The best Spinach and Artichoke Dip you'll ever have!

My sister, Page Hopkins, is something of a genius when it comes to cooking. This Spinach Artichoke Dip is one of her signature dishes, and I for one am so excited that she refined the recipe! In the past, she always made this one by taste. Now, the rest of us can make it too.

This recipe is so good that Page gets frequent requests to bring it gatherings with family and friends. You can get the full recipe by clicking on the link below. It will take you to Page's cooking blog. 

Just a quick story about Page's cooking:

A southern girl to the core, I take pride in my cooking. I take great pains in experimenting with a particular recipe until I get it down pat. Last weekend, Page and I decided to get our families together for a homemade pizza night. Like I said, I feel like I make a darn, good homemade pizza crust. Knowing what a great cook Page is, I took extra pains to make sure my crust was just so. The plan was for Page and I each to make two pizzas. When we arrived at her house, she had one pizza that was already baked and the other still in the works. I took a bite of the pizza that was already baked. "That's pretty good," I said. "Your crust tastes similar to mine."

"Oh, I didn't have time to make two homemade crusts," Page explained. "That's a bought crust. The one I'm making now is homemade."

We started eating my pizzas and Page's bought-crust pizza, while waiting for the other pizza (Page's homemade crust) to cook. When Page's pizza was finally ready, I sampled a slice.

"What do you think?" she said.

What did I think? I thought I'd died and gone to heaven--that's what I thought! Oh my gosh! Her pizza was so much better than any of the others. My pizzas didn't even come close. Heck they weren't even in the same ballpark. "This is amazing," I admitted.

You'd think by now that I'd stop comparing my cooking to Page's. For Page, cooking is a passion--an art. From now on, I'll be making Page's pizza crust, as she was kind enough to give me the recipe and idiot proof instructions that even I can follow. LOL! I look forward to the time when Page puts her pizza crust recipe on her blog. When she does, you can better believe I'll be sharing it you. Until then ... if you want to be a superstar at your next party, MAKE THIS SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP!!!

Here's the link:

Cooking Your Sass Off with Page Hopkins: Spinach Artichoke Dip: I have been making Spinach Artichoke Dip for some time now but I never measure any of the ingredients.  It’s always been a little bit...

Why I didn't like "Lincoln"

This past weekend, my husband and I went to the movies with another couple, good friends of ours. The other couple wanted to see the movie "Lincoln," so we agreed. I wasn't excited about seeing Lincoln because he's constantly lauded as a hero, and I don't see it that way. Of course the movie, as expected, portrayed Lincoln as this great man who pushed against the grain, even buying votes, to get the 13th Amendment pushed through so that slavery would be abolished. Slavery is abhorrent in all forms and fashions and should have been abolished. The 13th Amendment should have passed. However, watching this movie reminded me of how the media successfully rewrites history time and time again. And because it's moving and entertaining, we eat it right up--never questioning the validity of the story.

After the movie, we had dinner at Chili's where we got into a heated discussion about Lincoln and the causes of The War Between The States. (No, we don't call it The Civil War because there was nothing "civil" about it.) When we told our friends, Taryn and Mark, that slavery was in reality a side issue of the war and not the main issue, they were surprised.

This morning, Taryn Taylor (my good friend that I went to the movies with) posted on her blog about how much she loved the movie "Lincoln" and why everyone should watch it. I couldn't sit quietly by and hear anymore drivel about the sanctimonious Lincoln, so I posted a response. Below, is her post--followed by my response.

In the words of one of my favorite movies, "Sweet Home Alabama," THE SOUTH HAS RISEN AGAIN!


Lincoln: How can you NOT love it? 
by Taryn Taylor

I am a huge, huge fan of inspirational stories--and, if you haven't seen the movie, Lincoln--you should! The story is super inspiring and just plain American!

(My southern friends, who I enjoyed the movie with, would probably disagree with me on both counts. I guess they'll just have to leave a comment below if they want to refute me!:)

The only thing I really knew about Abraham Lincoln...was that he freed the slaves. Really. Yes, it might be just plain sad or a reflection on the American educational system, you take your pick--but the movie actually made me want to learn more. Not just about Lincoln, either, but about that time period in U.S. history.

