Random Recipe Monday - Snowball Potatoes

Apparently, I laughed a little too soon about the snow. We had another two hours of snow in the afternoon, which didn't add up to much but which did add plenty of ice. The road is still iced up today and Mama doesn't drive in the snow/ice, so I'm homebound. No Donner Party moments ahead though; I have some stuff in the freezer. I think a nice meatloaf might be in order (much to NR's sadness, I'm afraid). But perhaps I can tempt him with some snowball potatoes.

I haven't made these before but they do remind me of the klub that I still need to make for Dad - although with cheese inside the potato instead of ham (and they are baked, not boiled - alright they are nothing like klub). Of course, NR doesn't love mashed potatoes or cheese so on second thought, he might not be a fan. Then again, he is a sucker for advertising. The chance to eat snowballs for dinner just might be too much to pass up.

Potato Snowballs (by Ingrid Hoffman)

Ingredients

* 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 2 ounces Oaxaca or any other soft white cheese, cubed
* 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
* Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Put potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until potatoes are just covered. Add the 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are very soft, about 40 minutes.

Press potatoes through a potato ricer or pulse in a bowl with an immersion hand blender until they are mashed. Let sit for a few minutes until just cool enough to handle.

Cut the white cheese in 1/2-inch cubes.

Prepare a baking sheet with foil wrap and coat with vegetable spray or rub with oil.

Put bread crumbs in a small bowl.

While mashed potatoes are still warm, form into 2-inch balls and insert 1 cheese cube in center, then roll into bread crumbs and place on cookie sheet. Wash hands and dry after every third ball so the potatoes will form evenly and not stick to the bread crumbs in your hand. Quantity should make about 10 balls.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, serve immediately.

Recipe found at foodnetwork.

Eggnog - not just for getting drunk anymore

Have you tried eggnog? Of course you have. Everyone has, right? What about real, bonafide, full of liquor eggnog? It is potent stuff. I assume all the liquor is there to kill any germs from the raw eggs but still, a little dab will do ya. Personally, I'm more of a virgin eggnog drinker myself, though a tiny dash of rum is a nice addition. The grocery store variety is ok with me - no worries about uncooked eggs there - even if it does have a zillion calories per glass. It's still such a holiday drink that I can't help buying at least one quart.

Which, unless you drink it all, leaves part of quart hanging out in your fridge after New Years. So what to do with the stuff? I wondered that myself and here are some interesting alternatives to guzzling down the nog:

How about an eggnog cupcake with bourbon caramel cream cheese frosting? Or perhaps a stack of eggnog pancakes on Christmas morning or New Year's Day?

Had enough sweets? Ok, what about chicken with eggnog cream sauce or eggnog sweet potato gratin (same link). Perhaps a slice of eggnog bread would be good with the chicken.

But, in the end, if you just want to just drink your nog, and you are feeling extra friendly toward those kind folks at the liquor store, here's Martha Stewart's very own recipe. (Be sure to read the disclaimer at the top of the recipe; it does call for raw eggs.) You'll need plenty of bourbon, rum and cognac on hand.

Cheers, everybody!

Klub? Yep, klub.

On Thanksgiving night, my father reminisced fondly of a dish his Norwegian uncle used to make - klub (sounds like cloooob). He remembered Uncle Oscar and Aunt Alma inviting the family over for a big batch, probably around the holidays. As with all Norwegian food, I was scared to ask what it was, but the two helpings of stuffing and gravy gave me fortitude. Klub, my father informed me, is a boiled potato ball/dumpling that has a bit of ham in the center. Nordic humbau, if you will. The potato isn't mashed or shredded, it is riced into tiny bits, to which a bit of Crisco or some other greasing agent is added. This mixture is wrapped around the ham bit and boiled slowly in a pot of water. Or that's the gist of it any way.

I told my dad that I would make some klub for him. Maybe it was my current Scandinavian Christmas fixation that pushed me over the edge or the Princess cake in Martha Stewart's December issue, but whatever it was, I agreed to give klub a whirl. Now, I must admit that this dish doesn't sound good to me. It has several strikes against it in my book, but I'm game to give it a whirl, provided I can find a recipe.

Now, you'd think finding such a recipe would be easy in this age of the WWW but those that I have found, I haven't liked the sound of. Some call for beef suet (no way) or pork hocks or salt pork (no thanks). I checked out a Scandinavian cookbook from the library, filled with just about every recipe known to Viking...except klub. Finally, I did find a recipe for Potet Klub that might fit the bill. It comes from the "Midwest's Number 1 Roadside Cafe" so how can you argue with that? I'll probably try it over the weekend and I'll let you know how it goes.

