LADIES' HOME JOURNAL
October 2007

Halloween Entertaining With Food Network Star Sandra Lee
Cover Story

Simple Pleasures

Sandra Lee feels your pain. She knows that at the end of an over-scheduled day, the last think most women want is a fast-food fix or a dinner recipe that requires advanced degrees in flambéing and infusing. Enter Lee’s “semi-homemade" rescue plan: Combine ready-made ingredients with a few creative twists to make crowd-pleasing dishes that demand only a fraction of the time, energy, and patience.

As a result, Lee, 41, enjoys an enthusiastic following of millions who have made her cookbooks best sellers and her Food Network series, Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, a hit. On that show her set is an oasis of aesthetic harmony and cozy femininity. The kitchen is white with color-coordinated accents; the day’s exotic blooms match the window valance, her own blouse, even the shade of her lipstick. Against this backdrop she gives cooking instructions in the upbeat and authoritative tones of your most-admired home economics teacher.

But semi-homemade is no casual obsession for Lee; domestic skills literally saved her life. She is the eldest child of a teenage mother who became incapacitated when Lee was just 9. Lee was forced to step up and run the household, plus care for her four younger siblings. The experience taught Lee to be organized, resourceful, and above all, practical.

Today Lee, who is divorced from business mogul Bruce Karatz, is a career and financial success. She is dating Andrew Cuomo, New York state’s attorney general (whose 12-year-old twin daughters, Mariah and Cara, and 10-year-old daughter Michaela, have appeared on Lee’s show). Lee is also close to her siblings and her eight nieces and nephews. Between those family ties and her many projects (a memoir is due out this November), she remains perhaps the biggest fan of the rewards of simplicity. “Life is about being with family and enjoying each other,” Lee says. “It’s not about whether you make your own bouillabaisse.”

Mini Bundt Cakes
Makes 12 Mini Cakes or 1 Large Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 1 hour 20 min

Vegetable cooking spray
1 box (18.25 oz) lemon cake mix
1 box (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding and pie filling mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
12 fall nosegays, for garnish
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 cup purchased lemon curd, stirred
Orange food coloring
Fabric leaves, for garnish

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and arrange rack in center. Lightly coat 2 (6-cup) mini bundt-cake pans or 1 large bundt-cake pan with cooking spray; set aside. Beat together cake mix, pudding mix, 1 1/4 cups water, the oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl on medium speed 2 minutes. Divide batter among prepared pans (or pour all into large pan).
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes for mini cakes, about 35 minutes for large. Transfer cake(s) in pans to a rack and let cool 15 minutes. Invert cake(s) onto rack, remove from pans and let cool completely. Trim stems of nosegays so they fit in center(s) of cake(s) without tipping over; set aside.
• Whisk together sugar, lemon curd, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in enough food coloring to reach desired shade, for glaze. Drizzle over cake(s) and let stand until set, about 20 minutes. Place nosegays into center of each cake and decorate base of cake(s) with leaves, if desired. Remove nosegays and leaves before eating.

(Per mini cake: 420 calories, 11.5 g total fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 416 mg sodium, 80 g carbs, 88 mg calcium, 73 mg chol, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber)

Bloodshot Eye Cakes
Makes 24 cupcakes
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 1 hr 20 min

24 standard paper baking cups
1 box (18.25 oz) dark chocolate cake mix
1 1/3 cups chocolate milk
1/3 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 box (3.4 oz) instant butterscotch pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 container (12 oz) white frosting
1 tube (.68 oz) red decorating gel
24 plastic eyeballs

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) standard muffin pans with baking cups; set aside. Beat together cake mix, chocolate milk, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl on low speed 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula, increase speed to medium and beat 1 minute more. Evenly divide batter among cups.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 21 to 26 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pan to rack and let cool completely before filling and frosting.
• Whisk together pudding mix, milk and peanut butter in a medium bowl until thickened and smooth, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate 30 minutes, for filling.
• Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip. Fill cupcakes by inserting tip into tops of cupcakes and squeezing a couple of tablespoons of filling into each. Spread 2 tablespoons frosting on each cupcake.
• Using decorating gel, draw squiggly lines on frosted cupcakes to create blood vessels. Place an eyeball in center of each.

(Per cupcake: 265 calories, 14 g total fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 304 mg sodium, 33 g carbs, 46 mg calcium, 28 mg chol, 4 g protein, 1 g fiber)

Orange Spice Shrimp (not pictured)
Serves 4
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 1 hr 25 min
Kitchen cue: To make single-portion party appetizers, marinate shrimp as directed; instead of threading shrimp on skewers, use wooden cocktail picks and cook as directed.

24 large shrimp, peeled (tails on) and deveined
1 1/2 cups José Cuervo Golden Margarita
Juice of 1 orange
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup honey
1 red bell peppers cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 24 (1-inch) pieces
8 (12-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes

• Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Stir together margarita, juice and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. Combine with shrimp in a large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; seal and marinate in the refrigerator 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
• Preheat broiler and arrange rack 6 to 8 inches from heat. Line a baking sheet or broiler pan with aluminum foil; set aside. In a small bowl combine honey and remaining 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, for glaze; set aside.
• Transfer shrimp to a bowl (discard marinade). Thread shrimp, bell pepper and pineapple, alternating, onto drained skewers. Place skewers on prepared baking sheet, brush liberally with glaze and broil, turning once, until shrimp are opaque, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from broiler, brush with remaining glaze and serve.

(Per serving; 410 calories, 2.5 g total fat, 0 sat fat, 350 mg sodium, 58 g carbs, 87 mg calcium, 172 mg chol, 32 g protein, 2 g fiber)

Pictured: Nevermore! Let a dapper raven add style, simply, to your seasonal table. Turn a crafts-store raven into a tray. Choose a bird with sturdy legs and hot-glue a plate of treats onto its back.

Pictured: Add a little whimsy to your cocktail party by prettying up your wineglass. All you need is a silk leaf (found at crafts stores); attach it to either a floral wire or a green chenille pipe cleaner with a glue gun. Let dry completely; twist the wire around the glass stem and soon you’ll be toasting in style.