It’s a dreary, rainy day here. The sort of cold weather you expect for early November, with a leftover drizzle from last night still falling and making our dachshund miserable on her ever-more-swift visits to the lawn. (Little Miss Dainty doesn’t like to get her paws wet.)
This is the point in the year when I start feeling the urge to make the usual fall fare: hot apple cider, a warm pot of soup with some crusty bread, some oven-roasted root veggies and onions, pretty much anything that includes cranberries. ‘Tis the season, I suppose.
It’s the sort of day today where I hope to make a pot of tea and curl up with a good book. But most likely I won’t get the chance, given that The Peanut is going through a pretend play phase wherein momma spends a lot of time as the “other princess” sipping tea with her and all the assorted plushies, and talking about the joys of riding horses and sipping more tea.
You really haven’t blogged until you’ve written a post while wearing a tiara and a feather boa. It’s “extreme blogging,” and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Because of the extra demands on my time of late, the crockpot and I have become well acquainted. And, as election season pushes forward and activists everywhere start finding candidates for whom they can work with a smile on their faces (yes, I do hear there are some out there…), we’re all going to start being more crunched for time as the year progresses. Honestly, the whole holiday season crazy rush-around-a-thon is exhausting enough as it is, so I wanted to share a few links to some recipe troves that I use.
And to share a favorite recipe for some baked apples that is as easy as all get out, but provides you with two major benefits: (1) a nummy yet not too unhealthy dessert and/or snack and (2) the most amazing smell in your house that will literally leave people drooling upon entry. It is that good.
So, what’s going on in your neck of the woods? How are you sluffing off the ick of the week and taking care of yourself? Do tell. Pull up a chair…
(Photo via Mermaniac.)
Crock Pot Recipes:
– About.com recipe page
– All Recipes
– Crockpot.com
– FoodNetwork
– MyRecipes.com
Baked Apples:
2 Tbsp. raisins or currants
1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 c. sugar
6 to 8 apples, washed and cored
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter
Mix raisins, walnuts and sugar, and fill centers of apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot w/ butter. Put in crockpot and add in either 1/2 c. water or apple cider if you have some handy. Cover, and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt or some vanilla custard sauce. You can make some easy sauce with Bird’s custard powder if you can find some at the grocery store — it’s a British brand and it makes a lovely (and easy!) dessert sauce. Or take some more apple cider and boil it in a saucepan until it is reduced by half and more syrupy in texture, and then pour over the apples and serve. The recipe is pretty easy to mix-up, too, so use pecans if you don’t have walnuts, or omit the nuts altogether. It’s great with a little orange zest, or some dried cranberries instead of the raisins. And trust me when I say the odor of baking apples with cinnamon will make your house smell like heaven (or your granny’s house, which, in my case, is the same thing as heaven anyway).
Or, if you want to get really decadent, Steve Gilliard’s recipe for bread pudding is melt in your mouth amazing. It also goes quite well with some vanilla custard sauce and, if you want to get really decadent, splash in a little Captain Morgan spiced rum or a bit of brandy for the sauce and pour over your slice of bread pudding. I miss talking food with Steve this time of year. *sniffle*
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It’s been awhile…
Good Morning. Thanks for the recipes :)!
Princess Zed. And very good morning to Christy.
Recipe Source
Early family Christmas party for us today. Hop in the car and drive 90 minutes to spend time and catch up with cousins. Lots of food, I’ll have to check out some of the ones here to see if we need to bring more food with us!
Good morning, all. And please hand me a towel to clean up the coffee on my monitor.
Good morning Christy!
Yummy!
Oh, I am totally buying some apples. What kind should I get? Are Macintoshes good for this?
Later on today I’m making a banana bread and a pumpkin cheesecake.
Cleter, macs are good for baking.
Good morning Christy et al
Last night I made 2 chocolate cream pies from scratch for a thing at the church tonight. This morning I plan to start an experiment and make a chocolate chip brioche loaf. I had one in Quebec last summer that was amazing. Since I won’t be able to afford to go to Canada any time soon—thanks Bushie—I might as well figure it out myself.
It’s not quite chili enough yet for a big pot of the stuff.
I like mine with 3 kinds of beans, including black, a couple of octoberfest beers (add when you put the chili powder in), topped with lettuce, tomatoes and a fistfull of cheddar. Fried corn tortillas on the side to roll them up like tacos.
Mmmmm. Maybe it is chili enough.
Oh and as for macs, my favorite is carmel covered and rolled in peanuts. The. Best.
Good Morning Christy,
it sure smells good here.
Macs are on sale at the hippy/country grocery store right now. They also have the first of the weird looking local citrus. Yum.
You wouldn’t happen to have some photos of this outfit, would you?
*g*
cleter @ 7
We use a mixture of Ida reds and Macs and half butter and half lard for the pastry. Lemon zest never hurt an apple pie.
I have never tried baking while wearing a boa and tiara… but then I have had difficulty finding a boa that does not clash with my apron.
RevDeb @ 11
RevDeb, here’s a divine recipe (look at the url :) for caramel apples, you’ll have to add the peanuts
I miss reading Steve a lot. He had a way of cutting out the BS and getting to the heart of what was really going on.
add a sniffle from PA.
Peterr @ 14
I can see it clearly without photos *g*
If the Civil War was bad, why can’t America have Civil Unions?
Surveys show that the majority of Americans accept providing legal rights and responsibilities to gay couples.
The ick of the week seems to have come home from Kindergarten with my little one. Coughs and sniffles all night . . . and MrsPeterr appears to be getting it as well.
Time to break out the hot cider, even though it’s not especially cold yet.
Peterr @ 20
I just had the ick for 2 weeks. FInally over—I think/hope.
