Festive Floof! Fathers Day
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
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Festive Floof/Vent Here!
Comments (38)I haven't been to a family holiday since my dad died in 1968. It used to always be at my mother's house, but after my dad died, she started going to my brother's, and my sister moved away, and back, and away, and unaccounted for sometimes. She didn't get along with very many people...so it was always just Jody and me, until Erin came along in 1980. She finished high school and moved to Houston for university and never moved back. So the concept of family or family celebrations or family getting together for the holidays is kind of foreign to me. Now my mother, brothers, sister, and all in laws, and most of my nieces and nephews, and Jody have passed away. It is just me. Erin spends holidays with her husband's family, which is good, because I am glad for her to be part of a family, although knowing her so well, she probably would rather just spend it with her husband. Of course, I miss Jody, but I don't mind being alone. I prefer it. I bought a turkey, but not sure if I will cook it before or after or on the day. Heck, I may just leave it in the freezer. I am expecting company after Thanksgiving....not particularly looking forward to that. I don't mind company but I am ready for them to leave after a couple of days, and I get a sense that he plans to stay awhile. (He is bringing his cat). I have sort of a routine and I like to keep to it, plus I have to be home a lot because a couple of the horses are fed four times a day. I do miss all the foods associated with holidays past, and I plan to make several of the ones I like best....probably not all at the same time. My company to-be has already sent his likes and dislikes in that department, and they aren't the same as mine....so we will see. He says we can eat out a lot. Great. Not....See MoreFestive Food Floof! Do you dare?!?!?
Comments (30)While I've been baking bread and challah (brioche type dough) all my life, the only yeast pastries I've made often are hamentashen in a sweet version of my mother's challah recipe. Last week, I had this sudden thought, "Pumpkin babka!" This has been a great year for pumpkins. So instead of figuring it out myself, I searched for recipes on the 'net, and found a chocolate with pumpkin dough, and one more like what I'd had in mind, which was pumpkin-pecan filling in a rich, soft dough. I usually have great results with blog recipes, and I was sleep deprived, so even though I reviewed the ingredients before saving the recipe, I didn't actually read them through for quality. BIG mistake! I don't know if it's meant to be a sabotage (the comments were useless, only discussing the pretty pictures in the post). It sort of reads, to my bread self like it was partially scalled with oopsies. I've done that scaling a recipe for myself in my head, without writing it down when I was tired. I don't know, for sure, but looking back, it also doesn't match the instructions in the demonstration. It's, um, whack! There were plenty of places where I had warning signs and should have stopped and read it over and quit, but I didn't. I was tired beyond thought. When I started the first step, and it said 2 1/2 TBSP yeast to 3 -4 cups flour, I should have stopped. I just figured she meant teaspoons, and adjusted accordingly. Then I read the gigantic amound of sugar and salt. I always adjust those to taste anyway, so I kept going. When it said 8 eggs and half a pound of butter, I just figured she knew something I needed to learn. Um. No. The result, as you who bake know, was a glutinous cake batter. I added about a cup of flour and ran it with the dough hook and let it "rise" (not that any rising was happening). Good thing I've learned so much about high hydration baking. I poured it out onto the baking mat. There was enough gluten development at this point that it didn't spill away, just made a stable lake. Much as I would have liked to use my big steel bench scraper, one can't on silicone, but a big bunch of cast flour on it, scrape up some goop with the small plastic bench scraper and push it over, led to a more stable mound. Still too soft for even a stretch and fold, but holding its shape as a mound. I covered and let it rise. And it did! And when I heavily dusted with more flour, it was manageable and rolled. It was too soft to twist nicely, but enough so that the middle has a nice distribution. You can't see the layers, though. The dough was still too soft and smushed together. And it was so soft that the outside was almost burning before the inside was done, and the corners were dry because of that. The filing was good. That's a keeper. So is the butteriness of the dough. The end result was fine eating, though not exquisite. I think if I added a little extra butter to the hamentashen dough it would be more like what one needs, and I think more filling proportionate to the dough. I had been surprised that it didn't call for toasting the pecans, but they came out great from raw. Because of the restriction I put on the excess sugar, it's really good with cranberry sauce! While chatting, i mentioned it to the Thanksgiving cousin, and that I'd put the second loaf in the freezer. She asked me to bring it, but I don't know if anyone ate any. At least I don't have to find someone to feed it to! Which is why one tests recipes ahead. I also tried to make the handkerchielf rolls. I don't think there's any saving that one. I mean, they're rolls but they have a kind of gummy mouth feel, and that's after I overbaked them a little! Nasty. The recipe was designed to sell the baking dish. I'm thinking I could rescue them with custard. Pumpkin bread pudding is in the offing. Maybe with a cranberry hard sauce. The worst breads make the best bread puddings!...See MoreFestive Food Floof! Hearts!
