Twas the Day/Night before Christmas and all through the house, Chef V was scurrying to cook the Christmas Feast. I am preparing another Thanksgiving Feast for our Christmas Feast by request of my family. The pies are baked, the cookies are made and my turkey stock is also made. Now to start the rolls and homemade bread, then stuffing the turkey and putting him into the oven. The house will begin to smell wonderful really soon!!
Several are working today, a couple are traveling (only an hour here) and Joe and I are preparing for the gathering. I'm sooooo excited. We have such fun, we laugh soooo much and the evening goes long and the wine flows along with it. All but one of us get to sleep in tomorrow and then lounge around and enjoy a day at home in Christmas jammies, munching on snacks and leftovers, playing games, watching movies and just enjoying the day together. Over the weekend we will travel to Louisville for other family gatherings with extended family.
Wishing everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a VERY HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Butternut Squash Soup
I have fallen in love with yet another new recipe! Butternut squash soup!!!! It is another recipe that I was leery to make, thinking it way too hard and complicated and time consuming.... but it isn't.... it is actually quite simple to make and as quick as making a pot of potato soup! I enjoyed it sooo much, I just went to the store and bought more butternut squash so I can make it again soon!
I had had this soup for the first time last winter at a restaurant in Louisville. I was afraid I would not like it, but loved it so much, I literally slurped the bowl clean. When I asked the waiter what the little zing in the back of my throat was from, she told me it was a dash of cayenne pepper the chef adds to the soup. So...... I too added a dash.... or two..... of cayenne pepper and it was absolutely amazing. A dash is literally all it takes to add the zing and not be too over powering.
I looked at several different recipes for this soup, took parts from each recipe I thought would be good and put together my own blended recipe. Here is how I did it..... I hope you give it a try.... it really is sooooo dagum good! My measurements are all approximate.... you can adjust ingredients as you want/need
Soup
2 - butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1" dice
4 cups of chicken broth (approximately).... vegetarians can substitute with vegetable broth
mirepoix (1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 1 small onion, small dice or thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup cream (I used heavy cream, but milk will do too)
salt/pepper
red pepper flakes (a pinch)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Garnish
1 granny smith apple (peeled, seeded and fine diced)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp cream or milk
Saute the mirepoix in the 2 Tbsp of butter until just tender, but not browned. Add the squash, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes and broth, simmer until the squash is cooked and tender (like you would for mashed potatoes). Remove the squash chunks with a strainer, put the squash in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the cooking broth to the pureed squash in the blender and puree again. Put the mixture back into the saucepan and add the cayenne pepper and cream and bring the soup back to a simmer and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes longer.
To garnish the soup (which really adds the WOW factor).... Place the diced apple in a small saute pan with the brown sugar and butter and saute until the apple is tender.... takes just a couple of minutes. Stir the sour cream and cream together until the consistency is soupy..... so you can swirl or drizzle a small amount of the sour cream mixture on top of each soup bowl you are serving, then place about a tsp or so of the apple mixture over the swirled/drizzled sour cream mixture. Serve and eat.
If you happen not to like the extra zing of the cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes, just omit them from the recipe, the soup will still be really yummy. It took me about 10 minutes tops to get the soup started, another 15-20 minutes of cooking time before I pureed the soup and another 5-10 minutes to simmer the pureed soup with the cream, which is the same amount of time and effort it takes to make a good pot of potato soup. This soup is soooo good, you don't even need crackers, but if you have a nice hearty bread, that would go well with this soup. I could eat this soup for an appetizer, main meal or even dessert!!!! When I made and served it the other night.... all you could hear were spoons clicking in the bowl, and yumming .... ummmming..... wowing..... and this is so good!... no one paused for a second until their bowl was empty.... just dip, slurp, and ummmm! LOL It was quite musical!
Bon Appetite!!!!
I had had this soup for the first time last winter at a restaurant in Louisville. I was afraid I would not like it, but loved it so much, I literally slurped the bowl clean. When I asked the waiter what the little zing in the back of my throat was from, she told me it was a dash of cayenne pepper the chef adds to the soup. So...... I too added a dash.... or two..... of cayenne pepper and it was absolutely amazing. A dash is literally all it takes to add the zing and not be too over powering.
I looked at several different recipes for this soup, took parts from each recipe I thought would be good and put together my own blended recipe. Here is how I did it..... I hope you give it a try.... it really is sooooo dagum good! My measurements are all approximate.... you can adjust ingredients as you want/need
Soup
2 - butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1" dice
4 cups of chicken broth (approximately).... vegetarians can substitute with vegetable broth
mirepoix (1 celery stalk, 1 carrot, 1 small onion, small dice or thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup cream (I used heavy cream, but milk will do too)
salt/pepper
red pepper flakes (a pinch)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Garnish
1 granny smith apple (peeled, seeded and fine diced)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp cream or milk
Saute the mirepoix in the 2 Tbsp of butter until just tender, but not browned. Add the squash, salt/pepper, red pepper flakes and broth, simmer until the squash is cooked and tender (like you would for mashed potatoes). Remove the squash chunks with a strainer, put the squash in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the cooking broth to the pureed squash in the blender and puree again. Put the mixture back into the saucepan and add the cayenne pepper and cream and bring the soup back to a simmer and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes longer.
To garnish the soup (which really adds the WOW factor).... Place the diced apple in a small saute pan with the brown sugar and butter and saute until the apple is tender.... takes just a couple of minutes. Stir the sour cream and cream together until the consistency is soupy..... so you can swirl or drizzle a small amount of the sour cream mixture on top of each soup bowl you are serving, then place about a tsp or so of the apple mixture over the swirled/drizzled sour cream mixture. Serve and eat.
If you happen not to like the extra zing of the cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes, just omit them from the recipe, the soup will still be really yummy. It took me about 10 minutes tops to get the soup started, another 15-20 minutes of cooking time before I pureed the soup and another 5-10 minutes to simmer the pureed soup with the cream, which is the same amount of time and effort it takes to make a good pot of potato soup. This soup is soooo good, you don't even need crackers, but if you have a nice hearty bread, that would go well with this soup. I could eat this soup for an appetizer, main meal or even dessert!!!! When I made and served it the other night.... all you could hear were spoons clicking in the bowl, and yumming .... ummmming..... wowing..... and this is so good!... no one paused for a second until their bowl was empty.... just dip, slurp, and ummmm! LOL It was quite musical!
Bon Appetite!!!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Returning to the Nest
My youngest daughter moved to LA California nearly 3 years ago at the ripe age of 19 to pursue a degree in fashion from FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising). She had seen this school on many episodes of "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach", and decided that this was the place she needed to go for the best fashion education possible. At the time, she had been struggling in college with her grades, and I truly didn't think she had a chance of getting into this very prestigious school...... but like anything else this child puts her mind to...... she made it happen.
After Lauren was accepted to attend FIDM, the 3 of us (Joe, myself and Lauren) flew out to LA to check out this 'supposedly' prestigious school. I must admit I was leery because I knew of her academic woes, and doubted a prestigious school would accept her, so I figured it must be one of those 'you pay, you get to play' kinda of deals. But no!!!! I was completely surprised to find that this school is indeed quite prestigious when we toured the facility...... awed and impressed would be better adjectives to describe my reaction. Lauren's advisor told us that she was not qualified to enter their program because of her grades, but...... she had to submit 4 pieces of creative artwork to turn in with her application, and it was her talent that got her accepted into this school. She would have to work very hard to get her grades up to snuff, but she indeed did get accepted. So at the young age of 19, she moved to LA all on her own and started her fashion education.
Now here it is nearly 3 years later, she is all grown up, matured and ready to start her career in fashion. Her ultimate goal is to be a personal shopper or personal stylist, having her own shop with a regular client list. This is truly where Lauren's gift lies, she is very talented at putting pieces of clothing and accessories together to match a person's age, body and lifestyle. In fact she has been my personal stylist for the past few years and my reputation of being "stylish" has boomed under her guidance. She has given me more confidence in my fashion sense and I just love being 'chic'. I see clothing and accessories in a totally new light thanks to Lauren.
So for the next few months or so....... however long it takes for her to get settled and established in her new career (she starts work at Talbot's Monday..... this job has the potential to lead her in the direction she wants to go with her career), she is back home with us and our nest is no longer empty, but will have bubbly joy in it again. I'm sure there will be plenty of days that Joe and I miss our quiet moments and routines, but honestly...... I've always enjoyed my girls being home.
Lauren has her life wide open in front of her with many possibilities..... will be interesting and fun to see where it all takes her. WELCOME HOME Lauren!!!! Lauren is a big, big, big hugger and I will be very happy to receive as many hugs as she can give!
After Lauren was accepted to attend FIDM, the 3 of us (Joe, myself and Lauren) flew out to LA to check out this 'supposedly' prestigious school. I must admit I was leery because I knew of her academic woes, and doubted a prestigious school would accept her, so I figured it must be one of those 'you pay, you get to play' kinda of deals. But no!!!! I was completely surprised to find that this school is indeed quite prestigious when we toured the facility...... awed and impressed would be better adjectives to describe my reaction. Lauren's advisor told us that she was not qualified to enter their program because of her grades, but...... she had to submit 4 pieces of creative artwork to turn in with her application, and it was her talent that got her accepted into this school. She would have to work very hard to get her grades up to snuff, but she indeed did get accepted. So at the young age of 19, she moved to LA all on her own and started her fashion education.
Now here it is nearly 3 years later, she is all grown up, matured and ready to start her career in fashion. Her ultimate goal is to be a personal shopper or personal stylist, having her own shop with a regular client list. This is truly where Lauren's gift lies, she is very talented at putting pieces of clothing and accessories together to match a person's age, body and lifestyle. In fact she has been my personal stylist for the past few years and my reputation of being "stylish" has boomed under her guidance. She has given me more confidence in my fashion sense and I just love being 'chic'. I see clothing and accessories in a totally new light thanks to Lauren.
So for the next few months or so....... however long it takes for her to get settled and established in her new career (she starts work at Talbot's Monday..... this job has the potential to lead her in the direction she wants to go with her career), she is back home with us and our nest is no longer empty, but will have bubbly joy in it again. I'm sure there will be plenty of days that Joe and I miss our quiet moments and routines, but honestly...... I've always enjoyed my girls being home.
Lauren has her life wide open in front of her with many possibilities..... will be interesting and fun to see where it all takes her. WELCOME HOME Lauren!!!! Lauren is a big, big, big hugger and I will be very happy to receive as many hugs as she can give!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wrapping, wrapping, and more wrapping
Not only is it 'tis the season to be jolly', but tis also the season of decorating, shopping and wrapping. Wrapping is one of my very favorite things to do. I love to put on old Christmas movies, sit on the floor and wrap away.
I like to get my area all organized with my wrapping needs, such as, boxes, bows, paper, scissors, tape (the wrist holder tape dispenser) tape refills, tissue paper, and name tags. Start the movie and the wrapping begins. I love the 'surprise' part of unwrapping a gift, so I never wrap gifts in 'predictable' packages.... one never knows what they will find inside the boxes. I can get a tee shirt into a jewelry box and I can hid jewelry in shirt boxes. I will add weights and/or marbles or such just to throw the person off if they decide to squeeze or shake the packages trying to guess. It's all about the element of surprise along with the prettiness of the package.
I love buying wrapping paper on clearance, so I always have lots of choices when selecting the perfect paper for the perfect gift. I only wrap one gift per person in the same paper, because I like having lots of colorful packages under the tree. However..... I wrap all the 'to take' gifts in the same paper. Like the gifts I take to the Grandparents houses are all wrapped in the same paper. This helps keep me organized to know what gifts go to what house, and whatever paper I use for those 'take away' gifts, I don't use for any of the gifts here at home. This method has been working well for me for years, having to travel as much as we do during the holidays, it does help to be organized.....and/or anal..... I've been called both and I do wear those badges proudly! : )
My husband..... as wonderful as he is..... and he IS WONDERFUL!!!!.... has absolutely no clue what goes into putting Christmas together. His rule of thumb is...... he doesn't start shopping for his gifts (which basically are my gifts and the two gifts he needs for our parents gift swap game) until Dec. 20th!!! EVER!!!!! But, I must say, he does an excellent job in the 4 days of shopping that he does endure, he sweats over the few gifts he has to purchase and usually gets it all done in one day. I however, shop for months with a list for his parents, nieces/nephews; my parents, nieces and nephews, our friends, all our girls and their significant others, all the stocking stuffers, and all the gifts for the paper delivery boy, postman...etc. It is exhausting!!!!! And of course this is on top of all the Christmas baking, Christmas card writing and coupon cutting and sale flyer scouring for the best prices and deals.
I 'endure' the shopping part, but I absolutely and immensely enjoy the wrapping part. Each gift is like a creation all in itself and a work of love. I know that the gift wrapping will only be admired for split seconds before being torn to shreds to discover the treasure inside..... but..... for those split seconds, the package does present itself in as much glory as is possible..
I myself love being surprised. I don't want to see or know how many, how few, how big, how small any gift I have is until Christmas. My husband wants to buy, wrap and stick gifts under the tree as soon as he is done with his duties..... I however, refuse to put a single gift for anyone under the tree until Christmas Eve, so the tree goes from a beautiful decorated tree with just a tree skirt, to a beautifully decorated tree with a colorful mound of gifts underneath.... and then there is no question about whether or not Santa has or has not visited yet!
I'm all wrapped up for this year. While Joe is on his road trip with our baby (Lauren), driving her home from LA, I pulled everything out last night, sorted the items per person (I have to have the same number of gifts for each person to open) and watched "It's a Wonderful Life", "White Christmas", "A Christmas Story", and "Love Actually" as I wrapped. It was a late night, but..... I finished wrapping every single gift and even managed to get the wrapping mess all cleaned up and stowed away. Now.... I'm ready to start making the chex mix and the Christmas cookies!
Merry Christmas!!! And Happy Wrapping!!!
I like to get my area all organized with my wrapping needs, such as, boxes, bows, paper, scissors, tape (the wrist holder tape dispenser) tape refills, tissue paper, and name tags. Start the movie and the wrapping begins. I love the 'surprise' part of unwrapping a gift, so I never wrap gifts in 'predictable' packages.... one never knows what they will find inside the boxes. I can get a tee shirt into a jewelry box and I can hid jewelry in shirt boxes. I will add weights and/or marbles or such just to throw the person off if they decide to squeeze or shake the packages trying to guess. It's all about the element of surprise along with the prettiness of the package.
I love buying wrapping paper on clearance, so I always have lots of choices when selecting the perfect paper for the perfect gift. I only wrap one gift per person in the same paper, because I like having lots of colorful packages under the tree. However..... I wrap all the 'to take' gifts in the same paper. Like the gifts I take to the Grandparents houses are all wrapped in the same paper. This helps keep me organized to know what gifts go to what house, and whatever paper I use for those 'take away' gifts, I don't use for any of the gifts here at home. This method has been working well for me for years, having to travel as much as we do during the holidays, it does help to be organized.....and/or anal..... I've been called both and I do wear those badges proudly! : )
My husband..... as wonderful as he is..... and he IS WONDERFUL!!!!.... has absolutely no clue what goes into putting Christmas together. His rule of thumb is...... he doesn't start shopping for his gifts (which basically are my gifts and the two gifts he needs for our parents gift swap game) until Dec. 20th!!! EVER!!!!! But, I must say, he does an excellent job in the 4 days of shopping that he does endure, he sweats over the few gifts he has to purchase and usually gets it all done in one day. I however, shop for months with a list for his parents, nieces/nephews; my parents, nieces and nephews, our friends, all our girls and their significant others, all the stocking stuffers, and all the gifts for the paper delivery boy, postman...etc. It is exhausting!!!!! And of course this is on top of all the Christmas baking, Christmas card writing and coupon cutting and sale flyer scouring for the best prices and deals.
I 'endure' the shopping part, but I absolutely and immensely enjoy the wrapping part. Each gift is like a creation all in itself and a work of love. I know that the gift wrapping will only be admired for split seconds before being torn to shreds to discover the treasure inside..... but..... for those split seconds, the package does present itself in as much glory as is possible..
I myself love being surprised. I don't want to see or know how many, how few, how big, how small any gift I have is until Christmas. My husband wants to buy, wrap and stick gifts under the tree as soon as he is done with his duties..... I however, refuse to put a single gift for anyone under the tree until Christmas Eve, so the tree goes from a beautiful decorated tree with just a tree skirt, to a beautifully decorated tree with a colorful mound of gifts underneath.... and then there is no question about whether or not Santa has or has not visited yet!
I'm all wrapped up for this year. While Joe is on his road trip with our baby (Lauren), driving her home from LA, I pulled everything out last night, sorted the items per person (I have to have the same number of gifts for each person to open) and watched "It's a Wonderful Life", "White Christmas", "A Christmas Story", and "Love Actually" as I wrapped. It was a late night, but..... I finished wrapping every single gift and even managed to get the wrapping mess all cleaned up and stowed away. Now.... I'm ready to start making the chex mix and the Christmas cookies!
Merry Christmas!!! And Happy Wrapping!!!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Office Christmas Parties
Last night Joe and I went to not one, but two business Christmas parties, both were surprisingly more fun than I expected and at both parties I saw friends I haven't seen in months and did not expect to see on this night. The first party was a quieter party that was held at the home of the host, the second party was held at an event venue place in the middle of the city.
