Shepherds Pie

hI had been thinking about Shepherds Pie for a while and last night we had a meeting that started at 7 so it was the perfect opportunity to cave in to my need.  This is one of the youngest daughters favorite foods and she makes it almost exactly the same as I do except she adds cheese to the top. 

Everything cooking away on the stove (I have to figure out how not to have blurry pictures).

The cooking supervisor until he heard the camera.

Honestly Mom!  I wasn't doing anything!

The roux cooking away (also known as the cornstarch and fat).

I love this stuff!

Mmmmm.....gravy

Ready for the oven in my 70's Corning Wear casserole

Since I never seem to get a picture before we dig in...sorry

One of the things I like most about this dish is that it can be made ahead and either stored in the fridge or cooked and heated up.  We will be having left overs tonight (Michael at home and me at work).

Shepherds Pie

4 healthy sized servings

1 lb ground meat (beef or venison work nicely)

2 med carrots peeled and sliced fairly thin

½ to ¾ cup of frozen peas

4 medium white potatoes peeled and cut for boiling

½ medium onion diced

Salt and pepper

Steak sauce (if your gravy doesn't brown like mine yesterday)

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 cups water

In a medium skillet brown the meat and the onions together until meat is cooked. Place meat in a 2 quart oven safe dish reserving the fat in the pan for gravy. In a medium pot put in carrots with plenty of water, put on high medium heat until they have started to cook through than add the peas, drain and add to the meat. Cook the peas and carrots until you can easily pierce the carrots with a knife. Place the potatoes in another pan with plenty of water on a medium high heat and cook until soft. Mash the potatoes in what ever method you normally use and set aside.

Place the skillet over a medium heat and add the corn starch. If you have used venison (which has a much lower fat content) you can use 2 tablespoons of butter, just let it melt and than add the cornstarch). Let it cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly (this removes the floury taste from your gravy). Add one cup of water and continue stirring and adding water. I usually cook my gravy for at least 10 minutes stirring and adding water. If your gravy hasn't turned brown add some steak sauce (it was all I had on hand but it worked great!). Salt and pepper to taste, pour the gravy into the casserole over the meat and veggies, mix in and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about a half an hour or so.

Mission Accomplished!

We decided we would not go to bed last night until we had finished the puzzle.  We were down to about 50 what seemed identical pieces and we absolutely positively had to complete our project.  The pieces were sorted by type (the longer ones with the outies on the outside and the shorter ones with the outies on the top and bottom) so all we had to do was take each one and try it in a spot that required that type of piece.  Why the pieces never go where you think they should on this puzzle is beyond me....

When we went to bed last night we had four open slots on the puzzle and two pieces that for the life of us we could not fit in anywhere. Well actually one looked like it belonged in a spot but would not fit, the other one fit in neither of the long openings.  You of course see the first part of the problem, two pieces and four openings.  The puzzle has been on the counter for about 2 and half weeks now so in all honesty, loosing two pieces is not that terrible.  We figure that either we will find the pieces one day when we move from the house or....we will find them while scooping poop in the backyard (I suspect the backyard myself). 

The two extra pieces were driving me crazy....they had to go somewhere.  This morning after goofing off for a few hours back to the dern puzzle I went and Viola!  There was a piece where it didn't belong which went into one of the long openings, the extra long piece went where that one came out and the last piece fit in right next to it.

Right now the puzzle is sitting on my cutting board on the counter.  I think neither one of us wants to take it apart and put it into the box after how long we have worked on it or....those last two pieces will miraculously appear (but if they are in the backyard, that is the end of them). 

The decision has been made and in a while I will take myself down to the Dollar Store in hopes of finding another form of torture known as the 500 little identical piece puzzle.

New Additions

If you haven't seen them already, I have added many of the recipes on the blog to their own pages.  I really wanted an overview page with links to the individual recipes but...I couldn't figure out how to do it so, until the oldest daughter returns home for her visit (whenever that may be) we will have to live with this.   I still need to go through the blog and get all the recipes I put directly on the posts, that is going to take some time.  In the meantime you have what you have!

