Cooking from the freezer

Somebody stop me!  I have to stop buying food and cook what I have stocked.  So today it is the peaches from last summer made into a clafouti...a pudding made of fruit with a thick egg batter poured over and baked.  It is usual to use cherries, but I have luscious peaches so that is what I am using. Lobster ravioli in alfredo sauce with fresh herbs is also on the menu.

Nate is in the air from Switzerland and we look forward to his arrival.  Snow will greet him, unfortunately, but it will clear up in a few days and that's when the work begins for the season.

The painter did not make it last night; big surprise that, so we have that to deal with probably late this afternoon.
Note:
Oh well, I got lazy and did a peach cobbler instead. 

Doris Lechler

Just now · 

Warm peach cobbler

Food and plans

I have declared myself queen of left-overs! We are shopping today after Andy gets home from class and I cleaned the fridge so it will be ready for the in-coming load of goodies.  After all, Easter is around the corner and cooking has begun.  I had left over chicken pot pie and I used this filling sans the crust as layers between the potatoes onions and cheese.  It has been in a slow oven for an hour and thirty minutes and I had a taste.  Very pleasing if I do say so myself. The fresh herbs have spent the winter growing in the conservatory and this dish is blessed with them.

Super scalloped potatoes ready for the oven

Nate comes home tomorrow after three and a half months of travel.  He has been to Hawaii twice, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, France and Germany.  He has been inside a glacier and has seen animals and birds and plant life strange and beautiful.  He has met the most wonderful young women and I don't see how we can keep him down on the farm (so to speak) after this exceptional trip. But, this is his third such trip and he always comes home eager to work and full of happiness.  Nate has made great choices and he is enjoying the fruit of wise ways.

The painter is here to paint the ceiling in the kitchen and hall.  When the weather gets better he is doing all the wood on the property, especially the pergola...no small job that!  Winter is over and so is the quiet, slow, peace. And, oh joy, April 4th is our 59th wedding anniversary and we are spending it in a lawyer's office hammering out our will. Still, life is good and better than the alternative.

Are movies getting weirder?

I just watched The Shape of Water which, I think, won the Academy Award.  I try not to know these things because I am not happy with Hollywood, but then they don't really care.  This is a weird movie, but just as I was about to leave it I found I could not. Comparing this with the other up for awards movie Three Billboards, I cannot see how it won, if it won. I've also watched Orient Express and would have enjoyed it more had the English accents not been so quietly garbled.  Lady Bird, I think, was up for awards too and I found it lacking.  Maybe I just don't get it any more.  I am enjoying several spots on Netflix and I am back into reading although it is not totally keeping my interest.  I am catching up and reviewing Madam Secretary which Andy and I both enjoy.

Now to food:  Have you heard of pretzel turtles?  Nothing could be easier to produce.
25 pecan halves roasted
24 mini pretzels squares
24 soft caramels
8 ounces milk chocolate
parchment paper
lay 24 mini pretzels on baking paper in a single layer
put a caramel on top of each pretzel
put in oven for 4 minutes or until caramel is melted
put a roasted pecan on each caramel
melt chocolate
on baking paper put a puddle for each pretzel and set the pretzel on top of chocolate
let cool

I have to start cooking in earnest; Nate comes home the 21st and Easter is Apr. 1st.  The tables are set and covered.  I just have to plan the centerpieces.

Easter menu

We just realized Easter is only three weeks away. It is  so early this year, but we are looking forward to it just the same.  I would love to have the first meal of the day outside, but we will have to wait to find out if that is even possible.  Sometimes it is.  I am thinking lamb.  I watched Ina (Barefoot Contessa) and she was showing a wedding reception meal in France.  A leg of lamb was roasted low and slow for several hours, (Ina cut it down to four hours) and once the lamb was finished it was served on a big bed of beans with forks and spoon and everyone just served themselves by forking the soft meat onto their plates with scoops of beans.  It was so comfortable to see a meal like that being consumed.  I also have to have beef for Tom.  He loves his beef.  But then there is the poor ham that likes to be on the Easter table. Isn't it wonderful to have so many lovely choices?  The first meal will feature three soups plus chicken and noodles.  Appetizers will be served along with those choices and pecan coffee cakes for dessert.  Then we will clear it all away, relax while the meat is roasting and later in the day serve the main meal.  There will be around twenty-five people which is about the same number as the last few events. We are hoping to have all the wood painted and the pool opened and cleaned by then, but, like I said, it is early.  We will do our best to have the place looking good. Thanks to the Cincinnati gang for bringing some goodies to the feast, as always.