The first party had soft Christmas music in the background, hor devours and beverages, in a gorgeously decorated home, the second party had a buffet dinner (beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, caesar salad, mixed sauteed veggies and lots of sweet treat nibbles..... food was really DELISH), and a really good live band, however..... the volume knob must have been missing from their equipment, because the sound level was so high, you literally could not speak with the person next to you without shouting and saying..... "excuse me..... I didn't hear what you said'! This morning our ears (mine and Joe's) are actually still ringing and we both have a raspy voice!!!
However...... loud music, libations and a Christmas party atmosphere always leads to DANCING!!!! And dance we did!!!! Ellen Degeneres would have been sooooo proud of our older generation business suited men with no rhythm dancing to the oldies and looking like goobers flailing on the dance floor...... but it was a BLAST!!!!! And I mean OLDIES!!!!! Music from the 50's that still get you up out of your seat bobbing, shuffling, snapping our fingers, shaking our booties and feeling like we were at a highschool dance kinda dancing!!!! FUN FUN and more FUN!!!! We laughed til we cried at each other, watching those brave souls doing their 'signature break out moves', with the look of pure enjoyment splattered across their faces. And the funniest thing we watched all night was the only female member of the band try not to let her bulging boobs pop out of her dress!!! We were all waiting for the 'costume malfunction' to happen.... and I believe there may have even been some sideline bets on not only "if" her puppies would show, but at what time they would present themselves to the public.
I love getting all gussied up and gathering with friends from work, or the neighborhood and/or family and spending the evening nibbling, chatting, and dancing. The night was soooo much better than I expected, and I was expecting a fun night. But there is something sooo special with Christmas parties that have a magic, sparkly and good cheer atmosphere to them. I saw friends that I didn't expect to see and that alone was a Christmas gift in itself. My wish for you my fellow bloggers, is to get the opportunity (or two or three) to gather with your closest friends and family and enjoy the holiday season in good cheer with each other and celebrate the reason for this season. Hopefully really good food will be involved too!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
The first party had soft Christmas music in the background, hor devours and beverages, in a gorgeously decorated home, the second party had a buffet dinner (beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, caesar salad, mixed sauteed veggies and lots of sweet treat nibbles..... food was really DELISH), and a really good live band, however..... the volume knob must have been missing from their equipment, because the sound level was so high, you literally could not speak with the person next to you without shouting and saying..... "excuse me..... I didn't hear what you said'! This morning our ears (mine and Joe's) are actually still ringing and we both have a raspy voice!!!
However...... loud music, libations and a Christmas party atmosphere always leads to DANCING!!!! And dance we did!!!! Ellen Degeneres would have been sooooo proud of our older generation business suited men with no rhythm dancing to the oldies and looking like goobers flailing on the dance floor...... but it was a BLAST!!!!! And I mean OLDIES!!!!! Music from the 50's that still get you up out of your seat bobbing, shuffling, snapping our fingers, shaking our booties and feeling like we were at a highschool dance kinda dancing!!!! FUN FUN and more FUN!!!! We laughed til we cried at each other, watching those brave souls doing their 'signature break out moves', with the look of pure enjoyment splattered across their faces. And the funniest thing we watched all night was the only female member of the band try not to let her bulging boobs pop out of her dress!!! We were all waiting for the 'costume malfunction' to happen.... and I believe there may have even been some sideline bets on not only "if" her puppies would show, but at what time they would present themselves to the public.
I love getting all gussied up and gathering with friends from work, or the neighborhood and/or family and spending the evening nibbling, chatting, and dancing. The night was soooo much better than I expected, and I was expecting a fun night. But there is something sooo special with Christmas parties that have a magic, sparkly and good cheer atmosphere to them. I saw friends that I didn't expect to see and that alone was a Christmas gift in itself. My wish for you my fellow bloggers, is to get the opportunity (or two or three) to gather with your closest friends and family and enjoy the holiday season in good cheer with each other and celebrate the reason for this season. Hopefully really good food will be involved too!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tis the Season!
OMGoodness...... has it really been a week since I last blogged? It's because of the Christmas season and all the distractions and obligations.... and a few days of the tummy flu too. But then..... it is..... "Tis the Season!"
I've been decorating the house for Christmas, shopping on-line and in stores for all the gifts, planning menu's for all the holidays gatherings we are attending that requires "bring a dish", as well as the gatherings with family we will be hosting here at the homestead. The decorating took me longer than expected because I decided to purge and organize the storage room at the same time I was pulling out all the holiday decorations..... but in the end.... it was soooo worth it to have everything nice and neat and organized.
I think purging of old Christmas decorations are the hardest choices since each and every item has the sweetest memories attached. Even the old scraggly and/or broken items are hard to toss out because at one time they were treasured and adored and just the memory of who gave you the item or that fact that it was a favorite item makes it impossible to throw away. But now with my children grown, it was finally time to detach my heart feelings and approach the project in a 'sensible' way and toss the broken/over used items but keep the memories.
This was also the year to re-vamp my decorating style. Every year I typically pull out and put out on display every single decoration I have collected over the past 30 years, and each year the decorating looks more and more crammed and cluttered. This year I decided to downsize, put out fewer things and retire those items long past their service, which of course meant I had to also buy new bigger stuff. So...... it's like when you buy a new home and decorate for Christmas for the first time and it takes forever because you have to decide where everything goes, instead of just unpacking it and putting it in the same ole place of the old house each year. It took me a couple of weeks and several trips to various stores, but...... I truly think this is the nicest this house has looked for the holidays in the 6 years we have lived here.
Today I'm on a mission to complete the shopping and start the wrapping. I have my list ready and my game plan mapped, so right after my pilates session I'm off and running, determined to get this accomplished today. It helped that yesterday I spent the entire day inventorying what I have and what I still need to get and for whom I need to get. Wrapping is my favorite part! I love to put in Christmas movies and watch while I wrap. "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story" are both must watch movies while I wrap.
Tonight instead of going on Friday night date night, I'm fixing a big ole pot of chili and when Joe gets home we will have a quick bite and then will tackle the task of putting up and decorating the big Christmas tree as beautiful Christmas music plays in the background. Then Sunday we will put up the family tree and get everything decorated on it except for the ornament hanging that we will save for when our youngest (Lauren) moves home from LA on Dec. 21st and then she can be a part of the decorating of the family tree..... her favorite thing and she has missed out on doing it for the past 3 years.
I'm just amazed that it is already December 11th! Now that I am so close to having all my obligation duties done, it has snowed and gotten sooo cold, I'm starting to feel like it really "Tis the Season"!!!
I've been decorating the house for Christmas, shopping on-line and in stores for all the gifts, planning menu's for all the holidays gatherings we are attending that requires "bring a dish", as well as the gatherings with family we will be hosting here at the homestead. The decorating took me longer than expected because I decided to purge and organize the storage room at the same time I was pulling out all the holiday decorations..... but in the end.... it was soooo worth it to have everything nice and neat and organized.
I think purging of old Christmas decorations are the hardest choices since each and every item has the sweetest memories attached. Even the old scraggly and/or broken items are hard to toss out because at one time they were treasured and adored and just the memory of who gave you the item or that fact that it was a favorite item makes it impossible to throw away. But now with my children grown, it was finally time to detach my heart feelings and approach the project in a 'sensible' way and toss the broken/over used items but keep the memories.
This was also the year to re-vamp my decorating style. Every year I typically pull out and put out on display every single decoration I have collected over the past 30 years, and each year the decorating looks more and more crammed and cluttered. This year I decided to downsize, put out fewer things and retire those items long past their service, which of course meant I had to also buy new bigger stuff. So...... it's like when you buy a new home and decorate for Christmas for the first time and it takes forever because you have to decide where everything goes, instead of just unpacking it and putting it in the same ole place of the old house each year. It took me a couple of weeks and several trips to various stores, but...... I truly think this is the nicest this house has looked for the holidays in the 6 years we have lived here.
Today I'm on a mission to complete the shopping and start the wrapping. I have my list ready and my game plan mapped, so right after my pilates session I'm off and running, determined to get this accomplished today. It helped that yesterday I spent the entire day inventorying what I have and what I still need to get and for whom I need to get. Wrapping is my favorite part! I love to put in Christmas movies and watch while I wrap. "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story" are both must watch movies while I wrap.
Tonight instead of going on Friday night date night, I'm fixing a big ole pot of chili and when Joe gets home we will have a quick bite and then will tackle the task of putting up and decorating the big Christmas tree as beautiful Christmas music plays in the background. Then Sunday we will put up the family tree and get everything decorated on it except for the ornament hanging that we will save for when our youngest (Lauren) moves home from LA on Dec. 21st and then she can be a part of the decorating of the family tree..... her favorite thing and she has missed out on doing it for the past 3 years.
I'm just amazed that it is already December 11th! Now that I am so close to having all my obligation duties done, it has snowed and gotten sooo cold, I'm starting to feel like it really "Tis the Season"!!!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Puff Pastry
After years and years of being intimidated of puff pastry and having no clue what so ever what to do with it..... I learned all about it yesterday in culinary school...... I think it has become my new favorite thing! It is amazing and soooooo yummy!!!!
We made fruit tarts, cream horns, cookies, savory bread straws and puff pastry shells.... plus the filling that goes inside them. Puff pastry can be used for savory or sweet foods and their possibilities are absolutely endless. Joe and I host a wine party in February and I already have many of my menu items for the party just from my baking class this term.
The easiest thing to do with puff pastry, and something that any of you can do and present an appetizer that will wow your friends and family at any event, is the bread straws. All you need is some frozen puff pastry dough, some spices and a touch of water. That's it! Let the pastry thaw, but keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. With a knife, pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut from the long side of the dough, cut 1/2" -1" strips. With your finger dipped in water, barely rub some water along the strip and then sprinkle on any seasoning/herbs/spices of your choice. I did italian seasoning, kosher salt and parmesean cheese (the only savory spices available in class yesterday), but these bread sticks can also be made as a sweet treat by using a mixture of sugar and cinnamon instead of the spices/herbs/seasonings. Fold the strips together longways (spices/flavorings should be inside the strip and touching each other) then twist the dough, then roll the twisted dough on the counter top between your fingers until it is a long twisted rope shape. Bake at 400 degrees until done..... approx. 10-15 minutes. Voila that's it!!!!
They are sooooo amazing you just can't stop eating them. You can make them with a variety of flavorings to accompany any meal you are serving. Or you can just make them as an appetizer, snack or hor dourve. Everyone will think you are brilliant and will think you have slaved all day to make them!
I'm going to stock my freezer with some frozen puff pastry. I did learn how to make it from scratch and I will make it from scratch as well..... but making it from scratch literally takes a day or two because it involves a lot of rolling, folding and resting in between in the refrigerator. But having some frozen puff pastry on hand, I can make a quick nibble anytime, which is perfect for when you have unexpected company. I hope you enjoy this new trick for a quick treat.
We made fruit tarts, cream horns, cookies, savory bread straws and puff pastry shells.... plus the filling that goes inside them. Puff pastry can be used for savory or sweet foods and their possibilities are absolutely endless. Joe and I host a wine party in February and I already have many of my menu items for the party just from my baking class this term.
The easiest thing to do with puff pastry, and something that any of you can do and present an appetizer that will wow your friends and family at any event, is the bread straws. All you need is some frozen puff pastry dough, some spices and a touch of water. That's it! Let the pastry thaw, but keep it covered so it doesn't dry out. With a knife, pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut from the long side of the dough, cut 1/2" -1" strips. With your finger dipped in water, barely rub some water along the strip and then sprinkle on any seasoning/herbs/spices of your choice. I did italian seasoning, kosher salt and parmesean cheese (the only savory spices available in class yesterday), but these bread sticks can also be made as a sweet treat by using a mixture of sugar and cinnamon instead of the spices/herbs/seasonings. Fold the strips together longways (spices/flavorings should be inside the strip and touching each other) then twist the dough, then roll the twisted dough on the counter top between your fingers until it is a long twisted rope shape. Bake at 400 degrees until done..... approx. 10-15 minutes. Voila that's it!!!!
They are sooooo amazing you just can't stop eating them. You can make them with a variety of flavorings to accompany any meal you are serving. Or you can just make them as an appetizer, snack or hor dourve. Everyone will think you are brilliant and will think you have slaved all day to make them!
I'm going to stock my freezer with some frozen puff pastry. I did learn how to make it from scratch and I will make it from scratch as well..... but making it from scratch literally takes a day or two because it involves a lot of rolling, folding and resting in between in the refrigerator. But having some frozen puff pastry on hand, I can make a quick nibble anytime, which is perfect for when you have unexpected company. I hope you enjoy this new trick for a quick treat.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving
I hope all of you had a nice Happy Thanksgiving and you wore your fat pants and enjoyed every single bite! I know we did here! YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY IN OUR TUMMIES!!!! We had a very small crowd..... actually two small crowds (5 of us at a 1:00pm sitting) and then (4 more at the 5:00 sitting and a couple of the first crowd went back for heat-ups), so it was kinda on the quiet side, but it was nice all the same.
I made everything from scratch and while I say this every year...... this year was definitely my best yet! The homemade pie crust and apple pie were the only changes, yet..... wow..... what a difference! I roasted a turkey stuffed, Joe rubbed down with cajun seasoning and injected cajun seasoning to his turkey and then deep fried it. Both were fabulous!!! I had dressing on the side as well, along with, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, plain gravy, sweet rolls, green beans (that my Mom canned), corn (that my Mom put up and froze), sweet potato casserole, derby pie, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. Joe and I barely had enough leftovers for one meal the next day between us. We have had plenty of turkey sandwiches, but all the sides were gone after Friday. I sent one carcass home with for my Mom to make soup with and I am boiling the other now for soup tomorrow.
I absolutely LOVE making Thanksgiving dinner.... it is my favorite meal to cook and while I am in the kitchen from dawn til after the dishes are done and the kitchen is clean, I enjoy every single moment and fall into a heap totally exhausted after all the company has left. I just remember smiling all day!
This year was a year of when we were more aware of what we are truly thankful and our many blessings than typical years (although we are ALWAYS full of thanksgiving and gratefulness every year). My stepfather had a heart attack on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. There were several times in the time between when he actually had the heart attack and when he started getting treatment for it that he coulda/shoulda dropped over from a massive heart attack. He, and we, are so truly blessed that he is still with us! He is the answer to my Mom's prayers and I have never seen her happier than since she has been with him. He is feeling good and recovering nicely after his cath procedure and the insertion of two stints. He has 6 weeks of therapy ahead of him, but...... that will be a good thing and I hope he keeps it up after his therapy is complete. I'm also very grateful for the turn in my own health..... I too am feeling good and recovered nicely.
And last but not least..... I'm also grateful for each person who reads my blog or has read any of my blog posts. This has been such fun and very therapeutic! I've love when my blog comes up in conversation! It always makes me smile!
May our Holidays continue to be Merry!
I made everything from scratch and while I say this every year...... this year was definitely my best yet! The homemade pie crust and apple pie were the only changes, yet..... wow..... what a difference! I roasted a turkey stuffed, Joe rubbed down with cajun seasoning and injected cajun seasoning to his turkey and then deep fried it. Both were fabulous!!! I had dressing on the side as well, along with, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, plain gravy, sweet rolls, green beans (that my Mom canned), corn (that my Mom put up and froze), sweet potato casserole, derby pie, apple pie, and pumpkin pie. Joe and I barely had enough leftovers for one meal the next day between us. We have had plenty of turkey sandwiches, but all the sides were gone after Friday. I sent one carcass home with for my Mom to make soup with and I am boiling the other now for soup tomorrow.
I absolutely LOVE making Thanksgiving dinner.... it is my favorite meal to cook and while I am in the kitchen from dawn til after the dishes are done and the kitchen is clean, I enjoy every single moment and fall into a heap totally exhausted after all the company has left. I just remember smiling all day!
This year was a year of when we were more aware of what we are truly thankful and our many blessings than typical years (although we are ALWAYS full of thanksgiving and gratefulness every year). My stepfather had a heart attack on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. There were several times in the time between when he actually had the heart attack and when he started getting treatment for it that he coulda/shoulda dropped over from a massive heart attack. He, and we, are so truly blessed that he is still with us! He is the answer to my Mom's prayers and I have never seen her happier than since she has been with him. He is feeling good and recovering nicely after his cath procedure and the insertion of two stints. He has 6 weeks of therapy ahead of him, but...... that will be a good thing and I hope he keeps it up after his therapy is complete. I'm also very grateful for the turn in my own health..... I too am feeling good and recovered nicely.
And last but not least..... I'm also grateful for each person who reads my blog or has read any of my blog posts. This has been such fun and very therapeutic! I've love when my blog comes up in conversation! It always makes me smile!
May our Holidays continue to be Merry!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Nestle's Crunch Hotline
Oh my goodness, this is hysterical :D Need a laugh? Call the Nestle Crunch Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When you are asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, just wait quietly for about 10 seconds and you will smile. I Promise! I went through the entire menu and giggled at every single one...... and I am still giggling!!!
I personally get soooooooo frustrated with calling any business and just wanting/needing to talk to a real live person...... but...... you spend 10 minutes punching numbers in several menus before you get to a real live person...... which by that time I usually want to just throw the phone out the window, and then by the time whoever the poor dear is that picks up my call, I wanna scream and yell at them over how frustrating it was to get to them...... which it totally isn't their fault, they are just doing their job and don't deserve to be screamed at...... so I take a big breath and try to solve whatever problem I'm having that prompted the phone call in the beginning.
