Spoiled Rotten Kids

Whenever people ask Richard and I if we have children, we reply yes and they are furry and four-legged. The three of them make our lives interesting, whether it be by their antics or just how much love they give us.

A regular occurrence is Richard sitting on the sofa with one or more pups hanging around, literally. Here is Morgan dozing while his head is hanging off the edge of the sofa.


A close up of Morgan and Kele one night.


Richard getting comfortable with Kele and Morgan


Its hard to see in this photo but Kele was close to sliding off the sofa and landing head first on the floor. It would have been a loud thump.


Now you may be asking where is Lili during all of this, she is sleeping on the down-filled sofa in the master bedroom and has the entire sofa to herself, Lucky Dog.

Crispy Flounder

Once again I went freezer diving, this time I came out with some flounder fillets. I got this recipe out of "The All New Good Housekeeping Cookbook", the same one I used for the Ratatouille. I know I have used this book several times but it just happened to be still sitting on the kitchen counter, how convenient.

CRISPY FLOUNDER

1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 tblsp fresh chopped parsley, optional
3/4 tsp salt
4 flounder or sole fillets (4 ounces each)
2 tblsp butter or margarine

On waxed paper combine breadcrumbs, parsley and salt**. Use crumb mixture to coat fish fillets, patting crumbs to cover.

In a 12-inch skillet, melt 1 tblsp of the butter over medium-high heat until hot. Add 2 fillets and cook until just opaque throughout and golden, 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a platter to keep warm. With paper towels wipe skillet clean and then melt remaining butter and cook the other 2 fillets.

Changes: I used 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Panko and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

** Instead of using a plate or wax paper I buy plain, gallon size food storage bags, the kind that you need a twist tie for. No dishes to wash and it contains the breadcrumbs or flour better.

Pizza Night

Every once in awhile we get a craving for pizza. When that happens we pick up some frozen, whole wheat pizza dough from Lowes Foods and the rest of our ingredients.

Richard hand tosses the dough and then creates our masterpiece. This time we put pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, garlic and sun dried tomatoes on it.

The chef and his un-cooked masterpiece. Notice the flour on the front of his sweatshirt and his right sleeve. This man really gets into his cooking.


A close up of the pizza. Richard joked that we had everything but the kitchen sink on this pizza.


The chef and his finished product.


Can hardly wait for it to cool a bit so we can dig in.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille,,the name brings to mind images of an animated film starring a rat who loved food and loved to cook. This however is not the case here.

Ratatouille is a French Provencal vegetable stew. We eat it hot, sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a side of garlic, basil and cheese toast. It is a wonderful, hearty, one-pot meal for a cold winter night. (A picture of the cover of this cookbook can be found in my 2-27-2011 blog, Balsamic Chicken and Pears)

RATATOUILLE

2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 small eggplant (1 lb) not peeled and cut into 1" pieces
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 yellow or red pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium zucchini (8 oz), cut into 1" pieces
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes chopped - I use the ones with garlic, basil and oregano added
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley

In a nonreactive 5-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant, salt and pepper; cook, stirring until eggplant begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in yellow or red pepper, zucchini and garlic; cook 1 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with their juices and thyme; heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until eggplant is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Rhineland-Style Sauerbraten w/Raisin Gravy

The recipe for this book came out of the German cookbook I wrote about a few entries back. Since I am such a weather watcher I took advantage of an upcoming cold weekend to make this.

I was lucky enough to have all the ingredients in the house already, all I had to do was plan so that the roast could marinate for 4 full days before cooking. I love this recipe.

FOR THE MARINADE
4 cups dry red wine (preferably German)
1 cup water
2 1/2 tblsp lemon juice
1 small yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
10 whole peppercorns
2 medium whole bay leaves
4 whole cloves

1 (3-pound) boneless top round roast (I used an eye of round roast)

2 tblsps minced parsley

Bring all ingredients except the meat and parsley to a fairly rapid boil in an uncovered medium-size heavy saucepan over moderate heat and cook for 5 minutes.

