My second Daring Baker challenge was Lemon Meringue Pie. Jen from The Canadian Baker was the host this month, and the recipe came from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky by Wanda Beaver. I decided to do individual tartletts, as I much prefer plating desserts with tartletts than pie or tart slices.
I don’t usually make sauces as they tend to add excess calories to whatever they are covering. However… today I had an open bottle of red wine and wanted to use it up before it turned on me. Even more, I have brand new appliances (just delivered today!) and needed to break in my beautiful, shiny new stove. My old stove was uneven, and I basically gave up sautéing at home because of it. We’re in the process of updating the entire kitchen in the next month or so, and I’m beside myself with excitement! Stay tuned for before and after pics!
Anyway, I made sautéed chicken with a red wine pan sauce. Its quite simple, but you need to make sure all your ingredients are ready, as it cooks quickly. Always keep in mind that your sauce will only be as good as the wine… so if you have a bad wine, expect a bad sauce!
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I generally keep this blog for my recipes and random food related thoughts, but today is a very personal one.
Last Thursday, January 17th, was the saddest day I’ve experienced in my 33 years. That was the day my grandma Evelyn passed away. I want to share with all of you how amazing and beautiful my grandma was. She loved to laugh and at 82 years old… still got most of my attempts at humor.
My grandma was a voracious reader, and since I am one too, we started to mail each other books after reading them. I would send her murder mysteries, and she would send me books that were, well, geez…. downright naughty. I found myself blushing while reading some of them thinking “OH.MY.GAH… GRANDMA READ THIS.” :) I finally had to tell her she could just hang on to the romance (aka dirty) ones, as they were not my cup of tea! How embarrassing, right? Of course she just laughed it off!
Grandma was also a wonderful cook of all things Southern. Her cornbread, biscuits, butter beans and turnip greens were specialties that I would always look forward to. My absolute favorite was her cornbread. She had this knack for making amazing cornbread, and her secret was… old buttermilk. She liked it when it was just shy of funky. According to her, the buttermilk needed to be a little (several weeks) past the expiration date to make great cornbread. I also brought home two of her cast iron pans that are the backbone of real southern cornbread. These pans are so beautifully seasoned, I must assume they are older than I am. Unfortunately, I never had her write down the recipe… not that she probably had one anyway. So my next challenge for myself is recreating her cornbread. I already have a container of buttermilk festering away in the back of the fridge, waiting for my challenge!
I ask all of you who still have your grandparents, to give them a call and tell them you love them. They may not be here tomorrow. Also, I must thank my amazing husband, Stephan, for being there for me. You’re my rock, and I have no idea how I would have gotten through the past few days without you.
Grandma, I hope you’re up there eating a big bowl of ice cream and gossiping with Aunt Lizzie. You will always be in my heart and memories.
OK… who hasn’t seen this delicious movie? Ratatouille is officially my new favorite animated movie, perhaps even my current favorite movie! Confession: I love animated flicks, and have about 20 assorted Disney VHS Tapes that I can’t seem to part with. Funny thing is that we no longer own a VHS player… what’s a girl to do, huh? I’ve been collecting them since high school… and yes, that was many moons ago! Darn the creators of DVD!
Anyway, now that I’ve shared a slightly embarrassing confession, lets dish about the movie. Its about a rat that has a very well developed palate. And he cooks… very well. He teams up with a gawky kid that can’t cook worth a flip and the two of them cook at a famous restaurant in Paris. I don’t want to give away too much, but its a definite must see.
I received a wonderful new baking book, The Essential Baker by Carole Bloom, from our friends Ryan and Carolina. This scone recipe comes from my new book. Of course, as usual, I had to tweak it a smidgen to my liking. The original recipe called for chopped dried figs, but I didn’t have any, so I used a combination of dried cherries and golden raisins. I also added a handful of toasted slivered almonds and topped them with a few extra slivers. I’m looking forward to trying many more recipes from this book. Thanks Ryan & Carolina!!!
As with most scones, they are a bit dry, but quite lovely served warm with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. Or you could do like the English and slather them with clotted cream, which sounds horribly unappetizing, but is very tasty. The best part about this recipe, is since you use your food processor, it takes all of about 10 minutes to prepare them, then another 15 or so to bake. Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning!
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