Clean and Dump Day

April has always been a big month for me. Andy and I got married on April 4th fifty-two years ago and a year later our first child was born on April 29th. It has been a month of good ideas and good luck for me since I can remember.

Aprils are a bit tamer now and thoughts of opening the pool, setting out the outdoor furniture, and the constant update of table umbrellas fill the mind. Today Matt and Nate are taking on the April chores before Nate leaves, tomorrow, for a spring break where it is warm and friendly. We have a dumpster at the ready and today is a total clean and dump day in preparation for spring, graduations, and a special party on May 29th. Donatos (pizza) is on the menu today.

Things start off in the living room where we are dumping the two couches and the area rug...and off we go. From the attic to the apartment it is clean and trash, hopefully all day (if they want to get paid.) Wish me luck.

Is Food in Retro Mode?

Have you tried the Kraft Food and Family magazines yet? The only problem I have found is that they don't come monthly--they seem to sputter and it takes months and months to receive the first copy after registering. It isn't like the issue is big in any way, but the recipes are doable and the pictures are splendid.I first found copies at my sister-in-laws just before our Alaskan trip. As soon as I got home I subscribed and months later my first issue came and then months later the next etc. So maybe its a quarterly, but I am receiving them now because my niece made a gift of a subscription which was nice and that was months ago too. I've received two at once, so far. It seems the company needs to work out the kinks in this area. The slim issue introduced a new Philadelphia cooking creme. These items include: Italian cheese and herb, savory garlic, original, Santa Fe blend each in its own little tub. They add creaminess to any dish that needs a silky goodness. How about using it in the old fashioned creamy tuna noodle casserole? How long has it been since we have made this dish?

You need:
1 tub Philadelphia original cooking creme
2 cups cooked egg noodles
2 cans chunk light tuna in water, drained and flaked--I'd use the one in olive oil
1 cup frozen peas
sliced mushrooms
8 Ritz crackers crushed
1 tbsp. butter melted.
Oven 350
combine first 5 ingredients in a 1 1/2-qt. casserole; cover
bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile mix cracker crumbs and soft butter.
Stir casserole; top with crumbs and bake 5 more minutes until topping is golden brown.

I've noticed too the re emergence of the wedge salad. I cannot believe in the fancy restaurants in Florida that they offer this for a grand price. To me iceberg lettuce is totally tasteless (in more ways than one) yet people who are even picky about food, like one son, gobble this up with gusto. Go figure. The magazine shows how to whack the head of lettuce to de core it: Grasp the head of lettuce with both hands, core facing the counter, hit the bottom firmly against the counter, twist and pull the loosened core out of the head of lettuce. Then cut into thick, tasteless, wedges. Dress it with what ever floats your boat to give this thing flavor. The magazine used Kraft Catalina dressing, bacon crumbled after crisp frying, crumbled Feta cheese, chopped red onion. Well, good luck with that one. The magazine's, spring edition, had a nice little cook book with the recipes for all of the tubs of creamy goodness.

Remember in the Florida blog I carped about the Contemporary Hotel's Contempo Cafe? I wrote to the powers of Disney World to warn them trouble would be afoot if they did not straighten up that awful place to 'dine'. I heard from Disney World and 'they' are investigating that place and will let me know their findings. I forgot to tell you about their carrot cake? It was disgusting: a half- inch of dry cake (if that) in a cup, with an inch and a half (or more)of super glue icing. No one I know could or would eat that. Their so called Tuscan flatbread with marinated beef and feta cheese gagged me. What in the world did they marinate that beef in...mouse droppings?

Now here's a carrot cake (from Cook's Corner, Columbus Dispatch)

Cake:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3 cups shredded carrots (what a blessing to have them pre shredded in the store's bags)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups chopped nuts
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

Topping:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk (I questioned this because buttermilk is known to separate when heated--Robin Davis of Cook's Corner said she did not know this.) I plan to use cream instead.)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Cake: mix all cake ingredients together well. Pour into tube pan. Bake 1 hour in and 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350.

Topping:
Cook all sauce ingredients in a pan until sugar dissolves. Boil 2 to 3 minutes. Pour over hot cake.

For Saturday lunch I fixed pasta with turkey meatballs that had carrots, aperagus tips, onions, bread crumbs, eggs...the usual with the unusual.

Meaty cookbook---for $625.

Call me if you buy this 2,400 page modernist cuisine cookbook. The title is Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking and it arrived last Monday! But not to my house. Amazon already has it on sale for $467.62. It weighs 49 pounds in a five- volume package. It all started with a Microsoft millionaire, Nathan Myhrvold who loves science and cooking and the combined science of the two. At one time 36 people worked with him on this project without a pesky publisher telling him to cut back on the number of pages and pictures. This guy had the money and proved it with a technically inspired behemoth of a cookbook! He is keenly interested in food and what makes it taste and look good. Sometimes, I simply want to cook it and eat it and I don't care what makes it come out the way it does. (I make trash ,too, and want it gone but I don't care to see the dump.) But, good for him. Modernist Cuisine delves most deeply into a realm of cooking called molecular gastronomy, the study of the physical and chemical processes that occur in cooking. Sounds yummy! But no thanks. This set might be excellent text books for the culinary arts.

When I traveled to London many times a year I always looked forward to the week end, Saturday afternoons, maybe Sundays, when Nigella Lawson would cook on TV. She is a beauty who has an easy gait in the kitchen and who loves to eat at all hours of the day and night. If she rides in a cab, you can be sure a sandwich is tucked in her purse, just in case. She is on TV in America too, at odd times on the food network. I never get to see her any more because of the changing (times) schedule which she is offered in the USA. This marble cake recipe is adapted from Feast by Nigella Lawson. She is not a complicated cook and she offers simple, reasonable, recipes with nary a mention of molecular gastronomy yet I bet she knows all about the subject.

