Cookie Confab turned Cookie Bust!

This year – our plans did not gel. Not sure why -with this thing or that we just could never get the time together to bake. Debbie did stop over for a little while and dropped off some spritz cookies and have a little tipple.

Rose and Debbie knocking one back.
So Debbie's  sister can tell - Debbie is the one on the right.

Debbie helped me decorate these.. after the knocking back.

Not that I was going to let a lack of teamwork get me down! I had cookies to make dammit! I have people counting on me for their holiday excess!! I made Tony step up to be my kitchen bitch – roll this, wash that, where the hell do you think you're going – get me that flour out of the pantry. He cried like a little girl “But its 1 am!” Breakin' weak - marathon cookie baking is not for timid.

Here he is making the stroopwaffles... I cropped the picture so you can't see the shackles.

This is a new recipe from A Baker's Odyssey.
The are called Nuspatchen (or something like that).
They are a hazelnut and cinnamon topping on a spice cookie.
Next year...the bottom will be chocolate for that Nutella-like flavor combo!!

Every year I make a new cookie – I have to. If I made the same damn thing over and over where is the challenge in that? Lord knows that I am a glutton for punishment.

My first thought was to try a recipe I found in the LA Times. They took recipe submissions and I was intrigued by the recipe for Nana tea cakes. It seemed simple – the dough had three ingredients and the filling could be varied to give different flavors. However, the write up as provided in the original posting seemed a little too basic. Trust me – if there is one thing I learned, Nana never measures anything and she usually never describes the nuances of the prep work.

I make up a batch of the dough and let it chill up over night. I roll it out, cut and fill it, set to oven to 350 as instructed and tossed in the first sheet. Ten minutes later, I pull the cookies out and they are still raw. Where is the flaky goodness? I put them back in for five more minutes – still no love. I pull these out and toss them.

I pump up the oven temp 25 degrees and bake four cookies. 20 minutes later, too brown on the bottom, raw on the inside. Into the trash with those as well.

What the hell Nana? This is not working out at all...

I pump up the oven 50 degrees – take that cookies!!! Oooooo puffy action! They are rising!! They are bursting open!!!! Shit. Four more cookies not right- this time they are edible and we scarfed them up.

Last four cookies – what to do? It is a steam issue. Hmmmm...I'll try docking the jam pocket to let out the steam, bake at 425 and get them just the tiniest bit brown. Bingo!!

A couple hours of work for four good cookies. We ate them before I thought of getting a picture. Shit again.

The funny thing, this recipe made the final 10 best recipes and the LA Times test kitchen published the recipe with the same time and temperatures as the original submission. What the hell, LA Times? Are you sure you really test these? Tony says “LA Times is a lyin' bitch!”

I ended up not using that recipe.

Instead I pulled out an old mini fruitcake recipe. Oh before you start your bad jokes and bellyaching, this is one of the best fruit and nut filled, booze infused treats ever created. Tony, who hates fruitcake, begs for these. Of course, he also begs for oxygen when he can't remember the safe word.

This recipe comes from the Cookie Lover's Cookie Book by Richard Sax. I love this little book. It has been out of print for years and it's hard to find. It is worth the effort though – this recipe is a gem.

And no - there are no pictures of these. 1) they look lumpy and ugly but taste great 2) they are all gone!!!

BABY FRUITCAKES

You'll need miniature muffin tins for these guys, though a regular-size muffin pan can also be used. Paper muffin liners make this recipe easier to remove from the pan and store, but you can use non-stick pans if you have them.

The original recipe called for the neon colored cherries you usually find in fruit cakes. I substituted in dried cherries, but they do not look as festive. If you think they need a little color, you can add a glace cherry half to the top when you glaze.

Makes 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch miniature cupcakes, or 1 dozen muffin-size

2 cup of mixed fruit (mix and match from the following): raisins, golden raisins, dried currants, dried cranberries and chopped dates

1/3 cup chopped dried pineapple

1/3 cup chopped dried cherries

3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

3 tablespoons bourbon or brandy (or apple cider)

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

½ cup flour

¾ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon fresh-grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup each coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans, and almonds

BOURBON GLAZE:

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 teaspoons bourbon or brandy (or apple cider)

