Potatoe Latkes

Potatoe Latkes For 8 Days of Hanukkah

3 large russet potatoes, peeled, grated in food processor and squeezed dry of moisture

1 large vidalia onion chopped

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable or peanut oil 1/4 inch thick in iron skillet

Mix above potato mixture and place small amounts in circles (about two tablespoons) in hot oil in fry pan. Fry till golden on one side then turn and fry on other side. Don't crowd pan. Do several batches so oil stays very hot. Drain fried latkes on paper towels placed on baking rack on cookie sheet. Keep finished latkeswarm in oven while cooking the rest of latkes. Serve with sour creme and/or applesauce. Yum, yum. So good.

This Was Good: Cowboy Caviar Salad

This Was Good: Cowboy Caviar Salad With Avocado Slices

2 cans black-eyed peas,drained

2 cans of white corn, drained

4 Tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro or fresh chopped Italian parsley

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

1 cup of cherry tomatoes (or any tomatoes) chopped

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of any Italian style dressing

salt and pepper to taste

Combine above ingredients in bowl. Let marinate for at least 1/2 hour to blend.

***

When serving garnish salad with freshly peeled and sliced avocado slices.

(I bought 2 avocados--used one for first serving, and one for second serving. If making for a crowd, place salad on platter and garnish with avocado slices at last minute.)

Note: I Adapted this recipe from one I found on blog of second cousin Mike Gariety of Modesto, CA.

Meteorological Spring Starts Tomorrow

You can't really believe it by looking at all the snow still left on the ground around our home that with March coming in on Monday that meteorological spring will also start tomorrow. I think everyone is looking forward to the coming of March but we don't want to put away our winter jackets just yet.

Jack yesterday did shovel all the remaining snow off the patio furniture and off the brick patio. While he did that I raked leaves out of the flower beds on the east side of the house. It felt good to see some flower beds sans snow and leaves and with little green things beginning to appear above the ground.

The most snow has melted in the front of the house and along the east side. The more shaded back of the house and the west side of the house still has snow over a foot deep and it is still very hard to walk on these sides of the house. Each time you step in the foot deep snow it feels like you are stepping into hardened cement that scratches your ankles and legs.

But to put ourselves in a spring mood I fixed our spring tonic for supper. My mom and dad in Ohio always enjoyed picking wild dandelion greens in the very early spring and then fixing them to serve over fried potatoes. I didn't gather my dandelions along the roadside like my mom used to do but bought them at Wegmans grocery. I have no idea where Wegmans got them.

By the way, my godmother Agnes Dapore who lived just down the road from our farmhouse always managed to beat my mom in finding and serving the first dandelion greens of the year. She would walk down the road to visit with my mom and my mom would say we just had dandelions and Agnes would reply that she had her first batch two weeks ago. LOL!

Below is the recipe for wilted dandelion salad over fried potatoes:

Wilted Dandelion Salad With Fried Potatoes

1. Wash, dry and break into pieces the dandelion greens and place in large salad bowl.

2. Add about four hardboiled eggs that have been cut up into large chunks to the salad.

3. Add about four well fried pieces of bacon that been broken into pieces to the salad. Save bacon

drippings to be used for salad dressing.

4. Add two coarsely chopped green onions to the salad.

5. Add several sliced raw radishes to the salad.

6. Sprinkle salad with salt and grind some pepper over it.

7. Set salad aside and prepare the fried potatoes in this fashion: in a warm skillet place some

olive oil, then add some garlic, a yellow onion chopped fine and three or four potatoes peeled

and sliced. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Let potato slices brown on both sides.

Then lower the heat and continue frying the potatoes for about 15 minutes or till done.

8. Right before sitting down to eat heat up the bacon grease and add a pinch of salt and a pinch

of pepper and a tablespoon of sugar. Then add one to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

Bring this dressing to a rolling boil for one minute. Then remove from heat, pour over

the dandelion salad and toss the salad to dress the salad.

9. The way my parents ate this was by placing a heap of fried potatoes on a plate and then

covering the potatoes with the wilted dandelion salad.

10. By the way any ordinary or exotic lettuce like either iceberg or frisee or radicchio can also

be prepared in this fashion.

Holiday Deviled Egg and Cheesy Shrimp Bake

Recipe

Holiday Deviled Egg and Cheesy Shrimp Bake

I only make this recipe twice a year because it is so rich and decadent. Christmas Day and Easter Morning are the two days that I serve this recipe.

Deviled eggs with sour cream and spice are given a cheesy bechamel sauce with shrimp for this make a day ahead dish. This dish would be great for News Years Day Brunch or for a Supper Dish for houseguests any time of the year.

1. Hard boil 10 eggs in cold water and salt by bringing saucepan with eggs to a boil. Then shut off stove and let eggs set in hot water for 18 minutes. Drain hot water from cooked eggs and replace with cold water at the tap. Do this several times to stop the cooking process. Then let eggs cool.

