Grandma's Kitchen Table

CEiMB: Back in 2010

Will be back to posting food groups after the New Year.  Taking a bit of a break to recuperate from the holidays.

Tuesdays with Dorie

Sorry to disappoint, but we are dessert-ed out here and everyone I chatted with about "sharing" this week's dessert was also dessert-ed out.  Need some time to recuperate from too many sweets with the holidays, hope to be back on the baking track next week.  No TWD from our house this week.

Moving Along...

Everyone is sleeping in this morning around here...well, except me, of course.  I have a difficult time sleeping in...am a morning person (not that I am as much of a morning person as I used to be when I had all those years of getting up at 4:35 a.m. to get Matt to morning swim practice), and am enjoying some quiet time before the rush of the day begins. 

 

One nice thing about having parties at your house is that the house is always extra clean and sparkly and I love that!  Here are a few photos from a few random things that were happening things from this past week, as you can see, things are moving along.   

On the 19th, we went to the last evening of the Angels Sing Christmas concert, always a wonderful time, here is the traditional yearly photo of Matt and Ali in front of the Christmas trees at the concert.   

 

 Another fun shot of the two of them in their formal wear sitting on the floor waiting for their choir performance...they look like bag people, don't they?   

 

And another fun shot of Matt with a bunch of the girls, Ali on his shoulder not quite dressed for the concert, but still in on all the fun.  

 

On the 21st, CHS had a swim meet and Matt placed first in both of his individual events and both his relays placed first.  There were four teams at the meet and CHS won, winning 9 of the 11 events and all the relays, so the guys were all really happy about that.    Photo of Roch and Chris, Matt's two high school coaches, Roch now being at CHS coaching, so that is nice that Matt still gets to see his Guerin coach for the past two years continue on for hopefully his last two years of high school swimming.  Two better coaches I cannot think there are.   

The scoreboard from Matt's 200 Freestyle swim...he was in lane 5 of the top heat and finished first by quite a nice margin.  Always fun to see a swimmer just own the swim and finish so far ahead at a meet.  Even more fun when it is your swimmer.  Yes, the boy is still swimming with a bandaged hand, but hopefully this will come off on Monday and the only thing left to do is schedule the pin to be removed between short course and long course swim seasons so he doesn't miss any time in the water.  It makes him easy to spot with the bandaged hand, I will say that.
And, how else do you spot your swimmer in the melee of swimmers down on deck at a swim meet?
Well, it helps immensely if he happens to always be the tallest swimmer around.  You can pan the crowd and just search for the highest peak. 
On the 23nd, Matt went up to Elwood to help Grandpa put up their Christmas tree as he has done for years and years.  It's a special thing they do together and Matt enjoys it each year.  He was really busy this year, but determined to find time to go up and do this with Grandpa, it's a tradition with him, and he is very big on tradition.   

 

That evening Matt was invited to go with Daniel and his family, as well as Nik this year, out for dinner and to the Yuletide Concent downtown Indianapolis, where they had a visit with Santa, etc.   Dan and Kathy have their children each pick a friend to go with them and this year Brooke and Daniel got to pick two friends each, so it was a lot of fun for Matt to get to go to this again...they all get dressed up and have six hours of a really great time.  The photo on the right is the Three Amigos in front of the S & S Monument decorated for Christmas, Matt being the more serious of the three...Nik and Daniel sporting fashionable (to silly 17/18 year old boys at least) headgear.  All three are swimmers.  Nik is headed off to Boston College next year to swim and Daniel will grace the Princeton pool next year.
Do young men still have time for Santa?  Apparently so, Nik behind, Matt and Daniel no longer fitting on Santa's lap.  And, a nice shot of the six of them, Brooke on the right with her two friends included as well. 
And, the last shot is just in case anyone had any ideas where Matt's loyalty lies and where he might perhaps be thinking of attending college. 
Just in case you were wondering and all.  The shirt was a gift from Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Phil up in Elwood yesterday and was requested by Matt on his Christmas Wish List. Too early to tell, and we are carefully saying nothing too much in the way of encouragement....yet.  We shall see, we shall see.  Speaking of "we shall see," Alex has agreed to appear in a photo "sometime this week," so it's just possible that such will appear.  A rare occasion indeed.  Too early to tell, but we shall see. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: On Hold For Today

I know, Pecan Pie is one of Mark's absolutely favorite pies, and I will make it, but it might not be this week.  At present count there are three desserts hanging around and the only thing I can surmise is that EVERYONE here is dessert-ed-out.  I can't see adding to the offerings at this point.  I am hosting Christmas Eve, however, so might, just might, get this going for then and will post accordingly.  In the meantime, I wish you a great week.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  Bits and pieces of things around here that I have set aside so that I can get all caught up for the new year and start fresh. 