1.  Place the mixed fruit, pineapple, cherries, and crystallized ginger in a bowl. Toss with the bourbon and set aside to soak at least 30 minutes. It is best to not to let it set overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 300°F., with racks in the center and bottom of the oven. Place a pan of hot wa­ter on the lower rack.  Line miniature or regular-size muffin tins with paper muffin liners. If you don't have paper liners, butter the pan(s) generously.
3.  Cream the butter and brown sugar in an electric mixer until light; then add the egg, mixing until smooth. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda onto a sheet of wax paper.  Using a spatula, stir in the flour mixture to the creamed mix­ture, mixing just until blended, no longer. Stir in the fruit mixture with its soaking liquid, along with the walnuts, pecans, and almonds, mixing just until incorporated.
4.  Bake the fruitcakes until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, about 30 minutes (or 35 for regular-size muffin tins). Cool in the pan(s) for about 5 minutes and remove from the pan(s) (leave the paper liners on). If they seem to be sticking, then run the tip of a knife blade around the cakes.  Placing them on a wire rack over a sheet of wax or parchment paper.

Bourbon Glaze: Place the corn syrup in a small pan and heat gently, just to thin it. Remove from heat, stir in the bourbon, and brush the tops of the fruitcakes with the glaze. Let stand until set; then store airtight.

These keep well for at least a week, and can be mailed.  I have also frozen them with great success. Just thaw at room temperature in their packaging. To brighten them up before serving, reglaze so the tops are shiny.

Adapted from the Cookie Lover’s Cookie Book by Richard Sax

The Anti-Food Porn Rant

Smokin' Hot Food Porn

We love looking. We can't help it. That smokin' hot construction worker, that sexy black dress in the shop window, those rows and rows of flaky, creamy pastries – we look and we salivate. We desire. And if we have the cash, it becomes ours. (Well, maybe not the construction worker, but we can dream, can't we?)

But how many times have we been mis-lead? How many time have you bought that luscious perfectly iced slice of chocolate cake only to find it is dry and flavorless? And that little black dress – you try it on only to find that it wasn't really all that sexy when lovingly draped over that pooch left by one too many pieces of mediocre chocolate cake?

And how many times have you been walking through the book store, pick up a beautiful cookbook full of stylish photos and recipes featuring trendy ingredients only to take it home and find out you were snookered? Taken in by a pretty face only to be left with a pot full of barely edible – and sometimes extravagantly expensive –  dog kibble? Or that the amount of work necessary to achieve the pictured item has left you drained and impotent for the rest of the evening? And that construction worker, even if you could afford him, would have been a another wasted purchase as you retire to the boudoir with a migraine.

Like the strategically placed silicon in an adult movie,  food porn is there to enhance your enjoyment of   your most recently purchased fantasy book. And like elective plastic surgery, food styling is an artificial enhancement. Few real women (most of us included) look like that busty sexpot in Pizza Slut 3, and most of the food you make at home will ever look like the pictures in the books.

Books, magazines and TV shows – there is a lot of lying going. True, lying can be a good thing. Some lies are necessary – From your hubby: “No your ass doesn't look big in those jeans.” To your hubby: “Honey, I don't miss those golden curls I used to run my fingers through.” To the kids: “Don't worry Heather, you'll grow out of it. It's just baby fat.” 

But we all realize deep down that lies are social lubricants. Like the Quarker State in your engine, it keeps everything moving along smoothly and prevents the unsightly build up of corpses along the highways.

In the modern media, food styling keeps the food industry looking fresh and sexy – its a necessary set of lies to keep Martha, Sandra Lee and Rachel on the cutting edge of  the current market. Without the pretty pictures, would anyone buy their products to see if there was any substance?

It also puts lipstick on that pig – a little light on content? Then slap some pretty pictures in there, send it off to China for some sexy full color printing and get it out in time for the holiday gift giving season. Grandma loves the pretty pictures...and the political prisoners in China need the work.

It's not to say that sexy food photography is a bad thing. Good photos will give you an idea of how brown the edges of your cookies should be, how thick you should roll the dough, but you have to remember that they are the stuff that dreams are made of. Your mileage may vary. Things in the mirror may be larger than they appear (and that includes your rump in that little black dress!)

So remember, there are some worthwhile cookbooks that don't have 8 x 10 color glossys. Pick up the old school Joy of Cooking, The Fanny Farmer Cookbook or if you want some fantastic cookie recipes, get yourself a copy of The Cookie Lover's Cookie Book by Richard Sax. No food porn in any them, but lots of solid recipes.

And for Pete's sake – stop staring at the construction workers while sitting at the light. You are holdin' up the rest of us.

I know...I know...

I know its been a long time since I last posted. To be truthful, I've been having a lot of fun doing stuff instead of writing about doing it. Selfish...totally selfish. Sorry if that hurts anyone's feelings, but there it is.