The movie stacked conflict and created an emotional tension that made you rally for Lincoln. It showed you the kind of familial pressure he was under. For example, one of his sons wanted to sign up to fight (and eventually did) but Lincoln's wife was vehemently against it. She begged Lincoln not to let him. And, the fact she was portrayed as being boderline crazy, made it all the more drammatic.

The movie also goes through the struggle it was to get enough votes to pass the 13th Amendment; the amendment that abolished slavery as a legal institution. They even had to go as far as to hire a Political Action Committe, at work. They basically bought votes with promises of jobs. It was interesting to see the darker side of it--ends justify the means type of thing.

My favorite thing, was the stories Lincoln told. They were long and winding and, at times, you couldn't see the point they would have, but they were so...insightful. One particular conversation revolved around asking the question, are we born to the time we live, or are we just born? I love that! I love that Lincoln took the time to wonder that...at least in the movie he did.

Along those lines, I do understand that Spielburg was putting out a movie. And, with that, he had to frame a good story. Soo, is all of it true. Probably not. I understand that he probably took some liberties with the facts.

But, two things are true: Lincoln did free the slaves and keep the Union together.

For those two things, alone, you should go see it!

2 comments:

Jennifer YoungbloodJanuary 15, 2013 at 12:49 PM

Taryn, thanks for your post! Okay, I'll own up: My husband and I are the Southern Friends that Taryn was referring to. After our conversation about Lincoln the other night, she may consider dubbing us the Southern Fiends (LOL)! So I'm sitting in between Taryn and my husband Patrick. As the movie credits were flowing, Patrick looked at me and said, "Well, that was a waste of two hours and forty something minutes." I looked over at Taryn who had hands over her chest. "That was so powerful," she breathed. I had to laugh at the dichotomy of the two reactions. In a nutshell, the varying opinions can be explained in a few words: southern thought vs. non-southern thought. We spent the rest of the evening cussing and discussing our varying opinions. Yes, the 13th Amendment SHOULD HAVE BEEN PASSED! Slavery is abhorrent in any form or fashion, but contrary to what the history books teach, The War Between The States (We don't call it The Civil War because there was nothing civil about it) was not fought primarily over slavery, albeit that was one of the issues. I realize that's news to most folks, but a careful study of history shows that the war was fought over something we can all understand, STATES RIGHTS! Lincoln was elected with NO electoral support from the South! Consider the recent presidential election. Does that sound familiar? I found it interesting that Lincoln's wife (Sally Field) kept hammering in how popular Lincoln was amongst the people. Sorry, Spielberg. Nice try, but that just wasn't on the mark. Here's a quick synopsis from Wikipedia. There are other, more trusted sites for in-depth info., but this will suffice: "The United States presidential election of 1860 was the 19th quadrennial presidential election. The election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860 and served as the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War.
The United States had been divided during the 1850s on questions surrounding the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners. In 1860, these issues broke the Democratic Party into Northern and Southern factions, and a new Constitutional Union Party appeared. In the face of a divided opposition, the Republican Party, dominant in the North, secured enough electoral votes to put Abraham Lincoln in the White House without support from the South."

I agree with Taryn on several points, one of which is that the movie was powerful and moving. What concerns me is how history is often rewritten by the media. The films we see--the media we watch, shape our nation. I pointed out to Taryn that in not too many generations in the future, throngs will be rushing in to see a movie about Obama and how he transformed our nation, took us out of darkness, made us see the beauty of socialism and the equal distribution of wealth. Sound scary? It should! It should scare the heck out of you. Our history, present, and future are being rewritten by the media. We have to continually educate ourselves, so that we won't be deluded into handing over our rights and freedoms while thanking them in the process. 

Visit Taryn Taylor's blog at Taryntaylor.blogspot.com. 

The Phenomenon of Mismatched Socks: Weird or Genius?

