Yes, I know, it’s way past Halloween, but it’s not too late to make pumpkin cake. Just leave off the tarantula, okay?

My friend Cherrie, nearly every year, throws a pre-Halloween lunch for her friends. She is a consummate hostess. She sends out printed invitations (from her computer). She usually does some kind of theme (this year it was witches’ hats), and she always does a bang-up menu. This year she did a delicious and rich crab and pasta casserole, green salad, croissants. She had an appetizer that we all enjoyed on her spacious back deck. It was a beautiful and pleasant day. She set a gorgeous table (did I tell you she has boxes and boxes and boxes of house decorations for every single holiday of the year?).

There at right  below, you can see one of the table settings. She loves doing this – she gets such gratification from the fun time we all have at her house. She cooked for days. She, who has a broken foot and is still wearing a boot (similar to mine, other foot, different injury), yet she cooked a big meal and set this lovely table. We had champagne and other drinks ahead of time, wine with lunch if we wanted it. Then she served dessert. Her friend Karen made the cake, which was just lovely. It’s a light textured cake (my favorite kind), rich with pumpkin pie spices, and has a really nice creamy frosting. The gingersnaps are really only on the top of the cake (none IN the cake) but if you get a little bit of gingersnap crumbs with each bite, you can definitely taste them.

My advice: if you’re going to keep the cake several hours, don’t add the gingersnap crumbs until just before serving, so they’re still extra crunchy. I think Karen said it’s only about 4 gingersnaps – you probably could add a few more. You could also serve this with some ice cream (a bit of calorie overkill, though). The recipe came from Taste of Home.

What’s GOOD: Karen said the cake was cinchy easy to make. She decorated it with Halloween paraphernalia – not in the picture above is a big black “BOO” that was up above the tarantula, stuck into the cake with 2 long picks. I liked the tenderness of the cake – I’m not into dry, firmer cakes, that’s for sure, and this one hit all my favorite pumpkin/fall taste buttons.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever. A lovely cake, great to take to an event and if you’re so inclined, decorate it with fall or Halloween trinkets. But don’t forget the gingersnaps. They really added a lovely touch.

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I’ve had a request to post some pictures of the view from my house.

There’s the view at sunset. Catalina Island is the small set of mountains way out there. The gray stuff below that mountain range is the ocean. It’s about 10 miles away, and it’s 25 miles from the coast to Catalina.

Dave and I moved to this house in 2003. I think I’ve told the story before . . .  we lived in a house about a mile from this one, and we were trying  to figure out how to add a wine cellar. So, I suggested we go look at some newer homes, more high-end ones that would have a wine cellar – but purely to get ideas for how we might add a wine cellar to our existing home. We started at new sub-divisions nearer the ocean from where we lived (it’s about 10 miles as the crow flies). We looked at a few and yes, they had lovely, really big wine cellars, the kind you might entertain in. I mean, who does that when a wine cellar is supposed to be kept at 56° for heaven’s sake? Unless you have a warmer room that’s surrounded by refrigerated, glass-fronted cases. I shudder to think about the electric bill on that one. Anyway, none of the wine cellars were something do-able for our home in Dave’s opinion. We weren’t looking to buy a house; besides the homes were very pricey, out of our league, for sure. Maybe the basic house was attainable, but with all the add-ons they do these days in new-builds, well, it would have been way too much money.

We had talked about building an underground cellar in our backyard at the old house. I don’t think we were ever serious about doing that, but we did talk about it. Our backyard wasn’t all that big, but we might have been able to find a space that would have worked. But Dave also wanted to add a walk-in closet to our master bedroom. We did have 2 fairly good-sized regular closets, but we both were cramped without enough space for clothes. Dave tried to figure out if he could combine a wine cellar entrance inside the master bedroom closet.

That’s an old photo and the view isn’t all that great because it was a hazy day, but out there at the horizon is the ocean. It’s just that it’s so far away you can’t see the water. The only time the ocean is visible is when the sun reflects off of it. My house is about 750 feet above sea level.

Anyway, we started looking at homes (still with the idea of researching wine cellars) in our area and when we saw this house, it was love at first sight. It had a wine cellar.

It wasn’t all that pretty. The cellar was quite basic, though it was air conditioned properly. The photo above was after we remodeled the wine cellar. Anyway, when we saw the view from this house, well, I think we just said okay, guess if we’re ever going to live in a house with a view, now would be the time. Dave was about 64 then and I was 62. Now I’m 73 and Dave is in heaven. I think about Dave a lot when I go out on the patio to look at the view – I walk out there quite frequently. This time of year is beautiful – the sunset especially. And I do love the view.

