Guaranteed To Horrify My Children

Although that's not why I make meatloaf. I simply love it. Freshly made or leftover and made into a sandwich, meatloaf has been one of my favorite dinners since I was a kid. My kids, though, think meatloaf is revolting, although Pie allows that mine is much better than his mom's. At any rate, in case any of you like meatloaf like I do (or if you just want to horrify your kids) I am offering the recipe I used tonight here.

Meatloaf

1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers, crushed
2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. bulk sausage
1 egg
2 chopped onions
1/4 green pepper, minced (use more if you like...I'm just not big on too many veggies in my meatloaf)
1 c. ketchup
1/3 c. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all but 1/4 c. ketchup together. Put in loaf pan & cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Spread remaining ketchup over top. Bake uncovered 1 hour. Let stand at least 5 minutes before slicing.

I made Yukon Gold mashed potatoes & corn to go with this. As a result, I was picking corn up from the floor for several minutes after dinner. You'd think that once they hit a certain age, you could give up the under-table mat. You wouldn't think that that age would be some unknown time in the teens or twenties. You also wouldn't expect a 14-year-old to bring the corn pan to the table and, standing at his chair, begin to raise the serving spoon from the pan to his mouth! And you certainly wouldn't think that he would argue with your objection to this action! If Boot's future wife ever reads this: Honey, we tried. Really hard.

My Beloved Cooks

With my traveling schedule, I haven't been home for much of J's cooking, as she has been cooking primarily the days I am gone. She cooked last night & Wednesday night, both great meals. Wednesday we had, at Boot's request, fettucine alfredo with chicken in it. J decided to throw in a little bacon, too, which I am not sure how I felt about. I liked the flavor a great deal, but am undecided on the texture. Perhaps it needed to be a little crisper? Last night, she marinated some gorgeous New York strip steaks in porter ale, to be accompanied by corn and by pierogies fried with onions & garlic. Great stuff...the steak was the best I've had in a very long time. It's sure nice to be cooked for!

Crappy Indian Food

I am disappointed. The Indian restaurant nearest us is just not very good. Not only do they not have bhatura, the rest of their food just isn't where it needs to be. I wish that instead of Café Tandoor, we had our beloved Ajanta nearby. I know there is good Indian food in Cleveland, we just haven't been there. I sampled some delicious chicken tikka masala from Saffron Patch, but it's not nearby. I plan to drag my Beloved across town someday soon, though.

J had tried Café Tandoor for lunch before I arrived in town, when she first started her new job, and had reported back that their chicken tikka masala "sucked." Skeptical, I talked her into going back, thinking they had been having an off day. The food was okay (we ordered a different chicken dish, chicken in butter sauce) but nothing special. The naan was boring, the chicken was boring, the chai tea was not as good as Ajanta's. However, today I just had to try again. We shared some very tough palak paneer with mediocre chutneys accompanying it. Then, she had chicken korma which in no way resembled the glorious dish Evvi always orders at Ajanta. I ordered the chicken tikka masala & have to concede that J was absolutely right about its degree of suckage.

I am consoled by the delightful and gorgeous cookie one of J's employees baked. She took a whole platter in & they were all just lovely. Santa hat sugar cookies, that sort of thing. She thinks this one I adored is a recipe from Gourmet and promises to get it for me. They were thin chocolate stars, drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy cane. Wonderful!

Now, I am off to do my own baking & candy-making. Chocolate rum balls & cut-outs for certain. Fudge, I imagine, as well. Caramels. Cheese crisps. Who knows what else. Maybe some cashew brittle for my Beloved.

Food For Tree-Trimming

I reluctantly agreed to an artificial tree this year, primarily because of the postage stamp size of our apartment. I put it up & decorated the apartment during the day, then we had special foods for our tree-trimming dinner. I made a pot of potato leek soup & we did a few appetizers, as well. Boot requested his special invention, El Booto, which is basically just taco meat with shredded cheese thrown in, eaten with Fritos. J heated some mini smokies in Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. I made my artichoke dip. Boot also requested Westminster Punch, which is the punch our church used to serve at coffee hour but now only serves for concert receptions. It has also become our special family punch.

Westminster Punch

12 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate
12 oz. frozen limeade concentrate
1 regular-size can pineapple juice
1 small carton sweetened frozen strawberries
2 liters ginger ale
Mix together the first 4 in a large punch bowl. Add the ginger ale right before serving. I think Boot would drink the entire punch bowl-ful if we allowed him to. I love it, too.

Potato Leek Soup

2 tbsp. butter
3 leeks, well-washed & thinly-sliced (white & pale green parts only)
2 1/4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & cubed
4 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 sprigs of thyme (although I just tossed in some dried thyme because the store didn't have any fresh)
2/3 c. whipping cream

Melt butter in soup pot. Add leeks & cook until tender. Add everything else but the cream. Bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes. If using thyme sprigs, discard. Partially mash potatoes manually. Add cream and heat through, taking care not to boil.

I also took some Italian bread, sliced & toasted it, added shredded cheddar & a smidge of cayenne, broiled the whole shebang & served it with the soup.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Tried another local Chinese restaurant tonight and was sadly disappointed. I still haven't found my China Cottage North. China Cottage (the one on Far Hills) in Centerville, Ohio is one of my favorite ones in that area. We've been to two up here and have not found one to measure up...we certainly haven't found any of the caliber of the ones on Spadina in Toronto that I used to go to back in the 80s. Asian Wok on Detroit Road is better than Mandarin in Avon Commons, but not by much. Tonight, we ate at Mandarin. Damn, I wish we had some leftover brisket & latkes!

