Oops! Feel Better Soon

When your friend/co-worker/boss/neighbor slips and gets a nasty break to her ankle, with lots of pain and a weekend of non-ambulation until she can see the orthopedic on Monday with hopes of swelling gone down enough for a cast, be a buddy and drop off some food.  The bonus for your good deed:  your household gets the other half of all the goodies you make.  These are easy to fix, probably liked by anyone, and use lots of stuff that you already have on hand:

1.  Chocolate Cake:  Use the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box, and you'll be sure to keep half of it for yourself.
2.  Baked Beans:  Use the can(s) in your pantry split between two bakers; mix in some chopped onion, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and lots of Cavendar's seasoning, and bake in a slow oven.
3.  Potato Salad:  Use your favorite recipe or non-recipe.  Mine is red potatoes cooked with their jackets on, then roughly quartered while still warm and topped with olive oil, Cavendar's, and whatever kind of vinegar I have/choose; once cooled a bit, I add in 3 or so chopped hard-boiled eggs, red onion, some Dijon mustard, a bit of mayo, some dried rosemary; stir up good and top with parsley or sprinkle with paprika.
4.  Tabouli:  Pour a cup of boiling water over some bulgar wheat and a bit of salt, cover for 30 minutes.  Then add in a splah of olive oil, juice of one lemon, and some garlic powder and chill.  Later, add in tons of chopped parsley, 3 or so chopped tomatoes, and 4 or so chopped green onions.  A staple at our house, so I can make it in my sleep (you can, too, cause it's so stinkin' easy).
5.  Pork Tenderloin:  Use whatever seasoning/sauce you have around.  Yesterday I used a bottle of Pampered Chef's Honey/Maple/Mustard Sauce.  I seared 3 pork tenderloins in a touch of olive oil after I seasoned them really well with (you guessed it!) Cavendar's.  Turn them until all sides are seared, maybe 5 minutes or a bit more.  Then lower the heat, cover the skillet, and cook just until 137-140 degrees.  And if you don't have a little instant-read thermometer, shame on you!  It's the only way to be sure you don't cook your meat to death, on the one hand, or kill your family from trichonosis, on the other hand.  I took the two smaller loins out of the pan first as they reached their cooking temp before the bigger one.  Then put them all back in the pan, pour on some of the sauce, cook for just a few minutes and ladle the sauce all over.  I poured a little more sauce over the two that I took to my friend, once I put them on the serving dish.

The next day, remember that you have leftover pork tenderloin for a sandwich, and throw these things in the food processor for the best-ever cranberry relish and sandwich topper:  a bag of fresh cranberries, 1 orange with peel on cut into eighths, 1 apple the same way, some of Leslie's pecans from your freezer (oh, sorry if you don't have Leslie supplying your pecans---you know what I mean), and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar.
Serve the rest of this as relish for Thanksgiving dinner, and they'll love you.

For all things be thankful, as I am for you.

"Put some South in your mouth"

Fresh corn.  Fresh basil.  Butter.  Salt. Pepper.  What's not to like?

I used to make this New Southern Fried Corn recipe sometimes at the Outer Banks beach house shared with Joni, Larry, and friends.  We would always stop at a farm stand or two on the way down, and the fresh corn--among other things--called our name.  The recipe came from Nathalie Dupree's New Southern Cooking.  Although, I guess that name is no longer accurate, since the book was published in 1986 and my friend Lita gave it to me in 1987 with the inscription that titles this post.

We had it late yesterday for an early Labor Day weekend dinner, along with roasted cauliflower, roasted asparagus, and corn muffins.  Why don't you fix it, too?  You'll love it.

New Southern Fried Corn

-10 ears of fresh corn, cut off the cob (If you're a purist, don't read this part:  sometimes I mix in some frozen corn; I've also been known to only use frozen corn in the winter)
-6 TBSP butter (I use less, but, hey knock yourself out)
-2 TBSP fresh basil (the recipe says or thyme, but trust me, use the basil)
-freshly grated black pepper
-Kosher salt

Melt the butter in a skillet, and cook the corn in the butter for around 5 minutes---still firm and not soggy, but cooked through.  Add a good plenty of kosher salt, a really good plenty of freshly grated pepper, and take the pan off the heat.  Add your chopped basil, stir, and serve.

