Grandma's Kitchen Table

Hiatus: It's Senior State Swimming!

       Senior State Swimming Championships begin tomorrow in Bloomington, so I am taking a little break from blogging from now until Sunday while we concentrate on supporting Matt in that. 

      Whisk Wednesdays will return next week. 

      Mastering the Art of French Cooking will return next week also. 

      Nancy's Notions will begin next Saturday, stay tuned for that one and I will explain then. 

      I will also be taking some time off for a little vacation and Art Museums from August 8-15, but hope to cook ahead next week and bank the posts to be published on the correct days.  At least that is the hope. 

      Think fast swim times, the boy needs to drop 11/100ths of 1 second in the 50 Free for a Jr. National time...so close, so very very close!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Vanilla Ice Cream

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Vanilla Ice Cream, is found on pages 428-429, and was chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lynne's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      The photo says it all, a simple dish with one generous scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream on a hot summer's day. 

      I added the lemon sprinkles just because I felt like lemon sprinkles, but I am generally the person who goes to the ice cream parlors with their multitudes of flavors and orders one scoop of vanilla, sometimes I branch out and order French Vanilla.   No sauce, no sprinkles, no add-ins...just plain vanilla ice cream.  My favorite.   

      What can I say about the recipe this week?  It's ice cream.  Vanilla ice cream.  Very good vanilla ice cream, but still it's vanilla ice cream, so there is not a lot of elaborating on that. 

      Buy, the book, follow the recipe, and you will have one very excellent batch of vanilla ice cream, fit for any gathering, any time, any place.  Definitely a "go to" recipe.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Mary of

The Food Librarian, is Classic Banana Bundt Cake, and can be found on page 190.  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

Cooking Italy: Zabaglione

      In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.   This week's recipe was Zabaglione and can be found on page 598.   Fruit and a pudding-like sauce, what's not to love?

      In the book are two recipes, one for plain Zabaglione made with Marsala wine, and the other a cold version called Cold Zabaglione with Red Wine which was made with red wine and chilled.  Zabaglione is a sort of creamy pudding-like sauce usually accompanying fruit, but sometimes cake and other things.  

      I made the Marsala version as I had that on hand and I think it goes nicely with cherries, which is what I had on hand for fruit.  (Everyone here is getting ready to head out to various venues at various times for various things, so I figured I would use what I had on hand rather than going to the market to stock up on things that were just going to be sitting around in the next bit.  I'm fairly certain any Italian Mama would approve.) 

      While the red wine version produces a lovely pink color, the Marsala wine (an amber color of wine) produces a lemony color of sauce which I thought went nicely with the dark red cherries.  And, it tasted very nicely with those dark red cherries. 

      This is an easy dessert, the only tricky part being whisking egg yolks over heat for about ten minutes with the ever present fear of ending up with scrambled eggs, but I have done enough of this now with the French cooking, that the scrambled egg threat isn't so daunting anymore. 

      The chilled version can be made ahead and parked in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours, so if you are serving this at a dinner, you might opt for that, as I was making the version with the Marsala that was available for eating immediately after completion. 

      It's a tasty dish, sometimes it is nice to have just a little something with a bit of fresh fruit and this fits the bill nicely.  I will do it again, and I will try the red wine chilled version when I have a bottle of the appropriate wine on the menu next. 

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely pink rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is Poached Shrimp with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and can be found on page 65.

BBA Challenge: Challah

  The sixth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) was Challah, and is found on pages 133-134.  

  This was wonderful tasting bread: great for eating out of hand, grilled cheese and other sandwiches, French Toast, and dinner rolls. 

  I made it twice trying to get my braid to look like something...anything at all resembling a braid.  Proved it doesn't have to look good to taste good.  

  The actual recipe was easy, although there are steps necessitating that one minds the bread and is attentive over about a four hour stretch, so plan accordingly.   It is not intensive minding, just a little to do here and there, a few rest periods, and if you are planning on being home anyway, say doing laundry, it all goes by quickly.  The taste is delicious, so it is worth making now and again. 

  I think we especially enjoyed it as dinner rolls. 

  My first attempt at making the braided version resulted in what I have affectionately named "Wild Thing," as the braid broke in several places while it was rising (have no idea how that happens), the ends did not stay tucked under, etc., so it was all waving about in the air a bit like a wild thing.  Never you mind, however, as it tasted delicious.  I grew rather fond of the look of Wild Thing, but I knew all my BBA S&S pals would be producing these wonder loaves of stellar beauty, so I had to go back in and give it another try.  You can catch a glimpse of the Wild Thing here at the right. 

