Christmas Baking in the Lechler Kitchen

For many years my nieces, Linda and Nancy, and my mother and I met for week ends on end from Thanksgiving until two weeks before Christmas baking cookies. (One year I got stung by a honey bee in December while cooling hard candy outside.) There are many tales to tell about those fun times. I don't think there is a cookie recipe that we didn't try and we always doubled or tripled the recipe. On Sunday we divided all the goodies and set off for another week of work.

When I gutted, added to, and designed my kitchen here on Cooke Rd., my neighbor, Pauline and I baked cookies the first and second year. After that I cut down on the cookies that I made to just a few favorites. I have two recipes, one of which I have never seen in print, and one that takes three days to make. The latter was given to me and I promised never to reveal the recipe but I have seen it lately pegged as clothes pin cookies (because they are baked on dowel rods or clothes pins, and I forget what Mary M. called them...I think Lady Locks. I will never make them again because it is just too time consuming. The interesting thing about them is that they are good to eat frozen or thawed, and they are adorable. Now one can use puff pastry from the store instead of making puff pastry from scratch which is a real pain. Also, instead of the Crisco filling (I know it sounds gross) I see the filling as anything you want to squirt in there. One recipe called for marshmallow fluff from a jar, I guess.

Here is the Lady Locks recipe as printed in the Columbus Dispatch, Cook's Corner December 2010--I didn't give out the recipe, Mary M. Not until it appeared in the Dispatch. This is the recipe that takes three days to make, unless you want to die trying.


COOKIE
LADY LOCKS
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
For Nancy Johnson, Columbus
Makes about 6 dozen
Pastry:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups ice water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)

Filling:
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Jimmies
Confectioners’ sugar

To make pastry: Mix flour, water and salt to form a dough. Divide into 3 equal portion. Take one part and roll out on a floured surface. Divide shortening into 9 equal parts. Spread one part on square. Fold sides in and place on a well-floured baking sheet. Cover well. Refrigerate 1/2 hour. Repeat with remaining dough squares.

Roll each piece to a square again. Cover with shortening. Fold. Refrigerate 1/2 hour. Repeat one more time then refrigerate squares overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll each piece to a 12-inch square. Cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips about 3 inches long. Wrap each strip on a metal clothes pin (or tapered pastry forms available at baking and cookware stores), overlapping dough. Secure ends with a dab of water.

Arrange on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Remove clothes pins.

To make filling: Mix milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick paste forms. Cool completely.

Scrape cold paste into a bowl. Add shortening, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat for 20 minutes or until fluffy and sugar dissolves. Refrigerate overnight.

Pipe filling into locks. Dip ends in jimmies. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Barbara Kochick, Pickerington





When Andy and I were first married the ladies in my apartment complex and I had a cookie exchange. Everyone but one person worked very hard on their batches to make them the most desirable. One person, if you can believe this, bought her cookies and tried to pass them off as having slaved over the oven for days. You didn't fool anyone Carol M. LOL

Now days I enjoy making simple, tasty bunt cakes and fruit bread...like lemon or banana or chocolate breads. I have found many great recipes of all kinds by just googling the title or the ingredients for any of the recipes I am looking for on the Internet. Clothes pin cookie recipe, like the ones I used to make: http://louisj80sgarden.blogspot.com/2008/12/clothespin-cookies.html Read the different recipes and select the one that suits your needs best--not just this one. This one, however, shows pictures step by step of what they look like in different stages.

This year I am eager to try Sandy's Mound Cake from Cook's Corner in the Columbus Dispatch. I love Mound candy bars, so I assume they will taste like the bar.

Sandy's Mound Cake

Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup water
3 eggs

Filling:
24 large marshmallows
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 scant tablespoon cornstarch
1 package (14 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut

Frosting:
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
2 cups chocolate chips

To make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat 2 minutes. Pour into a pan. Bake 30-35 minutes.
Five minutes before the cake is done, start making the filling: Combine filling ingredients in a large pan. Stir over medium heat until marshmallows melt. Spread over hot cake. Cool cake afterwards.
To make frosting: Boil sugar, butter and milk 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips. Stir until smooth. Pour over coconut mixture. Let stand several hours until chocolate mixture is set.

