The Comfort of Age and Family

                                                             

Why is aging so frightening for some? I find this the most comforting and happiest of times with
 family nestled around me in a secure setting.  I am sure this is not the case for everyone but someone needs to herald this time of life. It happens, so why not make the best of it.  Joe and Glenda just left after a lovely week end.  Andy and his brother were in their element preparing for and going to The Ohio State game.  It's result made it even more memorable. Glenda and I went to Plain City to the Amish stores and the Der Dutchman bakery.  She treated me to lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant and I showed her the Anderson's big store.  After many hours of shopping we came home with bags and bags of goodies.  When I heard her say beef stew was Joe's favorite dish I popped the lot of chuck roast, carrots, peppers, potatoes and spices into the crock pot and started the long creation for Sunday lunch. We got into our pajamas and settled down to the night game which was long and exciting.  Nate and Matt popped in and out to sample the delicious cheeses and deli meats from the Amish town and Mike had a glass of wine with us as he caught part of the game.  He was on call to rescue Joe and Andy in case their bus adventure to and from the game did not work out.  At 1:30 in the morning I got up to find Andy stoked and doing some Regent's work on the computer.  The game was thrilling for him and he had to settle down from the game high.  Finally, everyone was under cover, the dogs were in their nests, and all was right for  closing out football Saturday.

Sunday provided long leisurely games of cards on the porch, stew for lunch and coconut pie for a sweet ending. Writing about the pie--what on earth has happened to Der Dutchman's pies? Only the cream pies look and taste the same. Their two- crust- pies look as though they were made by zombies--pasty white and all alike with no degree of color, style or homemadeness..is that even a word?. I think their pies are brought in and not made on site any more. There were literally hundreds of people at Der Dutchman on Saturday. It was hot, humid, and down right stuffy in there and we simply bought what we needed and left. It was a relief to get out of there. The wait for the large eating area was forty-five minutes. Not for us!

So, life is messy and good and bad and varied. Just get on with it because there is only one other way out.

 

                                                                               

 This is a Lechler glass set made for us by Fenton in the eighties.  The opening bid was $750. and it sold for $1500.  (We sold this set for $40. originally.)

40 days and 40 nights

I am up in the middle of the night because they are working on Cooke Road IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I have been a patient woman even calling the company and the city (who gave out the contract) to compliment them on their workers and their dedication (the company workers, not the city workers.).  But now I am getting cranky.  What is that machine that sounds like someone is being stabbed in a horror movie eee eee eee (or like a golf cart backing up?) Everything is dirty to boot.  The cars look like they should be in the movie Smokey and the Bandit. The flower beds down by the mailbox are neglected and seemingly the ONLY place where anything will grow with wild abandonment.  The one thistle plant is as tall as the mailbox. I like clean. I like pretty. I want our lives back.  Hell I'll even take back the traffic on Cooke Road.  Make it stop...at least at night.

Fall is in the air ~

Today, Sunday, we are putting summer away.  The guys are busy outside storing umbrellas, furniture and things that go blah in the cold.  That means picking the last of the tomatoes and herbs and transplanting flowers (and herbs) to go in the conservatory for the winter. I am inside preparing a rib roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, and, of course vegetables to complete the meal.  No work, no eat, is the saying of the day.

Nate took a funny picture of he and Winston which I will share with you.  I want to get it in the second blog book which is filling up rapidly.

Note:  Matt Lechler is on the dean's list at The Ohio State University! (He still has to work to eat.)

                                                      

                                                                Reward ~

This French wine is so good with a nice rib roast: Beaujolais-Villages; Louis Jadot 1010--my reward.

Don't these wings look good?  So easy for football day.  Joe and Glenda are coming up for the game on the 6th.  I think we will have these.  Also, I am making batches of ham and bean soup one for the week end and one for them to take home.  Glenda and I are going to Plain City to the Amish stores on Saturday and then to Der Dutchman for lunch...the boys will be heading for the night game and if Andy has his way they will leave EARLY.  Right Matt?