RevDeb @ 9
I have been making brioche about once a week. I find that leaving the dough in the fridge for at least 24 hours produces a better “crumb”. Also do not scrimp on the butter or eggs. 2 1/2 sticks butter and 6 eggs to 6 C. flour usually does the trick. Also fresh organic eggs tastes much better…. or so says my wife.
Good morning all. Perfect timing for this post. Tonight, hubby and I are going to a pre-Thanksgiving feast. 10 couples attend this annual party. Everybody brings something and I’ve been assigned salad. But most bring a little something extra. Something special. Not being Martha Stewart, I often bring wine. But I’d love to do something more creative. Thinking about roasting chestnuts. I don’t know yet.
It’s a beautiful autumn day here in Michigan –sunny and 50 degrees as the day goes on. It’s going to be an exciting day on the Skinner campaign.
Randi Rhodes is coming to town and will be at a fundraiser for Nancy today — we’re expecting a great turnout of about 200 people, and I’ll be picking Randi up at her hotel to bring her to the event.
Randi had Nancy on her show yesterday for a great interview, unfortunately, we get the show delayed here and the last hour got cut off for a sporting event, so local folks didn’t get to hear it. Hopefully a lot of people streamed the live show like I did or listened to it on satellite.
The hit count on Nancy’s site shot up during and right after the interview and donations and phone calls came in from around the country from people who know it matters what kind of Democrats we send to Congress. We need more progressive people — especially women — who have a backbone and won’t buckle under pressure from the powers that be.
If you’re so inclined, send a little love Nancy’s way — check out the site at http://www.skinnerforcongress.com (where you can see some video of Nancy speaking out about the war before it started) or go to ActBlue at http://www.actblue.com/page/helpskinnerwin or one of the other pages for Nancy.
This weekend I’m going to experiment and make a Chestnut Bisque.
nomolos @ 22
Thanks for the tips! It will be fun to try it. Do you use instant yeast? I have found it much better for everything I’ve tried than the stuff you get in the grocery store.
I’ve been craving homemade chicken pot pie.
this post is making me very hungry
Elliott @ 27
popovers. May have to go downstairs and start some up.
A brief detour into corporate cooking….
Tom O’Neill [In-Touch magazine?] on MSNBC this morning disingenuously mischaracterizing the writers strike.
Cheers used to have 20 million viewers now a similar show would have 7 mil to be considered a hit. And yet the writers want more money…
Writers are also producers, just check the credits…..
So why was the writers = producers scam ever set up in the first place? Prairie asks.
Word to MSNBC…if the pie’s getting bigger because of new media, writers deserve a share. Don’t just try to screw ‘em again because each slice has gotten smaller. It’s about the whole pie…and all the ingredients. New and old.
We have discovered that the room in our new place that seems to collect *all* the kitchen smells and hold them the best is the upstair study where the computer sits.
This can make it very hard to get work done when someone is cooking.
I’m not worthy to blog here.
mmmm. those apples look good. thanks for the suggestion, i think they are on the list for this week. *g*
….i don’t have any recipes to share, but i do have three ingredient suggestions that come to mind.
1) with the roasted root veggies, try leeks instead of onions. i tried it this year because i got so many yummy leaks from the csa…. and omg, i am never going back to onions for roasting. (i like to add garlic cloves too)
2) i’ve been using penzy’s “Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon” this year and love it.
3) for vanilla fragrance, i love trader joe’s “pure bourbon vanilla extract” (i usually use half that and half penzey’s double strength).
Did you hear that DiFi has declared that she will be happy to give the telcos a free ride on retro immunity? How swell of her.
OK Chris Dodd. Game on.
LAst weekend I made a Root Vegetable Curry.
RevDeb @ 33
I’m not surprised by this.
solai @ 31
Don’t sell yourself short. Learning to cook, like reclaiming the Constitution, is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve just got to take it one step at a time.
Learning to cook, like reclaiming the Constitution, is also an experience that lasts a lifetime.
scory @ 5
i laughed so hard the cats all looked at me with the big eyed “what’s wrong!?” look.
“You really haven’t blogged until you’ve written a post while wearing a tiara and a feather boa. It’s “extreme blogging,” and don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
Those were the days. Umpteen years later and we still have “Pretty Pretty Princess” on the game shelf.
Peterr @ 35
Peter is right. It takes messing up a lot of stuff until you get a feel for it. I have mastered the making of Challah, but I can’t tell you how many bad loaves I made to get there. After enough experimenting you get a feel for doing things and then they mostly turn out right.
cleter @ 7
My aunt, who made the best baked apples in the entire world, swore by Rome Beauty apples, which you can usually find around this time of the year. Wonderful flavor, and don’t turn into mush when cooked. [drool]
RevDeb @ 26
what is “instant yeast?”
Morning all. Hope everyone is having a good one.
Millineryman @ 34
do you have a recipe to share? sounds yummy.
Prairie Sunshine @ 29
Absolutely correct. The main writers for “Cheers” Glen and Lloyd Charles were also the Producers. So they got a huge chunk f the profits. I understood that THEY were the ones not paying the ACTORS a representative cut of the profits at that time (remember all that stuff about Shelley Long)???
So some writers wear two hats. And won’t complain when they are paying those others wearing one of those hats (the writers or the actors) less, simply because THEY are acquiring all that extra cost through their other “hat”.
selise @ 40
SAF and Fleischmans make it. You can get it at some gourmet shops or via the King Arthur Baking store online. You don’t need to fidget with getting the temperature of the water just right to proof it. You just mix it in with the flour and it always works like magic. I’ll never use regular yeast again.
solai @ 31
The trick is to get the baking/cooking sister to make it ;)
solai @31
I said I was going to experiment and try to make a Chestnut Bisque. I’m sure Dr. Frankenstein had some great hopes for his experiment too. I’ve screwed up many attempts at cooking, it’s part of the learning curve.
selise at 32 — I love Penzey’s spices. I’ve been using them for years — wonderfully fresh and really well blended. Their adobo season and their cinnamon, in particular, get used a lot in this house. Although this time of year, wo do go through a bit of mulling spice as well.