The view from the kitchen. Most of that foliage has been chopped back so there is more “view” visible. You can see some of the view out the left window. Those palm trees are also gone.

When we remodeled the house and added on the big kitchen (in ‘06) Dave asked for a view from the kitchen sink (remember, he did ALL the dishes), and by golly, he got the best view possible!

There’s another view. Those are the same palm trees that have been removed and that’s a view looking more northwest in the winter when the sun sets more to the north. Bad haze that day.

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My friend Cherrie called me recently and said, “I fixed your salmon with tarragon sauce last night.” My mind went blank. Salmon with tarragon sauce?  “Are you sure it was my recipe,” I said? Yes, indeed, she even had my MasterCook print-out that said it was from Gourmet Magazine back in the 1990s. Hmmm. It took me awhile, but I found it in my recipe collection – a search revealed it was under “tarragon” not “salmon.” Obviously I haven’t fixed it in a loooooong time!

Cherrie was nice enough to give me some of it, as it makes a bunch – enough for 8 servings, and there are only two of them. I had it the other night on a nice piece of steamed salmon, along with Brussels sprouts I cooked in garlic, onion and a dash of maple syrup stirred in at the last minute, and some really ripe Plumato tomato slices. A lovely dinner, and a really tasty sauce. I think the sauce could go on chicken also, but it’s ideal for fish. (See, I am cooking a little bit, and my foot managed with me standing at the counter for about 15 minutes. That’s progress.)

In my notes, it says salmon is the best fish for it, and the recipe suggested placing a pool of the sauce on a plate and then adding the salmon on top. I chose not to do it that way – thought being on top would make it more photogenic. The original recipe called for mayo, but at the time I made this, back in the 90s, I was into using lower fat stuff – so you can use your own judgment – full fat or low fat, but don’t use nonfat mayo, okay? What is does require is a bunch of tarragon – 2 bunches. That’s a LOT. It also contains chives, shallot, parsley, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar and a bit of Dijon. That’s it. Easy to make. And since Cherrie gave this to me a week ago, it obviously keeps awhile. But eventually fresh herbs will begin to disintegrate and get oozy, so do use it within a few days if you can. I think Cherrie told me she didn’t quite have enough mayo, so she substituted a little bit of yogurt, which should be just fine.

What’s GOOD: it’s really easy to make – providing you’ve got tarragon. I don’t seem to have much luck raising tarragon in my kitchen garden. Don’t know why, so I usually have to buy it. You will need 3/4 of a cup of loosely measured tarragon leaves if you make this batch for 8 servings.

What’s NOT: nothing other than it tastes much better if allowed to sit for a few hours (chilled).

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I’ve been meaning to post pictures of the patio since it’s finally completed. As I stood out there the other day taking these, I just choked up, big time, that Dave didn’t get to see it. Although I suppose he probably has/does, if he/we can see down here on earth, once we get to heaven. I know he would have been pleased with it. We had agreed on what we were going to do, and the construction started the day Dave had his stroke. I could have stopped it easily enough, but I did want the patio re-done and know it will be an asset if/when I ever decide to sell the house. My home is still where I feel the most comfortable. It’s a safe haven. I love my home. I don’t much enjoy the headaches that go along with owning an old/big home, but so far it’s do-able.

Remember, I live on a hill, so that view is looking back into the side yard/patio, with the hill at the back. The garages are back around to the right with a big retaining wall that holds up the hill! The sitting area is down there on the right, nestled in next to the family room window and the north view is visible from there out to the left, on the far side of the fireplace. The gas log fireplace has a nice raised hearth. It’s all new furniture except for the table, which was newly powder-coated in a smooth stippled black and chocolate color. The cushions are not a Sunbrella fabric, but a new sun-resistant outdoor fabric. I find that they do get dirty very easily – am not sure I should have chosen such a light color, but they all have zippers so I can wash them if needed. All the cushions got wet in our rainstorm the other day – I had covered up everything with towels, thinking we’d just get a “shower,” as the weather experts predicted. No, it was a short deluge, so everything got wet. They’re all drying in a standing-up position at the moment.

