ruthcooks

I've always used biscuits, or a sweetened biscuit dough baked in a round cake pan and split, but this week I've been enjoying a new treat: warmed vanilla bread pudding with strawberries and whipped cream. Yum. Made the pudding and sweetened the berries with Whey\Low.

Pepper jelly is wonderful with lamb, in place of any kind of mint sauce or jelly. I order it from The Pepper Patch here. Their Jezebel Sauce and Bread and Butter Pickles are also outstanding.

Tuna is a childhood thing...my mother took two cans of tuna in oil (back then that's the only way it came), squeezed in the juice of half a lemon, and slathered it with Miracle Whip. Any kind of tuna except grated--thank heavens they don't seem to make that catfood stuff anymore. We ate it on hamburger buns--don't know why, because we ate hamburgers on bread. Nowadays, I use the foil packages--much more taste than canned IMO--of tuna in whatever oil it comes in, lots of lemon juice and Hellmann's. Usually eaten on some kind of wheat or oat bread. No pickles. No tasteless, water-packed tuna. Oh, and my idea of a tuna melt? Use above mix, top with cheese and LOTS OF GRILLED ONIONS, between two slices of bread buttered on the outside, grilled. That's the way I first ate it and can't imagine it without the onions and grilling. Those of you who caramelize onions could sub them for grilled onions. It's all about the onions.

Once I got a fortune cookie with this legend: "You will have very good luck." Unfortunately, the paper had a background of Chinese characters in almost the same color ink--one errant character stuck out of the third and last "l" making it look like an "f".

I don't think that's the question, Tommy. Some scenarios: 1. Mom always bakes birthday person an angel food cake and it's a special tradition. 2. No one in the birthday party wanted to have everyone come back to the house just for cake. 3. The restaurant doesn't do cakes for birthdays. 4. The restaurant does cakes, but they stink. 5. The dinner host wants the cake decorated in a special way, and the restaurant cannot accommodate.

Eggs dew.

Baked Short Ribs Mount Vernon Serves 4 as Main Dish. I have no idea how this recipe came to me, back in the 60’s, nor if the story is true. It seems that George Washington employed a cook who was Pennsylvania Dutch. She was known far and wide for her creations, one of which is this recipe. Is it barbeque sauce? Sweet and sour? More delicate than either, it’s simply delicious. Serve with mashed potatoes, egg noodles or spaetzle. 4 lb beef short ribs Salt and pepper Seasoned flour 2 T each butter and oil, or as needed 2 medium onions, chopped 2 T brown sugar 1 T vinegar 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 c catsup 1/2 c beer or cider (or wine, I suppose) 1 c beef broth or stock Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and roll in flour. In a heavy skillet over medium high heat, brown ribs on all sides and remove to a large casserole. Leave 2 T. fat in skillet and add chopped onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add remaining ingredients: brown sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, catsup, beer and broth. Stir to combine and pour over ribs. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours, adding water as necessary to keep moist. Remove fat and serve. Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Beef, American ( RG1077 )

Baked Short Ribs Mount Vernon Serves 4 as Main Dish. I have no idea how this recipe came to me, back in the 60’s, nor if the story is true. It seems that George Washington employed a cook who was Pennsylvania Dutch. She was known far and wide for her creations, one of which is this recipe. Is it barbeque sauce? Sweet and sour? More delicate than either, it’s simply delicious. Serve with mashed potatoes, egg noodles or spaetzle. 4 lb beef short ribs Salt and pepper Seasoned flour 2 T each butter and oil, or as needed 2 medium onions, chopped 2 T brown sugar 1 T vinegar 1/2 tsp dry mustard 1/2 c catsup 1/2 c beer or cider (or wine, I suppose) 1 c beef broth or stock Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and roll in flour. In a heavy skillet over medium high heat, brown ribs on all sides and remove to a large casserole. Leave 2 T. fat in skillet and add chopped onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add remaining ingredients: brown sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, catsup, beer and broth. Stir to combine and pour over ribs. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours, adding water as necessary to keep moist. Remove fat and serve. Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Beef, American ( RG1077 )

Popovers with jam and cream has always sounded good. Or, popovers with BACON. We never make popovers, but always a double batch of YP with our pot roast. I know it's traditional with a standing rib, but gotta have our gravy.