LISTENING TO:  Christmas music, of course!  

COOKING BYTES:  This month the Secret Baker group decided to bake cookies for the exchange.  Margot got my name, saying she was happy to have gotten it as she knew my guys liked cookies and would eat a lot of them.  She sent wonderful melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, spicy and delicious ginger cookies, and some toffee that Matt and Mark declared the best they have ever eaten.  Armed with Margot's recipe, I shall endeavor to learn how to make it after the new year:  they are insisting. 

FAV NEW FIND:  In the baking aisle at the market, just in time for Christmas baking, bags of crushed peppermint pieces for decorating and using in recipes...yahoo, I no longer need to smack peppermints with a mallet to break them up, only to have them fly every which direction in the process. (See photo below of them on the top of some chocolate covered chocolate-center bonbons.)  

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Has to be the IYC/ICC Angels Sing Christmas concert...so wonderful to go and hear the choirs with the songs they have chosen to sing for us.  So fun to watch our son in a tuxedo singing his parts and enjoying it all so much. 

GOING TO:  Attempt some work getting everything ready for Christmas and some fun getting to go out for festivities and parties...my kind of weekend!  Will I get the shopping finished before weekend's final call, hard to say at this point, but have a very good start at it all.

PRAYING FOR:  Struggling teens who are trying to find their way, please join me. 

CEiMB: Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs, Confetti Chili, Mom's Turkey Meatloaf, and Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, was selected by Tessa at Handle the Heat and is Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs, found on page 212. 

These were delicious, one of Mark's favorites so far as he likes dark meat chicken and mustard, so the combination was a treat for him.  Recipe is super easy, combine mustard, maple syrup, garlic, and marjoram to brush on top of skinless chicken thighs and bake for 50 minutes.  The sauce forms a sort of crust on the top of the chicken, which looks and is great.   Definitely a keeper. 
I have been a little behind here at CEiMB in posting recipes that I have made, so here are a few rewinds.  I made last week's Confetti Chili, found on page 187, and there might not be another chili recipe in this house from now on...this was fantastic.  We were all a little skeptical about the corn in the chili, but the hot chipotle adobo chilis in it made the corn a refreshing little tidbit.  I will be making it again soon as chili is a favorite for eating while watching ballgames. 
Another favorite was Mom's Turkey Meatloaf, on page 216.  I had never made turkey meatloaf before as the guys are big fans of beef meatloaf and I wasn't sure how it would go over to be serving a turkey version.  They ate it with great enthusiasm, not a bit left over.  It's a little hard to compare it to beef meatloaf, so we started to call it Turkey Loaf and they decided they would eat it anytime I wanted to make it.  I loved the red peppers in it...the rest of the ingredients with the ground turkey breast were oats, milk, onion, eggs, Worchestershire sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, and tomato sauce.  Go ahead, try it, it's very good! 
One more recipe for this segment was Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta, on page 234.  (Affectionately called "Shrimp on the Floor" around here in tribute to Cathy as, believe it or not, this was the recipe that finalized my decision to buy this cookbook and start cooking.  I figured anything that looked that good on the floor must be worth making.) 
The combination of the flavors in this dish is wonderful.  I love Greek flavors, and there are plenty of them in this recipe:  tomatoes, garlic, onion, olive oil, feta cheese...combine that with the shrimp and this recipe was another hit around here. 

I've just shown you four recipes, buy the book already and start cooking!  It's all wonderful.  Next week:  Crab Cakes with Smarter Tarter Sauce, page 240-241.

Two for One Today: MSC Gingerbread Cupcakes and TWD Cafe Volcano Cookies

Two for one today as both groups had the same posting dates:  MSC:  Gingerbread Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting and Tuesdays with Dorie:  Cafe Volcano Cookies.  Read on, both definitely "keepers."