________________________________________________
Note:
I made these today and frankly, I was not impressed.  I am going back to my old Steak and Ale recipe which I will print later for you.  These were gobbled up, but then I am living with all men and they will eat nearly anything that doesn't get them first.  We all, however, agreed that something was missing. 10/4/2012

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Serves 4

• 2 pounds chicken wings, tips removed and drumsticks and wings separated
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, and salt. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl or deep dish. Add the wings to the mixture and turn to coat. Cover the dish and marinate the wings at room temperature for 10 minutes.
3. Arrange the wings in a single layer on a baking sheet, reserving the remaining marinade in the bowl. Roast the wings for 25 to 30 minutes, basting with the reserved marinade about halfway through (the 15 minutes of roasting at the end will cook any of the raw juices left in the marinade). Roast until the wings are golden brown and crispy on top. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle sesame seeds and chopped scallions on top. picture and recipe from: appetiteforChina.com

Ode to potatoes ~

I like them any way I can get them. They all appeal to me.  I need nothing else if a potato is offered.

Come, let's partake. Ode to the potato. How do
like yours? Marie of the English Kitchen likes
hers anyway they are offered and so do I.
Joe and Glenda are coming for a football weekend.
I think loaded potatoes will be on the menu. Also
our three weeks at the beach coming up pretty soon
will call for these delectable puffy concoctions.

Pizza potato

Baked potato with chili and cheese

Rarebit baked

Brie and walnut baked potato

 Taco baked

Fully loaded  

 

 

Andy's lime tree in bloom (in September.)

                                                                                         

Football Saturday

Today is football Saturday. Andy is equipped with his birthday (tomorrow) binoculars that the boys and I got him. He is so happy. He says they are so strong that he can pick tomatoes (with his eyes) from the house back to the garden without making the trip. He and Matt have great seats at the game but it is C deck and the binoculars come in handy so he does not miss a beat. I try to have something good for them to eat when they get home. The prices at OSU are incredible with water at $4. a bottle and I shutter to think what a hot dog costs. Marie, from The English Kitchen always has something special for the day and iced coffee and walnut cake fits the bill. Her pictures and recipes always please and I have a nice box of walnuts from Andersons to make this easy cake.

*Iced Coffee and Walnut Cake*Makes 8 to 10 servings

Picture and cake from The English Kitchen.

125ml of whole milk (1/2 cup plus 1/2 TBS)
75g of butter chopped (1/3 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules
110g caster sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 TBS)
60g of chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup), plus extra whole walnut halves to decorate
1 medium egg, at room temperature and beaten
150g of self raising flour, sifted (1 1/3 cup plus 1/2 TBS)

Coffee Butter cream Icing:
7 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g of icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)
1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water
splash of milk, if needed

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter an 8 by 3 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, allowing it to drape over the sides, for ease of removal.

Put the milk, butter and coffee granules in a large saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the butter is melted and the coffee granules dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and chopped walnuts with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg until thoroughly combined. Stir in the flour gradually, until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface over with the back of a metal spoon.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until well risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the butter cream, using an electric whisk, beat the butter and vanilla together in a small bowl, until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a bit at a time, until well combined. Dissolve the coffee granules in 1 tsp boiling water and then cool. Beat into the butter cream. If the butter cream is too thick, you may beat in a little milk, only adding 1 tsp at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

The Lechlers have many birthdays in September and luckily, this year Kohl's 50th anniversary sale hits the spot.  Nate and I went there yesterday for a birthday shopping spree and if you can believe this, we got just over $500. worth of items for $181. Plus $30. of Kohl's dollars, plus 15% (discount) for when I take Matt for his spree. I don't know how they do it, but I appreciate their quality and pricing.

Well, I had better get to baking.  Go bucks!

Note:
This week has been a nightmare 'bundle' wise.  I am not sure it is a good idea to bundle the phone, alarm, TV, computers all with one company.  First the electric went out due to the construction workers knocking down the transformer.  Eight hours later AEP had it back on but CUT and left all the cable wires for our house and our neighbors across the street, thank you very much.  We have Insight, they have WOW (and they are still not fixed.) So for days, nearly a week, we were without a lot of safety backups and this makes me uncomfortable. We've gone with a new system and reduced some of the items we were paying for that are not worth it like turbo Roadrunner--which is not 'turbo' at all and Showtime--NOT worth the money.  Insight used to be great and fast and concerned.  Now that they have 'bundled' with Time Warner, not so much.

