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LJ and I have been campers since we were first married.  His family camped all of his life.  Most of their vacations involved camping in some way.  However, we decided a couple of years ago that the fun had gone out of putting up and taking down a tent and sleeping in 90 degree Texas heat.  I thought that was the end of it until LJ decided it would be cool to get a pop up camper.  He would never want a full fledged RV with a toilet and shower.  That’s way too bourgeois for my salt of the earth guy.  But getting the sleeping bags off the earth sounded a little better every year.  So we did it. 

It was a beautiful spot!

He found a really good deal on a new camper that had been repossessed.  I thought the timing was a little too soon, but he convinced me that this deal wouldn’t come along that often.  So along with trying to put together a new kitchen, we had to try out a new camper.  Our first trip was a short one just to make sure everything worked.  We went to a beautiful little RV part between Palestine (pronounced palesteen for those non-Texans out there) and Rusk in deep east Texas.

I was not in the best of moods when we pulled into the campground.  I really wanted to stay home and unpack my kitchen stuff.  So I sat my rear down and told LJ the work was his.  But the more he worked, the more fascinated I became.

Almost there

Roomy

Just relaxingThis is fun

Well, we’ve done it.  LJ and I have completed a total remodel of our kitchen at the lake.  We were lucky enough to be able to do this while we were living somewhere else.  I can’t even imagine what hell it must be to try to live in your place while the kitchen is being completely gutted and put back together.  At one point, our refrigerator, range, dishwasher and upper oven were all sitting in the middle of the living room.

That’s behind us now, and all we have left is the clean-up, which is no small feat.  I won’t be able to start the major unpacking and cleaning up until this Friday and Saturday.  But I’m happy.  Before I do the official unveiling, let me show a couple of “before” shots.

Looking from the dining room back into the kitchenFrom the counter

This island replaces the old counter

The transition from the kitchen to the hardwoods

By the way, the contractor was Dee Nichols at Dunn’s Floors and More in Gun Barrel City, Texas.  I can’t recommend him highly enough!

Let’s have an appetizer and cocktails:

 

Marinated Olives with Feta

 

1 cup Kalamata olives

1 cup green olives

1 cup e-v olive oil

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

10 oz. feta, cut into ½ inch slices

 

Mix all olives, ¾ cup oil, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon oregano and red pepper in plastic bag.  Marinate, refrigerated, over night. 

 

Place feta on a platter, drizzle with remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with oregano and black pepper.  Refrigerate overnight.

 

Serve both with pita bread.

It has been a few months since I’ve posted on this blog, and lots has happened.  Most importantly, I have retired.  The freedom to do what I want when I want to each day is the most exhilarating thing that’s ever happened to me.  I’ve been exercising every day, running errands usually saved for Saturdays, and reading like mad.

LJ is planning on retiring sometime toward the end of the year.  In preparation for that, we put our city house on the market at the end of February expecting, in this economic market, it to sell in 3 or 4 months.  Instead, it sold in one day!  We closed March 31st without a single glitch.  So for interim living, we have rented a wonderful little urban apartment.  We’ve never lived in a downtown before, and we are finding it really fun.  I love doing so much walking.  There are shops and pubs and restauarants right down the street from us.  The only slight drawback is moving from a 4 bedroom house with a gourmet kitchen to a 700 square foot apartment with a postage stamp kitchen.  It’s a challenge.

When LJ retires, we will move permanently to the lake house.  We’ve planned on doing this all along, and we also planned on remodeling the lake house kitchen before moving there, so we are doing that now.  It is so exciting!  I’ve redone counter tops and replaced appliances in kitchens before, but I’ve never totally gutted one and started over from scratch.  It’s been great, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are not living in the house while it is being done.  It is impossible to do anything in my living room with my stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator all sitting in the middle of it waiting to be re-installed in the remodeled kitchen. 

At this time, the walls have been textured and painted, the new French doors installed in place of a window, and the chandelier is hung.  The custom cabinets and counters and the island are in, and the undercounter lighting is installed.  Now I’m waiting for the tile backsplash and floors to be installed and the final painting will be done on the baseboards and French door facings.  Then the appliances will be installed and I’ll be back in!  Here are some progress photos.

I expect we’ll be all through with the remodel in the next 2 weeks.

We’ve also bought a pop-up camper to do some camping in when we retire.  We’ll be taking it out for it’s maiden camping trip next weekend.  I’ll post our adventures and some pictures when we get back.

