One thing I learned from a Gordon Ramsey cooking show, a few years ago, was to place what you’re cooking in an order so you know when to turn which piece. Start at 12:00 noon. Then 1,2, 3 o’clock etc.
A fondue pot.
I was thinking throwback and they were definitely popular in the seventies but….
turns out Fondue pots are still sold in kitchen stores and online and there are even electric models.
You might have one on a dusty shelf or in the basement. Or in current use.
There’s a fondue restaurant Melting Pot in Pitttsburgh.
Here’s a cheese fondue recipe
Here’s a chocolate fondue recipe
No double dipping! there are Rules of Fondue
Thursday’s supper. Capturing stills from videos.
We’d been out for a fancy lunch celebrating our friend Donna’s birthday. I’d taken small lunch bags with a few orange cookies as “party favors”
We received the gift of homemade rice pudding perfectly baked by friend Margaret L. She brought it in a bag with ice packs. What a great “party favor”. Delicious. Reminds me of childhood. Thank you for this gift.
Classic 1920s Orange Drop Cookies recipe
Here’s the Grand Concourse where we dined.
A mug fell on my souvenir spoon rest. I was trying to hang the mug on the hook above. It slipped out of my hand and cracked the otter. Not into smithereens, though.
I bought the glass otter spoon rest when my sister and I were on our 2016 Alaska trip. It was an artist cooperative shop in Homer.
Now I should just throw it out.
But I’m looking at it on and off for a day, wondering.
Could I glue it?
Such a clean break.
It’s just a spoon rest. It’s broken.
Why do I think about it? Gather the pieces and put them in the trash!
Wikipedia answers this question and says…
What is the point of a spoon rest?
A spoon rest (also known as a dublé) is a piece of kitchenware that serves as a place to lay spoons and other cooking utensils, to prevent cooking fluids from getting onto countertops, as well as keeping the spoon from touching any contaminants that might be on the counter.
A saucer works just as well- holds the cooking spoon after I stir the sauce. Never touches the counter. Phew!
New York Cheesecake. Yes or no?
Movie Clip from Guys and Dolls Watch Frank Sinatra eat a piece of cheesecake and invite Marlon Brando to have a piece- and place a bet?
Hotdish? I learned a lot about Hotdish from fellow blogger Audrey of Minnesota Prairie Roots Blog. And yes, turns out we call it a casserole around here. This blog post is a collaborative effort as Audrey lives in Minnesota. I wrote to her for enlightenment on Hotdish.
Audrey wrote when I inquired about Hotdish
Now, on to hotdish, which you likely know as “casseroles” in your area of the country. Same thing. Simply a mix of foods combined in one glass casserole dish or a 9 x 13 cake pan. Tater Tot Hotdish is Minnesota’s signature hotdish consisting of cooked hamburger mixed with a vegetable and a condensed creamed soup and then topped with tater tots and shredded cheddar cheese. I hope I got that right. I haven’t made it in years and actually seldom make hotdish, with the exception of Chicken Wild Rice Hotdish.Hotdish has always been a staple of church potlucks and family reunions in Minnesota. Easy to make. Serves a lot. And everyone loves a good hotdish. My mom always made one with hamburger, noodles and tomato juice with cheese stirred in. It was a favorite growing up.In 2006, the Minnesota Historical Society Press even published a book, “Hot Dish Heaven–Classic Casseroles from Midwest Kitchens” by Ann L. Burckhardt. And, yes, our DC legislators hold an annual hot dish competition. You can purchase cookbook online by clicking link.
And guess what honor I received from Audrey?
“The State of Minnesota does hereby grant honorary residency to Ruth Ella Hendricks upon successful completion of the unofficial state culinary dish, Tater Tot Hotdish. Congratulations!
America’s Test Kitchen recipe for this Minnesota Hotdish was on the PBS channel the other night. Here is the link to the video from the episode. Although I don’t remember purchasing a single Tater Tot in my life, watching them put this Hotdish together made me think about making it. With just two of us in the house it seemed a good recipe to try on the larger family when I visited in Ohio. I used a 2 pound bag of Simple Truth Potato Puffs from their local Kroger grocery store. I saw the brand Tater Tots had cottonseed oil in them and I thought that can’t be a good thing. I doubled the amount of the meat to 3 pounds. I omitted the mushrooms as several family members do not care for them but I read that if you needed to make if vegetarian you could use just mushrooms in the creamy bottom layer and no meat.
When I told my friend Joanne about the Hotdish she told me how growing up they didn’t have casseroles and she learned about them in high school cooking class. Her teenage son and his friends would devour her Tater Tot Green Bean Casserole when they lived in Omaha Nebraska. And after talking to her, I used the green beans instead of the frozen peas and corn in the original recipe.
My fellow blogger and friend Audrey of Minnesota Prairie Roots blog post says “Here’s a link to a story about small town Minnesota which includes a photo of a sandwich board advertising Tater Tot Hotdish”
There is an event in Faribault Minnesota that sounds like a lot of fun
Audrey told me about the Flannel Formal
At the Faribault Flannel Formal last Saturday, a Best Lumberjack Hotdish Contest was part of the annual event attended by about 500, all called upon to dress in flannel (like Paul Bunyan).
And a Snowplow naming contest too? “…as I’m watching the news last evening, I was reminded of another recent hotdish “thing” in Minnesota, the naming of a snowplow as “Blader Tot Hotdish.” Here’s a blog post I wrote about this Minnesota Department of Transportation contest and winners”
You can see why I asked Audrey to help me with my HOTDISH blogpost. I could’t have done it without her.
The kind of peppers where you might need gloves to handle them when you cut them and you never ever touch your eye!
Here’s an article how to use them without getting burned
These were given to me a few weeks ago.
I let them dry out. Pretty soon, with the change of weather, it’s going to be chili season. A big pot on the stove’s back burner on a chilly afternoon could be a little spicier this year. I have a jar of dried red Chile peppers I use to add some zip to dishes. Sometimes they can make your lips sing.
Red hot pepper was what we used to call out when cranking a jump rope, speeding it up, seeing how many jumps you could do at a rapid pace.