MSC: Gingerbread Cupcakes and Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

It's time for another cupcake adventure this month from the Martha Stewart's Cupcakesbook.  This one, Gingerbread Cupcakes (with optional cookie cutouts not shown here), is found on page 246 of the book, and was my pick for the group for this month. 

 

I debated, I really did, on doing something less prosaic than picking one of the Christmas seasonal selections from the book, but then I figured that this was the only time of year when this one would see most appropriate, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to make gingerbread cupcakes and enjoy that lovely smell in the house while they were baking. 

 

The recipe is easy with common pantry ingredients, assembled in just a few minutes, and put in to bake for about 25 minutes.  I used the recommended frosting in the book, Fluffy Vanilla Frosting, found on page 302.  The frosting was just as easy (butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla) and went smoothly on the cooled cupcakes, complimenting the gingerbread flavor of the cupcakes nicely. 

 

The book showed a photo of the cupcake with little gingerbread men cutouts perched on the side or on the top and I thought originally I would do this, but as the season advances, we are having way too many extra sweets around the house, so I decided to forego the extra cookie option and just sprinkle a few little gingerbread men sprinkles on the top. 
We thought the cupcakes had just the right gingerbread flavor without being too over-powering, and although I made only half a recipe (12 cupcakes), I can tell they won't be around long enough for me to wonder if I should have made fewer.  This is a very nice recipe for the holidays...easy, quick, flavorful, and fun! 

 

Next month's recipe selection is Coconut Cupcakes, found on 28-29.   Blogroll and Schedule found here.

Tuesday's with Dorie: Cafe Volcano Cookies

Thanks to MacDuff of The Lonely Sidecar for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Cafe Volcano Cookies, found on page 153 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

These are very interesting cookies, I will say.  The only ingredients are walnuts, almonds, egg whites, espresso powder, and sugar.  The cookies are assembled in a flash by combining the ingredients in a saucepan until just barely warmed, spooned in heaping teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, and baked for twenty minutes.  How much easier could it be?
   They are very tasty, light in texture from the airiness of the egg whites, and very crunchy (I always love crunchy).  Completely satisfying and delicious, especially if you enjoy the taste of nuts, which I do.  Guys verdict:  "Very good." 

Next week:  Beth from Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina has chosen My Favorite Pecan Pie, found on page 327.  TWD blogroll found here.

Always on the Move

The guys at Junior Nationals Short Course after their 200 Freestyle Relay which placed 20th overall...no one saw that coming as they weren't even on the radar.   Harrison, Matt, Nik, Mike all swam it, and the last guy in the line is JJ, who is now off at college at OSU and on their swim team, hanging with his swim pals from home. 

 

There are no slow swimmers at Nationals.  In order to go to Nationals, you have to be fast.  The competition there is amazing and a great way for our swimmers to compete against the best of the best of the best!  All in all, here's how we did on our first year at Short Course Junior Nationals:

 

Matt's Relays:  200 Freestyle, seeded 35th, finished 20th out of 38; 200 IM, seeded 35th, finished 19th out of 39; 400 Freestyle, seeded 24, finished 23rd out of 39; 800 Freestyle, seeded 29th, finished 18th out of 30.

 

Matt's Individual swims:  50 Freestyle, seeded 126th, finished 63rd out of 154; 100 Backstroke, seeded 105, finished 106 out of 135; 100 Freestyle, seeded 125, finished 97th out of 140.  This is not bad for a first year qualifier.

 

The swimmers happily all returned safely, albeit tired, late Saturday night.  Matt had a very nice swim meet, with new best times, the thrills of competing and winning, the excitement of being at Nationals swimming with the best swimmers in the nation, the fun of being with good friends having good times outside the pool as well as inside, and a new appreciation for his sport.   He was one extremely happy boy.
Matt leading off the 200 Freestyle Relay (he got a new best time because the first person gets to keep their swim time in a relay and it was the fastest he has ever gone in that race), Harrison, Nik, and Mike (with back turned) are lined up, second starting block with black caps with a blue C on them.   

 

I have to say, it was really different with him gone for four days as we had leftovers the whole time he was gone!  Food consumption was way down, and we missed him a lot.  Sunday he was back to his regular routine of studying, IYC choir rehearsal, serving Mass, and a Knights' meeting, followed by more studying as finals are this week. 