I still don't quite have the new kitchen up to snuff, but damn...the room...I even have my kitchen bitch Tony slaving along side of me without stepping on each other's toes. Hell, even when the Cookie Confab met up we still had plenty of room with three cooks baking away.

First things first - I finally got Annie to loan me her camera. Mine is still conveniently MIA - being held hostage by the Underwear Gnomes I wouldn't doubt. You damn gnomes cannot have my lacey underalls!!!

Let me give you a tour of the new digs:

This is my new “kitchen” table. I got it at a used office supply place with the original intention of using it in the basement. However, once I got it home, the kitchen seemed like a perfect location. Its sturdy – I had Annie sit on it and hop around. Not a wiggle. Plus I love “putty” as a kitchen color theme, don’t you? Oh and the drawer holds 500 sheets of parchment paper! Ding Ding Ding!! Jackpot!!!

I added three really heavy duty bar stools I rescued from a thrift store. I had Tony hop around on these – still no wiggling. True, they are a little tall for the table, but are perfect for working at the sink or other counter tops.

This is my new stove. I know you were expecting something high end – maybe a Viking or something like that. Nope. Here is the best thing about this stove: It works. The stove at my old place was a no name, cheap-assed electric range. It probably worked fine when it was new – 30+ years ago! Towards the end the oven would vary up to 50 degrees and two of the stovetop elements would barely work. It’s one of the reasons why I stopped cooking at home and started eating out so much. It was depressing to get things prepped only to have them burst into flames halfway through baking time.

These are my cupboards. I think the term you are looking for is “retro” – not damn old. They may be a bit dated but I love them. They remind me of the cupboards in my mother’s kitchen – even down to the handles. Yeah they may be old, but to get the same quality of wood and construction in new cabinets, I would have to spend a small fortune. No MDFB here baby!

And this is my fridge. Once again – nothing fancy, but it works!! It doesn’t leak water all over the inside, the stuff in the freezer stays frozen and it doesn’t wheeze like an old steam engine every time the compressor comes on.

And last but not least - I now have a kitchen mascot! His name is Jim Swine. Loving crafted by my daughter, he holds a place of honor on top of our fridge.

You will get to see more of this facility as I get back into cooking. I am more interested in function than fashion – so don’t expect me to worry about how pretty something is as long as it works.

Next Time: The 2009 Cookie Confab!

Really Sad News

I saw this in the Dispatch this morning - it breaks my heart. Not only do I feel bad for the folks losing their jobs, but Columbus will loose a wonderful aroma as well. I am not a real big fan of Wonderbread, but it still smells wonderful when it's baking.

It's just another in a long line of bakeries that have gone the way of the dodo. My parents shopped at Omar bakery off of Parsons Ave. when I was a kid. The whole South side of the City smelled like fresh bread when they fired up the ovens. In college, I lived near the Big Bear Bakery. While I still loved the smell - it was torture because I was poor and knew that I wasn't going to be eating Big Bear baked goods anytime soon...

The truth about "surprise" visits or Bamboo Cafe redux

When I was in college, I shared a apartment with a female roommate. Sad to say, we were both total slobs - lazy drunken slobs. It was shameful. You wouldn't think two gals could live in such a trash heap, but to my chagrin, we did. Instead of cleaning, we spent time drinking $2 pitchers of Old Swill at the Beer Stube. My roomie - we'll call her Betty to protect the not so innocent- had parents who were very generous with the monetary gifts - allowing us to "further our studies" of cheap beer and cute guys on her parent's dime. The only catch was that twice a year, Betty's parents would come down and spend the weekend in Columbus. Part of the visit included stopping by our apartment before taking us out to dinner. Since we KNEW when they were coming, we would spend the two days before the visit cleaning our pad from top to bottom, making sure that everything was spic and span, that we strategically placed our textbooks and "notes" from class where they could be easily spied and that our fridge was totally empty of anything except a bottle of ketchup and an expired yogurt - since we were starving college students. When Betty's parents appeared at the appointed hour, we were the neatest, most upstanding, hardworking co-eds that ever attended OSU.

So what does that have to do with restaurant reviews?

Imagine that a restaurateur knew that a reviewer and a photographer from a local newspaper were coming for a visit. Don't you think that the restaurateur would make sure everything was spic and span - just like Betty and I did when we knew her parents and their checkbook were coming to visit?