2. Remove shells from cooled eggs and cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out yolks. Mash egg yolks then mix with the following ingredients:

1 teaspoon salt

dash of Worcestershire sauce

3/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup of sour cream

pinch of salt and white pepper

3. Fill egg halves with this mixture and place filled eggs in a greased baking dish.

4. Make a bechamel sauce roux with 3 tablespoons butter melted on low heat in saucepan and then stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Let this mixture cook on low for several minutes to get rid of floury taste and to blend flavors.

5. Now heat two cups of milk or light cream to scalding point in another pan. Slowly add milk to roux in other pan. Cook this mixture until smooth and thick.

6. Now add pinch of salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 and 1/2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Let this melt and blend.

7. Lastly add a 1 pound bag of frozen shrimps that have been thawed in colander at sink.

8. Pour sauce with shrimp over deviled eggs in buttered casserole.

9. Cover and refrigerate over night.

10. Next heat oven to 350 degrees and bake casserole for 25 minutes or till hot and bubbly.

11. Then serve with French croissants and orange mimosa drinks.

My Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

My Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

December 20, 2009

12:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

This Year's Party Theme: Greek Food

My Hero, Jackie Lee, had the drive and sidewalks cleared of snow.

Even that little bit you see in the first photo.

Then the sun emerged and shown on the new fallen snow and made everything sparkle

against the white snow and blue skies.

The Wreath On The Front Door Was Even Sporting A Snowy Look

The Christmas Wreath On The Opposite Side Of The Door
Held My Oldest Little Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls. The Two Smallest Dolls Were On
The Bassinet When We Brought Jennifer Home From The Hospital in 1976. The One In The Middle Jeanine Gave To Me One Year For Christmas
With Message: "Mom, You Need A Doll."

The Green Scarf Attached To The Wreath Neighbor Dickie Made For Me.
Thank You, Dickie.
My Collection Of Christmas Stockings Were On The Stairs
As Dickie Played Head House Butler And Ran Coats and Scarves Up The Stairs.
(I Created A Boot Depot In My Laundry Room For Drying All The Boots.)

Here Joan and Daughter Plus Bev and Haelie Are Sitting
And Sampling the Appetizers: Eggplant Caponata, Hummus on Belgian Endive And
Assorted Cheeses.

These Two Are Hanging Out By My Little German Christmas Tree.
Note the stocking feet--the dress code for the day plus ski wear.

Would You Like To Sample The Fruited Stilton Cheeses Along With The Irish Cheddar and
French Brie?

Greek Stuffed Grape Leave, Carrot and Celery Salad, Red Beet Salad
And Seven Layer Salad To Go With The Two Main Dishes:
Greek Moussaka and The Baked Mediterranean Frittata.

Finally The Big Moment Arrived:
The Cookie Exchange Romp Around My Dining Room Table.
Ready Your Cookie Bag Ladies And One, Two, Three, Takeoff!

Stop A Moment.
Say Cheese.
I'm Taking Your Picture While You Do The Cookie Romp.

*****************************
Below Are My Recipes For My Greek Moussaka, Eggplant Caponata Dip,
The Baked Mediterranean Frittata and Easy Marinated Orange Dessert.

***********
Moussaka
(Baked Meat and Eggplant in Bechamel Sauce)
Recipes Courtesy of Anne Theoharous's Cookbook: Cooking and Baking The Greek Way
and Recipe From St. Sophias Greek Orthodox Church Cookbook With
My Adaptations
*************

Yield: 12 servings
Time: First day: 3 hours
Second day: 50 minutes
Third day: 2 hours
**************

First day, Frying The 3 Medium Eggplants

1. Wash unpeeled Eggplants and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices.

2. Sprinkle slices with kosher salt and put in colanders to drain with a plate on top that is weighted down with something heavy. Set aside for 2 hours.

3. Rinse eggplant slices under cool water and dry with dish towels.

4. Heat good olive oil and butter in large skillet. I start with 3 T. olive oil and 3 T. butter for a skillet full of eggplant slices. Repeat these amount for each additional batch of eggplant slices to brown. Place fried eggplant slices in a 13 x 11 baking dish and cover and place in fridge overnight.

5. Place 6-8 slices of bread on cookie sheet to dry out over night.

****************

Second day, Preparing the Meat Mixture

(It can be all ground lamb or all ground beef or a combination of both.)

1. Chop up three sweet Vidalia style onions and 10 stalks of flat Italian parsley and one clove of garlic.

2. Heat a stick of butter in large skillet and saute the chopped veggies.

3. Saute 2 1/2 pounds of meat in separate skillet till brown. Drain off the fat by removing meat and adding it to veggie saute skillet.

4. Add one can of well drained chopped tomatoes plus 3 tablespoons of tomato paste.

5. Add seasonings: 1 cup dry red wine

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

6. Allow meat to simmer uncovered until all liquid is absorbed (about 30 minutes).

7. Make bread crumbs with the 6-8 slices of bread that have dried out over night. Use food processor to turn bread into bread crumbs.

8. Remove meat mixture from heat and allow to cool down a bit. Then stir in 1 cup of bread crumbs.

9. Then add 1 cup of grated Kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese to meat mixture.

10. Then add 4 slightly beaten egg whites which will thicken meat mixture when baking. Save egg yolks for tomorrow Bechamel Sauce.

