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About The Cookie Queen
HRM Pat Condelli, THE Cookie Queen, invites you to stop by The online Cookie Castle to see what her company can do to serve you. Cookies - cakes - cookbooks - cooking classes - and entertainment are her specialties.
Cookie Queen Cookies
The Cookie Queen bakes the world’s most delicious all-natural cookies. She will be happy to plan special cookie displays for your event. She is known for speedy service when cookies are needed for a funeral or a sick friend.
Entertainment
The Cookie Queen also is the director, choreographer and lead soprano for The Original Class Act, a group that has been performing together since 1992. There are 18 programs from which to choose.
About Cookie Queen Products
Cookie Queen Cookies
Cookie Queen Cookies are simply the most delicious cookies you can buy. They are made fresh daily in the spotless kitchen of the Cookie Queen's Castle in the town of New Kensington, Pa., near Pittsburgh. There are 42 varieties of Cookie Queen Cookies. E Mail The Queen for a list of current offerings and their prices. cookiequ@verizon.net.
Cookie Queen Cakes
The Cookie Queen makes wonderful-tasting cakes for any occasion .. like this cherry-infused cheesecake. Live and silk floral bouquets are the only decorations. The Queen makes only butter cream and whipped cream frostings. She does not make fondant icing (it tastes terrible).
Cookie Queen Cookbooks
The Cookie Queen has published three books: "Royal Recipes From The castle of The Cookie Queen," "Hassle Free Holidays" and "Never Scrub Another Toilet." You can order copies from the Queen at cookiequ@verizon.net or phone Word Association Publishers 724-226-1255.
About The Original Class Act
In the beginning......
Just like the old movie story - a group of friends got together to “put on a show” for the church fun fair way back in 1992. They presented a program of Cole Porter music. The 3-day gig stretched into many years and many shows as the phone never stops ringing. Everyone wants to book this group for a retirement home, church dinner, women’s club, lodge meeting, holiday party.
July 18 Concert
The Original Cass Act will present its "Broadway Bound" show Thursday, July 18th at the Tarentum,PA, bandshell. The 90-minute concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission open to the public and it's FREE. This photo is from our June 30th appearance at Phipp's Conservatory, Pittslburgh.
About Our Cast
Pat Condelli
Owner of Cookie Queen Cookies,Cookbooks & Entertainment, Pat is the director and lead soprano of The Original Class Act. Pat also can be booked for a one-woman show - 20 songs in one hour.
Terry Shields
Vocal coach for this group of outstanding musician, Terry is our alto and also plays the piano, organ and guitar and does solo gigs for weddings and funerals. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. Terry is wearing one of our new St. Patrick show costumes which we made in January.
Bill Cellio
Ladies swoon when Bill holds their hands and sings directly to each special lady in the audience. Bill is available as a wedding and funeral soloist.
Cooking Classes At The Castle
Want to learn how to make the best pie crust in the world?
Do your homemade cookies turn out misshapen and burnt?
Can you put a gourmet dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes?
Interested in learning more about Italian cuisine?
HRH Pat Condelli, The Cookie Queen, also known as "the practical Martha Stewart," teaches all the tricks of the trade in fun-filled classes at the Castle in New Kensington, Pa.
Home Economist Pat Condelli
Pat received her degree in Home Economics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has been teaching cooking, baking and home making since 1968.
Choose one of the following classes or tell the Cookie Queen what you would like to bake or cook and she will plan a class specifically for you and your friends.
Pat also is available for LIVE consultation on SKYPE. If you have a web cam, message Pat on the internet for a time for a live SKYPE consult on your computer.
* Dough Re Mi - How to handle all types of doughs - yeast, phyllo, pizza, pie, biscuit. Hands on. Sampling. Take home something wonderful.
* Hassle-Free Holidays -. Save time and your sanity with easy holiday recipes. Hands on. Sampling. Take home something scrumptious.
* Kids Can Cook - Easy recipes. Lots of fun. Hands on. Sampling. Take home something to show your family what you made. Class limited to six children.
