Thanksgiving 2011 - The Pumpkin Pie

Yes, the whipped cream was fresh.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving 2011

Dale and I hit Kowalski's at around 9:00 a.m. this morning and it wasn't crowded at all. We got all the food we need for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. Pictured on the stove is the food we bought. We forgot to add the dinner rolls to the display. Tomorrow Mom will bring the green bean casserole and the sweet potatoes.

Pumpkin Pie

Tonight marked a first for the season. It's the first time we've had pumpkin pie this fall. It came from our good friend Mrs. Kowalski and I love how she offers just half a pie. Dale whipped up some cream for the topping. He actually cut himself a quarter of what we bought. I had to make a bit of fun of him because I knew he should have just taken half as I did. Of course he went back for more pie after he finished! I know him so well!

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight called for comfort food and pot pie is just what the doctor ordered. For the pot pie we used the same recipe that's in the February 9, 2011 post but this time I added a little sage. Dale found a new recipe for green beans amandine that he made for a dinner party we hosted not too long ago. The recipe is from allrecipes.com and was submitted by Brenda DuFresne.

Green Beans Amandine

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring beans and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook almonds in butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and seasoned salt if desired. Add beans and heat through.

Everything was very delicious and also very comforting.

Meet Me in St. Louis

While eating our quiche this past Saturday night, Dale and I watched Meet Me in St. Louis. It's one of our fall favorites.

Quiche

On Saturday night I made a quiche for me and Dale. It was delicious. Here's the recipe we use. I got it from Mom.

Quiche

1/2 cup mayo

2 beaten eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup milk

Mix the above ingredients together and then flake in one can of albacore tuna, 2 cups shredded swiss cheese and 1/2 cup diced green onion. Add the finished mixture to a pie crust (we use Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crust) and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Test to make sure it is done - knife should come out clean from the middle.

Dinner with Lisa, Janine, Gus, Kathy and Kathleen

Last night Dale and I had over our friends Lisa and Janine and their son Gus. Also joining us were our friends Kathy and Kathleen. Dale made baked rigatoni and green beans amandine. Lisa and Janine brought over a salad and Kathy and Kathleen brought dessert. I served as drink mixmaster. We pulled out the leaf on the table for the first time since probably last December. Dale pointed out this morning that the table looks very inviting. I agree.

Our Steamer

Dale's mom and dad, Brenda and Irv, got us this steamer for Christmas in 1993. That's goin' on 18 years ago! My conservative estimate is that we use it 4-5 times per week. We love our steamed veggies!

Chili

Tonight we had chili. We've been making this recipe of Dale's for years. Here's the recipe we use:

1 lb. ground turkey

2 15 oz. cans beans

2 15 oz. cans stewed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

beer

Fry off the turkey and mix it into a dutch oven with the other ingredients listed above. Add the beer to taste. Red wine works well as an alternative to beer. Dish it up and add sour cream and grated cheese to your liking. Sometimes we chop up other toppings like onion and green pepper.

Fall Golden Hour Kickoff 2011

Dale slaved away over a hot crock pot today and made a wonderful beef stroganoff. He also made some very delicious brussels sprouts. For dessert we had burnt butterscotch ice cream from Pumphouse Creamery.

Pizza!

Dale and I made pizza tonight. It was delicious.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Dale and I made pizzas for dinner last night. We stopped by Pumphouse Creamery earlier in the day to pick up some pumpkin ice cream and had it for dessert last night along with some Pepperidge Farms sugar cookies. It was divine. Simply divine. The seasonings were subtle and it had just the right amount of sweetness.

Crab Dip

Dinner at Warren and Gary's last night. He asked if I could bring over an appetizer and I decided on a recipe I haven't done in a long, long time. I have a crab dip recipe that is from the Paul Newman cookbook that came out in about 1986. Warren made Mexican food and it was delicious. His chicken enchiladas were quite tasty and he made a Mexican style soup that I believe was his own recipe. For dessert we had burnt butterscotch ice cream from Pumphouse Creamery.

An Actual Dinner on Sunday

Today Dale and I went to brunch at the house of some friends from church. Fran and Charlie hosted us along with Arthur, Zara, Cindy, Maggie along with Rev. Michelle, a priest that used to work at our church. Zara has been living away for awhile and is back in town so it waas especially nice to reconnect with her. The chance to eat and relax with some very wonderful people was very much appreciated today. The previous week was long and this morning on the way to church I was actually feeling some anxiety about returning to work tomorrow. The company and the food was all so wonderful that it really put me in a relaxed state and caused me to remember that I really don't have any pressing business that I need to take care of the rest of the day. It reinforced for me that sharing a meal with others really is one of the most wonderful things in life.