11. Lastly place meat mixture over the eggplant slices in baking dish. Cover dish and refrigerate.

Relax, tomorrow it will be easy to make topping and bake dish.

*******************

Third day: Making Bechamel Sauce and Baking Dish

1. Scald 3 cups milk in saucepan and remove from heat.

2. Melt 6 tablespoons butter over low heat and then slowly stir in 6 tablespoons flour. Blend.

Keep stirring to about 2 - 3 minutes to allow roux to bubble gently. Then remove from heat

and add the 3 cups of scalded milk.

3. Return saucepan to stove to cook over medium heat to thicken the sauce. Then add 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

4. Cool sauce a bit. Beat egg yolks and add a little sauce to beaten yolks. Then slowly add yolk mixture to the sauce.

5. Lastly add 1/2 cup grated Kefalottyri or Parmesan cheese to Bechamel Sauce.

6. Pour Bechamel Sauce over meat/eggplant mixture in baking dish.

7. Can refrigerate moussaka now or bake it

now in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until top is golden brown and crusty.

8. Remove Moussaka from oven and allow to sit undisturbed for 15 minutes before cutting into squares. This wait is very important. It allows the mixture to coalesce.

********************

********************

Homemade Eggplant Caponata Dip For Pita Bread

1. Place 1 eggplant with skin cut in half in roasting pan with 1 red onion, 1 red pepper, 1/2 a head of mild elephant garlic. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil over veggies and roast for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until veggies are done.

2. Meantime chop into a bowl 10 sprigs of Italian parsley, 1/2 cup of stuffed olives, 1/2 cup of fresh chives and 1/2 cup of chopped basil leaves..

3. When roasted veggies are done, let cool a bit and then chop up the roasted veggies and add to other chopped veggies in bowl.

4. Add 1 can of drained diced tomatoes.

5. Add 1/2 can of tomato paste.

6. Stir thoroughly this mixture and then add 1 slight pinch of sugar to balance flavors.

7. Lastly add 1 cup of dry red wine and stir to blend.

8. Place dip in covered glass container and chill in fridge. Serve with assorted breads and chips.

This even makes a great spread for bagels.

****************

****************

Baked Mediterranean Frittata

1. Saute 2 sweet vidalia onions in about 3 tablespoons of good olive oil. Remove from stove.

2. Add 1 can of drained diced tomatoes to onions.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh Italian parsley and 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil leaves to onion mixture.

4. Tear up some Italian bread to make 4 cups of bread pieces. Add to mixture.

5. Season to taste with salt, pepper---about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

6. Lastly take 6 eggs and beat them with a fork. Add 1/2 cup of half and half to egg mixture and add all of this to the veggies in mixing bowl.

7. Butter a 13" x 11" baking dish and pour frittata mixture into pan. refrigerate over night for flavors to meld. Next day bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until done.

8. Frittata can be served hot, at room temperature or cold. To serve, cut into wedges.

********************

********************

Marinated Orange Slices ala Marcella Hazan ala Joann Shipley

(This Simple But Delicious Dessert Is Great Now That Folks Are Selling Oranges By

The Box For The Holidays.)

1. Four oranges. Use one orange to create fresh orange zest by zesting the skin. Set aside zest for garnish. Use this orange to create orange juice.

2. Take other three oranges and peel them. Then slice off both ends to pitch. Then slice each orange into four nice slices. Place slices in a quiche style dish.

3. Create a simple sugar syrup by heating 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in saucepan. Heat to boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat to add 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier into sugar syrup. Add fresh squeezed orange juice from first orange. Return pan to heat to boil off alcohol. About 1 minute.

4. Pour this sugar syrup over the orange slices and garnish with the orange zest.

5. Refrigerate over night covered to allow flavors to meld.

This is a very simple but great dessert to serve with rich food because it is so refreshing.

Eliza Again

Little Eliza Gariety had a very busy weekend last week. She had to don her apple girl costume and head to Sidney, Ohio with her folks.

She helped lay a wreath in honor of the anniversary of 9/11.

She got to ride with five other beauties in the Applefest parade in downtown Sidney, Ohio.

News Flash: If you want a good recipe for apple cake go down my blog roll to The Pioneer Woman Cooks or click here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

Pioneer Woman has great recipes to share on her blog and this one looks like one I will try except I'm not messing with flipping that hot apple cake out of the skillet. I know for me I would just either burn my fingers or let the cake slip on the floor or break the nice plate. I say let's just serve this baby from the skillet and turn each individual piece upside down when putting it on a dessert plate.

Here's A Cool Recipe

News Flash: I just posted Bev's recipe for California Veggie Wraps on my other blog: PiedmontReaders:

http://piedmontreaders.blogspot.com/ Double click here and then when you get to the site go down on the right under Labels till you come to Recipes. Click on Recipes and you will pull up Bev's great California Veggie Wraps recipe. This would be something cool to make for a hot summer day. No cooking or baking to heat up the kitchen.