Marble Cake:
1 1/2 sticks of soft unsalted butter
1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp.baking powder
zest of 1 orange, plus 3 tbs. of its juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 tbs. milk
Makes about 20 slices (and Nigella could eat them all in one day.) LOL
Preheat oven to 350
Generously grease a 9-inch pan or rind mold.
Place butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, baking powder and orange zest into the bowl of a food processor and whiz until combined. With a spatula, scrape sides of bowl, the add orange juice and vanilla and whiz until just combined. Spoon batter out of processor and divide between two bowls. In another small bowl, combine cocoa and espresso, whisking in milk until creamy. Fold this mixture into one of the cake batter bowls; color will darken. Pour batter into greased pan, alternating between dark and light batters.
Bake 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes before inverting.

See, it can be done without a mention of culinary movements through history, microbiology in the kitchen or the physics of food and water. Just mix it in a bowl, put it in a pan, bake it, eat it.


Lemon drizzle cake (the English have such wonderful names for things)

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
6 ounces sugar
5 ounces soft butter or margarine
1 lemon, grated zest only
6 ounces super-sifted self-raising flour
4 ounces milk
pinch of sea salt
***For the lemon syrup:***
5 ounces icing sugar
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line the bottom of a well-oiled (9 x 5 x 3in) loaf tin with baking parchment. Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl of the food processor and process for 2 minutes, scraping the sides down once with a rubber spatula. Take off the lid and drop spoonfuls of the soft butter or margarine on top of this mixture, together with the lemon zest, then pulse just until it disappears. The mixture should now resemble mayonnaise. Add the flour, milk and salt, cover and pulse just until the mixture is smooth in texture and even in colour, scraping the sides down with a rubber spatula if necessary. Do not over-beat or the cake will be tough. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and stand the tin on a cooling rack. To make the syrup, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, stirring until a clear syrup is formed, about 3 minutes. Do not boil. Prick the warm cake all over with a fork, then gently pour the syrup over it, until it has been completely absorbed. Leave until cool, then carefully ease the cake from the baking tin and remove the baking parchment. Just before serving, sift a little more icing sugar on the top. Serve in generous slices.

Sunday Oldies, But Still Good

I had not heard of German meatloaf and when the recipe appeared in Cook's Corner from a respected and generous recipe 'offer er', one who seemed to get every recipe he sent in published, I thought it might be a really interesting loaf to try. If you like sauerkraut and my husband, who is German through and through, does. This is from Classic Corner, recipes from ten years ago repeated.

German Meatloaf

2 cups soft unseeded rye bread crumbs
16 ounces of well drained sauerkraut
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce
2 pounds ground beef (I used chuck)

Heat oven to 350
Line a 13x9 inch pan with foil, insert a rack
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the meat. Mix well. Add the meat and mix thoroughly, but lightly.
Pat into a thick flat loaf abut 10 inches long. Place on rack in prepared pan. Bake 75 minutes or until nicely browned. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. I did not bake it that long, but I have a convection oven which bakes quickly.

English Trifle

1 recipe Vanilla Pudding Sauce, cooled (recipe follows)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
2 tablespoons red raspberry preserves
1 (10 inch) round sponge or white cake
¼ cup dark Puerto Rican rum, optional
¼ cup dry sherry
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
Fresh raspberries for garnish (use any fruit you like)


Carefully combine cooled Vanilla Pudding Sauce with 1 cup whipped cream. Coat the inside of a deep 10-inch glass bowl with raspberry preserves to within 1 inch of top. Slice cake horizontally into fourths. Place top slice, crust side up, in bottom of bowl, curving edges of cake upward. Combine rum and sherry; sprinkle about 2 tablespoons over cake slice. Spread 1/3 of chilled pudding mixture over cake. Sprinkle 1/3 of raspberries over pudding. Repeat procedure twice. Cover with remaining cake layer, crust side down. Sprinkle with remaining rum-sherry mixture. Place remaining whipped cream in pastry bag with fluted tip; pipe rosettes around edge of bowl and in center. Top with fresh raspberries. Chill at least 8 hours before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Vanilla Pudding Sauce

¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 (3 inch) piece vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons butter or margarine


In heavy saucepan, blend sugar, cornstarch and salt; add milk and vanilla bean; blend well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly; continue cooking 2 minutes. Stir small amount of hot mixture into beaten egg, return to pan and cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and remove vanilla bean; add butter and stir to blend. Chill thoroughly, covering top with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming.




When Andy and I were just married Battelle sent Andy to California to work on the Minute Man Rockets. We left for California right after the wedding reception and each week end we were there we did something special. We saw it, tasted it, and were pleased about everything in California except for the smog, which was vicious. One night we went to Lawry's for prime rib and I still remember it today with fondness. The meat was so delicious and so tender you could cut it with a fork. We kept eating and drinking and eating and drinking, but then the open freeway was ahead of us. Columbus had not seen the freeways yet and we faced six lanes of highway with crazy drivers while we were a bit tipsy. It was dangerous and foolish as I look back now, but it fades with the memory of Lawry's prime rib.(Lawrey's also sold packets of spaghetti sauce to grocery stores years ago and I loved that taste on pasta, but now those seem to have disappeared.)

Lawry's Prime Rib Roast

1 (4 rib) standing rib roast
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 bag (5 lb.) rock salt


Sprinkle fatty cap of roast with Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Spread rock salt evenly over bottom of heavy roasting pan; place wire roasting rack on top of salt. Place the roast on the rack, fatty side up. Make sure no salt actually touches the beef. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of meat, making sure it does not touch a bone. Roast in preheated 350 degree F oven until thermometer registers 130 degrees F for rare, 140 degrees F for medium, or approximately 20 to 25 minutes per pound. Remove from oven and let stand 20 minutes before carving. Using a sharp carving knife, slice meat across the grain for serving. Discard rock salt.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: If desired, use an instant read thermometer and insert to test internal temperature periodically; do not leave this type of thermometer in roast.

Lawry's Whipped Cream Horseradish

1 cup whipping cream
¼ teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, well drained, or 4 tablespoons finely grated fresh horseradish root
Dash Tabasco sauce


Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in Lawry's Seasoned Salt, horseradish and Tabasco until well mixed.