I know that on one of the recipes the directions are a bit kitty wampus but the Blog Gods will not let me straighten them out.  Can you figure out which one?

Sometimes the Simplest is the Best

Tonight Michael and I are going to a Foyer Dinner.  I know, I thought the same thing the first time I heard it,  we eat in the foyer?  Well as it turns it is 4 or 5 couples, all from our church, who get together at a different home every month eat, drink and get to know each other better.  This is the 5th year we have joined the foyer groups and we have gotten to know some very interesting people and in some cases just spend time with people we already know pretty well and enjoy!

Tonight we are dining at the home of a lady I know fairly well from the Church Chicks (who is one cool lady) and her husband.  He is a retired Episcopal priest from I believe Washington DC.  There are also two other couples whom we know in passing but will have to opportunity to know better.

Nicole (the hostess) is serving the main dish Roast Loin of Pork.  Have I ever told you how much I like this dish?  My mother used to make it with oven roasted potatoes (roasted in the fat from the meat), sauerkraut, green beans and the required gravy.  I cannot wait to taste Nicole's version!  Each of the couples brings a portion of dinner so Michael and I are bringing cold roast asparagus with lemon and a couple of bottles of wine.  The wine choices are Four Vines Naked Chardonnay (domestic and unoaked) and Gerard Bertrand Cordieres (a French blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre which given the blend should not be too dry).

So the lesson to me here is I do not have to go crazy when we take food to someones house.  Sometimes the simplest is the best!

The King Cake

The ingredients

The flour and yeast in the large bag provided

The flour and yeast mixed with a stick of butter added (sounds healthy)

The mix in the large bag provided after being kneaded for a short 15 minutes

After being allowed to raise until doubled, flattened out, filled and jelly rolled (yes that is the dern puzzle)

After raising a second time waiting for the oven

Viola!  Where is the baby?

Mardi Gras and the King Cake

My mother taught me never to go to someones house with empty hands so, when friends invited us to a Mardi Gras party tonight I needed to spring into action.  The hostess is from New Orleans so she knows all about these parties and the requirements.  Apparently there are drinks that are very traditional (and at her house always contain alcohol) and snacks.  No where on the list of treats was there a King Cake. 

Don't know what a King Cake is?  Neither did I except that we sold Mam Papauls King Cake Mix every year as part of the Mardi Gras display so it must have something to do with the holiday!  This is what I found out about the history of the cake... 

Feb 19, 2012 @ 3:43 PM
Posted by Kate Donnelly, The Daily Meal Staff

 

With Fat Tuesday (the last day of indulgence before Lent) around the corner, it's time for beads, celebration, drinks and cake. Yes, the king takes the cake and nobody does it better than New Orleans. While the oval-shaped cake might appear flashy, it melds perfectly with the festive mood of Mardi Gras.

NPR recounts the history of the cake dating back to Old World Europe. The French and the Spanish brought the cake to the Americas, where it seems to have been adopted in Catholic influenced areas from New Orleans to Mexico.
The traditional colors of Mardi Gras, which include purple (justice), green (faith) and gold (power) adorn the cake. A token, notably a plastic baby symbolizing the infant Jesus is hidden inside.  The lucky eater who finds the baby (hey, try not to eat it!) may be crowned king or queen of the party.
Of course, royalty comes with obligations. Find the baby and you're responsible for bringing the cake to the next gathering. Feeling adventurous?  Make David Gaus' King Cake recipe.

Read more: http://www.thedailymeal.com/behold-king-cake#ixzz1n1S4XYBu

 

So the mix is in the kitchen waiting for me to start the cake which is unlike any I have made before.  It has yeast in it and needs to raise twice.  Its sounding like it will be more like a bread so...tune in tomorrow!