 

He was thrilled to hear that he had been selected for the duet for the Christmas concert, Angels Sing, for his choir.  This is a major deal as the choir performs the Christmas concert three times to sold-out audiences, and it is also recorded for airing on our local television station in Indianapolis for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.  He loves that choir and all that singing.  There have been weekends when he swims the morning session at a swim meet, sings in a concert in the afternoon, and goes back for finals at night to swim...two days in a row.  It's not every swim team who has a swimmer entering in swim duds and exiting in a tuxedo, returning in said tuxedo, and changing into a Speedo.  It's a lot easier when it is an evening concert with no swim finals, therefore no evening swim sessions.  Life is always interesting with Matt around, he is always on the move going from one thing to the next. It's good to have him back.  I can tell right now that I am not going to do "empty nest" well at all.

On the Move...Off to Nationals

Tuesday night was the first home swim meet for the CHS boys high school team.  The swimmers practiced after school, then ate a boxed lunch before getting ready for the meet.  It's called Eats for Meets:  the swimmers fill out order forms for what they prefer to eat before a meet, and then the booster club picks those up and delivers the meals to them at the pool.  (Matt is shown in the photo by the windows sitting on the floor beside one of the silver poles.)  They have a good time eating and chatting about the upcoming meet. 

 

Tuesday was a big rival team, North Central of Indianapolis.  CHS won the meet, both the girls and the boys.   

 

Matt took first in both his events, 50 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke, so he was very happy with that and that the broken hand didn't slow him down much.  He also swam anchor in a freestyle relay and brought his team in for a first place finish to a lot of cheering, which is always fun. 

 

Shown here are Charles and Matt conversing after the 50 Freestyle.  It shows Matt's swim cast in case you were wondering what that looked like and all.  It used to be I could take photos of the guys and they were just darn cute in their little swim suits, etc., or they wore the long competition racing suits.  Now, however, the long competition racing suits are a thing of the past as they have been nixed so that swimmers who can't afford them aren't at a handicap.  Now, that the boys are much older, almost like adults, I can only show torso photos as anything else could be considered very risque.   

 

The last photo is from today as Matt was getting ready to board the transport to take them to Nationals.  12 swimmers from CSC had National times, so off they went today for that to Columbus, Ohio as OSU is hosting the short course Nationals, about a 3-1/2 hour drive from here.  JJ goes to college there, so the boys are hoping to get to see him in his new college digs.  As you can see, it is snowing, the parking lot was completely ice covered and this is always one nervous mom when her children are on the road in bad weather.  I'm just trying to think positive happy thoughts, so help me along, okay? 

 

IU won last night...wasn't expecting that, but very happy to have that win...it's going to be a fun year of basketball at Assembly Hall, yep, I do believe it is.  Big Ten Basketball makes winter go faster and be oh-so-much-more bearable around these parts.  It's nice when your team has something to watch and be excited about of a season.  Have not had a chance to see the Iowa Hawkeyes in action yet, but cheering for them as well.

 

 

 

 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Sables (Lemon and Orange)

Thanks to Barbara of Bungalow Barbara for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Sables, found on pages 131-133 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

 

Sables are lovely, especially if one adds the optional choices of lemon or orange flavorings to them.   Basically a type of butter cookie, the sables were a little crispy on the bottom and sides and tender in the middle.  They aren't what I would call a "show stopper" in the looks department, but they sure are in the taste department, so as in many aspects of life, looks aren't always everything! 

 

I used yellow sugar on the lemon flavored ones and orange sugar on the orange flavored ones, making them easy to distinguish on the platter.  If I had had a lime or two in the house, there would have been lime ones as well.  Make them:  they are wonderfully simple and delicious. 

 

Next week:  MacDuff of The Lonely Sidecar has chosen Cafe Volcano Cookies on page 153.  TWD blogroll found here.

 

Cooking Italy: Amatriciana - Tomato Sauce with Pancetta and Chili Pepper with Bucatini

One of the recipes for the Cooking Italy group this past month was Amatriciana - Tomato Sauce with Pancetta and Chili Pepper, found on page 157 of the cookbook we are using:  Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

 

The recipe itself is quite easy: boil the water for the bucatini while you begin the sauce.  The sauce starts with finely minced onions being lightly cooked in the olive oil and a little butter, the pancetta is added and cooked for a short time, then finely minced hot peppers and diced tomatoes are added next, simmering for about 25 minutes.  