Oakland Park Nursery has been a main stay in Columbus for over sixty years.  I know this only because my first school was located right beside this wonderful nursery, AND, the proposal tree sits right in front of the Oakland Park School where I taught and when Andy proposed fifty-nine years ago as of April 4th. Anyway, they are having a sale of their large and costly planters and Andy and I bought three of them at 75% off--practically giving them away.   We can pass them down with all of the iron works (planters) that are antiques.  We do go overboard with the flowers every year, always starting way too early and losing some of our investments due to frost.  Calm down!  That is my motto for this year.  Don't get crazy.  Yeah, that's going to work.

So Easter is on my mind and probably on yours as well.  Plan well, cook ahead, and have fun.

4-hour lamb
one 6-7 pound leg of lamb
olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
one bottle dry white wine
2 large heads of garlic cut in half but not peeled
15 large sprigs of rosemary (boy do we own that)
15 large sprigs of thyme
6 bay leaves
Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and seasonings.  Heat a very large dutch oven such as Le Cruset over medium-heat until very hot.  Add the lamb and sear on all sides for 12 minutes or until browned all over.  Remove to plate.

Add the wine and 2 cups of water to the pot and cook for a minute or two, scraping up all the brown bits in the bottom.  Add the two garlic pieces, the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and put the lamb on top. Put the lid on and bake in preheated oven at 300 for four hours.  (The French baked it about 8 hours, but that is way too much time.) Make sure your lid is on tight and firm.  You will have to have a man heave it into the oven. lol

After 4 hours, the lamb should be incredibly tender and you should be unable to slice it, hence the forks and spoons.  Allow the lamb to rest once it is out of the oven. Strain the sauce into a pan and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes to reduce.  The lamb is too tender to slice, serve it warm with spoons and the sauce.  Ina Garten
Guests can fork the meat onto their plates at will and scoop the beans to their hearts content.

Uninvited guests

February brought uninvited guests to the kitchen at Many Branches.  They seemed to know when the contract with pest control was about to run out, so the first warm day of Febuary they came bags in hand to take up residence.  It was very disappointing, but today March 7th, the pest control crew comes back with their magic elixir to send them on their way to hassle other folks.  They have spread.  Once they were satisfied with a small section of the kitchen and now, like real hogs, they want it all and part of the dining room which has not seen use, but with weekly cleaning, since December.  How do they do it? Well, this is pleasant writing for early in the morning.  Nevertheless, our human guests can rest assured they will be gone!

Today is fish day.  I think I will start off with roasted potatoes and carrots in herbs and olive oil in the oven, and then at the last few minutes add the fish in butter and herbs to bake for about 12-15 minutes.  Any left overs will make a nice fish stew for tomorrow.  I will be missing these one tray bakes and one pot dishes when the really warm weather comes around.  Life is easy with one pot meals with our busy lives. Also, Joe and Glenda are coming to stay for a few days.   These are great do- ahead meals and meals that burble away while cards are played and drinks are consumed, and gossip is enjoyed.  We need to focus on Easter's menu as well.  I am eager to try a lamb dish.  I saw Ina do a lamb dish which cooked several hours low and slow and was then placed on a bed of beans.  It was put in the center of the table and people just forked off hunks of succulent lamb with scoops of hearty beans family style.  (Tom, rest assured beef roast will be on the menu too.)

Amish soup starters

Andy and I journeyed to Amish country today, Saturday.  We thought it would be crowded but we were wrong.  I had quite a large order, still wondering why the place was not packed as it usually is on Saturday.  We were out of there a few minutes after 10:00 and I believe I was the first  person at the ordering counter.  On the way home we figured out what had happened.  Cosco and many chain stores had taken up resideence outside of the little town. In itself it looked like a small town and there were no people on the village streets of Plain City.

Nevertheless, I think the Amish will win in the end.  Today I bought several soup starters.  They had ventured into that a long time ago, but put foot to the metal and geared up for big doings in the soup starter realm.  I always enhance these starters and to tell the truth it feels like cheating, but I've had no complaints, so... I also love their baby beets which are pickled.  I like their sweet baby corn and hot sweet relish, which I stocked up on today.  I bought a lot of Amish cheese, pepper bacon, and cold cuts.  We are expecting company soon, so I am getting ready.

