Call It A Bribe If You Want To ~ It Worked ~

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas early at our house. All of our children and grandchildren arrived Friday for the festivities. This is the first year that we have had them all here. In the past six years since we have been living in Metro Detroit we have celebrated Christmas in MP. Now that our oldest has moved back from Colorado with his wife and four children we decided to do it here.

You can imagine what a chore it has been for us to load up all the Christmas goodies to create a memorable Christmas away from home. Not an easy one for sure. So, this year they all agreed to make the trip here. Hallelujah! To insure that they would make this an annual event we really put on the dog. E-mails and phone calls were made by the dozen to coordinate all the details. The agenda was set. Friday would be our Christmas eve, a casual affair, with heavy appitizers and a social hour. Saturday morning we would exchange presents and have a nice breakfast. Saturday afternoon the ladies would get their hair done and it would be a free day for the gentlemen and children. Saturday night a semi-formal dinner party would follow.

Below is our opening attempt to insure a continuation of this annual event.

Pretty dresses


for the ladies.

Monogrammed shirts for the gentlemen



with ties that coordinate with the ladies dresses.

I think it may have worked!

Baked Potato Bar Birthday Party

Photo via Rookie Cookie

~

We are up north today getting ready to celebrate fall birthdays. Kyle requested steak and a baked potato bar for the meal. Everybody likes steak and baked potatoes, well almost everybody. I suppose it sounds repulsive to a vegetarian but we don't have any of those in our family. Not sure that is good or bad but it is what it is.

~

A Baked Potato Bar sounded like a fun simple idea for the party. The few days that I was home last week was spent hunting and gathering party preps. Gifts were finalized, presents wrapped, cards were signed, food was purchased, cake was ordered and picked up, bar was restocked, extra plates, utensils and linens were located, 8' folding table and 8 chairs were schlepped up from the basement, food was put on ice for the trip, and then all was placed oh so carefully into the SUV.

~

Although not as simple as it first sounded, with the major effort behind us it is time to unload it all and let the celebration begin.

~

Happy birthday Kyle. Today is his actual birthday.

Happy belated or pre birthday also to:

Dad

Angie

&

Taylor

~

Hugs,

Sue

~ Foodie Friday Trainwrecks ~

Well, my first Foodie Friday post ever fell right into the theme of this weeks Foodie Friday Trainwrecks quite nicely. I had another funny story about food that I told our lovely host at Designs By Gollum that I was going to post, but this one worked out to be a trainwreck that fit the theme too and it was at hand, as they say. So, welcome to my first Foodie Friday entry.
From a distance it does not look too bad. A nice classic chicken piccata with steamed fresh asparagus as the main course. A light green salad and a side of lasagna left over from last nights dinner with John's sisters, accompanied by a mellow glass of Chianti Rufina.

On closer examination you can see that the steamed asparagus is a limp pale green version of its former self. John does not like his vegetables al dente but cooked a bit further. However, when he asked me if the asparagus were from a can I knew I had crossed the line from al dente to border line mush.


Trainwreck # 2 was the chicken piccata. Usually when I make this I use olive oil to saute the meat in. Well, I saw on a cooking show that regular vegetable oil is preferable because there is less chance of scorching the delicate olive oil. Big mistake. Instead of using my regular process of heating the EVOO over medium heat and slowly cooking the chicken I cranked up this new oil and burnt the heck out of the whole batch of chicken.

Here you get a close up of the limp asparagus and the over cooked chicken, like you really wanted to see it close up......

Well, here it is even closer. You can see how greasy it is, as well as burned.....

It is so disheartening to go to the trouble of making something and having it turn out badly.

Poor asparagus in all their fresh glory before I cremated them.

John's favorite salad that we have with most meals turned out just fine.

Well, there you have it my first Foodie Friday. Thanks for letting me play along.

I'm off to see what other Foodie's have posted at Designs By Gollum and to see if I did this any where near how you are supposed to do it.

Hugs,

Sue

Kitchen Work Horses

I wish there was a little drawer in the front of my kitchen sink to keep scrubber's and my dish brush in but there isn't. This spotted mint julep cup keeps it handy. It is an inexpensive cup from Two's Company that we used to carry at the shop. It gets a good washing often and an occasional swipe with silver polish but the finish on it is pretty well worn off which I really don't mind.

This blue and white hand soap dispenser is a real work horse in our kitchen. It came form my favorite junktique shop in Petoskey and cost very little. Today while scrubbing around the sink area I replaced the pump that goes to it with one from another bottle of liquid hand soap. This pump works better in it than the one that was in it before because it has a thicker stem that lets the heavy soap come out better.