One of the most festive and easy things I have ever made is homemade marshmallows. I use The Barefoot Contessa's recipe which I will list here. This is a wonderful easy, cheap, elegant, looking gift to give in an holiday exchange. It looks complicated, but if you have a sturdy mixer, it does ALL the work. You can add flavorings to the outside of marshmallows. You can use toasted coconut, or leave it out. You can dip them in chocolate, roll them in cinnamon sugar or eat them plain. Kids think you are really special having presented them with these delights.

Marshmallows:
2 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Toasted coconut for the end product if you like coconut
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. (I found it dangerous for the mixer to do this at high speed for 15 minutes because I have a super duper mixer and it labored.)My friend called Kitchen Aid and they said not to use it on high speed for 15 minutes if the mixture is really thick, and it does get thick. I started it on high and when it started to get really thick, I reduced the speed and it still 'got there'.

When it is really thick add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8x12-inch non metal baking dish with confectioners' sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners' sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them again with more confectioners' sugar...or, the toppings of choice. You will never enjoy a store bought marshmallow again after making these delights. Cut them any size or shape you like but they look best big. Slip them into a cellophane bag tied with a festive ribbon for giving.

Since our Christmas is a quiet one this year, I'll have time to mix up and serve these scrumptious banana sour cream pancakes. Friends who have tried them, love them.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes from Ina Garten's Family Style book:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
2 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
pure maple syrup

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute, until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup. I Use a 1/4 CUP MEASURE TO DROP THE BATTER INTO THE PAN. The pancakes stay warm in a 200 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Walnut-Cranberry Biscotti

1/4 (1/2 stick) butter,
softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling
Cream butter and both sugars until well-blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in walnuts and cranberries.
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 1- 1/2-inch long, 2 1/2 inch wide and 1 inch thick rectangle. Chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Bake rectangles 30 minutes. Cool.
Cut rectangles into 1/2 thick slices. Arrange on baking sheets. Rebake 15 minutes longer, turning once. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Cool completely.(They get hard and crisp.)

Columbus Dispatch Holiday Cookies (insert in the paper of 50 festive recipes)

December 6th found me still in my pajamas baking up a storm. Did the beds get made...no. It scared Matt so badly he cleaned his apartment and did his laundry, in between studying for two finals, while giving me odd looks. But, once he tasted the first batch of cookies, he forgave me, understanding first things first. It's cookie time. I made two batches of a molasses cookie, sending Nate out the door with three warm cookies and a hot Latte to start his school week. I quickly whipped up another favorite, Virginia O'Neils French almond crescent cookie. It makes thousands, but then she had many children, so this one recipe serves well instead of making several batches. I start out making them too big, but got the hang of the small crescents after several batches of large quarter moons. One enhancement, I roll them in crushed almonds instead of putting one almond on each cookie for charm. It is a very good recipe, as is the molasses cookie recipe from my cooking teacher Betty Rosbottom who has written several reliable cookbooks--she tests and retests, as does Ina Garten. My all time favorite is tastier the next day after it has time to soften up. I love this recipe from a friend that I have lost touch with named Lavonn. It is her Butterscotch Dessert Cookie. (Remember to wait until the next day to eat them, it's that important.)

I look forward to tomorrow when three more batches will be on the baking counter: Rich Filled Cookies with sour cream, honey, and coconut (It's the recipe I have never seen in print.) YUM ! Another is Vermont Maple Cookies, a soft delicacy which the family seems to enjoy. I am not a chocolate lover, but I will try a frosted chocolate drop cookie from the same recipe collection as the butterscotch dessert cookie.

After Thanksgiving Plans

This is Nate soaking up the sun Thanksgiving Day..NOT IN OHIO.

