Potlikkery

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.

Ponchatoula is (bone fide) alright with me

Wouldn't you know that as soon as I bowed to the common ingredient list including box cake mix and strawberry flavored gelatin in the making of my strawberry cupcakes, that I'd come across a bone fide strawberry cupcake recipe? Just my poor old luck, really. But sort of scary, too. Like somehow, months ago when Foose dreamed up this cookbook, she included this recipe just for my sake. To redeem my hurt feelings about whether my cupcakes were "from scratch," for real. It was predestined. 

Screen Doors and Sweet Tea arrived a day or two ago via our U.S. Postal Service. Couldn't help myself from browsing it immediately. The cover photo is super inviting; just completely appealing to my particular preference for food styling. And I'm the first fool in line handing over her credit card to buy almost any and every southern-themed cookbook. Now I don't call myself a fool because these cookbook authors are fooling me into something. No matter that they all have almost the same recipes inside.  There are always a few gems in each one. And certainly that is the cake with SCAST. 

I'm referring to her Ponchatoula Strawberry Cupcakes recipe. Batter made from scratch, and icing too, just what I dreamed of about a week ago. It's not too late though. There are still fresh, locally grown strawberries around. Must seek them out. Sadly, I barely used a whole pint of the gallon I bought. 

Frigid fruit and veggies taste terrible to me, so my berries sat out on my counter, and we're using that natural air conditioning a.k.a windows open. So they spoiled quicker than they should have if they were tucked into my fridge. Can you imagine knitted woolen strawberry cozies to keep each one warm inside that dreadful old icebox? I can.  The sad thing was throwing most of the lot out. Actually, the white fuzzy, almost projectile, mold forming on my berries reminded me of those fuzzy winter muffs that you see little girls of Currier & Ives era paintings carrying along on a sleigh ride, or an ice skating jaunt.

Foose covers a Delta meal from cocktails and appetizers on through magnificent, decadent traditional southern desserts. She grew up in the Mississippi Delta, then traveled a bit to work in big city kitchens. Then went off to cooking school in France, so her rendition of these southern favorites is well-informed. Right off her Cantaloupe daiquiri tempted me to throw caution to the wind about fetal alcohol syndrome and imbibe in such a delight. Yet, I shouldn't drink. And won't. But I'm keeping this one in mind for when I can have alcohol again. 

But I could have her Blackberry Limeade which looks refreshing and like it would soothe my nerves. The food photography/styling is delicious and enhances Foose's recipes. Unfortunately the scenic photography of the Delta, interspersed with those glimpses of heavenly southern food, appear more like stock photos and lack the intimacy and lushness of the latter.

Each recipe begins with a Foose anecdote. Readers learn about her great uncle Thompson alongside  Catfish Ceviche. Thompson preferred sleek cars to big old trucks so popular with all the Delta menfolk, and opened his catfish farming business in 1958.  A large sidebar following the recipe teaches the reader about the spawning and hatching of catfish.

There are lots of expected dishes like gumbo, turtle soup, cheese, grits, mac n cheese, country fried steak, and dumplings. Then there's the unexpected: Barq's Root Beer-Glazed Ham. This one, we'll have to try. Despite the kitsch factor of cooking meat in a soda pop brine, I declare that the end product tastes mighty good and receives rave reviews from our families.

The combination of her photo of egg salad and the recipe for Good Sandwich Loaf bread tempted my tummy, and pulled up to the Shamrock's drive-thru and bought an egg salad sandwich for lunch yesterday with eventual making of my own in mind. Already got lots of eggs for the egg salad and all the makings for the sandwich loaf. 

Those desserts...well, none of them jumped out at me like Sweet Tea Pie. Ooooooo-eee. I'll have to try that. Foose described it like so: 

The flavor tastes like state fair saltwater taffy, and the texture is like pecan pie without the pecans. I think you will enjoy it.

Last night on the phone I told Ian about the book and it's banana pudding recipe from scratch. Since we had a bad experience with the last from scratch banana pudding we made, um, we're reluctant to try it again. Another recipe that caught my eye was Brown Sugar Angel Food Cake. It takes 14 egg whites. Now that is a lot of cracking and separating of eggs. Though I don't ever yearn for angel food cake, that brown sugar twist might keep my interest long enough to try one. 

Be sure to read Fosse's notes to the left or the right of each recipe. She says to separate your eggs a day before making the Brown Sugar Angel Food Cake and that night-before step will result in a higher cake. When it comes to Angel Food, the higher, the better, you know, closer to the Pearly Gates and all those angels with their harps and halos. 

Come July Ian and I head west to Nashville and then south down the Natchez Trace, so I'm mostly hoping that we'll get a taste of good Mississippi cuisine, though it may not be Delta in origin, least not until we arrive at Natchez proper. Any recommendations, anyone?

strawberry delight

Recipes for Strawberry Cake that I found online disappointed me. Gelatin? Frozen strawberries? Ugh. Those ingredients seemed lame. Instead, I turned to my Blue Willow Inn cookbook. It's subtitle is "Bible of Southern Cooking," and I must say, that every recipe  I've made from the book turns out Delish!

Their recipe is simple, and similar to the ones found online, actually. So I was disappointed, skeptical, but tried it anyway. One box of butter cake mix, 3/4 cup of oil, 4 eggs, one box of strawberry gelatin, and one 10oz box of frozen strawberries, thawed.

Naturally, I used fresh strawberries. And I used much much more than the 4-5 oz they suggested for the cake's batter. I made cupcakes, two dozen of them, in fact, special-like for Rebekah's birthday. Ian helped me make a decision on what to top the icing with: sprinkles or strawberry slices. He asked "What will the kids like?" Oh, sprinkles, I suppose. So there was my answer.