  The second try, in the photograph at the top of the post, I fashioned half of the dough into a braid, okay, something braid-esque at least (if you cut in half horizontally, it looks like two lobster tails actually, still need to work on the braiding thing), and a pan of little dinner rolls.   Those rolls disappeared faster than you can imagine...some right out of the oven, and the rest at dinner. 

  Will I try the braid again?  I think I am willing to admit that braiding dough is not my strong suit.  Making bread that my family loves, however, is in the cards.  They are always very enthusiastic and appreciative of my efforts.  Which is exactly why I do it.  Try this one, you'll be happy you did...and if you don't like to braid, make rolls! 

Nancy, Cathy, Audrey, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Di, Leslie, and I are baking and posting every other week to better fit into our schedules.  If you would like to see their Challah, click on their names and visit their sites in the next few days, or you can visit the main group and marvel how they are all already onto Cranberry Walnut Bread.  We'll get there...Slow and Steady. 

  Our next challenge:  Ciabatta, found on pages 135-142 .  Ciabatta will be posted here in two weeks. 

Fridays Favorites Fare

READING:  Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson...one of the recommended mystery fiction choices submitted by Elise and also Paula.  I chose it first as I have read the other 13 books in this series already. 

LISTENING TO:  Stones

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer) on pages 367-368; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Vanilla Ice Cream on pages 428-429; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Challah on page 133-134; The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Marcella Hazan), this week's recipe is Zabaglione on page 599; Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child), surprise as I don't know yet.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything

FAV THING TODAY:  Hanging out with Matt today and getting his things for the start of school in three weeks.   

GOING TO:  Enjoy hanging around the house, swimming, getting things done around here, doing a lot of family stuff together, Indians baseball game on Sunday, etc. Weekends pass incredibly fast, don't they?

PRAYING FOR:  Those still in search of employment after losing their jobs, please join me.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Tomatoes à la Provençale

      Yep, another cook along blog, what can I say?  I evaluate carefully these days as I am enjoying the cooking, but the posting requirements get a bit tedious at times.  That said, I enjoy reading everyone else's posts, and I learn a lot and make notes in my books about it all, so I feel I must play along nicely. 

      "What is this," you ask, "another French cooking assignment each week?"  "Yes," she replies, happily! 

      Helene at La Cuisine Helene put forth in Twitterworld last week (Helene works FAST) her desire to cook a bit in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I and Vol. II, and invited those so inclined to cook along with her each week, posting on Fridays. 

      I had actually just ordered the book as Susan and I thought we might cook along together now and again from the book, but sadly my book has not arrived yet, so this week I am scrambling about trying to find a recipe that will qualify for the cooking/posting this first week.  Nancy kindly checked various recipes that I had in another Julia book, and we came up with one that would work to get me by this first week. 

      In this blog along, Helene has decided that each participant can pick each week the recipe of her/his choice from the book, Vol. I or Vol. II, so that it will match nicely with their own family's interests, tastes, budgets, etc.  What a deal!  I immediately embraced this idea for I could see at once that I could pick things from Julia's books that would compliment the things I was making each week from the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook that we are using at Whisk Wednesdays.  They would fit together perfectly!  Yep, I'm in! 

      The first recipe I chose to make was Tomatoes à la Provençale,

page 507, Vol. I (thanks, Nancy, for looking up the page for me amidst your very busy day) because I needed something quick and easy. 

      You begin by washing and then slicing the tomatoes in half around the equator, scooping out most of pulp and seeds (infant baby spoons are very good for this chore), seasoning (salt and pepper) the tomatoes, making a mixture of fresh bread crumbs, shallots, scallions, garlic, and parsley, and adding a little drizzle of olive oil, to fill the cavities of the tomatoes. 

      Place the stuffed tomatoes into a shallow baking dish, drizzle on a little more olive oil, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

      Simple, easy, can be assembled ahead to be baked at time of dinner, and very colorful and tasty.  A perfect side dish for almost any meal.  We all loved the dish and will make it often, especially in the winter when we only have those hard hothouse tomatoes at the markets, I can see where the seasonings and herbs would do wonders for those.

      This is the part where I usually tell everyone to click on a site if they want to see everyone else's recipes, so just click on Helene's site above and she has a few listed this week.  And, this is the part where I usually list the recipe for next week, but I don't have my book yet, have not decided on a recipe, so I guess it will just be a surprise next week.

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup)

      The recipe scheduled to be prepared for this week's assignment for Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 27, Menu 4:  Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), and can be found on pages 419-420. 