“Because of the extra demands on my time of late, the crockpot and I have become well acquainted.”
Forgive me, but I thought you were referring to Mr. ReddHedd.
And not only are the Hollywood writers out on strike, but now the Great White Way is about to be darkened.
On Broadway Set To Shut Down
Balrog at 48 — Bwahahahahaha. How is the wee one doing?
RevDeb @ 44
thanks, i’ll give it a try. and thanks especially for that link!
RevDeb @ 9
RevDeb, is this because of $$$ or because you’re on Bush’s “no fly list.” /snark
Christy, when my daughter was the a little older than the Peanut’s current age, she and her best friend [both Drama Queens] created “movies” using our video camera. They did a great one for school starring themselves as Nathan Hale and the Green Mountain Boys in the American Revolution.
My favorite, however, was one based on the soap opera I used to watch when daughter was in utero [and many months thereafter, while nursing], All My Children. They called their materpiece “All My Stuffies,” and featured stuffed animals in all sorts of tortuous storylines.
BTW, had dinner last night with this now-21-year-old Daughter in a beautiful Argentinian restaurant in NYC. Talked about her search for “what to do after graduation” [this May].
Husband & I are both SO proud of her and the great young woman she’s become, and the even greater one she looks like she’s heading for.
I always credit these sorts of milestones to “good parenting,” and I encourage you to do likewise. [Also, it provides a justification — if any’s needed — for all those teas & tiaras.]
selise @42
This is what I remembered doing. Please keep in mind it’s a guide since I don’t really pay too much attention to what I do when I cook unless I start out with the intention of writing a recipe. I’ve never made a curry before so that’s why I used the Simmer Sauce, I need to update my spices to make my own. As with all of Trader Joes products, the simmer sauce was very good.
Root Vegetable Curry
1 White Yam
1 Rutabaga
1 Carrot
1 Parsnip
1 Onion
2 Cloves of garlic
1 chili pepper
I cube frozen chopped cilantro
Olive oil
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 of a jar of Trader Joes Curry Simmer Sauce
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Cut up all vegetables into chunks, except for that garlic and chili, which you chop up.
Heat an oven proof pot and add enough olive oil for sauteing
Saute garlic and chili until the garlic starts to brown, remove garlic.
Add chunked vegetables, and saute for few minutes until caramelization starts.
Add coconut milk, simmer sauce, and cilantro, stir and bake in the oven covered for 1-hr.
Christy: One of my favorite activities with my daughter was playing princess. Now, at 15, she still wants to dress up, but not with the momma. Enjoy!
Here, we’re getting ready for tonight’s celebration bonfire/pep rally for my son’s varsity football team. Still undefeated and charging hard toward the District IV championship. Woot! (Somehow, this DFH has turned into one of those obsessive Booster Club moms…)
Gran’s Game Day Hot Cocoa:
Two envelopes cocoa mix
Two c. milk
3 Tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
2-4 shakes ground cinnamon, to taste
Bring the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon to a low boil, add cocoa mix and stir till well blended. Top with whipped cream and dust with ground cinnamon.
For grown-ups, add a splash (or two…or three) of Irish whiskey to the mug.
Well let’s see, tomorrow is going to be standard fried chicken Sunday dinner with green beans and onions, potatos, biscuits, and milk gravy.
I know some folks make a big pot of chili when the weather turns cooler but the reality is, hot chili is far better in the summertime for it opens the pores, makes us sweat, and actually cools us down. If you think about it, the hot and spicy foods pretty much all come from the hot climates.
And fof Thanksgiving coming up, here’s a cranberry relish recipe that my dad always made. Unfortunately, I do not have the old fashioned grinder referenced in the recipe but a small food processor works in a pinch although not quite as good.
Mauimom @ 52
The dollar to start with . . . .the other? Time will tell.
Peterr @ 20
I have a friend who refers to all kindergarten or elementary school children as “vectors.” I came to understand that with my grandchildren.
solai @ 31
solai: 90% of cooking/baking is experimentation. The techniques are the same, just the ingredients change. Invest in a great step-by-step cookbook that teaches the techniques and you’ll be creating your own masterpieces in no time.
*Edited to add: The BH&G Step-by-Step is fabulous. Lots of pics and excellent, clear instructions.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 47
i figured you probably used penzey’s vanilla. but if you have access to a trader joe’s i really do recommend supplementing it with some of their vanilla – first time i used it i made some oatmeal cookies that make the kitchen smell extra good, and it lasted for a couple of days (until they were gone). that was a dumb luck experiment.
Mauimom @ 52
Stuffed animals? Tortuous storylines? That sounds like this week in DC.
With creativity like that, there could be a great future for your daughter in political blogging.
solai @ 31
I started as a kid and learned from my dad but The Joy Of Cooking is about the best starter cookbook I think you can have as they define most all cooking terms. Then find old church fund raiser cookbooks for tried and true recipes that include short-cuts.
Godd Morning everyone. Another beautiful cool day hear in Atlanta. Unfortunately still no rain. For all you pie makers (including chicken pot pie)…I got a great tip from Cooks Illustrated last month that I have tried and it really works. If you are like me nine times out of ten or maybe 8 of 10 my pie crust turns out just the way I want, tender and flaky but every once in a while it is a flop…tough and yucky.
Somehow the water and the flour just don’t get together right and the enemy of pie crust which is gluten gets control.