Gotta tell you businesses/companies....... if you are really interested in better customer service, get rid of the computer operated menu's and have real people answering the phones. I know there are many people who are qualified to do this job, because there sure are a lot them working for companies who call you all day and especially during dinner trying to sell you this or that! I think the world would be much better to get rid of those people who call us all day and at the most inconvenient times to sell us something and put them on the switchboard/phones to answer phone calls of people needing/wanting assistance. Everyone would be much happier at the end of the day! And I don't think I'm alone in this thinking either!!!!
So to Nestle's and their very clever phone menu...... I give you a big whopping shout out of WELL DONE!!!!!! Thank you for the much needed giggles!!!! But of course...... lest we forget........ and don't forget to sing this next statement.... but..... N-E-S-T-L-E-S..... Nestle's makes the very best....... chocolate! LOL
I personally get soooooooo frustrated with calling any business and just wanting/needing to talk to a real live person...... but...... you spend 10 minutes punching numbers in several menus before you get to a real live person...... which by that time I usually want to just throw the phone out the window, and then by the time whoever the poor dear is that picks up my call, I wanna scream and yell at them over how frustrating it was to get to them...... which it totally isn't their fault, they are just doing their job and don't deserve to be screamed at...... so I take a big breath and try to solve whatever problem I'm having that prompted the phone call in the beginning.
Gotta tell you businesses/companies....... if you are really interested in better customer service, get rid of the computer operated menu's and have real people answering the phones. I know there are many people who are qualified to do this job, because there sure are a lot them working for companies who call you all day and especially during dinner trying to sell you this or that! I think the world would be much better to get rid of those people who call us all day and at the most inconvenient times to sell us something and put them on the switchboard/phones to answer phone calls of people needing/wanting assistance. Everyone would be much happier at the end of the day! And I don't think I'm alone in this thinking either!!!!
So to Nestle's and their very clever phone menu...... I give you a big whopping shout out of WELL DONE!!!!!! Thank you for the much needed giggles!!!! But of course...... lest we forget........ and don't forget to sing this next statement.... but..... N-E-S-T-L-E-S..... Nestle's makes the very best....... chocolate! LOL
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday Roast
Late this afternoon Jessica and Winston joined Joe and I for a Sunday roast dinner. I wanted to try my apple pie recipe on these willing participants to see if it would make it on the Thanksgiving Day menu. And it is now officially a definite for Thanksgiving Day.
The day started out slow and relaxed.... I made breakfast for Joe as he read all of the big sales for the Friday after Thanksgiving to me. I cleaned up the kitchen, went through all the coupons he so sweetly cut out for me, and headed off to Kroger to gather all my ingredients and turkeys for my big Thanksgiving dinner. It is absolutely my favorite meal to cook and I look forward to it all year long. I can already smell my sweet yeast rolls baking!
We have two turkeys at Thanksgiving. One I stuff, and one Joe rubs down in cajun seasoning and deep frys..... both are amazing. We have all the 'traditional' side dishes..... gravy, dressing/stuffing mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, derby pie. And no matter how good it all is the first time....... and it is good!!!!!...... warm-ups in the late afternoon/early evening are sooooooo much better!
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving dinner is the leftovers. We make two turkeys just so we have enough leftovers to share with the girls. I am not a big fan of leftovers in general, but...... Thanksgiving leftovers are just that good. And I am one of those who saves the bones and make turkey soup out of them. I can't believe this week is Thanksgiving!!!
This year started out with a serious health issue that resulted in pretty serious surgery...... but 9 months later.... life is so much better and I am soooooo blessed! This year of being forced to rest and recoup made me do a lot of reflecting about myself and life in general. It turned out to be a bump in the road that helped me see the path in front of me sooooo much clearer. It was a big challenge for me to rest and recoup for that long of a period, but in the end it has been a big blessing that I'm very Thankful for. This Thanksgiving will have a very special meaning for me and I look forward to celebrating everything I am truly thankful for with several of my loved ones at my table.
And........ OF COURSE....... I'm thankful for my discoveries of Julia Child this year....... I read several of her cookbooks and biographies while I was recuperating and I have been completely smitten with her ever since.
Bon Appetite!
The day started out slow and relaxed.... I made breakfast for Joe as he read all of the big sales for the Friday after Thanksgiving to me. I cleaned up the kitchen, went through all the coupons he so sweetly cut out for me, and headed off to Kroger to gather all my ingredients and turkeys for my big Thanksgiving dinner. It is absolutely my favorite meal to cook and I look forward to it all year long. I can already smell my sweet yeast rolls baking!
We have two turkeys at Thanksgiving. One I stuff, and one Joe rubs down in cajun seasoning and deep frys..... both are amazing. We have all the 'traditional' side dishes..... gravy, dressing/stuffing mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, apple pie, pumpkin pie, derby pie. And no matter how good it all is the first time....... and it is good!!!!!...... warm-ups in the late afternoon/early evening are sooooooo much better!
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving dinner is the leftovers. We make two turkeys just so we have enough leftovers to share with the girls. I am not a big fan of leftovers in general, but...... Thanksgiving leftovers are just that good. And I am one of those who saves the bones and make turkey soup out of them. I can't believe this week is Thanksgiving!!!
This year started out with a serious health issue that resulted in pretty serious surgery...... but 9 months later.... life is so much better and I am soooooo blessed! This year of being forced to rest and recoup made me do a lot of reflecting about myself and life in general. It turned out to be a bump in the road that helped me see the path in front of me sooooo much clearer. It was a big challenge for me to rest and recoup for that long of a period, but in the end it has been a big blessing that I'm very Thankful for. This Thanksgiving will have a very special meaning for me and I look forward to celebrating everything I am truly thankful for with several of my loved ones at my table.
And........ OF COURSE....... I'm thankful for my discoveries of Julia Child this year....... I read several of her cookbooks and biographies while I was recuperating and I have been completely smitten with her ever since.
Bon Appetite!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Recipe for pastry crust and apple pie filling
Just in case any of my blog followers are interested in making the apple pie and pastry crust for Thanksgiving that I have been jabbering about since learning how to make it in class, I thought I would post the recipe and methods on how it is made. It is actually quite simple and very DELISH!!! I will be adding this pie to my own Thanksgiving menu...... just because it is that good!
Pate Brisee (pastry crust)
10-1/2 oz all purpose flour
7 oz butter, cubed and cold
1 tsp salt (table salt, not kosher)
1 tbsp milk, cold
1 egg
In mixer (stand-up mixer) with paddle attachment, combine flour and butter and mix on low (speed 2) until the butter resembles small breadcrumbs.... this process takes about 5 minutes..... but do not over mix which would heat and soften the butter too much. Add salt, milk, and egg (beat the milk with the egg slightly before adding to mixture), and mix until dough forms a ball. Stressing again..... DO NOT OVER MIX!
Remove dough from mixer and quickly shape into a ball and place between two un-floured sheets of parchment paper. Roll out dough inside the parchment paper to 1/8" thickness..... lifting parchment paper when necessary to smooth out wrinkles. Place rolled out dough in the parchment paper in refrigerator until chilled.
Remove dough from refrigerator and carefully lift off parchment paper on both sides of dough. Let dough warm to room temperature slightly (about 5 min). Place dough inside pie pan, reserving extra dough for making lattice top on top of pie filling.
Apple Pie Filling
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8th tsp nutmeg
dash ground cloves
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (to be mixed with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon)
1/2 cup sugar (to be mixed with cornstarch to prevent lumping)
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp butter
egg wash - 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
Toss apples with lemon juice to prevent browning. Mix spices and first measurement of sugar to distribute ingredients evenly. Toss sugar-spice mixture with apple mixture.
Mix together 2nd sugar measurement and cornstarch to prevent lumping. Add 1/2 of water to sugar-cornstarch mixture to make a slurry. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar-cornstarch slurry, butter, and remaining water, cook over low heat until it thickens to a gloppy goo and is well mixed. Stir continuously, scraping sides and bottom of pan often. Remove from heat once it is at the gloppy gooey stage. The mixture should seriously glop off the spoon into the pan when a spoonful of mixture is held over the pan.
Add apple mixture and stir well until all is combined and warmed. Let cool briefly (5 minutes). Fill pie shell with the apple mixture and top with lattice dough work. Lightly brush egg wash over dough lattice and top with a sprinkle of sugar. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven until crust is golden brown, apples are tender when pierced with a fork and filling is thick and set. Baking time is about 30 minutes.
Let pie set and cool for several minutes before serving. Can be served warm or cold. ENJOY!!!!
Next week we are learning how to make Lemon pie, Pate Sucree (sweet pie crust) and Italian Meringue!!! Stay blogged in for future recipes, techniques and methods!
Pate Brisee (pastry crust)
10-1/2 oz all purpose flour
7 oz butter, cubed and cold
1 tsp salt (table salt, not kosher)
1 tbsp milk, cold
1 egg
In mixer (stand-up mixer) with paddle attachment, combine flour and butter and mix on low (speed 2) until the butter resembles small breadcrumbs.... this process takes about 5 minutes..... but do not over mix which would heat and soften the butter too much. Add salt, milk, and egg (beat the milk with the egg slightly before adding to mixture), and mix until dough forms a ball. Stressing again..... DO NOT OVER MIX!
Remove dough from mixer and quickly shape into a ball and place between two un-floured sheets of parchment paper. Roll out dough inside the parchment paper to 1/8" thickness..... lifting parchment paper when necessary to smooth out wrinkles. Place rolled out dough in the parchment paper in refrigerator until chilled.
Remove dough from refrigerator and carefully lift off parchment paper on both sides of dough. Let dough warm to room temperature slightly (about 5 min). Place dough inside pie pan, reserving extra dough for making lattice top on top of pie filling.
Apple Pie Filling
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8th tsp nutmeg
dash ground cloves
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (to be mixed with nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon)
1/2 cup sugar (to be mixed with cornstarch to prevent lumping)
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp butter
egg wash - 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
Toss apples with lemon juice to prevent browning. Mix spices and first measurement of sugar to distribute ingredients evenly. Toss sugar-spice mixture with apple mixture.
Mix together 2nd sugar measurement and cornstarch to prevent lumping. Add 1/2 of water to sugar-cornstarch mixture to make a slurry. In a saucepan, stir together the sugar-cornstarch slurry, butter, and remaining water, cook over low heat until it thickens to a gloppy goo and is well mixed. Stir continuously, scraping sides and bottom of pan often. Remove from heat once it is at the gloppy gooey stage. The mixture should seriously glop off the spoon into the pan when a spoonful of mixture is held over the pan.
Add apple mixture and stir well until all is combined and warmed. Let cool briefly (5 minutes). Fill pie shell with the apple mixture and top with lattice dough work. Lightly brush egg wash over dough lattice and top with a sprinkle of sugar. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven until crust is golden brown, apples are tender when pierced with a fork and filling is thick and set. Baking time is about 30 minutes.
Let pie set and cool for several minutes before serving. Can be served warm or cold. ENJOY!!!!
Next week we are learning how to make Lemon pie, Pate Sucree (sweet pie crust) and Italian Meringue!!! Stay blogged in for future recipes, techniques and methods!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Pastry Crust and Apple Pie
Today was my first day, of my last class for my Chef Certificate. Baking 1....... I LOVE my pastry instructor!!!! Great teaching methods and a very warm and kind person as well. Had a blast in class today!
I must admit I was a teeny bit anxious about Baking 1, since cooking is my field of expertise, and baking..... not so much. And I was worried about all the metric vs U.S. weight conversions..... but I need not worry.... we are allowed to use either method of measurements of our choice, which is going to make this class MUCH easier! Math just isn't my thing, especially the metric system.
We started out learning how to make pastry crust, how it should feel, how it should look, how to roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper instead of dusting with flour. That was really cool...... soooo much easier and less messy! Then we made the apple filling, but instead of putting the cold raw ingredients into the crust, we cooked the filling first and after filling the crust with the apple mixture, we then took the scraps of crust and made a lattice work covering.
I am very proud to say I received an 'Excellent' in the remarks and an A for my grade. One class down and only 8 more to go! On the way home from school, I just had to text my daughters and husband to proclaim my proud A..... and of course..... my husband's remark back was...... "I want one for tonight!".... so I stopped by Kroger on the way home to purchase the correct apples. If I don't make it for dinner tonight, I will definitely make it for tomorrow night. It's really hard to come home from a 6 hour cooking class and start cooking again.
My Aunt is well known for her DELISH pies and she can whip out a pastry crust quicker than you can sneeze, and my Mom is known for her many cakes she bakes.... I think they would both be proud that I can now make a really good pie too. Pastry crust/dough has ALWAYS intimidated me.... and actually.... it just ain't that hard! LOL Yes...... I used the word 'ain't' on purpose!
I'm already looking forward to class next week and whatever delicious goodies we will be baking. And I hope we get into bread making..... I would love to conquer french bread.... and there is nothing that smells better or tastes better than fresh baked bread!!!
Now it's time to go do my on-line homework and start reading the chapters for next week's class.
I must admit I was a teeny bit anxious about Baking 1, since cooking is my field of expertise, and baking..... not so much. And I was worried about all the metric vs U.S. weight conversions..... but I need not worry.... we are allowed to use either method of measurements of our choice, which is going to make this class MUCH easier! Math just isn't my thing, especially the metric system.
We started out learning how to make pastry crust, how it should feel, how it should look, how to roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper instead of dusting with flour. That was really cool...... soooo much easier and less messy! Then we made the apple filling, but instead of putting the cold raw ingredients into the crust, we cooked the filling first and after filling the crust with the apple mixture, we then took the scraps of crust and made a lattice work covering.
I am very proud to say I received an 'Excellent' in the remarks and an A for my grade. One class down and only 8 more to go! On the way home from school, I just had to text my daughters and husband to proclaim my proud A..... and of course..... my husband's remark back was...... "I want one for tonight!".... so I stopped by Kroger on the way home to purchase the correct apples. If I don't make it for dinner tonight, I will definitely make it for tomorrow night. It's really hard to come home from a 6 hour cooking class and start cooking again.
My Aunt is well known for her DELISH pies and she can whip out a pastry crust quicker than you can sneeze, and my Mom is known for her many cakes she bakes.... I think they would both be proud that I can now make a really good pie too. Pastry crust/dough has ALWAYS intimidated me.... and actually.... it just ain't that hard! LOL Yes...... I used the word 'ain't' on purpose!
I'm already looking forward to class next week and whatever delicious goodies we will be baking. And I hope we get into bread making..... I would love to conquer french bread.... and there is nothing that smells better or tastes better than fresh baked bread!!!
Now it's time to go do my on-line homework and start reading the chapters for next week's class.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Back To School Shopping
OMGOODNESS...... it's really here!!!.....this is the week!!! I start back to school in just two days! Baking 1 for Restaurants.... and then..... I graduate!! WOO HOO!!! Does this make me an official Senior?!!??....... and........ should I be experiencing Senoritis!??? LOL And is there really anything more fun than "Back To School Shopping"??? Pencils and paper and binders.... OH MY! LOL I'm skipping down my own yellow brick road on my way to see the Wizard for my diploma!
When I went to my advising session with my Chef.... he suggested I get a few things to add to my knife bag, so I went shopping at Target this afternoon in search of baking gadgets. I bought a candy thermometer, a long flat and a short pastry spatula, a couple of rubber scraping spatulas and a pastry scraper. I have my new fresh notebook, my mechanical pencils and sharpie markers in my book bag, my uniform is cleaned, pressed and waiting for me to put it on and I'm ready for the first day of school again.
Because I am taking this class in the "Late Fall" term, I get the benefit of having the Christmas Holidays fall right in the middle of the term.... thus.... I go 6 weeks, off 2 weeks and back to school for 4 weeks, which will fly by with the hectiness of the holidays. I am currently reading as many chapters in my textbook as I can. I want to be ahead of the game because of the stress and hectiness of the holidays.... which will include my youngest daughter, Lauren, moving home from LA Dec. 20th. She graduates from FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) Dec. 16th. She has been in LA almost 3 years and that time flew by like a flash. We are for this moment..... Seniors together! Awwwww!!!!! Guess we will have to have a big blow out Graduation party for the two of us! I graduate Jan. 27th..... just 5 weeks after she graduates.
Back to reading of the text! Have two chapters of homework completed already.... (there is no homework for chapter 3) I am in the middle of chapter 4.... which is the longest chapter in the book (50 pages), and I want to get through chapter 5 before school starts because according to the syllabus, we will be studying chapters 1-5 the first day of class. I like to be prepared! : )
Happy Monday!
When I went to my advising session with my Chef.... he suggested I get a few things to add to my knife bag, so I went shopping at Target this afternoon in search of baking gadgets. I bought a candy thermometer, a long flat and a short pastry spatula, a couple of rubber scraping spatulas and a pastry scraper. I have my new fresh notebook, my mechanical pencils and sharpie markers in my book bag, my uniform is cleaned, pressed and waiting for me to put it on and I'm ready for the first day of school again.
Because I am taking this class in the "Late Fall" term, I get the benefit of having the Christmas Holidays fall right in the middle of the term.... thus.... I go 6 weeks, off 2 weeks and back to school for 4 weeks, which will fly by with the hectiness of the holidays. I am currently reading as many chapters in my textbook as I can. I want to be ahead of the game because of the stress and hectiness of the holidays.... which will include my youngest daughter, Lauren, moving home from LA Dec. 20th. She graduates from FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) Dec. 16th. She has been in LA almost 3 years and that time flew by like a flash. We are for this moment..... Seniors together! Awwwww!!!!! Guess we will have to have a big blow out Graduation party for the two of us! I graduate Jan. 27th..... just 5 weeks after she graduates.