If anyone has tried this (Auntie R I know you have), please feel free to share your thoughts on what makes good klub. I hope salt figures into your equation.

CCR and Chicken Fried Steak

It is a rainy gray day here. Not the kind of oh-look-it-is-raining-let's-get-out-the-galoshes kind of day, but the man-is-it-pouring-where-is-my-teakettle kind of day. Days like this inspire the comfort food craving in me, but for some reason I'm also channeling a bit of southern drawl too today. I've had Creedence Clearwater Revival on the brain and a hankering (how's that for southern) for chicken fried steak, with gravy, thank you.

While looking for economical meals that aren't all casseroles (not that there is anything wrong with that, but sometimes a girl wants meat), I stumbled onto a country fried steak recipe in my favorite southern cookbook, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea (see widget below for the link if y'all are interested). The beauty of country fried steak is that cubed steak is cheap cheap cheap but tastes great. Throw on some mashed taters and white gravy - mmmmm, sounds like some fine eating to me.

So that's what's for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to Martha Foose's great recipe (the benefits of buying the book, I guess) but I suspect that Paula Deen's version might just work as well. I'm using cubed steak in mine.

Here's a little CCR to enjoy while you fry up those steaks....how Fogerty found pants that matched the leather sofa he is sitting on is beyond me...

What happens when you reach "good"

Most people who cook (or basket weave, or skydive, or what have you...) have at least one or two recipes that they consider "good". They've mastered making a good spaghetti sauce, or a pie recipe, or egg salad - whatever. Something that they are known for making or at least that they and their friends/families really like. That's as it should be. You do something long enough, you ought to do at least part of it pretty well.

So what happens when you reach "good"? Does that recipe stand still and never get changed? Do you never look for a better pie crust or tomato soup recipe or glazed ham when you find something you really like? For example, I found an interesting recipe in Cook's Country magazine for the best roast turkey. Now I'm not famous for my turkey but the good cooks in my family have made turkey the same way for awhile and it works really well. Knowing that Thanksgiving isn't filled with angst of "will it be dry", I still decided to try the turkey recipe - partly out of curiosity (just how would salt pork figure into the equation) and partly to see if there is something better than really good.

The turkey was good - exceptionally moist and really easy (no basting at all). Was it better than the older version? No, not better, but equally good. Can two turkeys both be really good but different? Yeah. Will I make it for Thanksgiving? Yes, I think so.

I guess the moral of this story is that even when you have reached good - in whatever you do, it is still worthwhile to see how far you can stretch that label. Maybe the end result will be equally good, just easier or quicker; maybe it will be worse and you will reaffirm your old methods; or maybe it will be good - but in a different way - and there is nothing wrong with having more than one way to skin a cat...er...make that pluck a turkey.

Sugar, ah honey honey

Halloween is coming and candy is front and center, as it has always been with the second most popular holiday in the US (generating six billion in sales - that's a lot of candy corn folks).

Everybody has their favorites and we all have memories of going through our trick or treat bags, pulling out the good stuff and leaving the gum, dental floss and peppermint hard candies for siblings or parents. Me, I can't leave a Reese's peanut butter cup alone, though tootsie rolls are a good alternative. Almond Joy, Hershey's kisses, Snickers....wow, I guess the connecting feature here is chocolate. Now that's a surprise (yeah, not really).

As tasty as these confections are, have you ever wanted to make them yourself? Probably not, huh. Because it is easier to just pick up the package at the check out stand for a buck when your sweet tooth is acting up. But where is your innovating spirit, I say. Where is the famous American pluck and ingenuity (if you are American, if not - I got nothing) of your foremothers? Would Betsy Ross have just gone down to Wal-Mart to pick out a flag? Would Dolly Madison have let Washington's portrait burn rather than rescue it because she could just order another one from Art.com? Did Mimi Eisenhower tell Ike to get his fudge from the mall? I think not.

But how can I make peanut butter cups, you rightfully complain (really, the whining isn't necessary). Never fear. Ingenuity and a good internet link are here. Make your favorite candies with these recipes. Peanut butter cups, Almond Joy, Snickers....yeah, the good stuff. No hard candy or sweet tarts. Now go forth and create some candy magic of your own, my fellow American consumers.

