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craftyrn

wfd # 300

16 years ago

With the forum goofy didn't want to lose this long standing thread and can't get into # 299.

Sunday made a huge batch of

Swedish meatballs-- didn't have any dill so used parsley.

Tonight ?-- cold roast chicken sandwiches as I was busy trying to finish some Christmas cookies:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Comments (102)

  • 16 years ago

    Elery and I had burgers from the grill with roasted potatoes Tuesday night, no pictures.

    I do have pictures of last nights dinner, but haven't gotten them loaded yet, so I'll surprise you later, LOL.

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    Dinners look and sound good! I'd love a burger Annie. Haven't had one since I was in Canada last year.

    Ann your turkey gravy and dinner look so delicious; also the pancakes.

    Linda I wish I could find some of that squash!

    Today I made my traditional turkey curry, one day early and we both enjoyed it so much that we don't mind having the rest of it tomorrow.
    I still have turkey left over which is in the freezer, so that 4 lb breast for Boxing Day dinner looks like it will still go on and on for more dinners yet.

    We like the curry with mango chutney, cranberry sauce, pineapple chunks, sliced banana and chopped walnuts.
    Today I also used brown rice instead of long grain simply because it tastes so good and I have some I want to use up before I'm back on a no rice diet.

    Have a Happy New Year everyone!

    Stay safe and drive carefully if you are venturing out on the roads.

    SharonCb

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  • 16 years ago

    OK, finally I got stuff loaded on the computer!

    A couple of nights ago we had a homegrown pork roast marinated in home pressed apple cider, along with a baked ptoato and braised cabbage:

    Last night we had sauteed shrimp over quinoa and green peas:

    {{!gwi}}

    Tonight we had duck, Elery roasted it using Ina Garten's method as posted by Ann T on the duck thread. It came out with the skin nicely crispy, Elery basted it with some of my homecanned apricot jam:

    Although the skin was nicely crispy the inside was still moist:

    We stripped the meat from the bones and used it to make a salad with mixed organic baby greens, dried cranberries and walnuts:

    so, we've been eating well. Tomorrow it's Hoppin' John, greens and sopas.

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    For New Year's Eve dinner, I tried some new recipes. We were having a quiet family meal, my husband, my mom, one of my sons, his girlfriend, and I.

    For an appetizer I served coconut-cilantro crab on green fried plantains. Dinner was onion/beer braised brisket, twice baked potatoes, chopped salad, and roasted green beans.

    For dessert, I tried two new recipes from the pastry studio blog. One was a walnut-brandy cake. The other a chocolate-cardamom cake. I served both with vanilla pudding.

    We really enjoyed everything, but the crab was my favorite.

    Ann

  • 16 years ago

    ....... Tums, Saltines and Ginger Ale

    Alexa

  • 16 years ago

    LOL, Alexa, so you had a good time?

    khrios, the crab sounds delicious, do you have a recipe that you could share?

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    LOL!! Alexa. I'm sure you aren't the only one.

    Annie, that duck looks perfect. Love the crispy skin.

    Ann, I would be happy with your whole meal. It alls sounds wonderful.

    We had our traditional New Year's Eve dinner - Lobster and Champagne.

    We shared five lobsters and all that was left was three claws. One of our local grocery stores always has a special on Canadian East Coast lobsters, selling them for $10.95 each for the one pound size. I weighed my five and they ranged between 1.2 pounds to 1.6. I wish they sold them this way year around.

    Happy New Year.

    Ann

  • 16 years ago

    I have absolutely no idea what I made, but it was very good and sort of pretty.

    It started with a small pork shoulder, a head of garlic, an obsene amount of onions, a large Guinness extra stout, an orange, some honey, and a lot of pasilla chile peppers and sort of went from there. I put it with some rice, sauteed kale and black beans, and all was well with the universe.

    I just hope it freezes OK.

  • 16 years ago

    As I posted on another thread....We had black eyed peas, mixed greens, potato salad, corn muffins (made without flour or sugar) and the very last of Annie's Hot Milk cake.
    Very tasty!

    jude

  • 16 years ago

    As promised, we had hoppin' john, collard greens and sopas for brunch on New Year's Day.

    {{!gwi}}

    The Monkey Princess and Bruvver spent the night, so they helped me make Ann T's cream cheese danish with some blueberry filling made from blueberries we picked and froze this summer:

    {{!gwi}}

    The Princess got up this morning and made pancakes:

    Bruvver's were shaped like trucks and The Princess made this butterfly:

    We added more of those blueberries and local maple syrup for one yummy breakfast:

    {{!gwi}}

    Cooper had pancakes and bacon too, and he and The Princess were so full they had to go lie on the couch while I cleaned up the kitchen!

