Birthdays

On December 1st I have two children and one Granddaughter with birthdays.

Joshua was the first Dec. 1 child, then came Heather two years later. Quite a few years later, came Raven, my oldest grandchild. She is a senior in High School in Shepardsville, Kentucky.

It really would be to my advantage if all of my children and grandchildren would move their birthdays and anniversaries to December 1st. (Maybe I could remember that one!)

Joshua called me one year to remind me it was Heather's birthday. I thanked him. Then later that day, I realized it was his too. My memory is slipping ...and Josh doesn't let me forget it!!!

Joshua has such a big heart for children, he loves his son unconditionally.

Heather has two children and lives in Warsaw, Missouri and is a taxidermist!

Raven is such a sweetheart. her father is my oldest child, Joe.

I wish them the best in their lives and all of the happiness life can bring.

Happy Birthday

Love Christine and Papa

The House, Casa Somerset

Today was the day to get the vines bedded down for the winter. We had to take the blue tubes off of the vines. You can see Christine working away in the picture. They were to help the vines grow the first year. They are on there own now. The temperature was about 55. I love this temp, it is just right to get things done.

Now that we are married, Christine was instructing me all day. Luckily for me, my batteries were dead. :):)

The house is coming along, but never as fast as I want. I told our builder Richard about a video I have seen where a house was built in 4 hours. He just laughed! I am ready to move in!!!! The windows were put in this week on the second floor. The picture of Christine on the back patio show the 3rd floor windows which should be installed this week. It also shows the size of the patio, which is three - three car garages in size. The second floor porch is 1600 square feet. Christine is on the porch which shows arches and all. It is a great view to the lake, and a great place for our friends to gather.

Friends, plan for a PARTY!!!! This will be a destination.

Herb Companion,Herbal Feast

This is an article sent to me by Jasper,from the Herb Companion. I thought my friends would enjoy the recipes.

Happy Holidays,
Chrisitine and Mike


An Herbal Feast for the Holiday Season
By Allison Martin
Recipes For a Herbal Feast:
• Nana's Artichoke Frittata• Focaccia• Sicilian Caponatina• Roasted Sicilian Peppers• Linguine con Pesto• Polenta con Funghi e Formagio• Pollo alla Frederico• Nana Mirabile's Mint & Applecello Cake
A holiday get-together can be cause for much celebration. It also can become a stress-fest that brings out our worst fears and performance anxieties. This year, skip the tension. Enjoy your own party by following some sage—and basil—advice from Kansas City chef and restaurateur Jasper Mirabile Jr.
Namesake of the Mirabile family-owned Jasper’s Italian Restaurant, Jasper knows the joys and potential pitfalls of cooking for a crowd. He’s been immersed in food preparation for as long as he can remember. His father, Jasper Mirabile, opened Jasper’s in 1954. Family life revolved around the business of food. Jasper Jr. and his three brothers gravitated to the restaurant, spending time with their father and learning the restaurant business.
“It’s something all the boys did. If you wanted to see my father, you went to the restaurant,” he says.
Dining at Jasper’s feels like being admitted to a cozy club—a tucked-away spot for people who appreciate food and shun pretention, an apt atmosphere for a place where the emphasis is on food and family. The kitchen staff—sous chef, pasta and pastry chefs, sauté cooks—is composed of long-time employees who have been with the restaurant for decades. Three generations of Mirabiles test dishes together on Sundays.
When you meet Jasper Jr., his passion for the restaurant is obvious.
The 46-year-old executive chef is a congenial host, sharing favorite memories (“My first memory of cooking is being 6 years old on my grandmother’s counter, watching her prepare some homemade pasta and the delicate desserts she was known for.”) and explaining how he reaches out to local farmers (he founded and leads the Kansas City Convivium of Slow Food International) for the freshest possible produce.
His reputation for buying local produce is such that farmers know to pull up to the kitchen door in the morning for impromptu transactions. As an example, Jasper describes the delicious green onions, tomatoes, squash and lettuce a neighborhood vegetable gardener—a tailor by profession— occasionally drops by with. Jasper’s mission is simple: Delicious food made with old-fashioned attention to detail. Throughout the years, food authorities have taken note. Jasper’s has retained a Mobil Four Stars rating, AAA Four Diamonds award and membership in Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) since 1978.
Today, Jasper Jr., his brother Leonard and his nephew Jasper III work together in the kitchen and dining room to continue the Mirabile tradition. The policy of family presence (they call it MITH—Mirabile in the House) and the cheerful atmosphere make most nights in the restaurant a party of sorts. Follow Jasper Jr.’s tips to make your next soiree fun for everyone—including the cook! Best of all, herbs add the extra oomph to each of these Mirabile family-tested recipes.
Be PreparedPacing your prep work out in advance is essential to avoiding the party-day rush. Set your menu early and then keep an eye on the fresh produce that is available in the market. By the time you are ready to do your shopping, you’ll have a good idea of what is in season and what’s scarce.
Three days before the party is the ideal time to do your grocery shopping and prepare any sauces on your menu. Then, prep your veggies the night before the party. The beauty of this plan is that you don’t have to set aside huge chunks of time at any point. While you’re preparing dinner the night before the party, take some extra time to rinse, chop, slice and dice. With a little music thrown into the mix, you can relax and reflect as you prep the vegetables. Hint: To retain maximum flavor from your herbs, Jasper says, be sure to add them toward the end of the cooking time.
Stick to the Plan Jasper’s key to operating a successful restaurant can be your secret to a no-fuss, high-style party: The recipes are tried and true. “Everything is made the way my parents would make it. We don’t change a thing,” Jasper says.
The result is a smooth evening of food and conversation. “We’ll have a big night and it’s no big deal. Just another day,” Jasper says.
Recreate this laid-back approach at your own party by choosing simple recipes you are comfortable making. When setting the menu, stick with recipes you know—or have at least tried out before. Now is not the time to experiment with a new dish or an elaborate presentation.
While it may feel necessary to dazzle your guests with a breathtaking culinary display, it’s much more important that you attend to your guests during the party. Jasper recommends starting with easy appetizers so guests can mingle and get comfortable. “Don’t go crazy! What’s simpler than a cheese board?” he says.Delight in the DetailsYou want your guests to feel special, so once you have a delicious, simple menu set, you can really focus on a few details. Use herbs to make your menu stand out. Nana Mirabile’s Applecello Cake is a bundt cake made with a box cake mix. But Jasper’s mother, who created the recipe, gave it unmistakable personality with the homemade applecello and fresh mint. The result is an unusual combination that is simply delicious.
Since Jasper’s dinner-party plan calls for simple food, tweaked with herbs to make it holiday-worthy, be sure to pay attention to the details. “Presentation is very, very important,” he says.When you have a plan and are comfortable with the recipes on your menu, it is much easier to pull all the details together for a special evening. At home and in the restaurant, Jasper uses fresh herbs to effect a beautiful presentation—sometimes scattering herbs across the tablecloth for a splash of color and aroma.
Allison Martin is associate editor of The Herb Companion. She enjoyed tasting her way through this story.