What Did You Put On The Table?

What did you put on the table New Years Day to eat for good luck in the coming year? A lot of people do pork and or ham with saurkraut for good luck. We did something similar. I made a big batch of German red cabbage which I like a whole lot better than saurkraut and Jack bundled up in a jacket to fight off the blowing winds while he grilled our pork chops ala Emiril Legasse on our grill. In addition I made a batch of Texas caviar with blackeye peas and black beans plus celery, green onions, red and green peppers, and chili spice. After I made it I looked at the Pioneer Woman Cooks on my blog roll and discovered her tasty recipe for Blackeyed Pea Salsa. Take a look. It looks like a great recipe to try. Also, scroll way down once more to my blogroll and find The Whistle Stop Cafe. She has posted a great looking recipe for Black Eyed Pea Soup.

Lots of Dishes To Make Today

Do you have lots of side dishes to make in advance today?
Me too!
Do you have some pumpkin pies to make today?
Me too!
Do you have some bread rolls to make today?
Me too!
Do you have a table to set for tomorrow's dinner?
Me too! Actually mine's ready. Just need to grab some fresh sage to finish.
Do you have a turkey to brine and then massage with sage butter?
Me too!
Do you have a turkey gravy to prepare ahead of time ala Bobbie Flay?
Me too!
Do you have a Thanksgiving guest arriving this afternoon?
Me too!
Well, let's get off the computer and go cook!

But before you exit the keyboard go toThe Food Network to find out when you should stick the bird in the oven in relation to dinner time. They have an easy calculator there. Just type in how many pounds the turkey is, and if it is stuffed or unstuffed and presto they will tell you what time to stick the bird in the oven at 325 degrees for a nice slow roast.

Note: these pretty pottery dishes I found at the gift shop at Shenandoah National Park. Aren't they lovely. Just had to take a photo.

Jack's Getting Ready To Cook

Big Jack is getting ready to cook. Little Jack is playing The Cookbook Game that his Aunt Gigi taught him. I can't believe our second daughter kept first daughter's son totally entranced with pushing grandma's cookbooks forward and backward on the shelf. Push them in. Push then out. Oh--ohh, here's another to push forward. And lookie here, here's another to push back. Aunt Gigi had Jack Aidan very busy.

He had to take off his shoes and socks to really get in the game. Go Jack Aidan. Work on grandma's cookbook shelves. Oh, I just noticed that Aunt Gigi was barefoot too. Enough, enough. We need to move on to the great soup recipe I promised you. And what is it? It is a recipe from Wegmans new Holiday magazine. So look below.

Wegmans Corn and Crab Chowder

As Modified By Joann Who Likes To Stretch A Dollar

How do you stretch a dollar? Where the original recipie calls for a pound of fresh crab meat that will set you back $25 at Wegmans's I used three cans of crab meat that cut the cost to $12. Their canned crab looks just like the fresh and with the paper liner in the can, there is no tinny taste. And where the original recipe called for 2 boxes of Wegmans gourmet frozen corn I just used three drained cans of corn. After all we are making soup. With soup you can get creative and find this and that from the fridge and cupboard to throw in the soup. With any baking which is an exact science follow the recipe baby to keep from having a flop.

Here's the ingredients:

First, peel two white potatoes and cut up and put in small saucepan with one can of chicken broth.

Second, heat two more cans of chicken broth in another saucepan till nice and hot.

Third, chop, chop and saute and saute in this fashion:

4 oz. pancetta saute in soup pot till done then add to the soup pot

1/2 cup sweet onion diced (I like Vidalias) and saute then add

3 cloves garlic diced (I like mild elephant garlic) and saute then add

1/2 cup celery diced and saute then add

1/2 cup carrot diced and saute then

Now add the two ingredients for making a roux:

1/2 cup of butter (one whole stick cut in pats)

1/2 cup of flower

cook on low heat while stirring frequently all this stuff: sauteed veggies and butter and flour.

I cook the roux a long time because I don't like a floury taste. I set my timer for 5-6 minutes. When you start to get a nice fragrant smell you know you are ready to move on with the recipe.

Now slowly add the heated chicken broth. Stopping to stir to incorporate the liquid. When that's good to go meaning that the broth has thickened quite a bit like it is a thin gravy you add the cooked diced potatoes in their broth.

Next drain three cans of reguler corn and dump in soup pot.

Now it is time to add some seasoning for flavor:

1 tsp or more of Old Bay Seasoning

1 tsp or more of dried thyme

1 tsp or more of Tabasco red pepper sauce

1 Tbsp of granuler chicken stock (Why? Because they don't make chickens

the way they used to so even the best chicken stock is bland)

1 shake of the kosher salt shaker and 1 turn of the fresh black pepper

grinder mill.

Now put the soup lid partially on and let this simmer for 1/2 hour. It's not soup if it hasn't simmered a while!

At this point I remove soup pot from stove and let it cool and put it in the refigerator to cool completely.

I finish the soup later in the day or the next day or even the next day by doing this:

1. Slowly reheat soup in pot. Do not boil. Just heat!

2. Add 8 - 16 oz. of light cream. Add the cream till you get the consistency

that you want. Hmmmm....so good!