 

I will try to get to the drugstore and buy the correct batteries for my camera this morning!  Never buy batteries for something unless you are sure, we now have 2 dozen (they were on sale) double A batteries and I needed triple A's.  Fortunately they fit in the remote controls and all of Michael's flashlights (another story for another day!).

 

A puzzle update:  No it's not done yet! 

The Great Chicken and Dumpling Experiment

Not mine but looks just like it!

It was rather dreary here yesterday, I was off and Michael had a home buyers seminar to do last evening so...for some unknown reason (other than the fact that there was chicken in the freezer as always) I decided to make Chicken and Dumplings!

About noonish I grabbed two frozen solid chicken breasts and two similarly frozen wings, plopped them in a large stock pot, chopped up two carrots and two celery stalks (the leafy green end included) put them in the pot, covered the whole thing in water, added about a tablespoon of salt and put it on a medium heat to cook away. 

Michael came home about 3pm to rest before his seminar last night and I realized, I had nothing but boiled chicken at this point so.....to the Internet I went.  I have been very unsuccessful with making dumplings since we stopped buying Bisquick a few years ago.  I have tried many recipes from the Internet that in theory should be good...for the most part they turned out yucky! 

Now as you know if you have been following this blog, I am from New York and dumplings up there are round and fluffy.  The texture is hard to explain except to say they are probably kind of bready or muffiny.  Little did I know until my research yesterday that Southerners think that along with Deviled Eggs, they also created dumplings and after making a new type last night (which to be honest is more like a cross between egg noodles and pasta) they may actually have a point about their kind of dumplings!

Northern Dumplings similar to what I am used to

After looking at recipes and the comments on a couple of well known cooking sites (Paula Deen on the Food Channel site and one of my favorites The Pioneer Woman) I found almost a fight over dumplings!  Paula's (which I made last night) are undoubtedly Southern while The Pioneer Woman's are more like what I am used to.  People actually wrote disparaging remarks in regards to the dumplings on TPW site that those are not dumplings!  Apparently Dumplings are a very personal thing.

Chinese Dumplings, not for Chicken and Dumplings but very tasty!

Anyway, back to our own Chicken and Dumpling dilemma.  I had forgotten to really season the chicken and had added no onion (beats me what I was thinking) so into the pot went a bay leaf, and some pepper as it was too late to add chopped onion.  Paula's recipe called for a can of cream soup of your choice, I very rarely have it in the house but when I was sick last month the Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup called to me and somehow wound up here at our house.  After I pulled the quickly over cooking chicken out of the pot (and carefully placed it on top of the fridge where Bear cannot get to it)  I added  the can of soup, some frozen peas and what was left of a bag of frozen pearl onions.  I set it to simmer and went back to goofing off.  In a while I went to back to check on the pot of stuff and realized that it was not thicken up so I put a tablespoon of corn starch and some water in a cup, mixed it up and added it to the pot o stuff.  Then I went to work on the dumplings, I was amazed how easy it really was especially since I have been making pasta. 

Chicken and Dumplings (with some help from Paula Deen)

2 chicken breasts
2 chicken wings
2 carrots peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery chopped (including the leafy part)
1 tablespoon salt
Enough water to cover
1 box of chicken broth
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions
1 bay leaf
pepper

Dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup of ice water

Put the chicken, carrots, celery, bay leaf, pepper and salt in a large stock pot, add chicken stock and enough water to cover.  Put on a medium heat bring to boil, than turn down to a medium simmer cover and stir occasionally.  Let it cook for a few hours while you do what you need to or want to. When the chicken is getting ready to fall off the bone, scoop it out of the pot and put aside somewhere the dog cannot get to it while it cools.  After the chicken has cooled shred it and throw out the bones. Add to your soup the frozen veggies and chicken, turn down to a simmer and allow to cook about 20 minutes uncovered.  If it hasn't thickened put one tablespoon of cornstarch in cup and mix with some water than add to the pot.  You will need to raise the temperature of the stove to allow the chicken mixture to come to a boil before adding the dumplings.

