It's Chicken Fried But It Ain't Got No Chicken

Happy Monday Everybody!

Look at me, back to a regular schedule, blogging about things I should have blogged about days ago... Better late than never, that's what I say. And let me tell you, this one is way better than better. It's the best. The cream of the crop. The unofficial state dish of Texas:

Chicken Fried Steak

Yeah, I know it's a weird name, but that's what we call it. We fry it up the same way we do chicken- in the cast iron skillet, in hot grease, with not much more than egg, milk or buttermilk and seasoned flour. Both chicken fried steak and chicken fried chicken are a thing of beauty because of their simplicity. That's not to say that it isn't a messy business. Oh, it's a mess all right. My father would be horrified at the bits of meat flying around, and the spurting oil. But the general process is simple, and it ends up pretty darned good.

I got my recipe from my all-time favorite Texan, the homesick one. Accompanying the recipe is a very good little manifesto on the glory that is chicken fried steak. Lena's boyfriend Zack should read it, because he doesn't have the proper awe and respect for this humble, yet wondrous dish. Anyway, let's get to the good stuff. The meat:

Of course I like to take things to the next level, and so instead of buying normal top-round steak (often called london broil) I had to get all fancy and buy grass fed beef at the farmer's market.



You should know by now, that's just how I roll.

Cut your 1 1/2 pound chunk into four equal parts.


Then pound the living day lights out of them. This proved exceedingly difficult because of the tougher nature of grass fed beef. That stuff really holds together. Give it all you've got, then give it some more, and if you're like me, give up before it's really thin enough and hope for the best. Or just buy regular meat, and I'm sure it will flatten out nicely. Of course, if you have access to them, cube steaks are already flattened by the butcher and ready to go, but what's the fun in that?


By the way, we've just witnessed a new tool I picked up for this occasion: a meat mallet/tenderizer. I had needed one for a while, so I took this opportunity to get one. When G made this a while back, I think she used a rolling pin.

Dip your steaks into seasoned flour:


Egg wash:


And back into the seasoned flour:


And here we have the next addition to a Player's kitchen: the cast iron skillet. Oh I could talk for hours about the wonders of cast iron... But I won't, just this once.

Into the hot vegetable oil she goes:


Let them cook on one side till the blood starts to seep through the top.
(I know, that's gross, but that's what The Homesick Texan said, and it worked)


Don't be scared of blood. It's just part of cooking. I mean, we do eat animals after all.

Flip your steaks and cook another five minutes. Then place in a warm oven to keep them warm.

Next it's gravy time. Get your friend James to help you pour out most of the oil out of the skillet. You just need a few tablespoons. Don't have a friend James? That's too bad, because he's pretty great, but you'll just have to make due with someone else.

Throw in a couple tablespoons of flour into your skillet. Let's just say our ratio here is three to three. It's definitely an eyeball situation, though.


Cook up that flour a bit. Then add milk. Whole milk is the best here.


Let that thicken up, season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper, and you're good to go.

Here are the chicken fried steaks out from warming in the oven.


G, James, Betsey and I had ours for brunch, and added some scrambled eggs and home fries to round out the meal. You can get the scoop on those babies here.


Aw yeah...


Chicken-Fried Steak
(from a Homesick Texan)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of top-round steak
2 cups of flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup of milk or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper (can also add cayenne to add more heat).
Lard or vegetable oil

Method:
Cut your top-round steak into four pieces.
Pound beef with a meat tenderizer until flattened and almost doubled in size.
Place flour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix eggs in another large bowl with milk.
Take piece of tenderized beef and coat in flour. Dip coated beef into egg mixture and then dip back into flour again.
Heat on medium enough oil or lard to fill halfway up the sides of a cast-iron skillet. When a drop of water makes the oil sizzle, it's ready for frying.
Take the coated beef and place it in the skillet. When the blood (er, red-meat juice) starts bubbling out of the top of the steak (about three to four minutes) gently turn it over with a long fork (using a spatula can cause the oil to splash out of the skillet). Cook another five minutes and then take the chicken-fried steak out of the pan and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
Repeat process for remaining cutlets. And while you're frying the others, you can keep the cooked steaks warm in the oven.