What is the spanish word for "coincidence"?

Paella isn't something that comes up often in conversation - unless you live in Spain, I suppose. As delicious as the dish is, it is something I rarely think about and even more rarely prepare. I'm not sure why that is because it does have something for everyone - seafood, sausage, chicken, saffron. Perhaps I don't make it because of the seafood; hubby just doesn't partake. I could omit it but that would be shame, so I guess that's why it doesn't come to mind. Until now.

Coincidentally, my sister and mother and I were talking paella just the other day. We talked about whether a special pan is needed, what we would substitute for chorizo, if we wanted to, and the price of saffron. Well, what should be front and center on Foodnetwork.com today as I started a little search for something interesting?

Yep, paella. I think I'll give it a try this weekend and see if I can make "with and without" versions for hubby and me. I'm a big believer in coincidence and clearly the food elves (or whatever else is in charge of such things) are pointing me toward paella. A few tapas wouldn't hurt anything either, and maybe a small glass of rioja too...hmmm, I smell a theme coming on.

Cook's Country

Depending on my mood, I'm one of those people who enjoy watching cooking shows (no surprise, I guess). I don't watch many and they are usually just for favorite chefs (Ina Garten usually) or subject matters (Ace of Cakes because I wish I were a pastry chef). Generally though, I'm not into cooking as a contact sport (Iron Chef) or reality shows set in kitchens.

But I've found a new show that I've added to my PVR - Cook's Country. This PBS show is from the folks behind America's Test Kitchen - the group that tells us the best way to make a souffle, what brand of skillet or coffee maker is the best, and why baking powder works. The Test Kitchen's goal is to give viewers the best version of something, be it pancakes, risotto, or snickerdoodles. The cooks make many many versions (30 batches of cookies, anyone?), get tasting feedback and come up with an "ultimate" recipe or technique.

Well, Cook's Country is the downhome or "American home cooking" version of this rigorous testing. I think the differences between the shows are slight but Cook's Country does have a great companion magazine. Check out the November issue - chock full of Thanksgiving advice.

Contrary to the idea that such shows are elitist, they aren't for the "arugula middle class" - whatever the heck that insult means; they help you improve both your skills and your kitchen purchases as well as making the most of your food budget. Nobody wants to waste money on ingredients only to make something that really isn't all that tasty.

You can check out Cook's Country online, in the magazine or on PBS. They are even looking for recipe tester volunteers, if that is your thing.

For me, I'll be doing a little testing of my own from the magazine - I'll let you know how the cider-braised pork chops and mashed potato casserole turn out.

Onions - better than ogres

For fans of the movie Shrek, you'll know that ogres are like onions (they have layers). And you'll also know that Shrek's pal, Donkey, would much prefer parfait layers to onion layers. But these days, I'm with Shrek; onions are just delicious.

Allodoxaphobia I don't have; I love onions in just about every form and variety. Cooked, raw, yellow, sweet, red, green. I also like them because you get a lot of flavor bang for your buck. Onions are typically inexpensive and can fill out a casserole, soup or meatloaf. But what about onions as the star attraction? Time for these wonders to take the spotlight, beyond the soup with the cheese and bread.

How about Sweet Onion Pie? True, cheddar and ham play a major supporting role here, but onions get top billing. Perhaps an Alsace Onion Tart, with bacon, cream and eggs would be better? Not exactly inexpensive. Ok, what about Sweet Onion Bread, using apple juice and ginger of all things? Maybe Sweet Onion Quesadillas would be more appealing. Me, I think I'm going with the Onion Muffuletta sandwich.

After all these onions, breath mints may be in order, but if you hang out with the right crowd, you can all be stinky together. Here's to having layers.

Random Recipe Monday - Sausage Manicotti

Me and Italian food - we go together like rama lama lama
ke ding a de dinga a dong. Forget Sandy and Danny, me and marinara are the best couple around. I'm kinda of the mind that even bad Italian food is good Italian food, so it isn't surprising that we tend to eat a lot of it around my house.

I'd like to say that my efforts are like Chef Mario Batali. Unfortunately, I have to admit they are closer to Chef Boyardee - but again, bad Italian is good Italian, so I soldier on. Spaghetti is far and away the most often prepared, but lasagne makes a good second showing. Italian meatball subs, polenta, baked ziti - all good stuff that shows up periodically on my table.