    Bruvver didn't want his picture taken, so he hid under the table.

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    Well here in Maine, it started snowing on Thursday evening and hasn't stopped yet. I am loving it!
    Thursday we went out with friends and ate at our local brew pub, Run of the Mill. I had an excellent baked stuffed haddock, served with mashed potatoes, and butternut squash. (I am pretty sure they were suggesting those sides to everyone in order to soak up the booze they were serving.) I didn't eat most of the veggies, 1. because the fish was so, so, so good, and 2. because my Greatful Dead drink worked its magic so quickly, I spent more of my time giggling than eating.
    Friday was spent at the house in our pjs enjoying homemade ham hash with eggs and english muffins for breakfast. Then mostly snacks and leftovers for the rest of the day.
    Today after the same breakfast as yesterday, I spent some time with Indi at the land cleaning up some of the brush DH cut a few weeks ago. (It was still snowing) I got home and started a new loom knitting project, and a Mushroom, Barley, Beef soup. To go with that I made a Buttermilk Bread in the breadmachine. Tomorrow, I think we will have BLT's with french fries after we go to the land to burn some of the brush and do a bit more cutting. Yay!

  • 16 years ago

    All the meals look delicious, as usual, and
    Woodie, I love the story of your lighted reindeer being the inspiration for grilling your hot dogs!

    Had I known you wanted one, I would have donated ours, as it hasn't made it out of the basement in many years..[ the deer, not the hot dogs :)] instead I lasso the real deer roaming around eating my bushes with battery operated lights from QVC...:)

    We had Shrimp over linguine and a bed of sauteed spinach with wine sauce...

    And some Apple Pie with a shredded crust..

    I used up every apple I had, so it had 5 kinds in it..

    Ann that was a good bargain on the lobsters..

    Wishing you all a happy 2010..good health!

  • 16 years ago

    It was a steak, Kathleen (I like my dogs boiled).

    We have had the grands here visiting for New Year (a trip to see Finian's Rainbow on Broadway was on the agenda) and we had an eclectic mix of foods - in no particular order some of our food this weekend was grilled flank steak with a great roasted garlic/peppercorn "char" mixture rubbed on before grilling, roasted fingerling potatoes which the two little girls thought were so cute and they ate plenty of them, a Mexican chicken/bean/corn tortilla casserole, Marilyn's Sausage Marzetti, Ken's homemade chicken noodle soup, David's Blueberry French Toast casserole, an awesome hot pizza dip (new recipe, huge hit), and one piece de resistance was dessert made by 9 y/o Olivia - little phyllo cups filled with chocolate pudding and topped with Cool Whip :) We saw Lord & Taylor's beautiful window and Saks and the tree at Rockefeller Center and then we went to a cute Irish pub in the city and had chicken pot pie and burgers and the girls had Starbuck's hot chocolates to keep them warm walking to the theater in the frigid city!

  • 16 years ago

    I know..I wish they had an edit button..hot dogs, steak..hot dogs are tube steaks in Pittsburgh, ot they used to be anyway!
    Sounds like fun, it is brutal here..talked to M tonight!

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, good to see you! I've missed your lovely food and table shots!

    Just got home from my son and daughter-in-law's home. We did a late Christmas dinner. Nate made a ham, and I must say it was about the best I have ever had....moist and juicy, very good! Sarah made a musroom risotto, and sauteed green beans with garlic and a green salad. I brought a potato gratin. Lovely dinner and the best of all was watching little Zoe (8 mo. old) "open her gifts"! She had more fun playing with the ribbons and gift bags than anything else! We laughed so hard!

    Linda

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, that is truly a pretty and inviting table.

    I froze some of my pork shoulder, but left enough out for dinner tonight. Paired it with a SW omelette (Salsa, cheese and avocado). Notice there are no veggies again? I have GOT to fiz that. Why do I so hate cooking vegetalbles for one?

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, as soon as I saw that pretty red and white table, I knew it was you, I've missed you! I like the thought of you chasing those deer around with Christmas lights, LOL.

    Woodie, that visit with your grandkids sounds just perfect, from Finian's Rainbow to the hot chocolate.

    Linda, Christmas is way more fun with little ones around, isn't it?