The secret is to use some vodka instead of all water plus you can add more moisture to the dough to make it easier to work. The ethanol in the vodka does not interact with the gluten like water and it all boils off in cooking and leaves no aftertaste. Below is the recipe from Cook’s Magazine…it is amazing how much easier it is to make a perfect crust every time and how much easier it makes rolling out the crust.
For one 9-inch Double-Crust Pie
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold
1/4 cup cold water
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.
Millineryman @ 53 -
thank you! i’m gonna try that one.
selise at 59 — I wish we had a Trader Joe’s here but, alas, no. We do have a decent local health food co-op, though, but it’s a bit of a drive from my house, so it’s a once a month or so-ish visit for me.
Sorry for this downer. I assume this was posted on Late Nite but just in case, Norman Mailer RIP
Breaking News:
BJ Bob Allen, R-FL is guilty.
I hope his community service duty is monitered very closely.
-GSD
Christy Hardin Smith @ 50
He’s a chip off the old block
I’m not sure where yet, but I know I have to quote this.
Sorry so long in reply RevDeb but yes instant yeast is the way to go.
I received “The Breadmakers Apprentice” as a gift from my wonderful spouse and that is where I get most of my recipes
Also http://www.thefreshloaf.com/thebreadfeed
here is a good source for info.
Making pizza today for pro choice group…my heart is REALLY in it.
PS Fuck DIFI
Good morning all! Weather is nice here but cool, should be the last day to get yardwork done. After the Michigan-Wisconsin game though. That baked apple recipe looks delicious Christy, thanks for that!
selise @ 63
You’re welcome, enjoy!
pma at 57
LOL!
fallenmonk @ 62
Thanks! back at you with the chicken pie recipe to go with it, fallenmonk!
Sister Susie’s chicken pot pie … mmMmMmmm
5 lbs chicken
8 small carrots
3-4 potatoes
onions
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup milk
your favorite [fallenmonks] pie crust, enough for a couple deep dish 9″ pie
Cook chicken, cool and pull — SAVE 6 cups broth (strained).
Cook vegetables in any other leftover broth.
Take 6 cups broth, bring to boil, add flour, salt, peeper, milk, bring back to boil.
Put into shell, add vegetables and chicken, top with crust.
BAKE at 400 degrees F for 35 – 40 minutes.
I don’t spend much time in the kitchen for myself so I consider it a project but it is yummy … and with fallenmonk’s pie crust mmm
Balrog @ 67
Balrog,
I don’t see your link.
Crikey. Bad link. Try WeeRog.
Go Blue Twisted
EDSBS :)
Balrog @ 75
Bingo!
Too cute!! Love the glasses. Once when egrDau was a wee lassie, I brought her into the house asleep in her little car seat. Grandpa was sleeping on the couch with the newspaper so I put her next to him, put glasses on her, and put comics in front of her so they were a matched set. Photographs of course.
Every year around this time, my husband gets hungry for his favorite stew. I told this story last year on the blogs, but it’s a tradition at my house…so I’ll indulge another traditional telling along with my “seductive recipe”.
My husband is an electrician. Years ago as we were becoming friends, he would come over to help me work on my house. (ahem!) This was the point in the relationship where I had a crush on him but couldn’t tell if this blue collar codger was interested in me. He would come over and work for hours in my basement and charge me only nominal amounts of money. I wanted to land him because I thought he was “handy” and darn cute.
So I would cook. Almost every time he came over I would make sure to fix something out of my repertoire of specialties. I would offer him dinner or a bite to eat, but he would never eat. He would always say “NO, I can’t take your food, I am fine.”
One day I put on a pot of my “fall stew”. I was cooking in the crock pot and it always makes the house smell heavenly. On this day, he asked what I was cooking. I told him stew and asked if he wanted to join us for dinner. He said “no, that’s okay.” It was a cloudy rainy saturday. Back then as a single mom, I was pretty lonely and would hope that he would stay a little longer. We would often talk and joke around, but it seemed like I could not get this guy to commit to having more than a friendship. But on this day, things changed.
It was getting late on a saturday night, I had music playing and was putting the kids to bed after they had eaten my hearty stew meal. I was up stair with the kids, when I heard his boot steps across my kitchen floor. I wondered what he was doing. My steps from upstair over look the kitchen and there was a cut out in the ceiling so as I came down the steps I could look down into my kitchen. As I came down the steps after putting my kids to bed, I saw him leaning over my crock pot with the wooden spoon in his hand. He was shoveling that stew in his mouth, and it was dripping down his chin.
I think he hoped to hide the fact that he was eating it, but as I came into the kitchen he surrendered. He said, “that’s the best stew I have ever tasted!! I have been smelling it all day long and I couldn’t take it anymore.” So he finally had a big bowl. The way he tells the story to the kids, this was the moment that he knew he would marry me.
It’s a family tradition for my kids to hear the story and for me to make the stew.
Recipe: Seductive stew.
1) nice quality stew meat…2 lbs.
2) a cup or two (depending on your tastes) of a good dry burgandy wine)
3) 1 can of mushroom soup
4) an onion
5) 3 gloves of garlic
6) 5 or 6 potatoes
7) a cup or so of carrots
8) a couple stalks of celery
Simmer all day long.
He asked me the other day about when we would be having stew.
Have been in bed all week with a horrible back.
Went to the MD yesterday and got a short dose of steroids which seem too be making the difference this am. I am walking tall again!!!!
It is sunny and not warm, in the 20’s but I’ll take the sun any day.
We are in apple country and my kids got seconds for me.
I have been making pies and and apple crumbs, ONLY if my husband will peel!
Hopefully apple sauce will be made this week if my back cooperates!!!
nomolos @ 69
I’ve got the Joy of Cooking which still has great stuff (their croissant recipe is a winner) and the King Arthur Baker’s Companion along with a bunch of smaller but good books. The Challah recipe is my own. Haven’t found one in a book that works right.