There is by a brand new author, Kathryn Stockett, who has zoomed to #1 in the New York Times bestseller list. I haven't been able to put down this book once I opened it. It is called .The Help I hope you can get it and that you will enjoy it as much as I do.


We have booked the Hilton Head beach house for next Thanksgiving. There will be more than twenty of us. We planned it on Thursday and everyone is making plans to have five or seven fun filled days together. Life is good!

I am almost finished with the book Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle. I liked it very much. I ordered Dorie Greenspan's new book, Around My French Table. It is a BIG, heavy book. I am going through each of the 530 pages of this book because I recognize many of the places in Paris that she mentions. She entertains a lot so I enjoy her descriptions of these get-togethers while comparing it to my experience of feeding the French Bisquick...well, not just Bisquick, but it was my crowning glory. I've been to London and Paris over one hundred times but have not been back to either since 2005. I don't miss it. Usually, when I am done, I am done, rarely looking back.

This week it is Thanksgiving and I have fewer than twenty people to enjoy. Probably eighteen or so. I'll do two turkeys, one to cut up for the guests to take home, and one to accompany the standing rib roast slashed with garlic, red wine, olive oil, fresh herbs, resting in the frig for two or three days before roasting at a high temperature to a medium rare condition. I am blessed with relatives bringing sides and pies, but I can't resist adding to the groaning table. The guests come around 1:00 for starters and drinks. About an hour later they can select from four different soups or stews, salads, and crusty breads of various kinds. Around 6:00 we light the candles and sit down to pretty tables to enjoy the feast, good wine, and fine desserts. It all ends around 10:00 pm and I am done! I am so blessed with nieces who whip the kitchen and dining room back to pre-eating conditon. They are fast and efficient and they are greatly appreciated. I must mention too, the guys, George, who is the master carver, and Joe Firetag who makes the best Bloody Mary's I have ever tasted. Tom and the rest of the guys are famous for eating... a lot. The car carvan leaves for Cincinnati and some of our boys go to work. It is a full and happy life, when you play the cards that are dealt you. Thank God.

Giant Eagle's New Market District Mega Store. It's a WOW.

Matt, our grandson, told me about this brand new mega Giant Eagle in the Upper Arlington district of Columbus. Kingsdale Shopping center has an all new glorious look and the star of the center is the New Giant Eagle. Someone said it is the biggest grocery store in Ohio--they also said the nation, but I have yet to see that in print. There is a lot of parking and a lot of people but there are golf carts to take you to and from this market, so the distance is not arduous. I was so impressed not only with the size, but the great prices, so unlike Whole Foods which I once adored until the prices simply made me mad. We could afford the prices, but it just makes me burn to see an Heirloom tomato, ONE, for four dollars. Now that is insane! I didn't need a thing but I wanted to check it out and Matt was eager to go see it too. We were wowed! (I ended up spending a lot because I could not resist the great olive oil section where the different kinds were on tap for tasting and then bottled to your specification for $7. a bottle--for olive oil! They had the same thing for vinegars as well.) I shopped like a crazed woman. Naturally, they had their best staff borrowed from all over Ohio there to start the ball rolling. Everyone was friendly and helpful and I know that won't last once the super staff leaves it to the locals. But enjoy it while you can and early on while the prices are still low. I was stunned by the cheese section, the wine area, the prepared foods departments, the demonstrations of how to cook and what to use, their cooking utensils and tableware, their fabulous meat and fish showcases and deals, like buy one whole chicken and get one free. Their meatball selections were delicious and I bought two different kinds to try on the Thanksgiving crowd. If you are coming to Columbus any time soon, be sure to make a few hours to visit this fantastic store in all of its glory. We are going back as soon as we use up all of the food I have bought this week. I can hardly get the frig door shut and the pantries are groaning and the freezers are full. The picture of the sprouts is because I bought it at the big store and they were showing how to prepare them, although I already knew how to do them because I love this vegetable. When we got home I discover we have these stalks growing like weeds in one of our gardens and we will have to eat brussel sprouts morning noon and night to use them up...or at least I will. Have fun at the store.