Serve with cream gravy.

One bite and even the Yankeist Yankee will sprout a stetson and boots and yell, "Howdy ya'll!". I promise.

Playing,
Meredith

Squash and Potato Frittata

Hello again, my faithful readers. I'm back from my hiatus and ready to blog again. I'm so ready that I'm blogging on a Saturday- a slightly unusual occurrence to say the least. Just so you know, I've left Texas and now I'm in Atlanta with my cousin Christie and her family. She's finally popped and Mr. Brayden is three weeks old and pretty much perfect.

More on that later. I've got frittatas to talk about. Got a fridge full of zucchini or squash? Don't know what to do with it? Make this dish. All the flavors work so well together, you don't get overwhelmed with the squash flavor. I read about this recipe on Apartment Therapy and knew I wanted to give it a try.

I tweaked the recipe a bit for what I had on hand and it worked really well. I didn't have zucchini but I had these little patty pan squashes from my CSA. We only get one a week, but they're so sturdy they last for weeks in the fridge, so I finally got enough to make something.


Thinly slice your squashes (I used four of these little guys, but use less if they're bigger). Put them in a colander and sprinkle them with salt. Let them sit in the sink, and the excess moisture will be drawn out. Nobody likes a wet frittata.


Thinly slice your potatoes. I think I used two.


I added some peppers to the mix since I wasn't adding bacon. I used two mild green ones and one jalapeño for some zing. You know I love zing.


Sautée the potatoes, peppers and a sliced onion in some olive oil until everything is golden brown and delicious.


Set all that aside and brown the squash.


Whisk up your eggs. I think I used eight. This is not rocket science, use what you've got.


Add a nice handfull of cheese, cheddar and monterey jack in this instance.


When the squash is nice and brown, add back the other veggies and mix them up.


Pour in the egg and cheese and poke around with a spatula, making sure the egg is evenly distributed.


Cook on the stovetop until the bottom is set: about ten minutes. Then transfer to a 350˚ oven and bake until the eggs set and the top browns a bit- about ten to fifteen minutes.


You can serve this baby warm or at room temperature.


It's looking a little boring- some fresh herbs on top would have probably been a good idea, but you know what? It tasted great, and that's what matters.

I'll get a printable recipe up later. My little cousin Baylee wants me to play.

Playing for real,
Meredith

Death and a Funeral

Hey everyone,
Sorry for the absence, but sometimes life takes over. Okay, I know, a lot of the time lately life has been taking over. But that's just the way it is, and if you love me, fair reader, you'll understand.

My grandfather Wallace Holley Shamburger Junior, very almost ninety years of age, passed away on Sunday. So I've been caught up in the tickets and the travel and the family. It's been good though, being together. There are always so many reasons why we can't all get together. There are a lot of us, and we're all in such different places. But here we are, aunts, uncles, cousins, all together. And I like it. It's nice. A little bittersweet, I suppose, but nice. I hope we can do it again without the whole funeral part.

So that's where I am. I promise to catch you up on chicken fried steak and summer frittattas soon. For right now, I'm just going to hang with the fam.

Playing,
Meredith

How it all works:

So I've been doing a little site maintenance lately, and I'd like to make sure you all know how it all works. Forgive me if you are a "Player" expert and don't need telling, but I just wanted to make sure you're all getting the most out of your experience.

Most of the features reside on the right margin. You've got the option to subscribe in a reader. This is a service that lets you know when I update. Which is almost every day. When I'm being a good girl... Next we've got a quote that inspired the name of this silly place. Next up is my little profile which I haven't updated since I started the blog. Perhaps that's next on the maintenance list.

Next, my email. Have any questions? Comments you don't want public? Requests? Want me to cook you dinner? Send me a note. It couldn't be simpler: aplayerandabaker@gmail.com

And below that are the archives. The main page only shows the last few days of posts, so if you want to really get to know this player you'll have to delve into the archives. It's pretty straightforward I think.