Yesterday, I spent the evening doing that household chore I hate the most:  folding laundry! And as I much as I detest folding laundry, there's something I hate even more:  sorting socks! I really don't know how it is that my pile of "odd socks that don't have matches" keeps growing and growing. Is there some invisible black hole that keeps sucking down the socks when I'm not looking? WHERE ARE ALL OF THE SOCKS GOING??

Anyway, there is a point to this post, and I'll get to it! As I was sorting those socks last night, I started thinking about a conversation I had with my niece, Shelby, the last time she came to visit. A day or so into the visit, I noticed something strange. Shelby never wore matching socks. There are those that would assume that Shelby was following some cool trend that only teenagers are privy to, but Shelby is not some weird, wacked-out renegade. On the contrary, she's a beautiful girl that has her head on straight, so I decided to put the question to her.

"Shelby, why are you not wearing matching socks?"

Her answer surprised me.

"Well, for starters, I don't have to spend all of that time sorting socks, and I never have to worry about trying to keep up with the matches. It makes life simpler. Plus, think about how much money I save. If one sock gets a hole in it, oh well. I don't have to throw that pair away. I can still wear the other sock until it wears out.

She had me at that. No more sorting socks! A dream come true! As she was talking, I kept thinking about that brown sock with the polk-a-dots--the one I hadn't been able to find the match to. I'd been hanging onto it for months in the hope that the other sock would somehow turn up. I had to admit, Shelby's logic made sense. For one small moment, I considered the possibility. Then I pictured the look that would surely be on Patrick's face when I told him that I was dumping all of his socks into one big drawer. "Just wear any sock, honey. They don't have to match." Yeah, it doesn't take a brain-child to figure out how that would go over.

Shelby's socks not matching. That's cool--even genius. But on me? Peculiar, weird, or a little touched in the head. Oh, to be a teenager again. But I'm not a teenager. Heck, I'm not even in my twenties. (No, I'm not going to announce my age.)

What did I do?  I put that polk-a-dot sock on one foot and a red sock on the other, looked at it for a few minutes, and then did what any sensible, grown-up woman would do:  replaced the polk-a-dot sock with the red. Okay, I'll admit it:  I'm a sucker for conventionalism!

Last night, I decided to count the number of socks in my "odd sock pile." The grand total--14 socks! I did the math:  14 pairs of socks at an average price of $3.00 per pair = $42.00 OUCH! WHERE ARE ALL OF THE SOCKS GOING?

How many odd socks are in your pile?

A picture of my niece Shelby Youngblood, donning her mismatched socks. In case your were wondering, Shelby enjoys running and snowboarding. She loves chicken nuggets. Her mantra? "Embrace your weirdness!"

Up-close picture of Shelby's awesome, colorful, mismatched socks.

My "odd sock pile."

On a good note:  Patrick was rearranging furniture last night and look what he found--my other brown, polka-dot sock!! Now I can wear both socks again! Woo Hoo!

The Paper Rose Club gets a great review

I was thrilled to see this review today on The Paper Rose Club. Josh Magill, from The Magill Review recently read The Paper Rose Club, and I'm excited to report that he LOVED it!! Whenever anyone reviews any of my work, the finger-nail biter in me comes out, and I get a little anxious to hear what they have to say. Writing a novel is akin to standing in Times Square, butt naked and being critiqued by the world. Over the years, I've come to develop thick skin, especially where book reviews are concerned. You write your baby and then launch it to the world, never knowing how it will be received.

I love how Josh described the characters and their lifelong friendships. The South has such a unique flavor, and I'm glad that we were able to infuse our upbringing into the novel to make it come to life. Here's the link to Josh's review.

http://themagillreview.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/book-review-the-paper-rose-club/

Drumroll pleeasee ... Page Hopkins has a new blog

I'm excited to announce that my sister, Page, has a new blog for her cooking! Page is an amazing cook and is always whipping up amazing dishes for the family. My boys love it when Page tries new recipes because they get to be the testers.