      While a bowl of hot steamy soup is not a traditional favorite in the summertime, I actually love soup any time of year, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, makes no difference to me when it comes to a good soup. 

      I've never had cauliflower soup before, just never dawned on me to make soup with cauliflower before now.  My loss all these years, as this is a wonderful soup, creamy and satisfying, with a gentle flavor accentuated by parsley and croutons. 

     The recipe goes together fairly quickly, making sure that you use a good number of pans, bowls, etc., as after all, you paid for this stuff, so you might as well use it all, as in "all the time" in French cooking.  Results are so worth it, so absolutely worth it. 

      Saute onions, leek, in a little butter, add rice flour, cook a couple of minutes, salt & pepper the concoction, add chicken stock, cauliflower, and simmer for a half hour. 

      In the meantime, cut bread into cubes for croutons and bake until browned.  Also boil (okay, I steamed as I always steam vegetables) some reserved cauliflower and refresh in cold water to add to the bottom of the soup bowls later and clip some fresh parsley. 

      When the soup has simmered, you process it in the food processor and strain it through a mesh strainer, then you put it back in the pot, add an egg yolk to some cream, whisking it into the soup as we all now know how to do quite well without making scrambled egg of it all. 

      Ladle into the bowl, top with parsley (don't skip this step as it is really good with the soup), serve the croutons on the side, and you have one very fine lunch.  Easy, simple, warms up well the next day, and is absolutely delicious. 

      I followed the recipe exactly, tasting a little here and there along the way for seasoning, etc. and I have to say that I could have stopped without the addition of the cream and egg...it was good, but seriously, after you puree the soup in the food processor, before you add in the cream and egg, the soup is very velvety and smooth and creamy and you don't really need the extra calories and fat at all to have a very wonderful soup.  Next time I make it, I'm skipping the cream and egg, as I loved the soup just as much without it.  And there will be a next time, and a next, and a next, etc.

     

If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there. 

 

Class 27: Menu #4

• Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup) pages 419-420
• Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer) pages 367-368

• Profiteroles au Chocolat (Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate Sauce) pages 304-305

Tuesdays with Dorie: Raspberry Blanc-Manger

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Raspberry Blanc-Manger, is found on pages 398-399, and was chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Susan's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      My father-in-law brought us some fresh raspberries from his garden just as I was preparing to make this dessert, so we had nice fresh raspberries in the dessert as well as for the sauce and topping.  Can't beat that! 

      The recipe goes together quickly and easily, ingredients being simply milk, cream, almonds, sugar, gelatin, vanilla, and raspberries. 

      There was no baking involved at all this week:  assembly only, place in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, unmold, and you have a lovely and refreshing summertime dessert.  

      Even the sauce was extremely simple, just raspberries and sugar pulsed in the food processor, strained, and poured over the unmolded blanc-manger.  We added a few raspberries on the top, and even Mark, who is not a raspberry fan enjoyed this dessert very much. 

      I only made half a portion in a small 6 inch mold as we have been having way too many desserts around here lately, and when that was finished, everyone was urging me to make more soon.  I would say that was a hit. 

      The only thing I would do differently next time is to use almonds without the skin on them as the little brown flakes you see are that...tasted fine, didn't even notice it until I saw the photo, but I think it would be prettier without them.   The next time I make it, I am going to try strawberries instead of raspberries just to see how that combination would taste. 

      Perfect party food...all of it can be done ahead and brought out at the last minute.  Definitely will make this one again. 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu, is Vanilla Ice Cream, and can be found on pages 428-429.  

       Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

 

Seasonal Sectionals - Day One

      Day One of Sectionals started off quite well for Matt.  He had the 50 Freestyle this morning and got a new best time of 24.59, qualifying him for finals tonight.  He did not best that time tonight, so gets to keep the 24.59 from this morning as his new best time.  A good way to start a meet, so he was happy.  

      CSC swimmers are doing great, some with new best OPEN times, which is better than Jr. or Sr. National times, so Congrats to them!

      Photo is Matt and Stevie after they finished their swims this evening, happy to have something to show for Day One.  Keep those good thoughts going, tomorrow he swims the 200 Freestyle, Wednesday the 100 Backstroke, and Thursday the 100 Freestyle. 

 

Cooking Italy: La Florentine Grilled T-Bone

       In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.   This week's recipe was La Florentine Grilled T-Bone and can be found on page 385.  

      The recipe was simple, easy, and quick.  Especially if your husband in the grill master at your house.  So, I confess:  I cracked the peppercorns for him and he did all the rest, which means he brought it to room temperature, seasoned it, grilled it for the times the recipe suggested, let it rest, carved it after letting it rest for 10 minutes, and served it on the plate.  He did it all perfectly. 

