April 25, 2008

Pie Candy Friday

Two posts in one day! I couldn't resist showing you the mince pie I made this morning. Dale says it's a work of art and should be on the cover of a magazine. But I think we'll eat it instead.

This weekend is our 4th annual Frank Harlow Day - the living history that we put on here in our town. Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies for us. And I promise to save you a slice of pie!

Posted by Carole at 9:28 AM | Comments (31)

February 14, 2008

Random Thursday

I have some finished knits to show you but the gray skies and rain we've had around here certainly don't lend themselves to photo shoots. That stuff will just have to wait until next week. In the meantime:

~A few of you expressed interest in the Chicken With Mushroom Sauce recipe from Monday night's squirrel/dinner story. It came from About.com and you can find the recipe here. I couldn't get cremini mushrooms at my grocery store so I used regular white mushrooms and it was fine. Also, I didn't add the Dijon mustard. We had the chicken with rice pilaf and asparagus and it was delicious - squirrel be damned.

~I am almost finished with the Noro Silk Garden striped scarf. And that's a good thing because I am so sick of it I could scream. The color changes are entertaining and all but enough already.

~Test knitting for Sock Madness 2 continues. I've got one left to do and then I think we're good to go. We had 86 people return from last year to compete again. Sign ups for everyone else start tomorrow.

~Finally, Happy Valentine's Day. Or, as we say at my house, Happy Cream Puff Day.

Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (39)

February 5, 2008

Super Bowl Chili

Any Super Bowl hostess worth her weight in salsa knows that the menu for the big game ought to include chili.

At our house, chili starts with this:

It's got all the spices you need and it makes a great big pot of beefy tomatoey chili. However, when one of your guests has an allergy to tomatoes, you need to take a different approach.

Enter this:

Ruby Tuesday's White Chicken Chili

6 C. Chicken stock
1 lb. Bag Great northern Beans (soaked in water overnight)
2 medium Spanish Onions, chopped
6 C. diced cooked Chicken
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded diced
2 diced chili peppers
1 1/2 tsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 C. Salsa
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Simmer beans, half the onions, and half the garlic for 2 hours in the chicken stock or until the beans soften, stirring frequently. Add chicken and salsa. Sauté pepper, spices, and the remaining onions and garlic in the oil and add to the chili. Simmer for one more hour. Garnish with Sour cream on Monterey Jack Cheese.

It's wonderful and delicious. And yes, there is salsa which contains tomatoes. However, it's such a small amount of tomatoes in such a big batch of chili that it's not enough to bother my friend with the allergy.

Give it a try. And you don't have to wait for the next Super Bowl, either.

Posted by Carole at 6:55 AM | Comments (36)

January 3, 2008

Recipe Box Redux

I posted about finding my mother's recipe box back in 2006 for "R" of the ABC Along. But I'm not adverse to showing it again in the interest of entering a contest over at Mason Dixon Knitting.

It's not the prettiest box in the world but it's got a certain vintage appeal about it.

The recipes, of course, are the important part. When I originally posted about my mother's recipe box I know I mentioned the Sour Cream Coffee Cake but I never actually shared the recipe. Until now, anyway.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream to butter and sugar then add sifted dry ingredients.

Prepare nut topping as follows:
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Pour 1/2 batter into greased tube pan and sprinkle 1/2 nut mixture on top. Add remaining batter and top with remaining nut mixture. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes.

This truly is the most moist, most delicious, most wonderful coffee cake I've ever had. I hope you all enjoy it, too.

Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (33)

December 18, 2007

Cinnamon & Snow

I woke up Sunday with a craving for cinnamon rolls. Maybe it was the snow, maybe it was the Christmas spirit, maybe it was residual visions of all the goodies at Faneuil Hall from the night before, but whatever the cause, I wanted something cinnamon-y.

