The extra time and effort going into the preparation of making BBQ’d ribs makes the final effort extraordinary.
So, what wonderful things are you going to make this season??
barbecued spare ribs this season
a friend in need is a friend with cheesecake
Let’s just say that one of our friends, one of our very good friends, sent an invitation to dine at the Justin Winery just east of Paso Robles. The trip reminds me of how fun it must have been to visit Hearst castle in the 30’s navigating over old country roads… it took a while to get there, but the dining experience more than paid for Mr. Toad’s Wild ride! We enjoyed a marvelous five courses, each served with a specially selected wine ranging from the fruity and sweet early in the evening to a full on Cabernet over three hours later.
Karen really doesn’t drink, but she did sample each of the wines at the appropriate times and seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself! … and who wouldn’t?
I deeply appreciate our friends kindness and generosity… how can I ever properly thank him?
make some truly fab bread pudding
I’ve resisted for as long as I could… actually months! The problem is that real bread pudding is one of my all time favorite desserts! When I first started the evolution of my own recipe, I studied all of the recipes from hundred plus year old cookbooks, restaurants and internet chefs and home chefs. The problem is that in virtually every case… there were unacceptable short cuts.
From the use of butter, eggs, heavy cream, brandy, rum and rye whiskey to the various breads and cakes all topped with an exquisite sauce and various nuts… it is a wonderful holiday treat! Fortunately, I believe everyday is a holiday! 😉 If you really want to make something nice… it takes time, care, quality ingredients and a variety that makes it interesting. BREAD PUDDING
So I have my fruit ( dried blueberries, sultanas and 3 scraped vanilla beans) all soaking in their favorite alcoholic mixture… until I need them…. in a week or so.
One bite is way too much… and a million is not enough!
the world is safer when granny packs
Oh, I let those passionate debate about handguns, assault rifles and various tools of defense… but the world seems so much safer when ‘Granny Packs.’
crumpets with local jam
Don’t you love it when folks ask for more of what you just made? It is certainly satisfying to make something that everyone enjoys and our Crumpets are a family hit… I tweaked my recipe a bit to fine tune the air bubbles so popular in what we call ‘English Muffins’… but sometimes ‘rediscovering’ old secrets can be fun… even tasty!
At our local Farmer’s Market , I found a very nice vendor who produces a very superior Jam and Jellies called “Mama’s Preserves.” What drew my attention are two of my favorites… one was a blueberry and another a Plum Jam…. we don’t often find these out here and I couldn’t resist trying them out!
BTW. I prefer to find Jams and Jellies that don’t use HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP…. and , unfortunately, most of the labels of the large commercial companies, even many gourmet jams and jellies use it. Although it may be a coincidence that America got ‘fat’ at exactly the same time this stuff hit the market… I don’t like what I read about it… and what’s bad, they now want to change the name.