Potlikkery

oh sweetie pie, my sweetie pie

Wednesday morning while I ate my less than appealing oatmeal (had run out of Quaker Oats and settled for instant oatmeal in a bag) I flipped through Sweety Pies. Admired it for a while, and then saw that a Nova made her rice pie, and decided then and there that I ought not be without this book. I read several types of pies aloud to Ian, along with their ingredients. Soon, he laid down the book he was reading and took up Sweetie Pies to browse it's colorful pages filled to the brim with photos of pies.

He picked up pie crusts and berries for me at the grocery store a few days ago because I told him I wanted to make a pie. This was before we both looked at the book. I'd planned to make some type of fruity pie, much along the same lines as every other fruity pie I make. This one had 5 nectarines, a pint of blueberries, a Gala apple, and maybe 2/3 cup of bing cherries. Besides that I added about a 1/2 to 2/3 cup of sugar, and about as much flour to make the juice a bit thicker. Maybe a teaspoon of cinnamon, which I don't normally add, a pinch of salt, and ginger. I love ginger flavoring in a pie. Probably added about a teaspoon and a half. Then baked for 40 minutes at 350 (F) degrees.

It baked that morning while I showered. Then waiting until I got home from a late late night at work to sample it was devilish, really. Ian wondered why I didn't taste it after baking it, but it had to cool. Anyway, I sliced it into several small pieces and had a bite last night. Pure heaven. Yum. Love me some fruity pie.

Besides its fabulous recipes, Sweety Pies includes the author's anecdotes. She can make anything relate to pie. Seriously. She is talented. She talked about her mother, or maybe it was her grandmother always painting her toenails red. She thought her husband never noticed that extra step she took to keep herself looking purdy. She stopped painting her toenails. Wouldn't you know, that her husband, who never said the first word about how nice her toes looked, suddenly commented on the fact that her toenails weren't looking so lovely anymore. All this was a segue into a cherry pie recipe. 

Something I really like about her book is that the flavor combinations excite me. They're not run of the mill. They don't disappoint the palate, at least, at the level of contemplation or anticipation. So yeah, I'm dying to try the same rice pie that Nova made. And there's an oatmeal, pecan, and coconut pie that Ian and I are slobbering over. There were more, many more. It's just that my memory is failing me since I don't have the book before me. She's tempted me to make my own pie crusts. I don't bother with that. Those Pillsbury roll up pie crusts do the trick for me every time.

scouting daytona

In approximately three weeks we'll head south to Florida for our annual beachy vacation at Daytona Beach Shores. Naturally, my thoughts immediately turn to "What will we eat?" and "where?" Daytona is rife with chain restaurants, and so in the interest of avoiding them and compiling a list of chain alternatives I scoured the Florida Chowhound boards for advice from the locals and recent visitors who value good food as much as I.

Here's my working list of possibilities so far:

Cocoa Beach

• Black Tulip
• Cafe Margaux
• Roberto's Little Havana for Cuban sandwiches

Daytona

• Angells& Phelps Cafe for lunch
• Angells & Phleps for chocolate
• Avocado Kitchen
• Bookdock's Riverfront Dining
• Brickyard for hamburgers and speedway theme
• Cancun Lagoon for Mexican
• Chart House chain I've never visited
• City Island Farmer's Market for fresh eggs
• Daytona Beach Flea Market for produce and boiled peanuts
• Daytona Dogs for hotdogs
• Froggy's for world's largest biker bar/dive
• Hungarian Village  for authentic Hungarian cuisine
• Hyde Park Steakhouse a chain, one I've not visited
• Leannhs for Vietnamese/Chinese
• Long Doggers for various hot dogs
• Mr. Dunderbak's for German
• Pasha's for Middle Eastern food
• Ritter's Frozen Custard
• Ronin for sushi, Asian fusion
• Lukes Rib Shack
• Pete's Pizza for pizza
• Mai Thai for appetizers
• Maria Bonita for Mexican
• Steve's Diner for Polish specialties
• Sunglow Pier for breakfast (Daytona Beach Shores)
• Swiss Cake Factory for Cuban sandwich and pastries
• Thai Spice
• Top of Daytona for the view and the early bird specials

Ormond Beach

• Greg's Steak & Shrimp
• Hull's Seafood for fresh seafood to prepare yourself and hole in the wall destination
• La Gourmandise French Bakery for pastry
• Stonewood Grill & Tavern for chocolate bread pudding
• Tomoka River Grille

Ormond-by-the-Sea

• Betty's A1A Cafe  for fried food & best onion rings in 3 states

Port Orange

• Aunt Catfish's on the River
• Our Deck Down Under for casual by just off the boat fish

New Symrna Beach

• Blackbeard's Inn for cinnamon rolls, clam chowder, and prime rib
• J.B.'s Fish Camp
• Mon Delice French bakery for pastry
• Pig & Whistle for BBQ
• Spanish River Grill for fresh Cuban cuisine & bread pudding to die for

St. Augustine

• Gypsy Cab Company

best shaggy biscuits evah

Sunday Ian and I...nope. Sunday I was ravenous. After my late breakfast of scrambled eggs I tried convincing Ian it was in his best interest to make pancakes. Not only for me, but for us both. After all, he is the most pancake loving man I know. He didn't budge off the couch. My mind turned to biscuits. I've had Breakfast Book checked out from the library for weeks now. Discovered its existence thanks to Slashfood.

