Breakfast Becomes Dinner and Dinner Becomes Lunch - November 24, 2013

Last weekend we went to our property in Pendleton County to turn off the water for the winter to find that the pipes had already frozen.  We decided to stay the weekend, but our provisions were limited which led to a fun circle of using the leftovers from each meal to make the next.  On the drive, John had stopped and picked up a cheap loaf of wheat bread, a dozen eggs and a tube of breakfast sausage to make breakfast our first morning.  So, when we started planning for dinner, he remembered making his fancy sourdough sausage dressing a year ago for Thanksgiving and decided to riff.  He made dressing with nothing but sandwich bread, an egg, a sauteed onion and apple, some salt, pepper and Herbs de Province and a half tube of crumbled sausage.  This was stuffed into a whole chicken which moistened it more and cooked according to his roasted Italian chicken recipe below.  It was a winner.

Roasted Italian Chicken

3 lbs potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks (or get those tiny ones and leave whole)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup minced parsley (optional)
4-5 lbs chicken, in parts (or whole chicken)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Toss potatoes with half the oil and parsley plus salt and pepper.  Coat the chicken with the other half and sit on top of the potatoes in a baking pan with sides.  Cook a half hour and stir up potatoes before returning for another half hour until the outside of the chicken is crisp and the meat is cooked through.

After dinner, we still a great deal of chicken, so it was time for chicken salad sandwiches.  I asked my mother-in-law Mary Ellen how she makes hers and it's simple and delicious.

Mary Ellen's Chicken Salad 

1 c. Chopped Chicken pieces
2 T. mayonnaise
1 tsp. curry powder
halved grapes
chopped walnuts

Mix all together and eat.

You can of course riff on this.  I usually use Durkee's instead of mayonnaise.  You can also use different nuts or add celery and onion.

One Year Ago - Post Thanksgiving Stew and Turkey Jook

Cucumber Pickles - Canned and Refrigerated - November 14, 2014

I am not sure why it took me so long to get to this blog.  Most years, I grow cucumbers and get one before the vine is infested and dies.  This year was the exception and yet I neglected to talk at all to this point about our successful crop and what we had to do to use it all (in addition to sharing with neighbors).  Perhaps I was simply afraid to jinx our success.

We grew a small heirloom cucumber this year that was great for pickling (except for the few occasions where I missed one and it became too big for pickling).  The larger ones we made into refrigerator pickles.  My neighbor, Sue has this down to a science using mostly English cucumbers from the farmer's market.  she has learned that adding tea and other ingredients keeps the pickle crisp even when very salty.  My methods are more simple which is probably fine since I usually eat them the following day.

Refrigerator Pickles
1 large cucumber
Rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper
pinch of sugar

Slice cucumber in rounds and place in plastic container.  Cover with vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste along with sugar.  Let sit several hours to overnight and enjoy.

But, I especially like to make canned dill pickles with just a little pepper to give them more flavor without overpowering my sandwich or bloody mary.  Here is the basic canned recipe.  I make the full amount of brine and keep the extra in the fridge.  Then, I can pick the small cucumbers and can a jar each night until it is all used up.  If the brine is already prepared, i can just do this on the side while preparing dinner.

The Perfect Dill Pickle
2 c. white vinegar
2 c. water
2 T. salt
3 lb. small cucumbers
4 garlic cloves
4 tsp. peppercorns
4 heads dill or 4 tsp. dill seed
4 cayenne peppers

In medium saucepan, bring vinegar, water and salt to boil until salt is dissolved.  Fill 4 quart jars will cucumbers, garlic, peppers and spices.  Pour brine over each jar, seal and boil in water bath 10 minutes.

Everything is gone in our garden now, but I still have beautiful canned jars on the shelf ready to enjoy all winter.

One Year Ago -