I'll miss you, Ann

Mother's Day  

Tomorrow Ann leaves and I must say we have packed in some good times.  Yesterday we made a coffin of Creole white beans with ham and shrimp, sat in the sun, and then Beth took us to dinner and the movie The Zookeeper's Wife.  If you haven't seen the movie, don't miss it, it is wonderful.

Today Ann and I went for a manicure and pedicure and lunch at a Japanese restaurant, Tensuke, and then to the restaurant' market where  I stocked up on Sriracha hot chili sauce, got some brown rice salmon sushi Bentos for Beth and Nate and some frozen shrimp tempura and bay scallops.

We finally heard from Brooks who started Army Ranger school after Easter and this is the first we have heard from him.  One hundred twenty-six men started the Ranger course and four days later only 60 remained, and Brooks remained.  He is hungry and tired and  longs for homemade food and a clean bed but is determined to not let it beat him  Ann and I have co-written a letter a day because that is the only communication he is allowed...no Internet or cell phones.

Ann leaves tomorrow and she will be missed but will try to get back for Matt's wedding week-end which is proving to be bigger as the days grow longer. lol

I had a picture of Ann with the turkey roaster full of white beans, ham, and shrimp, but it was too dark a picture so you will just have to imagine four pounds of dried white beans that soaked up gallons of water and filled the  roaster with the white beans, the New Orleans trinity of vegetables, and a mixture of Creole spices.

Ann's coming

                                          

Beth, Ann, and one of her two sisters, Kristen; a pretty grouping.

It is always a pleasure seeing Ann, Beth's mother, and we are fortunate to have her for two or three days up here from New Orleans.  Ann is a very talented woman who is a designer and a very good cook. Beth, Ann, and I are having an afternoon and evening out on Monday which will include dinner and a movie...maybe The Zookeeper's Wife.  Plans are still in the making, so I have started several dishes in case a crowd appears by magic or that we want to spend some time dining alfresco now that it has started warming up again. Ann likes my beef bourgeon, so that is one dish in the making and since it tastes even better the next day or two it will hold well.

Monday morning I will do a big frittata because I always send Nate off with a carryout breakfast for his day of hard labor and if I catch Mike in time he will have a slice and there will be plenty for Ann and Andy, and Beth (if she is eating.) I am not a breakfast person.  In fact, I used to miss both breakfast and lunch because I moved so fast and was so busy.  I never missed these meals but I was good and ready for dinner when the time came.

There is a lot going on with Matt's wedding the 2nd of September and then if the Cincy family stays over we will have a Labor Day celebration the Sunday after the wedding.  There may be another wedding in the future too, so a busy time is ahead for those planners and executors, brides, and grooms.  Life is good.  I am also happy to report that JD Lechler got a 4.0 for his freshman year in college and Adam Lechler got his first 4.0 this semester. Thank you, God.

All white mac and cheese

Why don't you just relax like I do?

It usually takes me about a week to get my ducks back in a row after an event like Easter.  I have noticed it is taking a bit longer each time but it is not arduous because I have so much help; I just move slower. Except this time.  I had the help and it was great but all of a sudden allergies galore appeared to shock me.  The cars were all yellow, the outside tables were yellow, the driveway, the tennis court...every tree on the property showed off this year and it left me gasping.I thought it's a cold, no, it's the pollen, no definitely a cold...whatever it is it is going to kill me by coughing.  I know, I know, I am not the only one.  We will survive.  Needless to say, the kitchen suffered.  The only thing I made during the entire week was an all white mac and cheese using up the cheese board left over pieces, the chicken meatballs, and the wonderful sturdy pasta that I like for mac and cheese.  It was a Fontina white beauty with pepperoni roses poked into the goodness crisping and peeking out all around the dish. I've discovered mac and cheese can be enhanced with leftovers.  The dish was so pretty I wanted to picture it, but it just took too much effort. Hopefully, I am on the mend because I have sent Andy to the store so there will be plenty to cook in a few minutes.

I have been trying to write a letter a day (by email) to my sister-in-law who has really had a year and a half of woe.  She keeps breaking bones and has had several operations and casts on her legs and because of this I try to entertain her with letters. I managed to accomplish that this week and hope to continue until she and Joe can come to stay here a few days for fun. Things should be quiet here until July 4th but then and after that, several things will be going on that will need celebrating and attention. I'll be ready.