Well, Saturday night another dish joined the ranks - manicotti. I've made it before but for some reason I never think of it. Hubby mentioned having some at work and it sparked my brain into making it at home. I'm glad I did because it was easy and tasty, plus it made a nice change from the spaghetti. I made it with Italian sweet sausage, lots of onion and ricotta for the filling - but there are tons of variations. The one downfall was using an "on sale" marinara sauce. Man, the sauce does matter; don't just grab any old cheapie thing. Normally, manicotti takes tubular pasta but I like using the big shells.

Here's my version for your reading pleasure:

1 box large shell pasta (I used Barilla - my usual pasta)
Olive oil
One jar of marinara (get the best you can find)
1 package of Italian sweet sausage
1/2 large sweet onion, finely chopped
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Boil the pasta according to the package directions. Once they are done, drain and rinse in cool water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons (or so) of olive oil in a large pan and saute the onions for about three minutes. Add the sausage, crumbling it up into small chunks as it cooks. Lightly pepper and salt the cooking sausage and onions. Cook until meat is no longer pink, remove from the heat.

Mix ricotta, beaten egg and parmesan in a large bowl. Add teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and a couple dashes of nutmeg. Mix well. When the meat mixture has cooled slightly, add it to the ricotta mixture, blending well.

Pour approximately 1/3rd of the sauce onto the bottom of your baking dish, spread to coat. Using a large spoon, fill each cooked shell with a scoop of the sausage mixture. Place each shell in the dish, top the shells with the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.

Chang chang chang-it-ty chang
shoo-bop
That's the way it should be
Wha oooh yeah!

Random Recipe Monday - Pumpkin Dumplings

The word "dumpling" is so cute, don't you think? It conjurs images of "The Apple Dumpling gang" and big pots of chicken n' dumplings, and fat cheeked babies. It also makes me think of wonderful dim sum meals and things savory. That's good news because I'm trying to cut back on sugar. I know, no fun that's for sure. It certainly puts a crimp in my cupcake baking. But I can still make dumplings - especially savory ones.

"Pumpkin" is another cute word. My favorite word for adorable children, actually. It's also a versatile veggie that works for both sweet and savory dishes. So, just imagine when these two language lovelies get together. Voila, .pumpkin dumplings that work well with fall flavors.

More like gnocchi than your grandma's dumplings, the flavor is mild and more about the butter that the dumplings are sauted in, rather than a burst of pumpkin (I said no sugar, not fat...). You could amp up the taste by increasing the nutmeg but I like them a little more mellow, a little more of a background player to grilled kielbasa or pork chops. A little sage in the butter might be nice and I'll try that next time. But like all good dumplings, the pleasing and the plump goes hand in hand and that's what makes them good.

Oktoberfest, Ja ist es gut.

I think I've mentioned before that I don't drink beer. It just isn't my cup of tea, as it were. Ahem. It certainly looks good - especially those pints of Guinness or the Sam Adams commercials with the frothy stuff and loads of talk about winter wheat, hops and ale. The closest I get is using it in cooking.

So why would I post about Oktoberfest? Well, I think there is more to this German celebration than drinking, right? Ok, well, there is more than just drinking, anyway. There is also eating. That I can get behind.

I don't come from German roots and I'm not always partial to things that end in -wurst or -braten. But there are plenty of other hearty dishes that go nicely with autumn and heck, I'm always up for a good pretzel.

So, donned appropriately in lederhosen - man, these shorts are chaffy - and empty stein in hand, I'm ready to try out a few favorites (or culinary knock-offs, either way).

My first stop is a Fried German Potato Salad. I've always loved fried potatoes and onions as a side dish and this is a variation on that theme. I think a roast pork loin with beer sauce would go nicely with that.

We could finish off with some more chewy pretzels but I'm in the mood for something sweet. How about lebkuchen? (Think gingersnap but chewy). That should go well with a mug of...cider.

Whether you make it to Munich or not, enjoy Oktoberfest. It runs until early October traditionally, so you have plenty of time to polish those steins or savor that sauerkraut.

Random Recipe Monday - Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

I am sick. I have been all weekend, but it has really hit the heights today. I have a wicked sore throat and laryngitis, which I tend to get when I'm sick. Go figure. In fact, this blog is the most "talking" I've done in two days.