About the only way I can tolerate the flavor of cinnamon is in a few sweets--cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, snickerdoodles--none of which does much for the diabetic diet. I'd gladly pay for the capsule form so I don't have to taste it. $6 for 30 capsules is nothing compared to the price of other herbals, much less prescription drugs. Avandia alone is about $150 for a 30 day supply. The bigger problem for me is taking all those pills. Calcium, glucosomate, chromium, grape seed oil, plus eight prescriptions already add up to about 30 pills a day (in addition to 3 shots of insulin). When you have diabetes, it is not unusual to be treated for cholesterol and high blood pressure and thyroid problems, not to mention an allergy pill for itching and Prozac cause you're depressed over the whole thing! You are also more susceptible to wonderful conditions like gout and shingles, as well as the threat of losing eyes and limbs. I don't know if arthritis usually accompanies diabetes, but I have that, too. Not a picnic.

The USPCA charges thousands to "qualify" their chefs, which means exactly nothing except you have spent a lot of money. APCA chefs may be certified by the ACF if they wish to do so. Here's all the info. Recipes are the least of it. PCN is a split off from APCA. The APCA has seminars throughout the country to introduce new personal chefs to the routine, but you may order the materials and simply read them. The APCA maintains an open forum for members to ask questions, which most members find very helpful. There is even a forum open to non-members at http://personalchefforum.com/eve/ubb.x?a=f...513&f=963604525 Instead of overnight marinating, the APCA recommends placing meat in marinade in a zip lock and pressing out all the air, then cooking this dish last. Typical time frames for cooking sessions range from four to seven hours. Questions like this are answered daily on the forum. Specific questions are more likely to inspire response, as opposed to general questions like "What do I need to know?"

Too many spices, not enough capital letters.

Perhaps you could take a note from Chanel and number your desserts. For example, your different chocolate and peanut butter desserts could be called: Fantasy No. 1 (or 2 or 3) in Chocolate and Peanut Butter. Same thing with "Study" only I like the use of that word with a single ingredient, presented in three different forms. Write your combinations down in a daily notebook so you don't forget what you did. It would be a good place to make notes, also, as in how many you sold or what coments were received or your impressions of the best combinations. There may be customers who like the idea of never having the same dessert twice, but if I fell in love with one I would certainly be disappointed if it were never available again.

My first trimester of my first pregnancy I lived on small amounts of 7-Up, soda crackers and Life Savers because I couldn't keep anything down. (And to this day, I don't touch any of the three.) I suffered from dehydration. My body hurt so much I couldn't stand to wear a nightgown or even have a sheet touch me. I just lay in bed and prayed to die. A Big Mac and a coke would have been much healthier than that. It's only snobby if you look down on the other people because of your superior knowledge--but it's righteous if you tell them about it, and that's much worse.

Nope, no N.E. or N.Y. in my background. Here's my trek: ILLINOIS (27 years) Joy Champaign-Urbana Chicago Jacksonville Taylorville Champaign-Urbana IOWA (2 years) (long enough) Cedar Rapids KENTUCKY (5-6 years) Louisville NORTH CAROLINA (4 years) Asheville TENNESSEE ( 23 years) Nashville-Franklin-Brentwood back and forth for 23 years PENNSYLVANIA (3 years) Schwenksville (middle of nowhere between Philly and Pottstown) Total of 30 different residences. Good and bad--food and otherwise--about almost everywhere I've lived. What's with all the "villes", including the one in my last name? Oh, yeah, and my ex was from Braceville, near Dwight. I'll bet the Country Kitchen has gone through umpteen changes of hand and menus since I lived there in the early sixties.

