Am…musings

Yes … I know it doesn’t sound good, but it’s one of my favorite holiday side dishes … ever. The recipe was handed down from my grandfather’s family and it’s staple at all of our holiday celebrations. In fact, it was probably my sole source of protein at most family events growing up … we have sauerbraten at Christmas (gag … straight to the dog under the table while my grandfather was still alive and would have been furious if I’d refused to put in on my plate) and I’m not a big ham fan, which is of course the go-to Easter meat.

What’s to love about bean salad? The tangy mayo-based dressing is pretty tasty. And the crunch of the celery, onions and green peppers is satisfying (I belong to a family of picky, anal individuals … and I’m not so much when it comes to veggie chopping … so mom had to come over Friday night to practically mince them as required.)

My grandfather was the most meticulous of bean salad chefs until he passed away in the early 90s. My aunt took the helm after that, but asked if we could spread the wealth this year. The first time I ever saw the recipe was yesterday so I might be breaking some family rule by sharing it here … but I figure most of you won’t try it anyway so what’s the harm?

Uncle Kenny’s Red Bean Salad

4 cans red beans
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 green peppers (slice three rings for garnish; finely chop the remainder)
1 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish, plus juice
2 boiled eggs (cut one into quarters or thin slices for garnish; finely chop the remainder — love my Pampered Chef Egg Slicer for this!!!)
Lemon juice
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise or lite Miracle Whip
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

• Drain and rinse beans and place in large mixing bowl.
• Add onion, celery, green pepper and chopped egg.
• Add pickle relish and a little relish juice (about 1/2 tsp.); a little lemon juice (about 1/2 tsp.) and the mayo or Miracle Whip.
• Mix together, adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Let sit several hours or overnight for flavors to develop.
• Just before serving, lay green pepper rings on top, place quartered or sliced egg in middle of rings and an olive in the center and sprinkle with paprika (here’s a little proof of the picky, anal thing, huh?!?).

So … do tell … what’s your weird family recipe or tradition?

Saturday was the family Easter BBQ. It’s the second year we’ve celebrated Easter a bit early. My dad takes one of his classic Buicks to a car show every Easter Sunday, and we’ve found we’re a lot happier at work on Monday when we haven’t rushed dinner and stayed up too late cleaning up the mess on a “school night.”

This year, I tackled four dishes:

• The cucumbers, which I blogged about last Easter;
• Deviled eggs (I’m IN LOVE with this Emeril recipe, which appeals to the “heat” lovers in the crowd and also works for the wimps);
• A nameless layered dessert with chocolate pudding and cool whip; and
• Bean salad … the acquired taste I referred to in the headline. It was the first time I ever tried making this family holiday staple and it only turned out mediocre, but still good.

We’ve called the dessert “Better Than Sex” cake, which was always embarrassing as a kid … and now that I’m old enough to know better, I think it’s false advertising . The recipe I have is titled “Yummy Dessert” … ok, I ask, “What dessert really isn’t yummy?” But whatever you call it, it’s delightful. See the recipe below and feel free to make up (and please share) your own name or let me know if this recipe looks familiar and you have some great name for it.

I’ll share the bean salad recipe tomorrow. If you don’t like beans, definitely feel free to skip it. But if you do, but the thought of bean salad doesn’t sound appealing, I urge you to give it a look tomorrow and then decide.

Crust:
1 stick butter, melted in a 9X13 pan at 400 degrees
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mix together in the pan and press to form crust on bottom of pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool.

First layer:
1 package cream cheese (I used reduced fat and it worked fine)
½ of a large Cool Whip (use the remainder for topping)
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix together (I used the big mixer; a regular mixer would also work). Spread carefully on bottom layer.

Second layer:
2 packages instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk

Mix with wire whisk and let sit until thick. Spread over first layer.

Third layer:
Top with remaining Cool Whip and sprinkle with nuts or chocolate sprinkles (I went with the festive colored sprinkles for Easter).

I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen lately, which is really unusual for me … so unusual, that I began pondering why.

Last spring I blogged about cooking for the first time when I was 9 years old and my dad poking fun of the not-so-tasty outcome. Ever since, I was reluctant to stray from a recipe and its exact measurements. As silly as it sounds, maybe sharing that on this blog was cathartic for me and that’s why I’m cooking without my net. Another theory … bringing the herbs inside this fall may have forced me to be a little creative to use them up.