    Today Ashley and I went to the mall. I don't know how I let her talk me into that, because she is expensive. Anyway, I've been wanting that sesame chicken, so we went to a chinese place and sure enough, they didn't have sesame chicken. Sigh. They had sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, bourbon chicken. I settled for orange chicken and Ashley had Lo Mein and Crab Rangoon. It was pretty bad...

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    Thank you Annie, Linda and Beanthere!

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen I knew right away it was you too! I miss seeing your lovely tables.

    Last night we had company for dinner. No pics but it sure was good if I do say so myself but I need to thanks a few folk.

    Cattnap, for her Roast Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Ragout recipe , it was a delicious main course , one I will make again and again!

    and

    Alexa, (I think) for the Baked Onoin and Gruyere Cheese casserole, OMG that was so good and got lots of "yums"!

    Started the meal with Cream of Leek with Blue Cheese Soup. Sides, in addition to the onions and mushrooms were green beans and twice baked potatoes.

    Tonight is pizza!

  • 16 years ago

    Welcome back Kathleen. That is one beautiful big Apple Pie.

    Sharon, your dinner sounds delicious. Lucky guests.

    We had lamb shanks for dinner on New Years Day. Dessert was Gingerbread Cake with caramel sauce.


    Last night's dinner was Lori's White Chili. OH MY, this is so good and amazingly simple. Moe called it incredible.

  • 16 years ago

    Ann I made your Gingerbread cake with Carmel Sauce for Christmas Eve dinner, along with my Tortiere, it was delicious and a huge hit with everyone.

    Can't wait to make it again....

  • 16 years ago

    Wow I love this thread but have to remind myself not to check it unless I am full. Makes me hungry every time I look at these pictures. :-) Al

  • 16 years ago

    I check Lori's Blog each day and I have that White Chili bookmarked to make next month when I have a soup party. Thanks Lori!

    Tonight was marinated Pork Tenderloin, perogies and roasted mixed vegetables.

    I need to go back up and read all of the posts as I am very behind.

  • 16 years ago

    Thanks Chase and Ann..Nov and Dec were very busy months for me, busier than usual due to my dil who has 4 little ones having Emerg surgery.
    So we were on the road a lot more than usual..

    Ann that cake with the sauce looks wonderful.
    Did you use one of those indiv molten Lava pans? They look nice and tall.

    Chase, when you say Cattnap..I used to be in touch with a gal from the Decorating forum..she moved to KY..haven't seen her lately.
    Does she post here?
    Your dinner sounded delicious!

  • 16 years ago

    kathleen, I hope your DIL is well on the road to recovery.

    Tonight Cooper and I had leftover pot roast, baked potatoes and the rest of the collard greens from New Year's.

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    Sharon, no doubt your guests loved your dinner! What a lovely menu.

    Four emergency Surgeries??? Kathleen, I do hope the kids are okay.

    MMMMM..that gingerbread cake looks so good! I'll be on the hunt for that white chili recipe, too. It is definitely chili weather here!

    So I really can't explain why we had grilled chicken caesar salads tonight! LOL I think I have been craving vegetables after all the protein and starch I consumed over the holidays!

    But the salad was delish, and I am full, so life is good.

    Linda

  • 16 years ago

    OK, first Kathleen, and now Ann! I find myself suddenly wanting to obtain a set of adorable soup bowls. LOL!

    I made ginger beef with lots of broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms. I may have gotten a little overzealous with the ginger -- is that even possible? -- but at least I can breathe now. :) When I bought the beef, I forgot to repackage it in small quantities before freezing it, so I will use the rest tomorrow to make vegetable beef soup.

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, the gingerbread was baked in a square pan. The rounds were cut with a biscuit cutter. What is nice about that cake is it can be baked in any shape pan, bundt, loaf, springform, square, round and even muffin tins.

    Ann

  • 16 years ago

    Hey, dear Kathleen, fancy seeing you here. Your table looks impressive, as always!

    Everything looks delicious. From the cute kid and her pup, to Ann's gingerbread to Alexa's Tums (?)

    Actually, I can relate to the latter. I was on vacation, and with all the junk food we had along the way, Jim and I were often fighting over a bottle of Tums.

    I'll be back with food photos soon (where have I heard that before?).

    Happy New Year to all!

    Sol

  • 16 years ago

    Another thread had a post about grilled peanut butter and jelly, and I've been wanting one ever since, so you know what I had for supper!