Speaking of the Outer Banks, Joni, Larry, and others:  those were some good times.  B.L. (before Lucy) I loved being invited to go spend a week in August with these wonderful folks.  A.L. I loved it even more---there were people there who would actually entertain her and watch her for hours and hours, and those people weren't me.  It was heaven.  The first time I took Lucy, when she was almost 18 months old, was also when I realized I had to get rid of the nanny and send L to a child care center so she could be with other children every day:  she was ecstatically happy with 7 straight days of total interaction with Ander, Maddie, Nikki, Nora and other kids.  Here are a few photos of good times on the Outer Banks.

Cheese Straws from Leslie and Trish

Leslie and I have introduced each other to many things over

the years. I trump, cause I introduced her to Randy! But she came close when she started making and sharing Trish Yearwood's cheese straws several years back. I would watch her pull the big zip-loc bags out of her suitcase when she came to visit, or I would open up a care package she went to the trouble of sending, and my mouth would start to water. I would sometimes hide the last bag from Lucy and Granny----I know, nothing to be proud of. This year I decided to try my hand at them myself. Lucy says mine aren't as spicy as Leslie's (and I think she means they're not as good) but I haven't had as much practice. Don't attempt this recipe unless you have the right tools for the job: a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and a heavy-duty cookie press (the new Pampered Chef model with the rotating press works perfectly, and it has a potato ricer disc, to boot!).

I've made two batches so far. Takes me about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, so be in the mood and don't do this while you're hungry, or you'll end up eating more than you pack up for giving---take it from me.

Ingredients: 30 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, and 2 sticks of butter: let them set out on your counter overnight or until fully room temperature. 4 cups flour, 2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, a dash of garlic powder.
I diced up the butter and cheese into the mixer bowl. Use your heavy-duty beater and mix the cheese and butter "until the consistency of whipped cream." It takes about 30 minutes---more later on that.
Sift 3 cups of the flour with the seasonings. You know, I used to have an actual flour sifter, but now I just use this. Sift onto a big sheet of wax paper that you have creased in the middle, to make it easy for you to add this to your mixer at the right time. Keep the 4th cup of flour separate. This is a good time to turn on your oven, to 325.
I mix at speed 2 mostly, and occasionally crank it up to 4. About 4 or 5 times during the 30-minute mix time, I use my heavy duty Mix 'n Scraper (one of my favorite kitchen tools) to scrape down the sides of the bowl. I also take the whole thing off the mixer, remove the beater, and scrape under the beater a couple of times so that everything gets mixed in.
The batter is very stiff, so you'll need to put a little muscle into all of this and use heavy-duty tools----a wimpy spatula would break in a second.

After about 30 minutes, start to add the seasoned flour to the batter, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time. To avoid a cleaning disaster, be sure to use your mixer's flour guard or drape a tea towel over the head of your mixer (long enough to cover the sides of the bowl.) Each time after you add the flour, mix just enough to get the flour well combined. Use as much of the extra 1 cup of flour as you need for the right texture...both times I made these I added about 1/2 cup.

Now you're ready to fill your cookie press and start piping.

Oops!
These look a little better. But I consider those squiggly ones cook's treats, so no problem.
After about 20 minutes in the oven, here's what you have. I use parchment paper just to make clean-up easier and to be able to re-use my hot pans sooner (pipe out onto fresh parchment while a pan is still in the oven, and rotate.) I keep 4 baking sheets going, so the baking (boring) part goes much faster.

Remember, it is more blessed to give than to receive. But these sure are yummy! Thank you, Leslie (I think).