I read Jon Christensen's review of Bamboo Cafe in this week's week Dispatch. Amazing how Bamboo Cafe went from a one star restaurant to a four star restaurant when The Dispatch food critic and a photographer showed up. Do you think there was an advance phone call? Did the folks at Bamboo Cafe get a chance to hide their dirty laundry before the man with the credentials showed up? I am going bet on one of two things - either there was an advance call or someone at the Bamboo Cafe ran a psychic hotline before they opened the restaurant. I know where I would put my money.

My question is:
Will you - the man on the street - have the same dining experience as Jon the Dispatch reviewer?

 It depends on two things
a) are you a paid restaurant reviewer?
b) Do you have any way to influence the public's opinion of this restaurant?

Since I doubt that most you get paid to eat out, I will guess that the answer to question A is "No!".

However,the answer to question B is "Yes"! The Internet gives you - the average person -  power to let others know of your "covert" visits to the various restaurants you patronize. Any restaurant who trots out their A game for a KNOWN reviewer is not a good place to patronize. You will only end up being disappointed and have a kid who dropped out of college after three years (Poor Betty!)

Instead, find a good restaurant that you like and vote for them with your wallet. Let people know through sites like Urbanspoon or Columbus Underground. The everyday experience is what counts in the long run, not what any reviewer - including me - says. Your experience will determine how you should feel about a restaurant. You should only use a review as a guide, not words from the burning bush.

Bamboo Cafe

We have been driving by Bamboo Café on Bethel Rd for the past month or so– the spot they now fill has been empty a while. The reason – it is located behind a McDonald’s. Not the best location for any business, much less a restaurant. However, Annie was intrigued by the “curtain” of live bamboo that screen the window and the very beautiful décor within. Much begging ensued and we reluctantly gave in.

The Bamboo Café promises both Vietnamese and Thai food. We like both. We have our favorite places to go for each cuisine, but there is always room for one more restaurant on our list. MiLi’s (MiMi’s) is my normal go-to place for pho and sets the standard by which I judge all others. We have also become big fans of Tai Thai in Grandview for Thai curries.

We came into a nearly empty restaurant on a Thursday lunch. There was a single waitress on the floor and one other couple at a neighboring table. As we sat down, we admired the scenery – bamboo walls, a bamboo archway over the entrance to the kitchen, rich textiles under the glass of the tabletops. It looked nice.

The menu was limited, but offered a sampling of standard dishes from both cuisines. The prices were a little on the high side - $10.00 for a bowl of pho, $9.50 for curry.

After looking over the menu, I decided to get the Pho. Annie chose a Thai red curry. Tony asked the waitress what she recommended and she pointed out the same pho dish that I had ordered, so that is what he ordered. Tony and Annie asked for water, and I ordered hot tea.

The whole group started to get bad “vives” when the add-ins for the pho came out. The Thai basil was wilted and bruised, as was the culantro. The sirrachi and hoisin sauce bottles were kind of “gnarley” and needed a good wipe down.

Yummmm - rotting vegetation!

The food arrived quickly. Much to our regret. It was terrible. I know that is brutal – but true.

The worst bowl of pho EVER!

First the pho. For those of you who have never had pho, I need to explain a basic technique that goes with the dish. Thinly sliced raw beef is placed into the bowl, then very hot broth is poured over the top. This cooks the beef quickly, and it is very tender. I’ve heard it termed “shaboo-shaboo style”. Not so with the Bamboo café. The meat had been precooked, re-warmed (possibly in a microwave) and then put in the soup. It was like chewing on old shoe leather. The same was true of the tendon meatballs. I had never had a tough meatball before – but I can no longer say that. To top all this off – the broth was straight out of a can. Nasty, metallic beef broth. The whole dish was inedible.

My daughter’s curry was the wrong dish. She had ordered the red curry. What she received was a pale yellow in color. The beef was the same as in the pho – pre-cooked, re-warmed and dumped into re-warmed curry base. The curry sauce had no real flavor other than that of coconut milk. So, tough nasty beef in a bland sauce.

Does this look red to you?

The meal was so bad we didn’t finish it. The waitress asked if we wanted to take the leftovers home and we said no. In most restaurants with an experienced wait staff – this would have been a tip off something was wrong. Fat people who didn’t want to take the extras home. We tried to explain that the food was not good, but the explanation appeared to be lost on her, as her English vocabulary was not very strong.

We were presented with the bill. I asked her to take off the tea – which I had never received. All told, our lunch came to $35.00 with tip. That is a lot cash for bad food and mediocre service in a pretty setting.

So, in summation, I would rather have bamboo under my fingernails than ever eat at Bamboo Cafe again.