3. Gently stir in your three cans of crab. Don't boil! Just heat it.

4. Do a taste check on your seasonings. Does it need a little more of......

5. Add another pat of butter to finish the soup.

Now dish up a bowl and serve it with some sourdough crusty bread for dipping in the soup. Very good, huh!

A New Soup From This Recipe

Roasted Chicken Soup

Try this with a store bought roasted chicken that you bring home and pull the meat off the bone and cube.. Follow directions above except substitute 1 tsp of poultry seasoning for the 1 tsp of Old Bay Seafood seasoning. You could make the chicken soup with the light cream or just add another can of chicken broth.

Saturday Soup With Tidbits Of This And That

Today's blog post is going to be a Saturday soup with a few additional tidbits thrown in for nothing. Like take a look at this. This was in front of Shopper's Food Warehouse at Somerset Crossing in Gainesville, VA last month when I was rushing in with Jack to get supplies for our Octoberfest party. Well it looks like some type of racing car to me and when I looked closer I discovered that it must be a woman's car because I saw the name Bunny along the side of the car. Now what man would put the name Bunny along the side of his car? Now even the Easter Bunny would do that.

See. Here is her name up close with the hood up and the wheels and transmission down. Now isn't that strange. First the name Bunny and the Boys and then the car like this. It looks like a George Forman electric grill where you would pop in a piece of meat. I looked for Bunny coming and going from the store but never found her. But I'm still thinking about her. And I reckon that a lot of boys and men are too because they were flocking around that car like carrion birds with a fresh kill. Speaking of birds look below.

Yes, the day I wrote about missing Sarah Palin this guy showed up at our breakfast room window and made a hit on either Sarah or Sunny chipmunk! This was a very young and cold little Coopers Hawk and I don't think his hunting skills are too good yet so I'm hoping he didn't take Sarah Palin or Sunny out. And speaking of our dear Sarah Palin I'm taking a nap this afternoon so that I have enough energy to stay up tonight to watch Saturday Night Live. I just know that they are going to do a skit about the Sarah Palin interview where she is talking while countless turkeys are meeting the head chopper off man. By the way, what do you do for a living? Answer: I chop off turkey heads in a little metal funnel chute contraption. I know. I know. The poor man is just doing his job and next Thursday when we all sit down to our nice roasted Thanksgiving turkey we will be thankful that this man did his job. But the irony of this story it seems to me is the fact that this interview was called to show how the Governor of Alaska would pardon a turkey destined for the governor's mansion while countless other turkeys were being slaughtered in the background! Think about it a moment. I ask you now. Who was the biggest turkey in the video?

After his slam dunk dive that missed the target the Cooper's Hawk flew to the lawn and just sat there shivering and looking up at me thru the window. I was trying to get a photo shot fired off with my little Mickey Mouse camera that doesn't ever get good details in these incidents. A little blurry and out of focus thru the glass. If you click on the photo, you will get a little more detail.

Now look at this. I know I'm jumping all around from one topic to another but how else are you going to make a Saturday Soup With Lots of Tidbits. This old fashioned truck was parked outside Wegman's Gourmet Grocery Store in Gainesville, VA the day Dickie and I got busted for using our cameras in the store! I still think that was the funniest thing that has happened to me in a long time. I could just see Jack having a conversation with the judge.

Judge: "Why are you here?"

Jack: "Uhh...well, I need to post bail for my wife."

Judge: "Was it stealing dope?"

Jack: "No, sir. It was stealing an image of the grocery store.

Let me just add that thru my little gadget that tracks visitors to one's blog I discovered that I had at least a dozen visits from folks up in Rochester, NY. after that blog post. I don't know anybody up in Rochester, NY but I do know that that is the headquarters of Wegman's Grocery Store. So maybe Dickie and I are still not out of the woods yet. By the way here 's a tidbit of info. The busiest Wegman's in the nation and the one that generates the most money is the one located in Fairfax County, VA near Centerville. There people do walk in and order the $700 a pound French truffles to go along with their $1000 a bottle French Burgundy wine or French Champagne. That's a fact.

Next I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog yesterday and left a comment about my father's baby photo in honor of his birth date. The old fashioned Wegmans truck reminds me of a story that was told at least a million times in our home when I was growing up. I really wish my Uncle Nick, my mother's oldest brother who was both a great reader and story teller, could tell this story to you. Well, you just have me to tell you so here goes nothing and the story:

Both my mom and dad were newly weds of the depression era as well as farm folks so every single time we made a trip to visit my mother's two brothers "who left the farm!" we took half the farm with us in the car. Vegetables from the garden, fruit from the orchard and rich cream and butter from our dairy plus a ton of canned fruits and vegetables that my mom had canned so well. Why? Because my mom and dad felt very sorry for those poor folks who had left the riches of the farm to live and work in the big city of Dayton or the little city of Fairborn, Ohio.