Tiny kitchen recipe:

Roasted Cod with Dijonaisse (Serves 2)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers, chopped

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons panko crumbs

1 tablespoon chopped parsely

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cod filets (or halibut or other firm fish filet)

Place fish on a baking pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray.  Mix together mayo, mustard, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread evenly over fish.  Place on prepared pan.  Mix together panko crumbs, parsley, and olive oil.  Sprinkle evenly over fish.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

Keith, Pam, Lynn, Bobbie, Patrick, Jim

We couldn’t have ordered up a more beautiful Thanksgiving Day if we had tried.  LJ and I had 6 friends to the lake with us for dinner.  The sun was shining, it was about 68 crisp degrees, and the wind was calm - just perfection. 

Beautiful Day

We drove down Wednesday afternoon, and I was able to get the Italian Cream Cake done the night before.  I had made the cornbread for the dressing on Wednesday morning, and we bought a 15 lb. Kosher turkey the Sunday before and it had been thawing in the fridge and was ready to go.  We had things so under control that we were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy the lake on Wednesday evening.  It was a beautiful start to the holiday.

Thursday morning I put the turkey on a bed of onions, carrots and celery and put lemons, onions, carrots and celery in the turkey cavity.  I seasoned it up well and massaged it with olive oil.  In the oven for its 3 to 3 1/2 hour roast.  LJ helped with the house cleaning (Helped is an understatement.  He did it all!), while I was in the kitchen.

LJ Cleans

  Friends started arriving about 2:00.  By that time I had my potatoes simmering in the half and half infused with garlic, and the turkey was pulled from the oven to rest.  I used the turkey drippings to finish off the cornbread dressing and got it in the oven.

What a feast!!! Patrick brought his always wonderful roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta, a delicious yankee type stuffing with leeks, cranberries, sausage, and white bread, and whole cranberry sauce.  Keith brought his green bean casserole and perfect pecan pie.  Pam made homemade bread (which she thought was overdone, but it wasn’t) and sweet potato casserole.  Lynn made a luscious fruit salad, and Bobbie brought a wonderful dip and crackers, and we all proceeded to make pigs of ourselves.

The Feast

This Thanksgiving was particularly special this year.  It’s the first Thanksgiving Day that I have ever spent without any family.  Mom and my sisters and their families were together in Kansas City, and I called and it sounded like they were going to have a special one, too.  My brother and his wife were having a small one together.  We were all missing Dad, but we all recognize that we have so much to be thankful for.

Lynn, Patrick, Jim, & Pam

This year I am especially thankful for all our loving friends.  We have so many and they mean so much to us. 

Pam, CJ, and Jim

This past weekend we celebrated LJ’s Aunt Deedy’s 90th birthday.  Think about it - 90, n i n e t y YEARS old.  And I assure you, she is a pistol.  She still drives to Westminster Presbyterian Church every Sunday morning.  It was a lovely celebration, with all four of her children and their spouses coming to town, her grandchildren, nieces and nephews, in-laws and out-laws, not to mention friends from the aforementioned Westminster church and Grace Presbyterian Village.  It was glorious, and so was she.

For the occasion, LJ’s sister Janet, with whom we traveled to Italy, came into town from Olympia.  Since she was here so close to the actual date, we decided to have her and LJ’s Mom over Sunday to celebrate an early family Thanksgiving.  I think the dinner turned out beautifully, and if any of you are doing a small celebration, I would recommend these dishes.  Unfortunately, we put out the camera and still forgot to take photos so I don’t have any pictures.  Use your imagination.  The colors were beautiful. The menu:

Pumpkin Soup

Apricot Glazed Cornish Hens

Italian Sausage Rice Pilaf

Broccoli with Sage Brown Butter

Italian Cream Cake

I’ll post the recipes for the Pumpkin Soup and the Apricot Glazed Cornish Hens and stuffing.  The Hen recipe is adapted from an Emeril Lagasse recipe, and the Pumpkin Soup is my own. 

Cornish Hens with Apricot Glaze

And Italian Sausage Rice Pilaf

2 Cornish hens, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ lb. Italian sausage, casings removed

½ cup diced onion

¼ cup diced carrot

¼ cup diced celery

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 cup long grain rice

1/3 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup apricot jam

½ cup fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat oil in a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat and add sausage.  Cook until the fat is rendered, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest.  Add rice and cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes.  Add the raisins, parsley, thyme, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot, place it in the oven.  Check after 30 minutes, and remove from oven if all liquid is absorbed.  Leave covered and let rest until hens have finished roasting.