Place the meat into a large, heatproof, non-metallic bowl. Pour in the hot marinade and cool to room temperature. Add the parsley, turn the beef in the marinade, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 days, turning the meat every 8 hours. (I turn the meat every 12 hours)

Here is marinated meat ready to be cooked.


FOR THE SAUERBRATEN
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tblsp flour
3 tblsp unsalted butter, divided
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 tblsp sugar
2 tblsp sweet sherry
1/2 cup medium-dry red wine (preferably German)
1 cup seedless raisins
1-2 tblsp orange marmalade (if needed to sweeten gravy)

On the 5th day, remove the meat and pat dry. Strain the marinade reserving the solids and the liquid. Rub the beef with the salt and pepper, then dredge with the flour.

Melt 2 tblsp of the butter in a medium-size heavy dutch oven over moderate heat, add the meat, and brown well on all sides, this will take 8-10 minutes. (I found that this takes more like 4 tblsp butter). Transfer the beef to a plate, then pour off and discard all the drippings in the pot. Add the remaining 1 tblsp of butter to the pot and melt over moderate heat. Add the carrots, onions and reserved marinade solids. Saute, stirring often for 5 minutes. Return the beef to the pot, add 2 cups of the reserved marinade and the tomato paste, bring to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat so the marinade gently bubbles, cover the pot with foil and then the lid. Simmer for 3 1/2-4 hours, turning occasionally, replacing the foil and lid each time you turn the meat.

Once the meat is tender, remove it to a large plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Skim as much fat as possible from the liquid, then strain it, discarding the solids. Return the liquid to the pot and add the remaining marinade, along with the sugar, sherry, red wine and raisins. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat for 5-7 minutes or until reduced by half and of good gravy consistency.

To serve, slice the meat across the grain, place on a platter and pour the gravy over it. Serve with potato dumplings, mashed potatoes or Egg Spaetzle. Serves 4-6.

The browned meat.


Sauteing the marinade solids with the carrots and onions.


Leftovers (because sometimes I am an idiot and forget to take pictures)

This House is Going to The Dogs!

Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn. In this case the unexpected turn involved a young, fixed, male Border Collie.

We got a call from some friends who summer here, and they had gotten an email from some friends of theirs who are year residents up here.

So the story goes some people found this poor boy, running wild, no tags, no collar, covered in cow manure. They cleaned him up but already had 4 dogs so they couldn't keep him.

The friends of our friends took him but he was too young and energetic for their 7-8 year old dog so a plea went out to find a home for him. That is where we were contacted. Richard called the people who had him and agreed to pick him up.

He is a bit skittish but has calmed down in the few days we have had him. He is a herding fool and will not come into the house unless he has herded the other 3 dogs onto the porch.

The first night we had him Richard was on the sofa with Morgan and Phantom. Lili came up looking for love. Since she is the queen he cannot deny her some loving.


Phantom has really neat markings, and is a handsome boy,


But not as handsome as Capt. Morgan.


Since we took Phantom in we have been working with him on basic training and have found some friends who are coming up from Louisiana to give him a forever home.

A Winter Fun With Food Day

The weather guessers had been predicting a cold, windy and snowy weekend and that is how Saturday started. I had been waiting for a day like this so I could have "Fun With Food".

Richard knew this was coming and once I had my coffee poured on Saturday we got right to work in the kitchen.

I used 2 cookbooks, The New German Cookbook and Crockery Favorites. From the German cookbook I made an Oxtail Ragout. From Crockery Favorites I made a Beef and Winter Vegetable Soup.


I got almost all of my ingredients together and set them on the counter.


Oxtail Ragout

4 1/2 lbs oxtail, cut into 2-inch lengths
10 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs with green tops, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (I used dried parsley)
6 whole peppercorns
3 whole cloves
3 medium Bay leaves

Combine everything in a large heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, skim off any scum that accumulates. Cover and simmer for 4 hours, until the meat is fork tender.