Well, this particular trip must have happened soon after my mom and dad got married because there were no kids that I'm aware of along for the long slow ride to Dayton from Willowdell, Ohio in my father's Model T Ford. I do know that my dad was the chauffeur for his in-laws, Frank and Ellen Dapore. Normally on these long road trips the men sat in front and the women sat in back. On this particular day everyone was seated when either my mom or my grand mom realized that they had forgotten something that they wanted to take to their "poor city relatives". So they quickly and quietly hopped out of the car and headed back inside the house to get what they wanted. In the meantime my father and my grandfather were in a heated discussion about something. They were probably talking politics and/ or farming or how the current politics was impacting their farming. Anyway without looking back they pulled out from the farm drive and tooddled on down the gravel road towards the big two laned paved road coming up on their journey to Uncle Nick's house in Dayton.

In the meantime my mom and grand mom exited the farmhouse and looked for the Model T Ford. No Model T Ford. What! Where did it go? And where on earth are Leo and Frank? Then my mom and grand mom looked down the road and saw thru the dust cloud that the Model T Ford was stirring up that Leo and Frank were heading to Dayton without them! And knowing how those two men could talk and talk without including them in their important men's conversation (Remember that this was not too long after women got the right to vote and men still probably thought that women didn't know anything much about politics or farming for that matter.) they decided that they better grab their goods and make a run for it. And that's exactly what they did. They ran with all their might for nearly half a mile to catch that Model T Ford. When they finally came alongside the car they were panting beat the band. And when my dad and my granddad saw them they wondered why they were running instead of riding. Why are you outside the car? Why aren't you in the backseat of the car where you belong. For heavens sake, get in and and close the doors and let's get rolling or we will be late. We have a long trip ahead of us.

Of course, when they finally arrived on Uncle Nick's front porch they had to tell him the story. And my Uncle Nick listened, embellished the tale and it became one his favorite stories to tell when he visited us in later years from his retirement home in Florida. We kids all knew the story by heart but every time Uncle Nick told the story we laughed harder than the previous time the story was told. We could picture the men talking, the women running and panting and crusty Grandpa Frank Dapore scolding the women to stay in the backseat for heavens sake!

Now I was going to give you a great Saturday Soup recipe but this post is getting just too long so I'll save the recipe for tomorrow's blog post. But here is a short recipe for a fresh cream dessert that is decadent. I now call it Backseat Dessert.

Backseat Dessert

One half of box of graham crackers pulverized to gravel consistency.

(Remember the gravel roads back then.)

One carton of rich and heavy cream and half a stick of pure butter.

(Remember the Ohio dairy farm folks.)

One large can of crushed pineapple drained.

(Remember the exotic big city of Dayton, Ohio where Uncle Nick and Aunt Ruth could find canned pineapple on the grocery shelves.

One half cup of sugar and one teaspoon of French Vanilla.

(Remember our French ancestry from French-Comte region of France.)

Directions:

Mix the crushed graham cracker crumbs with the pats of butter.

Place half the crumbs on the bottom of a glass dish.

I remember that we always used to use one of those square green depression glass refrigerator dishes that had a glass cover.) Save the rest of the crumb mixture for the topping.

Now whip your real and heavy whipped cream in your electric mixer. Add the sugar and vanilla and stop mixing once you achieve nice cream peaks. Remember we are aiming to make dessert and not butter. Beat too long and you will have made real homemade butter which is also a good thing to make and eat.

Drain your crushed pineapple well and add to the whipped cream mixture and then spoon this into the glass dish. Sprinkle the remaining graham cracker "gravel" on top. Chill well and serve. Delicious.

And just as my Uncle Nick could embellish a true story so could my mom embellish this easy but delicious dessert. Sometimes she would drain marachino cherries and place them on top of the "gravel" for a little extra color. And I have learned that if you add some microwaved melted chocolate chips to the whipped cream you have turned this into a Chocolate Mousse. Very French! Sprinkle some coconut on top of top gravel and you would have something I would call German Chocolate Cake Mousse.

What A Wonderful October Weekend

What a wonderful October weekend we just had from beginning to end. From the early morning meeting on Friday at the Golden Corral with the Russia Raiders (Go Russia!) to the Sunday late afternoon Oktoberfest party that Jack and I hosted at our home for the neighborhood gang on the loop.


Dickie and Scott were our co-hosts and brought over the best potato pancakes along with shrimp steamed in beer and apple pie and a lovely fall flower arrangement to grace my living room. Neighbor Carol whose daughter's photo of Battlefield's homecoming dance I had on my blog last Sunday did something really great. She provided her daughter to babysit the little kids on the stem in their finished basement so that the big folks could go party.

Neighbor Bev made a luscious German chocolate cake and Leia made her now famous/infamous marinated cheese. One guy just stood by that dish and ate the whole thing! I won't name names! Other neighbors trooped over lugging various kinds of beer and red and white wine. I contributed some of my old favorites: sausage stuffed mushrooms, deviled eggs German style, various types of German sausage first poached in beer then grilled on the grill, beer cheese, red wine chocolate cake, triple chocolate brownies iced with German chocolate cake icing. This is about two thirds of the foods we served.