      I am not sure what kind of steak is in the picture as Mark did the purchasing.  I do know it was the same size and thickness that was recommended in the recipe, and some sort of version of T-Bone. 

      The recipe was perfectly correct in seasoning and grilling instructions, the steak finishing off rare, just the way we like it.  The timing of it all was perfect. 

      Definitely a repeat, definitely a hit around here, definitely doing it again.   

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is Zabaglione and can be found on page 599.

Seasonal Sectionals

      Josh, Matt, Harrison, Mike V., Michael G., Daniel, and Peter eager to get started on the trip...didn't manage to get all the guys as they were arriving in dribs and drabs and I was lucky to get this many in one place at one time. 

      Harrison and Matt heading out to duel it out over the freestyles and backstroke. 

      Sarah and Lauren all smiles and ready to swim fast this week. 

      It's that time of year already, USA swimming Sectionals for the swimmers. 

      Summer has just flown by this year.  This morning the Sectional qualifiers loaded onto a bus and headed east for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

      Charles packing his bags into the bus trunk.  Bags were checked. 

      The swimmers loaded onto the bus.  Lisa checked off all her trip lists making sure they were all set for the trip, and they headed off with hugs and waves from parents as they drove off, excited to be together and going off on a road trip for swimming. 

      Carly and Megan going for new best times and new good times! 

      Back to front:  Matt F., Michael, Trish, Rhiannon, and Elizabeth all seated and ready for a week of fast swimming and new best times! 

      And, because the silliness is never just limited to the antics of the swimmers, here's one of Carly's dad and Josh and Lauren's Dad goofing on the kids a bit.  Carly refused to hug her dad goodbye a second time because "he's all sweaty from working in the yard!"  So that Rick wouldn't feel rebuffed by his 16 year old, Larry ran over and gave him a big hug, with Carly dodging "corny embarrassing parents" by running for the bus!  We all laughed...some kids will still hug at the bus steps, and some won't...they are all growing up way too fast!

      Road trips: always fun to see the swimmers heading off to compete for those coveted spots at Nationals, fun to be a part of the excitement, the hopes, the dreams, the incredible work ethic this team has for their love of swimming and always, always, going for that new best time, that sense of achievement, the payoff for all the hard work. 

      Best of wishes, CSC Sectional Swimmers...we'll all be here for hugs and congratulations when you return!  We are so proud of each and every single one of you...we stand in awe every single day of what you do and what you have achieved.  We could not be happier than we are right now, so have fun, swim fast, and know that we appreciate all the efforts you put into swimming each and every day.  Go CSC!

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:

Last week I received quite a few suggestions for novel reading, so I am gathering those and going in on those next week while we have a lot of swim meet time and I can read!  In the meantime, now, I am finishing up odds and ends and some magazine articles I have put aside to read.

PHOTOS:  Swimming Lessons with Matt (1) Dominic (2) Jacinta (3) Luke (4) Monica...all having a great time learning to swim! So cute!  

LISTENING TO:  Billy Joel and Elton John...how large are those concerts??!

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Blanc Manger on pages 398-399; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Challah on pages 133-134; The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking(Marcella Hazan), this week's recipe is La Florentine Grilled T-Bone on page 385.  You can cook/bake along, too! 

FAV NEW FIND:  Matt's rankings in the Psych Sheets for upcoming Sectional Meet...pretty good for a 16 year old, yep, pretty good!  Actually, they are pretty good no matter the age since he swims Open (15 and older) these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAV THING TODAY:

Okay, yesterday...dinner at the Hamilton County Fair...a charcoal grilled ribeye sandwich and a lemon shakeup!  I get one every single year...it's a tradition for the past 30 years.   

GOING TO:  Celebrate birthdays...Mark's Dad's was yesterday, Mark's is Sunday, and Matt's is the 31st, so we will head up to Elwood and celebrate with the three of them together.  The fair is going on, so we will be in and out of there looking at various projects our kid and our friends' kids have entered.  Getting Matt ready for sending off to the Sectional Meet on Sunday morning.

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel...a lot of people vacationing and going various places...please join me.

Whisk Wednesdays

      Whisk Wednesdays is on break this week.  Shari, the founder and creative genius behind the Whisk Wednesday participants, was on TV today and that used up all of Shari's cooking time for Whisk this week preparing for that and doing the fancy write up on Julia Child's cookbook (scroll down further to see that at her site and be amazed)!  So, we are postponing the menu until next week to give Shari a chance to catch her breath! 