To make the dumplings mix the flour and salt in a bowl slowly adding the ice water  (you need to mix this with your hands) adding water until it comes together.  You may not need all the water so add just a bit at a time.  Knead the dough until kind of smooth than place on a floured counter top (that you have rescued from the puzzle).  Roll out until about 1/8 of an inch thick than let it rest for a few minutes.  Take your knife and cut into 1 inch strips than go back and cut so they are also one inch (or so) long. 

Take your dumpling pieces rip in half and drop into your stew.  I gave the pot one stir to make sure all the dumplings were submerged.  Lower the temperature to a high simmer cover and allow to cook for about 1/2 an hour or so. Unlike pasta the dumplings appear to do better the longer they are cooked.


Viola!  Southern Chicken and dumplings (or the way mine looks right now Southern Dumplings and Chicken).

Three notes about this recipe and me!
1. I had no idea how to make ice water (silly I know but true)  I used about 1/2 cup of water and two ice cubes to make the ice water. 
2. Contrary to how I was feeling and thinking yesterday (this is the truth) you do not need to take the tape measure out of the closet to make sure the dumplings are:
 a.  1/8 of an inch thick and ..
 b.  Neat little one inch squares
3.  Thank goodness I reread this post again before I posted it!  I had forgotten to add in the part about shredding the chicken and putting it back in the pot.  That would have just made Chicken Flavored Veggies and Dumplings!

Our Puzzling Puzzle

Last Friday when I was doing my grocery shopping I popped into the Dollar Tree to pick up some odds and ends we usually get there.  Michael and I both enjoy doing puzzles and they are supposed to help keep your mind active, so a detour down that aisle was called for.  What to my eyes should appear but a 5oo piece adult puzzle so I picked it up and put it in my basket...after all its only $1!

Now we both have fairly logical minds and can normally knock these things out in a day or so but a week later we are still working on the puzzle!  We started in the normal order of getting all the side pieces and putting them together (well sort of, we had some confusion on the right hand side but Liz straightened that out for us last evening).  Michael has a good portion of the jar together but there is a piece missing in the middle and we have various marbles and pieces of marbles.  The pieces are pretty small and after a while they all look the same.  Who would think that a $1 puzzle could be so puzzling?

Now you may ask yourself, where are they putting this puzzle together?  You may or may not know that we live in a small duplex without much extra space.  The answer to this question is....my large cutting board (which I was looking for the other night but Michael had "borrowed" it} and part the of the kitchen counter where we have our breakfast in the morning and that I use when I cook.  So for the past week we have had our coffee on top of the puzzle and I found a different portion of the kitchen to use for my chopping.  This was not a problem until I made Chicken and Dumplings yesterday and had to roll out the dumplings.  To the side the puzzle went until I was done (then I tried to push back all the little pieces so the husband did not notice they were disturbed I hope).

We were talking with friends the week before last who enjoy puzzles.  I brought up the Dollar Store and their puzzles, my lady friend would never buy a puzzle there she stated, the pieces are cut wrong (which they are not) and it is probably missing pieces(which is also incorrect).  I cannot wait to pass this one on to her!

A Late Valentines Day Dinner

Michael and I spent Valentines Day evening at the Elks meeting.  He is the Past Exalted Ruler and I am the treasurer so we (or actually me) are committed to attending almost every meeting.  I was hoping that the meeting was either cancelled or postponed but we have by laws which lay out exactly when we must meet and it was time to nominate officers for the coming year so as they say "The show must go on".  It was a very productive evening with all the officers positions filled and we will vote at the next get together.  I will no longer be the treasurer (phew) but instead for some reason agreed to be a three year trustee.