    Of course, I used whole wheat bread, made with the last of my white whole wheat flour from King Arthur, and I have a new favorite peanut butter:

    {{!gwi}}

    It's made by the Koeze Nut Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the ingredient list, as you can see, has Virginia peanuts and sea salt, that's all. It's slightly crunchy, they use the same vintage roaster they used in the 40s to roast small batches of peanuts and each batch is tested individually by grinding in a small coffee grinder and tested by the same man who has been tasting it for 39 years. The same old grinder with two rollers is used to grind the nuts within minutes of them being roasted. The place is run by the 5th generation of a family that's had the business for over 100 years. They just now started selling on-line and the only grocery store chain that currently carries their product is Whole Foods. Anyway, I just love the stuff.

    I added some homemade strawberry jam from berries that I picked in June and grilled it until the peanut butter melted and the jam was warm. It was so good, I might have another one tomorrow night!

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    That looks good, Annie!

    Thanks, Ann, I will try it!
    Linda..ONE surgery, 4 little ones to care for!
    Yes, she is recovering, mothers can't rest..my mom always said that!

    Hi Sol! Good to see you too!

    This was the cake I made in that tall copper pan that someone on CF said wouldn't work..it did! I got it for 50 cents at a yard sale..

  • 16 years ago

    Lovely food everyone! I haven't been here for a few days and there are a lot of good looking dishes.
    Nice to see you and your pretty table settings again Kathleen.

    Sol I look forward to seeing you and your creations.

    Ann love the lobster and butter warmer!

    After a couple of days of turkey curry we've been having baked fish, salmon yesterday, Königsberger Klopse (they were frozen) and steamed vegetables most days.
    Trying to keep meals simple and light, although we didn't go overboard this holiday season with anything too rich.

    But the weather here has been so beautiful I've been outdoors enjoying the sunshine and flowers, taking many photos of the garden rather than food. I think today we'll go out for lunch as it's a national holiday here, Epiphany after the Three Kings came on camels last night to bring the Christmas gifts for Spanish children. I took a couple of pics from the TV.

    My basil and parsley are growing well after the rains so I'll be making pesto before the snails eat all the leaves; one lime of the many now on the tree and the klopse (meatballs) from a package...we had them with sliced tomatoes and salad. Gradually getting back to my skinny food routine after the holidays. That was Wolf's dish with so many potatoes!


    The Three Kings arrived on live camels in the streets of Tenerife last night!

    SharonCb

  • 16 years ago

    Sharon, great photos. Love the lime. It will be a while here before my basil looks like yours.

    Kathleen, beautiful cake. I remember when you posted about that cake pan.

    Annie, your photo makes me wish I liked grilled sandwiches.

    No dinner last night, unless you count fudge.

    Walnut and White Chocolate Fudge

  • 16 years ago

    AnnT, I'll trade you PBandJ for fudge!

    I didn't have the PB&J for supper tonight, after reading Eileen's thread about filet mignon, I wanted beef, so I pulled a steak out of the freezer and tossed it into a hot cast iron pan for just a couple of minutes on each side. It was perfectly done for me and Cooper and the Dead Cat from He!! both approved too:

    I told the girls I'd make meatballs soon, so I decided to do that tonight after work too. I went home at lunch and rook ten of these out of the freezer and put them in the sink to thaw. They were still frozen when I got home, LOL, I guess I could turn the heat up a LITTLE bit more...

    {{gwi:1484917}}

    I used the Rocco's Mama's Meatball recipe that was so popular here a couple of years ago, the girls love that recipe and it's one of the few meatball recipes that I'll actually eat. So, I made 16 dozen:

    {{gwi:1484918}}

    Hey, meatballs are messy and kind of a PIA, so I make a LOT, and I bake them on my big half sheet pans, 4 dozen per pan, so I can do a lot of them at once.

    They are not dense or heavy, if a meatball can be light, these are:

    {{gwi:1484919}}

    I'm going to take a couple dozen to Elery's, we're supposed to do an appetizer reception for 300 in may for his son Ben's wedding and we're going to do a "tasting" next weekend so they can decide what they want us to make. I figured that I could make a couple different sauces and they could choose...

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    OK, so I'm the only one eating, LOL.

    Tonight I made fried rice. Not necessarily authentic, but a good way to clean the fridge, it had pea pods, onions, celery, red peppers, some smoked pork from the freezer, leftover rice and a couple of eggs with a copious dose of soy sauce.