Giant Eagle Market District
Columbus, United States Food Specialty Food Health Markets Columbus, United States Food Grocery Health Markets, Grocery
3070 Kingsdale Ctr
Columbus
Here are some on-line comments from shoppers about the new mega Giant Eagle Market District store in Upper Arlington at the old Kingsdale shopping center (which, by the way, has all news stores and a face lift in progress.)

There has been much hub bub about the opening of the new Giant Eagle Market District. Many have said it's like Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati/Whole Foods/Giant Eagle rolled into one. We went about 9pm on a Saturday to check it out. It was still pretty crowded. We perused their produce section and picked up the things we needed to refill for the coming week. We checked out the bakery, sweet section, hot and cold bars, creperie, massive meat and fish section, a cheese section that would clog your bowels for years, the olive oil station, bulk spices, make your own nut butters and even wine section. It was dizzying. However not as dizzying as Jungle Jim's. Jungle Jim's is like 6 football fields, this isn't. It's like they put all the extras of Whole Foods on one side and a regular Giant Eagle on the other. Big? Yes. Gargantuan? No. Just bigger than your used to in a regular grocery store. The only part that slightly resembled Jungle Jim's was the wine section and the shelving in the international section.

Columbus, OH

store on mega steroids. Located in Upper Arlington, OH the public demonstration kitchen has already hosted "Man vs. Food" and my family three times in its' first five days of life. Made to order meal choices include subs, pizza, ribs, sushi, chicken, smoothies, and an endless salad bar- made to order tossed salads are also available. This store includes one of the ten best wine stores I've visited and the number 1 cheese store I have seen. Some 200 yards east of the wine is an Ohio State medical center quick serve location, operated by a nurse practitioner. Parking lot shuttle service is available for those that are forced to park more than a Jack Nicklaus long drive away.
This location is worthy of a married couple date night and perfect to help kill 2 hours of a quiet fall day.

I walked in and kinda had a panic attack. MD is so big, and it was packed with so many people that they actually offered a shuttle service to transport shoppers from far away parking lots. Seriously. But the mister convinced me to stay, and soon I was meandering through the produce section for over an hour. The produce here is effing awesome! I'm totally a produce junkie, and this place was my crack. I've already called Promises and told them to make space for me in Lindsey Lohan's room.

For the rest of my review, I'm going to make three lists: one to show the different areas of MD, one for the things I loved at MD, and one for my wishes at MD.

Layout
* Produce: larger than Whole Foods, some local and some not, some organic and some not
* Bulks: nuts, seeds, rice, candy, spices, etc.
* Ready-mades: amazing-looking dinners, yummy gelato, soups, etc.
* Bakery: omg! delicious-looking pies, pastries, and breads, and everything is made in-house!
* Seafood/Meats: I'm not really a meat person, but it looked like everything you could ever want!
* Ethnics: more than just one aisle! Way to go!
* Dairy: cheese heaven, and they have Snowville Creamery milk!
* Everything else: yep, they have all that other regular stuff too!

My Favs
* Cheap bulk spices
* Produce!!!
* Cheeses
* Fresh cashew butter (and almond and peanut)
* Organics and naturals - they really focused on local Ohio stuff and natural ingredients like Boylan's sodas, agave nectar, and Snoville Creamery!
* Bakery - this was super impressive

10/28/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I'm a deal grabbin', coupon clippin', sale searchin', scratch cookin', vegetarian eatin', spreadsheet lovin' kind of gal with southern values and upscale taste. Yeah, I know! This is precisely why Market District is the one for me!

MD has all the Giant Eagle selection and deals while also providing the specialty items I normally have to go to Whole Foods to find. Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck), it was nice knowing ya! I fill my cart with amazing deals (I saved over 50% on my grocery bill in 2009 by shopping sales and clipping coupons!!!), and score on those items that really make a meal special like high quality olive oil and vegetable rennet cheese.

