October At the Beach

We will be leaving for Hilton Head and Florida in the next few days. We are joining the Cincinnati Lechlers for a beach house (or two) stay. I have been gathering my favorite seafood recipes because I think we are invited only because they like my cooking. We will be going on to Florida to visit one son and his family too. Mike, Nate, and Matt will be staying behind for school and work...and for doggie boot camp. Mike says he will not put up with dog mischief and that they WILL eat what he puts before them or they won't eat at all. Sounds harsh to me.

I have not been to Hilton Head in the fall, but beach time is certainly on the schedule and many have pre-rented bikes for trail rides. (That won't be on my to-do list of favorites.) There is a seafood shop very close by, hence the hunt for seafood recipes. I am also taking a slow cooker for autumnal dishes, like beef stew, shoulder pork roasts with potatoes and carrots. Tom will be doing breakfasts otherwise they would be having doughnuts and frittatas every day for I am not good with breakfasts. Although I might work in that potato puff tart that I have written about and shown on this blog.

I think I have shown my favorite, tattered, cookbook called Virginia Hospitality. I have never tried a recipe that I didn't like listed in this well worn tome. One of the ones I tried in 1979 for a dinner party was flounder fillet in herb sauce with the left overs (if there are any) used for a seafood chowder the next day. What a lovely base for that good rich seafood stew. I haven't a picture of the dish, but here is the tried and true and easy to do recipe:

Flounder Fillet in Herb Sauce (I think any white fish would be good in this dish)

4 chopped ribs celery
2 teaspoons onion, minced
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons dill
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups condensed mushroom soup
1 teaspoon parsley
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces of flounder or other dense white fish
Preheat oven to 375. Saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients, except fish, mix well. Pour into shallow 10x16 inch casserole. Lay the fish in the sauce and spoon some sauce over the fish. Bake 20-25 minutes. Serves 6. I will certainly have to double this or maybe triple it. Remember, use the left overs for a nice fish stew with added potatoes, carrots, more celery and a variety of fish like shrimp, scallops, more white fish etc. for the next day.

I hope to make this company crab casserole too.

Company Crab Casserole
1 pound crabmeat
1 1/2 cups milk, scalded
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated onion
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped finely
1/2 cup pimento, chopped\1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Pour milk over bread crumbs to soften; add remaining ingredients except eggs. Stir in eggs. Pour mixture into a well-greased loaf pan or a 6x8 inch casserole. Set the dish in a hot bath to bake for about 45 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serves 6

There will be more, but I will let you know what they liked best. Actually, I have not found anything that they didn't like. I am taking this cookbook with me along with many other books for the beach...watch it rain everyday :(

Reading:

I have just finished Isabel's Daughter by Judith Ryan Hendricks, author of Bread Alone and The Baker's Apprentice. I have liked them all.

Reading and Recipes for Foodies

I had forgotten about Ruth Reichl, the editor for many years, for Gourmet magazine. When I would have long stretches of time in Paris, I loaded up with evening reading because TV was so awful. I also took movies to play on my computer. Anyway, Ruth Reichl caught my attention before she was Gourmet editor and on one trip I read and enjoyed very much: Comfort Me with Apples; Garlic and Sapphires and Tender to the Bone.Today I noticed Remembrance of Things Paris (six years of writing for Gourmet); Endless Feasts (60 years of writing from Gourmet magazine, edited by Ruth). She of course has a web site which I intend to read with pleasure. If you like the skillful word cushioned in food and life with funny situations, you will like these books. I especially remember one book where she detailed the events that unfolded when she was food critic for The New York Times.

Today I received the voluminous Australian Women's Weekly magazine. It's the first time I've received a copy and I am about to immerse myself in this hopefully wonderful first issue of 338 pages...in a magazine. I'm just sayin...

I'm exhausted! It will take forever to read this magazine which is an amalgamation of: People, USA Today, Elle, Gourmet, famous people, sewing, people I don't know anything about, Mel Gibson, shopping, beauty secrets, health, nutrition, cash, home design, gardening, crafts, home hints, entertainment puzzles, humor horoscopes, jazz, racing, swimming, best buys, risottos, Julie's comfort food, stuff for kids, test kitchen and ideas for the pantry! Oh...an ads galore! So far I don't like it.