 When we got home my beloved asked me what the difference was between being the treasurer and a trustee.  Let me tell you, there is a lot!  I do not mind handling cash at work but being the sole person responsible for an organization is a whole different ball of wax, besides the trustees do not have any where as much to do so if I have to miss a meeting to attend something else (like the Church Chicks) I will not feels as guilty as I would now.  Over the course of the past year I think I might have missed 2 meetings, one when I was ill the other for a special evening for a very special gal friend.  The Church Chicks meet on Tuesday's and invariably it is on the evening of the Elks meeting so off I go to the meeting grumbling and unhappy that I must miss something I really want to do.

Last evening was the night selected to celebrate Valentines day.  This year is a leap year so I was informed (by one of the guys at the Elks meeting) that the woman is supposed to do something extra special for her guy.  This in itself is funny since the women in Michael's office were asking him on Tuesday what he did for me, his question to them was, when did this become a woman's holiday?  I think that's a very good question, since when did the guys in our lives not deserve to be recognized on this special day of Love?  Why do we think all the love must come to us and not be returned?  We try to make it an equal opportunity holiday.  We exchange cards, Michael buys me a box of chocolates that he eats most of and I fix us a special dinner.  I try to make that a meal he requests and this year it was Surf and Turf.

My original plan for this special meal was the Shrimp Filled Crepes and asparagus.  I had already bought the shrimp from my favorite lady at Publix on Monday so all I needed was the turf and a recipe so..... off to the internet I went.  I had thoughts of some shrimp in a creamy, garlicky sauce.  Did I find such a recipe?  No.
What I did find (after looking at about a million recipes) was Steak and Shrimp with Mushrooms and Brie.  This interesting recipe was on Yummly.  The only problem was, I didn't have alot of what it called for beyond the steak, the shrimp, butter, wine, mushrooms, salt and pepper. 

In the past if I saw a recipe that interested me I would read the ingredients and if I didn't have something, I would just pass it by.  I couldn't see beyond what was called for, to know what could be left out or what could be substituted.  I didn't have the courage to go it on my own and make it mine!  I do now!  So here is my take on the original recipe..which I must say tasted pretty dern good other than the shrimp which get cooked ahead of time.  I think next time the shrimp will be sauted and not boiled since that part of the meal was pretty tasteless.

Steak and Shrimp with Mushrooms and Wine Sauce

Serves 2

1 medium size tender steak (I opted for something without a bone in it)
20 shrimp cooked and peeled
1/2 cup diced white mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic chopped
1/3 cup dry red wine.
Salt and Pepper

Heat a heavy skillet over a medium heat until hot.  Rub the steak with the salt, pepper and garlic then place in the hot pan.  Cook 4 minutes then flip and cook an three additional minutes.  Add the shrimp and heat for an additional minute.  Remove steak and shrimp to a warm plate.  Deglaze the pan with the red wine, scrapping up all the good bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add the mushrooms, butter and mustard.  Stir to blend let cook a minute or two.  Serve with the steak and shrimp.

We had this with Wasabi mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.  The sauce is to die for and tasted quite delicious on the mashed potatoes.  Both of us prefer our steak a bit on the rare side (okay a lot on the rare side) so if you like yours cooked more, cook it more!

Happy Valentines Day

Well, that's about all I have to say about it!  I will be at the Elks Meeting, surely one of the most romantic Valentine's evenings of my life.  We will celebrate tomorrow night, I am making Shrimp Filled Crepes and asparagus.  Hmmmm perhaps some oysters, they are in season since the month has the letter R in it.  That is a whole different story!

The Day Off

Why can't we let a day off from work be a day off from work? 

I have probably done more today on my day off from work than I would have at work, and I work hard at work.  I did today:

1.  Our state and federal taxes
2.  Got the ink cartridges for the computer
3.  Made food for Miss Imogene (and dropped it off) and dinner for us
4.  Took care of some bookkeeping for the Elks
5.  Paid bills
6.  Changed the sheets and did laundry
7.  Accepted some invites to events coming up
8.  Gave Bear and myself a bath
9.  Suffered and went shopping at Costless and the grocery store

Now that I write it all down it really doesn't seem like that much but...wouldn't it be nice to just have a day off?