And have a great pizza party and send my regards to the pro-choice saints.
I’m averting my eyes at the recipes (diabetic, so no way in $&@* hell am I going to go anywhere near them).
I’ve been on a major creative spurt as of late; been writing up a storm about activism and approaches called The Long View. I’ve got a fourth piece finished but I’m waiting a few hours before posting it to give everyone a chance to read the ones that are already up there.
Tonight I’m going to freeze my ass off doing experimental photography with hand-held lights.
My favorite “starter cookbook” is “The Way TO Cook” by Julia Child…I now an 8′ tall book shelf of cookbooks but if I had to go back to one it would be Julia’s book. It also has the best Chocolate Mousse recipe that I have tried.
egregious @ 77
There’s another pic there w/o the Waldo glasses. Never too early to start taking humiliating snapshots in my mind. That High School Prom is fast approaching!
Thanks e.
Balrog — he’s adorable! :)
RevDeb @ 80
Thank you. I will indeed.
Katie,
Such a nice story!
My husband told me he’d marry me after I made him a turkey but forgot/didn’t know to take the guts/neck out. The house smelled funny
He told me I’d starve to death if he didn’t.
It has worked out well these 30 years, he cooks and I bake….
Steve-AR @ 82
My favorite chocolate cook book—and I have very very many— is Maida Heater’s chocolate cookbook. It isn’t glamorous and doesn’t have pretty pictures, but the recipes work. And now that I’ve had to google it, I find it has been updated . . . . might have to get a copy, or at least take a look.
At our house we wrap the apples in pie crust brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar. Oh.My. Vanilla whipped cream on top,ahhhh.
This is the time of year to start making rolls — my mom’s recipe, and a must-serve for all the winter feasts.
The best part is that my daughters have started making the recipe too — so the family tradition is continuing.
You can find the recipe here — on the blog of one of my daughters. Her posts always bring a smile to my face. Her twin sister’s blog, which is all about books, is a lot of fun too.
Okay, I’m fleeing this thread. Just reading it is making my blood sugar go up.
Really, I had to go anyway :)
JulieWaters @ 90
yup. I’ve got stuff to do too. And the popovers won’t make themselves.
Later all . . . . .
Elliot at 73
Thanks for the recipe I am a bachelor this weekend so I won’t try it now but CPP is one of Madam’s favorites though she insists on a double crust. I like all kinds of meat pies and they are a regular part of our winter fare.
Good morning, Everybody,
I am baking a cake and frosting it with a big Thank You. I’m delivering it to one of my heroes, my Congressman Barney Frank.
I only wish his mother, Elsie Frank, had lived to see that speech and the vote.
I understand politics enough to know that my district in Massachusetts is extraordinary and that my Congressman is a hero that deserves my Thank You cake and so. much. more.
Take a look at the comments following the announcement of Elsie Frank’s death. She stood up to that and raised someone who has taken the heat and stayed in the kitchen.
fallenmonk @ 92
thank you, and I’ll pass the crust recipe on to the pro sister!
I just want to say that reading this thread every Saturday morning does more for my peace of mind than almost anything else I do. Thank you, one and all.
Also, making note of recipes!
Debbie Wassermann Schultz on Impeachment:
“…when what we should be focusing on are… our efforts on expanding the Democratic majority and electing a Democratic President.”
Let’s remind her that soldiers are dying and Cheney is looking to attack Another Country Illegally! Now is not the time to play partisan politcs!
http://willyloman.wordpress.co…..peachment/
Will wonders never cease. My local bakery now has sticky croissants, a hybrid of sticky buns and croissants.
I should go back and get the whole tray in the event this is a one shot deal.
Millineryman @ 97
oo yummy
Elliott @ 27
Just made it for the family two nights ago. Along with baked apples, cranberry-beet-strawberry and greens salad and butternut squash soup. Many smiles at the table that night.
Elliott @ 98
Perfection in pastry.
Good morning,
Found an old Purity flour cookbook, dating from the forties. Made date squares that taste exactly like my mom’s. A tear in every bite, it’s that good.
Beauty of a morning in Montreal, going to see my best friend’s son run after a ball and get tackled. Hope i won’t slip on the ice.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 47
Use the cinnamon with a generous spirit. It levels out one’s blood sugar.
Anyone see that weirdness in TRex’s Late Night Posting abut Ann Uithouse? The one with her video on the pencils up her nose? I tried to click on the video and the whole series of linkys went berzerk…I got a code saying the link didn’t “have authority” and when I navigated back to FDL it said that the site didn’t exist.
I was wondering if it might have been something related to this???
http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo…..id=3841084
KLynn @ 102
that’s good to know… in case i need a rational for the amount of cinnamon and vanilla i use (far more that what the recipe calls for). *g*
cinnamonape @ 103
yes, i did. and no, not related. i think just a post he decided was better left unused. email me off thread if you want more.
Quebecois @ 101
Bienvenue from NH.
-GSD
I just bought some gorton at a small store in Nashua this week.
It sher was tasty.
cinnamonape @ 103
Bright Shinny Object for why telcos need immunity?
“You really haven’t blogged until you’ve written a post while wearing a tiara and a feather boa.”
–ha, and they thought we wore pajamas!!!
Hey Christy,
The thought of you blogging while wearing a tiara and feather boa just had me in stitches…Now peanut is responsible for the blogging attire correct?
I know the holidays can become quite busy. There is a website that seems to do a good job guiding people through the craziness with a countdown calendar, recipes and shopping lists. It’s not all my cup of tea, but there are many aspects of the site that are helpful. So, here it is.
I just might put a tiara and feather boa on my birthday list…
cinnamonape @ 103
Oh yeah. Trex pulled the article and replaced it with another one b/c the intent of the article fell sort of flat in the comments. But that picture with the pencils was hilarious, and someone at about the fourth comment said “Thing is, those pencils come out sharpened.” and it was a good thing I’d already set my drink down.