Combine the apricot jam, orange juice and remaining zest in a small bowl and whisk to blend.  Place in a saucepan over medium high heat, and boil, reducing by about half.

Season hens with salt and pepper.  Spread glaze on hens and place in the oven with rice.  Remove and reglaze every 15 minutes for a total of 45 minutes or until thermometer in thigh registers 160°.

Pumpkin Soup

Cynthia Jackson

1/8 teaspoon each of:

Cinnamon

Cumin

Cloves

Ginger

Cayenne

2 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste

2 tablespoons butter

1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup half and half

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Salt and pepper

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan.  Add the spices and garlic stirring until toasty, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes.

Add pumpkin puree, broth, half and half, and syrup and thoroughly combine with a whisk.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 10 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4 first course servings

For LJ’s birthday, we did the coolest thing.  We took the Texas Heartland Flyer (Amtrak) from Ft. Worth to Oklahoma City for the weekend.  We met our friends in Ft. Worth on Friday afternoon and had late lunch at the Flying Saucer.   Then we boarded the train at the station and it pulled out right on time at 5:25PM.  The train was wonderful.  The seats are large and the leg room is enormous.  Even LJ can stretch out.  You can walk around, go get drinks or a snack in the cafe car, and relax and enjoy the scenery.  It’s MUCH more comfortable than a plane.

CJ & LJ on train

We arrived in Oklahoma City at about 9:15 as scheduled, and walked a short 3 blocks to the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.  The hotel was built in about 1910 or so, and renovated and expanded in 1945 and it is a grand place!  The lobby ceilings are at least 3 stories high and the fortieres would make Miss Ellen jealous.  The rooms have been completely updated and are just sleek and elegant.  We picked the right place to stay.

Saturday morning we all had a scrumptious breakfast in the hotel, and then we set out for the Oklahoma City Memorial.  As we were walking along, a city bus driver stopped and asked us if we were going to the Museum.  When we said yes, he insisted on giving us a lift because it was chilly and windy.  What a friendly thing to do!  We weren’t more than a couple of blocks away.  The memorial itself was just awe inspiring.  None of us could keep the tears from falling looking at the chairs, one for each life taken.  Of course the small chairs for the children were especially painful.  What a lot of people don’t know is that in addition to the outdoor memorial, there is a museum on the site which is a 3 story exhibit.  It’s broken into chapters such as Confusion, Chaos, Survivor Experiences, and Rescue and Recovery.  It was all quite moving and beautifully done.

We left the Memorial and walked next to the Oklahoma Museum of Art.  What a wonderful Museum!  I was so pleasantly surprised.  The first floor is for special exhibitions which is currently The Dutch Italianates.  These were Dutch painters who travelled to Italy to live and study with those masters.  We were not familiar with any of the artists (which felt really weird for us), but the paintings were interesting.  The second and third floors house the permanent museum collections, and for us the most exciting was the Dale Chihuly glass collection.  His blown glass pieces of flowers, sea shells, boats and other beautiful creations was amazing.  We took a few pictures, but it must be seen to be truly experienced.

After the Art Museum, we walked through the parks of the Myriad Botanical Gardens. 

Resting at Botanical Gardens

By then it had warmed up a little, the sun was shining, and it was just beautiful.  We just sat on the benches and took it all in for awhile, until we realized how hungry we were for lunch.  We walked on to Bricktown, which is the area of downtown Oklahoma City which they’ve revitalized and through which they’ve built a canal.  Restaurants and shops are beginning to build up along the canal, as well as some condos and hotels.  It’s on its way to becoming really special. 

We ate lunch at a New Orleans style eatery which was fine, nothing to blog about, and then we took the boat ride along the canal.  The boat “guide” (did we need a guide?) was full of bad jokes and regional put-downs and nearly drove us batty, but the scenery was interesting.  There were some pretty fantastic sculptures of people on horseback and in covered wagons depiciting the rush to Oklahoma to stake your claim to land. 

Sculptures along canal ride

I would recommend the boat ride with a different guide, but I guess you don’t get to pick.

By the time we finished, we were all ready to head back to the hotel for a nap.  We all met up in the evening, for drinks and dinner, and the Skirvin kindly gave us gratis transportation to our restaurant in the hotel limo.  We went to a beautiful little restaurant called Nonna.  We started in their bar which is upstairs and looks out onto Bricktown and the canal.  After drinks, we went downstairs to dinner.  The specials were steaks, which some of us had, but LJ had a sausage lasagna and I had duck breast with blackberry sauce.  It was all good and we were all quite happy, and pretty exhausted from our day.