I have given up on that magazine and concentrated on Cook's Corner, today, from the Columbus Dispatch. I made their delectable onion-potato puff tart and it is now my new favorite. It is scrumptious and easy and pleasing to the eye, and, you can serve it hot or at room temperature. I have pictures, but Bella chewed the camera wire that goes from the computer to the camera, so I must wait to get a new one. Here is the recipe, so you can get started:

Onion-Potato Puff Tart (makes 6 servings)
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator (or make your own...LOL, I laugh because I did this ONCE)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, cheese or which ever you like and if it melts well
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
salt, pepper to taste
4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed (I used tater tots)
1/2 cup sour cream with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (I used several different fresh herbs) oven 450, racks upper third of oven
Place puff pastry on prepared sheet. Press together at the short ends, creating a long rectangle. Brush the edge of the pastry with water. Fold edge over to create a 3/4-inch border. Poke the interior of the pastry several times with a fort. Sprinkle interior with 1 cup cheese. Bake this until golden, about 125 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes while it starts to brown (I added a little sugar).Pat potatoes dry. Season with salt and pepper. Add these to the onions and cook until lightly browned, about eight minutes.
Combine sour cream and herbs in a bowl. Spread potatoes over the partly baked crust, sprinkle with more cheese if you want. Bake about 5-8 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

A muffuletta (muff-uh-LOT-uh) is a sandwich made with a Sicilian seeded bread commonly known as muffuletta bread. An average muffuletta averages 10 inches in diameter. The inside of the muffuletta contains ham, salami, mortadella and provolone cheese and olive salad. The meats and cheeses in the muffuletta can be found at any local delicatessen. We had this delicious sandwich in New Orleans one Christmas when we took the entire family there to enjoy the festivities. It is Andy's favorite, but it is the Sicilian olive salad which I enjoy with crackers that sets the pace for flavor. I make a ton of this at a time and keep it in the frig for the sandwiches, for snacks, for some meat and fish dishes. It is wonderful. The best recipe I've found in a couple of weeks. I made the sandwiches with Carfagna's new pretzel bun because I don't have muffuletta bread, which can be bought on line. (You put the muffuletta in a sandwich press to squish it all together and to make it flatter. If you don't have an electric press, it can be done in a skillet with something heavy on top of the sandwiches. They are served hot.

Sicilian Olive Salad (YUM)
2 1/2 cups large green olives (about one pound) diced
3 diced ribs of celery
1 small diced red onion (I also put some green onion in mine)
1 minced clove of garlic (I used several)
one small jar of caperberries drained
1 tablespoon chopped herbs--I used a variety from the garden... the recipe says oregano 1 1/2 tsps. dried
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Mix it all together and refrigerate for 24 hours before use. Take it out an hour before using to come to room temperature. I just put it in several jars and set it out as I need it. It is MUCH better at room temperature.

Sunday Brunch Casserole

I love make- ahead dishes and this one fits the bill. It can be assembled the night before (or three hours before baking.) Its base consists of split English muffins which have been buttered and laid in a long 8 inch dish or pan. This recipe serves four, but it can easily be increased. In fact, you can hardly do anything wrong with this dish. I added some ingredients, but here is the recipe as shown with one of its rave reviews.

"My husband used to take this casserole, doubled, to his office for potlucks. It was a favorite to serve at special-occasion breakfasts or even dinner for two. Leftovers taste just as good reheated in the microwave," says Linda Hinkley from Oregon.
Southwest Brunch Casserole:
4 teaspoons of soft butter
2 English muffins, split
1/2 pound pork sausage (I used Bob Evan's zesty)
4 jumbo eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup canned chopped green chilies (I used Ro-tel)

Spread butter over cut sides of each muffin half. Place buttered side up in an 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray: set aside.
In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Spoon sausage over muffin halves. In a small bowl whisk eggs and sour cream; pour oer sausage. Sprinkle with cheese and chilies. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or over night.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until the eggs are set. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

I had a former student who grew up to become an HER realtor. She kindly sent me the HER cookbooks each year and the recipes are just fabulous. Today, while I was looking for a recipe for peanut butter pie with streusel for a requester from Cook's Corner I ran into a recipe that I had requested on Cook's Corner many years ago. While I did not find the peanut butter pie recipe, I grabbed the cherry-pecan loaf recipe to try today! Someone told me about this but would not give me the recipe, so now I am about to try it. It uses buttermilk and maraschino cherries. If it is good, I will add the recipe to this entry.

CHERRY-PECAN LOAF: (I MADE IT AND IT IS GOOD!)
This is from he HER holiday cookbook from many, many years ago.
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (I use jumbo)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans
1-10 ounce jar maraschino cherries drained and chopped (If I were doing it again, I would use more cherries.)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. vanilla
milk to drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled loaf.