Ultimately, I think those two things may be contributing factors, but that the main reason is one of the great loves of my life … Google . I search recipes for specific dishes, as well as recipes including ingredients I have on hand. And instead of being locked down by one recipe in a cookbook, I can glance at several recipes, using them for inspiration and guidance, but not as gospel.

Tonight’s concoction – homemade croutons.

We had Christmas dinner last weekend because my uncle, the Christmas chef, and his family are out of town tomorrow. Without plans or the need to cook the traditional meal (that I really don’t like – sauerbraten and potato pancakes – yuck!), my parents and I decided to splurge with steak and crab legs for tomorrow. I’m in charge of sides – loaded baked potatoes, sugar snap peas and salad. I had some nice leftover bread that I hated to pitch and decided homemade croutons on our salad would be a nice touch.

I Googled “crouton recipe stale bread” because that’s exactly what I had on hand, and then scanned several recipes, picking the directions and ingredients I thought sounded best.

The only problem with not following a recipe is that it’s sort of difficult to share. But here’s the general gist … and I imagine I’m pretty much the only freak that follows a recipe to a T anyway.

Homemade Croutons
Stale French baguette or other artisan bread
Olive oil (roughly 2/3 cup for 4 cups of bread cubes)
Spices to taste (I used garlic powder and fresh thyme)
Sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Slice the bottom crust and any really hard pieces off the loaf.

Cut loaf into cubes and place in large bowl.

Whisk olive oil and spices (not the salt and pepper) together in a smaller bowl.

Drizzle spiced oil over bread cubes and toss well.

Spread bread cubes on cookie sheet or 9X13 pan.

Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Check and stir the cubes every 10 minutes, but the baking time will depend on how large your cubes are and how saturated they are with oil. Mine took about 30 minutes (they won’t brown, but should be crisp on the outside and fairly chewy on the inside).

After a year of living fairly frugally, and without the requirement of buying holiday gifts for a boyfriend/husband or kids, I’ve been splurging a bit with a “one for you, two for me” approach to Christmas shopping.

I do have a small family and several of my friends decided spending time together for dinner or whatnot was better than spending money on presents so it hasn’t been a total free-for-all. But here are a few example:

• A bunch of clothes for me, while getting gift cards for the office adopt-a-family and stuff for my folks (that I won’t mention here in case they read this before Christmas morning).
• A really cool, slightly expensive necklace while buying ornaments for gifts at Third Degree Glass Factory.
• An awesome bottle opener, a foil cutter and two ornaments while shopping for my office Secret Santa recipient.

I also indulged in a mani-pedi tonight (something I don’t normally do in winter when I try to do my own to save some cash).

That said … would I trade all those things for love and a family? In a heartbeat. And does Christmas mean more to me than the presents? Without a doubt. But since I’m single and childless this Christmas season, I figure I might as well enjoy my freedom, rather than dwell on my singledom.

… unless they bought a big-ass ottoman and “baby” won’t fit in the middle of the tiny living room any more.

I put my Christmas tree (a.k.a. “baby” for the purposes of this post only) in its regular center-of-the-picture-window spot and had planned to put the ottoman somewhere else. But then I remembered that I live in a really small house and there really isn’t anywhere else available. The ottoman is also big-ass enough that it won’t safely make it down the steps, and I’d much rather put “baby” in the corner than scrape my windows every morning, which is what would happen if I replace my car with the ottoman in my miniscule garage.

So I dragged poor “baby” to the corner. It looks pretty good from the inside, and not too bad from the street. (Yes, I’m anal … I typically take an outside peek a few times in the tree-trimming process to make sure it’s centered and the garland and ornaments look ok.)

Now, if only my “Johnny” would magically appear for a kiss under the mistletoe and some dirty dancing. Instead, I’ll settle for one of my favorite holiday activities, turning off the lamps, lighting a few candles and admiring the gorgeous tree with a glass of wine or Bailey’s and decaf.

My bah humbug-iness hadn’t really subsided while I put up my beautiful holiday decorations in the bedroom about an hour ago. I think it’s just too early, but like I said yesterday, I know I’ll be happier in the long run for doing this today.

But then … I opened another box and found the cutest of all cute decorations.

When Clarice kisses Rudolph on the check his nose flashes and sound from the movie plays … “I’m cute! I’m cute! She said I’m cute!” It just makes my heart smile.

Thanks to my cousin in Dallas for having hers out at Thanksgiving last year, and for the kismet that lead me to find one a few days after Christmas at the Hallmark in the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal after several failed trips to other Hallmarks.