Note:  The cream of potato soup was a big hit.  I did, however, enhance it with scraps of crispy pepper bacon, let over pancetta and left over fried potatoes. Also, broccoli and cauliflower were added.  This is a soup base after all and you can add what pleases your family. With 3/4 cup of the soup base, this made three meals for three people. With a salad, that was all one needed for lunch and or dinner.

Amish soup starters.

Pie crusts

I have never captured the art of pie crust making.  My Aunt Fausta was the best and I had lessons from her, but the talent did not rub off.  When one learns, it is so easy to whip together a pie, but if you have to rely on Pillsbury or Trader Joe's ready made pie crust the fate of the pie is sealed. Of course, I may be in a prolonged slump when it comes to baking, but I have tried both named ready made crusts and find them lacking.  The first one and the most popular has a funny taste and if the pie lasts to the next day that taste increases.  I like almost everything I've tried at Trader Joe's but he needs more practice in the pie crust realm.  The crust is already split into pieces as you unroll it.  You spend a lot of time piecing it together.  The taste is pretty good, but the results are not pretty to see. We love pie here at Many Branches but have it seldom unless the pie queens from Cincinnati bless us with their makings.

I am a new woman.  Erik and his crew have cast out all of the dead leaves from the property.  It is a clean slate and now I am happy to look out the window at the neatness.  Every spring we have a list of to-do(s) but having the right people to do it is a good thing, as Martha would say.  Next, all the white wood such as the pergola, the bay window area, the 2 sheds and the window boxes as well as the stairs to the apartment will be painted. We are going to be pretty.  The driveway is to be recapped or whatever you call it too.  The pool is to be opened the third week of March in time for it to be cleaned for Easter.  No one will swim, but it looks pretty. Power washing the tennis court and the outdoor furniture is high on the list.  I actually bought Martha Stewart's power washer which she was working on QVS or one of those shows.  It is electric and one that does not weigh a whole lot.  I figure I can do some of that power washing myself once I get it hooked up.  I'll let you know if that was a good purchase.

Well, good luck with the spring cleaning.  I am so glad to be able to say that after the winter we have had in Ohio.  Boo hiss.

I have rewatched a couple of Netflix series you might like: The Fall and Marcella. Also, I have given John Grisham another chance and am reading Gray Mountain. He used to be my favorite author, now, not so much. I do like Gray Mountain so far.

Screaming...never cooking again

I have hung up my apron and am never cooking again.  The sugar ants are back, and they have brought reinforcements this time.  It's February, granted the last two days have been in the 70s, but give a girl a break. I spent hundreds of dollars getting rid of the beasts and have been free of them for a couple of years.  But, as soon as the pest control contract ran out, they put on their helmets and attacked.  That is bad enough but I baked a luscious orange cake and NORDIC WON'T LET IT RELEASE FROM THE PAN. I have found the cake slides out beautifully the first time it is used but then no matter how much you grease the #$@@$%^& pan, it won't release after the first use....and I have several of them.
Whoever said cooking is relaxing is full of it. Their life must be hell in the first place to find a morning like this relaxing.  I have beer onion garlic bread in the oven right now and I am afraid to open the oven door to see what is going on in there.  It can't be good.  I am not happy this morning!  It is 11:00 and I am still in my night clothes.  This must be the slid into old age everyone warns about.

About that onion bread recipe from Cook's corner on Wednesday.  I won't be making that again either.

Warning, don't buy fancy Nordic designed cake pans.  If you see things are going wrong in the kitchen, don't make another dish. RUN.



                                                                                               

Apple pie cake

I had this picture on yesterday's blog and a reader asked for the recipe. You won't be sorry if you make this delicious, easy cake.

1 box of yellow cake mix (I used the large box of cake mix, the stores are selling skimpy boxes now.)
3 eggs 
1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
a serving spoon full of sour cream
Mix together and pour 1/2 in a greased and floured baking pan.(9x13)

Filling
3/4 cup brown sugar (or less)
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Mix and spread 1/2 on the layer that is in the pan, cover with the rest of the batter and spread the rest of the filling on top.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven.

