Anniversaries and Fall

The leaves are turning all the colors of fall and there is just something in the cool air indicating Fall has arrived. My husband and I are so thankful for our children and two children plus a grandson will now have anniversaries in the fall.

Each couple celebrated their own weddings uniquely. Jeanne and Mark got married at a summer camp and I remember being so cold in the early evening and wanted to stand in front of the big fireplace where the air was warm and cozy. Jeanne and Mark wanted their friends from back east to, "experience all that Oregon offers." The camp was rustic and damp from the fall rains and perfect for this couple who wanted to do something different and original for their day. Some friends and family even spent the night of the wedding in the cabins but not those who wanted the comfort of the nearby hotel.

Jeanne and Mark celebrate their 3rd anniversary this month and we found out recently they will be bringing the twins home for Christmas. We haven't seen the twins for quite some time and I'm looking forward to spoiling them and giving them hugs and kisses as much as possible. Having all of them home will be special and we will cherish their visit.

Sarah and Patrick had a classical and traditional wedding, with a different twist on candles. They had pillars lining the aisles and also on the front stage. The flowers they had were beautiful too showing Sarah and Patrick's originality and vision. The reception was held at a winery on a hill. The sun was setting during the first dance and I remember looking out over the hills wondering at the beautiful sight of all the fall leaves and colors. They have been married 8 years (I think) and have one son. One of the things I will never forget was driving into the church parking lot on their special day and seeing all the leaves on the trees brown, orange and red. Since these were the colors of the wedding, the trees became part of the color palet.

Speaking of this one grandson, I had the privilege of watching him from Tuesday while his mom got ready for a trip through Friday evening. He was a joy and I learned he liked Stroganoff so I'm going to give you my recipe for a fast and quick Straganoff everyone will love.

Happy Anniversary Jeanne and Mark, Sarah and Patrick and soon to be Justin and Crystal.

Stroganoff

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (if you have any other type of steak, or beef you want to use, this is fine)
1 teaspoon salt while the beef is browning

Brown the beef in a bit of vegetable oil and while the beef is browning, bring pasta water to boil, salted liberally (I usually use 1 tablespoon salt per large stock pot of boiling water).

Once the water is hot, add any type of pasta your family likes. (I like the Farefalle or flat type of pasta.) Use 1/2 box or 1/2 package, or if you use elbow noodles, 2 cups. Cook the pasta to al dente since the pasta will cook a bit more in the beef sauce.

Once the ground beef has browned, add two cups of beef stock and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add a slurry (a slurry is usually a thickener and for this recipe I use 1/2 cup COLD water and 1 Tablespoon cornstarch).

Add the slurry to the beef mixture and stir until thickened. Dont worry if the sauce is too thick as it will be thinned out by the sour cream. If you don't think the sauce is thick enough, use more slurry. At the end of the thickening, add 1 cup sour cream and stir until just blended. Cooking the sour cream will curddle the sauce and you want a creamy sauce.

Add the strained pasta to the beef mix and serve immediately. Feeds 4-6 people so if there are only two or three of you, put any leftover in the freezer for later use.

Variations:

You can always use any type of seasoning to "kick-up" the flavor like Onions, garlic, pepper flakes, basil or parsley.

Some people add 1 cup of frozen peas making this dish a one-pot meal.

Grandma's special visit with Sarah and Jonah

The last few days, I've had the priviledge of watching my newest grandson while his mother ran errands and got her hair done. Watching him brought so many menories to my mind of his mommy when she was young. I noticed a few similarities between the two. Jonah doesn't fight you when you change his diaper. He lays there to let you clean him up. My daughter did the same thing. He also helps to dress himself by putting his arms in the sleeves of his shirts. Then there is the subtle behavior between the two.

For instance, Jonah loves hot dogs and my daughter ate her share when she was growing up. I noticed too that Jonah does like to eat sweets and I had the opportunity to share some spice cake and whipped cream with him, of course when mom wasn't around. He ate it up like there was no tomorrow. Jonah also likes his blanket and reminds me of my daughter when she was little and trying to cuddle with her blanket. Plus Jonah loves to cuddle especially when its time for bed. How can you not love that? My daughter also loved to cuddle at the same times. In fact if you were to ask her if she still cuddles, she would tell you, "Yes".

Jonah's mommy is doing a great job and I loved watching Jonah plus watching my daughter be a mother in her own right. She's doing a wonderful job and you can see so much love in this family. When it came time to say goodbye, Jonah even cried because he wanted to be with his grandma. Aw......he loves me....His love means so much to me and especially this morning when he said Grandma for the first time.

There is nothing more simple than making a cake (which my daughter made while she was here) with whipped cream for the topping. So here's my take on whipped cream with a twist.

Make sure your beaters and bowl are cold when you whip cream. The process is much easier when your utensils are cold. Pour 1 cup cream into a deep bowl and whip at a high speed on your mixer until soft peaks form. Now I've whipped cream via a mixer plus by hand. If you want to mix the cream by hand, be prepared to whip with a wire whip for awhile.

When your cream is done, add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. The twist for this whipped cream is to add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Fold all the ingredients together and you have a sweet tastey topping for any spiced baked good. This is also good on pumpkin pie, muffins and cheesecake.

As I was sitting cutting up chickens this morning, I remembered the chickens my grandparents raised. Of course, my grandmother and grandfather had a chicken house instead of a chicken coup and this meant we always had fresh eggs plus lots of chicken growing up.

Once or twice a year, the whole family, aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather at my grandparents house and spend one to two days working on chickens, killing, cleaning and of course freezing them. I know it sounds gross, but the men would cut off the chicken's head and let it flop around on the ground. Then, the young cousins would take the chicken over to a bonfire and singe the feathers and pluck all the feathers. We would then take the chickens into the house where the women folk would clean the chickens, cut them up and place them in butcher paper or bags to freeze. Then in the evening, we would all sit around and eat chicken with all the fixings.

We've come a long way from having to kill our own chickens to just going to the grocery store and pick them up already for us. All we have to do is clean them up again and fix them the way we want. You can purchase chicken whole, cut up, special pieces like the breast, thighs, legs or whatever part you like best.

So, since I've been working on chickens now for two days, I'm going to give you my secret for great chicken. I use a sugar-cure rub and marinate the chicken for one day and then I bake them at 400 degrees until they are golden brown and done. This takes 1-2 hours depending on the size of the chicken. No salt or pepper, just the sugar cure rub.

Pat's secret to perfect chicken every time.

1 whole chicken.
Remove the neck, back bones and cut the chicken in half. Rub with a sugar cure mix and place in a baggie over night. Place the chicken skin side up on a foil lined cookie sheet and place in the oven for 1-2 hours at 400 degrees. The skin crisps up and has the most wonderful flavor. Serve hot or cold. I usually like to serve it hot with salads, and fresh bread. Enjoy. Each person gets 1/4 of the chicken so it will serve 4 people.