TEXAS COOKING ONLINE * July, 2003 NEWSLETTER *

July Ice Cream Maker Special Get a free cookbook - Ultimate Ice Cream Book - up to $100 back after mail-in rebate with purchase We’re about to enter high summer here in Texas – a time when there’s lots of good food and good eating. Not surprisingly, beating the heat is very much an issue during the month of July, so Patricia Mitchell’s account of her experience with her ice cream maker is well timed in her article, Homemade Ice Cream from the New Countertop Freezers. Coincidentally, Amazon.com has a July special on ice cream makers, including mail-in rebates and a freebie bonus copy of the very popular The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. We’re also catering to your sweet tooth with Sidney Carlisle’s piece on Refrigerator or Icebox Cookies. However, you say it, you’ll enjoy the article and the cookies. John Raven holds forth on subjects near and dear to the hearts of outdoor cooks everywhere with his Tips for Grilling, Smoking & Making the Most of Your Dutch Oven. Then scroll on down, and you'll find the names of July's ten lucky T-shirt contest winners, along with our classic recipe, Strawberry Margarita Pie, along with the book reviews and other tidbits you’ve come to expect from our newsletter.

Summer Clearance Blowout Save on up to 60% on Outdoor Living items Turkey Fry Pots | Patio Heaters | Birdbaths | Lanterns | Gas & Propane Grills Click here for clearance specials READING THIS ON FRIDAY? Check-out the Friday-Only Sale Special Features Homemade Ice Cream from the New Countertop Freezers by Patricia Mitchell Lovers of homemade ice cream have reason to rejoice. And so does everyone else who has never tasted homemade ice cream, and I'd be willing to bet that's a lot of people. The new, low-cost countertop ice cream makers have enabled cooks everywhere to create delicious ice cream easier than ever. REFRIGERATOR COOKIES: Heirloom Recipes for Modern Tastes by Sidney Carlisle Whether you call them refrigerator cookies or icebox cookies, these tasty treats stand tall when it comes to convenience in a homemade, from scratch cookie. Bake just a few or bake them all, they'll put to shame what's commonly found in your grocer's dairy case. Tips for Grilling, Smoking & Making the Most of Your Dutch Oven by John Raven There are things you just can't learn out of a book. Sure, there are articles that will point you in the right direction, but things are going to come up that are not in the book. The best way to learn this type of cooking is to find someone who knows how it's done and then go watch them or have them come and supervise. Don’t miss John Raven's advice column, Ask Dr. John. This month's column includes, among other topics, marinades, cast iron skillet maintenance, barbecued chicken, crab balls and pickling jalapeños. Talk about variety! Texana Book Review: Texas Golf Bible by Jason Stone Whether you need a place to play your Sunday round or if you are planning a major golf pilgrimage, The Texas Golf Bible helps you make the most of your golf experience in Texas. Writer Jason Stone's love for the game of golf shines through every one of the book's well researched 801 pages. Read Our Book Review Like political non-fiction? Hillary Clinton's Living History and David Frum's memoir on George W Bush, The Right Man, now covered on Politics-Now. Texana Book Review: Splash Across Texas by Chandra Moria Beal Swimmers in Austin Texas and the Hill Country will appreciate this definative, fun guide to all the swimming spots, pools and lakes in Central Texas. Read Our Book Review Read more original book reviews in the Lone Star Bookstore Shop Krupp's Home & Garden Decor Arbors | Waterfalls | Cherubs | Garden Gnomes Bird Baths | Bridges | Mailboxes | Trellis Beautify your home and garden with over 2,200 decorations. 4th of July in Texas: Fourth of July is not complete without enjoying fireworks, games and outdoor fun. Many cities and towns are holding their own Fourth of July celebrations. You can find a complete listing of fun July 4 events in our Texas Events Calendar. Houston has many fun things including the Houston Symphony at Hermann Park with fireworks, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and a dramatic 16-cannon salute. El Paso hosts an evening of parades, music and fireworks at the Chamizal National Memorial. Lubbock's Fourth on Broadway festival includes a parade and street fair. Dallas holds its traditional old-fashioned Fourth of July day at Old City Park complete with hot dogs, apple pie and fireworks. San Antonio