Before Christmas I replaced my old dish soap dispenser with this new springy looking one. The painting was chipping off of the old one that I had had for about 8 years. These things are really handy and look decent to keep your dish soap in on the counter top. If you can find one I highly recommend them. You crafty girls could probably make them but let me warn you that the gals from the store that tried to recreate them their selves had a hard time getting a bottle topper that would work for them. They did come to the conclusion that the bottle itself was a Miller HighLife beer bottle in case you want to give it a try.

This is a random picture that down loaded when I put in my kitchen work horse pictures so I thought I would share it here too. The tip here is parsley storage. We use fresh Italian parsley in almost everything that gets cooked around here. In the spring, summer and fall it grows in the back yard in pots but during the winter it comes from the market. To preserve it, clip the tips of the stems off when you first bring it home and put it in a cup of water. Then take a large baggie and slit one side of it to make a tent to cover the parsley and pop it into the refrigerator. Change the water every few days and it can last up to 2 weeks if you haven't used it all up.

Have a great Saturday with the ones you love.

Hugs,

Sue

Peppermint Treats

We had such a fun day here. I started to try and photograph the making of these fun treats but didn't get very far.
We had too much fun so I didn't get a chance to take many pictures. Hope you all had a good day.

Good Morning

Frozen bread dough in the oven with a pan of boiled water so it thaws quickly.

Tea kettle on to boil water for a pitcher of Iced Sweet Tea made with Splenda.

Yogurt maker set for 10 hours to make homemade yogurt.

Slow cooked oatmeal with apples and brown sugar.

Yogurt and a bowl of oatmeal to start the day.

Now if I can just stay out of the Halloween candy.....................

~ A Barrel of Fun ~

Good Monday morning Ladies. Hope you all had a good weekend, we sure did. We had a barrel of fun. We couldn't resist it when a fellow sojourner offered to take a group picture of us in front of this flat bed truck carrying three huge barrel's of who knows what, to who knows where, that was parked beside us while we fueled up the Harley's for our weekend trip up to 320.
We had packed up our four bikes to the brim and loaded up one of the nonbike riding wives car with provisions for our fun filled weekend. A couple times a summer we try to take a ride a little farther than the local areas and this was one of our weekends for that.
Along with biking and eating we managed to convince Dana to take us on a boat ride on the lake.
Some of the others chose to do other things on Saturday, but Patty and I couldn't resist the opportunity to spend an afternoon on the lake with this bunch. Thanks Dana!

After our day of various activities we all gathered back at 320 for an evening of entertainment provided by the grand's, a fire in the fire pit provided by Bruce and a delicious meal provided by all of us. The star of the dinner was a salad that Angie brought over that I thought you might all enjoy. Several of us are in various stages of Weight Watcher's so this salad with only 2 pts. per serving was a big hit. The recipe makes a huge bowl that would probably last a long time in the refrigerator. Here's the recipe for this tasty salad that I have no idea what it is called.

Angie's WW Salad

2 cans of corn

2 cans of black beans

1 large green pepper chopped

1 large onion chopped

2 small can black olives

8ounces Fat free Italian dressing to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

Many blessing to those of you that are busy getting your children ready to begin the new school year in public schools, private schools or homeschools. I remember what a busy time this is for young families. My prayers this week will be that we continue to have a choice where and how our children are educated.

Blessings dear ones,

Sue

Paula's Strawberry Cake

I just love me some Paula Deen, don't you? She is such a cutie with her spiky hair and perfectly pressed blouses. I just can't wear a blouse for the life of me, They pucker and pull in all the wrong places but that Paula she looks so crisp and fresh in them even when working away in the kitchen.

Any way, see that beautiful Strawberry Cake Paula is holding up there in that picture. Well, I baked it for our vacation but unfortunately when the food was being put away when we arrived at our destination a big Tupperware bowl of potato salad was put right on top of it. The result was not pretty at all. It looked more like a strawberry pancake when it came time to serve it and I fished it out of the refrigerator. Broke my heart, it did. But Paula would have been proud of it if she had seen it before it was squashed.

If you haven't been over to Dana's in a while you might want to take a look. She has some pretty pictures posted that you might enjoy.

Back Home

Don't you just love coming home again after a vacation? It is so fun to go, but even more fun for us to come home. Every thing always looks new again to me for some reason, that is after all the bags, boxes and bins are unloaded.

The food that we took worked out well. It is so much easier with little ones to have meals in instead of making them sit through long dinners out. The preshopping and cooking really helped all of us to be able to make the most of our time with minimal effort expended to feed everyone.

Baked Spaghetti from the recipe that Phyllis Hoffman has in her book Gracious Tables was the favorite so I thought I would share it here for you.