Read my reactions to the Dispatch Review here

When you wish upon a star...

So I am going to finish up my San Diego trip now - this has went on too long. Between my home life and the tremendous amount of hours I have been putting in at work, I just haven't had time to record everything in the detail I want to do it in. I am sure you guys are so done with my "Vacation Slideshow" by now anyway.

I just wanted to finish up by showing you some pictures of the great stuff I got to see.

First of all, here is the thing I would love to have most. It is from Sideshow Collectibles. All I can say is that The Tick rocks.



Since I really don't have $150 to buy the limited edition figure, I thought I would take a page out of Lisa's book and ask folks to send me the money to buy it. I mean its working for her. Why shouldn't I jump on the bandwagon?

UPDATE: My friend Eric said he would buy the figure, but only it I would take the Tick to Amsterdam. He said The Tick is a little too tightly wound and could use a nice week long vacation. So he is spotting me $150 for the figure and tossing in starter money of $100 to buy me a plane ticket to Amsterdam. He said he would pay me an additional $100 if I took a picture of The Tick "enjoying" himself with one of the city's famed sex workers. I've got my seed money - are there any other readers out there who is interested in helping me achieve my dream? Any generous soul who donates will be thanked here in the blog and I will personally send you print outs of all the photos of The Tick and myself enjoying the pleasures of The Netherlands' most famous city.

While I wait for you folks to "support" me, here are the last of my Comic-con pictures...

My hubby posing with his cousin Jabba.

Tony - these are not the droids you are looking for...Now put them back!


I nearly geeked out when I saw the Night Owl's ship. I can hardly wait until Watchmen comes out!!!

Shop smart!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh... Baby Fett

And for everyone who thought that Comic-con was about comics, or movies, or pop culture...
well you can draw your own conclusions...


"Jason - I've heard you've been a naughty boy..."

I love electrons!

My street before the real damage. We lost nine trees on this street alone.

The rumors are false. I did not run away and join the circus.

I just got power back Saturday evening. It was a long long week. I had just stocked up on groceries and wham! Goodbye four dozen eggs. Goodbye motley collection of condiments who had taken over my fridge. I think maybe it was a blessing in disguise - I got to scrub out every inch of my ancient refrigerator with bleach. At least that is what I am telling myself.

Actually, the eggs did not go bad. I boiled them on my grill. My neighbors thought I was nuts - until I used up all the mayo in the fridge and made a HUGE batch of deviled eggs. I think they were gone in about two minutes flat. Tony was sad because he only got three eggs worth.

I also put my collection of cast iron skillets to work on the coals and browned off some ground beef. I was going to try making chili but it got dark - boy was it dark. I could see the stars without any light pollution.

Hard Boiled Eggs!!

My big freezer had been packed full and when I finally opened it yesterday, a lot of things were thawed out, but still nice and cold. I am cooking every thing off that I can.

Part of my bounty was shared with Eric, my hubby's best friend. I cooked off three pounds of Thurn's bacon for breakfast yesterday. Yum. And Eric called me a bacon snob. Hell yes. If loving Thurn's bacon is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

Now that I have lots of freezer room, I am looking into 'Once a Month Cooking or OAMC, or something close to that. More like "make some stuff ahead so I have something to eat when I am too busy to cook" or MSSASIHSTEWIATBTC. Hmmm... That is a bit much. Kind of defeats the whole acronym purpose. Lets see... Too Busy To Cook... Yeah. T.B.T.C. I don't think it will catch on, but hey, ya never know.

A couple items I am looking at are from Cook's Country, owned by Cook's Illustrated. I read a while back over on Tigers and Strawberries about the problems with reproducing recipes from the publishing group. Well that and Barbara has personal issues with how Cook's Illustrated treats non-traditional foods, such Indian and Thai. I am surprised she doesn't have an ax to grind with other venerable institutions such as Better Homes and Gardens or Redbook as well. I guess having grown up in the era of Home Ec for every gal, I just don't get as worked up about stuff like dumbing down exotic cuisines for American consumption. I think of it as cooking with training wheels. Personally, I use Cook's Illustrated like any other resource, pick and choose what I like and leave the rest. And yes Barbara, Chris Kimball has quite an ego, but no worse than any other famous persona I've encountered. You get use to heads that large when you meet showbiz folks from time to time.