Mustard Potatoes

While the guys are at the OSU football game, I caught the Barefoot Contessa's cooking show. 
Usually Saturday mornings are a trip, but today with Cooke Rd. closed down there is less activity.  Andy did manage to get to the game having given the diligent workers a reminder not to block the driveway on game day. Anyway, Ina commented she had made truck loads of these potatoes for her speciality shop in the Hamptons and they sounded and looked good, so I made them.  She used whole grain mustard and though I have six jars of different mustards, none were whole grain, so I used Jim Beam mustard. I had a couple of steaks marinating so Nate and I had those with the mustard potatoes and declared the meal to be very nice.  I had several potatoes left over, so Andy and Matt will have a tasty potato salad to enjoy when they get home. Having left at 8:00, they will be starved when they get home.                                    

                                                               
                                                               Roasted mustard potatoes turned into potato salad--the only way to fix potato salad from now on. (My new camera took this picture.  What a difference!)

The mustard potatoes are easy: She used Yukon Gold cut in quarters with a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of whole grain mustard.  I added fresh herbs to the mix and sliced onions.  I put mine in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 and they were a crusty golden color and simply delicious. With the left overs, just use your favorite potato salad recipe--mine is never the same because I use what is on hand and what seems to be tasty.  I will pair this salad with brats to greet the guys.

                                                  Something good for breakfast ~ 

 

 

This breakfast casserole is forgiving and delicious.  First, butter the sides and base of an oven proof dish.  Lay frozen hash brown patties side by side until the base of the square dish is covered. Salt and pepper the potatoes and you can put a little more butter on each if you want.  This time I used thinly sliced deli ham to sprinkle over the hash browns, but bacon, sausage or any meat (or no meat) works as well. Put this in a 350 oven for 20 or so minutes--until brown and a little crispy. While that is working, put six or eight eggs in a bowl with fresh herbs of your choice, a splash of milk or cream, salt pepper and grated cheese of your choice.  When the hash browns are ready, pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with more cheese.  It takes about 20 more minutes in the hot, 350, oven to complete this dish.  It just needs to bake to firmness--or how ever you like your egg dishes.  You cannot ruin this dish and it is good for extending the meal to accommodate late risers, especially on the week ends.

 

As you can see, we started without you.

 

 

Someone has invented a garlic card to take the place of a garlic press.  Just rub the garlic across the raised surface.

 

 I received the new Lee Child book Wanted Man.  I should have waited for paper back.  I have read all seventeen of his books and have liked all but three, including this one.  It was very disappointing, so save your money and borrow mine. It's like another person writes the ones I don't care for; there is just a different ebb and flow or else I am just tired of him.

                                                      

If I ever cook again ~

After each big party I swear I am off cooking for a long time.  Then, along comes Cook's Corner, on time, every Wednesday morning and it presents me with some tasty recipes, in case I decide to enter the kitchen.  It's like some cookbooks hit a person just right and others stay on the shelf with nary a second  glance, well, Cook's Corner is the same way.  I always look at the recipes, but select only a few to try.  An interesting feature of this section of the paper is something called Classic Corner which features, once a week, recipes from ten years ago.  Today the crazy crust pizza recipe intrigued me. Also, the open-face cheese and onion canapes and the easy peach cobbler caught my eye. Sadly, the outdoor market peaches are finished for the year, so I will have to wait for the peach one.  The recipe is from the famous local fruit market and I bet it is good, although my Bisquick recipe (with sour cream) is still a favorite to fall back on in case this one is not up to snuff.

                                                        

I have no (cooking) pictures to show you because my new camera has not arrived.  Cooke Road is closed for 40 days for all kinds of goings-on in the way of updates and new lines and  repairs and inserts, so it is hard to tell when the mail or packages can get to my door.  Anyway, the camera has been ordered and should arrive soon. A note about the work on Cook Road.  It is certainly easy to tell when a big contract has been given to a private company.  Their workers start early each day and finish late and even work in the rain. They do not stand around or lean on a shovel to chat.  They are very accommodating to the local traffic but they keep out any other traffic that tries to get through.  This is unlike the state and county workers who tend to stand around and find excuses  not do this or that for the property owners who pay property taxes at inflated rates which in turn pays their salaries.  BIG DIFFERENCE. (We pay either way, private or not, but at least we see progress and workers in action in this case.)

Sometimes the Cook's Corner shines and today was one of them. Here are three recipes that appeal to me, in case I ever want to cook again--which is likely, but not soon.

Makes 6 servings

Crazy Crust Pizza

1 pound ground beef
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom pieces and stems, drained
1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Arrange rack at lowest part of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 12-by-18-inch pan with a rim.

In a large skillet, cook beef until thoroughly cooked, crumbling with a spoon. Drain.