Baked Spaghetti
Yield: 8 servings

1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces uncooked linguine pasta
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese blend

1. In a Dutch oven, brown ground chuck, sausage, garlic, bell pepper, and onion over medium-high heat, until meat crumbles and vegetables are tender; drain.
2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil and sugar. Reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, draining well.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Place pasta in individual baking dishes or a 13X9X2-inch baking dish.
6. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, and green onion. Spread evenly over hot pasta. Top with meat sauce.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until heated. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

.........................

Baked spaghetti is a meal in itself, needing little in the way of sides. Garlic or cheese bread sticks plus an easy-does-it tossed green salad are plenty.

~~~~~~~~~~

To feed our group of 13 I doubled the recipe and we had some left over for lunch the next day. The boys really enjoyed this hearty dish. Sorry I don't have a picture to show you ;(

The picture above is a kind of weird colored picture take in our dining room looking through to the living room. It is really much lighter and brighter in real life.

Hugs,
Sue

Phyllis Hoffman's Fried Chicken Recipe

Sweet Penny from Lavender Hill Studio, who makes the most beautiful Mosaic pieces, said that she would love to have Mrs. Hoffman's Fried chicken recipe, so here you go Penny:

FRIED CHICKEN
yield: 4-6 servings

2 quarts chicken broth
1 cup white Worcestershire sauce
1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) chicken cut into 8 or 9 pieces or 3 pounds chicken pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup or more canola oil or other vegetable oil (for frying)

1. In a large bowl, combine broth and Worcestershire sauce. Add chicken and marinate for 1 hour, covered, in refrigerator. Drain chicken and -pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine flour, salt, and pepper.
3. In a medium bowl, place buttermilk.
4. Dredge each chicken piece in flour mixture, dip in buttermilk, and dredge in flour mixture again. Set aside.
5. In a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron), pour 1/2 inch oil and heat to 325 over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, beginning with dark meat pieces. keeping oil temperature between 325 and 350, fry chicken on each side for 5 to 6 minutes covered, and then 5 to 6 minutes uncovered, turning twice. Total cooking time should be 20 to 24 minutes. (Chicken is done when a thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 165). Drain chicken on a wire rack.

Tip: If you have the time, marinate chicken pieces overnight in buttermilk rather than chicken broth and Worcestershire. Buttermilk, which has acidic properties, tenderizes the chicken and improves the flavor.

To make this chicken I did the soak overnight in buttermilk option that Mrs. Hoffman recommended in her Tip and I recommend it to. The soaking overnight in the buttermilk is what I think made this chicken so delicious.

The picture above is page 161 from the book ~ Southern Lady ~ Gracious Tables by Phyllis Hoffman and is available on Amazon.

Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage, who has an adorable cottage herself, is featuring photos of her sister's Texas home that are amazing. If you like looking at cottage style homes you might enjoying seeing Kathy's beautiful home.

~Happy Father's Day~

If It's Wednesday.....

Most of the neighborhood is more than likely making sauce. I haven't seen it yet this year but last year, on trash pick up day shortly after the full moon during the harvest season, there were so many tomato boxes on the curbs that you had to navigate carefully to avoid toppling the huge stacks of empty crates. Since I've been away quite a bit I may have missed the annual ritual.

My lovely neighborhood is of mixed ethnicity with a heavy lean toward Italian American with the occasional Greek, African or Irish American in the mix. We live on the northern east side of Metro Detroit which is famous, or infamous, for having a large number of Italian neighborhoods. This was all very strange for me when I first came here four years ago. Now four years later and 20 pounds heavier it is beginning to feel like the natural flow of things.

I've learned a lot from all these wonderful people but today is Wednesday and I'm making sauce so let's talk food. There are so many markets down here where you can get the freshest fruits and vegetables imaginable. The bakeries are loaded with fresh bread daily and the desserts are beyond, beyond. They cook seasonally and have very little in their refrigerators but display what they are fixing that day in big bowls on their counter tops like beautiful eggplants and peppers of assorted shapes and colors. People still come home for lunch and Nonna, the Grandma, cooks for the whole family.

They eat very little meat and reserve it for the evening meal that is served much later than I am used to, dinner was always at 6:00 when I was growing up. Coffee with milk or espresso for breakfast. A fresh cooked vegetable dish with bread, or maybe pasta for lunch. A small amount of meat with pasta often, veggies and bread for dinner. The portions must be much smaller than I tend to consume of all this delicious stuff because they are very tiny people.

Probably shouldn't generalize about an ethnic group and I'm not, but on my street on Wednesday were making sauce ~~~~~~~.

The photo above is one of my favorite cookbooks via Amazon.