christine-murphy dot net

If you are a fan of PBS cooking shows, you are probably familiar with Italian chef Nick Stellino.  Did you know that he is on Facebook?  If you use Facebook, search for him and add him as a friend.  He’ll add pretty much anyone, whether he knows you in person or not.  I actually did meet him in person once, years ago, when he came to a food event in Boston.  He signed a copy of his latest cookbook at the time for me.  I’m sure he doesn’t remember me, he’s met thousands of fans over the years, but he added me anyway.

He often shares his favorite recipes on Facebook, such as this one for Shrimp Bolognese.  I made this last night, and it was excellent!  Very quick and easy to make, and, served over pasta, is a complete meal in itself.  It’s a lot faster than traditional Bolognese, which is made with beef.  And probably a lot healthier, too.

I like to buy shrimp that is already peeled and deveined, it often comes frozen at a reasonable price.  The shrimp I bought had the tails on…you can leave them n because they look better that way, or, as I did, remove tails before cooking.  Mike doesn’t like to have to pick the tails off himself, lazy thing!

What is nice about the Facebook page is that it really is Nick, not some corporate staffer, who writes this stuff.  Having cooked from his books and watched him on TV for so long, I can just tell that it’s really him.  And he will also answer questions from friends and fans about the recipes.

In addition to cooking stuff, he also shares family stories, photos, videos, and all, from his native Italy.  He is an excellent storyteller.  And he’s also a cat person, something that is always a plus with me!  Right now he and his wife, Nanci, have two kittens, brothers named Luca and Luigi.  He sometimes writes about their antics.

So get on over to Facebook and look him up today!

No, not cats appearing on TV!  I mean that I am tired of kittehs sitting on top of the TV, dangling their tails over the screen, so I can’t see anything!

Someday, when our old TV dies, we’ll have to buy a new, flat-screen plasma TV.  I am tempted to toss the old one out the window,  just as an excuse to buy a new one.

Then, we can just mount it on the wall, with one of those plasma mounts, so that no cat can sit on it ever!

I want a flat-screen computer monitor, too, for the same reason.

I am such a bad catmommy!

All kitties love treats.  However, many types of treats are soft and chewy, and therefor not good for their teeth.  However, every time I’ve tried giving our cats crunchy treats, it was met with turned-up kitty noses, as in “we’re not eating THAT!”

Until we found Feline Greenies, that is.  Our cat-sitter gave us some small sample packs, and to my surprise, our cats loved them.

Feline dental care is very important…some people even go so far as to brush their cats’ teeth.  With six cats, though, that would be a bit time-consuming, being that it’s impossible to get them to sit still long enough for this.  I’m also not into bloodshed, if you know what I mean!

Feline Greenies are an excellent substitute for tooth-brushing in cats, though.  As they crunch on the treats, they scrape off any tartar and food buildups, and also helps eliminate “fish breath”.   These are definitely a must if you feed your cats mostly canned food.  We feed ours mostly dry food, but they do get canned once in a while.

I am not sure if you can buy Feline Greenies from the pet food aisle at the supermarket; I have never looked for them there.  But you can find them at specialty retailers of pet supplies, both brick & mortar stores and online.

Give them a try…I bet your cats will love them as much as mine do!

I almost forgot to post this!  If, per chance, you are planning to make a cornbread stuffing, save some dough and bake your own, rather than buying it.  You probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients already in your kitchen.

1 large egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter or grease an 8-inch square cake pan. Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk to combine. Whisk in egg, milk, and melted butter until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan, bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

Bake this the day before, at least, and leave it out to get stale, freshly baked bread is NOT good for stuffing! My cats seem to love this, and I have caught them nibbling on it. No need to toss it, it gets baked in the oven as stuffing anyway. Also, cats are cleaner than most people, even if they do lick their own butts.

“Kitty nibbles” never hurt anyone! LOL!

I LOVE the site I Can Has Cheezburger.  I visit every day, and it always makes me smile.  If you are one of the five people on this planet who are not aware of the LOLcats phenomenon, check out this Wikipedia entry to learn all about it.  You can also check out the LOLspeak wiki.

That is why I was excited to hear that they have just released their first book.  I pre-ordered a copy from Amazon, and it arrived this past Friday.

The book contains 200 pictures, some from the site, others never before seen.  It also includes some basic LOLspeak lessons from “Professor Happycat”.

This is not a big coffee table book, it is a small paperpack.  I see this as a plus, because it fits nicely into my purse.  So if I ever get stuck someplace boring, such as in line at the RMV or in a doctor’s office wating room that has nothing but boring women’s and parenting magazines, I can whip out my book and cheer myself up by looking at teh LOLZ.

With the holidaze coming up, this book would make a nice little gift or stocking stuffer for the cat lovers on your list.  I highly recommend this book, and I can’t wait for the next volume!