When I'm sick, I go straight for comfort food - who doesn't it? Last night, hubby made up a batch of biscuits and sausage gravy for dinner. Yeah, for dinner. It hit the spot. Tonight, we're having pot pie - and I'm not even going to make them from scratch. Nope, going with the frozen Marie Callender pies that I keep in the freezer for food emergencies (they are quite good, I must say).

But one thing I will be making is this chocolate pudding because that sounds soooooo good on my throat right now. I've been drinking tea with honey non-stop and I'm in desperate need for something else.

This is no way to start off the autumn season. Ah-choo!

Minestrone, anyone?

Continuing with my veggie lust, I thought that a big batch of minestrone would fit the bill and get my family to eat some vegetables. Hubby and NR were both under the weather and I believe in the restorative power of soup. But neither guy is big on vegetables, so I knew the soup would have to have a bit more going on than just that.

Minestrone typically uses ingredients that you have on hand, whatever is in season. For mine, I used some zucchini, carrots, asparagus and some heirloom tomatoes. To make the dish a bit heartier, you could use potatoes or beans but I went with pasta and some meatballs. The veggies were prominent so it still is a minestrone in my book and it was tasty. Even if some of the veggies stayed at the bottom of the bowl, NR took in some, along with the broth, so the minestrone did its job. Plus, it made good leftovers. Here's my concoction:

Mama D's Minestrone:
1 sweet onion - coarsely chopped
1.5 cups chopped peeled baby carrots
2 cups chopped asparagus
1 cup cubed zucchini
4 cups chicken stock
salt, pepper, dried basil
1/2 package small pasta (I used orecchiette, but anything small would work) (approximately 8 ounces)
20 or so of your favorite cooked meatballs (your recipe or a good frozen meatball that has been thawed and cooked)
4 large heirloom (or flavorful) tomatoes, with juice

In the bottom of a heavy stockpot, over medium heat, add three tablespoons olive oil. Warm oil and add onions and carrots, saute for about five minutes. Add asparagus, zucchini, and stock. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add salt (about 2tsp) and pepper (about 1/2 tsp) to taste. Add 1.5 tsp of dried basil. Cover and cook 1 hour.

Prepare tomatoes by chopping into cubes, reserving any juice. Add tomatoes, reserved juice and pasta to soup. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cooked meatballs and cover pot for approximately 20 minutes. Check soup for seasoning (I added another 2tsp of salt) and pasta for doneness.

Just a bit of harmless brain alteration, that's all

"Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is one of my favorite movies. Maybe it is the new-school-but-it-looks-like-old-school claymation or the voice work of Ralph Fiennes, but something about that movie just tickles my funny bone.

So much so, that when I get a craving for Veg (vegetables for you non-anglophiles), I naturally think of the enormous specimens in the movie and the rabbit...err..rabid townsfolk that love them. Who wouldn't love a pest control company called Anti-Pesto? I'm mean really, what's better than that?

Ok, so this digression does have a point. For the last couple of days, my mind has become a "rabbity mush" as Wallace would say and I can't stop thinking about fruits and veg. It started with a huge pot of corn chowder, with tons of fresh basil (the recipe is at one of my favorite blogs, Posy Gets Cozy) and moved on to a severe thirst for apple cider (see the earlier post about the doughnuts).

Today, at the store, I found myself strolling the produce section, lingering over the piles of peaches and stacks of squash. I came home with a huge bag of fuji apples and the blackest and biggest seedless grapes since a trip to Versailles. These local grapes were almost as good as those, albeit far less pretentious without the mini-berets and tiny cigarettes.

See? Mushy mind, for sure. AnyVeg, I finished my craving with a huge bowl of butternut squash soup, sprinkled liberally with Goldfish crackers. While hubby and NR scarfed down their homemade pizza, I slurped down the squashy soup. Something clearly must be amiss. Craving apples, eating veggies and dreaming of salad is not in my bunny nature, as it were.

Oh, I was going somewhere with this post...ah yes, the squash. I tried a pre-fab squash soup and it was pretty good, though fresh would have been (and will be) a lot better. I'm thinking of whipping up a batch, with a bunch of fresh sage and a drizzle of cream. Maybe a nice salad with cranberries, sunflower seeds and a poppyseed dressing to round things out. Hmmmm...sounds like I need to get down to the local farms and see what's available.

Oh, right. The recipe. This is the one I'll be tinkering with this week, with plenty of nutmeg and onion. Mmmmm...onions....

I guess there are worse cravings than vegetables. Like cupcakes, perhaps. Well, maybe carrot cupcakes wouldn't be too bad.

