 I read recently we have entered the “eating our ice cream with a warm sweater” phase since it the author of the article stated it is no longer considered just a summer treat. As I started checking expiration dates, I realized my milk and heavy whipping cream were on the verge of “going south” so I decided to join the “sweater” team.
I am in love with my @cuisinart ice cream maker so the task to make the ice cream is simple. You only need sugar, milk, salt, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla to make the perfect foundation. I say foundation because, while delicious as a plain dessert, it is better to add ingredients to elevate your dessert. We did our annual trek to the Best of Missouri Market where we loaded up on our fill of Flaherty’s Irish Candy. I broke up pieces of my On the Way to Galway Bay Irish candy which created the perfect topping. It was the perfect mix of sweet and salty to compliment the sweetness of the ice cream. It was an excellent way to satisfy my sweet tooth!
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 I know an easy staple in our house is pigs in a blanket otherwise known as hot dogs wrapped in a crescent roll. The varieties have changed over the years depending on our needs. For example, mini sausage rolls are always welcome at a gathering. You can make enough to feed an army of hungry friends and not work too hard as the host. You can dress up your “piggie” as a skeleton for Halloween. You can even create a hot dog bar so your friends can add other ingredients such as pickles, jalapenos, or different cheeses our friends can encase in the roll. Our recent change up was to use @stoniessausage Smoked Apple Maple Sausage to create a breakfast sausage roll. We paired it with the perfect omelet and enjoyed breakfast for dinner. It was filling and satisfying on a cold evening.   I kept receiving subtle and overt hints that banana pudding should be one of my desserts this year for Thanksgiving. Fortunately, I could turn to @trishayearwood for the perfect recipe. I was the gal not raised in a home deep into cooking, so making my own pudding is magic. As I read the recipe the first time, I realized I finally had a reason to use a double boiler. Too bad, I gave it away due to lack of use. Regardless, I was able to create a double boiler from a pot and steel bowl which did the trick beautifully. The magic is how sugar, vanilla, flour, egg yolks and one whole egg with milk could become a delicious pudding. It took some work to keep stirring for ten minutes, but the outcome was worth the effort. The rest of the “construction,” was layering the pudding, then the vanilla wafers, followed by the bananas two times. To top it off, I make a meringue with the leftover egg whites. The dish looked stunning, but I could almost hear my mom’s voice say why don’t you use boxed instant pudding and cool whip as it will taste the same. My voice pushed back and said no way!  The last of our Fall lettuce has been consumed by us and our neighbors and our raised beds are now bare except for the garlic which we will harvest next year. The harvest season this year was acceptable even as I lament over our tomatoes that never fully recovered from the hail in the spring and the rains of the summer.
We had successes with our eggplants, butternut squash, onions, garlic, cucumbers, lettuce, and mixed peppers. The herbs, especially our basil, were exceptional this year. We even enjoyed blueberries and raspberries which was a pleasant surprise considering we just planted them. We could not survive on the output of @carondeletgarden, but it was lovely to pick fresh produce from the garden to enhance my meals in the kitchen. As the season turns to a time of rest, I know Big Guy and I will start dreaming of our garden next year. Until then, rest well @carondeletgarden.  You can tell we have babies in our life when I bought a Christmas cookie kit from @kingarthurbaking. I think the last time I frosted a Christmas cookie was when I was a kid. I decided to bake the cookies and mix the icing ahead of time so we could easily take everything over to @abrandt1026. It was so much fun, and chaotic, as we put everything on the table and got to work mixing colors into the icing. Little Miss Phoebe was our quality control operator with Bonny Doon taking care of maintenance of most things that hit the floor. I played Christmas music as we all laughed passing around the various tubes of icing to create our cookie masterpieces. Alex and I decided that Big Guy, who really did not want to decorate cookies, was the best decorator of us all. He has hidden talents, and this was an apparent secret superpower that was unleashed in the spirit of the holiday.  As I grow older, I have come to appreciate that holidays can last more than one day. Big Guy really hit that lesson home with me over fifteen years ago when he started celebrating the month of my birthday. It was a fun way to celebrate another trip around the sun, but certainly made the mundane things I needed fun as Big Guy would wrap each item in a box leading up to my big present. Think socks and a kitchen utensil. It was this thought that turned our weekly dinner with @abrandt1026 into an early Thanksgiving meal since we would not see her this year on Thanksgiving. We pulled out our favorite @inagarten recipes and got to work. We made a turkey roulade with mashed potatoes and green beans with a side of cranberry conserve. I love this meal because you do not have to deal with an entire turkey, just the breast. The other bonus is you wrap the breast around the stuffing, so the meat remains moist. It is a lovely meal, and if you are lucky to have leftovers, it becomes the perfect turkey casserole!   I read recently that I am a dying breed of humans who still love to own and cook from an actual cookbook. I admit I do get inspiration from online sources, but my favorite way to spend a day is to look through my cookbooks, pick out a recipe, stop by a specialty shop for ingredients, then come home and spend the rest of day cooking a fabulous meal. I was thinking about a warm and comforting fall dish and immediately knew to pull my Irish Pub Cookbook written by the renowned Margaret M. Johnson. You cannot get more meal satisfaction than tucking into a Shepherd’s Pie. While I substitute ground sirloin for lamb, the beef “stew” of meat and vegetables topped by a layer of whipped potatoes is food for the soul. It is also “Phoebe” certified as my great niece ate it like a champion!   I realize it may seem laughable to the youngsters in the crowd, but I grew up in an age when McDonald’s were not on every corner. It was a special treat to drive two towns over to get our Big Mac’s which were usually cold by the time we got home. Good thing my dad and I always bought extra French fries for the trip!
It is in this context that I can remember the excitement in town when we got our own bagel shop. I remember walking in and seeing the rotating racks that put the magic in those bagels. We thought we died and went to heaven! The best memory of this shop was the day they decided to make pizza bagels. It was simple fare, but gooey cheese and sauce on a bagel was often an after-school treat. I am glad I still smile when I pick up a couple of bagels and recreate this childhood delight!  I came into my marriage feeling confident I could make a hamburger and potatoes dish. It was one of the few meals my parents taught me as I came in handy to slice up the potatoes.
The irony is my parents never allowed me to use a sharp knife, so I became very adept at using a steak knife for slicing and dicing vegetables. You can imagine my need to adapt quickly when Big Guy and I received an actual knife set as a wedding present. Unfortunately, my confidence became shattered when I managed to slice open my finger making this meal early in our marriage. The drama was high as I cried, and bled, requiring a trip to have my finger stitched up at the hospital. I am glad Big Guy did not give up on me in the kitchen and instead made sure I received knife technique lessons. I am still not great at it, but at least I still have ten fingers! Well, one broken finger after the over door slammed on my finger, but that is a story for another day!  As the leaves turn to their golden fall colors, I am finding myself seeking out my favorite comfort foods. My parents loved a variety of dips, so I guess it is why I count pretzels and dip in my top ten list of snack food!
The recipe for the dip is simple and can serve the household whether it is just to watch a movie or a college football game. Four ingredients and you are ready. I mix sixteen ounces of sour cream, a package of @hidden.valley, bacon bits, and cheddar cheese. I usually make it in the morning to enjoy the same evening. It is delicious and very satisfying on a cold fall evening. |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
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