(Checked your linky — no, ’twasn’t a hack.)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 84
Thanks Christy.
selise @ 104
No rational needed for excess in cinnamon and vanilla – especially Trader Joe’s vanilla! I usually double the call for vanilla in any recipe when I have my Trader Joe’s! I think Christy should receive a shipment for the hoildays…
This is the time of year I start making soups again. I’ve a recipe for Chicken Tortilla soup that’s just wonderful.
KLynn @ 112
well, now it’s not going to be a surprise!
KLynn @ 112
You talking about the extract or the beans?
Oh, sorry, where are my manners? Good morning, everyone! I think I need to nip out and make my mocha!!
selise @ 114
Ooooops!!!
‘Morning, Christy, egregious, Firepups!
A shout-out to SharonRB for doing yeoman’s work down the mitten from me.
I’m going to fix white chili made with pork cubes and some flat black-and-tan I have in the fridge, along with the last of the peppers from the garden. Perfect day for stewing this in a crockpot.
Have to run for a bit, drop off a couple pans of brownies for a cakewalk at the elementary school’s fundraiser. Can’t wait to see what else you folks cook up while I’m out for a bit.
Rayne @ 117
Hey Rayne!!! How ya doing?
recoveringlurker @ 108
That comment made me laugh too. “extreme blogging” LOL!
What is it about fall and cooler weather that makes us all want to cook? And eat!
A couple of days ago, I made an old fashioned apple cobbler, or as my mo-in-law called it an apple roll and it was absolutely delicious served with vanilla ice cream. Its so easy.
Core, don’t peel, and slice 4 granny smith apples.
Make pie crust for two crusts, using two cups flour, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 cup shortening, water, and divide in half. I don’t refrigerate ahead.
Butter bottom of pan/dish, roll 1/2 the crust and fill half of pan with crust leaving the rest to hang over the side. Put apples, sugar (about 3/4 cup over apples, sprinkle generously with cinnamon, sprinkle a bit of flour, dot with butter and fold the crust over the apples. Do the same with the the other crust on the other side of the pan. Don’t get hung up on making the crust look perfect.
Sprinkle additional sugar and flour lightly over everything, and fill pan with water, just to the point where it doesn’t cover the top of the pie crust.
Bake for 1 hour at 350. Yummy, quick, and easy.
Must be served with vanilla ice cream.
speaking of vanilla… i am so going nuts on this page of vanillas from the link revdeb gave for yeast.
i had read that trader joe’s vanilla was repackaged Nielsen-Massey, but this page has all kinds of different varieties i now want to experiment with!
You folks probably don’t read the WaPo’s Metro section, so:
Challenger to Wynn Hopes For Edge From Internet Buzz
Surprisingly decent coverage, given the nature of the WaPo. More at the link.
There is no Trader Joe’s in KC. *sniff* I used to live just a couple blocks from one in CA. *sniff, sniff*
But there is one outside St. Louis on the way to grandma’s house . . . might have to plan on a little extra travel time the next time we go, to stop at TJs.
I miss their vanilla.
low-tech cyclist @ 122
RRRAAAWWWWW!!!!
Peterr @ 123
There use to be this incredible international food imports store at Crown Center. I have no idea if it still there…If it is, they had an amazing spice and extract selection worth shopping…
KLynn @ 125
I’ll have to look for it, the next time I’m down there. Thanks!
Sorry, Christie, but my eyes kept playing tricks on me and I had to stop and read recipes for crack pots. I assumed that was all of us DFH’s, then I figured it out. Not enough coffee yet, I guess.
Another wonderful website for recipes is Finecooking.com
I can’t recommend it highly enough – and their magazines are excellent as well.
Christy,
And I was wondering what to do with my apples from the last farmer’s market of the season….thanks.
now to get our of the pulled up chair that you make so irresistible.
Still not enough coffee. Had to wonder why you guys were into making soaps. And then Balrog! Is the wee one going to be an architect? Those are Le Corbusier and Phillip Johnson glasses he is wearing. Enfant terrible?
Peterr @ 123
if it really is repackaged Nielsen-Massey – it’s a great deal because it’s substantially less than half the price ($5 vs $12 /4oz).
you give me an idea – for firepups who don’t live near a trader joe’s and would like some of their vanilla. email me your address and i’ll send you some…. with the understanding that when you get it you will donate $10 per bottle to the fdl paypal button (limit of 10 bottles total).
one of my favorite food blogs: TasteSpotting
One of these Saturdays I will share some very old family holiday recipes with you. Part of the tradition is losing the recipe every year and having to cull through all the cook books and files and then call family members to get the recipe. One year my dad made several copies of my great-great-great grandmother’s honey cookie recipe so that each year when Mr. Gnome decides it is time to bake them and can’t find the recipe, my dad has them in his file, numbered for each year!
twolf1 @ 132
Now I’ll have to go on a virtual diet
.
wow, wouldn’t have thought to do this
“Apple sauce made with roasted apples adds a great depth of flavor.”
don’t forget the cinnamon
twolf1 @ 132
wow.
that’s funny Gnome de Plume!
Norman Mailer is dead.
Christy,
Here’s a fundraiser just screaming to be done. Have everyone here at the Lake donate one family recipe (even lurkers) to publish a cookbook. Have publishing royalties go to the Lake.
Who says progressives are not family centered?
Maybe title it, “Progressive cooking, Season Liberally”
Gnome de Plume @ 133
OMG I have a recipe like that! Every year I have to comb through to find the damn thing, every year I make a few more copies of it, and still the next year I can’t find it offhand.