The first recipe that appealed to me was the Ginger Shortbread, which is on my list to make very, very soon. Since it was handy, I opened to the Quick Breads section and looked for a biscuit recipe. And there, I found it. My very favorite biscuit recipe ever. I've tried various recipes over the years. Most make passable biscuits. Nothing too special, or memorable. Not until now.

Marion Cunningham's recipe for biscuits is wonderful. Where there's heavy cream involved, deliciousness only follows. Her recipe is quick and simple and perfect, really. She says to add more heavy cream if the dough is shaggy. Have never heard that term before now. You cut the dough into squares, dip both sides in butter, and bake 'em in the oven for 15 minutes.

I'm the original dough girl, and I must say, I must sigh, that these biscuits are the fluffiest, yummiest biscuits I've ever made. I liked them best with butter only, cause I'm just that way. Ian slathered some of Laura's apple butter all over his. Yup, these biscuits got his butt up off the couch and into the kitchen. Oh, the power of biscuits.

kingdom for a brownie

Even though I don't love chocolate, I made brownies Sunday morning. Each month I look forward to "The Last Touch," the final column in Gourmet.  This month (June) it featured four brownie recipes. Actually, the first, Coconut Blondies, is perfectly my speed, my taste. And someday I'll make that recipe for certain, but it's not what tugged at my apron strings Saturday afternoon as I browsed magazines on my back porch and ate strawberries straight out of the pint container.

Peanut Brittle Brownies. Yeah. It's deceptively simple. You make your brownie batter, pour it into your pan, and bake for 25 minutes. Pop open oven door, pull out rack, and sprinkle peanut brittle crumbles on top. Shove rack back in, close door, and bake another 5 minutes. Viola! You have yummy brownies.

By the time Ian arrived home Sunday morning, they had cooled enough to cut. Ian suggested that I cut and keep aside all the corner pieces for him. We are so compatible when it comes to baked goods. He likes the corner pieces, while I prefer the inside pieces that have absolutely no hard crusty edges.
Sigh, isn't it great when relationships work out like that? The only thing we usually fight over are black olives when we get that large shared salad at Olive Garden. Have to equally distribute the olives between us.

The brownie was yummy. I used 4 ounces of  Ghirardelli chocolate morsels I bought ages ago with Laura at Sam's. First time I opened its bag, actually, and was glad to have it. No doubt the Ghirardelli quality infused those brownies with an undeniably rich chocolate flavor.

I packaged up most of the brownies and as we made our Sunday rounds, I dropped off a half a dozen or so at my mom's house and and Ian's parent's house. It's best to share brownies, any sweets, really, so that those who are tempted and cannot control themselves do not have so much a temptation to overcome.

egg salad sammich

Made my egg salad Friday night. Sandwich bread loaf, too.  It's all completely Foose-inspired. I want to call her Fosse for some reason. Suppose it's that I'm more familiar with that name.

Foose's egg salad includes olives, something I like on their own, but not mixed in much except that dressing slathered on a mufaletta. And she called for onions or scallions, too. But I had none of those on hand.

Normally with protein/mayo salad-type dishes I stick to my own rather than try new ones. It's silly, I know. But I'm so particular when it comes to protein salads. Like ham salad? Oh, I'd never try that. When we visit Ian's relative in Canton, OH there's usually talk of picking up a ham salad from and my mind shrinks back from the very thought of that. It sounds wrong. It's likely quite good. What do I know?

The other thing about me and protein salads is that I made them different each time, rarely keeping track of ingredient amounts. I'd rather taste my way to protein salad perfection. This time though, I wrote it down. Here's this month's egg salad recipe:

12 eggs, boiled and de-shelled
4T Hellman's mayonnaise
1T vinegar
2 tsp. sweet relish
2 tsp. sugar
1tsp. mustard powder
1tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1tsp. ground pepper

I texted Ian to ask how he boils eggs, because they usually come out well and he's naturally takes charge of any egg cooking in the house especially if it's for deviled eggs. He said, and I'm fleshing it out a bit, "Put the eggs in the pot and let them warm as the water does. Let them boil for ten minutes." I'm notorious for cooking eggs like 20 minutes or so, but I don't think it damages them.

After peeling them I throw them in a medium sized bowl and add the ingredients random-like.  When I got most everything in there, I tasted and found it lacking. That's when I added the vinegar and sweet relish. Since I'm supposed to cut down on my salt intake (my blood pressure was elevated for me, but still in normal range at my last OB appointment) I went lighter on that than normal. And I'm supposed to watch my sugar, too, just not to over do it. But then, the egg salad wasn't sweet enough and that's when I thought of the sweet relish. I think my mom used to put that in her egg salad until she went olive on me. She does the olives and olive juice in deviled eggs, too, and frankly ruins it for me.

 

The sandwich loaf bread? Oh, how I wish I'd read the recipe thorough. I'm bad to not read ahead with recipes and knitting patterns and sewing instructions. I started on it around 5 o'clock, after getting home from work Friday night. First couple of steps are easy and take no time at all. Then I have to cover for 10 minutes. Then work some salt into it. Then cover for an hour. Then fold it a certain way and let it rise for 11 1/2 to 2 hours. Then do something else to it and let it rise another hour. Surely the bread would be in the oven by 9 o'clock, right? 

 

But no, the bread came out of the oven around 11 o'clock. I let it cool and ate a few slices for breakfast Saturday morning. Then Ian arrived home and sampled both eggs salad and bread. He didn't mind the burnt bottom. Yeah, the bottom was burned. I was bummed about that. Foose's directions said to remove the bread from it's loaf pan and set it directly on the rack. The bottom rack. Bread set on bottom rack equals burned bottom.