put on  a very light touch of Kosher salt on each roll.

 

Continue making turkeys. I put 6 turkeys on each pan. This recipe makes 12 LARGE turkeys.

 

Let rise 20 minutes. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden.  Remove from oven when done and immediately stick two pretzel sticks in bottom pushing way in to make the legs. Let cool for a few minutes. Then using a large spatula place each turkey roll on a cooling rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Aren’t these baked turkey rolls just beautiful!. The nuts and seeds are toasted in the oven while the roll is baking And it makes the rolls absolutely delicious! Enjoy!

                                                                         

                                                                                           

                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Thanks for joining me today.

Nann

 

 

I am participating in these fun linky parties:

On the Menu Monday at Stonegable  http://www.stonegableblog.com/2012/11/on-menu-monday-week-of-nov-12th.html?showComment=1352699970415#c2930109890225612276