Page has a cookbook that recently came out. It's called COOKING YOUR SASS OFF HOLIDAY STYLE. Not only does it have great recipes, but Page tells the secret behind her amazing mashed potatoes--and other trade secrets. Also, Mom and I wrote stories about why these recipes are so special to our family. There's even a story about how Page nearly clawed my eyes out when I came back from the store with the wrong mayonnaise. (True Story)

Page doing what she does best. (I'm offering up morale support, and Nathan ??? Well, I'm not sure what Nate was doing, but we were having fun!

Page and I at a farm, picking out pumpkins for Halloween with our families. For years, Page and I lived too far away from each other to get together on a regular basis. Now that we live close to each other, we can see each other all of the time. WOO HOO!


 Click here to see Page's blog.

Page's new book is available on Amazon Kindle and Ibooks.

One perk to Page doing a holiday cookbook and guide was that I was able to use my decorating knowledge and offer tips on creating spectacular centerpieces. Here's a natural one that I did with cranberries. I call this one CRANBERRY DELIGHT. It's made using fresh cranberries and a floating candle. There's something magical about bringing nature indoors for the holidays. I love the smell of fresh pine garland.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit with THE PIANO GUYS!

I had the most fabulous weekend! A good friend of mine, the author of The Style Sister's blog, hosted a dinner party. It was great to get together with close friends. As you would imagine, the table settings were spectacular, and the company was too.

Afterwards, I attended another Christmas party where Jon Schmidt from The Piano Guys treated the guests to a private concert. Talk about a phenomenal experience! Jon Schmidt is one talented individual! One of my favorite moments was when he played Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer while laying on the piano bench and playing upside down.

Simply put, Jon's music makes me happy. It's inspiring to see him sharing his talent and enriching the lives of others. Hearing that concert and watching him perform with his whole heart and soul made me want to be a better writer. He made me want to try harder, to reach higher, and to never give up on my dreams.

Not only is Jon an amazing musician, but he's a down-to-earth guy. My family and I got a chance to talk to him before the concert, and he was very gracious when we paid him compliments, often turning our comments around to compliment us.

If you've never seen The Piano Guys in action, this will be a real treat! They do a series of youtube videos. My favorite is when they play the Charlie Brown Melody at a rest home. It's fun to watch the energy that builds when Jon begins to play.

 

Does your man open the door for you?

A follow-up from my previous post:

Do you think that men still open doors for women? I certainly do! This one small seemingly insignificant act makes all of the difference. It's the little gestures that define who we are. Any man that takes the time to open a door for a woman will demonstrate a world of respect for the opposite sex in all aspects. Ladies, pay attention to the little things your man does or doesn't do!

I came across this blog that poses the question: Should men open doors for women? It was interesting to see the responses.

Should Men Open Car Doors For Women? | Big Is The New Small

In our novel, STONEY CREEK, ALABAMA, my mom and I added in a little tidbit where our main character goes on a date with a guy who doesn't open the door for her. She's disappointed but tries to rationalize his oversight.

Maybe I'm holding southern men to a higher standard, but I think they of all men should open doors for women. Any southern boy worth his salt will open the door for a woman. When I was a teenager, I accompanied a guy to a banquet. When we arrived, I sat in the car, waiting for him to open the door. (Note, that I had gone with this guy to his banquet, gotten dressed up, etc.) This guy got halfway across the parking lot before realizing that I was still sitting in the car. A little ruffled around the collar, he stopped, came back, and begrudgingly opened my door. Needless to say, our date didn't go off so well. 

A few months later, I was with a couple of friends at the mall, and we ran into this same guy. Now, I must add that the guy in question had been crazy about one of my friends since elementary school. We all decided to get into the same car and go to a restaurant for lunch. When we arrived, I was surprised and pleased to see him go around and open the door for my friend. His eyes met mine, and I have him a slight nod. In that small moment, I knew that he'd learned the value of treating a lady ... like a lady. This guy ended up marrying my friend (the girl of his dreams). Even though I've lost touch with them, I think about the incident from time to time and hope (for her sake) that he continues to open doors for her, that he continues to treat the woman he married like he once treated the girl of his dreams. 

Opening the doors:  a small thing? Maybe to some, but to me it means the world.