Cornbread Mojo

When our little mama died last year, a bunch of our old Lake Creek/Willow/Granite, Oklahoma friends gathered to visit with us. It meant the world to Sister and me. (And, Sister, just forget what that ol' mean Opal said to you!!!!) Linda Dillahunty wrote a note in the book about coming home with us (meaning with Melissa) after church one Sunday. That was our biggest socialization time when we were growing up---someone coming home with you after church on Sunday morning, and then going back to church Sunday night from where they would go back home. Anyway, Linda said that our mama had cut up pieces of cornbread and fried them, and that it was the best thing she ever ate. She went home and asked her mother to do the same thing. Now, isn't that just a silly thing to write about in a funeral book? To the contrary, that is the BEST-EVER remembrance! What Linda said in that little note captures the essence of my childhood in so many ways. And, truly, Mother's fried cornbread was a delicacy that I enjoy to this day----but I thought everyone did. I am a cornbread nut (thanks a lot, mama) and am on the never-ending quest for the perfect cornbread. By the way, anything with sugar DOES NOT COUNT, thank you very much. If God had meant for cornbread to have sugar in it, He would have called it cake. Leslie and I both have Crescent Dragonwagon's cornbread cookbook, courtesy of a visit to the Clinton Presidential Library gift shop, and I love to read about cornbread almost as much as I like to eat it. But, alas, my foodie loves, healthier eating forays, and Weight Watchers adventures all evolve. Enter the Wonderful World of POLENTA. Ahhhh, this is a food that makes Leslie's mouth water. She went through a phase where she would text me almost daily what she was serving on her creamy polenta that night: swiss chard, spinach, dog-poo......doesn't matter, it all tastes good on polenta. Thanks to mama's fried cornbread, I now fix a double batch of creamy polenta (it's just coarsely ground corn meal, salt and boiling water, folks; whisk, whisk, whisk; cook it a tiny bit longer than you think you should) and spread half of it out flat in an olive oil-sprayed bar pan, let it cool on the counter, and then cover it with plastic and put in fridge. After it's set, or even after a day or two in the fridge, I cut it in wedges and lightly fry it in a little olive oil or spray in a skillet. Just until golden brown on both sides. It's got the crunchy nuttiness of Mama's fried cornbread on the outside, and its own creamy polenta-ness on the inside. H-E-A-V-E-N with a bowl of pinto beans. So, here's to ya, Mama!

Oh, and someday remind me to tell you about Grandma Lucy Murray's skillet hoecakes. Sadly, I never learned how to duplicate them, but I figure that can be a retirement project. I do know that Grandpa liked to have one crumbled up in a big tall glass of cold buttermilk, with lots of pepper sprinkled on top. I like that, too. Oooooh, another way to eat polenta!

What Goes Around

Ten years ago I moved from New York to Texas. When the moving truck was about three-quarters loaded I realized that 1) some things were maybe not going to fit, and 2) I would pay dearly for every ounce over whatever the moving company's estimate had been. And you know how on moving day you finally reach a point where you just don't care anymore? It's all too much by that time. When I reached that point, I called my friend Arlene and told her I was leaving some things in my apartment, and that she should come see if she wanted anything. Then I went off to the airport, where Lucy sat in the middle of the floor and peed---if anybody ever tries to tell you moving isn't stressful for grownups and kids, just send them to me to be set straight. Seven years later when I moved back to New York (yes, I'm a slow learner) Arlene, who had herself moved to Connecticut by then, pointed out a nice butcher block table in her garage: the very one I had left seven years earlier. Husband Artie (known as Saint Arthur for some reason I'm sure I don't understand by all who know Arlene) had sanded the top and it looked GOOD. Today, the second hottest day of the year so far at only 100 degrees, Arlene shows up at work with the table in the back of her beautiful new Hyundai. She and I unloaded it from the car, and then Lucy and I dragged it up the stairs, and now we have extra work space and extra storage in our big kitchen. And you get to see Arlene and her sweet grandkids, Caitlin and Jake. Thanks a bunch, 'Lene.

A Titanium Spork

Since I know you've been wondering for ever so long, please be advised that Lucy definitely intends to bring a titanium spork in her pack when she hikes the Appalachian Trail in a few years. Whew, aren't you glad to have that little detail worked out? My friend Kay Killgore did half of the AT, from Maine to West Virginia, when we were in our 20's (or, hell, maybe it was our 30's; those decades are all a blur now; the only thing I'm ever sure of is if it was B.L. or A.L). It took me several years of asking Kay questions about it to get that she really, truly did that. Seriously. A little difficult for a slug of my ilk to take in. But, once I looked at a map and saw what she did and heard enough answers to my dumb questions, I was in awe of her accomplishment. I still don't understand the how (I mean, it takes months...of walking, carrying everything you need on your back, sleeping outside...animals....heat....cold...) but I get the why for certain people---people like Kay, and maybe my very own Lucy. Mostly I shake my head in amazement. And then I grin.

(The back packing photo is Lucy on a 5-day hike last year in Vermont during Farm & Wilderness Camp. All camp and hiking supplies courtesy of MaMere & Poppy.)