The only thing on my too do list (which may be part of the problem) that I did not do was to get in touch with the car insurance people and bundle (the new insurance word apparently) our two cars together in an attempt to squeeze just a little bit more out of our earnings.

I know I am not the only one that feels like this....

An Ill Friend

Michael and I have a friend who had her second back surgery in about a year a few weeks ago.  Michael knows Miss Imogene through work (they are both Realtors in the same office), I have known her much longer.  This wonderful woman sold my house when I got divorced.  We had listed the house with her once before when it looked like we were moving to Houston (thankfully that fell through) and I absolutely thought the world of her.  She tells you exactly like it is!  Price, condition, what needs to be done and being the bargain shopper I am, where you can get it done right for the least amount of money.

You may or may not know that here in the states, a realtor does not get paid unless you buy or sell your property.  All the work they do, all the miles they travel are on their dime.  They don't get a salary from the real estate office they work for, they get paid by the seller and that's it.  You get paid when you have a closing so it can be feast or famine (we live that life everyday).

My ex-husband is a very demanding customer, so demanding that I would not want him as a customer (may have something to do with why he is the ex).  Miss Imogene dealt with him constantly, sometimes many times a day in regards to the sale of the house.  God Bless her! I do not know how she did it and kept her cool at all times.  I have considered her a dear friend since then.  After all these years since the house sold in 2005 she still asks for the girls (by name) and how the dogs are.  She is really a Real Estate Professional and a very special person.

Anyway she is pretty much housebound and in a wheelchair with a great deal of pain so...I am bringing over some supper for her and her husband later this afternoon.  I know a Costco chicken wandered their way late last week so shes probably chickened out by now (those are some BIG chickens) so I was trying to figure out what to take to her..something that doesn't require a lot of work on her part and hopefully something that they would enjoy.  Of course my mind went completely blank!  As I was running my errands earlier I thought...why not Stuffed Shells?  Everybody loves Italian food and the left overs are great!  So here is my recipe for...

Stuffed Italian Shells

1 box large shells
32 oz fat free small curd cottage cheese
1/2 pound grated  reduced fat Mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-24 oz jars spaghetti sauce
2 eggs
1 Tbls Italian seasoning
some salt and pepper

Cook shells according to directions on the box.  The one I used suggested boiling them for 9 minutes since they are going to be baked.  Drain and cool on a cookie sheet (I had never cooled them like this before and it worked great).  In the mean time mix together the cottage cheese, 2/3 mozzarella, 2/3 of the Parmesan, the eggs, Italian seasoning and the salt and pepper.  Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan you will be using (this should fill nicely a 9x12 pan).  Fill each shell with a little over a tablespoon of the cheese mixture and put in pan.  Do this until you either run out of shells or you run out of cheese!  Cover the shells with sauce, sprinkle with the remaining cheeses (you can add more if you want of course).

Bake at 350 for around a half an hour covered, than about 10 minutes uncovered to brown.

You may notice that there is no ricotta cheese in this.  That was one of my Mom's hints.  It saves fat and calories but more important it saves money!  I scored on the sauce today at the Costless outlet.  I found a three pack of Barilla sauces for only 3.99 and for someone that makes their own sauce normally, it tasted pretty dern good!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

No this is not the Mac and Chees I made

Today I decided to conquer one of my cooking fears which is Baked Macaroni and Cheese.  Being a scrawny Irish Catholic kinda gal from Brooklyn it was just not something we ate.  Sure I would make a box of Kraft or Velveeta when the girls were growing up but making it from scratch?  NO!!!

When Michael and I got together was when I had the first unsuccessful attempt.  I knew it was one of his favorites so I tried to make it but...failure.  I tried a second time with the same unsuccessful results.  It became almost a laughing matter between the two of us and his family.  What kind of cook cannot make Baked Mac and Cheese? 