After the meat is cooked remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid, removing and discarding the solids. Skim as much fat as possible from the liquid. When the meat is cool enough to handle remove from the bones and coarsely chop.

Next melt 4 tblsp butter in the same pot, once melted add 4 tblsp flour, cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add in the strained cooking liquid, bring to a boil, then cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring and skimming often. Smooth in 3 tblsp tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups dry red wine (preferably German). Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. Return meat to the pot and stir in 1/2 cup of room temperature sour cream. Heat through and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Makes 4-6 servings.

Oxtail Ragout ready to cook.



Beef and Winter Vegetable Soup

1 lb top round, well trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tblsp olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 lge cloves garlic, chopped (we used 4)
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used turnip)
2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
1/2 lb button mushrooms thickly sliced
1 tsp crumbled, dried Thyme leaves
1 lge bay leaf
1 qt beef stock
1/4 dry red wine.

In a large skillet, brown the meat in the olive oil for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer beef to crockpot (I used a 6 quart). Top with onions and garlic. Add in layers the parsnips, potatoes, carrots and celery. Scatter mushrooms over the top and sprinkle with thyme. Pour in stock and wine. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. **Unfortunately after 10 hours on low all the vegetables were still fairly hard so I transferred the entire mess to a stock pot and simmered on the stove for 2 hours.

Crockpot ready to be turned on.


Next I turned my attention to the garlic on the counter. Garlic is a major food group in our house and we buy it in 2 lb. bags at Sam's Club. I keep some of the garlic on the counter and roast some for future use.


To roast the garlic I rub off all excess skin, cut the tops off so the tips of all the cloves are exposed. Then pour some olive oil over each bulb, wrap tightly in foil. I place the foil on a cookie sheet just in case and roast at 400 for 45 minutes.

Garlic ready to be wrapped up and put into the oven.


Once the garlic is roasted I open the foil and let it cool until I can handle it. I squeeze each bulb onto a small piece of plastic wrap, seal it up and freeze them in a Zip-loc bag. Anytime I want roasted garlic for mashed potatoes, garlic bread or soup I just pull a package out of the freezer and let it thaw for a few minutes.


Here is the Oxtail Ragout on top of roasted garlic mashed potatoes for dinner.


Once the soup was cooked I ladled some into a container for lunch at work.


Here is another tip. It seems like most recipes call for only a tablespoon of tomato paste. I scoop the rest of the can out in tablespoon portions and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Like the garlic when a recipe calls for tomato paste I go to the freezer and pull out the number of tablespoons I need.


Before I go I need to give a HUGE shout-out to my sweetheart Richard. Not only does he play sous chef and cut up all the vegetables for me he also cleans up after me

Driving Miss Gertrude

Richard had to make a road trip and since there was no snow in the forecast he asked if I would mind driving Gertrude for a few days while he took the Land Rover. As I was driving Gertrude around one afternoon I realized that it is sort of an adventure to drive her.

Now before I give you a lot of information about Gertrude, you can go back in time to September 2011 to my post 'Irene Visits Oriental'. There is a picture of Gertrude sitting in way too much water.

Gertrude is 20 years old,,not bad for a pickup truck. She has half a million miles on her.

What makes driving Gertrude an adventure is her size. She is an extended cab, long bed truck so you need to take turns wider. She is a duelie so in some areas she barely fits in the lane.

Other things are minor details like the fuel gauge doesn't work, the cruise control doesn't work and the gear shift indicator doesn't work. If you roll the driver's window all the way down it takes some effort to get it back up and if the passenger rolls their window down the driver has to put it up.



But for her flaws, she has a great radio/CD player and rides very well. I would not hesitate to drive her the over 600 miles down to Cocoa Beach. They just don't make them like they used to.