Back to reading of the text! Have two chapters of homework completed already.... (there is no homework for chapter 3) I am in the middle of chapter 4.... which is the longest chapter in the book (50 pages), and I want to get through chapter 5 before school starts because according to the syllabus, we will be studying chapters 1-5 the first day of class. I like to be prepared! : )
Happy Monday!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Greece - The rest of the story
Day 4 - Pam, Ted, Joe and I all met up at the lounge for breakfast and tour planning. The weather is gorgeous, and other than the one day of torrential rains, the weather was spectacular the rest of the week, ranging from high 70's to low 80's. We decide to head for the Acropolis and Parthenon first. Pam and I (seeing how we are now quite expert at getting to the metro and to the stops needed) lead the men onward. Of course men being men...... who don't like not being in the lead for long..... once we arrive at the Acropolis they take over as 'tour guides', which is perfectly fine with Pam and I.
It takes a good 45 minutes to walk up the very rough terrain of the Acropolis to reach the top where the Parthenon proudly sits. And of course of all the days for me to decide to be 'fashionable'....... was trying to 'represent' for my youngest fashionista daughter Lauren..... I wore wedges with my summer dress instead of flat sandals. So Pam with her bursitis hip and me on wedges.... we hold on to each other and help each other up the hill, which had to be a funny site! LOL But we made it to the top and then WOW, WOW, WOWZERS!!!!! Such a stunning site to see.
We spent a good hour at the Parthenon just looking at the site, taking photo's and enjoying the gorgeous weather. From there we traverse down to town and happened upon this really quaint side street that was built on the side of the hill and stop for a nice lunch. Delish-ee-o-so! Was the perfect spot to stop for a squat and refueling the tummies.
After lunch we continue to meander down the hill and walk into the market, where we started to shop for christmas gifts, which we were quite successful in our finds. However..... at one market shop, I felt like I was molested! Boy that guys hands were fast! Pam and I are strolling together, the fellas are just a couple steps in front. We are strolling slowly and just gazing at the wares on the street and in the windows when this Greek fella reaches out and drags both Pam and I into the shop wanting to show us hundreds of business cards of Greeks who have gone to America to work. After asking us where we are actually from, he finds business cards from the cities we live in. I grab Joe to come see..... hoping he will save me...... but nope..... the guys high tail it out of there and leave both Pam and I in this store trying to get out. Mr. Greek hands both Pam and I a 'lucky' greek penny..... he places the penny in Pam's hand, then places a penny in my hand and then reaches both his hand and mine deep inside my pocket on my dress....... I'm thinking...... WHAT are you doing!!!! and before I can recover from that Mr. Greek has my backpack purse off my shoulders and my sweater off my body before I can say WAIT!!!! I'm looking at Pam who was tossed my stuff to hold with a plea in my eye of 'help me!!!', we are both thinking...... what the heck is going on here and trying to get out of there. Mr. Greek was trying to sell me a woman's blouse to make me look Greek. Pam says she wants a shirt for her grandson, I grab my stuff and bail outta there. That guy had the quickest hands I have ever seen.... he literally had me undressed in 3 seconds flat before I had a clue what the heck he was doing. Pam and I have been cracking up ever since!
After that episode, we continue through the market.....me staying clear of any other doorways. The boys decide they are done with 'shopping' and spot a table near by to grab a beer. They tell us to shop at our leisure and join them when we are done.... which we do..... and as we sat there you wouldn't believe how many street vendors come up to push their wares on you, children gypsies playing instruments, mothers selling packets of tissues with their infants in their arms, all begging. It is sooooo sad and pulls on your hearts strings, but...... it is a big racket and the police are patrolling the area to shoo them all off. Plus the street people work in groups, those to distract and play on your pity, while the others pickpocket. You just can't help feeling your heartstrings being pulled tho.
We head on back to the metro and hotel after the beer stop and get ready to head out to dinner. We all meet up at the lounge for a beverage before heading out to dinner and while we are in the lounge, in walks our newlywed friends (Vincent and Liz). Pam and I make the introductions to our husbands, we chat with them for a few minutes and then we all head out to our separate dinners. Dinner was just a short walk from the hotel, and out of all the meals we had, this was my least favorite. It was 'ok' and edible but that's about it.
After dinner, we walk back to the hotel and back up to the lounge for a 'final final'.... which means one more drink before we retire for the evening. The night was gorgeous, so we head out to the balcony to enjoy both the view and the fresh air. As we are sitting there laughing and talking, in walk Vincent and Liz and ask to join us, which we gladly accepted. What a great time we all had..... til we got kicked out because the lounge closed. Vincent and Liz reminded me soooo much of my daughter Jessica and her husband Winston, who are also newlyweds. It was a very lovely evening.
Day 5 - We all gather once again at the lounge for breakfast (for the last time) before our planned bus tour excursion for the day. We decided to go out to the coast to see the Temple of Athena, which is very similar to the Parthenon, except this one is on a hill overlooking the bluff of the seaside. It is just sooooo incredible to see these spectacular views. It was a bit of a wiggy ride up to the site because the bus driver didn't turn the air on til the very end, the roads were hilly and curvy and the woman sitting in front of me was wearing this horrendous heavy perfume. But the drive back was much better because the air was cooler and it was dark outside so you didn't see the windy curves of the road.
We were the first ones on the bus on the journey to the site, thus we were on the bus for an hour and a half before the tour even began. As we are picking up other passengers on the way, we notice how close we are to the Plaka and the metro and we decide to jump off the bus on the way back at the Plaka for dinner. GOOD MOVE!!!!! We meandered down the side streets and find another quaint little restaurant in the open air and settle in for a nice meal. Not only did this place have delish food, but it had live music and Greek dancers. I can't think of a more perfect way to end our trip than having dinner at this place.
After dinner, we bid adieu to each other and head up to pack for the long journey home in the morning that begins at 3:30am. Yep...... we were up at 3:30 to head out for the airport. We had a connector flight in Paris and let me tell you...... Charles De Gaulle airport is horrendous!!! OMGOSH..... our flight was delayed just trying to get all of us from the landing plane onto the Cincinnati plane. The flights were bearable and long, but we made it home again, home again, jiggity jig, safe and sound and extremely exhausted after being up for over 30 hours. When we hit the bed at 9:00pm I don't think either Joe or I moved all night.
And that...... is the rest of the story! The End! LOL
Yamis
It takes a good 45 minutes to walk up the very rough terrain of the Acropolis to reach the top where the Parthenon proudly sits. And of course of all the days for me to decide to be 'fashionable'....... was trying to 'represent' for my youngest fashionista daughter Lauren..... I wore wedges with my summer dress instead of flat sandals. So Pam with her bursitis hip and me on wedges.... we hold on to each other and help each other up the hill, which had to be a funny site! LOL But we made it to the top and then WOW, WOW, WOWZERS!!!!! Such a stunning site to see.
We spent a good hour at the Parthenon just looking at the site, taking photo's and enjoying the gorgeous weather. From there we traverse down to town and happened upon this really quaint side street that was built on the side of the hill and stop for a nice lunch. Delish-ee-o-so! Was the perfect spot to stop for a squat and refueling the tummies.
After lunch we continue to meander down the hill and walk into the market, where we started to shop for christmas gifts, which we were quite successful in our finds. However..... at one market shop, I felt like I was molested! Boy that guys hands were fast! Pam and I are strolling together, the fellas are just a couple steps in front. We are strolling slowly and just gazing at the wares on the street and in the windows when this Greek fella reaches out and drags both Pam and I into the shop wanting to show us hundreds of business cards of Greeks who have gone to America to work. After asking us where we are actually from, he finds business cards from the cities we live in. I grab Joe to come see..... hoping he will save me...... but nope..... the guys high tail it out of there and leave both Pam and I in this store trying to get out. Mr. Greek hands both Pam and I a 'lucky' greek penny..... he places the penny in Pam's hand, then places a penny in my hand and then reaches both his hand and mine deep inside my pocket on my dress....... I'm thinking...... WHAT are you doing!!!! and before I can recover from that Mr. Greek has my backpack purse off my shoulders and my sweater off my body before I can say WAIT!!!! I'm looking at Pam who was tossed my stuff to hold with a plea in my eye of 'help me!!!', we are both thinking...... what the heck is going on here and trying to get out of there. Mr. Greek was trying to sell me a woman's blouse to make me look Greek. Pam says she wants a shirt for her grandson, I grab my stuff and bail outta there. That guy had the quickest hands I have ever seen.... he literally had me undressed in 3 seconds flat before I had a clue what the heck he was doing. Pam and I have been cracking up ever since!
After that episode, we continue through the market.....me staying clear of any other doorways. The boys decide they are done with 'shopping' and spot a table near by to grab a beer. They tell us to shop at our leisure and join them when we are done.... which we do..... and as we sat there you wouldn't believe how many street vendors come up to push their wares on you, children gypsies playing instruments, mothers selling packets of tissues with their infants in their arms, all begging. It is sooooo sad and pulls on your hearts strings, but...... it is a big racket and the police are patrolling the area to shoo them all off. Plus the street people work in groups, those to distract and play on your pity, while the others pickpocket. You just can't help feeling your heartstrings being pulled tho.
We head on back to the metro and hotel after the beer stop and get ready to head out to dinner. We all meet up at the lounge for a beverage before heading out to dinner and while we are in the lounge, in walks our newlywed friends (Vincent and Liz). Pam and I make the introductions to our husbands, we chat with them for a few minutes and then we all head out to our separate dinners. Dinner was just a short walk from the hotel, and out of all the meals we had, this was my least favorite. It was 'ok' and edible but that's about it.
After dinner, we walk back to the hotel and back up to the lounge for a 'final final'.... which means one more drink before we retire for the evening. The night was gorgeous, so we head out to the balcony to enjoy both the view and the fresh air. As we are sitting there laughing and talking, in walk Vincent and Liz and ask to join us, which we gladly accepted. What a great time we all had..... til we got kicked out because the lounge closed. Vincent and Liz reminded me soooo much of my daughter Jessica and her husband Winston, who are also newlyweds. It was a very lovely evening.
Day 5 - We all gather once again at the lounge for breakfast (for the last time) before our planned bus tour excursion for the day. We decided to go out to the coast to see the Temple of Athena, which is very similar to the Parthenon, except this one is on a hill overlooking the bluff of the seaside. It is just sooooo incredible to see these spectacular views. It was a bit of a wiggy ride up to the site because the bus driver didn't turn the air on til the very end, the roads were hilly and curvy and the woman sitting in front of me was wearing this horrendous heavy perfume. But the drive back was much better because the air was cooler and it was dark outside so you didn't see the windy curves of the road.
We were the first ones on the bus on the journey to the site, thus we were on the bus for an hour and a half before the tour even began. As we are picking up other passengers on the way, we notice how close we are to the Plaka and the metro and we decide to jump off the bus on the way back at the Plaka for dinner. GOOD MOVE!!!!! We meandered down the side streets and find another quaint little restaurant in the open air and settle in for a nice meal. Not only did this place have delish food, but it had live music and Greek dancers. I can't think of a more perfect way to end our trip than having dinner at this place.
After dinner, we bid adieu to each other and head up to pack for the long journey home in the morning that begins at 3:30am. Yep...... we were up at 3:30 to head out for the airport. We had a connector flight in Paris and let me tell you...... Charles De Gaulle airport is horrendous!!! OMGOSH..... our flight was delayed just trying to get all of us from the landing plane onto the Cincinnati plane. The flights were bearable and long, but we made it home again, home again, jiggity jig, safe and sound and extremely exhausted after being up for over 30 hours. When we hit the bed at 9:00pm I don't think either Joe or I moved all night.
And that...... is the rest of the story! The End! LOL
Yamis
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Greece - Girls Day Out
While the husbands were in their 3 day long conference/seminar, us ladies (Pam and I) had all day to do as we wanted, at the pace we wanted, so we began Day 1 meeting up in the lounge for breakfast and plan making. I must mention that Pam and I had only met once over a dinner a couple weeks earlier just to get introduced before this trip. We didn't really know anything about each other at this point, even tho the dinner had gone quite nicely.
Day 1 - It rained..... torrential downpour rain, so that made our plans pretty easy for that day. We would hop on the metro and go to the Acropolis Museum and wander around, saving the open air market shopping and other touring for the other two days. Pam and I start chatting over croissants and coffee/tea and the next thing we know...... we have been sitting there chatting and laughing for a couple of hours.
While we were enjoying our breakfast, an adorable cute newlywed couple sat at the table next to us, speaking with a southern accent, and as always in a foreign country, you always ask other Americans where they are from. They just happened to be from the area where Pam and her husband have a cabin and the 4 of us chatted for several minutes. The rain had let up just a tid bit, we bid the newlyweds farewell and off we scamper to find the metro and the museum. We had to play frogger to cross the several streets to get to the metro, but we made it before the rain started coming down hard again. What we would discover the next day, is that we actually took the long way around to the metro, and we did get a bit wet, but.... we were soooo proud of ourselves for getting there and back to the hotel at the end of the day.
The museum was busy but not packed since it was off season, but busier than normal on a Tues because of the rain. We stood in the foyer of the museum for over an hour just chatting before we actually gave our ticket and went into the exhibit area. Too funny! But we were just so wrapped up in our conversation we just stood to the side and kept chatting. Then once inside the exhibit area, we looked at stuff but didn't really read any of the plaques or info, just enjoyed looking at all the marble statutes. We continued our way through the 3 floors of artifacts chatting the whole way until we found the cafeteria on the top floor, and by now we are hungry and thirsty, it's still raining hard, so we decide to pop a squat, have lunch before we head back out to the rainy elements outside.
During the 2 hours Pam and I sat and chatted and ate lunch in the cafeteria our new newlywed friends, who also happened to have gone to the museum for the very same reason (nothing else to do in the rain, since all the ruins are outside) sat next to us, and we continued our conversations from earlier when we were at the lounge together. I couldn't believe this young couple (guessing 26ish -27ish) wanted to sit next to us old chatty gals, but they did and the conversation was so delightful. They sat and chatted with us for over an hour, then since they hadn't quite finished their tour of the museum, they got up and left and soon after we too left. Pam and I made our way back down to the main floor to head back to the hotel, but again..... it was just deluge pouring outside, the whole front entrance of the museum outside was all marble and quite slick, not to mention it had 4" of water on top of it. The museum employee's were trying their hardest to squeegee the water off the marble, but they couldn't keep up with the amount of water collecting on the marble with the downpour. So.... since Pam and I were not in any hurry and we were still chatting away, we back our hinnies up to a big huge column and continue our conversation as we wait out the rain. 2 hours later....... a museum employee walks up to us and asks us if we are looking for our tour bus group or if we are lost. We are cracking up, knowing we have been spotted on the security camera's just standing there talking for 2 hours. Our newlywed friends (Vincent and Liz) wave to us as they passed by and left. When the rain finally eased up to a drizzle, Pam and I hoofed it out of there and almost made it back to the hotel before the deluge started again.
Joe and I had a Committee dinner that night, and Pam and Ted had dinner solo that night after the main meet and greet in the lobby. After we made it back to the hotel, I head up to the room to get showered and dressed for the meet and greet and then head downstairs to meet up with Joe. The meet and greet went nicely, then we had our dinner. This is the dinner where I met and became so engrossed in the two Greek fella's and their olive oil.
Day 2 - Pam and I meet again up at the lounge, have breakfast, start chatting again and again sat there for a couple of hours before making our way back to the metro to go to the Plaka (shopping district... flea marketing style). This time we find the short cut through the park instead of having to play frogger across several heavily traffic streets. We are quite proud of ourselves by now that we have mastered the metro..... no english, all in Greek.... and we figured it out nicely.
Once we hit the main market..... they only take cash, which I didn't prepare myself for, but had enough cash (euro) on had for that day. However..... I stop in the first store on the corner and find scarfs. My main goal was to buy scarfs on this trip because my girls and I just love them, and I couldn't find any scarfs when we were in France a month earlier and was soooo disappointed. These are pashmina type scarfs found all over Europe, everyone wears them and they are beautiful and I just can't buy enough of them when I'm abroad. But...... it took every euro I had, so my shopping was done for the day.
Pam and I are still chatting, and just meandering through these narrow market streets, keeping our purses tight to our sides until we are in this alley that has a tour train. We have nothing else really to do, so we hop on the tour train for a rest and to see the city. The train took a one hour tour around the city, so we hop aboard and wait for about 15 minutes for others to board. We have yet to stop chatting, and we sat and chatted through the whole tour (kinda a cheesy tour, but relaxing and a place to sit for an hour). Then after the train ride, we meander ourselves back through the market and back to the metro and back to the hotel and get ready for the dinner that night.
Joe and I along with Pam and Ted had a really nice dinner to go to that night sponsored by the conference. The whole 160 folks go by chartered bus to the restaurant that is on top of this hill with a gorgeous view of the Acropolis and Parthenon all lit up. STUNNING site!!!! Dinner was delish, we chatted with everyone at our table and had just a delightful time. As we were leaving the restaurant, boarding back on the busses for the hotel, we are all given gifts of this beautiful picture book of Greece. I want to frame every page!