Holiday Recipes.

This is remarkable, and just in time for the holiday baking season! Even if you have no particular interest, please pass this on to the bakers in your life.
Just click on the name of the cake and bam the recipe appears!

These come from http://www.northpole.com/

This was sent to me from my friend Jasper Mirabile. I love to try new recipes.

Christine and I wish all of our friends and family a great holiday season. We are hurrying around getting things ready for Thanksgiving day. Christine's son Jeff, who lives in North Carolina, will be joining us. She is really excited to have both of her sons with us for Thanksgiving!

Love to all
Christine and Mike


'Night Before Christmas' Coffee Cake
'Real New York Style' Cheesecake Supreme

A Cake That's Fit For A Queen
Amaretto Italian Sour Cream Cake
Amazing Tropical Fruit Cake
Apple and Nut Cake
Apple Cake
Apple Cake
Apple Sauce Cake
Applesauce Fruitcake
Apricot Nectar Pound Cake
Baby Cheescakes Baby Cheesecakes
Banana Cake
Barron Family Cheesecake
Baumtorte (Tree Cake)
Becky's Pumpkin Cupcakes
Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake
Broken Angel Cake With Chocolate Chips
Candied Fruit Cake
Carmel Coffee Cake
Carrot Cake with Hot Glaze
Carrot-Pineapple Cake
Cherry Cake
Cherry Cake Sauce
Cherry Cheesecake Cups
Cherry-Pineapple Dump Cake
Chocolate Angel Food
Chocolate Browny Cake
Chocolate Chip Muffins
Chocolate Cookie Sheet Cake
Chocolat e Éclair Cake
Chocolate Ice Box Dessert
Chocolate Logs
Chocolate Lovers Heaven Triple Threat Chocolate Di
Chocolate Sheet Cake
Chocolate welington fudge pudding
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cake
Christmas Cake
Christmas choclate cake
Christmas Mixed Glace Fruit Loaf
Christmas-Comes-But-Once-A-Year-Chocolate Cake
Cinnamon Morning Delight
Coca-Cola Cake
Coconut Cake
Cookie Pizza
Cream Cheese Icing
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Cream Puff Cake
Creamy Chocolate Cupcakes
Creamy Chocolate Layered Cake
Decadent Chocolate Cake
Decadent Fudge Cake
Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
Dream Cake
Dreamcicle Cake
Drizzle Cake
Earthquake Cake
Easy Cocoa Snack Cake
Easy Coconut Cake
Éclair Cake
Edie Ching's Cherry Cheesecake
Eggnog Cake
Extra Moist Coconut Cakes
Festive Pumpkin Gingerbread
Flower Garden Cake
Fruit Cake
Fruit Cocktail Cake
German Chocolate Upside-Down Cake
Golden Bacardi Rum Cake
Gooey Butter Cake
Gum drop cake
Heavenly Pecan Cake
Hedge Hog Cake
Holiday Cake
Holiday Poke Cake
Holiday Rum Cake
Honey Bun Cake
Honey Cake
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Hummingbird Cake
Ice-Cream Chocolate Roll
Jewish Apple Cake
Johnny Appleseed Cake
Lemon Cake
Lemon Poppyseed Cakes
Lemon Pound Cake
Linda's Yule Log
Mama's Homemade Banana Cake
Mandy's Cake
Microwave Scottish Pudding
Mini Fruitcakes
Miniature Cheesecakes
Mississippi Fudge Cake
Mississippi Mud
Mock Lemon Meringue Cake
Neiman Marcus Cake
No Bake Fruit Cake
Norwegian Gold Cake
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake
Old Fashion Pound Cake
Old Fashioned Light Fruitcake
Orange Date-Nut Cake
Orange Slice Cake
Oreo Cheesecake
Peanut-Topped Devil's Food
Pecan Icing
Pennsylvania Dutch Pastry
Pineapple Heaven
Plum-Nut Cake
Pound Cake Pound Cake
Pumpkin Cake Roll
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin log
