Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Homemade Holiday Ornaments
Cream of Asparagus Bacon Soup
Frank Frazetta
Grew up gay in a small midwestern town and I loved the art of Frank Frazetta, 1928 - 2010
The Destroyer, 1971
Conan the Usurper, 1974
Silver Warrior, 1972
John Carter, 1970
Predators, 1987
Birdman, 1972
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thanksgiving Dinner 2013
A solo affair, but no less pampered!
SOUP: Chicken stock with Butternut Squash, Onion, Granny Smith Apples and Nutmeg. Pureed, and served with Sour Cream and fresh Chives.
MEAT/STUFFING: Roasted Cornish Hen stuffed with a Lemon. Stuffing made with dried bread, spices: sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, marjoram, rosemary; Granny Smith Apple, dried Cranberries, Celery, Vadalia Onions.
VEGETABLE #1: Cauliflower (au gratin): blanched Cauliflower, dehydrated Red Pepper, heavy whipping Creme, condenced Cream of Onion Soup, Caraway Seeds, smoked Paprika, sharp Cheddar Cheese.
VEGETABLE #2: Spinach a Al Jaleo: Spinach, Olive oil, Water, Kosher Salt, dried Cranberries, Pine Nuts, Garlic.
DESSERT: Pumpkin Pie with Cured Walnuts in Maple Syrup.
The Breakdown!
Pre-Thanksgiving Commemoration: Howard Johnson's!
My Wednesday evening meal harkened back to family Holidays when we travelled from our home near Detroit to visit my paternal grandparents who lived in the panhandle of Maryland. We always took the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes for the bulk of the journey, and we always stopped at a Howard Johnson's rest stop to eat.
So while countless millions of Americans are on the road, and I am warm a cozy in my home, I made my best attempt at Howard Johnson's Hot Dog's for dinner.
To make these I did the following: 1) Toasted the buns, 2) Grilled the Hot Dogs (Hebrew National Kosher Dogs), 3) Dressed the buns with a spice mustard before adding the Hot Dog, and 4) Topped them with sweet pickle relish and diced onions (Vadalia).
I know I can never go back to the original, but this was pretty damn close!
So while countless millions of Americans are on the road, and I am warm a cozy in my home, I made my best attempt at Howard Johnson's Hot Dog's for dinner.
I know I can never go back to the original, but this was pretty damn close!
November/December Light
I do not like the light of November/December. The shadows are too long, the quality of the light, too metallic.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Changes to Lego City
Romeo Love The Woods!
Aw...who am I kidding? So do I!
Pretending to be Leonardo DeCaprio in "Titanic"--I'm King of the Woods!
Hey, My Guy, what's over here?
Winter Hawthorne!
Marking our territory....
...Mother nature has the last word!
Potatoes Au Gratin
I think there are a gazillion ways to make this dish. My mom called them "Scalloped Potatoes"--there was nothing pretentious in her kitchen! The nomenclature dirives from the fact that the potatoes are cooked with grated cheese and in some recipes bread (crumbs).
For this version, I assembled four things:
1) a platter full of thinly sliced small russet potatoes
2) a mixture of finely diced onion, celery, and fresh sage (6 leaves) with a little kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3) Finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
4) 1.25 cup of half and half combined with 1 C of chicken stock
After buttering the dish, I layers the first three four times beginning with the potatoes and ending with the cheese. Then I slowly pouring over it the liquid mixture.
I covered it and baked it for 60 minutes @ 350˚, and then 15 minutes more uncovered.
1) a platter full of thinly sliced small russet potatoes
2) a mixture of finely diced onion, celery, and fresh sage (6 leaves) with a little kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3) Finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
4) 1.25 cup of half and half combined with 1 C of chicken stock
After buttering the dish, I layers the first three four times beginning with the potatoes and ending with the cheese. Then I slowly pouring over it the liquid mixture.
I covered it and baked it for 60 minutes @ 350˚, and then 15 minutes more uncovered.
More Leaf Collecting, part 4