Day 3 - Once again Pam and I meet up at the lounge for breakfast and to decide what the day's plan will be. Both she and I are recovering from medical issues and we didn't want to go see any of the big sites, knowing our husbands wanted to join us for those after the conference is over. We are both tired and jetlagged as well. So we ended up just sitting in the lounge for several hours...... yep..... you got it..... chatting!
Then this British couple come over to us (Pam and I think they are with the conference and have recognized us! TEE HEE!!! but they weren't with the conference)...... they had come over to tell us that they had seen us everywhere.... there in the lounge, in the museum, on the tour train and again in the lounge and that we were chatting the whole time! They were cracking up at how much we could actually just sit and chat with each other! Pam and I are laughing so hard we are literally in tears and we can't stop laughing because it is true...... we have not stopped chatting for 3 days and we had just met each other! Then.... to make matters worse, our newlywed friends come in the lounge and they again sit beside us and we chat with them for another hour or so.
After several hours of chatting in the lounge, we both decide to just head back to our rooms for a rest while we wait for the fella's to finish up their conference and join us. We all were going to dinner with the Greek fella's Joe and I met at the Committee dinner who produce that marvelous olive oil. We have about 3 hours to kill before the guys are done, so I take out my Julia book and sit on the balcony to read in the sun. However, it was soooo hot in that sun, I open the sliding door and sit on the edge of the bed to read, but the sun is shining through the door over the entire bed, so I decide..... hum...... I can just lay on the bed, read and suntan..... which is exactly what I did, remembering to turn myself every 30 minutes like a rotisserie chicken for even browning. That is the first time I have ever sun bathed while lying on my bed! And it worked beautifully!
That night we took the venicular (a tram on a track that goes in this tunnel that takes you up the hill) to the top of this hill (the tallest hill in Athens) that has this quaint restaurant at the top. But before we go in to dine, our hosts take us outside to the roof top for a view. AMAZING!!!!! OMGOSH!!!!! SPECTACULAR!!!! The whole city was lit up and you could see 180 degrees around the entire city. STUNNING!!! ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!! Dinner was delish, the conversation was wonderful and these two brothers gave us gifts of another beautiful photo book for Joe and a cookbook for me. A very very delightful time was had by all.
Day 4 and Day 5 are another blog itself, since it involves the vacation part with our husbands in tow. Tune in tomorrow for the 'rest of the story'! The days of just Pam and I were filled with soooo much chatting and til we cried kind of laughing. I have truly met a very dear friend through this experience!
YAMIS!
Day 1 - It rained..... torrential downpour rain, so that made our plans pretty easy for that day. We would hop on the metro and go to the Acropolis Museum and wander around, saving the open air market shopping and other touring for the other two days. Pam and I start chatting over croissants and coffee/tea and the next thing we know...... we have been sitting there chatting and laughing for a couple of hours.
While we were enjoying our breakfast, an adorable cute newlywed couple sat at the table next to us, speaking with a southern accent, and as always in a foreign country, you always ask other Americans where they are from. They just happened to be from the area where Pam and her husband have a cabin and the 4 of us chatted for several minutes. The rain had let up just a tid bit, we bid the newlyweds farewell and off we scamper to find the metro and the museum. We had to play frogger to cross the several streets to get to the metro, but we made it before the rain started coming down hard again. What we would discover the next day, is that we actually took the long way around to the metro, and we did get a bit wet, but.... we were soooo proud of ourselves for getting there and back to the hotel at the end of the day.
The museum was busy but not packed since it was off season, but busier than normal on a Tues because of the rain. We stood in the foyer of the museum for over an hour just chatting before we actually gave our ticket and went into the exhibit area. Too funny! But we were just so wrapped up in our conversation we just stood to the side and kept chatting. Then once inside the exhibit area, we looked at stuff but didn't really read any of the plaques or info, just enjoyed looking at all the marble statutes. We continued our way through the 3 floors of artifacts chatting the whole way until we found the cafeteria on the top floor, and by now we are hungry and thirsty, it's still raining hard, so we decide to pop a squat, have lunch before we head back out to the rainy elements outside.
During the 2 hours Pam and I sat and chatted and ate lunch in the cafeteria our new newlywed friends, who also happened to have gone to the museum for the very same reason (nothing else to do in the rain, since all the ruins are outside) sat next to us, and we continued our conversations from earlier when we were at the lounge together. I couldn't believe this young couple (guessing 26ish -27ish) wanted to sit next to us old chatty gals, but they did and the conversation was so delightful. They sat and chatted with us for over an hour, then since they hadn't quite finished their tour of the museum, they got up and left and soon after we too left. Pam and I made our way back down to the main floor to head back to the hotel, but again..... it was just deluge pouring outside, the whole front entrance of the museum outside was all marble and quite slick, not to mention it had 4" of water on top of it. The museum employee's were trying their hardest to squeegee the water off the marble, but they couldn't keep up with the amount of water collecting on the marble with the downpour. So.... since Pam and I were not in any hurry and we were still chatting away, we back our hinnies up to a big huge column and continue our conversation as we wait out the rain. 2 hours later....... a museum employee walks up to us and asks us if we are looking for our tour bus group or if we are lost. We are cracking up, knowing we have been spotted on the security camera's just standing there talking for 2 hours. Our newlywed friends (Vincent and Liz) wave to us as they passed by and left. When the rain finally eased up to a drizzle, Pam and I hoofed it out of there and almost made it back to the hotel before the deluge started again.
Joe and I had a Committee dinner that night, and Pam and Ted had dinner solo that night after the main meet and greet in the lobby. After we made it back to the hotel, I head up to the room to get showered and dressed for the meet and greet and then head downstairs to meet up with Joe. The meet and greet went nicely, then we had our dinner. This is the dinner where I met and became so engrossed in the two Greek fella's and their olive oil.
Day 2 - Pam and I meet again up at the lounge, have breakfast, start chatting again and again sat there for a couple of hours before making our way back to the metro to go to the Plaka (shopping district... flea marketing style). This time we find the short cut through the park instead of having to play frogger across several heavily traffic streets. We are quite proud of ourselves by now that we have mastered the metro..... no english, all in Greek.... and we figured it out nicely.
Once we hit the main market..... they only take cash, which I didn't prepare myself for, but had enough cash (euro) on had for that day. However..... I stop in the first store on the corner and find scarfs. My main goal was to buy scarfs on this trip because my girls and I just love them, and I couldn't find any scarfs when we were in France a month earlier and was soooo disappointed. These are pashmina type scarfs found all over Europe, everyone wears them and they are beautiful and I just can't buy enough of them when I'm abroad. But...... it took every euro I had, so my shopping was done for the day.
Pam and I are still chatting, and just meandering through these narrow market streets, keeping our purses tight to our sides until we are in this alley that has a tour train. We have nothing else really to do, so we hop on the tour train for a rest and to see the city. The train took a one hour tour around the city, so we hop aboard and wait for about 15 minutes for others to board. We have yet to stop chatting, and we sat and chatted through the whole tour (kinda a cheesy tour, but relaxing and a place to sit for an hour). Then after the train ride, we meander ourselves back through the market and back to the metro and back to the hotel and get ready for the dinner that night.
Joe and I along with Pam and Ted had a really nice dinner to go to that night sponsored by the conference. The whole 160 folks go by chartered bus to the restaurant that is on top of this hill with a gorgeous view of the Acropolis and Parthenon all lit up. STUNNING site!!!! Dinner was delish, we chatted with everyone at our table and had just a delightful time. As we were leaving the restaurant, boarding back on the busses for the hotel, we are all given gifts of this beautiful picture book of Greece. I want to frame every page!
Day 3 - Once again Pam and I meet up at the lounge for breakfast and to decide what the day's plan will be. Both she and I are recovering from medical issues and we didn't want to go see any of the big sites, knowing our husbands wanted to join us for those after the conference is over. We are both tired and jetlagged as well. So we ended up just sitting in the lounge for several hours...... yep..... you got it..... chatting!
Then this British couple come over to us (Pam and I think they are with the conference and have recognized us! TEE HEE!!! but they weren't with the conference)...... they had come over to tell us that they had seen us everywhere.... there in the lounge, in the museum, on the tour train and again in the lounge and that we were chatting the whole time! They were cracking up at how much we could actually just sit and chat with each other! Pam and I are laughing so hard we are literally in tears and we can't stop laughing because it is true...... we have not stopped chatting for 3 days and we had just met each other! Then.... to make matters worse, our newlywed friends come in the lounge and they again sit beside us and we chat with them for another hour or so.
After several hours of chatting in the lounge, we both decide to just head back to our rooms for a rest while we wait for the fella's to finish up their conference and join us. We all were going to dinner with the Greek fella's Joe and I met at the Committee dinner who produce that marvelous olive oil. We have about 3 hours to kill before the guys are done, so I take out my Julia book and sit on the balcony to read in the sun. However, it was soooo hot in that sun, I open the sliding door and sit on the edge of the bed to read, but the sun is shining through the door over the entire bed, so I decide..... hum...... I can just lay on the bed, read and suntan..... which is exactly what I did, remembering to turn myself every 30 minutes like a rotisserie chicken for even browning. That is the first time I have ever sun bathed while lying on my bed! And it worked beautifully!
That night we took the venicular (a tram on a track that goes in this tunnel that takes you up the hill) to the top of this hill (the tallest hill in Athens) that has this quaint restaurant at the top. But before we go in to dine, our hosts take us outside to the roof top for a view. AMAZING!!!!! OMGOSH!!!!! SPECTACULAR!!!! The whole city was lit up and you could see 180 degrees around the entire city. STUNNING!!! ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!! Dinner was delish, the conversation was wonderful and these two brothers gave us gifts of another beautiful photo book for Joe and a cookbook for me. A very very delightful time was had by all.
Day 4 and Day 5 are another blog itself, since it involves the vacation part with our husbands in tow. Tune in tomorrow for the 'rest of the story'! The days of just Pam and I were filled with soooo much chatting and til we cried kind of laughing. I have truly met a very dear friend through this experience!
YAMIS!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Greece
SPECTACULAR!!!!! That one word pretty much sums it up. Joe and I were already planning our next trip back before we even left the for the airport on our way back home to the states.
While France still is our favorite 'foodie' place, Greece is so incredibly beautiful, it is now competing with France and Italy for the title of "our favorite" trip. And speaking of the food..... which was good, but the olive oil...... OMGOODNESS....... I could live the rest of my life on just bread and their incredibly delicious olive oil. I use tons of olive oil and the difference between what I am used to vs. what they have in Greece is like comparing wine to grape juice!!!! I'm on a quest now to figure out how I can get that olive oil here.
My husband is on the Committee Board of this International Grocers/Marketing Conference, which was the reason for this trip. The trip is all biz for him the first 3 days and vacation the last 2 days. We have 'Meet and Greet' dinners to attend in the evenings..... which as a spouse can be dull and boring, since all 160 participants of this conference are representing their products, marketing/packaging techniques, and themselves/companies. So as a spouse attending, most of the conversations are about the topics that have been presented from various speakers in the forum and I have no idea what-so-ever what they are talking about and I end up standing around, nibbling and smiling.
However..... this year at the dinner Joe and I had to attend for the Committee members, Speakers and Sponsors, I had the most delightful time. We were seated next to these two Greek men who grow, pick and manufacture this specific olive oil. Me being the chef I am.... I became quite involved in this conversation, and it was the most interesting and fascinating conversation I have ever had during the 5 years I have attended this event. I volunteered to be the "Olive Oil Ambassador" for here in the states! LOL LOL All I know is....... I want this olive oil available to use every single day!!! You would have to taste it to believe it, but WOW!!!!! I'm drooling as I type just thinking about it. Joe and I along with the other Kroger couple who traveled with us went to dinner with these Greek fellas the night after the conference was over and they are just so incredibly interesting, we had the nicest time!
The other spouse Pam and I had an absolutely marvelous time together while our husbands were doing their thing in the conference. I have met a new, life long, and very dear friend. Pam and I chatted for hours (that blog story later), we giggled and relaxed and mostly chatted. Pam...... You are a true GEM!!!!! Thanks for making this the best "spouse" part of this event in all my 5 years of attending this event.
And of course I had my other companion with me as well. Julia! I took the biography book about her with me (Appetite for Life) and I enjoyed her company on the long plane rides as well as when I had my own down time. I'm finally finished with this book, which was such a good read, but a long read. Like a history book, but finally all the information about her I have been thirsty for.
Great trip, fun times, lots of giggles, and absolutely the best trip with this event ever!!!! And that says a lot since I ALWAYS enjoy these events/trips. And did I mention we had a view of the Acropolis out of our hotel window/balcony every day. Breath taking! More on Greece itself next blog.
Home again, home again jiggity jig...... USA is ALWAYS so nice to come home to, especially when it is 71 degrees!!! There truly is just no place like home.... click click my sparkly red shoes!
YAMIS (which in Greek means.... "To your good health")
While France still is our favorite 'foodie' place, Greece is so incredibly beautiful, it is now competing with France and Italy for the title of "our favorite" trip. And speaking of the food..... which was good, but the olive oil...... OMGOODNESS....... I could live the rest of my life on just bread and their incredibly delicious olive oil. I use tons of olive oil and the difference between what I am used to vs. what they have in Greece is like comparing wine to grape juice!!!! I'm on a quest now to figure out how I can get that olive oil here.
My husband is on the Committee Board of this International Grocers/Marketing Conference, which was the reason for this trip. The trip is all biz for him the first 3 days and vacation the last 2 days. We have 'Meet and Greet' dinners to attend in the evenings..... which as a spouse can be dull and boring, since all 160 participants of this conference are representing their products, marketing/packaging techniques, and themselves/companies. So as a spouse attending, most of the conversations are about the topics that have been presented from various speakers in the forum and I have no idea what-so-ever what they are talking about and I end up standing around, nibbling and smiling.
However..... this year at the dinner Joe and I had to attend for the Committee members, Speakers and Sponsors, I had the most delightful time. We were seated next to these two Greek men who grow, pick and manufacture this specific olive oil. Me being the chef I am.... I became quite involved in this conversation, and it was the most interesting and fascinating conversation I have ever had during the 5 years I have attended this event. I volunteered to be the "Olive Oil Ambassador" for here in the states! LOL LOL All I know is....... I want this olive oil available to use every single day!!! You would have to taste it to believe it, but WOW!!!!! I'm drooling as I type just thinking about it. Joe and I along with the other Kroger couple who traveled with us went to dinner with these Greek fellas the night after the conference was over and they are just so incredibly interesting, we had the nicest time!
The other spouse Pam and I had an absolutely marvelous time together while our husbands were doing their thing in the conference. I have met a new, life long, and very dear friend. Pam and I chatted for hours (that blog story later), we giggled and relaxed and mostly chatted. Pam...... You are a true GEM!!!!! Thanks for making this the best "spouse" part of this event in all my 5 years of attending this event.
And of course I had my other companion with me as well. Julia! I took the biography book about her with me (Appetite for Life) and I enjoyed her company on the long plane rides as well as when I had my own down time. I'm finally finished with this book, which was such a good read, but a long read. Like a history book, but finally all the information about her I have been thirsty for.
Great trip, fun times, lots of giggles, and absolutely the best trip with this event ever!!!! And that says a lot since I ALWAYS enjoy these events/trips. And did I mention we had a view of the Acropolis out of our hotel window/balcony every day. Breath taking! More on Greece itself next blog.
Home again, home again jiggity jig...... USA is ALWAYS so nice to come home to, especially when it is 71 degrees!!! There truly is just no place like home.... click click my sparkly red shoes!
YAMIS (which in Greek means.... "To your good health")
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween
It's Halloween..... and I'm looking forward to all the spooks, ghosts, goblins, witches, princesses, action heros and other costumed younguns that will ding dong on my doorbell this evening as they trick or treat through the neighborhood. Poor dears..... tonight is supposed to be rainy, it is supposed to rain all day and night. I'm hoping they get a break and the rain ends this afternoon.
In my current neighborhood most of the trick or treaters get door to door service via golf carts driven by their parents. And many of these golf carts have kids piled in them and hanging on the outside.... as in 6-8 kids in one golf cart!! Some parents still bring a mini-van/SUV full of youngsters and drop them off at the top of the street and wait for the trick or treaters to make the rounds and then zip them off to another street/neighborhood..... but...... the number of golf carts whizzing around the neighborhood all evening is amazing!
In my current neighborhood we get a good steady stream of 'younger' trick or treaters for about an hour..... then it slows down to a trickle of treaters for 30 more minutes..... then we get a trickle of 'big/older/teenagers' who are out being silly and looking for chocolate too. My thinking is this..... I'm a grown adult, I gladly accept chocolate anytime it is given, by anyone who wants to give it to me, therefore...... I think as long as these older teenagers are out just having fun, not being destructive or rude, I will gladly give them some chocolate. Like last year for instance...... I had the highschool swim team (all guys..... about 8 of them) show up wearing nothing except for their speedo's and goggles.... and yes, it was very cold last year. They were hilarious..... freezing, but hilarious! How could I not give such brave souls some chocolate? I sure hope they come back this year!!!! LOL LOL
What happened to the good ole days of walking??? OK..... so we actually ran.... no matter how many times our parents yelled at us to "be careful.... watch where you are going...... take your sister's/brother's hand...... and NO running!!!!"...... we ran anyway, forgot our little siblings and had to be first at the door to push the doorbell and scare the beegeezees out of the candy giver! I of course was always the 'little sister'..... therefore...... it was my hand that got dropped and me who got forgotten as my brother ran over me to get to the next house first..... and it was me who ALWAYS tripped over my costume and/or a tree stump and spilled my candy all over the dark yard and bushes..... but I still managed to haul in quite a heap of candy by the end of the night. And didn't it seem like we were out trick or treating for hours, when it was actually not even a whole hour?!????