Makes 6 servings.

What are you reading?

Nancy Drew taught me to read. I had never heard the word phonics until I went to Otterbein College. Back then we learned by seeing and memory and repetition, by rote. That method served me well and so I taught a mixture of the two. If one didn't work, certainly the other would help out. Once I caught wind of Nancy Drew's adventures, I never looked back. I was and am a reader. One time I told a reading teacher how I got started reading and her question was...are you still reading trash? Well, yes, I guess I am and I am enjoying every minute of it. Now I am reacquainted with James Patterson. I had read all the books that he wrote himself but I did not care for the ones with co-writers (which is rarely a good idea anyway, in my opinion.) But, never say never, so I met his other works on vacation and read three of his back novels and got Andy hooked as well.(I just finished Private. Could hardly put it down.) I also read The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore which grounded me after three books of killings and mayhem. The French Gardener is a slow quiet read that put me in mind of being young with a long hot summer day stretching endlessly. Those days seem to happen more rarely now.

Have you seen the book Monet's Table?It's the cooking journals of Claude Monet with wonderful pictures of his home and various scenes. His stuffed onions are pictured here and I have made his recipe except I used Georgia's vidalia onions. Pretty soon we can have these outdoor meals like Claude and I am sure he would be pleased with his recipe using our vidalia onions even though he was a cranky old sort.

Monet's Stuffed Onions
1 cup cooked roast pork, chicken or calves'liver
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs
1/2 cup rated Gruyere cheese
1 hard boiled egg

Cut 1/2 inch slices off the tops of the onions. Blanch the onions, by putting them into boiling water to cover and cooking for 30 minutes. Drain and cool. Scoop out the center of each, leaving about a 1/2 inch wall. Combine the ground cooked meat with the chives, dried herbs, half the cheese. Mash the egg yolk and chop the white;combine them with the rest of the mixture and stuff the onions. Mound the mixture because it sinks a bit. Preheat oven to 350, place onions in a greased roasting pan and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.


I found this Fougasse (Provencal Bread with Olives & Herbs) on the web site of The Hungry Mouse several months ago. She has step by step pictures of how to make this easy bread. Her recipe was adapted from Saveur magazine. I have made it and it is rustic and delicious.
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/3 cups water warm enough to wash your hands but not too hot to ruin the yeast
Mix together in the mixer to make sure the yeast is good.
Add 4 1/2 cups of flour to the above mix and use the dough hook to knead it for a few minutes.
Pick up the dough and round it off in your hands...it should not be sticky.
Put olive oil in a bowl and roll the dough to coat and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.
While that is rising cut up your olives and herbs. You can use most anything.
1/2 cup kalamata olives, minced
1/4 cup green olives, minced
2 tbsp. parsley, minced
2 tbsp. thyme, minced
1 tbsp. rosemary, minced
You can use dried but I happened to have fresh. Also, she did not put any herbs actually in the dough, but I did, so I will let you know if I ruined it. (It is difficult to ruin bread, however.)
Kosher or sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper.
Put risen bread on board and divide it into five wedges.
Roll each wedge to 8" long 5" wide, or about so. It is a rustic bread, so let yourself go.
Make four or five decorative slits in each rolled out wedge.
Prepare 3 parchment lined jelly roll pans. (2 per pan, I should think.)
Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs and olives. Be generous.
Cover again with greased plastic wrap for 30 minutes on the pans.
Bake 15 minutes or until golden at 500 degrees. Scrumptious. (This bread looks and tastes like it could be on Monet's table shown above.)

Sundays In Florida

Southern Florida was in the eighties all the time we were there. It was heaven for these old bodies, soaking up the sun and tanning in February. I thought this too would be a perfect time to spend five days in Disney World with David and his wife and son. I thought there would be fewer people and not so many children. THINK AGAIN. Are they EVER in school? Evidently all the children there either skipped school or were on spring vacation. Nevertheless, we had a lovely time and the weather was in the high seventies in that spot. Once David arrived Andy would have he and J.D. and sometimes Johnna to run with while I continued to store up vitamin C. (I also read four novels.) A hint here is to not go to Disney for the food. Since there were five of us we bought the meal plan. We didn't go hungry, but SKIP CONTEMPO CAFE at the Contemporary Hotel on the grounds of Disney. The food is ineatable. I mean gaggingly bad. It is a waste of food points. At the Wave we did have nice steak in red wine sauce as pictured. I think Disney figures they cater to children and there is no need for fine dining.

I did get a fabulous idea. When I ordered creme brulee I received this lovely dish with a length wise slice of banana with demerara sugar (partially refined raw cane sugar, naturally light brown in color from the molasses)on the cut side and it had been torched like the creme brulee so that the sugar was crisp and crackly. It is a beautiful presentation and a good trim and tasty idea for a dish.

When I taught school we had a cooking class every Monday. The children learned to cook and to do fractions at the same time. We loved that time together and my former students still comment about that aspect of our time together as well as the afternoon 'read'. I read to them every day after lunch while they digested their school lunch and their love for future reading at the same time. Loved it!

Have you seen Williams-Sonoma's filled-pancake pan? I bought one a couple of years ago when it was $29., now it is $39.95. I am not fond of one purpose kitchen gear, but this one is fun to surprise family and friends with little pockets of pleasure on a Sunday morning at the beach. Williams-Sonoma offers the mix for these little jewels and adds if you have the can of pancake mix all you have to add is milk, butter, eggs, and the filling of your choice...duh! What else is there to add but the flour? So you are paying $10.50 for 1 lb. 3 oz. of flour. I'd like another pan to work at the same time, but I don't think I could stay on top of a second pan. It is a fast process. After the mix is made (you can use bisquick or any pancake concoction you like) you spoon the mix into each of the seven indented rounds in the skillet. Once you are certain the bottom is cooked, quickly add your favorite surprise for the middle, chocolate (chips or other), apple, jams, cinnamon, nuts berries, the list is endless. I use skewers to immediately flip the tasty buns (over), to cook the other side. Never walk away. These things are done in a flash and you need a flash because they are popped into some one's mouth right out of the pan. If you have time, offer various sugars, melted chocolate or carmel sauce or your own berry sauces or syrups. Sonoma offers turning tools for $12.95. Don't fall for that one either.