There’s the real “view” although it was not a very clear day when I took these pictures. It was gearing up to rain, actually. The outdoor countertop you can see on the left – it continues on around the corner. The windows on the left are the kitchen. The bar-height table we already had, but it got newly powder coated also. Want a laugh? The umbrella you see there on the right is actually sitting – the marble base – in the jacuzzi. (Thanks to my cousin Gary who helped me get it in there this year.) Dave had figured out how to do it, with rope (“line” in sailing parlance) tied just so on the handle. We’d done this every year for several as it works like a charm – in the early summer months the sun beats in there and you can’t have a dinner meal without being blinded, so the umbrella gets put up and tilted so it makes it bearable! The big pool is out at the far left. My friend Bill (husband to JoAnn, and a couple in the evening bible study group that’s been going for 18 months or so) is going to help me get it out of there this week. He’s been SUCH a big help to me – he offered soon after Dave passed away – that if I needed anything done, he’d be happy to do it. And oh, gosh, has he ever! I am ever so blessed to have many, many friends.

There you can see the kitchen countertop a bit better. I have some drawer storage and 3 compartments underneath to store stuff. Note the ultra-cute outdoor chandelier. Found it online. IT was relatively inexpensive! But, it only cost me about $800 to have the electrician get a watertight plug mounted up there. Dave would have had a FIT about that expense, though he would have liked the finished product. Outdoor lighting (as in the chandelier) like that has little glass bowls that lock in place over the bulbs – to make it watertight. The BBQ is there in the background, with the gray cover on it. The door on the right is the dining room. A little hard to see. I also bought an outdoor table lamp that’s on a table in the seating area at the back. I haven’t taken the cellophane off of it because one of the glass bowls broke in transit and it just got plugged in out there. And now it’s time to take all that stuff into the garage – well, the cushions and the 2 outdoor fixtures anyway – until next spring.

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An age-old recipe of mine – the easiest French toast you’ll ever make, almost. You just have to have some of that King’s Hawaiian bread on hand, and a can of pineapple. Along with milk, eggs, butter and brown sugar. I sprinkled the top with cinnamon.

Years ago, 2007 to be exact, I wrote this up on my blog – during a time when I’d actually broken a bone in my foot and had to use crutches and/or a wheelchair. I wrote up some posts during that 12-week period but didn’t have pictures. I just wrote up the story and provided the recipe. I located some photo on the web that kinda-sorta looked like it. So, I’m giving you an updated post about it and oodles of pictures. I expect most readers don’t go back into the ancient writing here on this blog anyway. I never fixed this for Dave, my DH, because he was a diabetic, and this was just loaded with sugar. Is loaded with sugar. But oh-so-good.

Do grocery stores across America have King’s Hawaiian bread? I have no idea. It’s a very sweet, but super-tender eggy yeast bread, sweetened some with pineapple juice, so it is believed. There are any number of copycat recipes on the web if you’re interested – see this one if you want to try to make the bread from scratch. Otherwise, buy an eggy bread or Challah, and add more sugar to the recipe below. I used the mini sub rolls. Picture of the actual roll is at left. My grocery store only had hot dog buns and these.  Some markets have their sliders, or their regular loaf bread, or nice dinner rolls. King’s Hawaiian makes any number of different types of bread shapes. Glancing at the package I assumed (correctly) that one package of these sub rolls, placed cut side up would be just right for a 9×13 pan full of this french toast. And it fit perfectly, with just a tiny bit to spare.

The brown sugar, butter and pineapple gets heated up on the stovetop, just until the sugar melts. Then it goes into the Pyrex dish (no need to butter it). That’s the photo at right. Then you mix up the egg-milk mixture and dip the bread into that mixture and place them just so in the dish on top of all that pineapple. My recipe called for baking it immediately, and that’s what I’ve always done. But this time, I was taking it to a Sunday brunch, and would not have time to make it that morning, so I mixed it all up and left it in the refrigerator overnight. I still had some of the milk mixture left over, so once I got to our hostess’ house, that got poured in on top and after sitting out for about 45 minutes I baked it.

Ideally, when serving it, you’ll use a spatula and scrape up a lot of the pineapple and you can serve it upside down – or right side up. No matter, other than the plain top isn’t all that exciting. Hence I sprinkled the top with a tiny bit of cinnamon. Not in the recipe . . . but I did it anyway. If  you have a crew of hungry kids, this won’t serve but about 4-5 people, but as part of a brunch, with other foods, this will serve 6-8 for sure.

What’s GOOD: how easy it is to make. Overnight chill? Fine. No time to chill? Fine too. Feeds a crowd of people providing you have other food available (fruit, smoothies, bacon, sausage). Doesn’t even need anything on top of it – no syrup or sauce or anything. You could serve it with maple syrup, but I almost think that would be sugar overkill! Kids adore this, I guarantee it.

What’s NOT: only that nothing in this is good for you – maybe just the milk and canned pineapple. It’s sweet, lubricated with butter and egg. But gosh, it’s ever so good!