In large mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. In medium mixing bowl stir together flour, soda and salt. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk to creamed mixture, beating just until blended after each addition. Fold in nuts and cherries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes depending on your oven. Let stand10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool and drizzle if you like.



It's Wednesday and Cook's Corner is packed with wonderful information and recipes today.
Did you know:
How much alcohol actually remains in baked desserts?
A dessert in which the alcohol is mixed into the batter and baked for 30 minutes ends up with 35 percent of the alcohol.
When alcohol is poured over the batter, then baked, about 45 percent remains.
A cake soaked in alcohol after baking picks up 70 percent.
When alcohol is poured into a frosting, 100 percent remains.
When alcohol is poured into boiling liquid, 85 percent is left.
When alcohol is added to a flambe, 75 percent stays in the dessert.
I'm just saying...Sounds good to me.

Culinary lavender:

The lavender bought for cooking should be labeled "culinary lavender", says Kathleen Gips owner of the Village Herb Shop. If you grow your own, then use varieties hidcote and munstead--but not lavandins, because of the high perfume content.
North Market Spices, 59 Spruce St. sells lavender 614 224 4107
Village Herb Shop, www.village herbshop.com


Since Andy put in 72 tomato plants this year, I have been knee deep in sauce. Here is a hint that I am going to try tomorrow. This way, we can have the freshness from Andy's garden all winter long. Give it a try.


Freezing whole tomatoes with peels: Prepare tomatoes as described above. Cut away the stem scar. Place the tomatoes on cookie sheets and freeze. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Once frozen, transfer the tomatoes from the cookie sheets into freezer bags or other containers. Seal tightly. To use the frozen tomatoes, remove them from the freezer a few at a time or all at once. To peel, just run a frozen tomato under warm water in the kitchen sink. Its skin will slip off easily.

I am a real fan of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) on the food TV Network. Especially now that she has toned down the giggles and is producing more new shows rather than the constant reruns and redos of recipes. Today, for lunch, I made her Szechuan Noodles with Chicken and broccoli although I changed a bit of it because it is long. I used shrimp, too, instead of chicken and I used the Hills peanut sauce in a bottle instead of making hers. She is showing the recipe on Saturday on her regular spot on the food network and you can view the recipe as well on the food network TV show. So I won't go into it now, but I found it to be very tasty. It is a pretty dish, as you can see from the picture and it is special enough for company.

Paris Purpose

Although our primary purpose in visiting Paris was to find antiques, we kept one day for Andy's least favorite activity--searching for batterie de cuisine. Entire days and weeks and sometimes months were spent antiquing, circling the city and outside areas for the best of the best, usually found in the worst of the worst situations.

A visit to Dehillerin, a gourmet cook's fantasy with devices that must be carried home for the American kitchen is a need. Having first read about the haven for cooks and would be cooks, nothing would do but I would visit and yes, buy. Andy would give up and take a nap in a park close by while I went over the shop with a fine toothed comb. From the beginning I knew I must visit and revisit this shrine which has been serving top-notch chefs for over one hundred fifty years and they NEVER have a sale! (Their prices, however, were half of what the items cost in America...shhhh) Don't look for courteous treatment or advice in Dehillerin which is located at 18 Rue Coquilliere. I ask for Franc because he speaks English and works on commission and does not care that I am American...and, by the way, I don't care that he is French. For years Andy and I went the long convoluted way to Dehillerin and then one day while I was in Paris alone at Le Louvre des Antiquaires at Palace Royal, I found a side street that I could walk, and there, sitting like an odd shaped rose among the thorns, was Dehillerin.

The building is a warehouse, really, with no frills but every cooking device fit to put in a kitchen is on display. A whisk the size of a car length hangs from the ceiling. There are bins and bins of knives, choppers, clippers and zesters. There are mandolines that can julienne your little fingers off. The cacophony of languages stuns the ear while everyone is speaking importantly of food. I escaped to the basement where the shelves are filled with colorful le Creuset. I had to have some of those pots. (I imagined I could hear Andy groaning from afar.)

I am not finished. I leave the shop and make a sharp left going down a narrow street which dumps me into another street of dreams. All cook and tableware...the entire street lined with windows featuring dried shittake mushrooms, spices, vinegars, and oils of every kind. By now my arms are pulled from their sockets and the bags on wheels have developed a mind of their own smacking anyone who dares to walk near them.