Rebekah leads Biscuit

Rebekah is one of the sweetest young women I know. She turned 18 on Saturday, and I felt bad that I didn't have anything other than the strawberry cupcakes for her. But, she liked 'em. I took them over to Mize in Gray, Tn. because Rebekah worked Horse Days. She thanked me for them. Even asked, "Did you MAKE them?" Of course. All from scratch, ma'am!

And then had so much batter left over that I made a one layer cake as well. Didn't use their icing recipe. Used the one that Nigella suggests for her Guinness chocolate cake: creme cheese, confectioner's sugar, and whipping cream.

Sadly, no photos of cupcakes. They never look as grand as ones others make. I either overfill the cups or underfill them. This time, I underfilled them, and their appearance was rather poor. Sad, actually. Yet, they tasted good. I was very pleased with how they came out. Yum. Super good. Will definitely make this recipe again. And even though my batter and icing were much more strawberry loaded than the recipe called for, I still had at least a half pint of berries remaining in that container. So now what to do with the remaining 3 pints?

i eat for two

Lame lame is my name. I'm constantly ravenous and must snack often to sate my hunger. If I don't keep my stomach filled then I feel nauseous. Yep, I'm pregnant. Talked to my Scout who lives in Knoxville and she said she didn't have strange cravings until her fifth month, with almost all of her children. With Zoe she craved rootbeer and never liked it prior to being pregnant. Then with Zac she ate 5 or 6 oranges each day.

No cravings. I'm ending my first trimester. Basically, I'm so fatigued at the end of each day that I lack energy to cook anything. My rice obsession is dying down despite the quick and easy nature of its cooking in my steamer.

What is most difficult about being pregnant are the restrictions on what I cannot eat.

I cannot have soft cheeses such as Brie and feta. Or that yummy melted Mexican cheese. Or any blue-veined cheeses. So that completely ruins the whole salad experience for me. Bleu cheese dressing is my standard. If I can't have that, then I won't get my greens and veggies in my diet. At least those pre-natal vitamins are good for something; filling in the gaps. My alternative is the caeser salad. But those are mostly boring. No unpasteurized cheeses for me. Actually, I think I may have eaten a small bit of Brie, from that last Brie kick, while very recently pregnant. But then when I had an inkling about my body and what was going on inside there, I threw the Brie away. Otherwise, it was too much of a temptation. It was also going bad, too.

Somehow though, it's okay to eat processed cheeses. Yuck. However, I love creme cheese and that's on the can have list. And Ian encourages me to eat lots of yogurt.

I suppose there are some restrictions on fish, too. The other day I lunched with Marie and she ordered sushi. I'm fairly sure I cannot have that. She offered me some of her spicy tuna roll, but I declined. The other thing is that sushi at that restaurant is usually over-rated and not so good. C'mon. It's east Tennessee. How fresh can it be? The raw fish avoidance is so so tough. Really. I love oysters. I had some fried when Ian and I were in Atlanta eating at Dailey's. He pointedly asked whether I could have them and I said yes, as long as they were cooked. But, shrimp doesn't appear on any list.

The no caffeine bit is no big deal except when I'm terribly thirsty in the car and the only thing Ian brought along is his diet cola. It isn't caffeine free. So I'm constantly carrying drinks and snacks along wherever I go because feeding this thing inside me is the essence of my life just now. But I don't do coffee, or herbal teas. But my regular old unsweet tea isn't really a problem as far as caffeine content. Hooray! And since I don't use artificial sweeteners, I don't have to wean myself off of them, either. Surely there was a reason I went cold turkey and drank my iced tea plain from the get go.

Oh hell. I just realized that chocolate has caffeine in it. Not that I purposely eat a lot of it. But Tuesday nights I do a bit of volunteer work with kids and horses and there's almost always a chocolate dessert/snack for the kids and we volunteers at the end of the night. No more chocolate. Perhaps I'll start bringing the dessert and then won't be eating something bad for me. Seriously, chocolate is not my favorite, but the state I'm in requires that I eat and east and eat. The nurse practitioner who did my intake exam at Specialty Hospital said I should eat 2400-2500 calories per day. Normally I eat between 1200-1500 calories each day.  How is it that I'm not eating enough?

Geesh. I need more snack ideas. Mostly I live off those kellogg's 100 calorie snack bars that are fruity. The blueberry are my favorite. And cereal is great too, to bring along to work in a plastic baggy.

Oh, and Melissa, the NP at my OB's office pointed out my high cholesterol levels. She asked if I took meds for that. My old GP never wanted me on Lipitor because of the threat of liver damage. My mom takes it though and it has had a brilliant effect on her cholesterol levels. Melissa told me that my levels will increase during pregnancy and not to worry too much about that. I'm not. Really. But.

Anyway, I hope that sometime very soon, my love of cooking in the kitchen will return and I'll have some lovely content to share with readers of this blog. My understanding is that after the first trimester my energy will abound. Can't wait for it to happen. But come 20 November, or thereabouts, I'll be thinking whole new thoughts about what I can and cannot eat, cause I plan to breastfeed. Sorry if that's TMI for a food blog. So that's a whole nother can o' worms.

strawberry surprise

It's strawberry time in East Tennessee. Bought these fresh off the Scott's truck, so to speak, yesterday afternoon. I spotted the Scott's building set up in Mize's parking lot earlier this week and ached to stop by and buy a gallon. This year's crop looks lovelier than last years. And the smell? Oh, it's heavenly.

So I have a special strawberry dessert in mind for these. Hope it comes out well. Will let y'all know. But, don't hate me, cause I have fresh, locally grown, strawberries! May go back and buy a greater amount to freezer or can or preserve in some manner.