Tonight Pasta Shells with Mascarpone Cheese and Walnuts

I listed a book by Suzanne Somers today on EBay, under Valerie2901 called "The Sexy Years". Women, look for this book. It explains so much about menopause, whether you are in it or not and the menopause that men go through. I have read almost every book Suzanne has written and you have to take some of what she says with a grain of salt. But in every book she does do her homework and the research. This has nothing to do with cooking, but it is a book I recommend.

Again not cooking, but at least something to do with food. Soften your feet with a lime and sea salt scrub. Sea salts smooth out tough calluses, the vitamin C in the lime brightens your skin tone and Epsom salts reduce excess swelling.

Dampen feet. Dip half a lime in sea salts and scrub over calluses. Fill a basin with warm water and 1-2 cups Epsom salts. Soak for 10 minutes. Dry and moisturize with a foot cream.

My chef for today is Brian Boitano. Not that well known, but he is on Food Network. Brian is a Former Olympic Figure Skater. His website is www.brianboitano.com , which will link you to the Food Network and his recipes. He has alot of fun with his cooking and the recipes are easy to produce and very tasteful. This is a chef worth knowing more about.

Last night I made chicken wings again, but I think this is the last time, I will be deep-frying them. Set off the smoke alarm many times-I'm sure my neighbors loved that whiny sound of the smoke detector. This time, I took the time and made my favorite wing sauce.

My wing sauce: 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 bottle Louisiana hot sauce, celery sticks, blue cheese dressing.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add the hot sauce; stir until well-blended. If you like your wings hotter, add the rest of the hot sauce bottle.

After chicken wings are fried & drained, place in a serving bowl. Pour sauce over wings, mix well. Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing on the side.

Does it get any easier than this!!!

Tonight I will be cooking Pasta Shells with Mascarpone cheese and Walnuts. Why don't you make some too and we'll compare notes:

4 tbsp butter, 6 oz mascarpone cheese or double-creme, 1/2 lb pasta shells, cooked and drained, 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 2 oz shelled walnuts, chopped coarse, salt, freshly ground black pepper.

In a heatproof serving dish, melt the butter and cheese. It must gently heat, not boil.

To this mixture, add the cooked pasta. Turn it round and round adding half the Parmesan cheese. Add the walnuts and and add salt to taste. Sprinkle liberally with pepper. Serve remaining Parmesan cheese separately.

Start planning now for the Whoopie Pie Festival, September 18, 2010 at the Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn in Lancaster, PA. There will be a Whoopie Pie Treasure Hunt, Whoopie Pie Race, & so much more. www.whoopiepiefestival.com

And last but not least, more trivia on Las Vegas & Elvis Presley:

Many people assume that Elvis lived in Las Vegas between 1969 and 1976. In fact, he performed her just eight weeks (often spilt between January and August).

Elvis helped design the Imperial Suite on the 30th floor of the Hilton, where he stayed during his engagements. The suite no longer exists (it does really, but now it's the Barry Manilow suite).

In 1964's Viva Las Vegas, Elvis marries Ann-Margaret at Little Church of the West. The church, in operation for almost 70 years is the oldest structure still standing on the Strip.

More to come.

That's all for now.

Cookbook Val