Marlene

The roof is on the church and the tower is contstructed and setting. I have icing in my hair, on my nose and on the floor. But the thing is still standing so far. . . . .

The hell with authenticity if it tastes god. I do think you should make both varieties, take a scientific poll among the pie-eaters (a blind A/B test would be even better). The recipe I use calls for half light Karo syrup and half dark Karo along with a sinful amount of granulated white sugar. I use dark brown sugar instead of white and substitute maple syrup for about 1/4 of the Karo syrup. Its' less sweet and has a more complex flavor than regular pecan pie but doesn't set up quite as well. I'm still working on that aspect fo it but I am inclined to try the Steen's Cane Syrup this year. I recently tried the fried dill pickles for the first time (at the Penguin Diner in Charlotte NC). They're way better than they might sound to some folks and the Ranch dressing for dipping is a must. Just curious... is there a traditional food to serve for Boxing Day dinner or is it just a hodge-podge of what's left from Christmas dinner (in whcih case what is traditional for Christmas dinner?). ← I will of course, now require recipes for pecan pie. Boxing day, which is the biggest shopping day of the year here in Canada, is usually leftovers. No one can even think of cooking normally the day after Christmas. Traditional dinner for Christmas? Mine is Prime Rib. Some do turkey and some ham, but more and more people are doing Prime Rib because they have Turkey for Thanksgiving.

Curses. Ok, ok. I'll do the pie. How hard can pie crust be? The walls are up on the church. 10 minutes to roof construction.

I did one of these a few weeks ago for the first time. Dave dreamed up a soy ancho sauce that just completely blew me away with the taste. glazed Crown Roast of Pork

That's what I'm afraid of. Not that I've ever seen grits up here. So I should be safe.

Progress report on the church. The pieces are all iced with Royal Icing and are now drying. I already had to "glue" one piece back together again. Next will come the assembly part which is where we usually fall apart. I'll take pictures along the way, and I'll even take one of the picture on the box, so you can see what it's really supposed to look like. I have no doubt that ours will not look anything like the picture on the box. Why do I let Ryan talk me into this every year?

I'm told that soya oil is great for deep frying and that is what I used to make my b blooming onion in my very first deep fried experiment last week. Depending on what you're frying the oil can be used several times. Certainly proteins such as meats will break the oil down faster, but for vegetables etc, you should be able to get many uses from the same oil if it is strained etc. At least that's what I read. Lol. When you think of it that way Ms M. you're absolutely right.

Ryan just wandered into the kitchen to find yet another snack. I think this one might be considered lunch. I'm letting him have more free range of the fridge these days, although I do periodically check to ensure he isn't eating all junk food. Next up, the cursed gingerbread house.

That good advice on the cornbread, thanks! The stuffing will be pan made, not inside the turkey as well. No, I have no intention of making okra, nor will there be grits. There are limits to my willingness to try new things. Now, where is Brooks' thread on how he made that Turkey?

Oooh. This sounds good. I mean, if I have the deep fryer out and all anyway. . . . another experiment. Details please.

You worry too much...those pancakes would have sold the house! ← Sure, if I could just have had them sitting out decoratively on a platter! I did make a fresh pot of coffee. Nothing like the smell of freshly ground brewing java. But you have to understand, I'm the world's messiest cook. So a little clutter maybe, but the kitchen kinda looked like a tornado had passed through.

Not everything I do this week will be Southern, but there'll be enough of it to warms Brooks' heart. In no particular order, things I plan include homemade pizza,experiment), tonkatsu and fried rice (I'm not married to this one, so I'm open to suggestions) There will be gumbo, but not on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is for mulled wine and nibbles. Christmas Day dinner will be Turkey a la Brooks method with Squash Casserole, cornbread stuffing and apparently Pecan pie. (nore experimenting) Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) is our big family Christmas. Prime Rib, (yes, Dave's molten mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, chocolate turtle cheesecake and assorted appetizers will be the order of the day Monday is gumbo day. yet another experiment. And of course french toast, croissants and other assorted breakfast items. And what would a Canadian blog be without doing up some Peameal bacon?

Oh Lord, two pie crusts. I hope I can make this damn pie ahead of time. If I want to serve it on Sat, I guess I could make it on Friday. I did download the pictures myself! All these new things I'm learning this week. BTW, I forgot to mention that our house is up for sale. It's been very quiet, and I figured we wouldn't have any showings till after Christmas as we haven't had any for two weeks. So naturally, the morning my kitchen is a complete disaster from pancake making et al, doesn't the real estate agent call to say there'll be a showing in half an hour. I'm now catching my breath after 25 minutes of frantic cleaning.

