Trying new things

 I decided to make stew Friday it was chilly and I had been craving it so I started it around 9:30 it had a little of everything in it.  I slow cooked it on the stove and the smell was wonderful.  I jumped on foodtv's website just to check some recipes and decided to make some horseradish sour cream to top it off (a good choice) and grabbed some fresh garlic chives from the garden.  My husband offered to go get some fresh Italian bread but I have been wanting to make my own and it seemed like the perfect time to try.  The problem was I spent so much time trying to find a recipe I started to run short on time so I went with a crusty French bread that could be made into rolls. They didn't look like the picture from the recipe but the tasted great. I also wanted to try to make my own butter.  I bought a pint of whipping cream last weekend so I pulled out my "magic bullet" and made the best butter I have ever tasted.  It was quick and easy, but everything I have read on it warns that if you don't get all of the buttermilk out the butter will go bad faster so it should be used within 5 days.  That was not a problem, because I made garlic bow-ties and chocolate banana bread Saturday.  I know I will be making butter often because it is definitely worth the time although I need to get cheesecloth so I can be sure to get all of the liquid out. I'm really glad I tried making my own bread and butter because now I know it's easy enough and so worth the extra time.   

I can't wait to Grocery Shop and do Laundry this weekend

Bet you never thought you'd hear anyone say such a thing but I really am excited to do both.  I said in my first post that I wanted to try to do a lot of things and I am well on my way. First, I have a list and I'm gonna hit 3 stores 1 I've never been to before (D'nofrio's) but they have really good prices on meat this week so I'm gonna try them.  And for once I'd like the weather to stay cool so I can do some cook ahead meals. I think this will make my day's much easier and I can spend more time with Blaze because we really need to get started on his art classes.  As for the laundry I made my own laundry detergent this week (thank you Pinterest) and it smells so good. I didn't even add any essential oil to it. A couple of weeks ago I started to clean with vinegar/water and peroxide/water mixes so I still need to get essential oils for those but they do clean very well. I have a jar of lemon rinds soaking in vinegar for the next batch and it smells a lot better.     

New Orleans

Have you ever been to New Orleans ?  I have been there four times and I love that city, everything about makes me feel alive.  But what made me think of it today is the Food.  I made a favorite dish for dinner two nights ago and I had left over crab cakes so I made it for Thomas and I for breakfast.  On out 3rd visit we decided to take a cemetery tour from the French Quarter we booked it the night before and with it came a complimentary breakfast at a small restaurant called the Sun Cafe.  So off we went and being an egg benedict lover I decided to try one called Egg's St. Phillip.  I've been hooked ever since I even made them once on a camping trip I just prepped the crab cakes and cheese sauce before we went.  Ive looked for the recipe and the restaurant on the internet but I cant find either of them.  All of the recipes call for bread or english muffins which I think just takes away from the flavor of the dish.  So here is my recipe and I hope that if the owner were to ever find it here he would be proud of the fact that I thought it so good that it needs to be shared.  I wanted to put a picture up but I forgot untill  they were half gone oh well maybe next time :)

                                       

                                        Crab Cakes 

2 Large cans of good quality crab drained well and make sure there are no shells 

3 pieces of kinda stale Italian bread chopped into fine crumbs (dont use dried ones if you like moist crab cakes) 

toss lightly to keep crab chunky 

in a separate bowl  mix (i think this is called a slurry)

2 large eggs 

3 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped 

4-5 finely chopped green onions 

2 teaspoons Old Bay

1/4 c Mayo 

1 teaspoon dry Mustard 

Mix well and fold into crab mixture again be careful  to keep the crab chunky.

Refrigerate for a couple hours to blend flavors and make the cakes easier to form.

To cook cover the bottom of your pan in oil and heat then form your cakes you should get 12. (I use an Ice cream scoop)  Lightly dredge in flour and fry about 4-5 mins each side untill golden brown.

               The Cheese Sauce

I use 2 dry packages for the Hollindaise Sauce but  I dont follow the directions on the package so here's my way .

1 stick of Butter melted in a small pot put in the dry mix and make a rue 

3 c milk added 1 at a time bring to a simmer betweeen each cup 

bring to a boil and add 1 cup shredded sharp chedder and 1/2 cup chopped Crawfish. 

I baste my eggs because I dont like runny whites but if you like poached you can make them if you perfer then put it together crab cake on the bottom,  Then I put a thin slice of tomato (I grow my own so we put them on everything) the egg and top with the cheese sauce.  I garnish with ground red pepper for taste and color.  Then we top it with hot sauce because we like it spicy but if you dont then just leave it off.

     So if you try these and think they are as good as I do come back and leave me a comment and if your Ever in New Orleans check the French Quarter for a Little place called The Sun Cafe I promise you'll be happy you did.  They also have a burger called  "The Heart Attack Burger"  My Hubby ate one and someday I might even try to make one of those if I do I'll share it with you. 

Busy Busy

     I had every intention of getting here more but so far that hasn't worked.  In the last week we had a Family reunion on my dad's side and it went really well.  There were a lot of people who didn't make it but that's o.k.  Sadly we are not a close family 21 cousins from 7 siblings and now we all have kids too I cant even begin to give a head count on our kids.  But the ones who came had a GREAT time and our kids played non stop even though it poured on us.    We all cooked and there was enough food to feed a small army everyone took home left-overs I don't think anyone cooked Monday.

I home-school my youngest son Blaze and we started school on Tuesday,  last year we started half way thru the year and so I had a lesson plan and him and I worked very hard to get everything done every day, but he missed being around other kids.  This year we have virtual classes so he gets to talk to other kids everyday and he has a teacher for each class (yay!!) He hasn't really had much work so far because they are learning to use the program but I'm really hopeful that it's going to be an easier year for both of us. 

When I learn how to post pictures here I'll start to put some of my favorite recipes up with pics.