I'll still pop into Rife's and frequent the local farmers' markets in the growing season, but I now have no reason to shop anywhere else for groceries! I am wowed! MD is fabulous!

There were a couple of negative reviews out of ten shown, but I left those out--there are always negatives no matter what anyone tries to acconmplish. This is a great store and we are lucky to have it in Columbus.

Thanksgiving 2010 Love November

I have always cooked for a crowd for Thanksgiving since we have lived on Cooke Road. I like cooking BIG. One year I had three ovens going and when the guests left I found one oven with several forgotten dishes which did not get served. Last year I prepared two turkeys and a ham. One turkey was so all of the guests had a bag of turkey to take home for left overs. I am going to do that again this year. One ham with a juicy left over bone will make a nice bean soup once all of the left overs have been enjoyed. I like Falters ham from Carfagna's the best.

The magazine, which has become my favorite, Food and Family from Kraft Foods has so many lovely dishes to prepare this year. Pam and Chee always make the pies for dessert, but since we are having two meals, lunch and late dinner again this year, I am going to whip up one or two items for lunch treats. I have a yearning for Glenda's Hawaiian cake which was the hit of a spring party that I had this year and it lingers in my mind as well, but I have posted that recipe on this blog once before--around June, I think.

For lunch for 24 people I have four soups and stews with crusty breads of different sorts. Before that I have about four starters because once they arrive they are all ravenous and the people here are staggering from the good smells coming from the kitchen and... the bloody Mary's from the drinks stand. I am using my gazpacho made from Andy's garden and frozen for winter use in the bloody Mary's. It is spicy and just right for many uses. Then a tray of desserts such as the pecan bars or a trifle or maybe pumpkin cheesecake. I don't fool with dinner dessert, that belongs to the girls as a tradition. Glenda brings the green bean dish which I have long refused to make (or eat.) Pam will bring a fresh fruit salad. The others have not determined what they are bringing. I hope a sweet potato dish. I like it so much, but have no luck making it to look and taste good at the same time.

For a late dinner it is turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted butternut squash, Mexican monkey bread, brussels sprouts (I can eat them like popcorn...just love them.) Matt's fixing his famous asparagus on the grill, a very large salad with things that are good for us.

I'll be adding and subtracting things as the time draws near, so stay tuned.

Let's start with a simple beginning and one that I had last year and they seemed to enjoy: Easy-five step Mexican dip.

1/2 lb. (8oz) Velveeta cheese cut into cubes
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp, ground cumin
1 tomato, chopped

Combine all except tomatoes and microwave on high 4 min. or until blended. When melted, stir in tomatoes. Serve warm with tortilla chips or toasted bread fingers.

Then, my stand by from forty-five years ago from my maid of honor, the cheese ball with dried beef, or other dried meat, green onions, this and that rolled into a ball and rolled again in parsley and strips of meat like ham or pastrami. Have you tried the new Triskets made with roasted sun dried tomatoes etc. They are full of flavor and good well with this put-in-everything-you- like cheese ball.

Okay. I'll add more as I decide.

October CAN Be Fun!

Andy and I, along with sixteen to twenty family members had a wonderful, memorable October. On the 11th we drove to Cincinnati and picked up Andy's brother, Joe, and his wife, Glenda. We drove to Hilton Head to a beach house with six bedrooms and seven full baths and several powder rooms. There was a pool and with just a few steps we were on a white sand private beach...at least it seemed private at that time of year. It was in the high eighties all week and no rain, no clouds, no humidity and NO CROWDS. (I would not like it there in the heat of summer with the traffic and the crowds.) This was perfect and I got a great tan to boot even though I cooked every meal except breakfasts. Everything is hidden in the Plantations of Hilton Head. Palm trees and peek-a-boo foliage hide the shops and stores so that you have to really want to buy food to find the stores, and, have you ever heard of a place like that that does not have a whole ham to buy??? Not one place provided an entire ham and I was cooking for over twenty family and guests one evening. So, I bought the biggest half ham I could find and two of those small pork loins marinated in luscious liquids and spices and they turned out to be the hit of the evening, although they liked it all and ate it all.