And next, my friends, is my stroke of genius, my baby, my little contribution to the blogging community. I wanted an easy way for you to access my recipes, without having to go back to my original and oh-so-detailed posts. My solution? Google documents. I try to create a google doc for every recipe I post. Emphasis on the word try; hence the need to do a little maintenance. I've pretty much gotten it up to speed.

A side tip: I always print off recipes before I cook and post them in an easy access place in the kitchen so I can easily follow them. It usually saves me from forgetting key ingredients like salt in bread (usually).

Hey look- here's one in action:

Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, moving down the line, there's the google search, which is great if you have something specific you want to find on the site.

Next, there are some of my favorite sites. Check them out one day. Perhaps you might be bored because I didn't post that day...

Next are my labels, which are kind of like categories. I try to use them judiciously and not label every post seven thousand things.

And finally I have a little Amazon widget where I showcase some of my favorite things: things I have and love, or things I'd like to have and love, depending.

For commenting novices, just click on "comments" on the bottom of the post. If you don't have a google account you can use your AIM screen name, or just use your name or post anonymously. It's really quite easy.

Comment away. I love comments. Especially from my number one commenter, Lena. But I want to hear what you think also. If you don't say anything, I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing, assuming you love it.

So there you go. Intro to "A Player and a Baker". I hope you enjoyed it. Take advantage of your new knowledge and look around. I'm sure you'll find something good.

Playing,
Meredith

Gumbo

Why gumbo?

Why not?

Walking through the farmer's market last Friday, fresh okra caught my attention. I bought some okra in Austin. It was beautiful and young. Fresh and tender. Then I never got a chance to do anything with it. It was sad. I thought to myself, "self, what should you make that has okra in it?" And I replied, "Well, G just made fried okra while I was gone, so I can't very well make that." Well gee, what to do...

What has okra in it?

Why gumbo of course!

And thus it was that I decided to create a meal of gumbo and pecan pie.

I did some research when I got home, and I found that Alton Brown of Good Eats on the Food Network had a nice reasonable recipe.

Except for one small problem. The recipe contained no okra. Oh boo, I thought. But the solution was simple. I happened to know that there are two ways to thicken gumbo at the end of cooking. One is okra. The other is filé powder, which is some kind of crazy thickening herb from Louisiana. You never use both- it's one or the other. And filé is hard to find. So I just switched it up and it worked fine.

All gumbo's start with a roux. It is a very nutty combination of flour and oil.

4 ounces oil:


And 4 ounces of flour.


Mix them together, and check out this twist: put it in the oven at 350˚ for an hour and a half. Could it be easier? I don't think so.


Thank goodness for sous chefs. Here we have James chopping up the trinity: onion, green pepper and celery.


When the roux is ready you dump the trinity and garlic in there and cook everything on medium heat until the veggies are soft.


Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves.

Now for another point of deviation. The recipe called for whole head-on shrimp. At the fish counter at Whole Foods, there were no head-on shrimp. Also, the man told me that the shell-on shrimp weren't fit to eat. So I had to make due with peeled and deveined shrimp. The shells were supposed to be for a fresh stock. So I picked up a couple of bottles of clam juice as a substitute. It worked out just fine.

I poured in the clam juice while James whisked.


Wait, is that James or a spooky ghost?

Ooooooh you are so scared of the gumbo right now.

Lena, my other sous chef and blogger extraordinaire, chopped up the okra.


I added that after the gumbo simmered 35 minutes. I let it cook briefly, for about 5 minutes or so.

Then turn off the heat and add your peeled shrimp:


And sausage.


Cover, and let the carry-over heat cook the shrimp. That way there's no way they'll be overcooked.

Serve over rice.

Ah. Get in my belly, gumbo!


It was enjoyed by all.



My dear friends G and James were even kind enough to do the dishes. I am eternally grateful to them.

A Player's Gumbo
Adapted from Alton Brown's Shrimp Gumbo

4 ounces vegetable oil
4 ounces all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (31-50 count) shrimp (or the freshest shrimp you can find, shells or no)
2 quarts water (if using shell-free shrimp use 1/2 quart clam juice and 1/2 quart water)
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced green peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped tomato
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and browned
1/2 pound okra, trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.