* Cookies to Die For, Cry For, Lie For - Learn to make "professional-looking" cookies that taste fabulous. Men of all ages really love this class. Hands on. Sampling. Take home some goodies.
* Yes, You CAN Make a Pie - Anyone can and I’ll teach you how.
* Intro to Cooking for the Single Man -Basic cooking skills for guys. Prepare wonderful meals for you and your buddies. Food safety. Learn how to host a party. Hands on. Sampling. Something to take home.
* Carry Me Back to Old Italia - Grand recipes from the North and South of Italy. Family-tested for generations. Hands on. Sampling. Something to take home.
* Ethnic Cooking With American Flair - You’ll get a little bit of everything in this class - Italian, Greek, Polish, German, Mexican, Dutch, Indian, Chinese. Six sessions.$300. Come for dinner. We eat first. Then I’ll show you how to make it. And you can take some home for your family to taste. Class size limited to six students.
All classes feature hands-on (not just watching me do it) experience. And everyone gets to take home something they themselves made.
Most classes are just one 2-3-hour session. There are morning, afternoon, evening and weekend sessions available.
Individual Classes: $40-$60 (depending on items being prepared), which includes recipes and something delicious to take home.
To register for a class, phone the Cookie Queen at 724 339-0920 or E Mail: cookiequ@verizon.net
Recipe Of The Week
Watermelon/Mint Smoothie
I have this thing about not buying cut slices of watermelon. I fear that the grocery store folks don’t wash the outside well enough to get rid of e coli bacteria and then transfer it to the inside of the melon when they cut it.
So anytime I want to eat watermelon I have to a buy a whole melon.
But the what do judo with the leftovers? I usually give some to neighbors. But for my party last Saturday had this gigantic watermelon which I bought for a ridiculously low price at Aldi’s. Even after sending my guests home with some there was still a lot more to go. So I decided to experiment with some watermelon recipes and ended up with two fabulous ways to use up watermelon: a watermelon/mint smoothie and watermelon sorbet.
The smoothie is the most refreshing summer drink ever and very easy to make. I’ll give you the sorbet recipe next week.
1 1/2 cups cut up watermelon
1 Tbsp.sugar
1 Tsp. lemon juice
Leaves picked from 3 sprigs of fresh mint
4-5 ice cubes
Mint spring
Combine the first five ingredients in a blender, pour into a glass, and garnish with a mint sprig.
A View From The Castle - News Blog
Haters Will Always Hate - Pathetic Morons Will Never Change - SAD!
It always amazes me that SOME people manage to point out the worst in others instead of trying to find at least one good thing to say about them.
Take the Donald-Trump haters for example. Not one of them ever mentions all of the quiet philanthropy he did during his many years as a business tycoon. They never mention how he managed to help raise five stellar examples of good citizens - his children. The haters attribute the kids to his wives but none of these bad-mouthing morons know anything about the many hours he spent with his kids - taking them to school, being there for them when they needed him, taking them on job sites to learn the business.
The haters always find something bad to b—tch about and maybe that’s because they have never bothered to learn anything about his previous and present private life.
But if they watch the hundreds of speeches he gives - and if they had their eyes open and if they had a kind bone in their body they would notice something that always impresses me about our President: how considerate he is of others.
Whenever President Trump calls on someone to speak he ALWAYS adjusts the mic for the person who is about to speak - be they man, woman or child. He - the President of the United States - adjusts the mic up or down for the next speaker.
This is the mark of a person who cares about other people. I have watched and observed speakers as a reporter for more than 50 years and Donald Trump is one of very few who have this innate courtesy for others.
But, of course, the Trump haters will find something about that too to criticize. If Trump were to walk on water, the haters would say, “I knew it - he can’t swim.” If Trump were to find a cure for cancer, the haters would say, “He’s putting millions of doctors out of work.” If Trump were to give every single person in the United States $1,000 his own money, the haters wold say “He is cheap. It should have been two thousand.”
Sometimes the haters make me so angry that I would just love to slap them silly but then I figure, why waste the effort. The brain dead will always be brain dead. Haters are just gonna hate. And as Trump would say, “SAD.”