I ignored my craving and sat down with a cup of coffee and read the morning blogs. And what did I find? Norma going on and on and ON about cinnamon. She linked to Pioneer Woman and her cinnamon rolls. I checked out the recipe but, quickly (and sadly) realized that I didn't have all the ingredients.

All was not lost, however, because Pioneer Woman's most recent post was the recipe for French Breakfast Puffs. Sure enough, I had all the ingredients. And they sounded so absolutely decadent and delicious and cinnamon-y that I just had to head right into the kitchen and make them.

Don't they look just like the ones on Pioneer Woman's page? Yup, they sure do.

And what better way to reward a hungry, cold and wet husband than with a fresh-and-hot-out-of-the-oven-cinnamon-muffin?

He approved. You will, too, I promise.

Posted by Carole at 6:30 AM | Comments (43)

November 27, 2007

Recipe of the Week

Don't look now, but I've got another cranberry and pecan recipe for you. See, on Sunday, Dale and I had to go to an Eagle Scout ceremony for one of the young men in Dale's Boy Scout troop. I knew I should bring something for the dessert table and when I looked in the cupboard (don't I sound like Old Mother Hubbard) I saw more pecans and cranberries. A pie wasn't suitable for this occasion but I got to thinking that the pie should pretty readily translate into squares. And it did.

Cranberry Pecan Squares

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries

Directions:
Crust: combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar and butter until crumbly. Press firmly into 13x9" cake pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350*F for 15-18 minutes, or until light golden. (I will tell you that I had my doubts about this crust. It looked pretty dry when I patted it into the pan. But it turned out flaky and delicious, I promise.)

Topping: beat eggs, sugar, corn syrup and melted butter together until blended. Stir in pecans and cranberries. Pour evenly over crust. Bake about 40 minutes longer, or until set and golden. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into bars.

I can't take credit for creating the recipe, as I cobbled it together from some internet sources but I will brag that these are delicious - better than the pie, even.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (31)

November 21, 2007

Cranberry Pecan Pie

I know that several of you expressed an interest in the Cranberry Pecan Pie recipe. I always deliver - even if it means two posts in one day!

Cranberry Pecan Pie

Single pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup pecans

In a large bowl combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until blended. Stir in cranberries and pecans. Pour into pie crust.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 35-40 minutes longer or until filling is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

And, despite what Hannah asked, NO, you don't have to peel the cranberries. That kid of mine, she cracks me up.

Posted by Carole at 1:28 PM | Comments (20)

Pie Crust 101

I have talked before about making pie crust but I thought today, in honor of the great pie holiday Thanksgiving, I would show you some photos of the process. Maybe this little pie crust tutorial will inspire you to make your own pie crust, too.

But first, a little pie crust history. My mother was the Queen of Pies in our family. She loved to cook and bake all kinds of things but pies were her true specialty. She just enjoyed the hell out of baking and serving pies. She was decorating her pies with leaves and such way before Martha, too. Just saying.

Anyway, growing up with the Pie Queen as a mom is sort of intimidating and I was scared to death of making my own pie crust. I'll admit that I was rather content to just let my mom do it - I didn't need to compete with that. This approached worked just fine until Thanksgiving 1996. Two things happened that year to make me change my mind about making my own pie crust. The first was that my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer, stage III. The second was that it was my first Thanksgiving with Dale. I really wanted to impress him with a home baked pie and I really wanted to make sure that I learned to make pie crust from the Pie Queen before she, well, to put it bluntly, died.

So, I made my first pie ever in 1996. And I haven't looked back since! You want to know my secret for getting over my fear of the pie crust? I told myself, "self, it's just flour, water and shortening. If you screw it up you can throw it out and start over." I swear, I haven't had a problem with pie crust since I adopted that attitude.

Here's my recipe. It's not exactly my mom's, I've adapted it to my own specifications over the years.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/3 cup plus 1 T ice water

So, mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Then add the shortening in chunks. Like this:

Now get out that pastry blender (please don't use two knives and you don't need a food processor either) and start cutting the shortening into the flour. Keep working it until it looks like this:

See how the shortening is all mixed in and it looks all crumbly? That's perfect.