Have a great sneeze free week.

Bon Appetit...Now We May Eat

The weather report called for 90% chance of rain Easter Day and we had 25 guests coming and every bed in the house and apartment was full.  But, you don't fool with the weather goddess when it comes to events and the weather.  When we had David's wedding reception outside with dancing on the tennis court and tents galore, it rained every place in Columbus except Cooke Road.  People were amazed, but not a drop fell on this stretch of road the entire night.  Easter Day was no exception and it was so pleasant to be outside.  When Pam and George arrived a day early to help, Pam gave me an amazing addition to my cookbook library from George's Aunt Karen Agnor.  This was her second cookbook and I cannot wait to delve into those recipes.  I do love a clean house and a good cookbook.  I read them like novels. As I cook through the book I will share some favorites.  Thank you, Karen.  Thanks, too, to George for repairing my 58- year- old spring form pan by riveting it back together.  I bought it on our honeymoon/work trip in California (for six months) for $8. at May & Co.

We had the best boneless prime rib and instead of regular potatoes and gravy, I fixed funeral potatoes.  That was one empty dish at the end of the meal and an easy one to put together although in our case Pam did the work on that special addition.  The recipe was from Pioneer Woman (on TV)  but I noticed another version in Karen's book this morning.  I will have to try the many combinations for funeral potatoes called that for obvious reasons--well, maybe not.  It was carried to memorials and buffets for after a funeral when everyone used to carry in a dish for the grieving family. (It didn't actually cause the death. lol)

Fine days at Many Branches

I have tried four times to post this simple message and picture.  Here's hoping it works this time.
Yesterday was bliss.  The day was perfect in every aspect.  Andy, Beth and I took the truck to the nursery and loaded it twice.  Here is one of Beth's displays.  She is so talented.

We are expecting around 25 people for Easter day.  This week is getting ready for the gang.  Thankfully we have scheduled a lot of help for work I used to do alone.  Seriously, take the help when you can get it.  Makes everything so much better.  Today Maribelle is here to do the windows inside and out and one oven and maybe the two floors where the cleaned rugs will be laid on Wednesday. She comes back tomorrow for the rest of the house. Wednesday the rug men will be working magic and then the tables will be laid.  I was going to try for an outside feast for one of two meals, but I have to see how the weather shakes out.  Thursday the Yard Helpers group comes for obvious reasons.  Friday is a blur.  Saturday George and Pam arrive to help, to run around, and to eat out with 10 of us at Texas de Brazil.(like there is not enough food around here.)  David and JD arrive Thursday; Brooks arrives Friday, and everyone else comes Sunday. Yea.

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House bath

Every year Johnny and his crew come to give the house and surrounding areas a bath.  They haul out the pool furniture and all of it gets the water treatment as well.  The pool opened and after one day it was clean and sparkling while last year it took two weeks to get to see the bottom.  Opening sooner and closing later seems to be the answer to less work when it comes to pools.  I know Andy didn't want one in the first place, but he succumbed.  He likes it but would never have another. It takes the crew a day and sometimes two to get everything washed and cleaned.  Where does the dirt come from?  It's nature. The guys have been at it so far for six hours.  We are having a big Easter celebration with over twenty guests, so the next two weeks are going to be busy with comings and goings.  I like the hubbub and I like the people and the guests that show up with big appetites.  Every day will be a new adventure with all the beds occupied with out of town family.

The crew comes hungry when they come to work and today is no exception except they did not touch dessert.  Men who don't eat dessert is a mystery to me. Note: They asked to take it home...the soup filled them up, now they are ready for dessert.

For the workers it is ham and bean soup and apple bread pudding (which they did not eat.)

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What's for dinner?

I have fed thousands and am still at it.  I like to cook in the mornings at least trying out things that will be successful at the end of the day.  Today I fixed a few of Trader Joe's pot stickers by just sauteing them and then covering them with a lid at the last minute. Trader Joe has several different  pot stickers in his frozen food array and this one we have tried twice and like the results.  I have even been known to drop a few at the last minute into different kinds of soups.  It adds a nice surprise.  The stickers can go right from the freezer into the vehicle that will carry them to deliciousness.

The second thing is a meatloaf with the fabulous BQ home made sauce.  I think I have given you the recipe, if not, I must do that because to me it is the best.  However, I must say after tasting every bottled sauce there is (perhaps) I think BQ sauce is a matter of taste.  I just happened to find (and like) this easy recipe from on- line.