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So, I wasn’t home for Halloween. I drove to San Diego to spend a few days with daughter Sara and her family. Got stuck in a gosh-awful traffic jam that had the northbound freeway completely closed down for over 12 hours. I was already en route southbound when I heard about it on the radio and within about 5 minutes my side of the freeway was creeping along at about 5-10 mph for about 15 miles. Two lanes were closed on my side because the big-rig that jackknifed not only went over on its side, but it hit the center divider (thank goodness for that as it might have kept going across 4 more lanes!) and sent debris into 2 lanes of the southbound lanes. . . .  . photo at left is my friend Cherrie’s coffeepot – she doesn’t use it – it’s just for decoration.

The traffic jam, though not fun to go through, didn’t seriously affect my drive other than delaying it by about 45 minutes – I had dinner with my friend Linda. We went to a favorite restaurant, Blue Ribbon Pizzeria that I’ve written up here on my blog long time ago. It’s in Encinitas. Every time we go there we order the same thing – the Signature (white) Pizza (fresh ricotta, lemon zest, basil, oil) – and we ask for their home made fennel sausage on it as well. Then we order the BLT Salad with the buttermilk dressing. So good. My friend, Linda, recently had heart valve replacement surgery, and I was so glad to see her up and around and looking great. She can’t drive yet, so she was happy to get out of the house.

Later in the evening I drove to Poway to stay with Sara and family. On Friday (yesterday) we drove to Point Loma to show Sabrina (granddaughter) my alma mater (the campus itself). It’s now a college called Point Loma Nazarene University, but when I went there in the 1960s, it was California Western University. Anyway, the campus has grown a lot, but the basics are still there. The dorm I lived in is still there, so I pointed out to Sabrina where my room was the 3 years I was there (I graduated from college in 3 years, by taking 20-22 units per semester and going to summer school, double sessions). We drove past the buildings where I attended most of my classes. We drove down to the beach (well, within about 600 feet of the cliffs there) too. Sabrina and her mom walked the “mall,” the long path that wanders through the middle of the campus. It’s not a huge school.

We had lunch at Dave’s/my yacht club where Dave’s sailboat is still sitting, waiting for the right people to buy it. Sara and I just couldn’t walk out to the slips, the docks, to see the boat – too emotionally tough for both of us – from the clubhouse we couldn’t see it. Probably a good thing. I would have broken down in tears, I know.

Returning to Poway after lunch, Sara needed to make chili for a group of friends who were coming over for dinner that evening, and between us we made these sugar cookies. Sara told me she’s been making these for years and years and years. I must admit, I’m not much of a sugar cookie fan. To me, they’re just blah. Sugar, flour, baking powder, shortening and salt. Maybe some vanilla. Kids love them – maybe because they’re bland, but also because they’re a blank page upon which to decorate. I’m not even much of a fan of sprinkles, but gosh, nearly every kid I’ve known loves them.

BUT, these sugar cookies are a bit different than most – these contain egg and milk, so they produce a more tender cookie. Sara had mixed up the dough the night before, so she rolled out each section (4), cut them out using a pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter, and I (from a bar stool so I could rest my foot) decorated them with – you guessed it – sprinkles.

Do watch the baking time – as you’ll read in the recipe, if you roll the dough thinly, you’ll end up with thinner/crisper cookies. I prefer them that way, but if you want softer cookies, merely roll the dough thicker and bake them longer, but don’t over-bake them. You’ll need to use a bit of trial and error. When you take them out of the oven they’re still soft, but within a few minutes they’ll firm-up. They really should be cooled on a rack, but just be gentle with them as you use a spatula to get them off the cookie sheet. They take 8-10 minutes, or more depending on the thickness or the size cookie you cut.

What’s GOOD: well, they’re sugar cookies. If you’re a fan, you’ll love them. I liked them a lot, considering that sugar cookies aren’t something I ever make, or order, or even take from a plate of cookies if they’re offered. But these – they’re good. Tender yet crisp. You can color them for whatever season you’re in and cut any kind of shape.

What’s NOT: nary a thing. Easy to make. Easy to bake. Easy to decorate if you’re into that. Do start the night before if possible as the dough does need to chill.

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If you’re one of those people who likes to give just ONE, really nice Christmas gift to someone special, please do consider this. The ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer, Perfect for Barbecue, Home and Professional Cooking. Disregard the long name, that’s just how amazon markets, with just such long info-bulging product titles. . . . photo from King Arthur Flour. These little gadgets are pricey, I know – about $96 on amazon – but I’m telling you true – you will not regret it if you can afford to buy one. Presumably it will last you for decades. This tool is one of my favorite tools in my cooking arsenal.

