A visit from forum friends, plus ethnic foods (kind of)
I had company this weekend, and it was such fun! Peppi came from Chicago with her Dad and Sherry (sheshebop) visited from Indiana. They both arrived on Friday, and in honor of Peppi's Dad and their German heritage I made sauerbraten. At least it was the Michigan girl's version, LOL. I didn't have the final item I needed to finish off the "gravy", so Peppi brought it along:
Yeah, I'd never heard of Apfelkraut either, but it's kind of like a very dark and very thick apple butter, Peppi says it's fermented. She also brought some potato dumplings to go with dinner and a jar of spiced red cabbage. I made homemade dark rye bread and a "German" apple cake. I doubt that it was anything close to German, but that was what the recipe said, and it was frosted with cream cheese frosting. Yeah....German. Ahem.
We were up until far past midnight, gossiping and solving all the ills of the world. Peppi's dog, Emma, was loving my stubby tailed cat, Sparky, they both weigh about 15 pounds and they played together very well while the big dogs tried to ignore them.
Saturday morning we had homemade corned beef hash, eggs, toast from the rye bread, and pumpkin muffins. Unfortunately the only thing I remembered to take a picture of was the muffins!
Unfortunately Peppi's Dad was in a hurry to go home, so they left after breakfast. I offered to take Sherry anywhere she wanted to go, but she expressed a preference for just sitting around the living room and catching up, so we talked the afternoon away, munching on a tray of cheese, olives, crackers and sopressata in lieu of lunch.
the small appetizer plates on the right were a gift from another Cooking Forum member, Doucanoe/Linda. She made them herself and I miss her, you betcha...
For supper I hauled out the Atlas and made fresh pasta:
Half were this size and the other half were long strips for a batch of lasagna later.
I made a sauce with the last of the garden eggplant, ricotta cheese, the end of the garden tomatoes, and some cream. We also had the last of the golden beets from the garden, a Caesar salad and some of the blue Hokkaido squash, along with a Pane Bianco that sounded good with the pasta. (Yes, LindaC, I removed the ricotta carton from the table, LOL)
To be continued, because I'm out of room for pictures.....
Comments (19)
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Summerfield...are you still visiting the forum?
Comments (5)Mydreamhome- You make an excellent point about the island, which is why I decided to make it a work table. I'm hoping to find an old library/trestle table, about 3' x 5' and put a marble top on it. If that doesn't work out, I'll look for a nice table with a butcherblock top. The dining room table will have leaves, so it can get bigger and I can turn the island/work table, so there's more room for the table to expand. I'm hoping to use chairs, from the sunroom, because ideally, I would have the work table a little taller than average (slightly lower than counter height) for baking, etc. I'm tall (5'10") so I don't want too short a surface :) The master bedroom is rather small, but the closets have a built-in armoire between them, for the TV and extra storage. We have a smaller room now and it's worked okay, so this will seem big, in comparison. We're trying not to add too much to the original farmhouse, so the only additions are the mudroom and sunroom/porch, with a few feet added to the hall bath, but that needs to be redone, anyway...and a few feet on the vestibule. As for the laundry room, it's a farmhouse and it's not fancy, but comfortable, so it doesn't bother me that people will walk through the laundry/utility room, to get to the sunroom/porch or the powder room. There's also the hall bath, which would probably be used more, by company...unless they're in the sunroom. It will also give me a good reason to keep things organized and looking nice in the laundry area (LOL) I'm excited about the sunroom, because not only will it give me a great place for plants (without kitties chewing on them) but it will also provide a cheerful, sunny space to watch the snow fall in the winter and see the horses run around in their pasture! The mudroom is a favorite of mine, too...it just gives so much more storage and a place for all those winter coats and boots. The hot tub is for my husband (it's all he really wants, besides the basement rec room) and having the deck screened will keep out the mosquitos, barn kitties, and the occasional racoon or porcupine! Life on the farm :) I want the house to be easily accessible for all family/friends to feel comfortable, but it is a farm, so if we can't get around anymore, we'll probably find a cute little manufactured home, put it up nearby and the house will end up with one of the nieces or nephews. That being said, my grandmother was in a walker and later wheelchair and we're planning to have 3' main doors (including the one to the sunroom) and large enough doors to the bathrooms (30"?) to make sure someone with a walker or smaller/travel wheelchair, can easily access them. The front door is almost ground level, so hopefully, that should make it easier for wheelchair or walker access, too. Plus, I think it just makes sense to use rocker light switches, wider doorways and have at least one bathroom accessible, without going up or down stairs...for any home....See MoreThe Forum Friends Support Sherry
Comments (43)Ellen, welcome to my world, where EVERYONE is taller than me. Even you. (grin) Karen, we all missed you, I would love to see you again, and Pam, one of these days we'll meet up, I'm sure. And you'll be taller than me too... CC, that would have been great fun to meet you too. Maybe on my next trip out to visit the California boys, we'll be driving that one, I'm betting. No way would Elery leave his "favorite girl", Molly! Annie...See Morethank you everybody for a great place to visit and talk food! (lo
Comments (17)Thank you, Sherry, my long lost sister. (grin) I've learned much from you too, like perseverence in the face of adversity, and being willing to always open your door to any friend, and that we both love molasses cookies and that it's way better to travel with a friend. I've also learned a lot. I've learned that Peppi's Dad is even more amazing than Karen's chili, and that's pretty darned amazing. I've learned lots of Sven and Olie jokes from Linda (doucanoe), and Elery's favorite food is now sushi thanks to Diana, Jessica, Lars, Scott, Gina, Ann, Ellen and the California contingent. Jessica and her number 1 son gave me a better understanding of kosher and David taught me....well...we'll just keep that a secret, LOL. Nancy gave me my all time favorite jam recipe which is just awesome on sweet potato biscuits, something she also taught me. KatieC helped me with the Ph papers and canning, and Cathy taught me that some people peel asparagus, who knew? LOLOLOLOL SharonCB posted that awesome salmon quiche recipe which Elery loves and I'm going to have it for breakfast tomorrow, I think, so thanks for the reminder. Chase makes me want to do the Route 66 tour myself, so thanks a lot. Ahem. Carol (dishesdone) has adopted me for every Jewish holiday and showed me that gefilte fish really wasn't bad and the other Carol (Readinglady) has never given me bad canning advice or a bad bread recipe. Brenda taught me the difference between Michigan chili powder and Texas chili powder (grin) and there is a difference. So, thank you Sherry for starting this thread and thanks to everyone else for all yourhelp, your thoughts, your friendships. It's a great place, this forum! (The Old, Original) Annie Happy Everything to Everyone!...See MoreGerman Themed Dinner Party - Ideas?
Comments (27)Yeah, but they said that the Fedewasser that I was talking about, the so white it's green and has bubbles stuff, is only around for a month, and everyone was serving it. It's fermented with yeast (according to the article), and if it gets older it goes brown and boozy. Unless someone is making it near you, it's not an option. So I learned a lot today that I didn't know when I was young and trying not to be overserved. They sell it (sold it?) in huge portions and it's very refreshing. Until you stand up, you don't feel the alcohol. :)...See More- 8 years ago
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annie1992Original Author