I put some of the sauce in the base of the loaf dish and then a generous amount on top and let it sit to room temperature then pop it in the oven at dinner time while we have an evening drink while watching The Five.  (We always need a drink while watching The Five  LOL) Especially if we have watched Judge Judy first.  By the way, I read that she works only fifty DAYS a year and makes 47 million dollars a year. Now don't get me wrong, we do not sit in front of the TV all day.  We don't turn it on until 4:00--that's the rule.  There are too many other interesting things to do in life.

Out of the oven meatloaf.

Back in love with the new copper ware

Note:  Have you tried Trader Joe's pitted dark sweet cherries in the frozen food case?  They are so delicious.

 I know I was disappointed in the copper ware slide-the-egg- out skillet once butter had been introduced...but, I think it was the one skillet.  I am not having that trouble with any other of the products.  Bed Bath and Beyond has many copper pieces not seen on TV and I have two right here that I am using today.  One is a basket on a matching baking tray.  It is good for meatballs, as you see here, for bacon, or crispy potatoes.  Air circulates around and browns things so well.  The chicken meatballs are not brown because they are not done.  I wanted to get the pictures to you today.  The other that I am trying is the grill plate that fits over the burner of your stove.  There are cupcake pans, cake plans, nearly everything you would want.  Exciting. (Doesn't take much to entertain me these days.)

Back in love with the copper ware. This is a browning basket on the tray that can be used for bacon or crispy potatoes in the oven; and a grill that covers the burner. Bed Bath and Beyond has so many different copper pans and gadgets but these are the two I am using now. (Chicken meatballs here.)

We are starting to get the yard in shape for the parties to come. Beth has been run ragged getting the rods and outdoor curtains that we are putting up on each end of the pergola this year. It's a new addition and a lot of trouble.  We will see how it works.  I tried it one year with expandable rods but the sheers were still too heavy for the spring rods.  This time we are going heavy duty.  I'll picture it as soon as it gets finished.  The pool opens Thursday and then it's drag out and scrub all the outdoor furniture.  Never a dull moment at Many  Branches.

Oldies but goodies

Today, Wednesday, in Cook's Corner the topic was antique cookbooks.  The section made me realize that I never saw a cookbook in our homes growing up.  Not one.  Of course, I was not looking for them, but I never saw my mother address a cookbook while she cooked those wonderful dishes that she prepared for events and parties at our various homes--well two different homes, we moved only twice.  I don't remember hand written recipe cards either, although there probably were those because I have those written by my grandmother and Aunt Grace.  The point is the antique recipe books are to the point and do not fool around with instructions like oven temperature and time.  They rely on the fact that you know what you are doing and that you know how to cook in the first place  so the recipes are ingredient holders  No matter how old I am I learn or realize something new every day and I do wish I had written the recipes while watching my mother make homemade noodles, the fluffiest mashed potatoes, and the oozing cinnamon rolls.  I remember how she could put a party together for forty or fifty of their friends after working all day at a job.  I can remember her picture standing in a bed of Bachelor Buttons while holding a three-tiered wedding cake that she made for one of her friend's  wedding; cakes were her specialty.  I remember her cherry and nut cake and cannot replicate that taste to this day and rue the loss of her and the flavors that the memory of her evokes. Memories are a-flutter in my mind today thanks to Cook's Corner and it's editor Lisa Abraham who does such a good job of keeping this section of the Dispatch special.

Sausage and cheese grits casserole with shrimp

image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLKq4oE8FaXFsoAK3jACdvyQKq_LtWgbYv8v_cXi0GWbIM_iYI4bQmhvjMOJRVkXy6jmCT92-esLbLaXMrjwEf_88quT3-_9TJr0p_PseI6Q9Ox42Z5F_uC6_wUXQdauQVNFf-wHB75-o/s640/IMG_4022.JPG

Read more at http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/02/sausage-cheese-grits-casserole.html#A9bDizg4ADhSdHUS.99
I have to say this does not look like much, but topped off with the items below, it is a special dish from plainchicken.blogspot.com (This is her picture as well.  Mine is on my Facebook page.)
(Tomorrow slow cooker city grits with smoked
Gouda.) Recipe and picture from plainchicken.blogspot

I have a grit-loving family but I do not know where that came from because I had not cooked a grit until yesterday. Maybe it is Beth's fault.  She is from New Orleans and their grits are fabulous.  The last time I was there I had a dish of grits at the Broken Egg with shrimp and I was amazed at how easily they disappeared from the dish to my mouth.  So this will be grit week at the Lechlers starting with this easy and scrumptious dish. (I cannot get a picture to transfer to this blog, but you can see it on my Facebook page.)