For some unknown reason today I have decided to attempt this once more.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was in the grocery store on my way home from work and I was absolutely famished.  What ever the reason after Michael left to go show houses off to the Internet I went.  Let me tell you there are a million mac and cheese recipes on there but...when I got to the second one I realized that the old tried and true are the best.  There on the Internet from a 1946 Fannie Farmer cookbook was a recipe and better yet, it got rave reviews.  I have an old Fannie Farmer cookbook and that is where my attempt has come from.

One thing I have realized as I was making this was that I am always trying to adjust things and add stuff to recipes which is probably why I have had the previous problems with this seemingly easy recipe.  It has taken all my will to follow this to the tee even measuring the flour, butter and milk.  The only change I made was 1 teaspoon of dried mustard.  And that said we have Baked Macaroni and Cheese from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook, the 1959 edition.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Cook and drain

    1-9 ounce package macaroni

Put half of it in a buttered baking dish.

Sprinkle with

     ½ cup grated cheese (or more)

Cover with the rest of the macaroni.

Sprinkle with

     ½ cup grated cheese (or more)

Cover with

     2 cups cream sauce (recipe to follow)

Sprinkle with

     ½ cup buttered bread crumbs

Bake at 400 until brown. 15 – 20 minutes. Serves 6

For a very creamy dish, make 2 cups Cheese Sauce and spread it on the layers of macaroni instead of cheese and cream sauce. (recipe also follows)

Cream Sauce

Melt in a double boiler top or a small heavy saucepan

     2 tablespoons butter

Stir in

     2 tablespoons flour

Blend well over low heat. Stir in

     1 cup cold milk or milk and cream

A blending fork or a wire whisk helps keep a sauce smooth as it cooks. Bring slowly to the boiling point. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season to taste with

Salt and pepper

Makes 1 cup

To turn this into a cheese sauce

Make Cream Sauce and add to it ¼ to ¾ cup mild or sharp cheese, grated or cut in small cubes. Heat in a double boiler or over a very how heat until the cheese melts.

I choose to make the cheese sauce and let me tell you, I tasted it before it went in the oven and it is yummy!  I used fat free milk and that has not affected the taste at all!

The Grocery List

Not my grocery list although....

I was talking to one of wine sales reps today, he's a fairly young guy with a wife and new beautiful baby girl.  Somehow we got on the topic of grocery shopping and he mentioned that since he's in the stores all the time he just picks up what they need and feel like for the day.  The other lady working with me changing out the wine programs (taking down what was on sale, finding homes for it, putting out the new sale wines and carefully going through the million sale signs) and I immediately broke into rashes.  It's not that we don't like to go to the grocery store (well at least I don't mind, I will not speak for her) its just that you spend so much more money shopping that way!

Now don't get me wrong, in my previous life I cannot even imagine how much I spent at the grocery store on food that probably got thrown out later.  I guess there are two wastes of money there, firstly the obscene amount of money I spent on food and secondly how much got thrown out.

I know that food shopping is not the same around the world and think I am fortunate to live in a place that has so much but along with that goes so much waste.  I often wonder what it is like to shop for food around the world.  Are there really all those markets they show on the travel shows?  Do people shop for the day or do they stockpile like we (or I) do here?

I think I have mentioned before that there is a note pad on the fridge here and we write down what is running low or what we need.  On my shopping day I take the list down and organize the things by store adding the things that we will need during the next couple of weeks before I go again.  We both try to not make any trips in between but sometimes you just have to for milk and stuff like that.  This week is my shopping week and to be honest there is still plenty to eat even though we are running low on sugar (I have some coffee with my sugar in the mornings) and we are out of ice cream. 

How do you do your food shopping?  There are folks from all over the world that read this blog and I would love to learn some of your tricks and the differnces so please share!

The Night we Met

When I talked to my daughter J the other day she suggested that I start to post more of my own recipes.  Sounds like a great idea but then I will have to pay attention when cooking.  I don't know if any of you do the dash of this some of that style but that's pretty much what goes on here.  In her honor however, here is my roast chicken and a story around it...

