Posts filed under ‘Rants, Semi-Rants and Non-Rants’
Table Talk – A Nostalgic Non-Rant
An Old Friend
We will be moving at the end of the month; not far, just down the street, but we will be making the move without an old friend. It’s time to make a change, our dining room table , with us since the early ’70′s will not be going with us. They say ” if walls could talk” but I am inclined to believe that dining room tables have the real stories.
This old pine table, purchased unfinished in Bordentown, NJ and squeezed into our first home, has made every move we have made. It’s been expanded to meet the growing needs of family and extended family. Used as a workbench; I once inadvertently drilled holes through my work piece and into the table top, I am still getting harassed over it. It has been dressed with tablecloths from Greece, Grandmother Story’s china, King Richard silverware and crystal from Tiffin, not to mention sippy cups and a few snoopy forks and spoons. We have dumped a Louisiana Crab Boil on top and served only the best Julia Child’s recipes during our recent “Julia weekend”. It has been used to celebrate births, promotions, and the lives of those no longer with us.
In its 35 years I remember lots of good meals, good company and good conversations; I can’t remember anyone ever leaving it in anger. Five generations have enjoyed sitting around it. As our family and extended family enjoy an early Christmas this year, we will once again raise our glasses and think about those who have graced us with their presence.
It is time to pass this table along to another family, to give someone else the benefit of its wisdom. Sitting there all those years, never commenting, just supporting family and friends.
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Series 5 – A Helpful Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Hazelnut Toffee
I thought it was right to end this series on homemade holiday treats and gifts with, what I consider, the best of the best. This homemade candy treat is easy to make, and has magical properties, it disappears as soon as it is put out.
I started this post and then realized I had written one on the toffee last year. So with apologies to those who remember the post I will repeat it here, I think I got it right that time. One last thing I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to remind everyone to donate what you can to a food bank or local food drive. We support Manna Outreach, Inc in Cincinnati. Click here to go to the Manna Outreach website to donate.
Here is the post:
I used to make Hazelnut Toffee every year at Christmas. I would make several batches and then buy some nice Christmasy tins and pass the toffee around to the neighbors. We moved and I guess I kind of let the tradition get away from me. The kids grow up; you move away from the comfort zone you have established and some of the little things fall by the wayside.
I could find some tins and begin again with the new neighbors but for some reason it just doesn’t feel the same. Old friends ares still old friends but bonding with new friends takes time… histories have to be exchanged. Mutual interests need to be defined and common causes voiced. New lifestyle patterns are in place and time just seems to move faster.
The good news is that my kids now make the toffee and make the rounds with the Christmasy tins. And look, I made the toffee again… now if I can only find my tins.
A word of caution; this recipe involves very hot sugar and should not be made around children, as spills happen.
Hazelnut Toffee
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 30 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1.5 | cup | sugar, white |
| 0.5 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 3 | Tb | honey |
| 0.5 | cup | water |
| 1.5 | cup | hazelnuts, toasted |
| 20 | oz | chocolate, semi-sweet bits |
| 0.5 | cup | hazelnuts, ground |
Toast nuts in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, remove immediately, cool and roll in a towel to remove husk. Place in plastic bag and hit with a flat pan to crush.
Prepping the chocolate- Place chocolate bits in a small food processor and chop into small pieces.
In a medium size, heavy pot place the butter, sugar, water and honey, heat over high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 290-300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Immediately add the crushed nuts, remove from heat, and stir. Pour on a greased cookie sheet (11 X 17), spread out evenly and sprinkle the chocolate on top, when the chocolate melts sprinkle the ground nuts on top. Cool and store in airtight containers.
CAUTION: This is not a project you make with your kids. The sugar reaches 300 degrees and is very dangerous if handled improperly.
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Series 4 – A Helpful Rant
(From the Bread Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Date and Nut Bread
As we close in on the holidays I begin to bake various breads for both easy morning breakfasts and gifts for giving away. The Date and Nut Bread makes a perfect treat to take to a friend’s house for that holiday brunch or as a “leave behind” gift. I bake them in small round springform pans but you can make them in almost any ovenproof container you have around your kitchen. If you can’t find anything to bake the bread in try using a 15 oz can, lid removed, washed thoroughly. Place the can upright on a baking sheet or pie plate and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Once baked and cooled place in a plastic bag and freeze until needed. I usually bake these along with banana bread muffins and cornbread muffins. That way I have an assortment to wow my guests or as gifts.
Date & Nut Bread
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | cup | Dates, dried, chopped |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.33 | cup | karo syrup, dark |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | water |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, white |
| 0.5 | cup | flour, wheat |
| 1 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.
Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Series 3 – A Helpful Rant
(From the Bread Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Sticky Buns
Okay, so now that you have your homemade Kahlua and Lemmoncello “maturing” in your dark closet we need to move on to other ideas for holiday gifts you can make and the recipient will love. Next in my mind, on the easy but really appreciated homemade gifts list are sticky buns. I give these year-round when I think they would be an ideal surprise for breakfast. Delivered hot and sticky on a holiday morning or just to be nice, they fill the house with that sweet smell you remember from visits to the corner bakery when you were growing up. You may also package them in a nice basket unbaked to be baked later. Frozen they last forever and when defrosted offer the perfect touch for a special morning.
The great part about these sticky buns is that they are very easy to make. Make the recipe for yourself and you will still have some leftover to share.
Sticky Buns
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | Company for Breakfast (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 2.5 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 0.25 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | package | yeast, dried |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.75 | cup | water, hot |
| 4 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | large | egg |
| 0.5 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 8 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | Tb | cinnamon. ground |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 4 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.25 | cup | corn syrup, dark |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, halved |
(Makes enough for about 3 8 X 8 pans)
Dough- Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, yeast, salt, water, melted butter, egg and cinnamon in food processor, remove from processor, add enough flour to make a soft dough, let rise for 45 minutes.
Filling- Mix 1/2 cup softened butter, 3/4 sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts together.
Roll dough to 15” X 24”. Spread filling on dough. Roll up and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Topping- Put remaining 3/4-cup sugar, 1/2-cup butter, and karo syrup in pan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add nuts and pour into baking tray or pan.
Cut rolled dough into 3/4” pieces and place on top of topping in pan. Can be frozen or refrigerated at this point. When ready to bake, let rise for 30 minutes and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Invert over plate and serve.
Note: When scaling this recipe be sure to adjust the ingredient proportions in this method section.
Defining Your Cooking Style – A Non-Rant
Trattoria ? Bistro ? French Peasant ? Old-fashioned Home Cooking ?
I get asked all the time what type of food do I cook? What is my favorite meal? These are all fair questions as my website, emealsforyou.com is virtually a rather large cookbook, interactive and full of bells and whistles but a cookbook none the less. I usually answer, “Whatever people want to eat” but that really doesn’t give you a real feel for what we do.
We strive to provide recipes and meal plans that are easy to prepare, use common ingredients and will WOW your dining companions, whether they are your kids or your boss. Recipes that won’t break the bank but are worthy of taking to the finest neighborhood potluck dinner club or a wine tasting gathering, yet comfortable enough to serve on Friday night in front of the fireplace for movie night with your family.
Just about every nationality has similar dishes. We embrace the ethnic meals. Whether you chose Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Paprikash or Island Chicken, your house will be filled with wonderful aromas and you probably won’t have to call everyone more than once to the table. Pick homemade pizza or slow-roasted ribs and your family will start calling you chef.
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Part Deux- A Helpful Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
start with these
Today’s suggestion for homemade liqueur is Lemoncello. This is a wonderfully smooth, lemony nectar that can be used in many ways. Besides serving as an after dinner drink it offers a unique flavor to sautéed garlic shrimp, (See Lemoncello Shrimp at emealsforyou.com) may be poured over cake or served with fresh fruit. Start this now and you will be all set to wow your friends at Thanksgiving dinner.
Creating gifts for the holidays for our friends and family requires a little foresight. Besides allowing for the time it will take for the homemade liqueur to mature you should be looking for interesting bottles to hold the finished product. Craft stores have numerous containers and bottles to choose from and you may be able to find interesting bottles in small antique and gift shops. Remember we taste first with our eyes so take the time to dress up your gift to make it special.
Homemade Lemoncello
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 7 | medium | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 1 | qt | vodka |
| 2 | cup | sugar, white |
| 2.5 | cup | water |
Wash lemons, zest lemons and place the zest in a large bottle or container with a lid. Pour vodka on top and close lid. Place in a closet and let stand at least 2 weeks, the longer the better. After this period combine water and sugar in a pan to form a simple syrup. Allow syrup to cool, add to lemon zest and vodka mixture and reseal and let sit for another 2 weeks. Strain liqueur to remove zest. Bottle Lemoncello, may be frozen until used.
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart – A Helpful Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Homemade Kahlua
In the next few weeks we will be posting ideas for making your own seasonal gifts for friends and family. These are fairly easy and inexpensive food and drink ideas that you will be proud to give and the recipient will be happy to receive.
Today’s gift idea is homemade Kahlua. Who doesn’t enjoy this great coffee flavored liqueur? It’s great in coffee, fantastic with a little cream added as an after dinner cordial and makes our Tiramisu a very special holiday dessert. We started with this recipe as it takes about 5-6 weeks to develop it’s deep, rich flavor. Spend 10 minutes mixing the recipe, hide it in a closet for 6 weeks , pour into a decorative bottle and then deliver it at the holidays.