Last weekend I was visiting my son’s home and he and his wife, Karen, were busy preparing a lovely dinner. I dutifully sat on a bar stool resting my foot. I’d made a green salad here at home and took along a jar of homemade salad dressing that’s been in my frig for about a month. Making the salad took little time standing on my ailing foot, and once there Karen mixed it up at the last minute.

They were making grilled pork chops, on the indoor (stovetop) grill. Did I mention that they bought a quarter of a Berkshire pig during the summer? From my/Dave’s friend Fay who still helps 4H clubs with raising farm animals near where we live. Powell & Karen are very enamored with the Berkshire meat now and have already requested another one, perhaps a half a pig next time (next summer this will have to be).

The pork chops weren’t very thick, which makes for a bit more tricky and risky cooking time. Powell scoured in a nearby drawer for the meat thermometer and extracted just the wire. No base unit. He went outside, thinking it was in a drawer out by the barbecue. No. Karen finally found it and they gently probed the meat to test the temp. We had a brief discussion about what the temp should be. Their thermometer was telling them it was a lower temp (not done), and as the minutes went by, and the chops got browner and browner, they decided to disregard the probe’s results and serve the pork. Good thing, as the chops were likely past the ideal temp. But they were delicious anyway. Likely the meat probe was faulty.

But it got me to thinking about one of my favorite kitchen tools, the Thermapen. I’ve mentioned it here many times, mostly when my DH was barbecuing and I’d give him instructions about grilling a roast, or chicken, or whatever. I gave it to him as a Christmas gift, I think. Or maybe not – I might have bought it for myself, knowing to ask him to get it for me wouldn’t happen – he’d never have gone to the trouble to look it up online (I have no idea where to buy it in a brick and mortar store). My recollection is that he looked at it and said “huh?” I told him to “trust me.” That was marriage code for the two of us – mostly it was code I said to him, not the other way around, that I knew from which I speak. And sure enough, that little doo-dad became one of his favorite things. I use it for meat, of course, but I also use it to test warmed-up leftovers in the toaster oven, or quick breads, or yeast bread. Even cakes too. The Thermapen is a treasured item in the pockets of many top line chefs. Sous chefs too.

Last year I gave one as a gift to my friend Cherrie, for Christmas. She likely wouldn’t have purchased one at the price they are – I have mentioned, haven’t I, that this tool is expensive? On amazon they’re $96. That’s a heck of a price for a thermometer, I know. There are so many other brands out there at 1/5 the price, or 1/3 the price. But they can’t work as well as the Thermapen. Some months ago Cherrie told me that her husband, Bud, has basically confiscated the Thermapen and it lives out by their barbecue. He kinda-sorta thinks it belong to him now, ever since he began using it last Spring. So Cherrie knows, when she needs it, she has to walk out near the ‘que to find it. They both love it and have thanked me numerous times for it.

So, I’m going to buy one for Powell & Karen for Christmas. Or maybe just for Powell since I’ll bet it’ll live out in their new outdoor kitchen drawers. (Yes, I know, I still need to take photos of my new outdoor kitchen – before I take it all down for the winter.)

So what’s unique about this thermometer? Well, for one, it’s one of those instant-read ones. It does take about 3-4 seconds for the temp to settle in and reach temp, but that’s about as instant as you can get, but it is very legible on the big screen. Another nice thing is that when you fold the probe against the base, it turns off automatically. Press in? Off. So much better than most of the others that require you to press a itty-bitty tiny button to shut it off. Or, what if you forget and leave it on. One of my older probes has a boxy base and it’s not easy replacing the batteries in it. Hated that one. It was cheap. No wonder.

The Thermapen can fit in a shirt pocket or a pants pocket – just don’t forget it there and send it through the washing machine – that’d likely finish it off. It’s big enough you’re not likely to forget it’s there. You can’t drop the unit in water – that’s a no-no, but when it is time to clean it, open the probe and just rinse and/or wipe off with a soapy sponge. Fold back the probe and into the drawer it goes. Mine is now about 4 years old, I think, and the battery is still going strong.