 

When the pasta is cooked, you add it to the sauce and toss, giving it a further toss after you add a little freshly grated parmigiano and romano cheeses.  Delicious!   

 

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family.  If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here. 

Nancy's Notions: Buttermilk Baps

A little while ago Nancy found a recipe from Dan Lepard (one of our favorite bread bakers) for some rolls called Buttermilk Baps (baps being a word for a sort of roll in England), and a twitter bake-along was organized with Nancy, Margaret, Tracey, and then later Di and I baked the baps as well. 

I have had very little experience baking with buttermilk in things so now that I have discovered the joys of this, I am constantly looking for more ways to use buttermilk in baked items.  Buttermilk gives a nice lightness to the batter/dough and has a lovely tang of flavor that we all enjoy. 
These dinner rolls were easy and very good.  Need to remember to make them more often actually. 

If you would like the recipe, you can link here.  If you haven't discovered baking with Dan Lepard's recipes yet, you really need to, he has such an easy style that produces such great results, even for a beginner. 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  Daniel Webster:  The Man and His Time by Robert V. Remini...the last of the three: Clay, Calhoun, and Webster, someone had to do it, and since you didn't want to, it had to be me. Written by the same author as the Clay book...huge and full of detail after detail.  What a joy! 

LISTENING TO:  Puccini's La Boheme as the Indianapolis Opera company just finished performing this.  I am always partial to this opera as Matt had the opportunity to sing one of the street children's parts with them when they performed it the last time.  Matt then grew faster than his voice and the children's parts were no longer available to a child who was taller than some of the adults! 

COOKING BYTES:  If you have the patience, am hoping to work on getting my posting more current for the blog-alongs in the coming week.  Have been cooking/baking most of them, but just not finding posting time.

FAV NEW FIND:  After months and months, 3:30-8:30 p.m. in our schedules is now free again...makes a huge difference is what I can get done in a day.  And free time cannot be over-rated, ever.  Am most appreciative.

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Was worried that Matt's broken hand would slow him down too much in the water and cause some time increases in his swims, but the boys had their first high school swim meet on Tuesday and he took first place in his individual swim and swam great times for his lengths for his two relays, anchoring one of them to a big finish and lots of cheering. Guess he can swim okay even with a broken hand.  Sigh of relief.  Short course Nationals are next week.

GOING TO:  'Tis the Season and all, so doing much and throw some basketball and football games in there, some work, some fun things...and it all probably pretty much looks like your weekend as well!  Enjoy!

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel for the CSC swimmers this weekend in Nashville, TN and next weekend for the CSC swimmers who are competing at Nationals at Ohio State in Columbus, OH, please join me.

Keep The Line Moving, Boys...

Each Friday morning during the high school swim season the CHS moms take turns preparing and serving breakfast for the 48 boy swimmers after morning practice and before school.  (The girl swimmers also have the same deal with their moms doing likewise during the girls' high school season, which starts and ends two weeks before and two weeks after the boys' season.)  Photo:  Matt starting at the bagel station and working his way down the line in the pool lobby at the high school this morning.

 

This morning was one of my turns with Sherry (JJ, Lauren, and Jesse's mom) and Sue (Mike and Jimmy's mom).  Sometimes one contributes food and sometimes one contributes food and also stays to work...today I did both, which was a whole lot of fun with all the boys loving the big breakfast...so many "thank yous!"  Photo:  Mike, Jonathan, two freshman swimmers who just swim high school and I don't know their names yet, and Jesse, making their way along the tables of food.  Last photo:  Lauren with her towel head trying to hide behind Nik while she picks up her lunch from her Mom, in blue.  It's all part of being a swimmer...early morning practices, getting dressed and hair done at the pool...the boys have it much easier in those regards than the girl swimmers!

 

Huge amounts of food, not much left at the end, no surprise. 4 dozen assorted bagels with spreads, 6 dozen pancakes, 3 large egg casseroles, 1 crockpot filled with just scrambled eggs, 1 crockpot filled with little breakfast sausages, 4 dozen bananas, 4 dozen oranges, gallon of orange juice, 2 gallons of chocolate milk, 1 gallon of white milk feeds a swim team of about 4 dozen or so.  Just in case you need to do that anytime soon and all.