Everyone enjoyed everything except the dreaded pickled herring in sour cream. No man at the party was man enough to give that German delicacy a try. Anybody want some pickled herring? Just ring my doorbell and I'll treat you to some.

Scott and I discovered that those thin and crisp gingersnap cookies made in Hannover, PA are really extra delicious dipped into a glass of red wine! Who knew. We created a new and different wine/food paring.

The word went forth from Joann and Jack that anyone showing up wearing a Halloween costume would get free beer and wouldn't you know it the one fellow who showed up wearing a mighty fine costume wasn't allowed to get his beer reward because he is only one year old. You can just about guess who that was. Tomorrow I'll post a photo of das mous meister who captivated the party guests until he got sleepy and had to leave to go take a needed nap.

Blog News Flash!

I have on my blog roll to the left two mighty fine food blogs: The Pioneer Woman Cooks and The Whistle Stop Cafe. Today the pioneer woman is talking about making a pumpkin whiskey cake and the whistle stop cafe lady is discussing homemade chocolate raspberry ice cream. You would think that I couldn't look at another delicious food treat but I've learned that I'm always up for that challenge. Anyway if you like good food, check out these two blog sites. Both are awesome!

The Winery at La Grange

This is our nearest local winery. It is just three and half miles from our home in Haymarket, Virginia so Sunday afternoon after brunch we took Gene and Sandra over for a tasting while Linda and Larry visited an old friend of theirs who now lives in Dominion Valley in Haymarket. I packed a picnic bag with cheese, fruit, crackers and bread to enjoy with a bottle of wine from La Grange after our wine tasting.

Sandra, Gene and Jack walking back towards the historic La Grange home after viewing the red barn where the wine is made. There is a funny story about the former owners of this home. The wife was much bigger than her little and short husband. One day in front of houseguests the minute husband did something that really ticked off his big and buxom wife. So she grabbed him and turned him over on her knee and gave him a spanking! If I owned this winery, I would have to name a certain type of wine The La Grange Spanking Wine.

Here is a row of boxwoods that line the pathway to the barn. Weddings are sometimes held here in the vineyard so this is where the bride makes her grand entrance. Notice the little sparkling lights on the boxwoods.

Here are some barrels of wine that folks have bought for big bucks. They have a brass plate with their name and inscription.. I noticed one barrel that a man had given to his wife in honor of their 20'th wedding anniversary.
Here is a view of some newly planted grape vines in the vineyard. Notice how each vine is wrapped to keep rabbits and other animals from eating the delectable young leaves. Look carefully and you will see the blue ridge mountains in the distance in this photo.
Here on the patio on the front side of the historic manor house there are nice tables and chairs for enjoying a wine picnic. At the table are Sandra, Gene and Jack doing just that.
This is the La Grange wine person explaining the types of wine we were tasting in the tasting room. The wine vintner is Chris Pearmund who left the wine business in California to come to the blue ridge area of Virginia to open two wineries: Pearmunds and La Grange. At the world renowned Inn of Little Washington the local Virginia wines featured on the wine menu are from Pearmunds and La Grange.
Bread, wine, fruit, cheese and good old friends----what more can you ask for on a beautiful autumn day in Virginia. Here we are enjoying a glass of Viognier that had been aged in Hungarian Oak. La Grange produces a nice lightweight red wine from the Norton grape which is native to Virginia and which is aged in American Oak. Here's a quick recipe for hot mulled wine which is nice for cool fall evening:

Hot Mulled Wine

1 bottle of La Grange Norton wine

1/2 cup of simple sugar syrup which consists of equal parts sugar and water that is brought to a boil then cooled

1/2 cinnamon stick

5 cloves of clove spice

Heat gently on stove.
Stir then serve in mugs.

In My Opinion

In my opinion this cake was disappointing. (See last Friday's blog.) With 9 candy bars in the cake batter I was expecting an outstanding taste. But no, it was not an extraordinary taste. How would I describe it? To me it tasted like a box mix cake of German chocolate---especially with the texture and with the coconut. You could get the same taste for a lost less money and effort with a box of German chocolate cake mix and frosting.

And the frosting was not to my liking at all. Why? Because that bag of cut up marshmallows that you spread on the hot cake just removed from the oven made it very very difficult to cut this cake into serving pieces. It was like the melted marshmallows turned to rubber and you were cutting thru a rubber tire! Not easy. And it didn't add to the flavor of the cake---more like eating rubber! And in my opinion the separate layer of two cups of coconut was not the way to go either. That just made the top layer of icing very hard to spread. It would have been easier to put the coconut in the icing which would have made it more or less a German chocolate cake. Well, live and learn.

Now all the ladies did enjoy reading this book selection. Everyone described it as a really fun read. And there were some good recipes in the novel. I made for the meeting Pia's Crabbies and they were really good. And the recipe for Christmas Bourbon Balls was greaaaaaaaaaaaaat! You bit in and the bourbon flavor started out mild but kept building as you ate the ball. And by the time you finished you thought: wow! I just had a bourbon on the rocks!

