Hobbit Safety Video - Fly New Zealand Air!!

This is not only amusing...it's instructive. Enjoyed it so much I had to share.


Have a great Friday!!

Julie and Julia at Food 'n Flix

Julie and Julia is the featured movie at Food and Flix this month. Here I am, late to the party, but I hope our host this month doesn’t mind.



Check out our host's announcement post at La Cocina de Leslie -Thank you Leslie for hosting the November movie!

This movie is based on two true stories, each sharing a common theme. No, it’s not butter…although butter plays a prominent part in the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell. Both women, living as far apart as you can imagine are looking for their niche in life. Their dedication and passion led them to cooking. I very much enjoyed the book and was looking forward to the movie and hoping, as I always do, that it followed the book.

It did not. The movie contrasts the culinary career of Julia as well as the obsessed Julie Powell (who is intent on making all of Julia’s recipes in a span of 365 days). There was more focus on Julia Child’s time in Paris in the 1950 era than was written about….but this isn’t a book review, now is it? While it turned into more of a split biography on the two women rather than Julie Powell’s journey to happiness and commitment, it was overall quite an enjoyable movie. Absolutely, no denying that Powell’s popular blog wouldn’t have existed without the inspiration of J.C.



Plus, this movie had Meryl Streep, who can act in anything. Any accent, any plot…the woman is a marvel. A fun movie with lots of food. I know anyone who participated with Food ‘n Flix this month had a hard time narrowing their choices for inspired dish.


Images that come to mind for me are butter (obviously), mushrooms, wine…….Coq au Vin.



Ingredients

· 1/2 cup lardons (4 ounces -- 1-by-1/4-inch strips of blanched slab bacon or salt pork)
· 3 pounds frying chicken parts
· 2 tbs. butter (plus a tad more…just sayin’)
· 1 tbs. olive oil
· Salt and freshly ground pepper
· 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped and crushed
· 1 bay leaf
· 1/4 teaspoon thyme
· 3 cups red wine
· 1 cup chicken stock (you may need more)
· Beurre manie, for the sauce (1 1/2 tbs. each flour softened butter blended to a paste)
· Chopped parsley)
· 1/3 cup good brandy (optional)
· 12 or so white onions – the itty bity ones, you know?
· 3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sautéed

Directions

Sauté the blanched bacon or salt pork and then set aside but leave fat in the pan. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil, if needed. Now simmer chicken in the wine, adding stock, tomatoes and seasoning. Add onions and sautéed mushrooms over the chicken and mix it gently, getting the sauce over all of the ingredients.

Check out Food 'n Flix for the next movies scheduled. It's fun...promise :-) Thans again Leslie for hosting!

An Adventure..........Apalachicola National Forest, Hot Chocolate with Rum and Doughnuts

Saturday was a fantastic day....better than Thanksgiving, better than turkey (and I love turkey..a lot), better than receiving a new stand mixer. Yes. It was that much fun.



We don't have a jeep but Doug took his SUV off into sandy and dirt back roads to explore the Apalachicola National Forest and wooded areas in search of a place to set up his telescope some evening. Inky dark skies are guaranteed in these areas. While he didn't find "the spot" (flat, away from the road and clear of tree line), we did have a blast picking wild bay leaves, taking photos at boat landings, walking through the woods.....

Wright Lake Camp Ground - would love to camp here one day.


This photo below is Ashley boat landing and looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings. We passed quite a few hunters and dogs on the way down these little roads.

Oh, we saw an eagle take off just feet from the car, it abandoned eating whatever it had on the side of the road. What a magnificent bird - and huge.



Don't shoot near a house, please.



We roamed around Ft Gadsden and looked at the river, walked around the remains of where the old structure stood. Not to belabor the Hobbit references but you could imagine them living in those rolling hills. (Please see photo album for all pics)





Apalachicola River...a group on a small boat pulled in here while Doug and I were walking around. Pretty ride...floating down the river. They said it was cold though.



My phone died (that's where the photos are from) and I couldn't get a shot of some wild bay bushes. We picked a good handful to dry out.

Once home, we planned a fire for the evening.



Hot chocolate liberally laced with Myer's Dark Rum paired with a doughnut...which you can see was being begging by the shibas.



Kobe is looking very Japanese this evening....hoping that will get him some doughnut. It did not.



All photos here - Just click on the photo below to get to album.

HWY 65

Now, I have other updates about books, reading challenges and cooking.............but that won't be until I am online again.

Hope you all are enjoying this last week of November!