      If you would like to see Shari on TV, go to her blog today, www.whiskblog.com and scroll down to click on the words telling about her TV appearance.  There are about 2 minutes of commercials and then Shari makes Bavarian Cream on television!   This was her first time and she did a fantastic job and looks absolutely beautiful doing it.  We can all say, "Oh, and to think...we knew her when...." 

      Kudos, Shari...great job!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Brioche Plum Tart

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Brioche Plum Tart, can be found on pages 54-55, and was chosen by Denise of Chez Us.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Denise's site above and she will have it posted today. 

      Tracey, Di, and I had talked ourselves out of making this selection this week, all on our own of course, and when we were chatting we just reinforced the idea of nixing it for a week.  Then Holly entered the picture and Holly has never missed a single week (unlike the rest of us), so the thought of Holly ruining her record just didn't sit well, and we offered to bake along with her, with Nancy's encouraging words as she had made it, her husband deemed it the best recipe yet, and convinced us that it really didn't take that long and we would appreciate that we had made it. 

      So Tracey, Di, and I figured we would keep Holly company and cheer her on by making the tart after all this week.  Of course, we all decided this at a way late hour, so posting was going to be sort of an untimely event. 

      One makes the dough the night before, lets it rest in the frig, and then assembles and bakes in the morning, which is a nice deal for a breakfast tart since all the time consuming dough rising part is really the night before. 

      Around here no one, including myself, is that excited about baked plums for some reason.  We all like them eaten out of hand, but just not baked so much.  Since no one was that thrilled with the recipe, I figured skipping it would be the way to go as we really have been having too many desserty type things around here lately. 

      Once committed to the week, however, I decided to read the side bar and see if Dorie had any other suggestions for the fruit in the tart, and she had plenty.  Peaches and cherries are a big hit around here, being two of Mark's favorites, so I went with that and cherry jam figuring he would at least eat the tart for the fruit.  I also subbed in almonds for walnuts as we like those with these fruits.  

      I am happy I made this, as it turned out nicely, a little browner than I would have liked, so I am attributing that to my oven as I tented the shell way before the time suggested in the book, and it still got dark way too fast...next time I will tent from the beginning.  Or maybe I will only put the dough half-way up the sides of the tart pan so that when it rises it does not reach over the pan and brown too much.  

      Nevertheless, darker than I like or not, it is being eaten with gusto and favorable compliments.  Is it Top Five?  No, but it was good.  I have come to the conclusion that to rank Top Five over here with the guys, chocolate must be involved.  It's a repeat, as long as plums are not in sight.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, is Raspberry Blanc-Manger, and can be found on pages 398-399.  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there! 

Cooking Italy: Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans

      In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.   This week's recipe was Pasta with Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans can be found on 177-178. 

      We make pasta, potatoes, and green beans a lot around here, but have never before combined them together into one dish. 

      I have never made pesto from scratch before, and I have a wonderful basil plant growing on the deck so that seemed a fine use for a bit of it.  As a rule, we are not huge fans of too much sauce...we like a little sauce, but there is a fine line around here between a little and too much, and I will say that the amount in this recipe was perfect. 

      Turns out making your own pesto is not at all complicated, with just a few ingredients, a nice recipe included in the book, and a food processor, one is pretty much set to go.  Takes only a few minutes.  Photo at left is my crazy wild basil plant that is growing on the deck this year...basil by the handfuls whenever I want it. 

 

      I liked the fact that you cooked all the ingredients separately and then combined in the end, something I have grown to appreciate with French cooking, so that was nice to find that in this recipe. 

      Was it a hit?  It was well received, and I will probably make this again from time to time.  It was a very nice choice with the menu this month. 

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is La Florentine Grilled T-Bone and can be found on page 385.

BBA Challenge: Casatiello

      The fifth Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge (from the book by the same name authored by Peter Reinhart) was Casatiello, and is found on pages 129-132. 

      This was our favorite bread so far as it has so much flavor with the sausage and cheese additions.  It is an Italian bread that the author describes as an "elaboration of brioche."

      The recipe was quite easy, went together quickly, and was absolutely wonderful still warm about three quarters of an hour out of the oven, as well as for a few days thereafter.  We would have been slicing into it straight out of the oven as the aroma was so delightful, but it said to wait at least an hour before cutting into it.  We waited three-quarters of an hour and then just started slicing away.  It was great without an addition of anything on it. 

      Mark enjoyed taking it as sandwich bread for lunch, so my next venture with this recipe is to make sandwich buns from it. 

      This is a recipe I will make time and again. 