My husband and I met in a bar, there I said it.  There was a seat open next to his, I sat down and we started talking about baseball.  He is a Yankee's fan from New York and I a Mets fan from the same neck of the woods.  We enjoyed each others company and chatted for quite a while (a few hours if truth be told).  I was so interested in this fellow that I invited him over for dinner the next day.  Now if you know me you know that was very brave of me, I grew up in the guys ask age but I guess it was the gin and tonic I had.  He said yes and actually showed up!  I made this roast chicken and you can take it from there.  The original came from a friend I used to chat with on AOL who lives in Boston and had a wonderful Airedale named Lily.  There was a group of us who all had dogs (which sometimes we would actually talk about) and we met in the Pet Dogs room, I don't know if it still exists but I met some amazing women on line some of whom I had the honor of actually meeting in person.  They all helped me through my divorce and I like to think I helped them in ways too.

So here is the recipe that helped win Michael's heart (and his stomach).

Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken, giblets removed and washed
1 lemon cut in quarters
3 cloves of garlic peeled
1 medium onion quartered
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350.  Place chicken in oven safe dish, loosen skin on the top of the chicken (I just stick my finger under the skin and work it around until I get as much loose as I can) reserving one lemon quarter, alternating the order place the lemons, garlic and onions inside the chicken cavity until they are all in there.  Take your rosemary and place it under the chicken skin.  Squeeze the remaining lemon over the surface of the chicken sprinkle with salt and pepper and throw it in the oven .

Cook for about an hour or so.  To check if the chicken is done, I like to cut between the thigh and breast.  If its not pink then your chicken should be done. 

I guess I could make gravy to go with this....hmmmmmmm.   

Random Thursday

I suspect that I am supposed to be actually doing something but instead I find myself killing time so far today.

Last night my husbands company had their awards ceremony followed by fun, food and plenty of drink!  If you live down here in Charleston you may have had the occasion to experience Mrs. Hamby's catering and not to be disappointed as they did the food for last nights event (I believe the same as the past few years).  There was not a single thing I ate (and I must admit I tried a lot of food last night) that was not delicious.  Now my favorite thing that Ms. Hamby makes is her sandwiches (I assume that there is really a Ms. Hamby) and that is the shrimp salad.  I ate a ton of food before I finally found them (or rather Michael found them for me knowing that they are my fav) and I was not let let down.  Apparently one of the secrets to these fabulous little morsels is the fact that they are on plain old ordinary Piggly Wiggly white bread with the crusts cut off.  I have tried to replicate them but have had no success!

I have two observations from last evening and perhaps you can answer these questions for me.  Why are most female real estate agents blond (there cannot be that many real blonds who choose the same profession) and why can folks not dress to the desired dress code?  I am not talking about the people who just came from a closing...I am talking about the folks that chose that scanty dress to attend an event labeled Cowboy Casual.  Does putting boots on with your short, flimsy attire meet the dress code and what is with the stripper shoes?  Probably more than 2 questions but..what the heck.

So while I was killing time this morning I decided to go through who Facebook thinks I should be friends with.  Surely I do not look as old as many of the folks I went to high school with...

We are going to a friend's house for the Super Bowl Sunday and I am thinking about what we should bring.  In the past we have brought a variety of stuff...not all of it healthy but that is part of the day.  Some of the goodies we brought have been Turkey and Black Bean Chili, Meatballs in sauce, a gigantic hero sandwich with tomatoes from the Vegetable Bin (I didn't even get a taste of that one) and Artichoke Dip.  I would call the hostess to see what we should bring but I have two dilemmas.  The first is I am not sure she knows folks are coming over and the second being...she does not cook.  It is not that she does know how to, she chooses not to and I respect her for that!  That leaves her often not particularly helpful on the food end.  I am considering the Shrimp Wontons and goodness knows what else.

What are you doing for Super Bowl Sunday and GO GIANTS!