Thanksgiving planning and lost in memories

“If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Years and years of having the honor of bringing green bean casserole to Thanksgiving dinner has inspired me to get creative. Don’t get me wrong….I really do like a good green bean casserole but holy hell, what a boring dish it can be to prepare. No matter.... tradition and so on. I am fortunate to have been gathered into the fold of my husband’s family to participate with his rowdy congregation of serious eaters.

This year I am looking at adding honey caramelized onions and pancetta. This may take another twist before I am done with it.....we’ll see.

Past Thanksgivings I would bring two casseroles. The variation goes like this:

One green bean casserole (GBC) with mushrooms, crispy Durkee fried onions and béchamel sauce – the second GBC containing the aforementioned and bacon. (This was the year my niece was vegetarian…hence the meatless version. The bacon laced GBC was devoured first. And quickly I may add.)

Sometimes I change the cheese out and use Swiss cheese, sometimes sharp cheddar. Sometimes zero meat products.


You get the idea. This has been going on for years. Messing with the ingredients. So…………..this year, definitely using caramelized onions and maybe goat cheese. Marsala……that would be good.


I miss my son being part of these gatherings. He’s been at Ft Polk in Louisiana being tortured participating in extensive training. More than likely it’s in prep to be sent overseas. I hate that..so very much. He’s newly married and it would be such a wonderful thing for us to all be together on the holiday, participating in conversations, beer pong, hugs, …………..all of it. Last year we drove up to see him and his bride. This year he will just be getting back from training.



It’s been 46 years since I had a Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania with my father and 47 years with all of my family. Mom, Dad, the uncles, sometimes my sister would come with her kids. Sometimes it would snow early and we’d play around outside until it just got mushy. The house would be so warm, hot even, from the constant use of the oven and all the stove burners as my mother moved in a blur. Her hands were always occupied with pot holders, or a wooden spoon, or a pie or {insert any food item} and she was in her glory. Loved the kitchen.


(My sister Linda, Mom, me and brother Jim..........enjoying road side picnic. Always prepare for emergencies)

Boy…….did I ever meander around holiday memories. Ok (shaking my head)…the GBC. Back to it. I hope to get more creative this year and we will see what I can post and share next week. In the meantime, looking forward to some time off work and good eating.

I hope you all are well, whoever is reading this, and I thank you for visiting.

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives.”
― Oscar Wilde

Stella's Cinnamon Raisin Buns

These are not ordinary cinnamon raisin buns..........they are a testament to a good recipe handed down and around since 1956. They evoke happy memories. And hunger.



Here is an endearing thing to me.... this recipe is mostly written out by hand by my mother and sister. Each making notations on adaptions to the recipe over the years. Even though both of them are deceased (Mom dying 40 years ago and my sister 19 years this Thanksgiving) I can remember the individual kitchens from so long ago. The nicks in the table, the wall exhaust fan shuddering noisily, the aroma of cinnamon as it warms in the oven.




Start with a sweet pastry dough.




Once you've brushed the dough with butter and liberally applied brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon..........start rolling it as you would a jelly roll.


Now use pastry scraper to cut the individual buns.


Clearly I am not a professional pastry chef. Look at the shapes. Who cares...it's the ooey end result which matters, am I right? Of course, you are nodding your head in agreement....taste and satisfaction rule.



My mother would have been pleased.



I would love to share this with BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Girlichef.

Summer Corn Chowder

It’s called summer corn chowder but…I don’t care that it’s November and this is themed for summer temperatures. It’s summer in New Zealand, right? So that counts.

Plus, I like corn. Growing up in Pennsylvania there was a season for corn which meant it was on our table every night. Every. Night. But I love it….never have tired of it. Just as I never tire of soup, no matter the season.



This can be adapted for vegetarians or vegan menus too…see my notes at the end of recipe.

Ok, the star of the show here...before it was violated by my dull edged knife.



Summer Corn Chowder
adapted from My Father’s Daughter

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 slices bacon, finely diced
2 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
2 springs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Kernels from 6 ears of fresh corn, cobs reserved
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 tablespoons minced fresh chives (optional)
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon (optional)

This just looks pretty to me...so I am sharing it for it's visual appeal. Fresh thyme, a bay leaf and shallots. Pretty.



In a large soup pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook it for 4 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Toss in the shallots, onion, thyme and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the corn kernels, salt and pepper and stir everything together. Add the stock, milk, and corn cobs and bring the soup to a boil for 30 seconds. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the cobs and ladle a scoop of soup in the blender until pureed. Return to the pot of soup and stir. Ladle portions into bowls and garnish with chives and tarragon.

Adaptions you could make: If want to make it a bit healthier, use slices of turkey bacon and low fat milk. If you want to make it vegan, use tofu bacon or textured vegetable protein bacon such as Morningstar and substitute cow milk for soy milk.