Decidedly un-Southern. Authenticity demands Steen's 100% Pure Cane Syrup. Brooks will back me up on this. . ← That may be, but I don't think we get that brand up here.

Owen, that thread is going to prove extremely useful to me, thanks! And having never made pecan pie before, I'll use whatever y'all tell me to use!

Good Caesar salad, or good Caesar cocktail? ← Well both actually. Like butter tarts, Bloody Caesars seem to be distinctly Canadian.

And so, breakfast is served. The pancakes in their cute little molds Voila! Maple Leaf Pancakes and Sausage And because there is nothing more important in my house in the morning than coffee, The Cusinart Grind and Brew coffee machine. I adore this machine. I get freshly ground coffee, and the thermal carafe keeps it hot for several hours. I tend to make several pots of coffee throughout the day. Particularly if I'm working at my desk or on conference calls, a cup of coffee is standard office equipment for me. In some ways this week will be more relaxed. Ryan's out of school, there's no pressure of homework and deadlines. On the other hand, I need to keep him amused, get the rest of my Christmas shopping done, and get ready for my family Christmas dinner. I've a few errands to run this morning, and then we shall attempt the gingerbread church. Wish us luck. We're gonna need it!

I have not. But I'm willing to try just about anything this week! And I need nibbles for my family Christmas dinner.

I'm planning on mashed and gravy. And heck, I'm not opposed to trying the chicken both ways. Deep fried and cast iron! I can do a side by side comparision!

Morning all! While the lad sleeps and I fortify myself with coffee, let me catch you up on a few things. First the lad, otherwise known as the eating machine. The last time I did this, I was still doing all of the cooking and meal prep in the house. Somewhere over the summer, Ryan grew up. Literally. He's now an inch taller than I am and on school days he makes his own breakfast and packs his own lunch. (I don't even want to know what's in there). When school first started, I wandered around in the morning not knowing what do with all the free time I suddenly had! Of course he is now on Christmas break and so, I will revert to making breakfasts for him. He just turned 12 a few weeks ago and we gave him a digital camera for his birthday, and he's enthusiastic about taking some of the pictures for this week's activities as well as helping with some of the prep. Speaking of pictures, I took a lesson from Don last night on how to upload pictures from the camera to the PC. If I can make sense of my notes, I should be able to post pics as I go this week, instead of having to wait for him to come home and do it for me! And so on with the blog. In order to solicit all your advice, I'll let you know a day in advance when I'm going to be doing something "new". That way, if I need ingredients I can get them the day before and study tips and techniques before actually attempting the damn thing. I'll start off today doing stuff I know how to do. Breakfast, whenever the lad shakes himself out of bed will consist of maple leaf pancakes and sausages. Maple leaf pancakes are simply pancakes made in Maple Leaf molds. Somewhere on this site is a thread about William Sonoma starting to ship to Canada. FOr me, this was like suddenly being let loose in a candy store! As an added bonus, everytime they shipped an order to Canada, they included a set of Maple Leaf pancake molds. And they never shipped an order complete. I'd end up with three or 4 boxes and in each, a set of pancake molds! The damn things breed. I swear. I kept putting these things away in a cupboard, and when I last looked, I had 14 boxes of pancake molds. That's 42 molds folks. I've wrapped a bunch up as gifts, I've given them away to friends. And I still have 3 boxes of the damn things. So I'm gonna use them this morning. Ryan and I will attempt (as we do every year) to make a Gingerbread house, or in this case a gingerbread church). We have never ever been sucessful at making these things look any good, but it's a tradition now. Dinner will be homemade mac and cheese. I don't eat lunch, but I'll be sure to let you know what the lad scarfs down throughout the day Tomorrow will be experiement #1. What could be more Southern than Fried Chicken? I now have a deep fryer. I'm not even afraid of it (much) anymore, and if there's one thing I know you guys have, it's tips and techqniues for frying chicken. So y'all can think on that one a spell, while I go get more coffee and feed the lad who seems to have decided to roll on out of bed. And he's hungry - of course.

I have those croissants from Costco and I agree. I'm not thrilled with them. I like their old ones better. I've just picked up some of this puff pastry and I'll try it this week. Now if I could just find the PC bittersweet dark chocolate the Toronto Star was raving about last week. . . . .

Flour in the freezer? And what's "bench" flour? Don't worry Brooks, any crunchy things are well frozen here after today.

I'd probably make it by hand. I can't remember the last time I actually used my food processer!

Clueless questions will abound, trust me. In the meantime, just spread your coat over that puddle for me would you? Pie crust?

I"m not sure how I can avoid it Pan. So it's possible. If someone teaches me to make pie crust.