Simple Summer Dinner

Cocktail hour included gin and tonics for me and some white wine for Dale. Dinner was steak on the grill, steamed broccolli, salad, and a pretzel bun (all from Kowalski's, of course!). Dessert was pretty simple as well: Skinny Cow Cookies 'N Cream ice cream. Yum.

Caprese Salad

I've eaten the Spaghetti with Tomato and Anchovy dish every day since I made it the other night. I decided that if I had it again tonight I'd have to whip up something different just for the sake of variety. I made a simple Caprese Salad. I used the four basic ingredients - tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil - but I've seen some recipes call for salt and pepper to taste and capers. It was delicious.

Last Night's Cocktail Hour

Prior to making last night's dinner I made gin and tonics and drank them from my new tiki cup on the porch. The music for cocktail hour was Red Hot + Rio 2 which I had just downloaded from iTunes. The album pays tribute to the Brazilian Bossa Nova and Tropicalia movements of the 1960's by offering updated versions of the songs from that era by contemporary artists. It's quite and amazing collection of songs and was produced by the Red Hot Organization which raises money for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

Dining Alone Part 3

With Dale up on the Island I haven't been eating like I usually do. I haven't been eating poorly just differently - lots of sushi, rotissere chicken and beef from Kowalski's, cheese and crackers, herring and crackers, salads, and lots more fruit than usual. Anyway, the stuff I've been eating hasn't required much preparation so yesterday I decided to try something that called for a little more effort. The recipe I picked was Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato and Anchovy Sauce from Jacques Pepin's More Fast Food My Way. The dish was really quite simple to prepare and very delicious for how easy it was to make. Ingredients including chopped tomatoes, petite peas, baby bella mushrooms, garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes are mixed together and then combines with the spaghetti. The the anchovies and the oil they are in really give the dish a kick. Cilantro and parmesan are used to top it off just before it is served. I think this is the first time I've ever grated my own parmesan cheese. It really added a nice sharp flavor.

Rhubarb

The rhubarb crunch I made the other day has prompted some curiosity within me about rhubarb itself. I did a little research and found this on Wikipedia:

"Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable; however, in the United States, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction in taxes paid."

July 4th - Carol's Rhubarb Crunch

I was bound and determined this year to use some of the rhubard that grows in the backyard. It's been quite a few years since I've made anything with it. In fact, the only thing I've ever used it for is a recipe that was given to me a number of years ago by my co-worker, Carol. Carol and I used to teach 2nd grade together way back in the early 1990s. She and her husband John would usually invite me over to dinner before school would start up in the fall. The practically had a farm in their back yard and Carol liked to show me how everything was coming along. They grew rhubard, tomatoes, corn, cucumber and so much more. Carol made a delicious rhubard crunch and one year when I asked her for the recipe she gladly obliged. She had gotten the recipe out of one of those church cookbooks and she photocopied the page it was on for me. So even though I think of the recipe as Carol's it actually needs to be credited to Ruby and Ramona since they were the gals who submitted the recipe to the church cookbook.

Rhubarb Crunch

Mix until crumbly: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup melted butter or shortening, 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Press 3/4 of the crumbly mixture into a 9x13x2-inch pan. Cover with 6 cups of rhubarb.

Combine: 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.

Cook until thick and clear. Pour over rhubarb. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

We served it in bowls and topped it with whipped cream and the results were spectacular. Dale loved it and so did I!

Blueberries

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits. The following is from Alice Water's book Chez Panisse Fruit:

"Wild blueberries were tamed by Elizabeth White, a cranberry grower's daughter from the pinelands of southern New Jersey, who selected local wild plants with desirable qualities and, with the help of a plant breeder, developed the first cultivated varieties in the early 1900s. Since then cultivated blueberries have become enormously popular. North America is the largest producer by far."

"Blueberries were an important source of food for Native Americans. They were eaten fresh, to be sure, but much of the summer harvest was laid out and dried in the sun, then stored for winter use. The dried berries were pounded to a powder and added to stews and porridge."

Cultivated varieties only since the early 1900s? Pounding dried blueberries to a powder for stew? Who knew? Funny what a little research'll get ya... I'm now going to keep my eye out for blueberry powder.

I like putting blueberries on my cereal, especially in the summer when they are in season. I also add some sweetened almonds.

Stacey Kent at the Dakota

Noel and I went to see Stacey Kent at the Dakota Jazz Club tonight. She sang Falling In Love Is Wonderful, Waters of March, What a Wonderful World and many others and of course sounded fabulous (as always). Noel and I both had our usual burger along with fries and bearnaise sauce. As I've said before I think the Dakota has one of the best burgers in town. Noel had a root beer float for dessert and I had chocolate gelato. It was a wonderful evening.