In a small bowl, combine flour, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, milk and eggs. Stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan, tilting pan so it covers the bottom. Sprinkle beef over. Top with onion and mushrooms.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Spoon sauce over pizza. Top with cheese. Bake 7 to 12 minutes longer or until cheese melts.



This is the easiest peach cobbler recipe I have ever found. It is originally from Lynd’s Fruit Farm in Pataskala.

1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 cups pitted, peeled, sliced peaches

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put butter in a 11/2- to 2-quart baking dish. Place in oven until melted.

Stir together flour and sugar. Add milk. Stir just to blend.

Spread melted butter evenly in bottom of baking dish. Pour half of the batter into the dish. Arrange peaches over batter. Pour remaining batter over, spreading evenly over peaches. Bake until lightly browned, about 45 minutes.



Open-Face cheese and onion canapes



1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning (see Note)
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1 small Vidalia onion, diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Thin sliced white bread

Combine all ingredients except bread.

Preheat broiler.

Cut crusts off bread. Cut 2 circles out of each slice using a cookie cutter or glass. Arrange on baking sheet. Lightly toast 1 side of each slice under broiler.

Turn bread over. Spread cheese mixture on un toasted side. Place under broiler briefly until just lightly toasted.

Serve immediately.

Note: Beau Monde is a seasoning salt available in the spice section of some supermarkets.

I have been neglecting Mennonite Girls Can Cook (blog), so when I checked it today, wouldn't you know, a recipe and picture for a peach loaf that looks scrumptious.  I think I will make it for the guys on the crew doing Cooke Rd.  They are the best team of workers I have ever seen--here before dawn and still here after 8:00 pm. I am sure the project will be finished on or before time and it will be well done.  It looks choreographed--this dance of large equipment.  It is fun to watch and Bella and Andy and I do a lot of watching. 9/7/2012
                                                        

                                  

Peach Loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peaches, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 1/3 cup coconut

Method:

1. Peel and chop peaches, stir in lemon juice and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.
3. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil and flavorings.
4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients just until combined. The batter will be thick.
5. Fold in the peaches, pecans and coconut.
6. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350º for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool in pan for a few minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely before slicing.

Recipe and picture from the blog Mennonitegirlscancook
Thank you.
 

Labor Day 2012

I am posting before having a drink so that I can get the festivities recorded.  Happy Labor (less) Day.

                                                 

 

Our beautiful dinner roast.  George is our carver. Ten pounds of prime rib served over twenty people with all the trimmings and beef and noodles with the left overs on Tuesday.




Day after: Hovering between rain and no rain we were able to have a normal holiday with swimming, games and, as you can see, plenty of food.  Not a rain drop fell after weeks of forecasting that the tropical storm was coming to visit. It was HOT and humid, however. The only other snag was now my camera has decided after taking only three pictures at a time then its memory is full.  Time for a new camera.

 

BJ Lechler in from California with Pam.

 Everyone left with a big bag of Andy's tomatoes and containers of various soups to get them through the work week ahead.

 

 

Nate's morning glories after a good rain.

The last  hurrah until Thanksgiving.

                                              

The Great British Bake Off (cookbook)

     

                                                 

A beautiful presentation, right?  This is from The Great British Bake Off   cookbook which, as I understand it goes along with a BBC television program a bit like the ones on our cooking channels.  I am a little skittish about cookbook suggestions unless I hold them in my hands and see what they are about, but this picture is so intriguing.  I'd like to know the base of this dessert--probably a sponge cake.  It's a beauty.  Here is the cover of the new book and you can read its review on My English Kitchen (blog) if you are interested.  I am going to Amazon to see if I can "look inside this book" to ascertain if it is worth buying.  No more pig in the poke for me.

                                                  

Plans for the week end are expanding.  We will have company from Friday through to Sunday evening.  The OSU game is highly anticipated and the events start early Saturday, so some of the Isforts are arriving Friday night.  Andy is soooo waiting for this!  We may be getting thunder storms both days, which the Goddess of Weather will have to see what she can do about that unfortunate situation. Wish her luck.
Note: I think her (my) tenure as Goddess of Weather is over, so Kathy is planning a Euchre tournament for after brunch on Sunday. We have four card tables and 16 players and we are playing for money, or so she says. I have so much food ready so I hope everyone comes hungry. George is a great guest and we are pleased to have him here for two nights. I am spoiling him.

Make Them Stop !