Time to add that ice water. It's important that the water is ice water. I don't know why but it's what my mom said so it's what I do. So, you just pour that ice water over the flour mixture. I use the side of a rubber spatula to start mixing it all together. If the dough starts to stick together in clumps then you've added enough water. If not you can add another tablespoon or two of water but you don't want it to be sticky so be careful with this part.

It looks like this when it's done:

Divide the dough in half and stick each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Press it into a disc and wrap it up and stick it in the fridge for a while - like this:

Leave it there for at least a half an hour but up to 2 days. You can also freeze it at this point and then when you're jonesing to make a pie all you've got to do is defrost your crust.

After the dough has chilled it's time to roll it out. This is the fun part! Sprinkle some flour on your counter top and on your rolling pin and start rolling that disc into a bigger circle.

I don't worry too much about the thickness of the crust. Generally, when it's big enough to fit into the pie pan then it's the right thickness, too. I fold it over my rolling pin and then plop it into my pie plate. Press it down into the bottom and up the sides - gently, don't tear it! And then, if it's a single crust pie, fold over the edges and make a nice fluted design. If you're making a double crust pie then add your filling and then roll out the top crust and lay it gently over the top. Tuck the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust and then make that pinched fluted design again.

Proceed with whatever type of pie you're making. For this Thanksgiving I'm making apple, pumpkin, mincemeat, cranberry pecan and chocolate cream. Come on back tomorrow so I can wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and show you some photos of those pies!

Posted by Carole at 6:15 AM | Comments (40)

November 1, 2007

Spooky Food

Dinner at our house on Halloween is always American Chop Suey. This started back when I was little. My mom made it for us because it was the one thing she knew we would all eat, no matter how anxious we were to get out and go trick or treating. Hannah has grown up having this for dinner on Halloween so we're now second generation into this little tradition and I'm guessing she'll continue it with her own family some day. It's good stuff. And it's not goulash, no matter what Norma says. Right, Sandy?

But anyway. The problem with this dinner is that I don't get to have fun with a Halloween themed dinner. So, last Monday night at our weekly family dinner, I got a bit, errr, creative.

While the kids decorated cupcakes with seasonal sprinkles . . .

I made Witches Hands, Moldy Maggot Casserole, Booger Biscuits and Giants Toes.

Okay, it was really just oven baked chicken that I flattened and cut into "fingers," a rice and spinach casserole, biscuits with sauteed scallions and then tinted with green food coloring, and baby carrots. The recipes came from here and I have to say that the rice was really really good.

It was delicious and fun and my family really got a kick out of it.

The pumpkintinis weren't bad, either.

Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (44)

October 17, 2007

Soup du Jour

It's finally soup weather here in Southeastern Massachusetts and I couldn't be happier. As much as I love summer and hate to see it go, well, I love comfort food and nothing is more comforting than soup - except maybe mashed potatoes and gravy but my family doesn't think you can make a meal out of that. Crazy people, I know.

Anyway, I made a big pot of soup for dinner last night and I thought I'd share the recipe with you all. I didn't make it up completely but adapted it from a few things I found on the web while searching for ways to use up this week's supply of eggplant. My family enjoyed it and I hope you will, too.

Roasted Eggplant and Sausage Soup
3 large eggplant
2 leeks, white part only, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped (I also threw in a teeny tiny hot pepper)
3 medium plum tomatoes, chopped,
olive oil
2 garlic cloves
8 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste
oregano
thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 lb. sausage, casings removed and crumbled (I used a combination of sweet and spicy)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 D.
2. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise, and brush with the olive oil. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper cut side down and bake for about 1 hour or until lightly browned and flesh is soft. Remove and cool slightly.
3. While the eggplant is roasting, in a large pot, brown sausage in olive oil. Cook on high heat until no longer pink. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Add the onions, garlic and leeks to sausage drippings and saute for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat until golden and very soft.
5. Add the peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, bay leaves and stock. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.
6. Scrape the flesh from eggplant and coarsely chop. Add to soup along with cooked sausage.
7. Add cream and heat thoroughly. I also hit it with the stick blender at this point.
8. Serve with crusty bread.
9. Sigh with satisfaction.