      While the main group of 200 bakers are baking weekly, the Slow & Steady group consisting of

Nancy, Cathy, Audrey, Jessica, Melissa, Sarah, Di,  and I are baking and posting every other week to better fit into our schedules.  If you would like to see their Casatiello, click on their names and visit their sites in the next few days, or you can visit the main group and marvel how they are all already onto Cornbread.  We'll get there...Slow and Steady. 

      Our next challenge:  Challah, found on pages 133-134 .  This will be posted here in two weeks. 

Seasoned Conditioning

      Well, the World Championship Swimming Meet here in Indianapolis at the Nat has finished.  All those well-seasoned conditioned swimmers roaming our streets and the Nat now a thing of the past.  Don't know if you got to see any of it on tv, but the swimmers are poetry, grace, and power in the water at that level of swimming.  We had two girls from our club swimming in the meet, and what a thrill it was for them to compete at that level! 

      Our club officially had Saturday as our volunteer day to work at the meet and while the kids all got to see various swimmers, the adults were pretty busy working.  Mark was taking tickets yesterday when Mrs. Phelps came through the line, so he got to see her up close and personal...we all think that Mrs. Phelps is as much of a celebrity as her son, Michael.  She asked Mark if it would be possible to switch sides to sit on as she wanted to sit with another swim mom and Mark told her that she could give it a try with the ushers.  He said, "I was figuring if anyone could do it, she should be able to." 

      Matt, Daniel, and Stevie (compliments of the Haslers) got to have VIP tickets the night Michael broke the 200 Fly record, so they were thrilled with that, and the fact that they were sitting in the VIP section in front of Mrs. Phelps (seen in photo at left behind them in light blue shirt), so that when Michael was awarded flowers each time for winning an event, he would bring them to his mother in the stands and they got to see Michael a few times.  They were on television as when the cameras panned to that, the boys were right there front and center, so friends were texting them saying, "We just saw you all on TV!"  That was, however, as close as they got to actually meeting Michael. 

      Aaron Piersol broke the world 100 Backstroke record last night...one of Matt's major swims, so that was a good and exciting way to end the run.  A lot of fast swimming and fun times for the CSC swimmers (and their families) over the week. 

      Ali and Sarah got to attend a World Swimming Championship kick-off breakfast with Cullen Jones (Olympic medal winner and one of the first African-Americans to be so in swimming), so here is a fun photo of them at the Make a Splash breakfast, compliments of Buddy and Laurie.

      Sectional swimming starts week after this at Miami and Matt is entered in four events for that, hoping that if he gets the cuts he wants in that meet, that he won't need to swim Senior State, making his next meet be Junior Nationals in Washington State and having that week of Senior State Swimming as a bit of a break.  Keep your fingers crossed as it would be nice to have that all in place earlier rather than later. 

To Everything There is a Season

      Di started it.  She got new bookshelves for all her cookbooks, organized them all and had the nerve to send us photos of the completed project, making the rest of us feel like we should maybe do something about our own cookbook mayhem.  Now, she didn't directly say this because she is way too nice for that...but the pressure was there for me nonetheless. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I don't have new book shelving because my cookbooks all reside in my pantry.  Well, okay, that's where they are supposed to all reside.  Truth in telling, however, is that I usually have three or four by my chair from my cooking blog alongs, because there is no real sense to put them away each time since I have to make grocery lists and such for the coming week from them.  There are always a couple by my bedside nightstand for planning upcoming dinners, etc.  There are always two or three in the car as there is absolutely no sense waiting around somewhere in the car without some reading material that you can quickly pick up and put down and that you might need to have with you so you can stop at the market for ingredients for dinner.  One or two reside on the counter as I use them all the time (do you hear that Ina?).  So, having cookbooks shelves in the pantry is convenient, but rarely do they all end up there. 

      However, just for Di, I gathered them all up, placed them in their places on the shelves, and took a photo...so here you go, Di...all organized in your honor.  Now let's see if the rest of the crew can meet the cookbook organization challenge! 

      Just for fun, I took a photo of my very first cookbook.  It was given to me in college by the father of a friend, a wonderful gentleman farmer, and he wrote both my name and his inside the front cover, very sweet.  I have kept it all these years and have several recipes I use from it so I keep it within easy reach on the shelves.  It was the start of a great love of collecting cookbooks to use for cooking for my family and others.   

      While I was at it, I took a photo of the rest of the pantry so that you can see, while the family has three of the floor to ceiling sections, Matthew has the last one for all his junk food...food easily transportable on the way to and some to stash in the car for on the way from swim practice. 