Comments (24)I know you're looking for ready made, but I don't know any. Have you heard of pie pops? I haven't until I saw this gadget just now... https://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Pops-Press-Prep-Tools/dp/B0077LSB9C/ref=sr_1_27?crid=1BFNCR5XFRNUV&keywords=tovolo+chop+and+spin&qid=1675844084&sprefix=tovolo+chop+and+spin%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-27...See MoreFestive Food Floof! New Years!
Comments (62)Yeonassky, yes, of course I'll share. I'm sorry, I just now got back to this and noticed you'd asked. Bear with me, its lengthy and help me pray I have no typos 😊 Marcella Rosene Lasagna (Pasta and Co) SAUCE 1 1/2 # lean ground beef 1/4 C pure olive oil 1 1/2 C coarsely chopped onions 1 heaping Tablespoon oregano 1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic 1 1/2 teaspoons basil 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 Cup plus 3 tablespoons dry white wine 3 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes in puree (Paradise brand if available). There will be a couple of ounces left in the 28-oz can, save and use in assembling the lasagna 5 ounces frozen spinach (half a 10 oz box, keep the other half frozen for another use. Squeeze what you will use dry of all liquid CHEESE 3 cups mozzarella, grated 1/2 Cup feta, crumbled BECHAMEL 1 1/2 C milk 1 Cup cream big pinch white pepper big pinch thyme big pinch nutmeg big pinch basil 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese 3 tablespoons grated romano cheese THEN Uncooked fresh only lasagna noodles,enough for three layers in 9x13 pan TOPPING 1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon very finely chopped parsley Cook beef in saute pan over medium heat until pink gone. Remove from heat and drain of all fat. (make sure it is well crumbled). In same pan, heat olive oil and add onions, oregano, garlic, basil, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add wine, bring to a boil, cook about 10 min until alcohol taste evaporated. Stir in tomatoes, spinach, your reserved browned beef. Simmer a couple of minutes then remove from heat. Mix together mozzarella and feta cheeses and set aside. Make bechamel: Heat milk,cream, white pepper, thyme, nutmeg, basil in small saucepan until it nears a boil. Turn off heat. Melt butter in medium pan, cook until foam from butter recedes, remove from heat, add flour and mix well. Return to medium low heat and stirring frequently, simmer 2-3 minutes to cook but not brown the flour. Gradually stir in hot milk/cream mix, raise heat a little and continue to stir until mixture is smooth and thick (5 minutes?). Add Parmesan and Romano and whisk until smooth. Should be texture of wallpaper paste, not the white sauce more often associated with bechamel. Mix together and reserve your topping ingredients. ASSEMBLE AND BAKE (or, as they do at the deli often, assemble, wrap and freeze to bake later) Preheat oven to 400F. Spread 2 tablespoons of leftover tomato juices from your can on bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Lay in one layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles. Spoon on 3 cups meat sauce. Spread 1 Cup Bechamel across the meat sauce in two diagonals (no need to spread evenly at this point). Top with two cups cheese mixture. Lay on another layer of lasagna noodles and repeat, using same amounts of sauce - be sure to get in every dab of the meat sauce( as there will be none to spare) bechamel, cheese. Top with last layer of noodles, and with fingertips, press lightly to distribute bechamel smoothly in the layers. Using a long metal spatula 'frost' top layer of noodles with remaining bechamel. Be sure to completely cover noodles so they do not dry out in oven. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumb mix. Bake 400F for approx 60 minutes until sauce bubbles around edges and top is lightly browned. If browning too quickly, cover with foil last 10 minutes. If baking this assembled straight from your freezer, add about 20 minutes baking time. Critical for ease in serving.....Let Stand 20 Minutes Before Serving I hope you enjoy this as much as we do, and again, I am not especially a fan of lasagna other than this one 😁...See More
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