July 4th Celebration, at Woodlawn Lake Park, includes a children's parade, games, booths and fireworks. (see photo at right) Recipe: Strawberry Margarita Pie Delicious and refreshing -- a perfect summer dessert. For the Crust: 1 cup finely crushed pretzels 3 tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup melted butter Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake 9 or 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely. For the Filling: 2 envelopes (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin 1/2 cup water 3 cups ripe strawberries plus several for top decoration 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup tequila (orange juice may be substituted) 1 tablespoon triple sec (if you're using tequila) 1 cup good quality strawberry yogurt 1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, slightly thawed For Garnishing: Crushed pretzel pieces Perfect strawberries 1 cup frozen whipped topping (either non-dairy or whipped cream, your choice) Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan. Allow to stand 5 minutes to soften, then cook over medium heat until gelatin is completely dissolved (about 2 minutes). Purée the strawberries in a blender or food processor. Add the cooled gelatin mixture, sugar, tequila, triple sec, yogurt and limeade and continue blending or processing until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (spoonfuls of filling will mound). Spoon filling into a prepared crust, and freeze until firm, preferably overnight, but at least 6 hours. Garnish with whipped topping, sprinkles of crushed pretzels and several half or whole perfect strawberries. Great Deals On Christmas - Ornaments, Villages, Nativity, Nutcrackers, Santas, Snowmen Stop Spyware! Kazaa, Gator and other similar programs have been sneeking their way onto people's computers wreaking havoc to their systems. This malicious set of programs are difficult to remove. They flood the screen with their own pop-up ads, and they open the computer up to a host of viruses. If you have programs like Kazaa, TopText, Gator, WhenU and others on your system, take a moment to learn about the problems these programs cause. We have written a useful and quick tutorial that informs you about them, and how to uninstall them from your computer. AllWineBaskets wine and fruit gift baskets make classy gifts! _________ Click here for MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Town & Country Food & Wine O (Oprah) Country Living House & Garden Ellé Decor The best prices! Buy as gifts! T-Shirt Contest We award T-shirts to ten readers every month. The winners are announced in the first newsletter of the month, so watch for the first newsletter in June. Martha B. of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Cindy D. of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Jason H. of Beaumont, Texas Diane H. of Grand Prairie, Texas Rick J. of Bakersfield, California Elizabeth L. of Terre Haute, Indiana Jeralyn M. of Houston, Texas Sherry P. of Boulder, Colorado Clayton S. of Kilgore, Texas Mike W. of Youngstown, Ohio Congratulations winners! We are frequently asked if we award T-Shirts to non-US residents, and the answer is Yes. We have had quite a few Canadian winners, and have also sent T-Shirts to winners in England, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany. The Rules Since we began our T-Shirt giveaway five years ago, our contest rules remained unchanged. Readers have been able to enter as many times as they like, and their entries were retained in our database. As you can imagine, our contest database has become very large (which is good), BUT much of it consists of old email addresses that are no longer valid. Therefore, we are making the following change in our contest rules: Readers can still enter as often as they like; however, each contest entry will expire three months following the date it was entered and will disappear from the database. This will greatly reduce the number of "names in the hat" and improve the odds of winning. We think this change will result in an even better contest. Subscription / Unsubscribe Help This newsletter is sent to you because you, or someone on your behalf, indicated you would like to receive it when you signed our Guest Book or entered our T-Shirt Contest. If you wish to stop receiving the Newsletter, click here or point your browser to http://www.texascooking.com/unsub1.ihtml If you would like to change your email address, please send an email to txmailbox@texascooking.com. ©2003 Texas Cooking Online. All rights reserved.