John Pizzarelli at the Dakota

Tonight Dale and I took Noel to see John Pizzarelli at the Dakota for her birthday. She loved the performance and so did we. Mr. Pizzarelli has a great report with the audience and sounded great as well. The three of us all had the hamburger with fries for dinner. The Dakota's burgers are, I think, the best in town. Their fries are incredible too especially with bernaise sauce. Absolutely delicious. I find the Dakota to be the most fun place in town to hear live music and their food is incredible.

Easter Parade

Dale and I arrived home stuffed from dinner at Mom's at about 6 p.m. and decided to watch Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. I love the scene where Jules Munshin, as Headwaiter Francois, prepares an imaginary Salad Francois for Judy Garland and Peter Lawford. My mouth always waters a bit when I see this even though no actual food is show. The power of suggestion is pretty strong... especially when it comes to food!

Easter Sunday 2011 - April 24

Dale and I went to the Easter Sunday service at Gethsemane Episcopal Church in downtown Minneapolis. Mom had us over to her condo for Easter dinner this afternoon. She made a lovely ham, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, candied yams with marshmallows, bread and salad. Oh yeah, and cherry pie for dessert. It was all very delicious!

Dorothy? Who's Dorothy?

A back to back showing of The Wizard of Oz was on TBS during this past Sunday's dinner. We watched it while eating but took a break to get the scones ready. At one point I poked my head out of the kitchen to catch up on what was going on and "Surrender Dorothy" was on the t.v. screen. I gotta say that even while watching this as a little kid I was impressed that this girl, despite her fear, just didn't give up. Years ago when this was on CBS-TV, it was often on at this time of year and I'd remember watching it at Grandma's house when we were up North for Easter weekend. Grandma's Easter dinners (actually, all of her dinners) was HUGE. She'd usually make a ham. I have fond memories of coloring eggs at her house with my brothers and our cousins.

Last Night's Dessert - Scones with Fresh Strawberries

While shopping for yesterday's dinner at Kowalski's, Dale and I decided we really wanted scones with strawberries for dessert. Kowalski's used to carry some wonderful Bramblewood Cottage scones but we haven't been able to find them there for a long, long time. We couldn't even find any of their in- house scones that were plain. I decided to just pick up some Bisquick and make our own scones. Mom used to make pancakes from Bisquick when we were kids. We used the recipe on the box which made six good sized scones. They were really quite delicious with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

Sunday Dinner - Beef Roast

One of the things I remember most about Sunday dinner as a kid is roast beef. I remember visiting my Grandpa Les in Two Harbors, Minnesota and he absolutely loved Grandma Jean's beef roast. Dale and I tried our own version today. We stopped by Kowalski's and got a 3 pound beef rump roast. According to directions found online, the rump roast should bake for an hour a pound. That made for 1 hour. The directions on the roast said the same thing and that the temperature should be about 130 degrees at least. We browned the roast in a cast iron skillet and put it in our Le Creuset roasting pot in the oven at 350 degrees. After an hour our meat thermometer read only 65 degrees. We upped the oven temperature to 375 and let it go a bit longer. It took another half hour to reach a temp of 145. To the Le Creuset pot the roast was in we added carrots and onions. We boiled some red potatoes for good measure. It all ended up to be very delicious!

Dinner On Sunday Blog - Five Year Anniversary

When I began this blog five years ago I had no idea what it would become or if it would even last. Well, it's lasted this long so I guess I had something to say about food and sharing meals with others. I'd like to dedicate this 5th year anniversary post to my mom, Annie, with whom I've shared lots of meals over my last 44 years. She taught me three things about dining with others that have stayed with me: 1) Sit up at the table 2) Chew with your mouth closed, and 3) the importance of having polite and meaningful conversations with others. Thanks Mom, I love you!

How appropriate then that I had dinner with her tonight. Dale went over at about 3:00 today to help Mom with her taxes. I joined them at about 5:30. Mom made a delicious white bean chili. We had salads and bread along with it and also some wine. For dessert she made vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. She had them in the Tupperware container that she's had since I was a little kid.

Here's the recipe for the chili which comes from the Minnesota Cancer Registrars Association cookbook and was submitted by Amanda Hlad:

White Chicken Chili

2 cans great northern white beans, drained

6 c. chicken broth

2 small onions,chopped

1 T. oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp. oregano

2-3 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

4 c. cooked chicken, cubed

1 c. sour cream

Combine beans and chicken broth and simmer. In frying pan saute oil, onions, garlic, and spices. Add to stock. Add chicken to stock and cook 30 minutes. Add sour cream and heat through, do not boil. Garnish with shredded cheese and sour cream.