Update on me: my doctor says my foot is better. She pressed and probed with her thumb in my heel/foot and I didn’t jump off the table in pain, so now I’m doing daily exercises (several). She also gave me another cortisone shot, and that has helped also. You can have 3 in a year. My funky bright tennis shoe is all I wear on that foot. They’re Brooks brand. Brooks Women’s Glycerin 11 Running Shoes, Color: Aqrs/DrsdnBlu/Blk/Slv/ShckOrng. That’s a link on amazon for the shoe in case you’re interested. I was going to take a photo of my electric blue shoe, just to give you all a laugh, but I’m too lazy. My doctor glanced at the shoe sitting on the floor next to the exam table and said – wow, you have the very best athletic shoes out there – good for you. I go to a shoe store that specializes in comfortable shoes, called Comfort Shoe Loft, on El Toro Rd in Lake Forest, CA, in case anyone wants to know. The owner there is the one who sold me these shoes telling me that for plantar fasciitis, this was the best shoe out there. (And I have a very high, firm arch support in it as well.) It’s nice to have the doctor confirm that claim. Anyway, I still have months to go before my heel is well, but the doctor gave me some suggestions – space out my outings over the course of the day – don’t do a marathon of errands. That’s do-able. Do the exercises several times a day and finish with rolling my foot over a frozen water or juice bottle to help chill-out any inflammation caused by the exercises. Also do-able. Also to take an anti-inflammatory if I wake up and my foot is squawking at me more than usual – but take just one, just one day. Okay. Do-able. She also told me – when I asked – to NOT push through the pain. She said that could reverse all the healing I have done. She said in this case when my foot squawks, it IS telling me something – that I need to go home and rest. It’s been 3 1/2 months of this – I know well how to do that part. Not that I’m happy about it, however.

Oh, and I thought I should mention a disclaimer – when you click on an amazon link in my posts, it takes you to amazon through a different portal (called amazon associates), but if you should buy a Thermapen, I earn a few cents. Most months I never even reach their minimum threshold, so it’s been rare that I ever “make” anything from amazon sales. But it might keep my website up for awhile longer . . .obviously these links are a marketing tool well used by bloggers. I wouldn’t do this unless I recommended the product as I am with the Thermapen and my athletic shoes.

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If you’re not already a subscriber to Cook’s Illustrated, you should be. I know I’ve touted the magazine before, but I’m doing it again. Chris Kimball is the founder, editor and visionary of the group of food publishing and TV shows. He was 29 when he started Cook’s Magazine (which eventually morphed to Cook’s Illustrated, I think). Many years ago, after I’d already been a loyal subscriber for many years, I went to a cooking class that he gave at our local Sur la Table store. I suppose he was introducing a new cookbook, or something. I don’t remember. But he talked about his roots, and about his love affair with Southwestern Vermont. He must have a house or apartment near Boston (to go to during the work week), because that’s where the Cook’s Illustrated headquarters are located, but his down-home kind of life style just tickles my fancy. I wouldn’t want to work a farm, but maybe I’d like the serenity of waking up to the complete quiet of a farm, hearing the honey bees or the birds before I heard a car horn engine zooming up or down my hill. Something about that lifestyle appeals to me sometimes.

Anyway, the latest issue that popped into my mailbox contained so many handy hints, I felt that a few of them might be worthy of a post.

Cleaning up sticky bread dough or batter – you know how your sponge or scrubber gets grungy with that stuff, trying to clean it out with lots of water, etc. Really icky. Grab a piece of aluminum foil, loosely scrunch it up and rub it all over in the bowl, turning it over to pick up more. It will gather up most of that stuff. Toss the foil in the recycle bin.

A cleaner, better pastry edge in a tart – use your pounder (picture of mine at right). Use it up against the edges – gently, really gently, pressing down and against the side. You might need to keep it floured so it doesn’t stick (that would be my thought). They caution about being gentle with it so you don’t make the dough too thin.

Chopping nuts more cleanly – wow, this is a stunner. I chop walnuts every week or so because I sprinkle them on my morning yogurt. I always use a gigantic butcher knife and the nuts fling and fly all over. Use a serrated blade. Haven’t tried it yet. They say that the scalloped serrated blade edge grabs each nut and holds it better. Somebody makes one with an offset handle – that would be nice, but if you could see the contents of my knife drawer you would likely say no way does she need one more knife! With a regular serrated edged knife (like my long bread knife) I’d just have to be extra careful to hold the handle over the edge of my cutting board – otherwise you would have difficulty getting the knife to slice through the nuts without rapping your knuckle with every chop.

Sprinkling streusel – why didn’t I think of this one? You know how, when you’re trying to sprinkle streusel or topping on cupcakes or muffins and the streusel goes all over everywhere? Cut out the bottom of a 6-ounce yogurt container and hold that cylinder over the muffin batter and drop the streusel down through the tube. It will stay put with little or no spray!