On the way to the park to pick up Andy there is a brick pathway lined with restaurants of every kind, all with indoor and outdoor accommodations to suit the season. Colorful umbrellas and potted plants line the way. Andy and I decided to try out one of these restaurants before heading back to the hotel with our booty. We read the menus as we meandered (meandering is difficult with heavy wayward bags) along trying to decide where to have lunch. Big iced trays of remarkable seafood catches our eyes and then we read about dim sum and duck a la cantonese. But, by this time we are really looking forward to something big and cold--never enough iced things in London or Paris. We decide on the Chicago Meat Packers restaurant. English is spoken and pitchers of iced beverages are passed. We can let down our guard after days of posturing and pretending to understand French. We are weary of sophistication and crave the familiar. So, we slip on the bibs and dig into the mountains of American ribs washed down with frosty beer or chilled champagne. These days are among my favorite French memories and I cherish the items bought on those easy, happy, days as I use them over and over, remembering as I cook.

Gourmet on Wheels

Don't you think having a food truck would be amazing? These vehicles seem to be flourishing all over the place. I would love it because if someone was nasty, I could just drive off leaving them in a cloud of dust. Or, if I ran out of food, which isn't likely, I could just go home and start again. I would like the confinement, finding it cozy and available. I think it is because I liked teaching in a van the last ten years of my teaching career. Due to separation of church and state I taught reading in a van at various private schools for Columbus Public Schools. The children were eager to come to the mysterious van especially because it was air conditioned (or heated as the season demanded). I liked the small space and the lack of distractions for the children and for me. Anyway, if I were to have a food truck, let's see what the truck would contain: A cooling window with glass shelves to display the cakes, cookies and nutty bars. (No pies, though I love them, I can't make them to save my self.) I'd have a pizza oven to produce those small pizzas like the ones in the frozen section of Trader Joe's though mine would be fresh. I'd have my panini grill there for hot dogs and toasted, buttered buns, also for ham and cheese sandwiches. I'd have homemade potato salad with Gorgonzola cheese. I'd have cold, spicy gazpacho in cups for drinking in the summer and hot and tasty soup for sipping in the winter. I'd have beef stew with red wine starting in autumn. One could serve a ploughman's lunch with various cheeses and sausages. Well, the list is endless and so is the dreaming.

Helloooo, anyone out there?

I want to be sure to have you look into The Australian Women's Weekly cook books which are really glossy, wonderful pictures and recipes (tested three times each) in slick magazine form. They have been turning out weekly magazines for seventy years. Now they have now been taken over by a London firm, but the care is still there. Some of the magazines have been reprinted due to demand, but it is the original set that I bought in London that means more to me. I have, however, been receiving some that I bought through Amazon and I now have a subscription from London for a year. If you can resist these pictures, then you are better women than I.

This picture of coconut and sour cream cheesecake...wonderful, isn't it?

This Sunday we had a rib roast with mashed potatoes and noodles. I fixed a new dish of my own making; fresh cauliflower with fresh tomatoes, corn off the cob and cheese. It is a gratin, after all, with bread crumbs and butter on top. The men in the family, and I, gobbled it up. A nice meal to intro into the fall season and a salute to the passing summer. I've enjoyed this summer, short though it seems.

Andy and I are looking forward to going to Hilton Head with Andy's brother's family in October to see Andrew off to the Marines. We've rented a nice big beach house and will spend a week or so there with them and then Glenda and Joe and Andy and I are off to visit J.D., Johnna, and David Lechler in Florida where we will be on the beach again for a few days.

School of Essential Ingredients (for beach reading)

Erica Bauermeister's novel The School of Essential Ingredients is a good summer read. It's a hymn to food and friendship set in Lillian's kitchen where a cooking class meets each Monday night when her restaurant is closed to the public. Each attendee has a chapter detailing his or her woes and successes and they melt into one at the end. Food plays an important part in their recovery, as does the company they keep.

I am reading at the moment The Owl and Moon Cafe. It is about four generations of women with the plot centered in a California cafe. They all have the known foibles, successes, trials and tribulations, that are thrown into the stew of life. I like these women for different reasons and so I read more slowly, trying to keep them within my reading circle.

To take the edge off of the Lisa Gardner Live to Tell that I am also reading, I have bought some other foodie books as a relief to gore and sin that stirs the evil bones of our society. Lisa is a prolific writer and not all of her books are a home run with me, but the last three that I have read were really gripping. She ferrets out the evil in our world and holds it up as a warning.