Pina Coladas (not from a mix)
Crushed pineapple from a can with its juice in a blender with ice, a can of cream of coconut, and lots of dark rum. Pour it in glasses after a good whirl and pop on a pineapple wedge from a fresh golden pineapple( because it has the most intense flavor.)
Note:Idea from the Smitten Kitchen

Sunday Sun Ahhhhhhhhhh

Before taking off for the sun drenched beaches and yes, Disney World, I continued to dig up former television cooking teachers. Today I received two more of Nathalie Dupree's cookbooks, and boy is she southern... but not so irritating as some southern TV cooks who over use y'all. (Drives me nuts!) The south is deep in her bones with all of its warm and cozy traditions and recipes. Listed with her books was a southern Mary Mac's Tea Room book that sounded enticing. I found some interesting recipes to try like blackberry jam cake with caramel icing, pecan pie muffins, black eyed pea cakes, and sweet potato souffle. (note the pictures) This tea room opened in the 1940's and is still in operation with different owners.

Madeleine Kamman was also a TV cooking star. She was or is French and loved her food and enjoyed preparing it for her vast family. When French Women Cook is her large and helpful cookbook. It is still available, but I've had mine for years. Madeleine loved American whiskey, I think it was Johnny Walker that she enjoyed giggling about as she prepared the most scrumptious down to earth French dishes under the hot lights of TV. One soup she called garbage soup was made from left overs in the frig or those items about to make a turn for the worse. A little neighbor boy came over and she asked him if he would like a bowl of garbage soup and he said no madam, I am not allowed to eat garbage.

The beach reading that I intend to do is Michael Palmer's newest medical thriller A Heartbeat Away. I've started it and can hardly put it down. I've read all of his books that he writes alone and have hooked Andy on them as well.

We are meeting family at Disney World. We will be there a few days and they will be with us three days and nights. Before that we are shopping the coast for a place to perhaps buy to invited family and friends for long periods of time, but keeping our home here. This Columbus house will be full while we are gone day and night because Matt and Nate are still in classes at various hours and someone familiar must watch Posy, Winston, and Bella. The police are on alert as well. One cannot be too careful in this day and age.

Every three years, or so, I call Mike Clum, a fabulous down-to-earth and honest, auctioneer in Rushville, Ohio to come to get a load of what I don't need and no longer enjoy. Yesterday was one of those days. Somehow I feel lighter and more free every time he pulls out of the driveway with a load of goodies for someone else to enjoy. Another thing about him that no other auctioneer that I know does, the check is in the mail the day after the auction. His wife stays up all night the day of the auction and accurately makes out each and every check. It is a wonderful, honest practice when someone does not keep your money in order to make more money for themselves. His commissions are fair as well and our items are well cared for as he makes the best possible choice of sales in which to put the things.

Pecan Pie Muffins from Mary Mac's Tea Room (I wrote three recipes from Mary Mac's and then the computer went out and they were lost in space. Get on line and google Mary Mac's Tea Room. There is no need to buy the book.)

1 cup chopped pecans
1 tbs. butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 tbs. butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 300°. Mix 1 tbs. melted butter with chopped pecans and spread on baking sheet in even layer. Toast pecans for 3 to 4 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350°.

In large bowl mix together brown sugar, flour, and chopped pecans. Stir thoroughly and then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the remaining 8 tbs. of melted butter and the eggs. Stir with wooden spoon until mixture is well mixed and all dry ingredients are wet.

Line a 6 cup muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spray with cooking spray. Fill each cup about 3/4 full with mixture. Place in 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of muffins are lightly browned. Remove immediately from pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

Sunday Bread
I found this Fougasse (Provencal Bread with Olives & Herbs) on the web site of The Hungry Mouse several months ago. She has step by step pictures of how to make this easy bread. Her recipe was adapted from Saveur magazine. I have made it and it is rustic and delicious.
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/3 cups water warm enough to wash your hands but not too hot to ruin the yeast
Mix together in the mixer to make sure the yeast is good.
Add 4 1/2 cups of flour to the above mix and use the dough hook to knead it for a few minutes.
Pick up the dough and round it off in your hands...it should not be sticky.
Put olive oil in a bowl and roll the dough to coat and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.
While that is rising cut up your olives and herbs. You can use most anything.
1/2 cup kalamata olives, minced
1/4 cup green olives, minced
2 tbsp. parsley, minced
2 tbsp. thyme, minced
1 tbsp. rosemary, minced
You can use dried but I happened to have fresh. Also, she did not put any herbs actually in the dough, but I did, so I will let you know if I ruined it. (It is difficult to ruin bread, however.)
Kosher or sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper.
Put risen bread on board and divide it into five wedges.
Roll each wedge to 8" long 5" wide, or about so. It is a rustic bread, so let yourself go.
Make four or five decorative slits in each rolled out wedge.
Prepare 3 parchment lined jelly roll pans. (2 per pan, I should think.)
Brush dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs and olives. Be generous.
Cover again with greased plastic wrap for 30 minutes on the pans.
Bake 15 minutes or until golden at 500 degrees. Scrumptious.

These two recipes should keep you busy until I get back.

Comfort Me with Potatoes...and Flowers

You can have your chocolate and sweets, just comfort me with potatoes. There is not one style that I will refuse, I am simply enamored with potatoes. I am fighting the flu, since Nate and Matt both have it, and I do not need that experience since we are leaving on a trip in the near future. So... I pulled out my trusty bag of Yukon Gold and prepared roasted potato slices with herbs, sea salt, and pepper. When I get old and cranky I hope someone will remind my care givers that I can be soothed with anything potato.

Is there an all potato cookbook? I have hundreds, yet I have yet to see one that is all on my favorite food subject. I am sure there is one or two. I am going to look up all of my favorite ways to produce a potato dish and I hope you will share yours with us as well. I'll keep adding to this post as I find something delicious (and while I nibble on my roasted potato slices.)