Whipping Cream – To Go – what an ingenious idea! Put the cream and a bit of powdered sugar in a Mason or Ball jar. Cap it and keep it chilled. When you’re ready to serve, shake the cream for about 4 minutes and you’ll have perfect whipped cream. One little jar, little clean-up and you’re done. They do say, however, that it won’t be as fluffy as usual because it can’t incorporate as much air as if you’d done it in a bowl. But hey, that’s a minor issue, I think, if you’re at a picnic or someone else’s home.

Garlic powder – who knew? You need to “bloom” garlic powder before it can reach its effectiveness. Dissolve the garlic powder is just a tetch of water (like 1/2 tsp garlic powder to 1/2 tsp water). Let it sit briefly, then add it to a pan with a tablespoon of butter and cook it just a little. Then continue with your dish. The taste testers were quite amazed at the increased flavor (they tested it in mashed potatoes).

Dutch process cocoa vs. regular cocoa – the tests they did said the chemistry of both worked fine, but there were definitely flavor differences. Regular cocoa tended to create a drier crumb. The Dutch process had a more chocolaty flavor (more like dark chocolate) and it is much darker in color too. They didn’t say this, but I’m supposing it’s more like the difference between milk chocolate (the regular cocoa) and dark chocolate (the Dutch processed).

Reheating Leftover Turkey – this is a great strategy . . . assuming you have either whole legs or breasts left over, leave them that way (bone in) to re-heat them. Wrap the turkey in heavy duty foil and pre-heat the oven to 275° F. If you have a big breast piece, cut it in half crosswise before re-heating. Bake until the internal temp of the turkey reaches 130°F,  about 35-45 minutes. Remove from foil and brown the pieces in a lightly oiled pan (to crisp the skin). If you’re re-heating turkey breast slices, stack them up so they’re about the thickness of the whole breast. This slow-heating technique works just for that reason, it heats the meat slowly so it doesn’t lose too much moisture.

Insulated Food Carriers – I have some great insulating bowls with tight lids that I use to take salads or other such things when I need to cart them somewhere. But to carry a lasagna or a big casserole of some kind, no. They tested a variety of such big food carriers (including Pyrex’s). Their biggest concern was the drop in temp and they wanted it to stay hot, above 140°, for at least 2 hours. The only winner was Rachael Ray Expandable Lasagna Lugger, Purple. There are other colors available – they’re all about $27. I just ordered 4 for Christmas presents. The only down side, they said, was this one was a little harder to clean. The carrier expands up if needed from the photo there (kind of like expandable luggage).

I only provided you with a few of the tips in this issue. There were also numerous articles about cooking (like making a top sirloin roast, chocolate crinkle cookies, a French apple tart, salt and pepper shrimp, crispy pork belly and how to make a hot chocolate mix you’ll love). My DH loved top sirloin – he loved the beefy flavor in it better than in a New York, ribeye or a tenderloin for instance. But to me a top sirloin is too tough. Not my top pick for grilling. But this particular recipe is for making a juicy roast with it. I’ll have to invite someone over to try the technique. I need to get back into the kitchen in order to do that. One of these days maybe.

About Me: My 2nd cataract surgery was last week. It went fine and I can SEE so much better. Oh my goodness, I’m a happy camper. I’m out of the boot and trying to walk some. I don’t know whether my foot is better or not as it still hurts. It’s better in the mornings, but the more I walk on it the more it hurts that day. But then the next morning it’s improved some. Have an appointment with the doctor this week.

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So, picture a deliciously tender pumpkin cake with lots of those pumpkin pie spices in it. Then add some mini-chocolate chips, and then add a cream cheese frosting. Oh my.

The recipe comes from a blog that’s no longer being updated, Culinary in the Desert, but I saved this recipe in 2005, when it was posted, because in the fall I’m all over pumpkin anything. Our evenings are starting to cool down (although we’re told we’re having another heat wave here in SoCal later this week) and I almost wanted a sweater to wear this morning.

As I mentioned last week, the 2 young neighbor girls came over to cook with me, so I had them make this cake. They could hardly keep their hands out of the baked cake pan, they wanted some so badly. But it had to cool and the frosting needed to be made, spread and then “set,” before we could slice and serve. But oh gosh these are delicious. SO tender. There’s nothing unusual about the recipe – it uses oil, not butter. I always use Libby’s pumpkin because I think theirs is the best out there. I had mini chocolate chips, and there weren’t all that many in the cake. The frosting is a usual kind of cream cheese and butter with some minced walnuts added. I cut these in little bars, about 3 inches long by 1 inch. They’re still definitely a CAKE, not a cookie in case you are confused by the use of the word “bar.” The smaller size makes for easy eating with your hands rather than a knife and fork. I tasted one bar and kept 6-8 more. The rest of them went home with my neighbor girls, Juliette and Felicity.