The Baker's Apprentice and Bread Alone are both by the same author, Judith Ryan Hendricks. I haven't gotten in to them as yet. I try to keep two books going at once and that is enough with all that I have to do now days. My life is full with cooking, traveling, and nurturing those in need right now. Life is slapping a few of my family members around, as it does to all of us at one time or another, so I am pleased to give them the love and help that they need and the healing food that nurtures them.

Note: I am eating my words. I can't put down Bread Alone and I have lost interest in The Owl and Moon Cafe. May be just my mood, but I really like Bread Alone and Hendrick's style of writing.
Note: Finished Bread Alone and discovered The Baker's Apprentice is a continuation of the story from Bread Alone. I'm a happy woman.

Sundays in London

I used to spend a lot of time antiquing in London and surrounding areas. I'd fly over every few months to attend antiques shows, flea markets, and shops. Across from my hotel was a book shop where I spend lazy Sunday afternoons if there were no shows or business meetings to attend. My relief from the hectic schedule was the book shop and there I discovered some of the most beautiful magazines I have ever seen. The Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks (magazines) were wonderful with the awe inspiring pictures and short easy recipes. The Australian women must have haunted their mailboxes each week anticipating the delivery of these wonderful cooking instructions. I bought an entire series over the years I spent there and today I've started going through them again. The bake shops of London and outlying areas always featured moist dense cakes, delectable tarts, and the fat deep biscuits (cookies). The rest of the food in London, as you have heard, was not to be written about in the same paragraph.

London sported very few open markets. One at Portobello Road (one of the world's largest flea markets) was nice, but the antiques took up all of my Saturdays with little thought given to fruits and vegetables down the hill from what I had my mind on, and really, the reason for being there at all. In the country side I don't recall seeing outdoor markets, but then I was fixated on my center of interest and how to pack it all and how to get it back to America.

The good news is that you can still get these magazines. I went to Amazon and typed in Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks and there it is! Unbelievable. I ordered a bunch more, so I will inundate you with pictures and recipes from these wonderful magazines.

The second picture shows a clafouti which is basically pancake-like batter poured over fruit and baked. The fruit of choice is usually cherries and now the bing cherries and the Queen Anne cherries are in season, it is my fruit of choice. Barefoot Contessa shows a pear clafouti (which she seems to mispronounce on her shows) in her book Barefoot in Paris. Perhaps there is more than one way to pronounce clafouti, but hers is just funny to me. I was told, in Paris, that it sounds like 'klaf o TEE'. Ina pronounces 'kla flutee' or some such thing. (Mine is correct, I heard it prounced on the Internet several times and it is confirmed below.)

Anyway, it is an easy doable recipe and is a quick fix for pop in guests or over-nighters. We must remember that most countries do not make their sweet treats as sweet as the Americans and its especially true with this one.

Cherry Clafoutis or clafouti (pronounced kla-foo-TEE) is a rustic looking French country dessert from the Limousin region that has become very popular in North America. Traditionally it was made with the first sweet cherries of the season, and the cherries were left unpitted so their kernels could release their delicate almond flavor as they baked. A Cherry Clafoutis is a pudding of sorts, with the sweet cherries covered by a thin pancake-like batter and baked in a hot oven until the batter has set with nicely browned and slightly puffed edges. The clafoutis should be served immediately with a dusting of confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar.Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/CherryClafoutis.html#ixzz0u8RCtWmb

Cherry Clafoutis: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Wash the cherries, remove the stems and pits.
In your food processor or blender place the flour, salt, eggs, 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Process for about 45 - 60 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the batter is completely smooth, let it rest while you prepare the fruit.

In a large 9- inch (23 cm) heavy nonstick ovenproof skillet melt the butter over medium heat making sure the melted butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan. When the butter is bubbling, add the pitted cherries, and cook until the cherries have softened a bit and are coated with butter (2 - 3 minutes). Then sprinkle the cherries with the sugar and cook until the sugar has dissolved and turns into a syrup (1 - 2 minutes). Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for about 20 minutes or until the clafoutis is puffed, set, and golden brown around the edges. Do not open the oven door until the end of the baking time or it may collapse. Serve immediately with a dusting of confectioners sugar and yogurt, creme fraiche or softly whipped cream.

Serves 2 - 3.



Cherry Clafoutis:
1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar

3/4 cup (180 ml) milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 - 1 pound (340 - 454 grams) fresh sweet cherries, pitted

1 tablespoon (13 grams) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar



Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/CherryClafoutis.html#ixzz0u8TV3eSA

Barfoot Contessa:
(Pear Klaf o tee)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons pear brandy (recommended: Poire William)
2 to 3 firm but ripe Bartlett pears
Confectioners' sugar
Creme fraiche
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a 10 by 3 by 1 1⁄2-inch round baking dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar.