What ever happened to Nathalie Dupree? She had a cooking show on public television years before the Food Network and she was so gracious and so in love with cooking good food. I have not heard a word about her for years. I am going to give you her recipe for potatoes Anna. I first made this dish while watching one of Martha Stewart's videos. While she was pouring on the butter, between each layer mind you, she was trying to convince us that it was not fattening. It was seriously good, but you can imagine how thunder thighs could increase after one helping, according to Martha's recipe. Nathalie's is just a bit more sensible even though she is a southern gal who likes her butter too.

POTATOES ANNA

1/2 c. soft butter
2 lbs. (about 5 c.) Idaho potatoes, pared and thinly sliced
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With 3 tablespoons butter, grease an iron skillet. Dry potato slices.
Gently toss potatoes with salt and pepper. Layer a third of potato slices, circular fashion, around bottom and side of skillet. Dot with butter or pour melted butter over the layer and each layer after that. Repeat twice or as many times as you have potatoes and butter. Remember the bottom will actually be the top once it is inverted, so make the first arrangement pretty and add a sprig of thyme in the middle for added flavor and beauty. The potatoes should be golden brown and crunchy. When inverted it will look like a cake. You slice it like a cake as well.

Another version:

POTATOES ANNA

5 med. Idaho potatoes
1/2 c. butter, melted
Seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

Cut potatoes into thin, even slices. Place in water until ready to bake. Dry thoroughly. Arrange slices in circles, overlapping each slightly to cover bottom of greased pie plate. Sprinkle with seasonings and drizzle with butter. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle remaining butter over top. Bake in 400 degree oven about 45 minutes or until brown and crusty. Invert onto platter; lift off pie plate; cut in wedges to serve.

I looked up Ms. Dupree on the Internet and WOW, she is still active and even ran for senate on a write-in ticket. http://www.nathalie.com/bio.htm She is such an interesting person and cook. Just google her name and have fun reading about her and her eight cookbooks.

Nathalie Dupree's
Southern Memories
Welcome to Nathalie Dupree's South, a place of ladies' luncheons, bake sales, fresh fish dinners, and pit barbecue, where time seems to move a bit more slowly and fresh, flavorful food is an indispensable part of everyday life. For years, PBS host and author Nathalie Dupree has led the renaissance of Southern cooking, bringing the best of the region's fare to the country. Now she recalls the people and the places that have shaped her philosophy of cooking and entertaining in Nathalie Dupree's Southern Memories, the culmination of her lasting love affair with Southern food and Southern living.

For anyone who has longed to step into Nathalie's world as seen on her PBS series, Southern Memories will be as welcome as a cool iced tea on a hot summer day. I've ordered this and another of hers. I'll let you know how they are.

Everyone in the family gets this when they are feeling poorly.
Potato Leek Soup Recipe
Ingredients
3 large leeks, cut lengthwise, separate, clean. Use only the white and pale green parts, chop.
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)*
2 lbs potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Marjoram - dash
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Tabasco sauce or other red chili sauce
Salt & Pepper
Method
Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover pan, cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check often. Do not brown leeks! Browning will give leeks a burnt taste.

2 Add water, broth, and potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Scoop about half of the soup mixture into a blender, puree and return to pan. Add marjoram, parsley, and thyme. Add a few dashes of chili sauce to taste. Add some freshly ground pepper, 1-2 teaspoons salt or more to taste.

Serves 4-6.

In 1985, a Cincinnati, Ohio woman hit the Ruth Lyons show when Bob Braun (sp.?)took over for Ruth. Her name was Beverly Nye and she became an instant celebrity. She knew how to do everything in a homey way from preparing the pantry for disastrous events, to home making in a grand wifely style. I guess it became too much ado because her great newsletters, which I have all of, and her home made style book, I think there was only one, disappeared and she was heard from no more. She was a dedicated family woman and perhaps she knew when to call it quits and concentrate on her husband, Roy, and the family. Here is her country potato cheese soup.

In a sauce pan, melt: 2 T. butter or margarine

Add: 6 large diced potatoes
2 medium chopped onions
3 stalks chopped celery
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add: 2 c. chicken broth
Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Put mixture in blender and blend to smooth
Return to heat and stir in 1 cup half and half and 2 cups of cheese of your choice--Colby, American, (Brie make sure it is a non- reactive pan or Gruyere, a Swiss cow's milk cheese that melts beautifully)
Heat until cheese is melted. Serves 4, but can be stretched.

I just got on line and found other people looking for this woman. Many people thought she was dead, but someone had this web site, apparently hers, with the following message. (After more searching I found that she did die in 2005. Perhaps her family sells her books.)


Golly, it's been so fun hearing from "old" friends who have just discovered my website. Thank you all for remembering me and recalling memories and recipes from past shows. The world really is full of wonderful people!

My newest book, Year Round Sunshine, is still going strong and is still available by internet or mail. I am so pleased so many of you are enjoying it.

People are asking if my other books are still available. A Family Raised on Rainbows is out of print and I no longer have any. However, I do still have a few copies of my other titles. To place an order simply send check or money order to the address below.

A Family Raised on Sunshine $5.95 plus $3 s&h
Everyone's a Homemaker $7.95 plus $3 s&h
The Best of Beverly $7.95 plus $3 s&h
Year Round Sunshine $24.95 plus $3.50 s&h


Just email me, me@beverlynye.com, or write to:

Bev Nye
1493 West Cornerstone Drive
South Jordan, UT 84095


Well, stay in touch everyone!

Smile Always!

Bev Nye

I am a busy woman, today, digging up the long gone.






http://www.thehungrymouse.com/ The Hungry Mouse says grab your fork and put on your fat pants for this mashed potato dish. This recipe looks wonderful and she pictures it step by step. I like following her blog, too. I am going to try this!