When I was young and when my own children were young, we made our costumes from whatever we had lying around the house. It was the one time a year we were actually allowed to play with my Mom's makeup... and my daughters only time of the year to play with my makeup too. We never had a costume planned more than a week in advance, usually it was last minute... as in day of Halloween.... but we always pulled something together and off we went to gather the goodies and treats.
And then...... once you got home the fun really started! As a youngster and when my children were young, the thing to do is come in and dump your candy in a big pile and start sorting and counting! Tongue stuck out the side of your mouth in deep concentration as you hoped to have more chocolate and gum and less of the candy you didn't like. And then...... came the bartering with your siblings, cousins and friends (whoever went out with you trick or treating) to exchange as much of the unwanted candy for better candy items.
I have to admit...... I was always a candy thief of my girls loot after they were fast asleep! Then they got old enough to count how much they had of this or that and I started getting caught! LOL And then they got old enough to know I was going to loot their candy anyway (I'm a confessed choc-aholic), so they started giving me my own little pile from their loot! LOL LOL Now that we are empty nesters..... I just get whatever is leftover from giving out of the candy, and I learned quickly that you don't buy anything you don't want to get stuck with when the trick or treaters are all done.
And of course I can't forget the traditional Chili dinner. I think this tradition started back when we lived in Smyrna TN....... my girls were 7, 3 and my youngest still in the womb and we lived in this AWESOME neighborhood where everyone felt more like family than they did neighbors or friends. Several of us families would gather to have a quick bowl of chili, which I think started because it was the quickest and easiest meal we could get our younguns to eat in the midst of all that excitement, costume donning, makeup tweaking and typical hectic chaos that occurs before the youngsters can get us parents out the door and on the way to candy haven! Us Moms would dress up and pass out the candy and the Dads would take the youngsters "spooking", which is what our children called trick or treating. Then afterwards we would all gather at one of our houses as the children sorted, counted and bartered for about an hour. So for the past 20+ years chili has been Halloween dinner.
Wishing all a Happy Halloween, and may many adorable ghosts and goblins grace your house this evening with all their eagerness of gathering yummy loot!
In my current neighborhood most of the trick or treaters get door to door service via golf carts driven by their parents. And many of these golf carts have kids piled in them and hanging on the outside.... as in 6-8 kids in one golf cart!! Some parents still bring a mini-van/SUV full of youngsters and drop them off at the top of the street and wait for the trick or treaters to make the rounds and then zip them off to another street/neighborhood..... but...... the number of golf carts whizzing around the neighborhood all evening is amazing!
In my current neighborhood we get a good steady stream of 'younger' trick or treaters for about an hour..... then it slows down to a trickle of treaters for 30 more minutes..... then we get a trickle of 'big/older/teenagers' who are out being silly and looking for chocolate too. My thinking is this..... I'm a grown adult, I gladly accept chocolate anytime it is given, by anyone who wants to give it to me, therefore...... I think as long as these older teenagers are out just having fun, not being destructive or rude, I will gladly give them some chocolate. Like last year for instance...... I had the highschool swim team (all guys..... about 8 of them) show up wearing nothing except for their speedo's and goggles.... and yes, it was very cold last year. They were hilarious..... freezing, but hilarious! How could I not give such brave souls some chocolate? I sure hope they come back this year!!!! LOL LOL
What happened to the good ole days of walking??? OK..... so we actually ran.... no matter how many times our parents yelled at us to "be careful.... watch where you are going...... take your sister's/brother's hand...... and NO running!!!!"...... we ran anyway, forgot our little siblings and had to be first at the door to push the doorbell and scare the beegeezees out of the candy giver! I of course was always the 'little sister'..... therefore...... it was my hand that got dropped and me who got forgotten as my brother ran over me to get to the next house first..... and it was me who ALWAYS tripped over my costume and/or a tree stump and spilled my candy all over the dark yard and bushes..... but I still managed to haul in quite a heap of candy by the end of the night. And didn't it seem like we were out trick or treating for hours, when it was actually not even a whole hour?!????
When I was young and when my own children were young, we made our costumes from whatever we had lying around the house. It was the one time a year we were actually allowed to play with my Mom's makeup... and my daughters only time of the year to play with my makeup too. We never had a costume planned more than a week in advance, usually it was last minute... as in day of Halloween.... but we always pulled something together and off we went to gather the goodies and treats.
And then...... once you got home the fun really started! As a youngster and when my children were young, the thing to do is come in and dump your candy in a big pile and start sorting and counting! Tongue stuck out the side of your mouth in deep concentration as you hoped to have more chocolate and gum and less of the candy you didn't like. And then...... came the bartering with your siblings, cousins and friends (whoever went out with you trick or treating) to exchange as much of the unwanted candy for better candy items.
I have to admit...... I was always a candy thief of my girls loot after they were fast asleep! Then they got old enough to count how much they had of this or that and I started getting caught! LOL And then they got old enough to know I was going to loot their candy anyway (I'm a confessed choc-aholic), so they started giving me my own little pile from their loot! LOL LOL Now that we are empty nesters..... I just get whatever is leftover from giving out of the candy, and I learned quickly that you don't buy anything you don't want to get stuck with when the trick or treaters are all done.
And of course I can't forget the traditional Chili dinner. I think this tradition started back when we lived in Smyrna TN....... my girls were 7, 3 and my youngest still in the womb and we lived in this AWESOME neighborhood where everyone felt more like family than they did neighbors or friends. Several of us families would gather to have a quick bowl of chili, which I think started because it was the quickest and easiest meal we could get our younguns to eat in the midst of all that excitement, costume donning, makeup tweaking and typical hectic chaos that occurs before the youngsters can get us parents out the door and on the way to candy haven! Us Moms would dress up and pass out the candy and the Dads would take the youngsters "spooking", which is what our children called trick or treating. Then afterwards we would all gather at one of our houses as the children sorted, counted and bartered for about an hour. So for the past 20+ years chili has been Halloween dinner.
Wishing all a Happy Halloween, and may many adorable ghosts and goblins grace your house this evening with all their eagerness of gathering yummy loot!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Taking Julia To Greece
I went to the library a few weeks ago.... and no matter how old I get, or how long it's been since I was last in a library..... the moment I step into one...... all those comfortable smells hits me like childhood in my face. Ahhhhhh...... there is just something sooooo comforting about being in a library..... you just feel soooo safe and cozy! I even love the quietness of a library.... and for those who know me...... quiet isn't usually associated with the mention of my name! LOL
Any hooty...... I digress..... I checked out a couple of books.... a Julia Child cookbook (The Way To Cook), a Paul Bocuse cookbook (Regional French Cooking), and a biography of Julia Child (An Appetite for Life). I have been trying to read the bio on Julia Child for over a month now and am still only half way through it. It is a very 'wordy' book and goes into great detail...... both which I love and find annoying at the same time. So..... between traveling, house chores/errands, dr./dental appts., and life in general clopping along with increasing speed..... it's been one of those put down, pick up books, that you enjoy each time you pick it up, begrudgenly hate to put down..... but easily forget about when 'life' sweeps you up and carries you along. I have renewed this book twice already and when it comes due (Nov. 19), I HAVE to turn it in, so it is going along with me to Greece. I'm taking Julia to Greece with me by gum!!!
I love it each time I pick up this book and hear the crinkle of the thin plastic cover over the book jacket.... I love seeing the tape sideways holding the book jacket and plastic coating snuggly in place.... I LOVE the smell of the book when I open it. New or old.... any book that has gone through the doors of any library.... attains that 'library smell'. I love how cool it looks to be toting around a real library book.
The book itself is perfect.... all the information I have been searching for about Julia Child and more. But... like I noted earlier.... it is quite 'wordy'. It starts at the beginning.... at her birth and follows her life up thru her late 80's..... she died at age 92, and she was aware of the writing of this book. She was quite the hoot from a small child to a full blossomed adult Child (play on word intended!) and her love affair with Paul is priceless and precious! It's been like reading her private dairy..... you pick it up and read bits of it, feeling so familiar with her, then having to put it aside for another day when you can get lost in it's pages again.
I think I'm actually kinda glad I am only half way through this book.... it will be nice having something good to read on the long flights and on the 3 hour layover in Paris.
Any hooty...... I digress..... I checked out a couple of books.... a Julia Child cookbook (The Way To Cook), a Paul Bocuse cookbook (Regional French Cooking), and a biography of Julia Child (An Appetite for Life). I have been trying to read the bio on Julia Child for over a month now and am still only half way through it. It is a very 'wordy' book and goes into great detail...... both which I love and find annoying at the same time. So..... between traveling, house chores/errands, dr./dental appts., and life in general clopping along with increasing speed..... it's been one of those put down, pick up books, that you enjoy each time you pick it up, begrudgenly hate to put down..... but easily forget about when 'life' sweeps you up and carries you along. I have renewed this book twice already and when it comes due (Nov. 19), I HAVE to turn it in, so it is going along with me to Greece. I'm taking Julia to Greece with me by gum!!!
I love it each time I pick up this book and hear the crinkle of the thin plastic cover over the book jacket.... I love seeing the tape sideways holding the book jacket and plastic coating snuggly in place.... I LOVE the smell of the book when I open it. New or old.... any book that has gone through the doors of any library.... attains that 'library smell'. I love how cool it looks to be toting around a real library book.
The book itself is perfect.... all the information I have been searching for about Julia Child and more. But... like I noted earlier.... it is quite 'wordy'. It starts at the beginning.... at her birth and follows her life up thru her late 80's..... she died at age 92, and she was aware of the writing of this book. She was quite the hoot from a small child to a full blossomed adult Child (play on word intended!) and her love affair with Paul is priceless and precious! It's been like reading her private dairy..... you pick it up and read bits of it, feeling so familiar with her, then having to put it aside for another day when you can get lost in it's pages again.
I think I'm actually kinda glad I am only half way through this book.... it will be nice having something good to read on the long flights and on the 3 hour layover in Paris.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Pork Chops, Pork Chops, Easy, Easy
Every time I hear someone say 'Pork Chops'..... my brain automatically hears this little cheerleading cheer.... Pork Chops, Pork Chops.... Greasy, Greasy..... We'll beat your team.... Easy Easy! LOL LOL When my girls were young I used to Co-Coach the community cheerleading squad they were on..... and that was just one of those favorite cheers 6 -10 year olds just love to do!
Here is a really super simple, but super yummy pork recipe, perfect for this time of the year and is wonderful served with the potato gratin recipe. And this recipe can easily be altered for any amount of guests you are serving, even for just two people, it is quite easy and simple. All you need is a thick boneless pork chop per person (unless your family/guests are 2nd helpers, then you might need one or two extra). Boneless, skinless chicken breasts may also be substituted for the pork chops.
1. Dry pork chops with paper towel, salt and pepper each side
2. Dip pork chops (one at a time) into either a beaten egg(s) or egg beaters (if you are counting calories), shaking off all excess egg
3. Dip pork chops (one at a time) into seasoned bread crumbs, shaking off all excess bread crumbs
4. Saute the pork chops in a hot skillet that has about an inch of oil (oil of your choice, either vegetable or olive oil, or canola oil if you are counting calories) until slightly browned.... about 2 minutes per side
5. Thinly slice an onion or two (depending on how many pork chops you are preparing) and punch out the individual rings. Place the onion rings in the bottom of an un-greased casserole dish
6. Place the sauted pork chops on top of onion rings, then place a lemon slice on top of each pork chop
7. Bake un-covered in 350 oven for 30 minutes.
Pork chops are tender and juicy and have wonderful flavoring from the onions and lemon. I personally don't eat either the onions or the lemon, but they can be eaten if desired. And of course you can take any drippings, and make a sauce or gravy to pour over the pork chops, but they are so good on their own, I do not make a sauce to pour over them. This is such a quick and simple dish to make, it takes about 45 minutes from prep to serving. All you need is a nice salad to go with the pork and gratin potatoes for a well balanced and low calorie meal.
This is actually a very old weight watchers recipe that I have been making for about 10 years, but is soooo easy to make. My oldest daughter makes it so often that the recipe has become known amongst me and my other daughters as "Amber's pork chops"!! How funny is that!??? How she gets to claim credit for this dish is beyond me...... but...... we all refer to calling them as Ambers pork chops when we girls are talking about making that dish and we all know immediately what dish is being discussed.
Hope you enjoy!
Here is a really super simple, but super yummy pork recipe, perfect for this time of the year and is wonderful served with the potato gratin recipe. And this recipe can easily be altered for any amount of guests you are serving, even for just two people, it is quite easy and simple. All you need is a thick boneless pork chop per person (unless your family/guests are 2nd helpers, then you might need one or two extra). Boneless, skinless chicken breasts may also be substituted for the pork chops.
1. Dry pork chops with paper towel, salt and pepper each side
2. Dip pork chops (one at a time) into either a beaten egg(s) or egg beaters (if you are counting calories), shaking off all excess egg
3. Dip pork chops (one at a time) into seasoned bread crumbs, shaking off all excess bread crumbs
4. Saute the pork chops in a hot skillet that has about an inch of oil (oil of your choice, either vegetable or olive oil, or canola oil if you are counting calories) until slightly browned.... about 2 minutes per side
5. Thinly slice an onion or two (depending on how many pork chops you are preparing) and punch out the individual rings. Place the onion rings in the bottom of an un-greased casserole dish
6. Place the sauted pork chops on top of onion rings, then place a lemon slice on top of each pork chop
7. Bake un-covered in 350 oven for 30 minutes.
Pork chops are tender and juicy and have wonderful flavoring from the onions and lemon. I personally don't eat either the onions or the lemon, but they can be eaten if desired. And of course you can take any drippings, and make a sauce or gravy to pour over the pork chops, but they are so good on their own, I do not make a sauce to pour over them. This is such a quick and simple dish to make, it takes about 45 minutes from prep to serving. All you need is a nice salad to go with the pork and gratin potatoes for a well balanced and low calorie meal.
This is actually a very old weight watchers recipe that I have been making for about 10 years, but is soooo easy to make. My oldest daughter makes it so often that the recipe has become known amongst me and my other daughters as "Amber's pork chops"!! How funny is that!??? How she gets to claim credit for this dish is beyond me...... but...... we all refer to calling them as Ambers pork chops when we girls are talking about making that dish and we all know immediately what dish is being discussed.
Hope you enjoy!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
BEAN SOUP!!!!!
I have had a 'hankering' for a good ole pot of bean soup for over a week, but.... I had to use the ham I cooked, to get to the bone, in which to make the bean soup with. Amber and Jessica were home this weekend, so of course, I sent them each as much of this ham home with them as I could.... thus expediting my way to the ham bone! LOL
Usually I have to do the 'quick soak' of the dried beans when I make bean soup, but this time, I have been sooooo ready and prepared, I actually 'over night soaked' the beans. Then yesterday I cooked them slowly...... all day long...... with that big ole ham bone with the beans. When the beans had cooked to tenderness, I removed the ham bone and strained the soup to get all the icky fatty pieces out of it, then I removed whatever bits of ham that was left on the bone and added that back to the soup. And before I put the ham bone in with the beans, I had removed as much of the ham on the bone as I could and put it aside. After straining the bean soup, I cut up the other reserved ham from the bone, chopped that up and added it to the soup.
I didn't want the ham to get overcooked while the beans were simmering all day, which is why I added the ham at the end and just warmed it up in the soup for about 20 minutes before serving. And of course I made cornbread muffins to go with the bean soup. After Joe finishes his bean soup, he immediately gets a glass of milk and crumbles a corn bread muffin inside and eats it like dessert. It's his favorite thing! I do not like mushy and/or wet bread, so I think this is quite gross..... but he absolutely loves his cornbread in a glass of milk. My father used to do the same thing, except he put his cornbread in buttermilk, and he too thought this was the best dessert ever! And to the buttermilk version..... I say a DOUBLE EWWWW!!! LOL LOL
The bean soup was exactly what I had been wanting for a week. Joe is out of town all this week so I get to enjoy the rest of the bean soup all by myself..... which isn't a bad thing since we all know that bean soup will give you the toots and well...... it's nice not to have to worry about that issue when you are alone! Tee Hee!!! And the fiber that is in the beans is sooooo good for you, a great source of protein too.
When I don't have a ham bone available in which to make bean soup, or if I don't have time to make bean soup..... Bob Evan's has a wonderful bean soup that you can buy and take home with you. I have even purchased bean soup from Bob Evans, brought it home, made some cornbread muffins, and fried potatoes and called that dinner. Bob Evans has big chunks of ham in their soup too...... and it is the ham from a whole ham, not processed ham cubes, but real genuine ham.... which makes it soooo good!
Happy and satisified...... thinking of my next hankering that needs to be fulfilled!
Toots to you!
Usually I have to do the 'quick soak' of the dried beans when I make bean soup, but this time, I have been sooooo ready and prepared, I actually 'over night soaked' the beans. Then yesterday I cooked them slowly...... all day long...... with that big ole ham bone with the beans. When the beans had cooked to tenderness, I removed the ham bone and strained the soup to get all the icky fatty pieces out of it, then I removed whatever bits of ham that was left on the bone and added that back to the soup. And before I put the ham bone in with the beans, I had removed as much of the ham on the bone as I could and put it aside. After straining the bean soup, I cut up the other reserved ham from the bone, chopped that up and added it to the soup.