Posted by Carole at 6:50 AM | Comments (29)

September 11, 2007

More Tales from the Tailgating

I have a few more random things to tell you about the Jimmy Buffett concert but before I do I want to ask you to go wish Kim a happy birthday today. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Are you back? Good. And thanks for doing that. It can't be easy having a September 11th birthday and I know Kim will love the love. Anyway, back to Jimmy Buffett. Hope you don't mind. Even if you do, stick around because I'm going to share a great recipe at the end of this post.

~I do believe that One Particular Harbor is my new favorite Jimmy Buffett song. When he introduced it at the show he said, "All you people who wore grass skirts tonight get ready to wiggle." I wasn't wearing a grass skirt but I did my share of wiggling.

~Many of the people tailgating were playing games. We saw bean bag tosses and card games but my favorite was the limbo. No, I did not participate.

~There were many, many canopies and chairs and tables and grills set up throughout the parking lot. I commented to Dale that one row in particular was especially hard to maneuver. It was like a friggin' field sobriety test, if you know what I mean.

~There is something truly pleasurable about watching 55,000 people swaying to "fins to the left, fins to the right and you're the only bait in town."

~The best part of our tailgate picnic was the pickled shrimp. The recipe came from Sean way back from our picnic at New Hampshire Sheep & Wool in 2006. I don't think he'll mind me sharing the recipe. I don't have a photo but trust me, it's fabulous.

Pickled Shrimp

2 lbs cooked shrimp
Marinade:
1 cup veg oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 large-ish onions thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted, chopped black olives
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
Juice from one lemon
a clove or two of fresh, minced garlic
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
Tbs or two of sugar (to taste)
1/2 bottle of capers with the juice

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over two pounds of cooked shrimp. Chill overnight and serve with sliced baguette.

Eat.

Smile.

Posted by Carole at 6:00 AM | Comments (32)

August 7, 2007

Eating Local. Eating Better.

I managed to pull together another local meal the other night for One Local Summer.

The photo isn't great but that's chicken pot pie and stuffed 8-ball zucchini. The pie is from a local poultry farm and it's delicious and a frequent meal at our house. In fact, there's almost always one in the freezer. It's a great dinner for those nights when I forget to plan something. In the winter I usually serve this with mashed potatoes but I decided to lighten things up for a more summery feel to our dinner so I stuffed these adorable 8-ball zucchinis.

I cut off the tops of two zucchini and scooped out the center. I microwaved the whole zucchini for a couple of minutes to soften them up and while they were cooking I sauteed some chopped up zucchini (the center from the rounds ones plus another small regular one), a couple of plum tomatoes and some onion. When the vegetables were soft I added some Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and then I stuffed the zucchini with this mixture. Put their little covers back on and throw 'em in the oven for about 15 minutes. Serve 'em up when the filling is piping hot. They were fabulous!

We've also been eating loads of local vegetables and eggs. I feel really good about adopting this lifestyle. What have you been eating that's local?

Posted by Carole at 6:44 AM | Comments (33)

August 2, 2007

Pickles!

We had a bumper share of cucumbers from the CSA this week so when I got home from work yesterday I decided to try making refrigerator pickles.

I took my inspiration from a recipe at Coconut & Lime but then I sort of made it my own. I used the jar that I usually make pickled eggs in and quartered up all the cucumbers and threw them into it.

Then I added 8 cloves of sliced garlic, a few handfuls of pickling spice, some salt and lots of fresh dill. I filled the jar halfway with water and then filled it the rest of the way with white vinegar.

Don't they look pretty in the sunlight?