If you couldn't get shell-on shrimp or you don't feel like working quite so hard feel free to create 1 quart of liquid using clam juice and water. It worked out just fine, although I'm sure the depth of flavor with homemade shrimp stock would be amazing.

Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Add the okra and let it cook for about five minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

Gumbo. It's what's for dinner. All week- it goes a long way, people. And the leftovers just get more and more delicious.


Playing,
Meredith

Pecan Pie

I got some pecans in the farmer's market back when I was in Austin, and I knew what I was going to do with them. I gave some to Michael, because I know he loves them. The rest would go in a pie. Pecan Pie. I look no further than my Aunt Sue's recipe. I've used it before and have no intention of changing it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

That being said, it didn't quite work out that way. I thought we had brown sugar, but I didn't. I had already had to run out and get the corn syrup I forgot. I didn't want to run out again. So I made due. I used unrefined cane sugar, and added some maple syrup. That seemed to work out fine. I mean, what is brown sugar but regular sugar with some molasses added? And maple syrup has some molasses-like qualities.

Anyway it tasted good.

So you mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar.


Add 3 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 cup corn syrup.


Man, that organic corn syrup was slow going. I had to put it in the microwave to loosen it up.

Add 3 eggs, preferably room temp.


1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla...

And of course, pecans, roughly chopped. One cup.


Pour it in your unbaked shell.


Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

I don't have a final picture. I thought I took one, but I guess I didn't. That's all right. The pie was a little runny because I didn't have the pie on the middle rack. It was in the lower rack because I was making something else. Something I'll tell you all about soon!

Don't get me wrong. The pie was good. It was really good. Just not pretty. So I guess perhaps I subconsciously decided not to show it to you. What can I say, I'm a perfectionist.

Aunt Sue's Pecan Pie

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans


Mix all ingredients and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes


Playing and perfecting pie,
Meredith

All Butter Pie Crust

Okay, today I feel like I'm copying Lena. She did a tart shell, and here I am doing pie. They're very similar. But she specifically told me to write about the pie I made this weekend. Perhaps she's sabotaging me. I knew it! She's slipping me ideas only to beat me to the punch! It's like newspaper wars, only it's a blog war.

Or she wants to see how I made the pie.

I'm undecided.

That being said, I really want to tell you about this recipe. I first read about it in the New York Times a few years ago, and it has become my signature crust. I try other recipes every now and then but I always come back to this one. My old standby.

A side note: I told Lena that it's better to use a mixture of shortening and butter. And it is easier. But at this point, having made lots of pie, I have a feel for it, and I have no problems with this recipe. Give it a try, don't be scared.

It's simple, as most pie crusts are: Flour, cold butter, salt and ice water.


I got fancy pastry flour at the farmer's market. That's 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 10 tablespoons butter, and 5+ tablespoons of ice water.

It's the same old story. Combine the flour and salt, then add the butter, which has been cut up into tiny cubes.


Use your fingers to blend the flour and butter until it looks like corn meal.


Then, sprinkle the water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing in between.


Add water until the dough comes together. It doesn't have to look like a cohesive dough- it will be a little crumbly, just as long as when you press it together it sticks.

Form it into a disc and wrap it in plastic.


Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour and roll out for your favorite recipe. Like pecan pie. Which I'll make just for you tomorrow.

All Butter Pie Crust
from the New York Times
adapted for a food processor free lifestyle by a Player

1¼cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably a high-fat, European-style butter like Plugra, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 to 5 tablespoons ice water.

1. Mix the flour and salt. Add butter and blend it with your fingertips until it resembles corn meal. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture is just moist enough to hold together.

2. Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out and baking.

Yield: One 9-inch single pie crust. Recipe can be doubled for a double crust; divide dough into two balls and form two disks before chilling.

Variations: You can experiment with textures and flavors by substituting 3 to 4 tablespoons shortening, lard, beef suet, duck fat or an unsweetened nut butter, such as hazelnut butter, almond butter or mixed nut butter, for 3 to 4 tablespoons regular butter. All should be well chilled before using.

I've had great success with the lard, just so you know. It's great. Don't be scared. But I didn't have any leaf lard, so I just did all butter. It works well enough for me.