We actually arrived on Tuesday having spent the night on the road. Everyone else was making it in one eleven hour driving session. (We, however, drove straight through from Florida on the way home which was at least fourteen hours for poor Andy.) So there were sixteen when they all finally arrived staying at the house, with various friends and family members coming each night for dinner. From home, prepared for the first night, I had a spicy lasagna so big I could hardly lift it frozen. I made and froze two kinds of soups, a pasta soup and one that I call hot stuff which is eaten with Scoops. I can never give a recipe for soups because they are made differently every time. After sticking the lasagna in the oven (it had ridden in ice perfectly) we started looking for stores. We went to three different places and our Escalade was packed with food, drink, and happy women. Oh, the din, when we all get to wagging our tongues. Those who did not go shopping had rented bikes for the week and were investigating the area. (Joe's family has been going to Hilton Head in July for years.) HOT, HOT, HOT, they admitted. We ate hot stuff with our drinks and icy beers. Then we had the lasagna with garlic bread and salad. Those men like to eat!

The next day, Wednesday, we were on the beach all day with everyone eating left over lasagna or sandwiches of their own making. Before I left for the beach I got the slow cooker perking with beef stew with red wine sauce, onions, carrots, potatoes and all the fresh herbs I could lay my hands on. Eight hours later, with crusty bread and a crisp salad there was dinner.

Thursday was an all day event on the base called family day. I elected to stay home and cook for the twenty or more guests coming that evening. I had plenty of time in between to sit in the sun, walk the beach, and read...no dogs, no hoopla, peace. Around 3:00 the first tired group got back, starved and elated at seeing the new Marine, Andrew. Boot camp hadn't killed him after all! They took a swim, made drinks and ate the French baguette slices rubbed with raw garlic, and rubbed with a sliced open tomato then topped with a bit of olive oil and finished with Kosher salt. There was a big cheese and fruit platter to nibble as well. The crowd started arriving after five and there went the cheese ball, the tray of cheese and fruit, and the bruschetta. Not to mention the nuts, olives and other sides. Finally, with drinks in hand they gazed at the ham, the pork, the scalloped potatoes with vegetables in cream sauce, the homemade pasta soup, the salad and so they set-to with gusto. Glenda had made brownies and we topped those with ice cream.

Every morning Tom, Mary Susan's husband, fixed a big breakfast. So for lunch on Friday, the day of the graduation, I made the ham and cheese and mustard in puff pastry. We had two big trays of that. I had none of it, but it was gone in a flash. We played cards by the pool every chance we got. It was lovely. That night I made a pasta sauce from the left over hot stuff and a jar of Carfagna's famous pasta sauce and heaped it on a big dish of pasta. The guys grilled steaks, brats and hamburgers.

On Saturday we shopped at the Salty Dog area for tee shirts because on Sunday we, the four of us who had ridden down together, left to visit our son and his family in Florida. I can't remember Saturdays meals, but they enjoyed them. I guess we emptied two refrigerators. (This kitchen, like mine, has two of everything.) Oh, yes, we had a slow cooker of bean soup with the ham bone from the other evening.

The graduation ceremony on Friday on Parris Island where they turn out 500 new Marines every week, 20,000 a year, was moving to say the least.

Florida did not disappoint us in any way either. We had three days to tour the area, make plans for Thanksgivings to come (next year at the beach house on Hilton Head), and to watch J.D., our newest teenager, play baseball. He's an all star. Loved it all and loved the people we were with at all times.

Along with all of that fun, Ina Garten's new cookbook, Barefoot Contessa...how easy is that? came to my house today. This woman REALLY tests the recipes and there is no cause for failure. Now that she has toned down the giggling, I love to watch her cooking shows. She also has a new series showing these recipes from her new book. October is fun after all.

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.