Pumpkin Nut Roll
Pumpkin Pie Cake
Pumpkin Roll
Queen's Cake
Red Velvet Cake
Reese`s white cake
Reese's Brownie Cupcakes
Refrigerator Chocolate Cheesecake
Russian Tea Cakes
Russian Teacakes
Santa's Breakfast Cake
Self-Filled Cupcakes
Shirley's Chocolate Sheet Cake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Southern Apple Cake
Swedish Nut Cake
Tiny Christmas Fruitcakes
Toll House Carrot Cake
Triple Chocolate Torte
Turtle Bars
Turtle Cake
Warcake
Watergate Cake
White Christmas Loaf
World War I Cake
World War II Cake

Garlic and Honey Seminar

I thought I was back at my very first Slowfood event. It was 5 years ago that I went to Gary and Mimi Verhaeghe 's Coffee Creek Ranch. Did that day change my life forever! I met Jasper and the Slowfood group there. If I had not gone there, I would have never met Christine. I remember the spinach with garlic that Jasper cooked in Gary's kitchen, topped with Gary's honey. Then there was this mason jar that Jasper brought, it was cherries to go over his gelato ice cream, only they had been soaking for a month in amaretto. WOW!!!

On the 5th of November this year, I got to share with Christine the taste of heirloom garlic. It was a evening at Jasper's. Hilary Cooley and Donna Cook and her son were at our table.

We started with a garlic tasting. We had to rate 7 heirloom garlics and some of them were hot and some were mild. Sitting at a table with people tasting garlic is a real quick way to get to know someone!!! Ha, Ha!

Gary gave us the history of his family in garlic. The Aime varity is the one his Grandfather Alphonse Verhaeghe started in 1919. It was named after his uncle Aime Verhaeghe, who passed the garlic on to Gary. This one originated in Europe. The taste is hot and zingy.

We tasted the garlic pieces.they hit your mouth in different bursts. The Russian Red was my favorite. Sixteen years ago I did a report in Culinary school on garlic . It is so interesting, I try to eat it in most foods.

We also had a great dinner prepared by Jasper. He served Riccota and olives with honey drizzled over the top. Then we had a carrot, potato, and garlic soup; which Christine still needs the recipe. A pasta dish with lots of garlic came next. That was followed by 40 clove garlic chicken. Wow! Then to finish it off, garlic gelato, just like we had at the first event. Lonnie Williams set this event up as the first time. Lonnie was the very first Slowfood member in Kansas City. http://www.slowfoodkc.org/

Gary's e-mail is gmpv@aol.com His company is the Coffee Creek Ranch in Stilwell, KS. He did a great job telling us all about garlic; he gave out recipes and also instructions on how to grow garlic.
Read of the small producers and their products, we need to support them.

Mike

The Wedding,Christine and Mike

Well where do I start....?

We were looking for the right day. Christine's first pick was Halloween, I said no, that wasn't right. I said April fools day, that is my Grandfathers birthday, she said no, I don't want to be a big joke. I said Valentine's day, she said no, we will always be cooking. We were stuck! I wanted to be the first couple married in the new house, "Casa Somerset". If we didn't do this soon, it would get too cold and we would have to wait until late Spring '09.