Playing,

Meredith

Cocktail Monday: Hard Cider

It's that time again, my friends. Yes, it's Cocktail Monday. But today we're keeping it simple. This isn't actually a cocktail at all. But it is an alcoholic beverage, so I feel that it is appropriate fodder for the CM posts.

I love cider. Now mind you, I'm not talking Woodchuck, or some other wimpy, syrupy sweet concoction in a bottle. I love hard dry cider made with just apples.

So when I was perusing the Union Square Farmer's Market and I saw a cider vendor I had to give it a try. And it was perfect. Crisp, dry, bubbly and apple-y. I bought a bottle.


Eve's Cidery makes good stuff. And it's a great source of information. Check out what they have to say:

"Did you know that in the Finger Lakes region during the 1700’s and 1800’s there was a cidery nearly every ten miles? Before prohibition the fermented juice of apples (called simply cider) was the most popular beverage in America with estimated per capita consumption as high as one barrel per year."

That's cool stuff if you ask me. Cider is usually lower alcohol than wine, so it's a nice thing to drink if you want something tasty and refreshing without the buzz one might get from sparkling wine.

Apparently this bittersweet is the sweetest one they sell, and it isn't sweet at all. I can't wait to try their dryer varieties.

So if you live in NYC, stop by the Farmer's Market on Friday or Saturday. Or just order it online. Apparently they don't ship out of state yet, so sorry to those of you from afar.

Anyway, there are ciders available all over the States, so keep an eye open. It's good.

Playing with pommes,
Meredith

Food In P.E.I.

The food in Prince Edward Island was amazing. It was fresh, local and delicious. Obviously, seafood is the way to go. I'm telling you, even if you aren't a fish fan, you'll like this fish.

Haddock Burger at the Blue Mussel Cafe:


Check out that amazing side salad. The Blue Mussel Cafe proudly uses local produce, and you can tell. By the way, cherry tomatoes are the way to go this far north- there just isn't enough heat for a good ripe normal one.

Bren had the Seafood Bubbly Bake. It was like mac and cheese but with seafood instead of noodles.


That red drink? Oh that's local cream soda. It tasted like Big Red.

Blue Mussel Cafe is in North Rustico, on the north shore of P.E.I. Go there. Twice.



Flex Mussels was right on the Charlottetown harbor. You might think that being so close to the tourist center, the food wouldn't be great, but you'd be wrong.

We sat on the deck and had cocktails while waiting for our table. Mom and Bren had mojitos.


I had a crazy cocktail made with scotch. I didn't take a picture of it.

Sarah had a Shirley Temple and Dad had sparkling water.


The mussels here are AMAZING. The best I've ever had. Ever.


Here's my dad's scallops. He wanted me to take a picture of it because it was so pretty.


It was also delicious.

Well, we couldn't go to P.E.I without having a proper lobster dinner. We decided to go off the beaten path to Saint Anne's- which is a Catholic church that serves lobster dinners in their fellowship hall.

It was quite the local experience. The mussels were okay- a little too mussel-y if you know what I mean. The lobster was amazing, though, and that's what matters.


My lovely sister-in-law Sarah models her bib and lobster fabulously, don't you think?

Oh P.E.I. I miss you. I love your fresh seafood and crisp weather. If certain caribou hunting veeps and ancient nasty prez's prevail, you'll find me in North Rustico, eating haddock burgers and kayaking. Oh yes. I love kayaking.

Playing,
Meredith

Gouda is Good

I'm back to Prince Edward Island. What can I say, it was an action packed trip, and there are more things I'd like you to see.

I read about The Cheeselady's Gouda in the guidebook and I proceeded to bother my family incessantly about going there. What can I say, you know how I love local products. Finally, on Saturday we finally made it there.

Mmmm island gouda... What could be better.

Hey, there's the Cheeselady!


Here's where that cheese is made.


We watched a short but incredibly cheesy (no pun intended) video about the cheese making process. Basically you add rennet to the milk and it separates into curds and whey. The curds are taken and put into molds. When the cheese is pressed and formed it's coated with plastic, and then it ages.

There you have it in a nutshell. Cheese.