Beat the eggs and the 1⁄3 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, mix in the flour, cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, and pear brandy. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel, quarter, core, and slice the pears. Arrange the slices in a single layer, slightly fanned out, in the baking dish. Pour the batter over the pears and bake until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, and creme fraiche.

PEACH CLAFOUTI:
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh peaches, (about 4 cups) peeled and sliced
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange liqueur
2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 2 tablespoons water, to form slurry
Batter:
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
4 whole eggs
1/4 cup heated milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 scoops peach ice cream
Fresh mint, for garnish
Cinnamon, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the peaches, sugar, orange liqueur, and slurry together in a sauce pot. Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Reduce to a syrup consistency, about 3 to 4 minutes. For the batter: In a standing electric mixer, whip the sugar and eggs together until light in color and ribbon like texture, about 3 minutes. Mix the milk and butter together, and incorporate into the egg mixture. Fold the flour into the egg mixture. In a 13 by 9-inch baking pan, cover the bottom of the pan with the peach mixture. Spoon the batter over the peaches, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes for until the batter has set and is slightly golden brown. Spoon the clafouti into a bowl and top with the peach ice cream. Garnish with fresh mint and cinnamon.

Reaction to Australian Women's Weekly:
As I review these magazines called cookbooks, I am having a tough time not squealing with giddy excitement. How can they turn out these wonderful magazines every week for over seventy years. I can literally feel my shirt and Capri pants morphing into a frilly apron, lace collar, and a broomstick skirt. Clear the way, I am ready to cook.

http://www.dispatchkitchen.com/live/content/recipe/cookscorner.html
If you are looking for good recipes try visiting the Cooke's Corner in our Columbus Dispatch newspaper. It once was bigger, but with the economy, the pages on Wednesdays have been cut back, but it is all on line. (Not as much fun as having it every Wednesday morning with a hot cup of coffee, but good, just the same.) I just made the Kroger recipe of peanut butter-oatmeal cookies as seen on my facebook. I want to try the ham rolls next.

So Many Recipes, So Little Time

I have totally stopped entertaining for the rest of the month. I don't care if a baby drops from the sky, or Matt gets his Masters degree tomorrow...no more parties! My plate is full for the rest of the month and probably for longer than that. Yesterday I never got out of my pajamas--the dogs got worried. After all we have a ritual that must be kept. Their outing first, my coffee second, their breakfast, my crossword puzzles, and then out of the pajamas.

I am also not going to the store for an entire week. My cupboards are bulging and so is the frig. I made a scrumptious mac and cheese today using up all of the cheese board left overs from two weeks of heavy entertaining. This dish was topped with sliced tomatoes and bread crumbs made from all of the left over buns. (Our cherry tomatoes are just now coming in...remember Andy planted 72 tomato plants.)I think what made the dish was the addition of some left over goat cheese and the rush of pepper cheese. It will never turn out the same again, so no recipe for that. As people revolve in and out today, it is mac and cheese and left over ribs. So far no one has complained.

I got a Food Network magazine today with an interesting item called an Oatmeal Souffle--no recipe since it is featured at the Red Feather Lounge in Boise. But I got on the Internet and found some recipes that had much in common. If I ever do Sunday breakfast again, I am trying this. I have taken several pictures of the picture in the magazine, but they did not turn out so great, but will give you an idea... in case there is anyone reading this blog. (LOL) Here is one of the recipes. If you try it, let me know so we can compare notes.
Oatmeal Souffle

1 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Butter
3/4 cup Quick-Cooking Rolled Oats
1/3 cup low-fat Cream Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and sugar 1 1/2 quart souffle dish or casserole; set aside.

Put milk and butter into a small saucepan and heat until barely boiling. Slowly add oatmeal, stirring constantly. Cook oatmeal until thick, stirring often. Remove from heat and add cream cheese, salt, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir briskly to blend and smooth the mixture.

Beat the 3 yolks slightly and slowly add them to the oatmeal, stirring constantly. Stir in the raisins and walnuts.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff but still moist. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir and fold the whites into the oatmeal mixture. Don't overfold; fold only until no large lumps of whites remain. Spoon the mixture into the souffle dish.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center still trembles a trifle but most of the souffle is set. Serve immediately with cream or warm milk.

This souffle is still tasty when cold and fallen. For a touch of decadence, serve with whipped cream.

To reheat, place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or heat individual servings in the microwave.