I’ve been bah humbugging the Christmas creep for the past few weeks. Two radio stations in the ‘Lou have … exasperatingly … been playing holiday music non-stop since the day after Halloween. The Salvation Army was already ringing the bell at my local grocery store last weekend. And I can even remember how long I’ve been spying Christmas stuff in department and big box stores … it certainly feels like it started in July, and I sigh every time I spot it.

So … I have to admit I’m a bit of a hypocrite. I just brought some Christmas things upstairs and plan to start decorating tomorrow.

Honestly, I haven’t gotten my fill of my pretty fall things, but I’m going to be out of town for the better part of the next two weekends. From past experience, if I don’t get a jump on holiday prep over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I tend to feel like I’ll never get all the shopping, card making, cookie baking, wrapping and decorating done by Christmas.

I adore the days between Thanksgiving and January 2 … spending time with friends and family, appreciating the true meaning of Christmas, celebrating a fresh new year. Getting things done this weekend will allow me to enjoy it, rather than fret about cramming everything in. But I will be considerate … saving the tree, which goes in the front window, and the outside decs until later so I don’t force my personal Christmas creep on others. And I definitely will not bust out the holiday music until post-Thanksgiving … unless I happen to run across my Elvis Christmas CD while unpacking. It’s been my favorite since I was a kid and I may not be able to resist … hypocrite or not!

Shorter days and cooler temps placed fall just a hair ahead of winter on my list of seasons I despised as a kid. My tune definitely changed after five years of living in Orlando and another in L.A. Orlando burnt me out with its non-stop greenness and “freakin’ Africa hot”-ness (in the words of my friend Keith). L.A. simply bored me when it came to climate … a monotony of the same temps and clear skies day after day after day (Oh, how I missed thunderstorms when I lived there!).

These days fall is a pretty close second to spring in terms of seasons I adore. And as I mentioned in my fall garden post, I love to decorate for it. My approach on Kit Drive is a mix of real and fake and store bought and homemade … or in the case of this year … homegrown. Also, at this point, my fall decs are mixed with my Halloween baubles. All in all, it makes me smile.

The gorgeous peach “pumpkin” (it’s actually a gourd) is real. I found it at Stuckmeyer’s on 141 for $2.49.

Decorating a chandelier is super easy and a really nice touch. I also do it for Valentine’s Day, spring/Easter and Christmas.

Some of these baby pumkins are from my garden. The great spider-web bowl is from Target.

I love this spider because its body is covered with soft, fuzzy, black feathers. I also have a bat like it.

I made this wreath after falling in love with a similar one that was $60 at the store. The white pumpkins and Indian corn are from Stuckmeyer’s. The orange pumpkins are from my garden.

Every fall I mourn the death of my fresh herbs when there are so many good cooking holidays in our immediate future. (This herb post is, of course, not be confused with Herb posts of the past .) I’ve always been too intimidated to try to grow them inside, but … perhaps buoyed by the success of my veggie garden … I’m going to give it a go this year.

I know humidity is an issue, and pretty much any plant I’ve ever tried to bring inside has dried to a crisp. Anyone have any tips for successfully bringing herbs or any plants inside?

I hope to nurse them through at least Thanksgiving and in the meantime, I’m enjoying the lush greenhouse look.

Those of you looking for a tipsy tale will have to wait for some other time. This is another Christmas cookie update. I added a totally addictive recipe with a great name into the mix, courtesy of my cousin in Dallas.

White Trash
8 cups Rice Chex
8 cups Cheerios (regular or Honey Nut)
8 cups Honeycomb
8 cups small pretzel twists
2 cups walnuts or pecans (optional)
Three 20 oz. packages white almond bark

Combine dry ingredients in a LARGE bowl or two.
Melt almond bark (in double boiler, microwave or combo of both if you don’t have a large enough container).
Pour melted bark over dry ingredients and stir until well coated.
Poor coated ingredients onto wax paper.
Let harden and then break into large chunks.

This is also the last installment of the 2008 Busy Girl’s Christmas Baking Guide. I did wimp out and made the last two batches normally instead of in bars. I figured I’d pushed my luck enough with the successful sugar cookie experiment. Last night was the debut of the “cookie shots” … crumbled sugar cookie scraps, Bailey’s, homemade whipped cream. The verdict: plain Bailey’s may have been better, but much less fun and festive … and isn’t that what the season is all about!