    {{!gwi}}

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    For Christmas I asked for, and my husband gave me, a jar of Williams-Sonoma veal demi-glace. It came with some recipes so I tried one a couple of days ago. It was delicious. It took me two hours to prepare--chopping and browning meat--and then nothing to do. This is also a good dish to prepare the day before and reheat. And my two-year-old grandson loves it!

    Beef Stew w/demi-glace (over noodles)

    5 ½ lbs. chuck eye roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
    Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
    4 oz. pancetta, cut into small dice
    2 Tbs. olive oil
    2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
    4 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch rounds
    3 garlic cloves, minced
    1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh thyme
    2 bay leaves
    ¼ cup all-purpose flour
    1 cup full-bodied red wine
    2 cups beef stock
    1 Tbs. veal or beef demi-glace
    Buttered noodles for serving
    Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

    Prepare and chop ingredients.

    Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.

    In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the pancetta until browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

    Increase the heat to medium-high. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Transfer the beef to a large bowl.

    Reduce the heat to medium and warm the olive oil. Add the onions and carrots and sauté until almost softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and sauté for about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Add the stock, demi-glace and the reserved pancetta and bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pan, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the meat is tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours.

    Remove the bay leaves and discard. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve the stew over buttered noodles and garnish with parsley. Serves 8 to 10.

  • 16 years ago

    I would enjoy some of your fried rice Annie!

    I mustn't look at Ann's fudge or Kathleen's cake though, I'd be tempted to take a bite of each.

    I commented on your meatballs on your other thread Annie. They do look good, and you made so many!
    I decided to make beef & pork patties today instead of meatballs since I was out grocery shopping and it was so late when I started to prepare lunch.
    I thought patties would be faster, but I added many ingredients that I put in my meatloaf, such as grated carrots, parsley and celery, nutmeg and dry mustard, bread crumbs, thyme and much garlic and onion, so by the time that was all in, they were no faster than meatballs.

    They were unbelievably good this time! I froze some of them and had another one for supper this evening.
    I bought Swiss chard and yellow yam today so we had that along with carrots, and potatoes for Wolf.

    We sat outside on the patio to dine even though it had rained in the morning. Sun was out again by that time.

    The blackbirds are beginning to come again to my window looking for food. Difficult to feed them though without the doves coming as well and eating it all.

    SharonCb

  • 16 years ago

    I'm having a ramen noodles night. sigh. I did put a lot of mixed veggies in it so I could pretend it was at least a little healthy. Eh, it's fast and easy, and I'm just not in the mood to cook tonight.

  • 16 years ago

    We ate..I made that vertical pear salad again as the pears were on sale..

    Had it with a roasted chicken..

    Sharon, your lunch looks wonderful..I had tuna salad! :)

    BTDT, ramen noodles..very economical..look at all the money you are saving..:)

    Annie, I love pork fried rice..I like to make it when I have pork roast left over..and the meatballs look delicious.
    Ann, the fudge looks so creamy..I haven't had fudge in years!

  • 16 years ago

    I forgot to post my Three Kings Table..I know you are just dying to see it, LOL..
    I know most of you don't blog hop..

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, You're right, but a Snickers bar probably has better nutritional value! LOL! I'd rather have had your salad. :) But I think I would be afraid to try to eat it in public. It looks tricky, and I am infamous for wearing my food.

    And what's the URL to your blog, please?

    Today was errand day, which took almost all day and was a little frustrating in some ways. I picked up a small basic take-and-bake pizza on the way back and will use it as a base for a veggie one -- mushrooms, onion, red and green peppers, spinach and garlic. Leftovers will be dinner tomorrow.

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen, your table setting is stunning. I love all the gold.

    Dinner last night was Asian inspired Black Pepper Prawns served over rice.

    We also had escargot in mini vol-au-vents this week.

  • 16 years ago

    Kathleen your table is very elegant!

    Ann I would love some of those prawns, and the vol au vents too but I think I'd have to pass on the escargots.

    We were out today and since I can still order off the diet menu I had a salad with roast pork and onion gravy.

    Wolf had fish and German potato salad again. He wants all the fish he can eat. I cooked perch yesterday at home with butternut squash and broccoli.


    Tomorrow I'm going to harvest some of my basil and make pesto. How we both love pesto!

    And over on Conversations I posted a little video I made of Spanish Restaurant Sounds. Want to hear what it's like to go out to eat on a Spanish holiday?

    Here's just a few seconds that I recorded on Three Kings' Day, January 6th at a local family restaurant.