Shrimp plus pasta alfredo

Remember the corn chowder I posted yesterday?  Well, we had some left over.  I planned shrimp alfrado for the next dish and since the chowder was so creamy, I added it to the pasta and shrimp and Bob's your uncle, an entire new dish and delicious to boot. What a combination, especially if you use Trader Joe's Australian shrimp. (The shrimp... frozen, of course, but the flavor is really tasty.)

If I am not cooking, I am squirting my new eyes and watching Netflix without glasses.  I am also writing this blog without glasses, in fact, I don't need glasses at all but find my self searching for them and putting them on for good measure.  I will have to hide them to break the habit.

Currently I am watching Hart of Dixie on Netflix and am enjoying it very much.  It's light, it's happy, and it is more interesting than the Hallmark made for TV movies they show endlessly.  I have a hint from someone that Money Heist should be my next one.  I've rewatched the Tutors which is a favorite of mine. (I also like Victoria on the public TV channel 34 here.)  Tutors is more in all ways, but Victoria is not bad.  Doc. Martin,  also on public WOSU TV has been watched by the Lechler several times. Don't miss that one.  Frankly, the 2017 and beginning 2018 TV programs are just awful, so Netflix has been comforting.  We never watch TV during the day, but with our pre dinner cocktail we watch a couple of favorite 'news' type shows and the Olympics. (Like the Queen, we enjoy gin and tonic.)

Here are some other Netflix shows I have enjoyed:
Velvet; Borgias (you need a strong stomach for these despicable people); Cable Girls; Mind Hunters; The Paradise; REIGN (it is really good); The Killing; The Great British Baking Show; Queen of the South; The Big Family Cooking Show; House of Cards, of course; Anna Karenina.  There, that should keep you busy.  I have to take the lucious apple pie cake out of the oven. Will write later.

Cake using apple pie filling.  It's yummy. Let me know if you want this simple recipe.

Corn chowder with Pancetta and Jalapeños, that’s for dinner.

Corn chowder is a favorite here and note, too, the Kroger oranges that must not be missed.  This is our fourth bag of these great big balls of joy and tastiness. It's warming up here but gloomy and everything outside is ugly.  I can't wait for spring yard clean up, it is not a pretty time of year. So, it is a good time for another winter favorite and I have some lovely corn off the cob from last summer waiting for the chowder pot. Andy is off to class and when he gets home he will be greeted with chowder for lunch (and dinner.)

I love my little Bissell robot but when I am cooking it is like a pet who wants a bite.  It follows me around and bumps my feet wanting attention.  Okay, that is way too much fantasizing.  Let's get real, it has a pattern and it sticks to it and I am in the way. If you could see how much that machine picks up on its own, you would rush out and buy one. The kitchen floor alone is worth the price and that is where I keep it.  When it gets tired, it goes to its port and plugs itself in to recharge.  Love it. There.  That's two great hints for today, oranges and the floor robot.

Yesterday I was writing about cookbooks.  In the one I mentioned I had made a note to try the chicken a  la swiss.  It is really chicken cordon en bleu.  It just seems like a more simple version.  I remember ordering this on an antiquing trip with a friend long before I felt I was a decent cook.  I kept sending it back to the kitchen because I did not think the chicken was done.  I kept seeing a pink runner through the chicken.  Finally, someone mentioned that that was a thin slice of ham as called for in a recipe of chicken cordon en bleu.  Since then I have avoided ordering or making this dish.  Now, that
 it is called chicken a la swiss, I feel I can justify making this simple recipe.

chicken a  la swiss

6 whole childen breasts, skinned and boned
1 8 ounce package Swiss cheese slices
1  8 ounce package sliced cooked (thin) ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup dry white wine
1  bouillon cube
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup whipping cream

Spread chicken breasts flat; fold cheese and ham slices to fit breasts.  Fold breasts over filling; fasten edges with toothpicks.  On waxed paper, mix flour and paprika.  Coat chicken with mixture.  In 12-inch skillet over medium heat, saute in hot butter or margarine) cook chicken until browned.  Add wine and chicken bouillon cube.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is done to your liking.  Place chicken on warm platter, remove toothpicks. In cup blend the cornstarch and whipping cream until smooth; gradually stir that mixture into the hot liquid, cook and stir constantly until mixture thickenes.  Serve that sauce over the chicken. 

I don't serve chicken very often because none of us like white meat that is tough and stringy.  You have to watch it so carefully and sometimes, even then, it turns out saw worthy. I have to get over this and perfect it. Sigh.