Beauty Queen

I hit the jackpot this afternoon. John came home with a whole bag of these beauties.I know what I'll be doing tomorrow. Making tomato sauce. I love knowing that I had it together enough in August to get some sauce in the freezer. Perfect for one of those cold and rainy winter nights when you batten down the hatches, build a fire and smother your pasta in a summer tomato sauce. It will be worth it all come some stormy January night.

Woodsmoke....in August?

I'm not sure what is going on out here. Is it El Nino? That weird weather thing we get here in California...when it rains FOREVER in the winter. Which would be fine with me, being I'm on this bread baking kick and all. But this is just plain strange.
I built my first fire of the season this morning...and it's August 20th. But, personally, I'm lovin' it. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm just not a summer person. "Hey, Kary..wanna go to the beach and "lay out". "No thanks." And especially this late in the game. I'm thinkin' fall. Have been for days now. Saw the leaves starting to change on the neighborhood tree this morning on our walk with Buddy. And those huge giant spiders we get every fall are back. They have been on "web making duty" most of the night. There are spider webs everywhere this morning. Tried taking a picture of a spider's web. That is way too advanced for me. Nothing showed up. It was a loser.

So here is a photo of my "headquarters". The Vermont Casting woodstove is one of the reasons we moved out of our house in Cambria. You see, that house had one of those fireplaces that has fake logs and sits behind a fixed pane of glass. And to start it, well, it's really easy, you just get up and go and turn on the light switch. HUH?

I couldn't stand that thing. I mean, come on, where is the smell of woodsmoke in the air? When you look at the roof, there is no chimney. Don't need one. No fire. My favorite thing in the world is to have a cool rainy day, an apple pie in the oven and being able to walk outside to gather logs to throw on the fire and see and smell woodsmoke!

Around here, we make a whole day out of going to get the wood itself. It is an anticipated event. We even make a special "going to get the firewood dinner".

When the day finally arrives (it already has this year) John calls Howard and we load up Buddy and head over to Squire Canyon to get the wood. And on the way home, late afternoon, always has to be after 3 o clock, we make a trip up See Canyon to Gopher Glen to get apples. The Burgundy apples are ready right now. One of my favorites, with that dark red, almost black skin. Very tart.Goes great on a caramel apple. Hey, that sounds pretty good. How about some caramel apples tonight? And if the weather holds, we'll be building a fire too.

From France...to the Backyard

Well, we have gone from France for dinner..(which sounded really jet setter)...to the backyard. Yep. We're gonna do it again. We're bbqing. I tried to slide that french steak dinner thingy in under the radar..but he caught it.."What?" "We're not going to bbq that steak?" O boy, so there you go. And I went from scalloped potatoes with gruyere to every guys favorite...double stuffs...

Double Stuffed Potatoes

Bake some russet potatoes till done.

Cut in half and scoop out.

Mash potatoes in a bowl with some butter, milk, sour cream, black olives, gruyere cheese and s and p.

Fill potato shells with mixture.

Bake @ 350 degrees till hot and bubbly. About 35 to 40 minutes.

First Crush

This was my first crush. I was in high school and I fell hard. " A Treasury Of Great Recipes" by Mary and Vincent Price. I have had this book for over 30 years and Vincent is the one for me. I love how the book takes you to restaurants all over the world. And tonight we are going to have dinner in France.We are going to have Steak Chevillot. Chef Chevillot of the Hotel de La Poste is the chef that considers this dish as one of his specialties. The recipe is simple, really. "A Treasury of Great Recipes" was first printed in 1965. It is out of print, but I have seen it on Alibris.


Steak Chevillot

Serves 4

butter
fillets of beef
shallots
red Burgundy
flour
marrow bones
(optional)

STEAK:

In a skillet heat: 1 tablespoon butter and in it cook over high heat 4 fillets of beef, each 1 1/2 inches thick, for about 4 minutes on each side, or until brown and done to taste. Remove fillets to a warm serving platter and keep warm. Drain fat from skillet and return skillet to moderate heat.

SAUCE:

1. Add: 1/2 teaspoon butter and 1 tablespoon minced shallots and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add: 1/2 cup red Burgundy and cook until wine is reduced by half its quanity.
3. Stir 1 teaspoon flour mixed to a smooth paste with 1 teaspoon butter and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
4. Swirl in 1 tablespoon butter and when butter is melted, add: 2 tablespoons red Burgundy.

Presentation:

Spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce over each fillet, and serve immediately. If desired, top each fillet with a slice of poached beef marrow.

High Hopes

Today is the day that I hop on the wagon and join "The Bread Bakers Apprentice" challenge. It is a group of bakers that have joined Nicole at "Pinch My Salt" and are making a bread a week out of Peter Reinhart's award winning bread book.

A friend of mine told me recently (you know who you are) to keep your expectations low..that way, you're never dissapointed. I think that may be pretty good advice for me here. I tried this once before when the "Baking With Julia" book came out. It didn't go well. Those breads looked so beautiful in the pictures. Mine, however, were another story. And I consider myself a pretty good baker.But it was a challenge to be sure. So here I go again. Apron on, book in hand, got the King Arthur flour, got fresh yeast, am actually studying the book like a textbook...and this time... I hope I'm not dissapointed. To be honest, I'm keeping my expectations...low.

Oh, and that's Dande ..just hangin' out....

Contentment

Old recipes and old recipe boxes fill me with happiness and contentment. The red plaid one was my mothers. And I am lucky to have it. I remember it sitting on the drainboard in our kitchen when I was a little girl. Every afternoon my mom would start going through it wondering what to make for supper.I treasure her handwriting on those recipes. My mom passed away 3 years ago this August from cancer. But having those old recipes is like having a piece of her here with me still. The meatball recipe was from my Aunt in Santa Cruz. I love to serve those with boiled white rice and gravy. We are still in bbq mode around here, but I am sensing a shift. I am growing tired of bbqed burgers and chicken right about now. I want those meatballs and some gravy and corn that is no longer on a cob, but in a can. I know. Canned corn? But it reminds me of my childhood. And how can that be a bad thing?

So, once again, tonight we will sit outside and bbq those burgers and eat that corn off the cob. And I better enjoy every second of it, because, before long, I will look out to that garden and watch the rain pour down and remember those late August bbqed suppers. And I will smile.

Aftermath