Random Recipe Monday - Cabbage and Potato Bake

I'm a fan of corned beef - when it is cooked in a crockpot all day and the fat just melts off the meat, leaving just the good stuff behind. Boiled corned beef rates zero in my book, but crockpot corned beef I can get behind. What I usually can't get behind is the cabbage that typically goes with it. A New England Boiled Dinner would have corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. I wanted that kind of meal but didn't want the veg messing up my beef.

Perusing FoodNetwork.com, I found a dish that seemed to fit the bill. Emeril's Cabbage and Potato Bake combined the named ingredients, onions and bacon, just for laughs. The whole thing bakes for a couple of hours, transforming the cabbage into a soft and pleasantly disguised veggie tasting of all the other ingredients too. For those not too fond of cooked cabbage, I'll bet you'll be reassured by the plentiful bacon (and drippings) added to the works - even if your cardiologist isn't.

Best of all, for the "I won't touch cabbage" eater in your crowd, the cabbage is at the bottom of the mix, so just scoop the other goodies off the top and peace will reign. It paired really well with the corned beef, and left just enough room for a brown sugar cake with butterscotch frosting. It was a good dinner (if I do say so myself) with even better company.

Happy Belated Grandparents' day to you all. Love to Grammy, Papa, Grandma T and Nana.

Random Recipe Monday - Loin of Pork with Green Peppercorn sauce

This story has a happy ending. Even though it doesn't sound like it, it does - at least I think so. Saturday, we had company coming over; a first on two fronts. It was going to be the first dinner party in the new house and the first time meeting someone as well. Names are reserved to protect the innocent, but suffice to say that it was a big deal.

Ok, so rewind to Friday when I made the homemade applesauce and went shopping for the dinner. A Roast Loin of Pork with Green Peppercorn Sauce from Ina's new Barefoot in Paris cookbook, cauliflower gratin with gruyere (from same), the applesauce, a perky little salad, good wine and a granny smith apple pie with my favorite buttery pie crust.

Saturday came and I was busy most of the day - cooking, tidying up our fairly (for now) tidy house and getting some last minute touch up things done that you do when company is coming. Dinner was at six o'clock so we managed to get the lawn mowed (no moles!), new curtains hung up, china polished and even a couple of new plants in the garden bed. We were spit-shined and polished, candles lit on the mantle, food finished on time and warm in the oven - really, ready to rock and roll.

Six o'clock came and six o'clock went. At six fifteen I got the message from a couple hours earlier - our company couldn't come.

I said this story had a happy ending, and it does. The roast loin was delicious and I now have two recipes from the Paris cookbook that I've tried and liked. The pie was eaten up by visiting family and the wine didn't go to waste either - let's just say that I enjoyed myself tremendously with the Cellarmaster Riesling.

So, I can recommend this recipe and even tell you that if you can't find brined green peppercorns (as I couldn't) you can substitute dried ones soaked in hot water beforehand. It was quite a sight to see me picking them out of a peppercorn mix one at a time until I had enough for a quarter cup.

Enjoy the silver lining to this story and try the roast loin. It was quite tasty. So was the Riesling.

Labor Day - a national holiday for hot dogs?

Like a lot of things, Labor Day has morphed into something else. Personally, I'm ok with that - families getting a long weekend to spend together before the school days of autumn begin. But I think it is also nice to remember why the heck we get that day off in the first place.

It started, in 1894, as recognition of the American worker, brought to the forefront by the helatious working condition in American factories and the ensuing riots and demonstrations against them. Child labor, seven day work weeks - this is the stuff that Congress had in mind when it recognized and created Labor Day.

A holiday that was born from marches in the streets, boycotts and riots - riots so bad that President Cleveland had to call in troops - has lost much of its original meaning to most Americans. That's probably because we don't have seven day work weeks for most folks anymore and child labor laws in the US are enforced. I don't know how much the holiday itself had to do with these changes but national recognition of the situation back in day must have meant a great deal to those workers.

Ok, have you duly reflected? Have you given a thought to those folks who brought you the holiday? Ok, good. We've honored the past, now it's time to eat and celebrate.

Burgers, hot dogs, steaks, ribs - it's like a beef council commercial on Labor Day, right? That's ok but there is nothing wrong with mixing it up a little too. Grilled Szechwan Shrimp sounds pretty good, or how about Cuban style Pork Burger? Creamy coleslaw is a good bet for summer's farewell. Toss back a few mojitos and that's a par-tay.