Food For Thought

Food For Thought

This morning, as every morning, I have a three-dog paper- reading, coffee- sipping experience. One puppy in my lap, one at my right hip and one with her head on my shoulder as though she is enjoying Cook's Corner with me. We especially like Wednesday mornings because of this experience. Not as much as we once did, when Cook's Corner was whole, but nice just the same. The economy has caused the down sizing of the once prized section of The Columbus Dispatch and now it is wedged in with gossip, crosswords, advice, and horoscopes. It has lost a bit of panache and some of its best food writers.

This morning the recipe for chocolate bourbon butterscotch souffles evoked a memory of the best souffle I have ever tasted. Never having made one in my entire life, it has been on my bucket list since I first flipped a pancake. Chartres Hotel Best Western Le Grand Monarque, France makes the best souffle I have ever tasted. Their food, actually, ranks up there with the best food in France, but then that is just the opinion of a hungry auction attendee from Ohio. Several times a year I went to, and enjoyed, the Galerie de Chartres an auction house for the very best French dolls and toys. I never collected dolls, but I bought and sold and wrote about a certain doll called Bleuette for six or so years. The auction at Chartres was one of my favorite places to go and Le Grand Monarque was one of my favorite places to stay. Each room was decorated differently and well.

The Grand Marnier (orange liqueur) souffle at Le Grand Monarque tops my scrumptious list. One had to order it before the meal in order for it to be perfect in all of its quivering glory as it was carried to the table with ohhhs and ahaaaas greeting this sweet perfection. I searched the web and there are tons of recipes for Grand Marnier souffles and I bet they can't be that much different from the one I tasted with friends, dealers and collectors in France.

Today I am printing the chocolate bourbon butterscotch souffles which serves eight as shown in this mornings Cook's Corner. This one is different because you can make it a day ahead and pop it in the oven at the last minute, according to instructions which indicate the cold rest helps it hold its fluff and height. Let me know what you think. I am trying it once I get back to sampling sweets , but for now I am content with my memories of the Grand Marnier at Le Grand Monarque.

Chocolate Bourbon Butterscotch Souffles

Butter and sugar to coat the ramekins
6 tablespoons butterscotch sauce from a jar
1/4 cup butter, 1/2 stick
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons water
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Lightly coat the inside of 6 ramekins with butter. Coat them with sugar, tapping out any excess. Place one tablespoon of butterscotch sauce in the bottom of each ramekin.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and both chocolates. Zap it on high in 20 second-intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. (Or melt it as you usually do.)
In another large bowl, combine the egg yolks and salt. Use an electric mixer to beat until slightly thickened and pale.
In a small saucepan over medium-high, combine the water and half the sugar and bring to a boil.
Resume beating the egg yolks. With the mixer running, drizzle in the hot sugar mixture. Whip on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Fold the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture. Stir in the bourbon.
In a clean fresh bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy. Slowly add the remaining sugar while continuing to beat, beating until the whites hold a stiff peak. Gently fold into the chocolate and yolk mixture. Spoon into the ramekins, smoothing the tops and wiping the rims. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake the souffles, heat the oven to 350 and bake them for 15 to 17 minutes, or until risen and puffy with a soft-firm top and a set center. Serve immediately. Good luck.

This is an on line recipe.
Grand Marnier® liqueur gives this classy dessert dish a fabulous orange flavor. Plan on serving this right away. The souffle will fall if held long.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons or 1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup flour
1-1/3 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 egg yolks (reserve whites)
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons Grand Marnier® orange liqueur
6 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-cup souffle dish with butter. Set aside.

Whisk together butter, flour, milk, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat yolks with sugar, vanilla, and Grand Marnier® until smooth and slightly thickened. While constantly whisking, slowly blend in 1/4 cup of the milk mixture until blended. Continue whisking and blend in the remainder of the milk mixture in a slow, steady stream until combined.

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold into the egg yolk mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve immediately. (Souffle will fall if held long.)

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Uh Oh

Uh Oh...
Residents of Columbus have long known that this place is a (shhhhh) foodies' paradise. If a new restaurant or food product is to be tested in the nation, it is tested in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus supports restaurants and has for as long as I can remember. A good antique show, not so much. But now, we have been discovered. We have been 'explored' by Jane Black and found worthy. She believes the capital has blossomed into a food lover's town over night, with serious cocktails and micro brews, pastries worthy of Paris, fantastical ice-cream and extraordinary shopping. Long dismissed as Applebee country, we have become a city- worthy food destination. Jane extols the North Market and calls it the city's food hub.

Jane points out that the North Market is open year-round. It is a converted warehouse that hosts 35 vendors, including butchers, bakers and ice cream makers. There are shelves of Ohio-milled grain, grass-fed beef, Lake Erie-caught walleye, cheeses, wines and spices. Jane is in love with Columbus...now. Could it be the case of $11 a bottle French Bordeaux or was it the cinnamon roll from Omega Artisan that led her down our primrose path? Maybe it was the live opera singer upstairs who inspired her to try the Hurbert's Polish pirogi. Maybe it was the Mexican hot chocolate ice cream, or could it have been the grapefruit lingaberry sorbet that urged her to write glowingly about Columbus? (Could be she was just especially hungry that day and we happened to hit the spot.)

Jane has also sampled German Village and found it scrumptious, so I think we are in for an influx of food writer attention. They are on the scent and soon we will have the food focus denied us for so long. Are we ready for our close up?

Note:
How did I get along without my 'granny fork'? It mashes, it lifts, it stirs, it spears; it's an all purpose tool of old. It is nestled among my French kitchen towels in a festive red and green (with my initials) that I found in Vanves, a French flea market of note. The fork is sold on Amazon. com

Cookbooks. Kitchen Stuff. Blogs. Love'em all.