Remember when I whined about the lack of tomatoes? Now I am whining about my tongue being sore from eating too many tomatoes.  They keep rolling in and I have a big crock pot of tomatoes and all that goes with them simmering away all day, every day. The freezers are getting full, but the Cincinnati Lechlers are coming to relieve me of some of that in less than two weeks.  They will all have to promise to carry away the soups that Andy's garden has garnered. The neighbors are hiding from us because we insist they carry away tomatoes before they leave, so we are not getting too many visitors--even the workers are skittish about coming to work for fear of tomato fever. I cannot believe the summer is over and all that it lacked was sufficient corn on the cob to keep me happy. Any way, I am busy with the holiday plans for the end of the warm months.  Labor day is the last party before the pool is closed the first week of October.  We always start off with a variety of soups, salads and casseroles because everyone is the hungriest when they first arrive after the drive up here.  Then around 6:00 we will have a nice surprise. (But count on tomatoes being a large part of it.)  I hope they are in the card playing, swimming, and tennis moods as the days of fall greet us with hopefully cooler weather...but not too cool, please.

                                                   

Every Saturday Andy goes to stand in line at the outdoor market for peaches. The peach lady is getting suspicious about what he is doing with so much of that particular fruit. We have a lot of fruit eaters in this family and they like peaches in every single form that I have tried on them. However, that will be ending ,too, before long. I hope I can get them right before the party to make a big peach cobbler and also to put fresh peaches in the trifle as well.

              Ham and bean soup--party soup.                           

George and Daniel will be coming up the day before the party because Andy has given them the first football tickets of the season. (He has found and approved of the seats and has declared them excellent.) I think this is Andy's favorite time of year although the beach house vacations are right up there too.

Matt with be graduating from The Ohio State University early in December and plans are afoot for a job in Japan.  With two degrees under his belt we will be eager to send him on his way to a bright, professional future.

Recipe Girl is worth looking into~ RecipeGirl.com

I try to search the web for good recipes for you all to try because I know many of you are very busy and now I am not so busy.  I have several to cook for and am happy to do it, but I don't want to cook the same thing over and over. Hence the search and seize. ( I try to make sure I give the courtesy source and the photo credits.) I ran onto RecipeGirl.com today and have just started plumbing this rich resource.  I have two recipes to try from just a brief visit to this site.  The brownies were named Basement Brownies but I have changed that to something that makes more sense instead of going into the story of how it got its name.  They look easy and luscious and if you don't want to make your own carmel sauce, the jarred kind works too and is much easier.

Note: TV's Food Truck Race starts Sunday night at 10:00. Nate and I'll be watching. Three local guys from Westerville will be selling pizza from their truck.  They had been in business for years in Westerville until their building burned down and they have been hoping to meet the public and share their pizza pies since that unfortunate experience.  So we wish these older guys luck in a race that is arduous for them, but fun for us to watch.  If they win they get to keep the new truck AND they get $50,000.  The race starts in California, but I think the closest they get to Columbus is Cleveland. The race ends at a light house in Maine.

Carmel Brownies

Yield: 16 to 20 brownies

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 28 min

Ingredients:

50 to 60 caramels, unwrapped (or a jar of carmel sauce)
One box German Chocolate Cake Mix (I used 15.25 ounce box)
1 cup evaporated milk, divided
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, melted
One 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9-inch pan.
2. Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until caramels have completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, remaining 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter. Mix by hand until batter is smooth and combined.
4. Pour a little over 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes only and then remove from the oven. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top of the partially cooked brownie. Drizzle caramel on top of the chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top. You probably won't have enough to cover the caramel completely.
5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes until the brownies feel fairly set on top and the edges are lightly browned and crisp. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. The longer they have time to cool, the more they will firm up. (From recipe girl)

Double Berry Puff Pancake

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup halved raspberries
powdered sugar, syrup and/or freshly whipped cream for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Use a blender or hand mixer to combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt.
3. Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat on the stove. Add the butter and melt. Pour the batter into the skillet, then scatter the berries on top. Put the pan in the oven, and bake until puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve, topped with powdered sugar, syrup and/or freshly whipped cream, as desired.

Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from Martha Stewart's Blueberry Dutch Pancakes) Must give Martha a plug--don't want to make he mad!

                Ahhh, Leon's in Paris, how I miss your moules-frites.

                              After a full day of antique shopping in Paris I would fall out the bus door right into Leon's for this wonderful dish that they perfected every day, followed by a small rum baba.