 It is amazing to think about the number of collections I have started, and in some cases, abandoned over the years. When I first met the Big Guy, I was into Precious Moments. As we studied music together, our CD collection took flight along with DVDs of our favorite movies. My FIL worked for Sinclair Oil and started giving us collectables every Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, let us just say I have been collecting ornaments for a LONG time and I am not embarrassed by the number of storage boxes I have in my basement.
With the birth of Our Carondelet Kitchen, our cookbook and wine books have exploded all over the house. No, I am not upset but I promised after cleaning out my parents’ belongings I would not be THAT person. SIGH! Sorry kids! The only good news is my stuff is organized and will be easily given to others who will someday love my goodies. Until then, it is MINE and I love it!
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 I have written about baking brie in the past using crescent rolls as the outside layer. This time, I decided to use puff pastry as the Big Guy found me a cool Fleur de Lis cookie cutter to jazz up the top of my brie.
I picked up my brie at my local store and stopped by the Tower Grove Farmers Market to visit our friend at Larder & Cupboard for another batch of her Peach Bourbon jam. I adore this jam in my brie as it really highlights the creaminess of the brie. Once I got home it was a matter of putting it together. It was fun to use the extra pastry to cut out the Fleur de Lis pattern for the top of my baked brie. It truly elevated dinner into a special event complimented with a lovely Pinot Noir Rose wine. Heaven!  Our Doodle Dog is a very pampered pooch and loves to visit her best friend, Maggie, at the Matted Doodle. Nothing perks up our fur baby like a spa day!
I say this as the opposite effect comes into play when she is reminded that she is a dog. Between rainy weather and the need to clean her ears, our Doodle needed a bath. You know it’s bad when you walk into a room, and it smells like a combination of dirt and wet dog. The result is a look of death throughout the day following her bath and much begging for extra treats since she was a good girl. Oh, to be my dog. In fact, if I die and come back as a dog, I want to be my Doodle! So spoiled!  Now this is a day I can get behind because wine makes the world go around! I realize this sounds so grandeur, but wine comes from countries around the world and in so many varieties that there is bound to be one you will love.
According to the internet, that bastion of all information, “global sales from wine exported from all countries in 2020 amounted to US $34.1. billion.” It seems obvious this statement tells a story about the appreciation of wine makers, a true love of the land, and the grape. I suggest we celebrate this special day even if you drink sparking grape juice. The idea is to lift a glass, give a toast, and spend time with your favorite people making memories!  Big Guy and I frequent a variety of stores in the St. Louis area. While we tend to purchase our wine and spirits at smaller and locally owned venues, we have signed up for the loyalty clubs at Total Wine and Wine and Cheese Place. Why? The big reason is the sale prices and lotteries for hard to purchase items.
Case in point, Big Guy won the lottery to BUY a bottle of Blanton’s. I know it seems strange to say you cannot get it here unless you have the “luck of the Irish,” but the new reality is many spirits are in high demand. Have you tried to buy a bottle of Springbank scotch lately? Good luck! I already have my Blanton horse collection complete thanks to friends and local bar owners. For those who do not know, the horse stopper has a letter on it which together spell out Blantons. It has been a couple of years, so I am looking forward to my first sip while watching my horses run!  The unusual heat wave delayed our continued exploration of our local parks with the Doodle. With a slight break in the weather, Big Guy and I headed off to Lafayette Park. According to the City of St. Louis website, historians consider this park to be the oldest urban park west of the Mississippi.
While this was not our first visit to the park, we never really explored it past the bandstand and lake on those nights we ventured out to listen to the concert in the park series. We started by walking toward the foot bridge and discovered a small pond with stunning flowers. We even “met” a pair of swans. One was indifferent to the Doodle while posing for a picture, but the other one fired off a hiss of a warning when Doodle sniffed its food source. We quickly headed away from the pond so the swans could enjoy their tranquil setting. We spent another 45 minutes walking the inner path of the park. With its towering trees, the park was shaded giving us the perfect day to explore the monuments and park signs. Time to plan our next walk in another great park!  I come from a family of game players. Canasta, Dominos, Boggle and Yahtzee were big competitions in our house. Big Guy’s family played a mean game of Pitch. My FIL and I were ruthless players against Big Guy and his mom.
As the years progressed, we played less often especially as our parents aged and could no longer be active members in the game. Unfortunately, our parents are no longer with us, but we are finding our love of the games again. Going through boxes, I found the directions to play Pitch. Memories of games in the past roared into my head. Then I found the retro Yahtzee game from the 1950’s with the price tag still on the box. Shopper’s Fair asked $.88 for the box of score pads. Again, I was transported back to nights of shaking the dice hoping for a Yahtzee. We have purposely brought these games back into our lives. Happy Hour is now “happier” with the shaking of dice, and martinis, on the front porch. Life is good!  It is so nice to be able to get out again. Granted, we are cautious, but seeing things away from our home sanctuary is nice right now.
Our recent wanderlust took us to the shops and restaurants on Grand. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Steve's Hot Dogs and Burgers - St. Louis. Then we wandered north to Dunaway Books to see if we could find any gently used cookbooks. I love walking into an old bookstore, but there is something incredibly special about Dunaway. The smell of the books, the greeting by the team and their patrons, not to mention a nudge of the muzzle of the shop dog. Our exploration found the Big Guy buying a wine book for his continued studies for the next WSET level. I found a Craig Claiborne cookbook to accompany my New York Times Cookbook from my mom. I wish I could say I was a savvy shopper, but I did not pay attention to the fact I picked up a first edition. I am beyond elated at my lucky find and I will love this book forever!  Big Guy has been working hard on his garden. We are trying all kinds of vegetables this year as part of our grand experiment to see if we can be urban farmers.
We first tried lettuce last year and were successful in growing butter crisp and romaine. Our spinach was ok but was not as productive as the rest of the crop. The best lesson we learned last year is lettuce is a spring and fall crop. We are thrilled that we are already harvesting our spring lettuce. It certainly makes you appreciate fresh vegetables and the work real farmers put into bringing us fresh food for our table!  I have spent my entire life using cutting boards that were not of great quality. I thought I went uptown when I started buying the medium Dexas chop and scoop cutting boards.
Big Guy bought me my first Boos board for my birthday last year. Wow, what a difference! It seemed like my knives were happier as the surface seemed to change the feel and cut of my food when prepping my meals. I love my board, but if I were to complain, it’s the maintenance and care of the board. You can only handwash it and you must be vigilant with the oil and creaming of the board. I tend to still go back to the Dexas board when I chopped onions or garlic as my Boos board holds on to the smell which requires another round of cleaning with vinegar and baking soda. I realize this is first world grumbles especially knowing I am retired and have plenty of time to take proper care of my board. Hi Ho, it’s back to cleaning I go! |
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October 2024
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