I used the long cooking kind but the fast grits work too and anyway they go in the oven for an hour after you cook them, as directed, on the stove.  Also, I added the shrimp to the sausage balls with some of Carfagna's tomato sauce to top off the grits.

Saute Bob Evans zesty sausage with one onion.  (I make miniature balls of sausage and dice the onion.) One package is enough to put in the grits and to later top the grits with shrimp and tomato sauce. So I use the balls two ways in one dish...in the grits to bake for an hour and then on top to serve.

4 cups of boiling water to that add 1 1/4 cup of uncooked grits of your choice.  I used the long cooking grits and cooked them, stirring constantly with a whisk for 15 minutes.

Once the grits are cooked remove from the heat and add 4 cups of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese; one cup milk, spices of your choice, 4 large lightly beaten eggs.  Stir in the sausage balls.

Butter a baking dish and sprinkle the bottom of the dish with paprika and spoon the batter into the baking dish.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour or until golden.  Let the dish stand 5 minutes before topping it and serving.  It will cut in squares.  Top it with your choice of any toppings; I used shrimp and the rest of the zesty balls in about a 1/2 cup of good tomato sauce.

Hominy casserole and more~

Note: I haven't been just cooking, I've been eating up Tim Tigner's books on my Kindle.  I finished FLASH and started PUSHING BRILLIANCE.  If you like Lee Child and Stuart Woods you most assuredly will like Tim Tigner.  I have just discovered him and I am in for the long haul.

I have been a busy little cook this week but my phone camera is acting up and I cannot picture anything. So please use your imagination but do try at least the hominy casserole that is actually done by me in an iron skillet.  First of all you cannot hurt this recipe.  Anything goes but the hominy is necessary. Use two or three cans, I started with two can, but I am having it for an April event, so I will use at least three then.  In an iron skillet saute either bacon or I used diced pancetta  (from Trader Joe's) with one diced onion. Then start adding what ever you like: peppers, celery, carrots, peas, anything tasty.  Add the two can of hominy, 2 cups of milk or half and half or some cream, some parmesan cheese if you have some on hand; stir it around add shredded cheese of your choice and bread crumbs on top--now I got the idea instead of bread crumbs to use a package of Stove top stuffing sprinkled over the top.  I popped this mixture in the oven in the iron skillet for 45 minutes and Andy was enthusiastic as he gobbled it down.  I have two or three more testers of this recipe to go, but I can assure you I would not go to the trouble of typing this in a blog if it were a failure.

The thing I did yesterday is fantastic.  You know how your crab cakes fall apart if you don't get enough binder in the mix--or can you successfully keep shredded potatoes from falling apart as you attempt potato pancakes?  I had bought 4 pounds of Carfagnas CHICKEN meatball mix to make a batch of meatballs for an upcoming party.  I got the idea, as I looked in the bottom drawer of my frig and spotted several cans of lump crabmeat that I buy when it is $9. a can instead of $16. a can... which it usually is.  It is a big blue can and this one was Giant Eagle brand which is very good, but there is another blue can and I can't remember which brand it is, but it is good too.  I mixed two pounds of the chicken meatball mix with a half can of the crab meat, some spices, pepper, and a little salt, mixed it up and made several miniature meatballs for parties.  Popped them in the oven to bake 12 minutes or until hot in the center and brown on the bottom.  I had enough left in the bowl to make a patty for Andy...Well, that's all she wrote.  He always orders crab cakes from the menu and I can never make them without them falling apart so there you have it.  If you don't have a Carfagna's that is a real shame, but their spiced chicken meatball mix is so good.  I hope you can make it up yourself, but don't ask me how.  Oh, I forgot, I added a heaping tablespoon of grainy mustard to the final mix. I made more meatballs and several patties.  I had a few left over and added them near the end of the bake time to the hominy casserole and today Andy, my love of nearly 58 years, is a happy man.