I don't really know what makes gouda gouda exactly, but that's all right. I know it's good. They had lots of delicious flavors like garlic and herb, horseradish, and chile. You know which one I took home...

Here's the cheese aging:


There were three types: young, middle aged, and old.

Young is creamy and soft. Middle is firmer and more sharp. Old is the sharpest. There were samples, and they were all good.

You can see the beautiful grass in the background that makes the cow's milk so amazing.


So there you go. Take this as a lesson. When on vacation, find those local businesses creating amazing products. It's fun and educational. Plus, you usually get free samples, and that's always good.

And don't even talk to me about silly puns. Local businesses love puns.


That's right,
Have a gouda day, folks,
Playing,
Meredith

Baking Center Break-in: Peach Cobbler

Hello! I'm naughty. I leave for days with no word. You worry sick. Perhaps you even look at other blogs instead of mine (gasp!) What can I say, I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of things after being so transient for an entire month. But I'm here, and I'm not traveling for a few weeks, and I've got a new recipe for you!

I've also got the finished baking center. Check out that marble. Perfect for all my pastry needs.

It has it's own board that slides out for floured stuff like bread or homemade pasta. It's just like one we saw in the villa we stayed at in Umbria a year ago.


Anyway, back to peaches. Peel and slice 8 cups of peaches. How many pounds is that? I have no idea. I bought two little cartons with six or so peaches in each, so maybe it's 12? I just cut up a lot of peaches...


By the way, the best way to cut up peaches is in a rocking chair on the beautiful sunny porch.

For the filling, I deviated from Fannie Flag and only added 1 1/2 cups sugar instead of 2. The peaches were just so sweet and ripe, I couldn't imagine adding more. Then I added 2 tablespoons flour.


And 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.


Now for the pastry. Now, all of you northerners, you may swear by a biscuit crust, or even a crumble. For me, a Texan and my Arkansan/Missourian man, it has to be a pastry crust. That's how my grandmom made it, and that's how I like it.

To 2 cups all purpose flour add 1 teaspoon baking powder,


and 3/4 teaspoon salt.


Cut in 1/4 cup shortening. Use an old fashioned pastry cutter like Lena, or use your fingers like I like to do to break down the shortening into tiny pieces incorporated into the flour.


Now for something I'd never added to pastry dough: cream.


Add the 3/4 cup slowly, mixing it as you go, so you don't add too much. I actually ended up adding a little more, because the dough was pretty dry.


Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.


Roll it out and place it over your peaches in a baking dish.


Don't fret if it doesn't fit- just cut extra bits from the edges and add them to the holes. This is not haute cuisine.

Brush that baby with more cream.


Bake at 475 degrees until brown and bubbly, about an hour. The juices bubbled up over the edges. It didn't really bother me or affect the final product, but you might drain off some of the juices before covering the fruit with the pastry, or cook it as the original recipe I found said. Again, the fruit was so ripe, it seemed wrong to cook it any more.


I'm happy with the bubbled over bits- they were gooey and delicious.

Michael whipped us up some cream with a bit of almond extract added. Ice cream is ideal, but we didn't have any.


It was fantastic- just like my grandmom used to make.


I'm running late for work so I'm taking the easy way out. Click on the picture below to get the recipe. I didn't bother with all the fancy layering or anything, but I'm sure it's lovely. Have fun!


Playing with Peaches,
Meredith

Oh Canada Part Two: My Avonlea Fantasy

Well, I'm sorry folks, but we're going to continue down the road I started yesterday. The road to Avonlea, I'm afraid. I know some of you are in the dark on the whole Green Gables/Avonlea saga. Okay, most of you are in the dark. But it's something that I love. Something that my family grew up with. And so, I'm going to indulge my Avonlea Fantasy. Hopefully you'll find it mildly amusing. Maybe I'll inspire you to netflix the miniseries or the spinoff series "Avonlea". Perhaps you'll just enjoy the pretty pictures.

Just indulge me, my readers. I'll bake you something tasty very soon to make up for it.

A lighthouse:


Is it Gus Pike's lighthouse? Who's Gus Pike? Oh just an awesome illiterate sailor boy who steals main character Felicity's heart. He lives in a lighthouse.