The Answer to What's in the Bag

The answer to what's in the bag is....................................

Amish Friendship Bread

Please note the following: Do not refrigerate

If air develops in the bag, let it out

The batter will rise and ferment

Day 1 Do nothing

Day 2 Mash the Bag

Day 3 Mash the Bag

Day 4 Mash the Bag

Day 5 Mash the Bag

Day 6 Add to the Bag 1 C of flour, 1 C of sugar and 1C of milk.

Mash the bag to mix.

Day 7 Mash the Bag

Day 8 Mash the Bag

Day 9 Mash the Bag

Day 10 Follow instructions below

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl. Add

1/2 C sugar

1 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 C milk

Stir to mix. Then measure out four 1 C measures of the batter and

place in separate 1-gallon Ziplock bags. Keep a starter for yourself and give the other 3 bags to 3 friends along with a copy of this recipe.

Note: If you keep a starter, you will be baking every ten days. If you don't pass this on the first day, be sure to tell the person what day it is that she is receiving it.

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. To the remaining 1 cup of batter in the bowl add these items:

3 eggs

1 C oil

1 C sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 C flour

1 large box of vanilla or chocolate instant pudding

1 cup of raisins or crushed nuts

3. Grease and flour 2 large loaf pans.

4. Pour the batter evenly into the pans.

5. Mix 3 tsp. sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle this over the

batter in loaf pans.

6. Bake for 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens evenly from the sides

of the pans. Turn out onto plate and serve warm, if possible.

Well, this is the recipe that I got 11 days ago from my good friend and neighbor, Dickie. I followed her directions for the ten days and baked the bread last night for dinner. While baking in the oven the kitchen filled up with the most amazing cinnamon sugar smell. Heavenly. The bread turned out well. It is more like a tea bread or coffee cake then a reguler bread. In fact, while looking up web searches on Amish Friendship Bread I came across Amish Friendship Cake. Same recipe.

If you would like to try to make this bread, here's what to do the night before day one rolls around. I can't hand you a starter bag thru the computer but I can tell you what to do that will work. Get a 1-gallon Ziplock bag and put into it these three ingredients:

1/3 C of flour

1/3 C of sugar

1/3 C of milk

Mash to mix and let this bag sit out overnight. The next day start

following the directions for the ten days.

And if you would like to learn more about Amish Friendship Bread here is a site to go to read up on it.

http://chitterlings.com/cgi-bin/chit_index.cgi?noframes;read=25750

When you compare the recipe there with what I wrote you will see that I made only one change. I thought 1/2 cup of sugar for the topping was way to much for the bread is sweet enough. And I didn't use this sugar mixture to "flour" the loaf pans. I just grabbed my can of Crisco spray with flour and gave a spray coating to the loaf pans.

I also found it helpful to mark the dates on The Days to help me keep track.'For example, next to Day 1 I lightly penciled in April 3, You could also keep track by marking your calendar. I have my starter sitting on the counter so I am going to make the bread again. This time I will use the chocolate instant pudding. On the web I saw that you could also use butterscotch instant pudding. I bet pistachio instant pudding would work too.

What Is In This Ziplock Bag?

What is in this Ziplock bag?
Make a guess under comment.
The person with the correct answer
will get something tomorrow.

In the meantime I'm heading outside to do some needed gardening.
See yuh later.
I'm giving you another 24-48 hours to figure this out.
Here's a hint.
I've been mashing it every day except for the one day I fed it.

Two Great Recipes For You To Try

If I knew you were coming

I would have baked a cake!

The next time that you have company you might want to try one of these cake recipes from my good friend Pat Windham.

German Chocolate Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake Squares

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup butter, melted and divided in two

1 large egg

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (16 oz.) box of 10-x powdered sugar

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl combine cake mix, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and 1 egg. Beat at low speed till combined. Press evenly into bottom of prepared pan, set aside. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Beat in 2 large eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in 10 x pwdered sugr until smooth. Add remaning melted butter, beating at low speed until combined. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour over cake mix layer spreading evenly. Bake for 45 minutes (the center should remain slightly gooey). Remove cake from oven; let cool completely before cutting into squares.

This recipe was found in the Cooking With Paula Dean Magazine.

Pistachio Inside Outside Cake

1 pkg. yellow or white cake mix

1 pkg. instant pistachio Jello pudding (small)

3 eggs

1 cup club soda

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts

Blend all ingredients and beat for two minutes at medium speed. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cake cool. Then cut cake in half to make two layers.

Frosting:

3 cups cold milk

1 box (2 envelopes) Dream Whip

2 pkgs. instant pistachio pudding (small)

Garnish:

1/2 cup of chopped pistachios

1/2 cup toasted coconut

Whip the frosting ingredients until thickened---about 5 minutes. Spread 1 cup of the frosting between the two layers. Put top layer on cake and spoon remaining frosting on top andthe sides of the cake. Garnish with chopped pistachios and toasted coconut.

This would be a good green cake to serve for a St. Patrick's Day party in March. I got to sample this cake last Friday at Pat's house when she hosted our book club group.