LINZER SABLES & SPAGETTI SQUASH

What do Linzer Sables and squash have in common you might ask. Squash makes a perfectly good substitute for a rolling pin. I am all about making substitutions while I am in Florida. Substitutions may not be allowed when ordering the early bird special, but they are allowed by the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers. One of the fun things about this group is sharing ideas and comments about the weekly recipe without straying too far. I have strayed across the country from Colorado to Florida and cooking down here is very different, nothwithstanding my lack of cooking equipment.

This week's recipe is Linzer Sables and I have baked my cookies on time. I've substituted pecans for almonds (having failed at last week's pie, I've got lots of pecans to use)and my food processor does not know the meaning of the word "fine." The cookies are not quite Linzers and not quite pecan sandies. But they are good.

My dough needs to be kept really cold in order to roll it successfully. Even so it is kind of sticky. A glass makes a fine cookie cutter and that squash comes in handy. My finger makes a hole in the middle of every other cookie so my rasberry jam can poke through. I only bake my cookies for 8 minutes. Maybe my new stove is off - things seem to cook faster than I expect. My turkey was done in a record 3 hours.

Next week's recipe is sugar cookies and Rick will finally be happy that I joined this group. Besides ice cream, sugar cookies are his favorite dessert. I guess I will need a rolling pin since the squash is on tonight's menu.

List of things to buy: rolling pin, oven thermometer, shaker for powdered sugar, almonds. Plus wine. In Florida, they whine alot.