      Occasionally the rest of us stray over there for a bite or two, but by and large, I hold out no hope of claiming that section for anything until he is no longer using it...and just so you are sure about this:  I am in no hurry to claim that section at all. 

      To everything there is a season...and the season of having our boys still with us is quickly progressing towards a new season, one I am clearly not ready for anytime soon.  Pantry shelving is the least of it all.

Fridays Favorites Fare

READING:  A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz  Almost finished with it, and then I need to read my token novel for the year:  one of which everyone immediately recognizes the name and/or author and fulfills the goal for seeming to be mainstream America, "with it," and part of the "in crowd" (i.e., not my usual standard reading fare in other words)...so submit your favorites to my email now, so that I can choose something from amongst them! 

LISTENING TO:  Symphony on Prairie is doing Bach this weekend, so I am in a Bach kind of listening mood this afternoon.

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Brioche Plum Tart on pages 54-55; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Casatiello; The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Marcella Hazan), this week's recipe is Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans on page 177-178.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  That last week's little surgery resulted in all negative results...what a relief!

FAV THING TODAY:  Just enjoying the summer day with Matt.  Fun to see all the little swimmers and how good Matt is with teaching them to swim.   

GOING TO:  A mish mash of activities this weekend...World Swimming Championships are here in town, so that means working as well as watching; hopefully, the Bach through Bluegrass concert at the Prairie this evening; and the biggie...getting 4-H all wrapped up and turned in for judging by Sunday evening.  Trying to decide if I am entering anything this year or not...still haven't made up my mind definitely on that, but mine doesn't have to be turned in until later, so I can procrastinate a few days before I need to decide.

PRAYING FOR:  Pick something close to you heart to pray for, and please join me.

Whisk Wednesdays

      Due to everyone's scheduling this week, this next set of menu recipes is being postponed for one week, so it will appear beginning next week.

     If I get time, I may do a rewind recipe here from something Shari did before I joined her with Whisk, probably some sort of salad for summer.  I will let you know...about that and the missing Bavarian Cream from last week as I still have not made it...too many desserts around here lately, but I can see a gap this weekend, and fresh raspberries begging to be used. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, can be found on pages 96-97, and was chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lisa's site above and she will have it posted today. 

       Well, the guys were delighted with the return of a chocolate dessert!  There is nothing about a brownie that they do not love.   Brownies have been something I have made through the years, as they are fairly no fuss and don't require you spend a lot of time dwelling over the chocolate or the recipe. 

      Such was also true of these, easy, ingredients readily available if not already in your pantry, and the time commitment is minimal in both mixing and baking. 

      I made three changes:  I left out the cinnamon, and I left out the nuts because the guys around here prefer chocolate and cinnamon not be mixed together, and they prefer brownies without nuts; I also changed the baking time from 30 minutes to 50 minutes as I could tell at 30 minutes they were not set (actually raw still in the middle). 

 

      They turned out just great and were the consistency the guys prefer with the longer baking time.  There was note that these are "mushy brownies, but not too mushy, just mushier than your usual ones."  I'm sure that is standard food critic banter, but if you need interpretation:  they "loved" the brownies, "would eat them anytime" I want to make them, and "making another pan tomorrow would not be too soon."  I think you can tell by the way Matt is shoveling it all in, that these would not be around long.  It's so rewarding to cook/bake around here as the guys are always so appreciative of any efforts I am willing to put forth in those areas...it's awfully nice to have an appreciative participating following.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Denise of Chez Us, is Brioche Plum Tart, and can be found on pages 54-55.

  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

Cooking Italy: Tomato Bruschetta

      One of the other Whisk Chicks from Whisk Wednesdays, Angela, is Italian and loves her Italian heritage and Italy's cuisine.  After seeing many of Angela's fantastic recipes on her blog, I persuaded her to begin an Italian cooking blog-along of her own (something she had been contemplating for awhile) for purely selfish reasons on my part:  I have always wanted to know how to cook Italian food, as it is Mark's favorite, and so far my repertoire is limited to Spaghetti and Meatballs and Fettuccine Alfredo, both of which are fairly good and made from scratch, well, everything but the pasta that is.  And, so, Cooking Italy was born. 

      Angela has set the agenda as one menu a month, consisting of four different dishes, with the posting requirements generally of posting one recipe a week on Mondays.  We are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. 

      The first recipe was Tomato Bruschetta, something to warm up the appetite before the main course, and is found on pages 73-74. 

      Since Cathy and I are also doing (but not posting as really, there is probably too much posting going on here as it is) recipes from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day, I decided to make the baguette I was going to use for the slices of bread for the bruschetta, the idea being that I could make it small and use thick and thin slices so people around here could have a choice:  Barbie portions or not.   