I didn't want the ham to get overcooked while the beans were simmering all day, which is why I added the ham at the end and just warmed it up in the soup for about 20 minutes before serving. And of course I made cornbread muffins to go with the bean soup. After Joe finishes his bean soup, he immediately gets a glass of milk and crumbles a corn bread muffin inside and eats it like dessert. It's his favorite thing! I do not like mushy and/or wet bread, so I think this is quite gross..... but he absolutely loves his cornbread in a glass of milk. My father used to do the same thing, except he put his cornbread in buttermilk, and he too thought this was the best dessert ever! And to the buttermilk version..... I say a DOUBLE EWWWW!!! LOL LOL
The bean soup was exactly what I had been wanting for a week. Joe is out of town all this week so I get to enjoy the rest of the bean soup all by myself..... which isn't a bad thing since we all know that bean soup will give you the toots and well...... it's nice not to have to worry about that issue when you are alone! Tee Hee!!! And the fiber that is in the beans is sooooo good for you, a great source of protein too.
When I don't have a ham bone available in which to make bean soup, or if I don't have time to make bean soup..... Bob Evan's has a wonderful bean soup that you can buy and take home with you. I have even purchased bean soup from Bob Evans, brought it home, made some cornbread muffins, and fried potatoes and called that dinner. Bob Evans has big chunks of ham in their soup too...... and it is the ham from a whole ham, not processed ham cubes, but real genuine ham.... which makes it soooo good!
Happy and satisified...... thinking of my next hankering that needs to be fulfilled!
Toots to you!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Floating Ghost and Uncle Fester
Last night Joe and I attended a Halloween party..... costumes required. My husband Joe is not the most enthusiastic person when it comes to putting him in a costume.... especially if make-up of any sort is required.
We received this invitation 2 months in advance, we know about the party several more months in advance than before we get the invitation..... and still, last night, as I was putting on the teeny bit of make-up my husband's costume required..... I swear he was acting like a whinny 6 year old! LOL As I was blotting on some light powder on his face, he is asking me if we could go as something else! A HALF HOUR before we are leaving for the party!!!! I'm thinking....... where were your clever ideas when I was running all over town for the past 2 weeks looking for all the items needed to complete our costumes??????? So..... in the end, I just told him to sit there and behave nicely! LOL LOL He sat there and let me finish..... but...... honestly, this grown man whinned the whole time! He was Uncle Fester and thus, all he wore was a long black robe with a fur collar, with dark circles around his eyes and a very light dusting of white powder over his face and bald head..... he was comfortable, neither costume nor makeup impeded his movements, all was good! LOL
I was a floating ghost.... and I gotta say....... I too looked pretty good! I made a hooded robe out of a bolt of netting, painted my face white with darkened eyes and black lips. I wore a long white skirt, a long sleeve white tee shirt with gloves underneath the 12 layers of netting and it truly looked as if I were floating. However....... my costume was not the most comfortable for getting around tight places or for drinking and eating. I must rethink the costume ideas for next year..... I definitely need less material for my costume! LOL
My daughter Jessica went as Alice in Wonderland (a costume she purchased along with a blond wig), her husband, Winston, went as the Mad Hatter (costume pieces were found in the Good Will store, make up was done by Jessica..... excellent job!) and my other daughter, Amber, went as the Queen of Hearts (her costume was also pieced together by the Good Will store, she did her own makeup, after we watched a video on how to do it on the internet and she too did an excellent job). In fact..... they did such a good job on putting their costumes together and on the makeup, the 3 of them won the First Place Prize!!!
We all had a great time...... this party is beyond anything you could imagine! The hosting couple decorate their house for an entire month...... EVERYTHING is decorated for Halloween..... even their pull strings for their lamps, the hostess makes all the food herself...... and they have about 150 folks who attend this party.
I haven't decorated a thing for Halloween yet...... well..... I did buy two beanie babies today at Kroger..... a bear pumpkin and a bear skeleton that were just too cute to pass up.... so now they are sitting on a small table in my kitchen and that is all the decorations I have out thus far. And since we are traveling abroad the day after Halloween..... I doubt I do much else other than buy some candy for the trick or treaters. I need grandkids!!! LOL Somehow having grandkids (or just having children around in general) brings out the holiday decorating spirit...... or so I have been told. And I have to admit..... since we are empty nesters, there is no thrill in decorating for any holiday other than Christmas, which is a chore in itself now that the house is empty.
Uncle Fester and the floating ghost costumes are now officially retired to the 'dress up storage bin'.... Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter and The Queen of Hearts will make a return visit this weekend when they all head to another Halloween party in Lexington.
Happy Halloween!
We received this invitation 2 months in advance, we know about the party several more months in advance than before we get the invitation..... and still, last night, as I was putting on the teeny bit of make-up my husband's costume required..... I swear he was acting like a whinny 6 year old! LOL As I was blotting on some light powder on his face, he is asking me if we could go as something else! A HALF HOUR before we are leaving for the party!!!! I'm thinking....... where were your clever ideas when I was running all over town for the past 2 weeks looking for all the items needed to complete our costumes??????? So..... in the end, I just told him to sit there and behave nicely! LOL LOL He sat there and let me finish..... but...... honestly, this grown man whinned the whole time! He was Uncle Fester and thus, all he wore was a long black robe with a fur collar, with dark circles around his eyes and a very light dusting of white powder over his face and bald head..... he was comfortable, neither costume nor makeup impeded his movements, all was good! LOL
I was a floating ghost.... and I gotta say....... I too looked pretty good! I made a hooded robe out of a bolt of netting, painted my face white with darkened eyes and black lips. I wore a long white skirt, a long sleeve white tee shirt with gloves underneath the 12 layers of netting and it truly looked as if I were floating. However....... my costume was not the most comfortable for getting around tight places or for drinking and eating. I must rethink the costume ideas for next year..... I definitely need less material for my costume! LOL
My daughter Jessica went as Alice in Wonderland (a costume she purchased along with a blond wig), her husband, Winston, went as the Mad Hatter (costume pieces were found in the Good Will store, make up was done by Jessica..... excellent job!) and my other daughter, Amber, went as the Queen of Hearts (her costume was also pieced together by the Good Will store, she did her own makeup, after we watched a video on how to do it on the internet and she too did an excellent job). In fact..... they did such a good job on putting their costumes together and on the makeup, the 3 of them won the First Place Prize!!!
We all had a great time...... this party is beyond anything you could imagine! The hosting couple decorate their house for an entire month...... EVERYTHING is decorated for Halloween..... even their pull strings for their lamps, the hostess makes all the food herself...... and they have about 150 folks who attend this party.
I haven't decorated a thing for Halloween yet...... well..... I did buy two beanie babies today at Kroger..... a bear pumpkin and a bear skeleton that were just too cute to pass up.... so now they are sitting on a small table in my kitchen and that is all the decorations I have out thus far. And since we are traveling abroad the day after Halloween..... I doubt I do much else other than buy some candy for the trick or treaters. I need grandkids!!! LOL Somehow having grandkids (or just having children around in general) brings out the holiday decorating spirit...... or so I have been told. And I have to admit..... since we are empty nesters, there is no thrill in decorating for any holiday other than Christmas, which is a chore in itself now that the house is empty.
Uncle Fester and the floating ghost costumes are now officially retired to the 'dress up storage bin'.... Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter and The Queen of Hearts will make a return visit this weekend when they all head to another Halloween party in Lexington.
Happy Halloween!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Ham and Gratin Potatoes
Two nights ago we had leftovers for dinner with that yummy ham I baked, and instead of making a ham and potato casserole, I warmed up a few ham slices in some leftover ham juice, and then I made gratin potatoes as a side dish, along with some green beans which had also been seasoned with leftover ham juice. I served a mini-tuscan loaf of bread that had been warmed up in the oven..... yummers, yummers, yummers! It was the perfect fall meal.... it tasted sooooo good and it made you feel nice and homey.
I thought the gratin potatoes were the rustic element that turned plain leftovers into a more upscale meal. Instead of making one big casserole for the two of us, I used two separate ramkin dishes... these are of a bigger scale, each dish is meant to feed two people.... they are fluted, oval in shape, about 6"long, 2" deep, and made of a ceramic/porcelain material. This makes two ramkins, build each layer in each ramkin at the same time.
1. Heavily butter the ramkin dishes, then coat them with grated parmesan cheese.... same method as when preparing a cake pan.... coat with butter toss grated parmesan cheese inside, being sure to coat the sides of the dishes, tapping out left over parmesan.
2. Lay a layer of the very thinly sliced potatoes (I used a mandolin to slice my potatoes) overlapping each other in a pretty pattern on the bottom of the dishes on top of the parmesan cheese, lightly salt and pepper each layer of potatoes.
3. Toss a light layer of grated guyere (or swiss) cheese over potato layer
4. Repeat from step 2 and 3..... except this time the layer of cheese is grated parmesan cheese instead of the guyere (swiss)
5. Lay last layer of potatoes on top, cover with a piece of foil and press potato layers down firmly with your knuckles.... remove foil..... then lightly salt and pepper, with a mixture of half parmesan and half guyere (swiss) toss cheese on top, dot top with butter. Mix 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup milk (all milk can be used instead of cream), add a tiny pinch of nutmeg, mix well and gently pour over potatoes. Place in 350 oven for 1 hour. Tops will be brown and bubbly. Let set 5 minutes before serving. Serve, then lick the plate!
The only other perfect dish to go with ham is my Mother-in-laws pineapple casserole, which is sooooo super easy, and so unexpectedly good, all new tasters approach the dish with a cautious snear, but after tasting they usually head back for seconds. And..... it has only 4 ingredients, is mixed, baked, and served in the same casserole dish.... taking less than 5 minutes preparation prior to baking!
Break 3 large eggs into 9X9 baking dish, add 1/2 cup sugar, mix eggs and sugar together with fork til well blended, add 1 can of crushed pineapple with juice (packed in natural juice, not syrup) and mix well with a fork, add 4-5 slices white bread torn up into bits, (or cut up into cubes) mix well with fork. Place in 350 oven for 30 minutes, top will be slightly browned. This is so easy and so inexpensive to make..... you should give it a whirl, it is sweet and kinda like a bread pudding, goes perfectly with pork, especially ham. Or can be served as a dessert with a dollop of ice cream on the side.
Ham that has been baked on the bone, is one of those leftover items that is yummy every single serving..... like leftover Thanksgiving turkey and all the Thanksgiving 'fixins'! Ham sandwiches for lunch today and it's getting closer to bean soup with the bone time!
Au Revoir
I thought the gratin potatoes were the rustic element that turned plain leftovers into a more upscale meal. Instead of making one big casserole for the two of us, I used two separate ramkin dishes... these are of a bigger scale, each dish is meant to feed two people.... they are fluted, oval in shape, about 6"long, 2" deep, and made of a ceramic/porcelain material. This makes two ramkins, build each layer in each ramkin at the same time.
1. Heavily butter the ramkin dishes, then coat them with grated parmesan cheese.... same method as when preparing a cake pan.... coat with butter toss grated parmesan cheese inside, being sure to coat the sides of the dishes, tapping out left over parmesan.
2. Lay a layer of the very thinly sliced potatoes (I used a mandolin to slice my potatoes) overlapping each other in a pretty pattern on the bottom of the dishes on top of the parmesan cheese, lightly salt and pepper each layer of potatoes.
3. Toss a light layer of grated guyere (or swiss) cheese over potato layer
4. Repeat from step 2 and 3..... except this time the layer of cheese is grated parmesan cheese instead of the guyere (swiss)
5. Lay last layer of potatoes on top, cover with a piece of foil and press potato layers down firmly with your knuckles.... remove foil..... then lightly salt and pepper, with a mixture of half parmesan and half guyere (swiss) toss cheese on top, dot top with butter. Mix 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup milk (all milk can be used instead of cream), add a tiny pinch of nutmeg, mix well and gently pour over potatoes. Place in 350 oven for 1 hour. Tops will be brown and bubbly. Let set 5 minutes before serving. Serve, then lick the plate!
The only other perfect dish to go with ham is my Mother-in-laws pineapple casserole, which is sooooo super easy, and so unexpectedly good, all new tasters approach the dish with a cautious snear, but after tasting they usually head back for seconds. And..... it has only 4 ingredients, is mixed, baked, and served in the same casserole dish.... taking less than 5 minutes preparation prior to baking!
Break 3 large eggs into 9X9 baking dish, add 1/2 cup sugar, mix eggs and sugar together with fork til well blended, add 1 can of crushed pineapple with juice (packed in natural juice, not syrup) and mix well with a fork, add 4-5 slices white bread torn up into bits, (or cut up into cubes) mix well with fork. Place in 350 oven for 30 minutes, top will be slightly browned. This is so easy and so inexpensive to make..... you should give it a whirl, it is sweet and kinda like a bread pudding, goes perfectly with pork, especially ham. Or can be served as a dessert with a dollop of ice cream on the side.
Ham that has been baked on the bone, is one of those leftover items that is yummy every single serving..... like leftover Thanksgiving turkey and all the Thanksgiving 'fixins'! Ham sandwiches for lunch today and it's getting closer to bean soup with the bone time!
Au Revoir
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
A Flipping Experience
Our schedule (Joe and mine) has been so crazy lately, either one of us is not home for dinner (usually him) or neither of us are home at all.... which makes cooking and getting lost in my kitchen a hard thing to do. My desire is still strong to get in the kitchen and cook all day, but I have to settle for watching Julia's DVD's and reading her biography instead, which is also quite enjoyable too.
Last night was a rare night when both of us were home for dinner and I was home most of the day, allowing me to cook a more labor intensive meal. I have been wanting a good ole pot of bean soup, and the best bean soup MUST be made with a ham bone..... so I bought and cooked a bone-in sliced spiral ham for dinner last night!!! YUM!!!! It was perfect! Joe immediately asks... "why did you cook this big ham for just the two of us?"..... and I replied..... "because I want some good bean soup, and trust me.... this ham will get eaten!" To go with the ham, I made some mashed potatoes, french green beans (I've gotten the technique for french green beans mastered!), had a loaf of artisian bread to go with it and for dessert..... I had made a Tarte Tatin (Apple tart/pie) from Julia's cookbook.
The Tarte Tatin is an unside down dessert, thus 'flipping' is involved. If you have never tried to flip a pan full to the brim with food.... it is quite a tricky thing to do! You just never know for sure if it will flip out properly, fall out making the dish that you have spent hours babying end up looking like a big messy pile of muck. This dessert is made in a cast iron skillet, with the butter and sugar on the bottom, the first layer of apples arranged in a pattern on top, more butter and sugar and then the rest of the apples piled on top, then covered with a pastry crust (which is also made from scratch). The tarte then needs to cook on top of the stove for 3 minutes to caramelize the sugar and butter on the bottom before it gets placed in the oven for baking. After baking, it needs again to be cooked stove top for a couple of minutes to finish caramelizing the bottom, thus to release the tarte easily from the pan. So....... with tongue sticking out the side of my mouth (for balance!) I inserted a knife around the edges, gave the pan a little wiggle and place the plate over the pan and ........wham...... I flip the pan and hold my breath..... then I instantly scream VIOLA!!!!!! I did it..... the perfect beautiful tarte sitting quite happy on it's plate just like it is supposed to.
My first thought was..... OMGOSH!!! Julia did it again..... her instructions were so precise that I flipped a baked dessert that was perfectly caramelized on the top, with the crust on the bottom. It was as tasty as it looked too..... but I used granny smith apples, which I think gave it a 'tart-er' taste than a golden delicious apple, which would have given it a sweeter taste. Joe likes the tartness of the granny smith apples, I prefer the sweeter taste, so next time I will try the golden delicious for the tart.
Nothing gives a Chef/cook/baker a bigger smile than when the 'flipping' and/or the un-molding goes well. From start to finish when working with a recipe that you know has to be flipped or un-molded for presentation, you feel the tension of NOT doing all this work for it to be a mucky mess at the end. Of course, Dear Julia has shown us several examples of what to do with the mucky mess should this disaster happen (which it does without prediction) and it may not be the presentation you were planning, but you can save it and turn it into something different because it still tastes really really good! However.... when it turns out perfectly, just as you had imagined it would..... that is the GREATEST feeling..... you just have to shout out VIOLA!!!! I served my warm tarte with a big dollop of chocolate chip ice cream next to it. Had intended to make some 'creme fraiche ' from scratch, until I noticed it needs to set in the refrigerator for a couple of days! OOPS!!! Ice cream was just as good and a bit more American!
Out to dinner tonight (biz dinner), then bean soup tomorrow and for the weekend!! Bean soup, corn bread, fried potatoes, baked ham....... it may not be very french or foo foo eating..... but..... my 'peasant food' is just as tasty anything the french can offer!
Au Revoir
Last night was a rare night when both of us were home for dinner and I was home most of the day, allowing me to cook a more labor intensive meal. I have been wanting a good ole pot of bean soup, and the best bean soup MUST be made with a ham bone..... so I bought and cooked a bone-in sliced spiral ham for dinner last night!!! YUM!!!! It was perfect! Joe immediately asks... "why did you cook this big ham for just the two of us?"..... and I replied..... "because I want some good bean soup, and trust me.... this ham will get eaten!" To go with the ham, I made some mashed potatoes, french green beans (I've gotten the technique for french green beans mastered!), had a loaf of artisian bread to go with it and for dessert..... I had made a Tarte Tatin (Apple tart/pie) from Julia's cookbook.