Am considering taking a page out of Invasion and simply writing it on the wall. Then a spot of polyurethane should do the trick ;-)
Anyway, hadda laugh at that one. All the rest of my recipies? No problem. But this one? *shakes head*
I promise I’ll wear my tiara and my hot pink feather boa in honor of The Peanut when I’m blogging later, too.
Somehow, the frustrations of our world quickly fade while considering the idea of communing with a four-year-old over pink lemonade, tiny tea sandwiches with the crusts cut off, and sparkly toenail polish.
-S
girly-girls unite
David Ehrenstein @ 137
A great mind has left our midst. :-(
Gnome de Plume @ 130
Actually they’re Where’s Waldo glasses. He’s going to be difficult to find soon.
Well, Christy, Ben Sargent warmed me up some, with this :o) :
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoo…..Y2GgYXvTYC
Strategerie @ 140
My sister went to a tea like this this past summer. One of the elderly ladies in the neighborhood invited my sister, her two kids and another neighbor and her two kids for tea. Since it was hot, they had pink lemonade instead, along with the tiny sandwiches. (My sister and I were raised on cucumber sandwiches by our second mom and instantly adore anyone who will serve them to us.) Anyhow, it was my four year old nephew who wore the tiara and nail polish, but with a sundress. It was too hot for the feather boa.
Rayne @ 117
Thanks for the shoutout, Rayne! Wish you could be down here today for the party — RSVPs are still coming in. I don’t have to pick Randi up anymore — I was kind of looking forward to that time to talk to her, but it really is better that someone else is able to do it.
Good morning Christy.
Morning firepups.
We had a good 3 days of autumn here and then summer returned. 87 yesterday and I had the A/C on.
On the other hand, I have barely left the house since Tuesday. I was ill and then my son caught the same stomach bug. Going out this afternoon though.
Strategerie @ 140
What fun! We’ll have a “Princess Blogging” Day! I don’t have a tiara or feathered boa, though. Guess I’ll wear the sparkly coronet I got at the Philly Flower Show, with it’s shamrocks and down-to-there trailing ribbons.
Every summer for the past eight years or so, my sisters and a few of our cousins and all our daughters get together for a Ladies Tea Party – long white dresses, big hats, etc – with finger sandwiches and cookies and dainty little cups. We have a fabulous time.
Balrog @ 142
lol!
I’ve got the 1962 edition of the Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook and I also have a number of my grandmother’s old southern recipes, the kind of food eaten by the working class of all colours. When Bisquick came out she thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread; made the best silver dollar pancakes you ever ate. She had a toaster from the 1920’s or 30’s that had sides that came down, put bread in, close the sides back up, carbonize bread. (I see the word carbonize(d) a lot in Fisk’s “The Great War For Civilisation”; a must read and I do mean MUST READ – think you’re angry now?) I’m a Luddite when it comes to the kitchen. No microwaving anything, human powered can opener, coffee grinder, etc. Funny how none of that fancy electric stuff works when the power goes out. My friends make fun of it until it’s their turn to figure out how to get that can open while I’m out back making tea and dinner on my little hibachi. I let ‘em use my Swiss army knife. Then I help ‘em with the wounds on their hands.
My granma’s cornbread recipe:
Follow the instructions on the back of the box of Dixie Lilly corn meal but use organic ingredients. I use a Pyrex pie dish. Best. Cornbread. Evah. The contents of the box may be used in an emergency, however.
Ooops, gotta go to the natural food store. Outta corn meal. Damn, how’d I manage that?
Peace, brothers and sisters.
Tanbark @ 143
Yeah, Ben Sargent is my favorite. Check the one from the previous day.
Betsy, we had some rain here this morning! Very localized. I think it was because I watered the front yard yesterday and today I am babysiting one of the pups while her parents are in Austin. I have over 400 pounds of dogs snoozing around me as I type.
I remember Mailer making the point during the 2003 drum thumping Iraqi infomercial that the Israeli wing-nuts weren’t looking for oil like the U.S., but coveted the Tigris-Euphrates water.
snoboysdrift @ 152
Water Wars — inevitable with population increasing always
PA_Lady @ 147
It’s okay to have an imaginary one. It’s all about how one wears it. ;-)
Your tea party sounds fabulous! How fun is that?
-S
PA_Lady @ 147
white gloves and petticoats
twolf1 @ 132
Oooohhh, that is bad, vewy, vewy baad. Especially when my wife and I went on the South Beach diet awhile ago.
Elliott @ 153
My 13 yr old told me the other day to shut the water while I was brushing my teeth and turn it back on when I was done. No clue who taught HIM that.
twolf1 — oh damn you, damn you…that TasteSpotting.com is going to cost me a serious chunk of time.
;-)
Strategerie @ 154
Green Tea Party!
TexBetsy @ 157
Oh that is very commonly taught in the local communist schools. ;~)I have to remind Mr. Gnome of that all the time.
Rayne @ 158
Not to mention destroying our diets.
Strategerie @ 154
Good point! I’ll wear my way-cool sequined scarf with my shamrock coronet!
We have such a great time. All the grown girls pretending to be young, and all the young ones pretending to be grown up.
Strategerie @ 154
Sounds like a nefarious feminist plot to marginalize Merkin boys.
Not EPU’d?
New cocina in new apartment finished less a couple of minor items, new horno is on for the first time to bake off manufacturing smells. Have a bag of yellow apples for cooking, this post just in time, thanks for the thought Christy, it’ll be put to good use.
I do look forward to lurking the Pull Up A Chair, what a kind way to finish a week, kudos all.
Steve-AR @ 163
well of course!
This made me laugh.
Maybe it’s time we engaged in the Slow food movement
PeteCO @ 166
that made me laugh too
Elliott @ 168
Why do only the non-candidates do that? Grrrr. They only grow balls after they lose?????