So as for plumbing the depths for ideas, I am looking at the freezer lasagna, the freezer enchiladas and the frozen pot pies from the Cook's Country. I also have a lot of other things like Cincinnati Chili (which I've made for years), spaghetti sauce and beef stew. I've been over the OAMC books plus the sites and most of the recipes leave me kinda cold. Anyone out there have other resources they can suggest?

So that's pretty much it. The next week is going to be hell at work. I don't anticipate having much free time, but if I get a few minutes, I'll make another post. If not, I'll surface eventually. I always do.

Still here!

Hey folks!

Just dropping a note to let you know that I still exist and have not given up on the blog. My work schedule has become insane the last three weeks, working 50+ hours the past week. My paychecks look great, but it's grueling.

The lack of free time in my schedule has forced me to drop out of the Daring Bakers group. I am very sad to have to quit. I was unable to particiapte this summer because of my vacation, and now because of my job. I hope that I get to rejoin the group

My cooking has gone to basic survival level - making a large bunch of food on my days off and eating leftovers the rest of the week. I did treat myself to a Bahn Mi and an iced coffee from Mi Mi - or should I say Mi Li Cafe. Our favorite little Vietnamese place was forced to change their name by the Polaris area restaurant MiMi's Cafe. Of course my chances of going to the Polaris Mimi's Cafe has just dropped to about nil. Bully!

Dosa Corner was featured in the Dispatch today. A great place to eat. It's right next to my work and I have eaten there quite a bit - and I am mostly meat-a-terian. So If you like home-made Southern Indian food - Dosa Corner is the place for you.

A last little something to keep you amused - 100 things you should eat. I did pretty good except for the following items: 99,85,71, 68, 65 (Cognac but no cigar), 64, 59, 55,50, 42,39, 38, 37, 36 (Does Durian flavored items count? No, I didn't think so.), 33, 29, 25,21,17, 12 and 8. Not too shabby and I can fix a few of them really soon. And yes - I really have eaten roadkill.

Here is hoping that my life will calm down a bit. I hope to make it to the Meet-up group at the Cafe Shish Kebab next Wednesday. If you like grilled lamb - then you have to attend.

'Til next time!

Like sands in an hourglass....

Well here I am!
The last three weeks have been very interesting. A funeral, a snowstorm, and a birthday - you have to learn to love the roller coaster of life.
I've been to a lot of funerals in my 40 years. My parents were older - so a lot of my relatives passed on when I was young. Many of my friends have only been to one or two funerals. Many of their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and parents are still alive. And since funerals are for the living, I expect to attend a lot more funerals in the next twenty years. It's important to the people you know that you show up and say "I am sorry for your loss." And to bring a covered dish for the post funeral dinner. That was how I was brought up - you say good bye to the dead and fed the living. I still remember all the food at my dad's funeral - a ham, casseroles, salads, cakes and pies. The leftovers fed us for a week while we figured out that we could keep on going despite the huge hole that was left in our lives. Yes, funerals are uncomfortable - especially when you happen to run into that cousin you pissed off years ago - but they are as important as births, wedding and all the other happy times in our lives.
After being emotionally drained by the prior week, the snowstorm was a much needed vacation. Yes-vacation. It is really nice to say, "Sorry, I can't make it. Circumstances beyond my control." We sat around the house, cleaned out closets, watched movies together, cooked some fine pot roast and hash, finished novels that have been on hold, played games - it was fantastic. I loved it. Our family did not have one bad word to say to each other - we were just happy to be safe at home together. Saturday evening, I ventured outside to liberate my car from its snow drift, as I had to be at work on Sunday, and - bless their hearts - two of my neighbors joined me. We dug out our cars, snapped pictures of the interesting snow formations and I shared some homemade rolls. We were being neighborly. Everyone was happy - even when we should have been tired or worried. Why should kids have all the fun? We all need snow days as adult every now and then as well.
Here is a picture of my improvised wine and beer chiller (since no designated driver was needed!)...

My car (Couldn't have DWI'd if I wanted too)...

And the roof of our house ...

And at last - the birthday. My daughter turned a glorious 17 this past week. Scary, scary! I can truthfully say that it is very hard for me to come to grips with the fact that the tiny crying, poop-producing machine of seventeen years ago is the same creature as the large crying, poop-producing machine of today.
Annie's friends pitched in and bought her a cake from Mrs. Goodman's bakery here in Worthington. It was a pretty darn good cake. Of course I missed getting pictures of it - as the pack descended on it within minutes of arrival. Annie was sad that there weren't leftovers. She had wanted to eat it for breakfast the next day. I promised her another cake sometime this week. You'll see details of that soon...
I also took time to make one of George's favorite dishes - Italian Beef. I talked about making Beef way back in 2006 - it is a fairly intensive process - with the making of rolls and the slicing of beef, but oh so worth it.