On a more positive note, our first coffee hour at the new church went well. We served tortilla chips with J's plant's queso dip and bread with both hot artichoke dip and brunoise (the latter also from the plant). The other lesbian couple at church provided the cookies & there was also a cake. The artichoke dip is the one I have been making for our tree-trimming hors d-oeuvre dinner for years. Warning-I know of at least two people who have eaten themselves sick on it. It is hard to stop. I happen to like it with Triscuits, but any kind of cracker or bread is fine.

Hot Artichoke Dip

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped (make sure you discard all the gnarly bits)
1 c. grated parmesan
1 c. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix all ingredients & bake in loaf pan or small casserole for 25 minutes or until starting to brown on top & get bubbly.

A Hanukkah Feast

Even though we are not Jewish, I have been celebrating Hanukkah since I was a teenager when my mom & I decided it sounded like fun. I have added it to my blended family's traditions. We play with dreidels for chocolate gelt, exchange gifts (always books or non-electronic games), tell the Hanukkah story (and read Eric Kimmel's Herschel & the Hanukkah Goblins), light the candles of the hanukkiyah (reciting the traditional blessings in Hebrew and English) and eat delicious food. Friday night, Pie and I were on our own for the evening. We celebrated the first night with Manischewitz matzo ball soup and jelly doughnuts. Last night was our big celebratory dinner. I made brisket, latkes, applesauce and glazed carrots.

Brisket

2 and 1/2 pounds beef brisket
Salt & pepper
2 c. beef stock
1 c. dry red wine
1 sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, slivered
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Trim excess fat from brisket until only a fine, thin layer is left. Put in 13 x 9 baking dish, fat side up. Salt & pepper. Add stock, wine, onion & garlic. Cover tightly with foil & bake at 250 4-5 hours, adding more liquid if needed. Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Latkes

7 medium potatoes
1 small onion
2 eggs
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Oil for frying
Peel & grate potatoes. Grate onion. Beat eggs with onion. Add flour, salt & pepper. Squeeze potatoes dry. Add to egg mixture. Heat oil in a 12" skillet. Form thin patties from the potatoes & fry until golden on each side. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Serve hot with sour cream.

Applesauce

2 1/2 lb. apples (I like to use MacIntosh), peeled, cored & diced
7 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. water
Put all ingredients in pot and bring to a boil. Cover & simmer 20 minutes.

Glazed Carrots

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 2" long pieces
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
A grating of fresh nutmeg
Put carrots in pan with water to cover and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to boil. Simmer 1/2 hour. Drain. Stir in the rest of the salt, butter, brown sugar and nutmeg. Cook on low until well-glazed.

Holiday Goodies to Give Away

I've started to do a little bit of baking & candy-making for the holidays. Now that the semester has ended, I'll be able to really throw myself into it this week. Last week, though, I made a couple of treats for other people. Every year since I was a very small girl, I have given my granddad peanut brittle for Christmas. Until this year, I had never made it myself, though. I had heard it was touchy and was nervous to try it. As it turned out, it gave me no problems whatsoever and it was delicious! I think making my first attempt in the cold, drier months was a factor.

Peanut Brittle

2 c. sugar
A pinch of baking soda
1 c. peanuts

Get a saucepan nice & hot. Add the sugar & cook, stirring constantly, until it turns into syrup. When sugar has all become syrup and no lumps remain, add the baking soda and nuts. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and allow to cool. When it is completely cool, break into pieces. I am certain that this would be delightful with other nuts, as well.

The other treat I made last week was for my Thursday class. Since I am part Swedish, I like to celebrate the feast day of St. Lucia, the patron saint of Sweden, which is December 13. So, Wednesday night found me infusing water with saffron, kneading dough and having a grand old time baking for my classmates. I made these traditional buns...and couldn't resist munching on a steaming hot one just from the oven before I fell into bed at 1:30. Since I am not a baker & my professor is an avid bread baker, I was a little nervous about making these for her. She ate 2, though, and said they were really good. Whew!

It is traditional for the oldest daughter of Swedish families to wear a white gown with a red sash and a wreath of candles on her head as she takes these, or another coffee cake sort of treat, to family members in the morning. My grandmom said that when she was in college in the late 1930s, her hall advisor went around with a candle on St. Lucia's Day, waking students for a special breakfast.

Lucia Buns

1/2 tsp. saffron
3 tbsp. hot water
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water
1/4 c. + 1/4 tsp. sugar
1 c. scalded milk
1/3 c. butter
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
4 c. flour, sifted
1 1/2 c. candied or dried fruit or nuts (I used raisins, sultanas and dried cranberries this time)
2 tbsp. melted butter

Soak saffron in 3 tbsp. hot water 1 1/2 hours. Dissolve yeast & 1/4 tsp. sugar in lukewarm water. Mix milk with rest of sugar, butter and salt. Let cool completely. Add egg, milk and saffron to yeast. Beat smooth. Mix fruit/nuts with 2 tsp. flour. Mix rest of flour with yeast mixture. Fold in fruit/nuts. Knead smooth, about 12 minutes, on a floured surface. Put into greased bowl, turn once and allow to rise, in a warm place, until doubled in size, about an hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Knead twice. Divide into 24 small buns & place on greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1/2 hour. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Bake 5 minutes.