But me...I can't do without bacon.

Cuban Cuisine: Arroz con Pollo

I have been slacking lately. Well, that's not a completely factual statement. Working on home improvement projects, cleaned out an overburdened bookshelf and divested myself of many cookbooks, writing (rather outlining) a book I want to work on and ....reading quite a bit more. So...not totally slacking.

I am still cooking though and here is one I want to share. Go on, grab a plate while we talk about this one. Another chicken recipe.

We love chicken....I mean loooove chicken and have it several times in our two weeks of meal planning. So many ways you can prepare it, so many uses for it after your main meal (such as soup, chicken salad, making broth with the bones).

This version of Arroz con Pollo is tops on my list.



Here is the list of ingredients you'll need

3 pounds of chicken (I used thighs and legs)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large ripe tomato, chopped (but I used a can of diced tomatoes)
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
A pinch of saffron
1 cup hot chicken broth
¼ cup white wine
A sprig of parsley
2 cups long grain rice
2 ½ cups chicken broth
A good handful of peas



Simple stuff here……….brown the chicken then set aside. Tip in onions, pepper and garlic…stir it around until it gets mushy but don’t burn…….now tip in the lemon juice, bay leaf, salt, saffron, wine and a cup of chicken broth.



Mix gently and add chicken back in to pan. Let this simmer a bit.
Now add the parsley, additional broth and rice.
Let it simmer until rice is cooked then toss in the peas.

Another method is to place your pan of ingredients into a 350 F oven (if you have an oven proof pan) and let the rice cook this way.



Another good recipe from Clarita's Cocina.



Pity we didn't finish it off with a cafe con leche. Next time,

Mini weekend wine review: A to Z Pinot Noir with Chicken Marsala

A to Z wine from Oregon. Scents of raspberries and other berries (undefined), pale colored and a shade lighter than we expected. I don't think I would buy it again, unless to try it with a different meal (we had chicken Marsala). It was one of those that you try and it was ok....but you wouldn't necessarily go looking for it again.

Cream Tea ...........

Just finished up another Peter Robinson book in which a cream tea was mentioned. Here are some pictorial highlights of the tea below. Book review may be found at my book site HERE

This clotted cream was purchased at World Market and always has a good sweet consistency.



Yorkshire tea made a nice change from the PG Tips tea, but I never complain about PG Tips…good stuff there. Here are some delectable scones.... I just cannot make them round.



On my list of books to read before the end of November are The Hanging Valley by Peter Robinson (#4 in the Inspector Banks series),
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Rigler, Heartburn by Nora Ephron and Paris in Love: Memoir by Eloisa James. We shall see how that goal pans out. Especially with Thanksgiving coming up.

Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll be able to visit with our son and his wife this Thanksgiving as he will be training at Ft Polk in Louisiana. The army didn’t consider holiday visits in their scheduling…alas.



Hope you all are enjoying some good weather in the beginning of November.

Pollo Estofado - Clarita's Spanish Style Stew

When it's warm I like grilled fish, shrimp, cocktails on the patio and light meals.

But now the weather has turned on us in north Florida...as would be expected in late October, early November. This morning it is 46 F and last week we had strongs winds making the temperature feel like 33 F.

That means it's time for thick stews and hearty dishes.



From Clarita's Cocona I adapted her recipe for Pollo Estofado...that's Spanish Chicken Stew and it was very good. Quite hearty, warmed the belly. If you are looking for a stew that is easy to prepare, check this one out.




Pollo Estofado Ingredients:

1 whole fryer, cut into pieces or 8-10 pieces of chicken
Bacon
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
4-5 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
bay leaf
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
Tomatoes (canned or stewed)
1 medium sweet red pepper
2 peeled carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
A handful of green peas
salt and pepper to taste
Roasted potatoes

Preparation:

I started with baking potatoes, cut up and roasted at 375 F for 45 minutes. When this is going on, start cooking the rest of the ingredients.

In a large, deep frying pan or skillet, heat olive oil and add bacon. Remove bacon and cut up. Now brown chicken for 5-7 minutes each side on medium high heat.

Add bacon bits, garlic, onion, carrots and sweet red pepper to pan and sauté until onion is translucent, approximately 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add white wine to skillet and turn heat to high until broth just about boils, then add tomatoes, reduce and simmer until chicken is cooked thoroughly and liquid is reduced a bit and thickens, 20-30 minutes. Check the pan while chicken is cooking and add more broth or water if necessary.

Scrape the roasted potato chunks in the pan.

Just before serving, add green peas to pan and stir well.

Coming up is Arroz con Pollo from this cookbook.



Time to go do a few book reviews and make another pie :-)