 The first time I made banana pudding I distinctly remember using instant pudding. I am not even sure I used a recipe since Big Guy had remembered his mom’s recipe. A couple years ago I was gifted Trisha Yearwood’s cookbook which had a recipe for banana pudding. I was intrigued to try it as I saw no instant pudding anywhere on the page. I gamely put on a pot of boiling water and created a double boiler with my mixing bowl. As I put in one whole egg, three egg yolks, sugar, flour, salt, and milk, I admit I was doubtful the mixture would create anything that looked like pudding. To my wonder, after ten minutes of stirring the mixture, it became a beautiful pudding. It truly was magic to me. I made it again this Thanksgiving and it was a hit. I even put the meringue on top to give it the wow factor it deserved befitting time with family.
0 Comments
 The Big Guy is always on the hunt for new things I can use in my Carondelet Kitchen. He literally “bowled” me over with the discovery of Mason Cash bowls. He read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the history of the bowls. The bowls have been made for over 200 years and have graced the homes of many home cooks and bakers. It was even an obvious bowl used in the kitchen of Downtown Abbey. Yes, I had to look to believe it! Big Guy spoils me to no end but these bowls were a special treat as part of my birthday presents. I admit I won’t get rid of my metal bowls, but I have already been using my Mason Cash bowls for salads and pastas. I realize some people may only pull these bowls out for the holidays, but I plan to use them often from cooking to dressing up my dining table.   I will be busy making desserts today in preparation for joining my family for Thanksgiving. I didn’t want this day to go by without expressing my gratitude. I have a blessed life with my Big Guy and Doodle. My wish for everyone is to have a wonderful Thanksgiving with no drama and only love. If you feel yourself giving in to the chaos of the day, take a deep breath and remind yourself of your blessings. I bet you will feel better for it! I wish to give you thanks with a grateful heart for joining us on our Carondelet Kitchen journey and giving us support to explore our creative project. To you and yours, have a Happy Turkey Day!   Our garden has been the home to many birds over the years. We are especially blessed with hummingbirds in the summer and finches and cardinals in the winter. Big Guy and I were recently outside when a cardinal landed on our cable wire. He said, “when a cardinal appears it means an angel is near.” I had never heard that phrase, so I was inspired to do more research. It seems that cardinals have a long history of symbolic meaning by being the embodiment of “beauty in the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of sorrow and renewal in the midst of winter.” I read this phrase and was struck it is a little like a certain baseball team we love in the Lou. I don’t think my bird feeder will help them prosper, but I’ll certainly look forward to “angels” flying through my backyard!   I admittedly have a love-hate relationship with chicken. It must be cooked a certain way for me to get my eyes on board. Yes, I said eyes because anything that looks under-cooked to me is not going into my mouth. After all, we do eat with all our senses and this one is especially important to me.
Several years ago, the Big Guy bought me the latest Ina Garten cookbook whereby she shared her secret to the best baked chicken. She took chicken breasts and covered them with olive oil along with salt and pepper. I was on board at once as the baking time gave the chicken a golden-brown hue but kept the juiciness that makes for the perfect bite. I loved this method of cooking chicken so much that now I tend to bake my chicken for all my recipes even if it calls for boiling it. I prefer the flavor and I believe it adds another level of complexity to my dishes.  The leaves on the trees are changing and falling at the same time! It must be time to make more soup to freeze for the winter. I decided to tackle my usual allotment of chicken soup, but I could not decide which one to make this fall. Since the ingredients are the same with just a few variations, I opted to make Chicken Noodle Soup and Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup at the same time. WHAT?! I realize this sounds crazy, but both soups called for chicken, onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, and chicken broth. The difference comes with the final ingredients. The chicken noodle soup gets a healthy addition of the Reames egg noodles which you can find in the freezer section of your favorite store. The creamy chicken soup calls for the addition of rice and heavy cream. BOOM! You have two great soups, and the prep work gives you a double dose in the same amount of time. The next time I am in the mood for chicken soup, I will only have to decide if I want the one with rice or the one with noodles. Just a quick secret is to keep extra rice, noodles and broth on hand because there are times you just want to doctor up the pot or make just a little more for company!    I had to have fun with this one since my favorite bacon sandwich going into fall is a bacon cheese sandwich. Get it, BCS? Not to be confused with a BLT which you all know I love as well.
The good news for me is the Big Guy is an expert at making this sandwich. Granted, the bacon is baked ahead of time, but he has the right touch to assure the bacon is reheated and the cheese is melted to gooey goodness. He also knows how to butter up the bread ahead of time to have the bread come out with a beautiful brown crispy crust that compliments the bacon and cheese. Let’s start a new trend and get this sandwich trending with the BLT. After all, bacon deserves the attention!  The best part of fall is the cooler days and fires in our outdoor pit. It depends on the time of day, but we will sometimes eat a meal next to the fire and appreciate the beautiful colors of the trees. I appreciate some will grab the classic ingredients to make a delicious S’more, but the Big Guy and I enjoy those nights we can take happy hour to the great outdoors. Our Doodle is not as enthusiastic, since she is spoiled rotten, but she has adjusted to our fall routine. We tend to get more creative with our drinks tipping our caps to the flavors of fall. A favorite in our house is to get out the crock pot and fill it with apple cider, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks. The kick is to add calvados which is an apple brandy. As the cider warms up, it fills the house with the perfect smell of fall. It tastes good and warms me by the fire. Perfect!   I know fall is here when I grab my waffle maker! There is something so comforting about waffles and sausage with fresh fruit on top and plenty of butter and syrup!
It was many years ago we went to dinner at a friend’s house. To our delight, the meal was waffles and sausage for dinner. We were in heaven, and it was the start of waffles being added to the rotation of evening meals in the colder months. I realize I was hooked on making waffles often, when I confess, I had to buy another waffle maker. I loved my first one, but it just didn’t stand up to the test of time…or my dropping it on the floor. Yes, I am not a perfect cook! Grab your comfort food ingredients and get cooking. It is so satisfying and feeds the soul!  Growing up, my favorite two soups from Campbells was the chicken noodle and the beef barley. As you know, I have been recreating the chicken noodle soups for years. So, what stopped me from making the beef barley? Beats me!
Big Guy recently bought me Carrie Morey’s new cookbook, Callie’s Biscuits and Southern Traditions. As I perused through the book, I came across her beef-mushroom-barley soup. It inspired me to finally try to make the recipe. I will admit, I bought all the ingredients for her recipe but deviated from her instructions as I wanted to put my own spin on things. I realize this is not my normal routine especially trying a new recipe, but I wanted to season the beef differently and I substituted more beef broth for water. The soup was outstanding and even got Big Guy to beg me to serve it again the next day. My appreciation to Carrie for inspiring me to try this recipe. I have a new favorite and it will certainly be part of my annual rotation of soups in the freezer for cold winter nights! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
March 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
