It was a lovely weekend, temps up to nearly 60 degrees and blue skies that did not stop. It was actually the moon that awakened me in the early hours of the morning. Our upstairs deck was so bright it looked almost like the sun was shining. Stars are out and it’s 40 degrees (it’s been in the 20’s lately at night) so it may be warm again tomorrow.
We spent the weekend looking for a car, again. Tech support for Jim’s parents, who upgraded to a Mac this weekend and while set-up has its glitches, once they get going their son’s tech support will be minimal. Margie had fits with both her old PC and internet service and has now changed both for the better.
With the balmy weather we cooked out both nights over the weekend. NY Strips from our door-to-door organic vendor on Saturday with sliced tomatoes (olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper), corn and baked potatoes. Last night I made baby back ribs mainly inside with a basic dry rub, then grilled with BBQ sauce for five minutes. That was served with salad and scalloped potatoes. Yum.
Now we have to turn our sights to pot roasts and winter meals. Also the first Thanksgiving I’ll ever cook alone (a lonely thought but one that may include plans for interesting soups and sandwiches afterwards). Years ago I read of Frank Sinatra’s recipe for chicken and sausage. I made it once but it called for 1 cup of olive oil for a dish that served four. Even 20 years ago I didn’t do that. New ideas are needed. As Jim can’t eat fish, any focus on chicken and pork is better than too much beef.
Tonight we’ve got the heat on. It’s finally warm down here at my desk with the vent at my feet. It’s time for slippers and a cardigan. I can’t turn on the fire because it’ll suck the heat out of the bedroom and Jim will freeze.
Trifle. I’ve made four in my lifetime. One many years ago, one last year for a surprise concert for Nanny, and two in the past week. Now I’ve another to make this week and am ready for the challenge. I made up a recipe the other day to bring to some of the guys at Jim’s work. Three layers. I found a cranberry-pecan bread from the delivery folks a couple of weeks ago and immediately froze it. Then I figured… cranberries. The only thing I didn’t do was brush the bread with liqueur (for this I would have used Grand Marnier) because many are Mormon.
So I layered a trifle bowl (under $15 at Bed, Bath and Beyone or even Sur La Table) with thinly-sliced bread, using whole slices then cutting to fit. I made cranberry sauce of 2# fresh cranberries, juice and zest from one orange and 3/4 cup sugar. I made whipped cream and added 1/4 c sugar to 3c cream plus orange zest and 1T fresh orange juice at the end. Add fresh berries to the top and some orange rind.
Layer the bread (as indicated), 1/3 of the cranberry mixture and 1/3 of the whipped cream, repeat two times and finish with berries and orange segments or zest or both. I used whatever berries I could find: raspberries; blackberries; and a few pomegranate seeds I had leftover from the last trifle. It still helps to brush the bread with a syrup of sorts, even orange juice for this one.
This week I’m going back to a version of Tyler Florence’s lemon-berry trifle (find it on http://www.foodnetwork.com) with store-bought pound cake and lemon curd. The blueberries are gone now, but I’ll make do. Hey, have a great week! Dee
Cooking with Dee 