My dough..made with my Grandmother's rolling pin!
Let’s see, let’s see….let us begin with the pie. You know…the apple pie I made from scratch…homemade crust and all( made with a rolling pin hand-carved by my great-grandfather for my grandmother as a wedding gift…so sweet). That sucker was kind of an all day affair. Apple pie is just…..laborious…I don’t know any other word for it. Peeling the apples, coring the apples, slicing the apples, mixing the dough, chilling the dough, rolling out the dough, rechilling the dough, don’t forget to put foil on the edges, make sure the pie is toward the bottom of the oven. Bottom line…it was a very nice pie(should be with two sticks of butter in the crust….Martha recipe), but it wasn’t good enough that I want to go through all that again. Seriously, I could have easily bought an apple pie that good, and enjoyed my day more. The nice gentleman who sat by me at Thanksgiving dinner judged it for me….he said, “It’s pretty good but I kind of had to scoop it out, so it doesn’t look so good.” Or something like that. I didn’t hit him or even consider it….I graciously agreed, and silently made a pact with myself to never do that again. That was my last from scratch apple pie.
Caught a couple of good films over the weekend….The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock is a winner…hands down, one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. And knowing the story of Michael Orr of the Ravens, made me admire him even more. See it if you had a chance. Also enjoyed Coco Before Chanel playing at the Charles Theatre. Oh so very French, very subtitled, lots of cigarette smoking, alors!! Interesting story about the woman who brought us the LBD(little black dress) and Chanel No. 5, and the idea that clothing should be comfortable….bye-bye corsets. The film conveniently leaves out Coco’s affair with a German officer during WWII and the German occupation of France(it doesn’t really go that far timewise). Some say she was a collaborator, but she was never charged as one. Did Winston Churchill work behind the scenes in her behalf? Who knows, but she left Paris for Switzerland, as people didn’t feel so kindly towards her. Oh, Coco.
Also made some kicking Red Beans and Rice….made with real Camellia Red Beans, which people from Louisiana say are basic to the real thing(though I’ve used plain old kidney beans to pretty good effect). It’s a classic, that once you’ve made it, you really don’t need a recipe for…I just saute a couple of red and green peppers, lots of onion and garlic…put in a couple of ham hocks, bay leaves, Tabasco and your soaked red beans. Cover with water and simmer away. When the beans are tender, add some sautéed Kielbasa, or Chorizo if you’re feeling authentic. Let it cook a little longer, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve over rice. Yummo.
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