Now they are tucked away in the fridge. These were super easy to make. The hard part is going to be waiting a week until they are ready to eat!

Posted by Carole at 6:46 AM | Comments (37)

July 19, 2007

Eating Local. Sort Of.

As I mentioned last week, I signed up for One Local Summer. I figured with the CSA this would be a snap. But you know what? Eating local isn't as easy as it sounds. I'm motivated and I'm trying but it's the middle of July and I haven't put a completely local meal on the table yet. Sigh.

This is the closest I've gotten. Swiss Chard Quiche, tossed salad and steamed kohlrabi. Everything is local except for the pie crust ingredients (although I did make the pie crust myself) and the cheddar cheese in the quiche. And it was delicious. The quiche was made with local organic eggs and milk and the dressing for the salad was made with herbs from my sister-in-law and the kohlrabi was a new vegetable for my family. We enjoyed it all.

The share we picked up yesterday including a huge amount of zucchini, both green and yellow, and cucumbers. Anyone got a good pickle recipe?

Posted by Carole at 7:29 AM | Comments (34)

March 8, 2007

Comfort Food

As I may have mentioned a time or two, I take great comfort in serving delicious food to my family and friends. While this may account for my current XL size, there's no reason why you shouldn't benefit from my extensive research in this area. So, allow me to show you what we had for dinner on Monday night.

Chicken Tomato Stroganoff

2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans stewed tomatoes
salt, pepper, basil to taste
1 lb cooked pasta
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Brown chicken and mushrooms in olive oil. Stir in soup, stewed tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil. Bring to a boil and then mix with the cooked pasta. Pour into a casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

Simple and certainly not fancy but very, very good. Maryse, you really missed out.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (31)

February 27, 2007

Oscar Food

It wasn't all about the shrimp at the Carole Knits Oscar party on Sunday night. We also had something that I know my fellow Rhinebeck attendees will be interested in. We had Arthichoke French.

Shortly after returning from Rhinebeck I searched out a recipe for this delicious way of eating artichokes. I cobbled together a few different things from the internets and came up with this.

3 cans artichokes
flour
3 eggs, beaten
Garlic
3/4 stick Butter
White Wine
Parmesan Cheese
Lemon Juice

Drain the artichokes and cut them in half. Dredge them in flour and then dip in the beaten eggs. Heat up some olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic in a fry pan (I use cast iron, of course) and then fry the artichokes until browned. Place artichokes in a baking dish.
In a small sauce pan melt the butter. When the butter is melted pour in some white wine and then add some lemon juice. Let this boil for a bit until it's reduced by about half and then pour it over the artichokes. Grate some Parmesan cheese over the whole thing and put it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve with French bread.

This is almost as good as the stuff we had at Rhinebeck and it makes a great appetizer or side dish. Enjoy!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (46)

February 15, 2007

Happy Cream Puff Day

In Dale's family, Valentine's Day is affectionately called "Cream Puff Day." I still remember our first Valentine's Day together, back in 1997. Dale and I used to meet at his house for lunch every day back then and he greeted me at the back door with a plate of cream puffs and the exclamation, "Happy Cream Puff Day, baby." I asked him why we had cream puffs on Valentine's Day and he said he didn't know why but his mother always made them and it was a tradition.

Me being a librarian, I had to know the whole story so I walked next door and asked Dale's mother, Ruthie, to explain the cream puff tradition. She told me that it dated back to Valentine's Day, 1948. She and Dale's father, Jack, who was in the Air Force, were stationed in Roswell, New Mexico (yes, that Roswell - but that's another story) and she was pregnant with her first baby. They had no money to buy Valentines for anyone and she really wanted to do something special for the guys in Jack's unit. So she turned to her cookbooks and looked for something she could bake to give as gifts to these men. She found a recipe for cream puffs and realized that she had all the ingredients on hand and they sounded pretty simple to make. And a tradition was born.