In the "small world" category, I used to live in Taylorville, IL in the early sixties where my ex and I worked at the local radio station WTIM. This was way, way before WalMart, and there was an excellent grocery store and butcher. Also an excellent restaurant which we patronized once or twice a month or as often as we had saved enough pennies. I think it was called "Country Kitchen." The owner cooked everything herself, and I always ordered her fried chicken (battered and deep fried version) and special baked potato. The latter was baked in individual ceramic dishes in potato shapes. The texture of the potatoes was very smooth, almost runny, and it tasted of garlic, maybe a little cheese, very elusive. From the smooth texture you would imagine that some sort of mixer might have been used, but the consistency wasn't gluey. I never did figure out how she made them. With the meals came homemade rolls that looked as though they had been formed from ropes of dough wrapped into ball shapes, willy-nilly, baked in muffin tins and dipped in honey butter after baking. Those I duplicated many times. (After Taylorville, we both went back to school in Champaign. Before Champaign we lived in Chicago--and over 23 years in Nashville later on. Ole stompin' grounds and memories here.) Enjoying your blog--and your humor!

Somebody needs to merge this with an older thread which asked, "What don't you get?" or something like that, I can't find it. Don't hurt me, but my newest "so what" is the Roasted Cauliflower that everyone else seems to love. To be sure I used too much oil and it was greasy, but I just didn't like it well enough to try again with more restraint. I'll take my Cauliflower au Gratin any day. Other roasted vegetables I do like, especially asparagus and sweet potatoes.

Zakooskas are Russian appetizers, usually served as an assortment on a "zakooska table" similar to Greek mezes or Spanish tapas. The items included may be caviar, fish, meats, pickled vegetables, salads, and even hot dishes and small pastries. Salad Olivier was created by )and named for) the French chef of Tsar Nicholas II. It is the most renowned of the zakooska salads. The recipe comes from "The Best of Russian Cooking" by Alexandra Kropotkin. This 1947 cookbook has gone through several re-writes and is presently available new for under $11 from Amazon. I recommend it highly as there are some exceptional recipes. I'll be happy to send a copy of the recipe to anyone who requests it. Just e-mail me at ruth@ruthcooks.com and let me know if you want the attachment (nicer format) or would prefer the recipe in the body of the e-mail. I find I don't always get notice of my PM's. Monica, yours is on its way by e-mail.

If it's RAW eggs he's trying to avoid, I have a recipe for Russian Mayonnaise which is hard cooked egg yolks and sour cream, with seasonings and a little olive oil. It's wonderful on the Russian Zakoosa salad, Salad Olivier, which is a potato salad with chicken.

The end of the quote is: "with total abandon or not at all."

Three more for me. Just ordered Lisa's "Lobscouse" book and Cindy Mushet's dessert book, plus found a new book about cookies languishing in it's pristine mailing wrapper under a bunch of "stuff" piled up on the day my carpets were cleaned.

My ex's family legend was about his spinster Great Aunt Jen who lived to be 96 or so and still kept her cookstove in the kitchen alongside the new electric stove. She once cooked Thanksgiving dinner and someone found an open safety pin in the cranberry sauce. No logical explanation was ever devised. I try to be tolerant, and when I find a hair just assume it's my own unless its red, blonde, curly or a foot long.

The one time I built a house, I had two single wall ovens built in side-by-side, with drawers beneath for pots and pans. Avoided that "oven in the sky" problem. Had 36 linear feet of counter space, plus another 12 of breakfast bar. Yes, Virginia, it is possible to have a too-big-kitchen. I've lived in over 25 houses over the years and find a U-shaped is most convenient, but I love islands too.

If you don't bake cake, how about muffins? I took a favorite recipe for Chocolate Chunk Sour Cream Muffins, omitted the cinnamon, substituted white chocolate and added dried cherries, orange zest and almond extract. Divine. Second the motion on wanting the recipe for the orange-mint pasta.

Whey-Low makes a special sugar just for ice cream making, because the regular doesn't taste sweet enough. I've not tried it but am very happy with the white and brown sugar Whey-Lows. How about a fruit fool? Any kind of pureed sugared berries folded into whipped cream. Shortbread cookies you can bake or buy. My standby emergency dessert is Blueberry Dumplings. It's actually a slump or grunt or some other not-tasteful name, done in a skillet on top of the stove. Fresh peaches with brown sugar is the best version, but frozen blueberries are the fastest. Cream--heavy, whipped, fraiche--or ice cream needed. Whey-Low is here