Country Apple Coffeecake for Christina

My sister-in-law made the perfect cup of coffee.  She didn’t roast and grind her own beans, she didn’t make sure the water was at the perfect temperature and study the drip rate to make sure she was extracting maximum flavor from each bean.  That’s not who she was.   She would scoff at the pretentiousness of such things and would tease me if I alluded to caring about it.  Coffee is a morning drink to shake off the evils of the night before and to get your eyes open.  I don’t remember her ever drinking coffee after noon. 

It was this same sister-in-law that suggested to my husband that I was probably the ONE.  The story behind all of that is too messy to get into, but when we got serious she was the first family member that he wanted to introduce me to.  My connection to her was instant.  She immediately made me feel welcome.  We first bonded over a mutual love of her brother, but found so many more things that we had in common. 

Christina loved to feed her family.  It was more than just that perfect cup of coffee made from pre-ground grocery store coffee.  When we were at her house for the weekend, we could expect a full breakfast influenced by her Southern roots.  I can now publicly admit that my biscuits and gravy are better than hers, but since she wouldn’t let me help her cook, she would’ve had no idea.  

Sunday football meant a full buffet of fried, homemade pickles, chicken wings, and chili or soup of some kind.  I am not big on frying at home, but Christina didn’t have similar concerns. She also grilled all year long.  She loved having people around to cook for and never held back. She also made this amazing frozen coleslaw.  She had gotten the recipe from a lady with whom she had worked.  She refused to share the recipe with me.  I think it was because if I could make it on my own, I wouldn’t come visit her to eat hers.

And then there was the foray into homemade goat cheese.  When she married a goat farmer, she started making cheese.  She quickly got bored with plain cheese and texted me for ideas about flavors.  I sent her some suggestions and she branched off from there.  

When she would host a party, the food was almost as good as her company. Christina was warm and funny.  When I picture her face, I see her smile.  I can hear her laugh in my head.  She died last week creating a gaping hole in our lives.  There will be no more phone calls asking if using strategy in games is cheating.  There are so many pickles left unfried, so many pork loins left unplundered, and so many perfect cups of coffee left unmade.

In honor of Christina’s memory, I present to you Country Apple Coffeecake.  It seems especially symbolic of who she was.  Biscuit base for her Southern roots, country flavor for her time on the farm, a bit sweet, a bit tart, boozy, and kind of nutty.  It’s perfect to serve for breakfast with coffee.  It’d be great with a side of bacon or even some goat cheese.  I’d stay away from the pickles, though.

Whiskey Slush

Because I have hinted at it twice now (Cherry Meringue Pie and Hot Chicken Salad) I figured it was maybe time to stop teasing and get down to business.

Last Christmas, we did a progressive dinner with friends.  We gathered at each other’s houses for food and drinks and admiring of each other’s Christmas decorations.  During the salad course we were offered brandy slush.  This was maybe the third time I’d had brandy slush in my life.  I think one time was in college and another time was at a ladies’ night at a friend’s house where we ate snacks and sang Karaoke.  (I should think about hosting that sort of event.)  It’s one of those things where if you are offered it, you should think about accepting.  (Assuming you are of legal drinking age and all that.)DSCN3293While brandy slush is good, I think this version is even better.  It seems a little mellower and a little less acidy.  The Southern Comfort adds a bit of extra fruitiness that isn’t captured with the more traditional recipe.  It’s sweet, but not too sweet. It’s cold. It’s delicious.  It doesn’t give you the same sort of cold headache as a frozen margarita will.  Best of all, this recipe is super easy.  It has green tea in it, so just think of all the antioxidants.  DSCN3297A truly authentic slush experience involves first purchasing one of those 5 quarts pails of ice cream.  When the ice cream is gone, the void in your freezer can either be filled with another 5 quarts of ice cream or the same pail refilled with slush.  I mean, it’s up to you to do what you think is best, but I have found that pints of really good ice cream are much easier to find room for.

I served this at both our game night and at Thanksgiving dinner.  But it’s good for football games, rough days at work, basketball, relaxing on the porch in the summer…you know, pretty much any time.

Whiskey Slush

Whiskey Slush

You can do the recipe the way it reads above, but I sort of cheated and boiled 9 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar and 4 decaf green tea bags.  I figured it didn’t really matter that much.  Green tea bags only need to steep a couple of minutes.  To that, I added a can of lemonade concentrate and a can of orange juice concentrate and 2 1/2 cups of Southern Comfort.  Pour the whole thing into your ice cream pail and put it in the freezer overnight.  To serve, take one (or maybe a bit more) ice cream scoop of the slush and put it into an old fashioned sized glass.  Top with 7-Up (or ginger ale, or whatever sort of fizzy beverage sounds appealing to you).