A quick word of caution should you decide to consume this yourself. Regular Kahlua is 20% alcohol by volume, depending on the Vodka you use, this may exceed the 20% by a bunch. We made half a recipe which makes a quart of homemade Kahlua. We put ours in a container that can be used to store coffee after the Kahlua is gone.
Homemade Kahlua
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3.75 | cup | sugar, white |
| 1 | cup | water |
| 6 | Tb | coffee, instant |
| 1 | cup | water |
| 1 | medium | vanilla bean |
| 1 | qt | vodka |
| 1 | tsp | glycerin |
Dissolve sugar in boiling water. Cool. Dissolve instant coffee in boiling water. Place vanilla bean, broken into 3 pieces in coffee mixture for 3 minutes or use 1 tsp of good vanilla extract. Place all in large jug, add vodka and glycerin. Let stand in a dark place for 6 weeks.
Pesto – A Happy Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Everytime I go back to New Jersey to visit family the one consistent request is for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. This last time was no exception; the pesto was served on toast points with a thin slice of turkey as part of our appetizer plates. Most of us forget about the usefulness of a simple pesto in moving a meal or party snack to a higher level.
By simply mixing sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pecans, olive oil and cheese in the bowl of a food processor yields a unique taste treat that can be served on crackers, spread on a sandwich in place of mayo or thinned out with a little more olive oil and give a boost to any pasta. Top off a chicken breast with a dollop and you have a gourmet meal that everyone will love.
Pesto can be made of many different herbs and ingredients. Using the last home-grown basil of the season, add it to your processor bowl with some pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and cheese to give you a great tasting sauce or spread. Any leftover can be frozen to be used in the dead of winter to add a surprise element to a dreary meal. The same goes for spinach, hazelnuts, garlic, olive oil and cheese. Give pesto a try, your family will love it, your friends will be amazed by your culinary acumen and you might find a smile on your face.
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Brunch Anyone? (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 0.75 | cup | sun dried tomato |
| 0.75 | cup | pecans, halved |
| 1.5 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 0.75 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.75 | cup | oil, olive |
Toast pecans slightly. Place tomatoes, pecans, garlic and Romano in food processor, process until a paste forms, add oil slowly until you reach the consistency you desire. Should be spreadable, like peanut butter.
Note: The color will vary with the color of the sun dried tomatoes you use. Great on sandwiches, may be used on pasta. I spread it on toasted French bread, sprinkle with romano and basil and broiler slightly
Why We Cook – A Rant
(From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Espresso Gelato
Returning from an extended “vacation” in New Jersey, I sit here and remember some of the many meals I cooked and the people who attended those dinners. I had several conversations both with people who cook and people who just enjoy the food. Those that enjoy, I mean really enjoy the cooking, understand why someone would put that much effort into feeding others; those that just show up to eat, think it crazy that someone would put all that effort into making a meal.
The answer is very simple, we cook to watch people enjoy, truly enjoy, what we have prepared. We get our “fix” watching their eyes and watching the smile that follows as they put a bite into their mouths. They challenge our sanity but then they open their mouths like baby birds and allow us to place a dollop of this or spoonful of that onto their tongues for them to taste. Recently I made Espresso Gelato for dessert for a dinner party, the machine was noisy, the effort a little more than they would do… but when I gave them a spoonful to taste, just to see if they wanted some, they readily said “bring it on.”
The bottom line is for those of us “nutcases” who enjoy making others happy with our food efforts keep up the good work. For those who simply want to enjoy our efforts and think we are a little crazy, try making something, it may grow on you.
Dinner Parties as a Lost Art Form – A Rant
Summer Dinner Party
For those of us who enjoy cooking, dinner parties are the best way to showcase new recipes or highlight old ones. They are a chance to get together with old friends and to meet new ones. A chance to share ideas and thoughts with like-minded people and on some occasions a chance to hone our debating skills with those that don’t exactly agree with us. This is true whether inviting another couple for a summer dinner or large sit-down parties for the roving hordes. The conversation is the reason… the food the enticement.
So it is with sadness that I find holding a dinner party has become almost impossible in today’s rapid-paced, everyone-going-in-different-directions world. It used to be deciding on the menu was the hardest part of the planning; now just finding enough people to invite has become the most difficult part.
Obstacles include those with kids’ sport programs that conflict with the party, and those who are consistently on a diet; there is nothing like preparing a great meal only to find someone picking at their food like a kid forced to eat eggplant. Then there are the people who add nothing to the conversation, remember this is why you have the party in the first place. Filling a table of eight has become harder than making Julia Child’s Hollandaise while in a body cast.
Bottom line is I hope that I have not lost my touch, hope the dinner party isn’t a lost art; maybe it is only a sign of the times. For those few of us left let’s raise our glasses in hope of a swing back to what we would call better times.
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