      Made the bread, baked the bread, diced up the tomatoes, squished the garlic and rubbed it on the warm grilled bread slices, topped it with the tomatoes, salt and pepper, drizzled on a little olive oil, and finished it with a sprinkling of fresh basil from the plant on the deck.   Simple, easy, and oh, so delicious! 

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling), you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans and can be found on pages 177-178.

 

Seasons In The Sun

      Sometimes you don't need a lot of words, the photos tell the story.  Here are some fun shots of the swimming lessons Matt teaches in the summer. 

      I remember when he was this small...now he is 6'4" tall and these little ones just seem so little and that time so very long ago. 

      Truly wonderful children, all of them, so polite and respectful, and having so much fun learning how to swim. 

      And all those little pink swim suits, towels, cover-ups, and sandals...I certainly hope I get some girly grandchildren along the way!  Buying blue and green all the time was okay, but I am ready to shop on the pink side of the store occasionally!

 

Getting Ready for Championship Season

 

      Team Indiana at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in June.  Matt is the first one on the left side in the fourth row.  You are on your own to figure out everyone else! 

      It's been a bit busy around here and my posting has been somewhat erratic, so am hoping that I can do a little in the way of catching up with that in the next few days and keep more on track. 

      The CSC OTC swimmers had a great time out in Colorado training at the Olympic Training Center.  Josh, Daniel, and Mike at left at the Garden of the Gods. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Matt returned with lots of information and various different methods of various different aspects of his swimming world.  Daniel, Matt, and Harrison above right.  Daily treck to and from the pool from the dorms below left. 

      Matt said he felt strong, deck entered two swims at the Fishers meet the following weekend, and got a new best time in his 50 Freestyle, so he was very happy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nik and Stevie, and some other random photos of the OTC experience...a most wonderful opportunity for any swimmer.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Pool shots and Harrison and Matt, being, well, Harrison and Matt. 

 

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz  This is a strange little book Mark got as a Christmas gift from his sister Nan.  Horwitz, of course, is a well-known, respected, and awarded writer.  I was expecting something different when I started it, am not sure I really like it all that well, and for some reason can't put it down.  It's a sort of story in a story.  The premise being that Horwitz sets out to "discover" the lands that were discovered by the famous explorers back in their day.  You get the original story of discovery and then you get today's version of the same areas of discovery.  I'll see it through...it has large print, and maps, and I love anything that has maps!  A strange little book. 

LISTENING TO:  Big Band Music from various artists

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies on pages 96-97; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Casatiello.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  The new stoplight at 131st and Gray Road in Carmel. We now have a left turn arrow.  I am pretty sure this is going to catapult us even higher in the rankings for the Top Ten Cities in the United States for Raising a Family.  I know it just made my life a whole lot easier.

FAV THING TODAY:  Okay, let's say yesterday instead of today as I loved going to the Symphony on the Prairie last night at Conner Prairie.  Yes, it was a bit chilly, can't remember for instance when one needed a sweater or jacket on the 2nd of July!  It was all patriotic music and then a tribute to the Big Band Era during the time of WWII, so that was very enjoyable.  Fireworks at the end accompanied by the symphony.  Very nice evening.

GOING TO:  Let's see:  Some are going to Cincinnati to the Reds game, some are not; some are going to Elwood on Saturday, some are not; Some are celebrating clear into Sunday, some are not.  You are on your own to figure out who is doing what when.  Hope you are having a great 4th of July holiday!

PRAYING FOR:  Peter's family as Peter lost his three year battle with cancer last weekend, a braver child, I cannot think, a more faith-filled family, I do not know.  Please join me.

Whisk Wednesdays: Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis)

      This week's Le Cordon Bleu at Home recipe for Whisk Wednesdays was a dessert.  It sounded good, but we have had a lot of dessert around here lately and frankly, I am having trouble getting rid of some of it, i.e. the non-chocolate ones.  I am not a big dessert lover, so while I don't care for chocolate, the guys do, and they readily eat those up quickly.  The dessert for this week was a non-chocolate affair, so I had decided that I would skip this week's preparation since we just finished the TWD cake I made earlier which was essentially the same flavors, and make it another week when I could count on help getting rid of it, i.e. extra people around. 

     Then I talked to Shari and she said this was her favorite recipe in the whole book so far.  Great.  I don't want to miss Shari's favorite recipe in the whole book so far, so I will probably make this within the coming week and post it here when I do.  Just because.  If you are in the area that day, and want dessert, give me a call!