I then looked at the calendar for a proper date. I thought of December 1st, I have two children and 1 granddaughter born that day. Easy to remember. But it needed to be on a weekend.

Then I saw November 1st, All Saints Day, the Day of the Feast. I told Christine that was the day. She started crying. Oh my gosh, what did I say??? She said that was her Father's Birthday. I said that is the day.

Well, we talked about the wedding, she said don't invite any more than 15 to 20. I said ok, so every day I invited 15 to 20, I am so agreeable :-) It was all done via e-mail. The wedding was to be in two weeks.

I contacted Jasper in Italy, to see if he would be my best man. He was so excited about our wedding. Christine and I first met at his restaurant at a Slowfood board meeting. January 5th, 2004. Hilary Cooley brought us together. Our first kiss was there in his parking lot, several weeks later. He just had to be part of this.

We went to the county court house to get the marriage license, and on the way out I said "Wow, now we will have a name for the baby". (LOL...LOL...) We walked out the courthouse door and were greeted by the loudest clap of thunder and a huge bolt of lightening that hit the sky. Hmmm... was that a sign?????

We worked very hard getting ready for the big event in two weeks. I kept sending out the invites everyday 15 to 20. Hilary and Christine spent many hours decorating the new house and the house across the street for the big day. Christine said she could not have done this without Hilary's help!

The day of the wedding, Nov. 1st, Hilary showed up early to help us get ready. We got all of the food ready and about 1:15 Christine said she was going to get ready, the wedding was at 3.

I start getting ready about 1:30, complete by 1:45. Well I went back to help Hilary finish up. Then people started to arrive. Jasper and Lisa were first. Jasper was helping with the food. Then others started trickling in. I went over to the new house and start touring with people. Then I went back to see where Christine was. She still was not ready, she was talking to her son, Mark. So, I got in my tux, got on my riding mower and drove back up to the wedding site at the new house. Three of my grandchildren jumped in the trailer and off we went.

Many people had arrived by then, about 100. Oh, was Christine going to be surprised. Well about 3:00 Christine arrived. Her knee had been hurting, and she took some medicine so they would feel better. Well they felt pretty good by then. She then had to greet every one who came. This took another 20 minutes. Finally we get to the altar. Pastor Kirk was ready and we began.

It was a beautiful ceremony, Christine looking deeply into my eyes, each of us taking our vows to heart. I was thinking I was a lucky man. Pastor Kirk Johnson explained to her I was a gift from God. This will be brought up often. Then he pronounced us Husband And Wife. *(Pastor Kirk also said that I was a gift from God for Mike...he seems to have forgotten that part already...Christine... :-).

After the wedding, we had a blessing of the house and a blessing of the vines. This we will write of in another story. We wanted that to happen for some time, and as this was such a special day, we decided to include it. The Sister's of Ursuline performed this. They are great people.

We then went across the road to celebrate with our friends. We had so many special people there. It was a joyous occasion. We all laughed so hard over the events of the day, and of the stories from the past. We ate pasta and all of the great foods brought by our friends, and celebrated with a little vino. Many thanks to Kelly and Brad for helping us clean up on Saturday and Sunday!

Many people commented that we had so many friends from different groups. They came from our food groups, work, neighbors, and just friends. We loved having every one of them there! Christine and I reflected on this last Sunday; how lucky we are to have so many friends and that they all are so light hearted and such good people.

Life is about good friends, family, and memories. Food and Vino help too.

Love to all, Christine and Mike Hursey

Mike Hursey gets married twice in two days.

Can you believe Mike Hursey getting married twice in two days?

Well on October 31st, Michael Hursey, the son of Mike Hursey, got married; and then the next day, his father got married.

Michael took Stephanie, and Mike married Christine. It was a weekend to remember.

We both decided earlier in the month to get married; Michael was going to get married on the 4th of July, but then decided to switch to Halloween. Michael invited his friends to a house warming and Halloween party, however, unknown to them, Stephanie and Michael were getting married at the party. They had a minister show up in the middle of the party, and announced they were getting married. How Cool!!!!

It was a very wonderful thing, he had found a very wonderful woman..... Stephanie. She has been a great partner to him. They have a new home and life together.

I am so proud of him. She is wonderful. I now have another great daughter -in-law who can be like a daughter, that Christine and I will both adore. This has added to all of Christine and my family.

Josh, Michael's step brother, was there as a devil. Christine and I were pirates. Stephanie's parents were there. Michael's Mother was there as well, dressed as Mimi. It was a true family and friends event. They both have so many friends.

Michael and Stephanie, we are so happy for you.

Mike