Another set of inspirations that we enjoy on Saturday mornings, starting in the spring, would be the street markets. The biggest and best, so far, is the Worthington outdoor market. They close the main street and spread out far and wide so that it takes a bit of time to do it properly. It is like Paris, but right in the home town of many people now days. The freshness and beauty draws the crowd. We spend more per item or per bunch, but the taste claims victory.

Today I bought new tiny beets which I washed and sprinkled with olive oil and salt and bundled them tightly in a foil package to bake. That way the skins slide right off and you can have your way with the sleek bulbs. Yummy! Sometimes I leave a bowl of slices or tiny bulbs in the frig and pop one or two in my mouth as I search for dinner items. They are a great and tasty snack.

I bought Matt's favorite, fresh new green beans. I've taken a ham bone from the freezer and coupled it with the green beans and onions in the slow cooker. I will add new potatoes as the day goes on (don't want them mushy) and lay corn on the cob on top for the last half an hour. It's a summer one pot meal. They are going to the zoo today to meet the new polar bear, so the bean dish will hit the spot as the sun goes down.

The salad fixings were especially nice today. Butter lettuce for chicken wraps and and a big summer salad with tomatoes from Andy's garden, will tempt those that arrive for Sunday with the Lechlers. Life is good!

Though a bit pretentious, I love Ina's (Barefoot Contessa) recipes and I have all of her books. She giggles less now days, we all appreciate that, and, she has some new shows for us. The Barefoot Contessa entertains in an easy manner and once she settles into cooking, the results are very tasty. Her mustard roasted fish is so good it can be served to guests as well as to the family for an easy healthful week day treat.

Mustard-Roasted Fish
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 15 min Level:
Easy Serves:
4 servings Ingredients
4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces creme fraiche
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons drained capers
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the fish.

Love potatoes with vineger!
Grilled Salt & Vinegar Potatoes

The original recipe calls for white vinegar. I used part white balsamic vinegar and regular white vinegar. - but you can use either. I suspect you could actually experiment over time w/ different types of vinegar. I used fingerling potatoes that were on the large size, but any waxy potatoes will do.
2 cups / 475 ml white wine vinegar
1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g waxy potatoes (see head notes), cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper salt to taste (optional)
Pour the vinegar into a medium saucepan, then stack (or arrange) the potatoes so the vinegar covers them completely. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are just fork tender. You want them to hold their shape, so they don't fall apart on the grill later. Let the potatoes cool in the vinegar for 30 minutes. Drain well, then very gently toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Heat the grill to medium high. Grill potatoes, covered if possible, until golden on one side, then flip and grill the other side - roughly 3 - 5 minutes per side. Serve sprinkled with Kosher salt to taste.
Serves 4.

July 4th with the Lechlers

July 4th is a quiet day for us. The Cincinnati family is, at times, in Nags Head and we, from Columbus, have just returned from the beach house in Florida, or, in this case from Alaska. This year is different in many ways, some good, some bad. The good part is that we will all gather here, once again, as a family. Some of the children will be leaving for college next month and one young hero has joined the military. Andy's brother is retiring and that is another cause for celebration. We've decided to make this a potluck with people bringing their favorite dishes to share. The group comes early and stays late, so there are at least a couple of meals. I am trying some dishes from FOOD AND FAMILY, a Kraft magazine to which I have subscribed.
Cheese-Lover's pasta roll-ups:
eight servings (easily increased)
1 egg beaten
1 container Ricotta cheese
2 cups Kraft three cheese blend
4 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar spaghetti sauce divided
16 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oven to 375
Mix first five ingredients until well blended.
Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce on bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 tbsp. cheese mixture; roll up. Place seam-side down, in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover with parchment and then foil (foil should never touch tomato sauce)
Bake 40-50 minutes, uncovering the last 10 minutes
Easily made ahead, refrigerated up to 24 hours, then baked covered, or easily frozen.

Tom has requested my rib roast with caramelized onions. It is very simply: I marinate the roast after stuffing garlic buds in slits all over the roast, then adding garlic salt and then red wine. I leave it for 24 hours. I then leave it at room temp. for an hour and roast on high heat to 120 internal. I then take it out, cover it with a foil tent and leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes. Then George, the carver, has his way with the roast while I caramelize the onions that grace this dish.