See my battle scars from making the bread? I tangled with the 500 degree oven and lost. The hubby says that he is scared when I bake because I always burn myself. No - I do not burn my self every time. Usually only 30% of the time. Of course that doesn't stop him from eating his share of the goods.
So that is pretty much it on the homefront. I have been cooking a lot lately - so I hope to get caught up and give you all the steamy details. Cakes, casseroles, soups...making you hungry? Good.

Chicken!

Just a couple of quick notes this week - I am trying to get the holiday baking excitement off to a start this week!

First - I finally got to meet Denise of 2Silos at the first Worthington Winter Farmer's Market. I love her! Its so great meeting people who have passion for what they do. We spent a few minutes chatting between egg sales and I am thinking about adopting a chicken. I would love to get some great eggs on a regular basis and the thought of a fat stewing hen at the end of the whole thing excites me. With a little luck, I hope to drive up to the farm sometime in the near future to see the chickens do their thing. If we do adopt, I already have a name for my chicken. It will be Henrietta - named after the famous 266 pound chicken from "The Hoboken Chicken Emergency" by Daniel Pinkwater. If you never read this book as a kid - get it now. Even if you don't have kids.

The Winter Farmer's market was OK. There was not a lot of fresh produce available - which I kinda expected. Pies, cakes and other baked goods, canned goods, wool goods, and Christmas decorations really dominated. There was a group selling hydroponic lettuce, Wishwell Farms had some greenhouse tomatoes and the folks (sorry can't remember their names off hand) selling fresh mushrooms were there as well. I ended up buying some eggs from 2silos, a small bag of the lettuce to see how it tasted (it was acceptable), a small pecan pie from Meade Farms ('cuz I love them so much!!) and a $4 box of mixed mushrooms. I ended up making omelets with the mushrooms and eggs along with a small salad for dinner that night.

I really like the idea of the Winter Market, but without more things like root veggies and other long storage veggies on site - I may just be going for the eggs! Denise said she will not be back at the Winter Market until after the first of the year - so stay tuned.

Also, just a note to let you know that some of the local foodies here in town will be eating at MiMi's next Saturday the 8th around 2pm. If you are interested in stopping by for a bowl of pho and some food talk - stop on in!

That's about it for the moment - I'll be back with more sweet talk later!

My Summer Vacation by Rose Rings

Well - I know it been a long time since I have blogged. Sorry about that! At first it was just work and all the other various business of life - then I went on vacation! Woohoo! Yeah! I took a whole three weeks off from the rat race. Man did it feel good...there is nothing like letting go and not giving a flying crap about the minutia of your work. Of course that doesn't mean that I did have anything to do. First we went to Kansas City and visited friends there. Yes I did try some Barbecue. We were taken to Rosedale's Barbeque - a barbecue place in Kansas City started in 1934. Oh my god - I have never eaten so much in my life. I split a slab of ribs with my friend Eric, and it was still too much. No little dinky baby backs here! Here is a picture of Annie's plate. She got a half rack, plus three sides including some great french fries. All that for $8.95. I will say, I was not fond of their sauce. I am sure that in Kansas City that is tantamount to sacrilege, but it was way to ketchup-y and tasted strongly of celery seed. Fortunately, the meat was so good it didn't need any sauce.

After I got back to St. Louis, people were asking me if I have tried the "Brain on a Bun". I was told that it was a KC specialty along with the 'cue. Now I like a good brain as much as the next guy, but since Mad Cow Disease has come along, I am very hesitant to eat it. I used to eat it all the time with my dad. It is very creamy, like soft scrambled eggs. Maybe once I can be sure I won't die in a horrible prolonged manner, I might try the brain on a bun next time we are in KC.