What’s GOOD: because I love pumpkin, that definitely hits the mark. I loved the few mini choc chips in the cake too. And well, what’s there not to like about a cream cheese frosting? If you wanted to cut down the calories, make about 1/3 less frosting. I had plenty – maybe just a tad too much, but hey, I ate it and liked it just fine. You probably could make it with light cream cheese also.

What’s NOT: there wasn’t anything about these that I didn’t like. Nothing!

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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click on link to open recipe in MC)

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Oh my goodness are these ever good. I clipped the recipe out of a recent Food & Wine magazine, thinking well, maybe sometime I’d make them. They may have to become part of my annual Christmas cookie menu. We’ll see.

I have new neighbors. We share a driveway, and so the residents in these two homes need to – for sure – be neighborly. My house actually has an easement on their property so I have ingress and egress (isn’t that the legal language?). They moved in about 10 days ago but I’d actually met them several weeks before because their realtor, Celine, is a friend of mine, and she brought the whole family to my house to see the difference in my view vs. the view next door. We talked about the driveway – I can imagine some people would have concerns.

Anyway, they’ve moved in now and are settling in. They’re a much younger family with two daughters, 9 and 11. The Mom and I have been texting frequently as she’s had lots and lots of questions about numerous things regarding our adjoining properties. She’s not a cook. Well, let’s rephrase that – she cooks – but only because she needs to feed her family. And because I’ve been kind of stuck in my house the last 12 days healing my foot, she asked if I’d like some company – she would send her two girls over to do something with me – to entertain me. She suggested they could teach me French (Mom is French Canadian and the girls go to a French school). Or I could give them an art lesson. Or, perhaps I’d like to teach them how to make cookies. Imagine your surprise? – I chose the last option. The Mom bought stuff for us, and we made two things, these cookies you see and also a pumpkin chocolate chip cake with a cream cheese frosting, which I’ll post in a few days.

I sat here at my computer in the kitchen, which is right by my baking center area. And I became the instructor – mostly from a seated position. They did all the work including most of the cleaning up. The girls don’t know too much about cooking, although the older one, Felicity, makes numerous breakfast things for the whole family. She makes eggs in various ways and omelets and French toast. But baking? No. I needed to give them lessons in how to use (and be careful of) a stand mixer. How to measure dry and wet things. How to scoop and scrape flour measurements. How to use a plastic spatula, spreading batter, all about scooping cookie dough (and yes, they ate their fair share of dough) and how to bake and turn the sheet half way through. Felicity, the 11-year old, did that part and was duly fearful of the hot oven. I taught her how to do the pulling out and turning. Felicity learned how to chop nuts using a rocking motion with a big butcher knife and the flat of her other hand holding down the blade. She did well. Both girls did a great job and we had so much fun!

Most of the cookies went home with them, but I have about a dozen. So now, about the cookies. They’re an easy cookie to make – the batter/dough is a bit on the dry side, but they are light and crispy when baked. The Nutella – oh gosh – what a great addition to an oatmeal cookie.  (You know what it is, right? A mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts?) The only unusual thing (other than using a full 13-ounce jar of Nutella) is that the cookie uses shortening. I buy the non-hydrogenated stuff and have been on the same small container for about 3-4 years, I think. I almost never use the stuff. It does create a different texture in cookies – a more neutral flavor, I think, and it acts differently in a chemical way, I believe.

Felicity and Juliette used my cookie scoop, placing about 12 cookies on each sheet pan lined with parchment paper. The girls made larger cookies than I might have, but it probably “makes no never-mind” in the flavor. Really large ones would take more baking time, I’m sure. They spread a little bit, so do leave 2 inches of space between the cookies.

What’s GOOD: oh, the flavor of the Nutella. It’s wonderful. And certainly a whole lot easier (and more tasty) than using expensive hazelnuts themselves. Loved the combination of the Nutella and oatmeal. Crispy (which I prefer anyway) and a bit chewy. Warm, they almost have a chewy fudgy quality, but once they cool they’re definitely a cookie. A keeper of a recipe.

What’s NOT: maybe finding Nutella? I think my major grocery stores carry it. Trader Joe’s also makes their own version. I am not a connoisseur of Nutella so I don’t know if TJ’s is as good or not. Also the use of shortening might mean a trip to the grocery store. I was lucky, I had Josee, the girl’s Mom to fetch the grocery list of stuff for me! Hooray!

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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click on link to open recipe in MC)

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