Can you imagine anyone who has not eaten a s'more? That would be me. Susan Mallery has a recipe on Taste Of Home that I have listed here. It is done on the grill, so I think it is a can do thing for 4th of July.
Ingredients:

2 dozen chocolate chip cookies – homemade or store-bought
144 mini marshmallows (approximate)
144 chocolate chips (approximate)

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place one chocolate chip cookie on a square of aluminum foil. Put about six mini marshmallows and six chocolate chips on the cookie. Place a second cookie flat-side up on top of the marshmallow layer. Wrap loosely (but airtight)with the foil. Grill over direct medium heat about 4 minutes on each side. Unwrap carefully. Yields 1 dozen s'mores. You could use any cookie that you like homemade or store bought. I'll try to get a picture on here as well, as the week progresses.

One of the dishes they had on the cruise ship was tiramisu...Mine is better by far. It is actually the Barefoot Contessa's recipe and I have made it many times to rave reviews. I am showing it as she did, but July 4th it will be in a tall glass punch bowl. Much prettier but exactly the same ingredients.
Tiramisu
6 large-extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar1/2 cup good dark rum, divided
1 1/2 cup of brewed espresso, divided
16 to 17 Italian ladyfingers or savoiardi
shaved chocolate. I use a bar of cappauccino (Perugina) chocolate shaved with a vegetable peeler.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment on high speed for 5 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/4 cup of the dark rum, 1/4 cup of the espresso, and the mascarpone. Whisk till smooth.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1 1/4 cups espresso in a shallow bowl. Dip each of the ladyfingers in the espresso-rum mixture on one side only and line the bowl or your container. Pour half the espresso cream mixture evenly on top. Dip the next batch in the espresso-rum mixture and start a second layer in the dish. Pour the rest of the espresso cream over the top. Smooth the top and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the top with shaved chocolate and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. I leave off the sugar on top.

Corn-beef and Kraut salad

I buy the corn beef package with the seasoning. I put it in a slow cooker with some broth, wine, onion, carrots, and let it go for around six hours. I let it rest. Slice it against the grain and chill it. It is easier to cube for the salad that way.
The kraut is your choice:
Mix together one package kraut with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 green pepper (or any pepper of your choice), one onion, and a little white balsmic vinegar if it is on hand. I put in celery too, but that is up to you. Let it chill and when you dish it up, put the beef on top so that it does not absorb the kraut taste, but stands alone as delicious.

NOTE:
On July fourth I looked out the window at our family standing in the pool eating tiramisu. The dogs raced and barked around the water trying to get a good spot in case they could get a bite of the cake laden coffee and liquor lady fingers. I thought this would be a good picture to pull out and to view all this pleasure when life gob smacks us, which it does on occasion . Summer has barely begun and yet winter clothes will be on the rack tomorrow and summer will be put away. I hear talk of a couple of weddings, football practice beginning, and I feel the loss of the summer... and the teenagers absence. They've gone mute or totally absent as they feel their lives changing never to be the same. Some will go off to college and others to the military. I wonder who will come again to this house and who will never return? People pass in and out of our lives leaving their indelible mark and I feel this is the way it is meant to be.

Alaska with the Lechlers

After two weeks of eating and drinking well on an Alaskan cruise, I came home and started cooking. Go figure! And I do mean 'go figure'. My feet are the size of hams, to put it in the food vernacular. A total of eight hours on a plane coming home will do that to me, or maybe it was the dirty martinis that caused the stumping. (I don't drink on a plane, but it happened just the same.)

I started thinking about the most delicious dish that we had on the trip and the last stop in Anchorage comes to mind. It was our last night as a group of sixteen and we were told by several people not to miss the food at The Glacier Brewhouse .(They brew their own tasty beer and the equipment is on display.) Everyone else must have felt the same way because the first come, first serve, practice was enforced and the place was hopping. Unfortunately, I was so full from the weeks' intake that I ordered only one thing--the seafood chowder. It was, without a doubt, the best that I have tasted and better than I have made. I can't put my finger on it, but it was scrumptious. I asked the waiter what was in it and he named all of the things that I use, so I will start experimenting when I get my ducks in order. (Could it be a drop or so of sherry? He didn't name it, but maybe.) There is not much time for experimenting because thirty people are arriving for July 4th. It's a family day and a celebration of one family member's retirement.

At the brewery, as we filed out, a platter of the most delicious looking ribs I have ever pictured lured me over and right beside it a fabulous crab plate that made me wish I had ordered that. I checked on the Internet to see if I could find that place to give you more information--it was simply the best. http://www.glacierbrewhouse.com (We stayed at the Captain Cook hotel, which was very nice, in case you find yourself in Anchorage, Alaska.)

I will be adding information and pictures all week,so keep watching and thank you.