And what's this? Oh it's just the White Sands Hotel. Okay, it's really the Dalvay by the Sea. But it plays the White Sands in the miniseries.


We had tea there, which was lovely. They were a little skimpy on the clotted cream, though...


The preserves and lemon curd were amazing though.

But not as amazing as this:


That's sticky date pudding, much like Brittain's sticky toffee pudding. It was fabulous. If you go to PEI seriously, go there, even if you hate Anne of Green Gables. That pudding is worth it.

You kind of have to suspend your disbelief on these "monuments". They aren't exactly what you remember from the movies. But what is. They are pretty though.


Here are my mom and Bren at the Lucy Maud Montgomery museum. It's her uncle's house and the house where she was married.


We took a little buggy ride around the property. Look, I touched a horse.


Yes I had an allergy attack later... I'm really allergic to horses, but the man seemed so excited about me petting him, so I had to.

Our transportation's name was Prince. You know, after the island...

Here's his butt:


And my fam. I sat in the front with Matthew Cuthbert. Just kidding. He died.


The Lake of Shining Waters. Ignore the telephone wires...


Can you picture a silly redhead floating past in a sinking boat chanting "The Lady of Shallot"? I know I can.


Thanks, Prince, you're a prince.


Last and sadly least on this tour: Green Gables.


It was a depressing tourist trap. Very Disneyfied...

It had a pretty garden though...

It was fun to see I guess, but if I go back to PEI this one won't be on the itinerary.

Sticky date pudding will be...
Playing,
Meredith

Oh Canada

Hello! I know. It's Wednesday, and I haven't posted anything since Sunday. God forbid I take a little hiatus to settle back in to real life. G had no sympathy. "Are you gonna do a blog post today?" she asks rather nonchalantly.

"Um, maybe..." I said.

"Oh, are you over the blog thing now?"

WHAT???!!!!!! How can taking two days off equal "over"????

G, you've got another thing coming. I had it in my right mind to go into my hard drive and find every awkward pic I've got of you and put 'em all in a post called "Overbearing Roommates: Ungrateful and Evil".

But then I got over it. I mean can I blame you for wanting more? I guess not. So I'll continue as planned with my Canadian adventure.

I love Canada. This was my first time there, and I went to a small island near Nova Scotia called Prince Edward Island. If you've heard of the Anne of Green Gables series, you've heard of PEI. It's the beautiful backdrop for the stories and home to author, Lucy Maude Montgomery.

So, I don't have a broad view of Canada, just a tiny little glimpse of a beautiful place called PEI, where everyone's nice, and the seafood is as fresh as it gets.

I went there with my parents and my brother and sister in law. On the second day we decided to ride bicycles along the north shore. Outdoor activities aren't really our thing, but Sarah is a good influence on us, so we rented bikes and got to it.

Bren and Mom: Note the look of dread on my mom's face. She didn't really have a good feeling about this.


Dad was pumped!


Helmets are great, aren't they? Sarah thought so.


Here I am, ready to go.


It truly was beautiful. I wish I could show you how wonderful the grasses looked when the wind blew them. Maybe you should just watch the Anne of Green Gables mini series. I'm pretty sure there's lots of that.


A blue heron:


Wow. Nature is so freaking cool.

And check out this awesome view of the beach.


Cue mini series theme music and imagine me running along the dunes, staring out to sea, my hair flowing in the wind.


Oh I'm sorry, I got caught in an Anne fantasy. It could happen to anyone who spends any time in PEI.

So, biking was fun, although my mom's fears that the wind was going to kill us on the way back were right. The wind was very strong. It was ten times harder going back. We were hungry. Thank goodness we knew where we were eating:


Here. I think it was called Pete's. I don't remember and it's not in the guide book. But it was good, and we sat outside on this great deck.


Hey, check out all of those lobster traps. They do lots of lobstering here in PEI.


I had clams. They were pretty good.


The salad I had on the side was also very good. Very odd for such a casual place, I thought.

The food was amazing there. I'll tell you more about it this week.

I love Canada. And lobster.
Playing,
Meredith