The Tarte Tatin is an unside down dessert, thus 'flipping' is involved. If you have never tried to flip a pan full to the brim with food.... it is quite a tricky thing to do! You just never know for sure if it will flip out properly, fall out making the dish that you have spent hours babying end up looking like a big messy pile of muck. This dessert is made in a cast iron skillet, with the butter and sugar on the bottom, the first layer of apples arranged in a pattern on top, more butter and sugar and then the rest of the apples piled on top, then covered with a pastry crust (which is also made from scratch). The tarte then needs to cook on top of the stove for 3 minutes to caramelize the sugar and butter on the bottom before it gets placed in the oven for baking. After baking, it needs again to be cooked stove top for a couple of minutes to finish caramelizing the bottom, thus to release the tarte easily from the pan. So....... with tongue sticking out the side of my mouth (for balance!) I inserted a knife around the edges, gave the pan a little wiggle and place the plate over the pan and ........wham...... I flip the pan and hold my breath..... then I instantly scream VIOLA!!!!!! I did it..... the perfect beautiful tarte sitting quite happy on it's plate just like it is supposed to.
My first thought was..... OMGOSH!!! Julia did it again..... her instructions were so precise that I flipped a baked dessert that was perfectly caramelized on the top, with the crust on the bottom. It was as tasty as it looked too..... but I used granny smith apples, which I think gave it a 'tart-er' taste than a golden delicious apple, which would have given it a sweeter taste. Joe likes the tartness of the granny smith apples, I prefer the sweeter taste, so next time I will try the golden delicious for the tart.
Nothing gives a Chef/cook/baker a bigger smile than when the 'flipping' and/or the un-molding goes well. From start to finish when working with a recipe that you know has to be flipped or un-molded for presentation, you feel the tension of NOT doing all this work for it to be a mucky mess at the end. Of course, Dear Julia has shown us several examples of what to do with the mucky mess should this disaster happen (which it does without prediction) and it may not be the presentation you were planning, but you can save it and turn it into something different because it still tastes really really good! However.... when it turns out perfectly, just as you had imagined it would..... that is the GREATEST feeling..... you just have to shout out VIOLA!!!! I served my warm tarte with a big dollop of chocolate chip ice cream next to it. Had intended to make some 'creme fraiche ' from scratch, until I noticed it needs to set in the refrigerator for a couple of days! OOPS!!! Ice cream was just as good and a bit more American!
Out to dinner tonight (biz dinner), then bean soup tomorrow and for the weekend!! Bean soup, corn bread, fried potatoes, baked ham....... it may not be very french or foo foo eating..... but..... my 'peasant food' is just as tasty anything the french can offer!
Au Revoir
Monday, October 19, 2009
Racing Weekend..... My Turn
WOO HOO!!!!! I cannot wipe this smile off my face! Boy that sure was fun!!!!
Joe and I took the porsche to the track this weekend for a "Drivers Education Event", which really means you are learning to drive your car on the racetrack, without speed limits, but under very controlled supervision, safety is the first rule, and regulation helmets are required for both students and Instructors. And it really is racing! WOO HOO!!!!
There are 5 Class levels.....
Instructor level - gets to drive on the track all day Friday (all other classes only drive on Sat and Sun), and other than when he/she is driving with their student, they can drive in any session.
Class A - do not have Instructors riding with them or assigned to them, but only can drive in the Class A sessions.
Class B - has an Instructor assigned to them, but can be signed off to drive solo and can only run in Class B sessions.
Class C - has an Instructor assigned to them, can only drive in Class C sessions, but can be signed off to drive solo on Sunday runs.
Class D - has an Instructor assigned to them for the entire event, this is the novice class
Class levels B, C and D have two 1-hour actual in the classroom sessions with another Instructor both on Sat and on Sun. There are LOTS of rules, all common sense and safety rules.... and like in golf, there are also rules of respect. So while it is 'racing' your car, it is also very hands on teaching you how to handle your particular car and drive it to it's absolute peak. And what you learn in these classes and events carry with you on everyday street driving. Plus..... it is just SCREAMING fun, both as a spectator and as a participant.
This was my first 'participant' experience, but I have been a spectator at many events. LOVED it!!!! My only expectation was to go out and learn how to really drive Joe's porsche..... did not expect to pass anyone, expected everyone to pass me..... didn't expect to drive solo, and I didn't expect to feel so calm when I was driving. But I DID pass several people, and I DID drive solo on the last session on Sunday, at my Instructor's request, and I WAS sooooo calm the whole time. I did very well, surprising even myself. It was soooo much fun too!!! Even solo I was calm and having fun. The highest speed I got up to on the back straight was 100 MPH, Joe gets up to 140 MPH. I am sooo ready to go do this again!!!!
Each driving session is 20 minutes long, but it feels like only 5 minutes before the checkered flag comes out. Everyone is disappointed when their driving session is over, and all can't wait for their next driving session to begin. For safety reasons, you have to drive with both the drivers window and the passenger window wide open, rain or not! Thank goodness for hinnie heaters!!!! However..... being as cold and windy as it was, you are concentrating and focusing soooo hard on driving the right line, you don't notice either the rain, wind or cold..... amazingly!
It was sooooo BRRRRR cold this weekend too..... 47 degrees being our highest temp.... it rained all day Saturday, making the track slick and wet, causing 17 spinouts, which I think was a record, but no one was hurt and no cars were hurt.... they have the track well padded and lots of sand traps to prevent injury or car repairs, but it has happened before that cars got damaged. I drove it exactly as my Instructor said and I did just fine, but that experience taught me how to drive on wet and/or slick roads in everyday driving. I am completey stunned that I actually passed a few people and that my Instructor wanted me to drive solo on my last session. Having an Instructor is priceless, but once you have learned the track and the line to drive (there is a different line for driving when conditions are wet and for when the track is dry) driving solo is really super fun!
There is just nothing like feeling the car slide around a curve or the sound of the screetching tires as the car takes sharp curves and KNOWING you are in full control of the vehicle. WOO HOO...... that about sums it up....... WOO HOO!!!!
During the 2 hour breaks in between driving sessions and when I wasn't in the classroom, I was reading the biography of Julia Child "Appetite for Life" which is finally a book about who she was from birth to her late 80's..... the book was written prior to her death. Wonderful book..... exactly what I was looking for. Her and Paul's story is truly an amazing tale and one that includes many, many, many well known people, from dignitaries, to celebrities, and to other Chef legends. Fascinating!
Au Revoir
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fall - Winter cravings
The weather today where I live is BRRRRRR cold!!!! It's only mid-October and it feels like mid-winter.... something tells me it's gonna be one of 'those' winters. Good thing I have plenty of cookbooks on hand just waiting for me to try their yummy recipes inside to keep me busy and my mind off the weather outside. And I'm thinking about soups..... lots of hearty soups and stews! This weather makes me crave for a pot of good soup.
Potato soup is not only my favorite, but all 3 of my daughters favorite soup too. My husband..... not so much.... one of the few things he would prefer not to have for dinner. My Mom always made potato soup, and instead of chicken soup when we felt icky or puny, she would make us a pot of potato soup. Now my own daughters request that soup when they feel under the weather. And like all cooks with all recipes, I have tweaked my Mom's original recipe to make it my own, but the foundation/base is still the same as my Mom's.
I made a pot of chili last night for dinner because my husband was out of town, not sure when his flight was getting in and not sure if he would be hungry or not and figured just having a pot of soup ready would be the perfect solution. As it turned out, neither me or my husband ate the chili last night, thus making dinner all ready for today! YAY!!!
My cousin's family was in town yesterday and stopped in for a visit, that turned into them taking me out to dinner! It was a rare and special treat to be in their company without all our other family members present, and a lovelier dinner couldn't have been had. They have the most well behaved children.... polite, respectful, absolutely delightful to chat with and totally comfortable chatting with adults. And..... did I mention they are adorably cute as well???? While the meal was delish, I wayyyy enjoyed the company more! This visit with my cousins gets filed under 'priceless moments', cause it certainly was!
Joe and I are out of town this weekend, and will be out in the boonies, so there is very little food choice options between the only two restaurants in town..... we have been there several times and it's ok food at it's best. I will just have to dream about a big ole pot of beef stew or bean soup until we get home. If anyone reading this blog makes or enjoys a bowl of either beef stew or bean soup while I'm gone this weekend, think of me!!! I will be drooling!!! LOL
Bon Appetite
Potato soup is not only my favorite, but all 3 of my daughters favorite soup too. My husband..... not so much.... one of the few things he would prefer not to have for dinner. My Mom always made potato soup, and instead of chicken soup when we felt icky or puny, she would make us a pot of potato soup. Now my own daughters request that soup when they feel under the weather. And like all cooks with all recipes, I have tweaked my Mom's original recipe to make it my own, but the foundation/base is still the same as my Mom's.
I made a pot of chili last night for dinner because my husband was out of town, not sure when his flight was getting in and not sure if he would be hungry or not and figured just having a pot of soup ready would be the perfect solution. As it turned out, neither me or my husband ate the chili last night, thus making dinner all ready for today! YAY!!!
My cousin's family was in town yesterday and stopped in for a visit, that turned into them taking me out to dinner! It was a rare and special treat to be in their company without all our other family members present, and a lovelier dinner couldn't have been had. They have the most well behaved children.... polite, respectful, absolutely delightful to chat with and totally comfortable chatting with adults. And..... did I mention they are adorably cute as well???? While the meal was delish, I wayyyy enjoyed the company more! This visit with my cousins gets filed under 'priceless moments', cause it certainly was!
Joe and I are out of town this weekend, and will be out in the boonies, so there is very little food choice options between the only two restaurants in town..... we have been there several times and it's ok food at it's best. I will just have to dream about a big ole pot of beef stew or bean soup until we get home. If anyone reading this blog makes or enjoys a bowl of either beef stew or bean soup while I'm gone this weekend, think of me!!! I will be drooling!!! LOL
Bon Appetite
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Return from Southern France
Ooooohhhh La La!!!! and Bon Gout (taste good) are the two phrases I spoke the most while in France. My expectations for the yummy food to be found in France that I have heard and read Julia talk about for the past several months were absolutely spot on. The sauces...... everything has a sauce to go with it, on top of it or painted on the plate of everything you eat, from meats, cheeses, vegetables and desserts, and it was the sauces that made every spectacular dish over the top spectacular! My tummy and taste buds are well pleased and begging for more!
We had such a wonderful trip all around, including many hilarious moments of life 'just happening'. One such moment would be when our rental car broke down on the side of the road in St. Tropez. We were very fortunate that we had just left the tiny windy road and had just hit town when the fuel pump died. We were stranded for 3 hours waiting for the repairman/tow truck, which the car couldn't be fixed, so we were literally stranded 2 hours from our hotel on the side of the road in France without any transportation. The rental company ended up sending us a taxi (another hour wait) to take us to the rental office to pick up another vehicle (another hour), so we lost our entire day at St. Tropez, but...... none of us got excited, we all laughed about the incident from start to finish and we just relaxed and enjoyed sunbathing road side instead of beach side! LOL And of course there are several photo's of the car broke down on the side of the road, it being hoisted onto the tow truck bed and us just sitting by the road side waiting. And at the end of the day, we still arrived back in time for another delicious dinner at our hotel's bistro....... where...... I met the Master Chef, bought his cookbook that he autographed for me and took a photo with me. However...... when I started reading his page long inscription to me..... he wrote it to "Virginia"! LOL LOL How funny is that! And he even drew a daisy flower beside my name.
We had meals in stuffy places that cost too much money, but the food was amazing.... we had meals in quaint 'unfussy' places that were just as amazing, and we even bought food from street markets and ate in a park, which too was amazing. Fresh food, prepared food, it didn't matter one lick..... it was all amazing! And yes, the French do LOVE butter and lots of it! No wonder Julia fell in love with the foods of France.
A couple of weeks prior to this trip, I had made a "French meal" to compare my cooking skills to true authentic french cooking, and the couple we traveled with came to dine with us so we could all have the experience for comparison on our trip. Well....... I must honestly say that I think my cooking is equal to what we ate in France. I am truly my own worst critic, but was quite impressed that my sauces taste as delicious as the sauces we ate in France at both high end and low end eateries. But being the Chef, I kept these thoughts to myself, until the others spoke up and proclaimed that my dinner did equal in quality and taste to the true French cooking we ate on our trip. I'm must admit, I am quite proud of myself and can't wait to keep on cooking and working with Julia's cookbooks. But then again...... both Julia and I were both classically trained from reputable cooking schools, and it just proves that correct methods and techniques are the key. I can cook as good as any French Chef using products now available in most local grocery stores.
The bread was soooo good everywhere we went, and that is the one thing I can not yet do like the French do. But then..... French homemakers/cooks do not make their own bread either because there boulgangeries (bread/pastry shops) on every street, usually several on a street. No one cooks their own bread in France, and you will see the locals all carrying their loaves of bread home for dinner after work. Everywhere you look, someone has a bag of bread they are carrying. I am about to start my last class (Baking 1) needed to earn my Chef Certificate in Nov., and I'm hoping what I learn in this class will help me with my bread baking issues.
So nice to be home..... no matter how far we travel and how wonderful the trip..... there really isn't any place like home..... or the good ole USA!!! My study of the french language before our trip turned out to be quite helpful, and quite inspiring to learn more. Wish I could have spoken it better, but was delighted to be able to read it and understand it as well as I did. How cool it will be when I can say I am bilingual or multi-lingual (I plan on learning Spanish after I learn French). It is not only common among the Europeans to know several languages before graduation from high school, but expected. Most Europeans can speak French, Spanish, Italian, and English, and communicating with others in their native tongue is just the coolest!
Lots to catch up on after being gone for 10 days and another trip (Greece) in just 2 short weeks, busy times, but good times!
Bon Jour
We had such a wonderful trip all around, including many hilarious moments of life 'just happening'. One such moment would be when our rental car broke down on the side of the road in St. Tropez. We were very fortunate that we had just left the tiny windy road and had just hit town when the fuel pump died. We were stranded for 3 hours waiting for the repairman/tow truck, which the car couldn't be fixed, so we were literally stranded 2 hours from our hotel on the side of the road in France without any transportation. The rental company ended up sending us a taxi (another hour wait) to take us to the rental office to pick up another vehicle (another hour), so we lost our entire day at St. Tropez, but...... none of us got excited, we all laughed about the incident from start to finish and we just relaxed and enjoyed sunbathing road side instead of beach side! LOL And of course there are several photo's of the car broke down on the side of the road, it being hoisted onto the tow truck bed and us just sitting by the road side waiting. And at the end of the day, we still arrived back in time for another delicious dinner at our hotel's bistro....... where...... I met the Master Chef, bought his cookbook that he autographed for me and took a photo with me. However...... when I started reading his page long inscription to me..... he wrote it to "Virginia"! LOL LOL How funny is that! And he even drew a daisy flower beside my name.
We had meals in stuffy places that cost too much money, but the food was amazing.... we had meals in quaint 'unfussy' places that were just as amazing, and we even bought food from street markets and ate in a park, which too was amazing. Fresh food, prepared food, it didn't matter one lick..... it was all amazing! And yes, the French do LOVE butter and lots of it! No wonder Julia fell in love with the foods of France.
A couple of weeks prior to this trip, I had made a "French meal" to compare my cooking skills to true authentic french cooking, and the couple we traveled with came to dine with us so we could all have the experience for comparison on our trip. Well....... I must honestly say that I think my cooking is equal to what we ate in France. I am truly my own worst critic, but was quite impressed that my sauces taste as delicious as the sauces we ate in France at both high end and low end eateries. But being the Chef, I kept these thoughts to myself, until the others spoke up and proclaimed that my dinner did equal in quality and taste to the true French cooking we ate on our trip. I'm must admit, I am quite proud of myself and can't wait to keep on cooking and working with Julia's cookbooks. But then again...... both Julia and I were both classically trained from reputable cooking schools, and it just proves that correct methods and techniques are the key. I can cook as good as any French Chef using products now available in most local grocery stores.
The bread was soooo good everywhere we went, and that is the one thing I can not yet do like the French do. But then..... French homemakers/cooks do not make their own bread either because there boulgangeries (bread/pastry shops) on every street, usually several on a street. No one cooks their own bread in France, and you will see the locals all carrying their loaves of bread home for dinner after work. Everywhere you look, someone has a bag of bread they are carrying. I am about to start my last class (Baking 1) needed to earn my Chef Certificate in Nov., and I'm hoping what I learn in this class will help me with my bread baking issues.
So nice to be home..... no matter how far we travel and how wonderful the trip..... there really isn't any place like home..... or the good ole USA!!! My study of the french language before our trip turned out to be quite helpful, and quite inspiring to learn more. Wish I could have spoken it better, but was delighted to be able to read it and understand it as well as I did. How cool it will be when I can say I am bilingual or multi-lingual (I plan on learning Spanish after I learn French). It is not only common among the Europeans to know several languages before graduation from high school, but expected. Most Europeans can speak French, Spanish, Italian, and English, and communicating with others in their native tongue is just the coolest!
Lots to catch up on after being gone for 10 days and another trip (Greece) in just 2 short weeks, busy times, but good times!
Bon Jour
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About Me
- Vickie G
- I am a short little lady with a passion for cooking and pilates. I have been married for 31 years to my high school sweetheart (my soulmate and love of my life!!!) and we have 3 amazing daughters. I am 50 years old and love living life with as much zest as possible.