If you are lucky enough to find yourself traveling along I-70 between St. Louis and Kansas City, keep an eye out for a place called Bobbers. I can't tell you which exit, but they have plenty of signs along the interstate to give you a heads up. Here is kinda how the whole adventure went. As we are driving down the highway back from Kansas City, we were getting pretty damn hungry. Now I had seen the billboards for Bobbers. Tony starts making fun of name. "Sounds like they should be selling bait!" "Maybe the specialty of the house isn't the food!" and so on. (Most can't be repeated in front of a family viewing audience.) Finally, we pull off of the highway at the proper exit, and start looking at the restaurants. A 'cue joint. Nope - just ate 'cue. A bar and grill. Nope - not open. Fast food. Nope - hatin' the fast food by now. So Tony was over ruled by the rest of the car and we headed over to Bobbers. Here was the first good sign. The parking lot was full at 1:30 in the afternoon. Second good sign. Lots and lots of old timers gathered at the counters eating. Tony asked one of them if the food was good. He said he had been coming there for years and it was the best food within 50 miles. He recommended to Lunch Buffet and mentioned the baked chicken in particular. We opted for the dining room with a table close to the buffet. The waitress rocked. She kept filling up our drinks and clearing the old plates away without a second thought, all the while making small talk with her regulars. The food was really really good. No food service, except the dinner rolls (which were hard). Baked chicken, BBQ ribs,homemade Salisbury steak, fresh corn in butter sauce(Best corn on a buffet ever.), new potatoes cooked with bacon, mashed taters and gravy (gravy was homemade) plus more stuff I can't remember. Great salad bar with fresh ingredient including the best tomatoes I have ever had in a restaurant. I went back for extra. All this for $8.95 a person. So there Tony! You can't poke fun now! St. Louis was - as always - a blast . We attended the Midwest Magic Jubliee and ran a party suite all three nights of the convention. My theory about running parties at conventions - add booze, stir and wait to be amused. I have rarely been disappointed. We pulled into town on Wednesday and started setting up shop in the suite when several people showed up out of the blue and started a "pre-con" party. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the weekend. We had crazy drunk chicks, foot magic, guys offering to nail a body part (yes-that part) to a board for money, balloon twisters - it was a lot of fun. We also saw some great magic - and unfortunately, some really really really bad magic. The performing highlight of the convention was watching Tom Burgoon and Mike Finney MC the evening shows. If you get a chance to see either of these guy perform - do it! (Yes, that is me in the leopard print fez tending bar!) Oh this is a food blog isn't it? Well we ate at Las Palmas. Again. Awesome food as in years past. Great staff. Good prices. If you are near the airport in St Louis - try to stop by.

We also ate at India Palace. It is has the strangest location ever. It is on the top floor of a small hotel beside the St. Louis airport. You can watch planes arrive and depart during dinner. The really bad news - it is almost impossible to get to now - thanks to some creative construction on the part of MDOT. Take the time to get a hybrid view map via Google map before you go. I wished we had before we left the hotel. It would have prevented much anxiety on our part.

Definitely worth the trouble though - one of the best Indian buffets I've been to in a while. A nice mix of vegetarian and meat dishes - pretty typical offerings with things like Lentil Dal, Chicken Tika, "Tempura" spinach leaves, and mini dosas plus a nice selection of pickles and salads. The buffet became a "must visit when in town" eating experience.

Just wanted to mention this, India Palace had goat. I like goat curry. Goat is damn tasty. Yes it has a pronounced flavor, and that's OK in my book. India Palace had goat curry with the bones still in. The people at the next table were flipping out about that. Lord forbid - they had to work to get the meat offa the bones. So sad... if you don't like it - leave it in the tray! I will gladly jump on the grenade and eat an extra helping so it doesn't go to waste.

So you think to yourself, "Wow! Rosie had a great time in St. Louis and Kansas city - she must be ready to go home!" And you would be wrong... As is our want, we headed out to the Lake of the Ozarks for three days. We swam. We drank. We ate - boy, did we eat. We ate at Kay’s Home Cooking again. You can check out my adventures there from the last time we were at the lake.

I also got to cook this time. That's the really nice thing about having a cabin with a full kitchen - you have the option of making something great to eat instead of eating out all the time. I went and bought some really nice two inch thick ribeye steaks and grilled them bad boys up. Along with hobo packets and a huge salad it was one of the best meals we ate on vacation. Not that I am tooting my own horn or anything...but I can make a nice dinner when I want to.



There was a little bit of a disagreement with our host, however. I love Steve. Steve is a wonderful, generous and awesome friend who we love hanging out with. However, his one fault is that he likes to marinate steaks in Italian Dressing. Oh. My. God. How can anyone ruin a beautiful piece of meat by throwing Seven Seas Italian on it is beyond my comprehension. I like a little garlic, sure. I like salt and pepper - it's a given. But vinegar! Pa-leeeeze. It pickles the beef and hide the flavor of the meat itself. Sorry Steve - not gonna happen on my watch. You can mangle your meat as you see fit once I leave.

So that was my big summer trip! I had another week's vacation after I got home and I'll tell you about it later... but for now - that's all folks!