By the time I came along, Ruthie was making dozens of cream puffs every Valentine's Day. She complained about how much work it was and how much time it took to make so many but I'm pretty sure she secretly loved the task. She made them for her and Jack plus their kids and grandkids. I was horrified when I realized that none of Dale's kids even liked the cream puffs but Dale never told his mother because then she wouldn't have given him as many. Then I tasted one and realized that sometimes a little deception is a wonderful thing.

During the last few years of Ruthie's life, she was unable to make the cream puffs anymore. Jack, wanting to carry on the tradition, purchased them from a bakery instead but they just weren't as good as Ruthie's. So last year, on the first Valentine's Day without dear Ruth, I made the cream puffs. I was a little hesitant to do this. After all, I'm not Ruthie's daughter, I'm just her daughter-in-law and it seemed like I was maybe overstepping my bounds by taking on a family tradition as deep as this one. But Dale encouraged me to go for it and Jack said it would be okay - so I did it. I'll never forget the look on Jack's face when he tried one and said they were as good as Ruthie's. And Dale's sister Lisa's eyes filled with tears when she took a bite of hers, so I guess I did okay by Ruthie's cream puffs.

And now, somehow, this has become my tradition, too.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (90)

February 5, 2007

Soup's On!

I thought I would have a post today about a fabulous baby shower I was supposed to attend on Saturday. However, the Bookish Baby had other plans. Apparently, she wants to attend the shower in person rather than in utero. Hence, the shower has been postponed for a teeny bit. So, rather than seeing pictures of adorable baby gifts and knits, I've got soup for you.

I am a lover of soup. When the question "soup or salad" comes up, I almost always choose soup. And of course, when the weather turns cold, my meal planning thoughts turn towards soup. Last week I made "Roast Beef Soup" from an old Penzey's catalog. It was fabulous. Simple to make and not too time consuming. Rich and meaty, but not a stew, definitely a soup. I thought I'd share the recipe with you all since it's not on Penzey's website anywhere that I can find.

Roast Beef Soup

2 lbs cubed beef stew meat
4 good sized carrots
2 medium onions
1/3 bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 T vegetable oil
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
8-12 cups water
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut large pieces of stew meat into smaller piece if necessary. Peel and slice carrots and onions. Place the beef, carrots, onions and parsley in a roasting pan, sprinkle with pepper and garlic, drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat. Put pan in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once in a while. Bring the water to a simmer in a soup kettle, remove the beef and veggies from the pan and add to the soup pot. Drain off any fat that has accumulated in the pan, then use some of the water from the soup pot to deglaze the roasting pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour this back into the pot. Once everything is simmering, add the potatoes and salt, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked - about half an hour. Taste before serving and add more salt if desired.

Serve it up with some crusty bread and think of me while you nourish your body and soul with the goodness of soup.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (32)

January 23, 2007

Pie!

While certainly not as exciting as finding a lost hiker, the astute among you will understand that the title of this post signifies the return of the lost mittens. Can I get a woo? And while we're at it, how about a hoo?

The credit for the find is two-fold. Vicki suggested looking under the seats of the car. I had already done that, but I had only looked in the Jeep. Dale, always my hero, looked in the Suburban, and there they were, crammed between the two front seats.

And just in time, too, since we actually had a teeny bit of snow on Monday morning.

The return of the mittens meant really only one thing, though.

Now I shall have some pie. Chocolate cream pie, in fact, to match the mittens.

Mmmmmmm.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (60)

January 16, 2007

Oooooh, That Smell

Being a public servant has its privileges. And one of those privileges is a fair number of 3 day weekends. Like this past one, for example. We managed to find a terrific balance between active and inactive.

Saturday involved breakfast and a manicure with my stepdaughter Jessica. We then came home and she helped me put away all of the Christmas decorations. I don't know if it's the unseasonable weather this year or what but I was ready to have my house back to normal and be rid of the snowmen and greens and lights. Saturday evening we attended a fundraiser/comedy night for Hannah's drama club. It was lots of laughs! I worked on the latest pair of socks while I was there but this was before Lucia announced her new contest so I didn't get a photo. I'll come up with something for that, though, have no fear.

