Oh Betty, You Disappoint Me

It's late June, the time when an Old Maid's thoughts naturally turn to 4th of July parties. I was hoping that Betty Crocker -- being as American as the marketing of fake celebrities -- would have something to offer in her trusty 1971 recipe card library.

This card looked promising until I realized that the hamburgers contain absolutely no herring. If there's one thing I've learned from watching the Golden Girls, it's that Scandinavians love their herring. (They also, apparently, love swan dresses and Michael Jackson. But I learned that from Bjork.) I have no idea why Betty decided this recipe was Scandinavian. Maybe it's the rye bread and red onion. Maybe it's the use of everything in the pantry to flavor the burgers. Maybe it's the potato sticks. Who can say?

At first glance, this one seemed more like it. Who wouldn't want to sing a rousing chorus of Yankee Doodle if the reward was going to be frosted doughnuts? If you look carefully, you can see that thrifty Betty even used the doughnut holes to make munchkins. That Betty. She thinks of everything. Except:

Potato buds? Really? Now I'm sad.

Celebrity Breakfast

A delicious breakfast of goat cheese stuffed french toast, fruit salad, and jalapeno bacon.

I am definitely stealing the bacon technique.

It's not very often that I get to have a meals with celebrities. I'm all for the idea, it's just that there seems to be a certain lack of enthusiasm at their end. So you can imagine how exciting it was for me a couple of weekends ago, when I visited my friend Monica of 5 Cats Shy and we drove from her home in Atlanta to Chattanooga, TN for breakfast with singer/songwiter and mountain dulcimer player Butch Ross. (If you don't already listen to his music, you totally should.) He even did the cooking.

Breakfast was great, Butch is a really nice guy, and I think I managed not to act like too much of a fangirl. All in all, a very nice way to spend a Saturday morning.