Perhaps mixing mojitos with horseshoe tossing wouldn't be a good suggestion, so how about badmitton? I'd like to get a bocce ball set, partially because it's fun to say "bocce". Yard games haven't been the same since they pulled yard darts from the mix, due to the deadly spearing tips but hey, there are other games. Surely the recent Olympics must have given you some ideas. Pole vaulting, anyone? (Is that still in the games? I don't know.)

So this was a very long way of saying "Have a happy Labor Day, everyone." Gather ye rosebuds (or blackberries, or whatever other summer item you want to substitute) while ye may and enjoy the three days. Tip your glass to the American worker and flip your steak on the grill. Anyone for bocce ball?

Sometimes you feel like a jar, sometimes you don't

I don't have a problem with spaghetti sauce in a jar - red sauce, that is. By and large, the product is good and only requires a bit of doctoring; more herbs, garlic, pepper, whatever. I like red sauce in a jar because it is quick, consistent and easy to improve. Usually, I go with two jars of complimentary flavors - Newman's Own Marinara and the Garlic one, although I've been cheating on Paul with some Classico lately. A little Merlot or Cabernet added, some diced roasted red pepper - the possibilities are endless.

Not so with Alfredo. I don't claim to be an Alfredo expert; heck, I don't even really care for it, except on rare occasion. And on the rare occasion (which was yesterday), I went with a sauce in a jar, again for quickness. Never again. Maybe it was the brand, but I found the sauce to be disgusting, right out of the gate. Gloppy, flavorless, it practically dissolved the pasta.

I was at a loss for a remedy. It wasn't like the red sauce that can be enhanced, tweaked, even seriously re-flavored; this stuff was just a hot mess. I felt sorry for the chicken that went into it.

So, when the itch for Alfredo comes around again, I will take the time to actually make it, rather than open it. I'll trust some folks that know good sauce. I might even try one from Mr. Bam himself, Emeril LaGasse.

Or I might convince hubby that we really ought to eat out that night. Then I can get eggplant parmigiana instead.

Chocolate milk, lasagna and cheesecake - but not together

I love to check those wacky calendars of obscure holidays that are a mere google away. You find out when Take your Pants for a Walk day is and that you forgot to observe Barbershop Appreciation Day (July 13, for those who missed it). But in the spirit of keeping everyone informed, you'll want to be sure to celebrate the next three holidays coming up on July 28, 29th and 30th. Now that sounds like a lollapalooza of celebratoriness, but I think you'll agree that chocolate milk, lasagna and cheesecake deserve the respect.

Monday, you can start off your half-week of excitement by pouring a big tall glass of the "chocky mulk" as my son used to say, made with your favorite source of chocolate (I'd have to go with Hershey's syrup on this one). You could always upgrade to a Black Cow later in the day (chocolate milk with a scoop of chocolate ice cream - see my upcoming post on diner lingo) but you might want to pace yourself.

Tuesday, the big dish is lasagna. Meaty or veggie, red sauce or bechamel, whatever floats your Italian boat, go for it. I'll be making up a big dish of it, likely with mild sausage and plenty of mozzarella. This will bake your noodle: lasagna appeared in the first cookbook ever written in England (that we know of) - from the 14th century. It was a layered pasta dish with cheese called loseyns. So offensive is the idea that lasagna is British and not Italian, the Italian embassy in London had to weigh in on the topic. Uh, couldn't the Romans have brought this little gem with them when they invaded Britain? Anychew, let's move on to our third day of feasting.

Wednesday rounds off our festival with cheesecake. Much like Donkey from Shrek and his observations on parfait, I don't know anyone who doesn't like cheesecake. Perhaps that is because there are so many variations that it really can be just about anything - chocolatey, covered in berries, topped with caramel, crunchy with coconut, smeared in lemon curd - whatever rings your cheesebell. Or, you can go very purist and eat it plain, which is just lovely too. For fans of the tv show The View, there was a taste-off recently between a plain cheesecake and a vanilla bean and lemon curd version (from chef Bobby Flay). You can have your own taste off with the recipes (listed under July 17).

Are you full? Stuffed to the gills, perhaps? Well, what else can you expect from such a dairy-filled trifecta. Grab your lactaid and gear up for National Raspberry Ice Cream day on August 1 and National Ice Cream Sandwich Day on the 2nd. Just kidding. Like those two things deserve holidays.