I bought my first cookbook in the south; Alabama to be specific, in 1955, the year I graduated from high school. What possessed me, I have no idea, but I was destined to learn to cook. My first cookbook has wooden covers and is called Fine Old Dixie Recipes. Some of the pictures would not be politically correct today. Things and people were different then. Looking at the book now the southern cookbook made it seem that people were once delighted to be picking cotton in the heat of the sweltering day. Or a large fat woman appeared giddy to be cooking over a wood stove when it was one hundred degrees in the shade with only a bandanna tied to her head to keep the sweat from dripping into the three daily meals, all the while children sat on stumps eating watermelon. I have never made one dish from that recipe book, but continue to hold on to it as though it were my favorite. Dishes like molasses pudding and raw apple float and hot frosted gingerbread sound delicious but I have no desire to try to make them. (Hot frosted gingerbread sounds good to me at the moment, since I have had no sweets for two weeks.)

Around My French Table by Dori Greenspan is a five hundred-thirty page tome. I am enjoying it to no end because it is not just recipes but Paris experiences, some of which I have had myself. Each blurb before the recipe is extensive, different, and well put together. I saw her picture of short ribs in wine with carrots and potatoes and made it the next day. (The picture here is from Williams-Sonoma, although mine looked pretty good too.) I made a beef-vegetable soup from the left overs the next day. One looks at short ribs and may think there is not much meat there, but the meat is so rich with wine and herbs that one cannot eat a lot of it...or at least I can't, so it suits my expandable family as a good winter meal or two. Dori's recipe is pages long and must be delicious, but she had me at her picture of the dish. Mine is short, sweet, and delectable. Buy the beef short ribs, season and sear them. Slice a sweet onion and pop it in after the meat has been seared. Caramelize it all around and then put it in the crock pot along with the seared short ribs. Put in a bouquet garni of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, a little sage, parsley--any herbs that meet the occasion. Pour a good red wine over the meat and onion, put in some beef stock, a hand full of garlic cloves, some stalks of celery, some carrots (and later potatoes and some fresh carrots). Put the crock pot on high until it is all perking along and then put it on low if you have plenty of time to let it go, if not, keep it on high. It's done when the meat seems as though it will fall from the bone, but not quite. (I put the fresh carrots and potatoes in about an hour before serving.) This can be done in a Dutch oven and placed in the oven or even on top of the stove to simmer all day. I like the crock pot or the oven best. This is a French bistro dish and when you order it there, you had better be hungry. It is served with knuckles of toasted croutons or the regular baguette. The French do not like you to leave food on your plate--it's insulting to them.


Betty Rosbottom's blog turned me on to the new kitchen tool shown above.(Be sure to check out her blog as presented in my previous entry.) The fish turner has so many uses it needs a new name. I ordered mine from Amazon.com and it came pronto. There are several different kinds averaging around $13. I have yet to buy the mashing fork (shown on Dori Greenspan's blog.) 'Julia" introduced it on television many years ago. I need that too.

Cooking Blogs:
A couple of months ago, The London Times published a list of The World's 50 Best Food Blogs : among them Smitten Kitchen, Orangette, Chez Pim, Steamy Kitchen, Simply Recipes, The Bitten Word, David Lebovitz, Tartelette, The Kitchen, Cafe Fernando, La Tartine Gourmande, The Wednesday Chef, Chocolate and Zucchini, The Amateur Gourmet. I thought you might like to check some of these out for yourselves. (Mine was not on the list. LOL)

Since this winter goes on forever, I have read until I am nearly blind. C'est la Vie by Suzy Gershman is a fun read--she writes the 'born to shop' books and moved to Paris six months after her husband died. I am on a Paris reading kick, but not because I want to go back. I just like the different points of view about the City of Light and its inhabitants. 'The read' was triggered by my Paris driver who emailed me in January to tell me about all the changes in his life. Changes that I did not even imagine happening to him. He now lives in CANADA with a new wife and new family. How does that happen in such a short period of time? The cadence of life seems off to me.

Almost French by Sarah Turnbull is next on my list. I have often been told that a novel is in me, but I think I have moved to a phase in my life where family is front and center and my whims have been satisfied. I've had the notes and pages of ideas and funny and sad situations on hand for a long time, but the effort to put them all in order seems gone. Eight books about antiques is enough for me, I think.

I have also just found the delight of On Demand television. I have ignored it for years, but the reruns and lack of interesting shows has driven me to the movies on demand at $6. a pop. Cheaper still than leaving the home in this weather to trot to the movies. A couple spends close to $40. to see a movie with snacks now days. I remember seeing a movie for fourteen cents! So far I have been watching The Girl movies--The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest. Normally, for me, the books are better than the movies, but in this case, the movies are better. There are sub titles, but that is not annoying to me. The acting is good, the story lines are compelling, but the one draw back is the graphic rape scenes in one of the movies. It's something you don't want to watch with anyone else in the room, but necessary to the plot. I saw Wall Street 2 last night. (They should have stopped with the first one.) The first on demand that I watched was Eat, Pray,Love
Hated it!

To me, the worst movie of last year was Sex and The City 2. When Carrie Bradshaw went shopping in Dubai in a ball gown skirt and tee shirt, I could have slapped her. It was ridiculous! The entire movie set my teeth on edge as Mama Mia had done the year before. Eat, Prey, Love was not far behind the other idiot movies.

Back to food:

Ohhhh, I like to fix frittatas. They are fast, easy and full proof. They can stretch a menu for unexpected pop in guests or to take to a neighbor in need.

Baked Potato Frittata (from Williams-Sonoma)

My comments are here and there in this recipe:
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and diced
(or use left over potatoes)
Preheat oven to 400. Combine potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes.
crisp the bacon, discard fat (I save it for the rest of the recipe)
In large bowl, whisk eggs, salt and pepper, 1 cup cheese and 1/4 cup chives. In frittata pan (or a skillet) warm 2 tsps. oil (or I use the bacon fat that some discard) Put the potatoes in the pan with the diced, cooked bacon, pour egg mixture over potatoes and bacon. Cook, using a spatula to lift the cooked edges so the egg mixture can seep--seep and lift, seep and lift. Once the bottom is set, sprinkle the top with cheese and slide it into your preheated oven at 400. (They say 500, but that ruins the eggs in my opinion.) Bake until the egg mixture is set and no longer jiggles.

You can set yourself free with a frittata. I've used ham, tomatoes, vegetables of various kinds--as long as your egg mixture is basic, what is under the eggs should please you and your guests.