Steve-AR @ 163
Ahhh, but the boys – big and little – get their own party! They have “Fishin’ Day” at Gramma Sue’s pond. Complete with grilled hot dogs and burgers and plenty of chips and soda. Baiting your own hooks is required.
Steve-AR @ 163
We still love you guys :)
Rayne @ 158
Indeed! It just…sucked me right in!
*shakes fist in general direction*
peanutbutter @ 139
Now if you share the recipe here, you won’t have to ask the same person all the time!
Unless you have the luck to live near some old trees bearing Kings or Ladies, Hunt up some Ida Reds, or my favorite Northern Spies. The Northerns, as they are known around here, ripen close to a month after most others. Heaven on earth!
7 Countries Considering Abandoning the US Dollar (and what it means)
By Jessica Hupp
It’s no secret that the dollar is on a downward spiral. Its value is dropping, and the Fed isn’t doing a whole lot to change that. As a result, a number of countries are considering a shift away from the dollar to preserve their assets. These are seven of the countries currently considering a move from the dollar, and how they’ll have an effect on its value and the US economy.
Saudi Arabia: The Telegraph reports that for the first time, Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates along with the US Federal Reserve. This is seen as a signal that a break from the dollar currency peg is imminent.
http://www.currencytrading.net…..-it-means/
Time for Georgie to get down on his hands and knees and beg and plead with the Saudi’s. If the oil currency converts to Euros, well the Bushies better head for Paraquay. Americans luv their SUV’s and if they have to pay double at the pump due to the Euro becoming the petro-dollar all hell will break loose. I may sound like a heretic, but President Clinton got us into this mess by signing the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, NAFTA, and the China Trade Agreement. Party boy Bush and Congress made the mistake having a War on our credit card and indebted to foreign countries, decreasing taxes for the elite 1%, and not a pay as you go War and increasing taxes.
PW’s upstairs. The zed’s been won. :)
New thread from PW:
Come Saturday Morning: She Can’t Really Be This Stupid, Can She?
Good Late Morning Pups,
scory @ 5
When will Peanut enter her paparazzi phase, oh please oh please?! Darn it. You’re both cute. She’s a fortunate little kidlet indeed. It’s impossible to avoid picturing you guys multi-tasking together, boas just so, pinkies in the air sipping & gossiping. That memory will be with you forever, and with us thanks to you. Good antidote for mental dregs from the previous week.
Now, to go get some apples!
Some of our favorite memories are simply of taking the fall trek to the local orchard. They’re now pick-your-own, but they’ve survived decades in the same place, providing beautiful apples and pies and applebutter and locally-produced jams, jellies, honey. Whenever our 30-somethings are around home in the fall they still enjoy going with us.
Some mysterious force lets them pick whatever they want, then pays the tab and hides the “secret” goodies for later. They always pretend to be surprised, and maybe they are, since their own lives are so harried and rushed, their memories for detail aren’t much better than ours.
A little late to the party but I just had to add this recipe. My mother works at a charity thrift store in Boca Raton and she happened to meet one of Donald Trumps Palm Beach chefs. Anyway, she asked him what the Donald liked the best and the chef said my Miralago Trump Loaf. Anyway, she wrote down the recipe and gave it to me last week. I made it and it was outrageous. Me & my son absolutely loved it.
Here it is
Maralago trump loaf
One medium white onion, finely diced.
Four stalks of celery, finely diced.
3 lbs. chop meat
2 tbs. worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of white bread, diced.
Salt & white pepper.
Saute onion and celery in a little oil until soft. let cool in a small dish.
Saute ketchup and brown sugar in a small pan. as soon as it starts to bubble, remove from heat. put in a small dish and let it cool.
Put meat in a big bowl. add bread, salt and white pepper to taste, and worcestershire sauce. mix well. add in the sauteed celery and onion mixture. form the meat into the shape of a loaf (or put it in a large loaf pan) and place in a baking pan. use pam on the bottom of the pan (if you don’t have pam, put a little oil on a paper towel and wipe the bottom of the pan.)
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. take the loaf out of the oven and drain well. spread sugar/ketchup mixture on top of loaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Enjoy!
I imagine this may sound sappy to some but I so look forward to the cooking/political part of this site. Slow cooking is part of the way we prepare to take back our country.
Right now I am sick and cooking some chicken soup that takes some time but really cooks itself once the ingredients are gathered up
I just want to say to those in the early stages of mastering the craft: I have created some real monsters in my day so don’t give up go ever forward just as we are doing with our country.
clymela @ 180
Hope the soup makes you feel better clymela. The best thing to put in chicken soup IMO is pastina. That’s the tiny tiny star pasta.
GSD @ 106
Thanks for the nice welcome GSD. Been lurking since FDL started live blogging Scooter’s trial. Mostly Lurk.
Love driving through NH on my way to Boston.
Would you tell me what gorton is, my “francophonyness” sometimes makes me ignorant!
What’s rain?
Me, I have a beef bourginion in the oven. What I’m enjoying these days is an acorm squash, halved, brushed with maple syrup, filled with cranberries,and topped with a pat of butter – heaven on a plate.
For Sunday supper – get yourself a pork butt (on the bone!). Salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, bayleaf. Place in a good roaster in a 225 degree farenheit oven late on Saturday night. Come Sunday morning, your house will have a delicious aroma of roast that will be noted by all who are near. In the morning,take the roast out of the oven, but let sit in its juices for a good portin of the day. I like to take some of the fat in the pan and use it to dub some potatos and then put back in with the roast and re-heat at 350 degrees until the potatos are done. Local, seasonal veggies prepared the way you like ‘em on the side, gravy, meat falling off the bone. Stck a fork in me, I’m done.
I really like to have this meal in the early afternoon and think about dessert – after,
Love to ALL! laura