 My mom’s ambivalence toward cooking had me thinking about my childhood as I watched my Big Guy make “real” mashed potatoes. I should start with my definition of real. In this case, Big Guy peeled the potatoes, diced them, and boiled them. After draining off the water, he added butter, cream, salt, and pepper to whip up the most magical mashed potatoes. He even put them into a baking dish and used the hand mixer to give them pretty peaks for serving. Wow!
To be honest, I did not know you could do that to a potato when I was a kid. I was born into the era of microwaves and pre-cooked meals for the busy working mom. If mom became pressed to make a side dish of potatoes, she would grab the box of instant mashed potatoes because it was “good enough” and served its purpose. The irony is my mom loved mashed potatoes so I am sure, if she were still alive, she would be asking Big Guy to make his version weekly as she was never opposed to someone else doing the cooking!
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 College football is in full swing, so I woke up determined to make chili. I checked the freezer and the pantry and found the ingredients needed to make it without another trip to the store.
I admit I usually make a large pot, but this time I was satisfied to make a smaller batch which still yielded me with leftovers to freeze for another day. In the past, I was making a meatless chili, but thanks to @legrandsmarket I have brought my inner carnivore back to the pot. I added onions from @carondeletgarden, hot sauce, chili powder, kidney beans, tomatoes, roasted corn, and chili ready sauce. I like to throw in brown sugar as well to get that sweet and heat flavor profile. I added macaroni to my bowl while Big Guy went all in with cheddar cheese. The perfect meal to welcome cooler days.  Big Guy and I have learned so much tinkering around @carondeletgarden. Just as the days shorten in the Fall, I am amazed that we can still grow vegetables for the table.
We opted to plant butter crisp and romaine lettuce. We were unsure if we would be successful since a bunny got to the first crop. The second round is doing better thanks to the diligence of our Doodle who takes her job very seriously to keep the lettuce munchers at bay. It will not be long now, and Big Guy will be harvesting lettuce for our meals. I am excited we can extend the growing season just a little longer with fresh produce.  Big Guy and I both grew up in households that had huge freezers in the basement to store meat. It was an annual event to buy “half a cow” store in the freezer to be used for meals throughout the year. Did that happen to you too?
We initially had a freezer when we first got married thanks to my in-laws downsizing their house, but it did not last long in our house. We are fortunate to live in an age where a trip to the butcher is no longer an annual event, but rather a meal-to-meal trip. It was a recent week when I suggested to Big Guy to stop for steaks @legrandsmarket. We picked up two strip steaks to go with potatoes and green beans we already had in the refrigerator. We had a beautiful meal of garlic butter steak, twice baked potatoes, and green beans dressed in the same garlic butter sauce. Who says you should only eat this meal on a special occasion? In this case, it was another perfect meal with @abrandt1026 celebrating family and Tuesdays!  We live in a world where there is a cocktail for every occasion. My parents were firm in their love of martinis and Manhattans. I know it was a different time, but I enjoyed playing bartender and mixing up their drinks. As a kid, I was a firm Shirley Temple girl on the special occasions I could have my mocktail. Watching the kiddos in my life now, it is fun to see them playing grownup by having sparkling grape juice in their oversized goblets usually with images from Harry Potter. It inspired me to include a sparkling grape juice mocktail at a recent #Tuesdayswithalex. I froze the holiday grapes and raspberries which became the “ice” for the mocktail. It was refreshing and a perfect nod to the end of summer.   I love that we are finally into the Fall season. It has always felt like a breath of fresh air to feel the days get shorter, the leaves start to change color, and the temperatures cool down from the summer heat. As I grab my sweater, I cannot wait to pull out my Fall pans to make comforting breads and muffins. Big Guy always asks for a pumpkin loaf which I make more fun with my festive Fall pan. Big Guy takes on the chore of making sure the pan is well greased so we can see the pumpkins in the loaf pan. I gather up the ingredients and quickly mix them up using my @kitchenaidusa, followed by pouring the mix into the greased pan, then baked for an hour. I am always thrilled to see the baked loaf turned out of the pan. It only needs to be cooled then “dressed” in a sprinkle of powdered sugar. The bonus is the aroma in the house makes for the perfect Fall Day!   When life hands you a bushel of apples, you must make apple butter. At least, that is what @nataliejhiggins tells me every Fall. We overbought apples at the farmer’s market and my poor doodle can only eat them so fast. In homage to our annual apple butter experience, Big Guy and I found a recipe that was too simple to believe. Apples, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and time. The apples and ingredients spent ten hours in the crock pot at varying degrees until it was close to perfection. The last step was to take the mixture and run it through our @cuinart. I admit I almost skipped that step which would have been a mistake. The puree forced the pectin from the apples out which gave it the perfect apple butter consistency. As @abrandt1026 would say, it is time for Memaw Fall!   Do you ever drive by a place and point it out as a place you need to go to soon? I hate to admit @novellawinebar is one of those places.
Big Guy and I decided to stop talking and go to this hidden gem. We went in prior to happy hour and found ourselves able to enjoy a quiet moment with the owner before the rush of the evening. Our conversation led to the perfect wine choice for our adventure to come with our small plate choices. We opted to try the stuffed dates, flatbread, and polenta fries. As each plate came to our table, we were delighted with the outstanding presentation and rewarded with delicious flavors. Big Guy, who is not a fan of any type of blue cheese, was converted to the delights of gorgonzola cheese in the dates with the mix of honey and walnuts wrapped in bacon. He loved it so much we ordered another plate. We are lucky to have wonderful restaurants and bars in Saint Louis. I know this one will become a favorite stop even if we are late to the party!  I am not a big cereal eater, but there is something special about making @chexcereal. The tang of the Worcestershire and the blended flavors of salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in a “sauce” of butter. It is magic.
I tend to put in pretzels with my rice, corn, and wheat mix and double the sauce to give it extra punch. I have used bagel chips in the past along with nuts, but I tend to like a simple mix. How about you? Do you have a favorite ingredient you cannot live without in your Chex Mix?  I surprise myself from time to time when I get a recipe in my head. As I was picking raspberries from @carondeletgarden, I remembered I had blueberries and strawberries in the freezer. It was time to make triple berry muffins from @inagarten.
The recipe is straight forward in that you sift the dry ingredients and then create a well. I then took the wet ingredients of butter, milk, and eggs and poured it into the well. Once you mix the ingredients you add your berries and sugar. I realize it sounds crazy to add your sugar in this fashion, but I never doubt Ina and her meticulous recipes. The result is delicious muffins with bursts of fresh berries. The recipe makes up to sixteen muffins so plan to share with your family and friends. |
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December 2024
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