Biscuits and Slices

I have made many, many trips to London and one trip stays in my mind when I think of sweets. (By the way, I have given up sweets, but more on that later.) There was an antiques show in London inside a tented area. I found one nice furniture piece and then stopped for a slice and tea. The slice was a low chocolate cake like brownie in which something like a wafer, Kit Kat maybe, candy bar had been baked. Each slice contained the bar and it was all topped off with a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar. To take a bite one encountered a soft brownie and then a slim crisp snap topped off with a cloud of sugar. Very nice and I have yet to see a recipe. For months I haunted bookshops in London looking for the recipe and that is where I encountered the Women's Weekly from Australia. If it isn't in there, it isn't anywhere. I am getting another of the books (magazines) called Biscuits and Slices, so I hope I find the recipe which I won't be able to taste since I have given up sweets. I am not a fan of desserts though I like to make them. I taste them when they come from the oven and lose interest once a day has passed. I read about a new diet where this 300 pound woman gave up ice cream for three months and lost 30 pounds. (Now she must have eaten a gallon an evening, but it worked.)For three months ice cream is the only thing she gave up. Then she gave up another thing and so on until she lost all her weight. I am a week into it and don't miss the sweets at all. Monday I am giving up bread, another thing that I won't miss that much. I am not waiting three months to see if there is a difference before I give up something else. Another article said one could lose 18 pounds in a year by just giving up cola--even diet cola. I don't care for that either--but Diet Snapple is my drink of choice. I will give it up down the road for water, but one week at a time. I don't want to make a big fuss about this because nothing bores me more than hearing about someone's diet after I have worked all day on a special meal. It's just a little experiment for me, but I will let you know what happens.

The two pictures will show you what the 'cake' looks like. Instead of nuts as in one of the pictures, a thin sliver of crisp wafer was offered to set the entire thing off as special. If you know the recipe or how to accomplish this, please email me or comment on this post. dorislechler@aol.com


Writing about England made me think of my very favorite times that I spent there. Hands down it was the Newark Antiques Market that was held several times a year. I have not been in five or so years and wondered, today, if it still existed. Seeing as how one can barely get ones stripped down body on an airplane, it does not seem logical that I could get on with twenty trunks and cartons filled with antiques...not any more. It was always a problem getting the stuff to the airport, on the plane, checking into customs, sometimes twice, getting it off at home, security and customs again...it wore me out and I did it one third of each and every year. The customs officials started calling me by name, after they discovered I always had paper work for every item I bought.

Maybe it was the baked potatoes that drew me to England. At the Newark flea market they were remarkable. Slathered in real butter, cheese, slaw, or any condiment you wanted the potato itself could stand alone. It was always large, white, fluffy,and begging for a dollop of butter and or sour cream. Once we arrived the potato started the long arduous day off properly. Most of us did not stop to eat the entire day, but bought other treats to take with us on the ride home. Their sliced pork sandwiches were outstanding as well. Yum!

We would board a chartered bus that arrived at our hotel, yes, there were that many of us, usually forty or more, at 4:00am. This was not a tour. Everyone arrived solo and equipped to shop. The driver was familiar with the routine and joined in the fun of it, or so we thought. Two hours later, still in the dark during the winter months, we arrived to wait in line for the gates to open. The race was on and it was literally every man and woman for herself or himself. Friendships were left at the gates or on the bus. We were snarling at each other if we encountered one another while shopping because everyone wanted nearly the same things. These were American dealers who watched what every one else was buying and tried to buy it first and as cheaply as possible. We were competing with our dealer contacts in England and France as well. They tried to buy it first to sell it to us at great mark ups and we tried to buy it first to cut out the middle man. It was dog eat dog. Many a pill was popped to get some of us through the day which did not end until late into the night. The walking! OMG, our dogs were barking but we carried on. I had bags on wheels and pulled them over the bumpy terrain, so it was my arms, my legs, my head. We were all a mess in so many ways. We, usually pulled out at 6:00pm. If the buying was especially good, some of us went back the next day--if we had any money left. It was strictly cash and carry so there was the conversion of money and the amount to consider before even starting that trek.

On the way home the bus was so packed that people had to hold their packages on their laps because both sides of the under bus was full, the over heads were jammed and we could not stow anything in the aisles. It was soooooo worth all of the trouble, the cold of the winter, the heat of the summer, the fluctuating money conversions, the waiting for the English banks to give us our own money, the packing of it all to get it home and the joy of opening the boxes in the comfort of home to find everything arrived without breakage (which happened rarely.) It was the phone calls that made me the happiest. The finding for collections, mine and my customers, that gave me pleasure, and the profits to feed my habit so I could go back and start all over again. Our Cooke Rd. home can thank those many trips for its extras.

I have no idea how big the market is now, but then it had 4,000 dealers with a waiting list. It covered the entire fairgrounds. I have listed the information that I got on the Internet in case you are a lover of antiques and exquisite torture. LOL

Europe's largest Antique Fair


Europe's largest antiques event takes place in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Stall holders and buyers from around the globe come to the Newark & Nottinghamshire Showground every other month to take part in this internationally renowned trading event.

With up to 4000 stalls, the fair holds quite possibly everything you could imagine from furniture, rugs, paintings and textiles, to sports memorabilia, toys, grandfather clocks and antique maps

The Newark fair has to be experienced to be believed. It's a treasure trove of possibilities for your interiors. Here you'll find everything you could possibly need to decorate and stylize your home.

Cost: Thursday - 9am - 6pm: £10 (Allows entry on Friday also)
Friday - 8am - 4pm £5

Accompanied under 16s are admitted free of charge


Forthcoming event dates:
Thursday 03 February 2011
Friday 04 February 2011
Thursday 07 April 2011
Friday 08 April 2011



We are going to Florida soon and I believe Andy and I will look for a condo on or near the water to buy. We have heard of good buys and this may be the time to take the plunge. We'll see. It will be fun to look. (We are not giving up Cooke Rd.)