After church on Sunday we headed to Concord to visit Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. Hannah has been wanting to visit and we checked the website, saw that they are indeed open year round, so off we headed. The joke, apparently, was on us, because they were closed for two weeks of maintenance. There was nothing on the website about that and I was really annoyed that we drove all the way out there for nothing. We consoled ourselves with dinner at the Olive Garden on the way home. And the premiere of 24 took care of the rest of the evening. Jack's Back! Woot!

Since Saturday and Sunday involved doing stuff we decided that Monday should be a day for hanging around. We headed to the grocery store in the morning and stocked up on supplies. Since I had the whole afternoon free I decided to prepare a roast chicken dinner complete with stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy. I even bought a coconut cake, which is what my mother often served for dessert if we had this meal on a week night.

I have to tell you, my mother has been gone nearly 9 years and I can still remember the amazing taste of her roast chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. Mine is good but hers - oh! - hers was phenomenal. If I could eat one meal of hers ever again in my life it would be this one. And the smell! There's nothing like the smell of roasting chicken!

It wasn't as good as mom's. But it was the perfect end to a 3 day weekend.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (49)

December 18, 2006

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

I would say that Jan is truly the Muffin Man Aunt. She makes loads and loads every year for her family's Thanksgiving gathering. Me, I'm not all that crazy about muffins. They're good but I don't get excited about muffins the way I do about a donuts. Or mashed potatoes and gravy. Ahem.

Now and again, though, I do bake muffins. And last week, when I had an early morning meeting with Scrooge and Marley (aka the Town Administrator and Town Accountant) to discuss the library's FY 2008 budget, I decided that blueberry muffins would be a thoughtful bribe gesture.

The recipe is from an old Penzey's catalog and I think they are the best blueberry muffins I've ever had. Not too sweet and bursting with blueberries.

Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1 TB baking powder
4 TB sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
5 TB butter, melted
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 425. Combine flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl, set aside. In another bowl mix the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Insert paper muffin cups into a 12 cup muffin tin. Fill the cups to the top with batter. Sprinkle generously with more sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Eat.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (40)

September 14, 2006

What's For Dinner?

The weather sure has changed swiftly here. Last Saturday at the alpaca farm it felt like summer. By Sunday it felt like fall. And when the weather turns cooler I start making supper again. See, in the summer it's all about the grill. Grilled chicken, steak, pork chops, even veggies. Everything gets thrown on the grill. But in the fall, it's all about comfort food. Pot roast and mashed potatoes. Roast pork and oven browned potatoes. Lasagna and chili and beef stew. And my old stand-by, American Chop Suey.

I didn't realize until last week that American Chop Suey is a regional food and it is apparently most familiar in the Boston area. But when I mentioned to Anne that I had a hankering for it and she asked me what the heck it was, I discovered that it isn't widely known outside of New England. Anyway, we had it for dinner last night. It's what I make when I don't know what to make because I always have the ingredients on hand. Hamburger, macaroni, chopped onion, tomato soup and stewed tomatoes. Green pepper is nice if it's around but if you don't have it, that's okay, too. Fry up the hamburger and onion, boil the macaroni and the dump it all into a pot with the tomato soup and stewed tomatoes. I think most people actually use tomato sauce but my mom always used tomato soup and so do I.

And you know what? My family loves this meal! It's quick, it's simple and it's even better as leftovers.

What's your standby recipe for when you don't know what to make for dinner? I'd love to hear about it.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (76)

June 20, 2006

Breakfast of Champions

That is a picture of Monday morning's breakfast with Margene and Birdsong at Silver Fork Lodge. Huevos Rancheros isn't generally on the menu here at home. Sigh.

The trip was fabulous and I promise to tell you all about. But right now? I need to sleep.

Posted by Carole at 12:20 AM | Comments (27)