    SharonCb

  • 16 years ago

    Ann, I do think you're the only person that can make escargot look tempting to me. :)

    OK, I feel dumb. I've been trying to figure out what Three Kinds Day was. (Never heard the term before.) Thanks, Sharon for mentioning the date -- suddenly, it was all clear. LOL! Yes, my brain is functioning, why do you aak? *headdesk*

  • 16 years ago

    LOL, Bean, join the club, I do that all the time. (grin) I agree, though, it's the only time I've ever seen a picture of escargot that looks appetizing, even when I know I don't like it!

    Kathleen, that table is just absolutely beautiful. I think the pear salad is gorgeous too, Ashley wanted to know how the pear got pink!

    Elery is here, so he grilled some pollack while I made cole slaw. I'd already done a crockpot full of baked beans, the ones from scratch with dried beans and lots of molasses. They came out so dark and sticky they looked like black beans, they were very good

    Tomorrow I think we're having pasta...

    Annie

  • 16 years ago

    Bean...I guess I should have made it clearer, yes that it was Epiphany day which here in Spain is like Christmas Day as far as gift giving.
    The children wake up to find their gifts, brought by the Three Kings during the night.
    So the day is one of family reunions, dressing up and holiday dining in or out.

    Annie I would love a taste of those baked beans! I can just imagine how good they were.

    I must also see if I can incorporate more of them into our diet, if I'm allowed, as I could live on beans and lentils quite happily.
    Wolf also says he'd like less meat and more fish and lentils.

    Today I harvested some of my basil, but only cutting off the tops and using it together half and half with some I purchased and made a really good pesto. We had it with whole wheat spaghetti and a salad of dark ruby lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and red onion. It was a favourite combination. Took photos of both dishes....then I went brain dead and accidentally wiped out instead of downloading the pics of the spaghetti. Darn...it looked so nice too! But the pesto recipe I took from TV is a winner, so here is a photo I made another time when I made it over wide noodles, along with today's salad platter.
    Rainy and cold here today. Only went outdoors long enough to feed the birds and our ferral cat.

    Pesto - from Italian TV Cook Program

    4 cloves garlic, minced
    2 cups basil leaves
    1/2 cup olive oil
    1/2 teasp salt
    1/2 teasp f.g. pepper
    1/2 cup parmesan grated
    1/2 cup pine nuts
    teasp water

    Process all except oil in food processor, drizzling in oil slowly last.

    SharonCb

  • 16 years ago

    I debated about posting to this, but the thread about homemade phyllo dough persuaded me that this might be of interest. Last weekend our family gathered at my home to honor my mother's memory by making some of her signature Greek dishes. We made dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves), spanakopita, and kourabiedes (powdered sugar butter cookies). Although I've made all the dishes before, neither my daughter nor my daughter-in-law had. We had a great time together and everything turned out wonderfully. I know my mom would have been proud of us and happy that her great cooking legacy lived on.

    But the cooking marathon left me with a bunch of thawed leftover phyllo. So a couple of days ago I decided to make another spanakopita. I made a typical family pan pita. We usually reserved the spanakopitakia ("takia" is added to indicate the smaller triangles) for special parties where appetizers or individual servings were a better choice.

    But for our family, we usually made a big 10 x 15 inch pan pita. Lots of phyllo on top & bottom and a thick layer of filling. Growing up, spanakopita was my favorite and it still is.

    Anyhow, here are a few pictures of my latest pita -- in the pan, cut into pieces, and my attempt at a close up. I thought seeing a typical family rendition of spanakopita might be interesting.

    And I still have more leftover phyllo, so I think I'll make a kreatopita (meat filled pita) this week.

  • 16 years ago

    Oh, Shambo, that looks so good. I just discovered Greek food a couple years ago because there is a wonderful Greek festival not too far from here. It's been going on for about 20 years as a fund raiser for the Greek Orthodox church there, and the food is to die for. The first year I had no clue what I was eating, but just followed my nose. It was to die for. One lady told me the recipes were all family hand-downs from their grandmothers and great grandmothers. I drool thinking about it.

    I have a large pot of vegetable beef soup on the stove simmering. That will be dinner tonight and lunches for the week. Not sure how good this batch will be since it boiled for a while before I noticed. I really detest the stove in this house. The burner seems to have three settings: High, matchstick, and off.

  • 16 years ago

    Sharon, your pesto looks great. Love that photo.

    Shambo, wish I was eating at your house. I love just about anything Greek.

    Ann

  • 16 years ago

    I'm with Ann, want to eat at Shambo's house :) Looks fabulous - and such a nice way to honor your mother's memory.

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