IRISH BREAKFAST

6 thick slices bacon
2 tbs butter OR margarine
4 eggs
2 small tomatoes, sliced
2 cups whole mushrooms
4 slices prepared soda bread

lay the bacon slices in a single layer in a large skillet. fry over medium heat until it begins to get tinged with brown. fry on both sides. remove from pan, but save grease.

melt butter in skillet. crack eggs into pan, being careful not to break yolks. place tomato slices, mushrooms and bread in pan. fry gently, stirring mushrooms and tomatoes occasionally. keep everything separate. turn bread over to brown on both sides.

when egg whites are set, but yolks are still runny, dish half of everything onto each of 2 warmed plates, and serve immediately.

2 servings

CHOCOLATE MINT DESSERT

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter OR margarine, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups hershey’s syrup
mint cream center (recipe follows)
chocolate glaze (recipe follows)

heat oven to 350 degrees. grease a 13″x9″x2″ baking pan.

combine flour, sugar, butter, eggs and syrup in a large bowl; beat until smooth. pour batter into prepared pan.

bake 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly in the center. cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. spread MINT CREAM CENTER on cake. cover; refrigerate. pour CHOCOLATE GLAZE over chilled dessert. cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. cover and refrigerate leftover dessert.

makes about 12 servings

MINT CREAM CENTER: combine 2 cups 10x sugar, 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter OR margarine and 2 tbs green crème de menthe (OR 1 tbs water plus 1/2-3/4 tsp mint extract and 3 drops green food color may be substituted for  crème de menthe) in a medium bowl; beat until smooth.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE: melt 6 tbs butter OR margarine and 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small saucepan over very low heat. remove from heat; stir until smooth. cool slightly.

PUMPKIN RICE PUDDING

2 cups short-grain OR arborio rice
6 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lenghtwise
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (optional)

in a large saucepan, combine the rice, milk, sugar, vanilla bean, orange zest, orange juice, and salt. heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and most (but not all) of the liquid is absorbed, 20-25 minutes. remove from heat.

discard the vanilla bean. stir in the pumpkin. the recipe can be made ahead to this point.

cover and refrigerate up to 2 days ahead. to rewarm, stir in an additional 1 1/2 cups milk and stir gently over medium-low heat. serve warm, sprinkled with the brown sugar if desired.

8 servings

CANDY BAR COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups chopped candy bars

preheat oven to 325 degrees.

in a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. beat in vanilla.

combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.

stir the candy bars gently into the dough. cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

drop by tablespoonfuls 2″ apart on greased baking sheets. bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. remove to wire racks to cool completely.

makes 9 dozen cookies

BOOGER BITS

in a large mixing bowl, combine one 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk with 5 cups finely flaked coconut, 1/3 cup lime jello (in its powdered form), 1 cup finely ground almonds, and 1 tsp almond extract. mix well and cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for about one hour.

scoop out by tiny bits and form into odd shapes and balls. make sure all sizes and shapes are different, just as each and every booger is special and unique.

pour the remainder of the lime jello package in a bowl and lightly roll each booger in the powder to finish it. the boogers will get a nice crust and take on a neat lime shade. place on waxed paper and return to the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

CHOCOLATE ARMPIT HAIR

break apart three large shredded wheat bundles into long strands so they have the appearance of hair; set aside.

in a medium sized heavy saucepan, combine 3 tbs honey with 1 tbs light brown sugar and 6 oz of chocolate chips and 2 tbs butter or margarine. gently stir over medium heat until mixture is glossy and smooth.

remove from heat and gently stir in shredded wheat. when thoroughly coated, scoop onto a waxed paper lined sheet in small, equal portions. set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set. before serving, you can shake a little “talcum powder” (10x sugar) on them to freshen them up!

BAT BITES

1 (4 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
8 oz soft, mild goat cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup pesto
2 tbs coarsely ground black pepper
2 tbs poppy seeds
8 pitted olives, sliced
32 peppercorns
32 triangular blue corn chips OR free-form wings made from tortillas

mash together cream cheese, goat cheese and pesto. chill for 40 minutes.

shape mixture into 16 2″ balls (about 1 heaping tsp each). roll in black pepper and poppy seeds to cover. press two olive slices into balls for eyes and place peppercorns in centers for pupils.

insert chip on either side of ball for wings; serve.

16 servings

WEINER WORMS

bun-length hot dogs
garnish: mustard, ketchup
buns (optional)

cut bun-length hot dogs lengthwise into quarters. place on grill rack crosswise, and grilll, uncovered, to desired degree of doneness. they’ll curl into worms on their own as they cook. serve alone or in buns with mustard and ketchup. in addition to red, offer colored ketchups such as green and purple.

NUCLEAR WASTE

1 measure blue curacao
1 measure bailey’s irish cream
1 pint cider OR lager
toffee crisp chocolate bars

mix curacao and irish cream. top up with cider or lager. the end result is a sort of greenish-brown liquid with scummy bits floating in it and a thick layer of scum on top. provide chocolate bars (referred to as “control rods”) to dip in the drink.