Ok City Train Station

The next morning we caught the train back at 8:25AM.  It left on time, and returned us to the Ft. Worth Amtrak Station about 12:15.  What a weekend.  If you’re looking for something a little different, I highly recommend it. 

I had friends for dinner again Saturday night, and wanted to do something simple.  Simple for me translates to one-dish meals (or at least one dish main courses).  So, Saturday night we had a big, green salad, Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese (with a couple of slight alterations), and a dessert I made up and don’t know what to call it yet.  I filled Pepperidge Farm Pastry Shells with Almond Pastry Cream.  Then I made a Strawberry Sauce.  I sauced the plate, and topped the cream filled shells with fresh strawberries drizzled with more sauce.  They were really good.

Here’s Mario Batali’s recipe for Ragu Bolognese:

Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese

¼ cup e-v olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground veal

1 lb. ground pork

4 oz. pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 cup whole milk

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt & pepper

In a 5 to 8 quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot.  Add the aromatics and cook until translucent but not browned.  Add the veal, pork, and pancetta, increase heat to high and brown stirring frequently.  Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, and thyme and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours.  Season with salt and pepper.  (Ragu can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to one month.

Toss the ragu with green tagliatelle and serve with Parmesan Reggiano.

The things I did differently, were 1) I let it simmer for more like 2 1/2 hours, and 2) about an hour before serving I added about 1/4 cup of cream.  It was a real hit!

Enjoy!

It’s my birthday, and once again LJ has pulled off an event weekend that made it so special.  We had a mini staycation in Dallas.  The best way to describe it would be to say we ate our way through the weekend.

It started with lunch on Saturday at Jasper’s, Kent Rathbun’s incredible restaurant featuring, as he describes it, gourmet backyard cuisine.  It is a lovely place with a warmly modern decor.  The ceilings are incredibly high, and the tables are dark wood but the lighting and accessories are all metal and glass.  I wanted to eat something light considering I had an idea that much more was to come that day, but, alas, Mr. Rathbun is not known for light.  I had the Smoked Salmon Cobb Salad, and it was delicious.  I expected thin slices of lox-like salmon arranged in a Cobb Salad, but instead was treated to a generous portion of perfectly cooked salmon filet.  The salad had the expected boiled egg, apple smoked bacon, tomato and avacado with a rich creamy dressing over all.  What utter decadence!  LJ had what was called Grilled Chicken Breast, California Avocado.  It was a lightly grilled breast of chicken over a lovely sauce of avocado puree with avocado chunks and grape tomatoes accompanied by Paula Lambert’s specially made creamy cottage cheese.  LJ said it was perfectly cooked and delicious.

Later in the afternoon, we checked into the lovely Warwick Melrose Hotel.  The old, stately Melrose is where my parents spent their wedding night 63 years ago.  It has been lovingly restored, and it retains its old charm while being perfectly comfortable.  Our room was a mini suite on the 8th floor with windows all along the side facing downtown.  It had a homey little sitting area and luxurious draperies and bed linens.  The bathroom floor was marble and it had all the amenities you would expect from a hotel of high caliber.  The Library Bar is still warm and inviting with its dark wood walls and high ceilings.

The highlight of the evening was dinner at Rise No. 1.  It’s a tiny little place with antique French googaws filling the room, wooden tables with mismatched chairs, a circle of stone in the center, and an exposed kitchen.  The restaurant specializes in souffles, and they are remarkable.  But first, the salad.  LJ and I started with a Rise No. 1 house salad with baby lettuce, bleu cheese, toothpicks of granny smith apple, pecans, and the most amazing “Pecan Vinaigrette.”  It is like nothing I have ever had anywhere.  It’s made with fragrant walnut oil that almost makes you think of chocolate when you take the first bite.  We were overwhelmed with the salad, but Rise was just getting started.  Oh, and the bread!!!  It was without a doubt the best bread I have had since I was in France.  It made me understand why, when Jacques Pepin was asked what his favorite food is, he answered, “really good bread and really good butter.  What better can you get than that!”  This bread was perfectly crunchy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside.  I could have made a meal of it.

My entree was Truffle Infused Mushroom Souffle and LJ had Jambon & Gruyere Souffle.  We kept going back and forth trying to decide who had the best.  Each one was intensely flavored and light as a feather, a feat I don’t believe is easily accomplished.  Whe the waiter asked me at one point how the meal was going, I believe I teared up!  Then came dessert.  I could not resist my all-time favorite, Grand Marnier Souffle, and LJ had Bread Pudding Souffle.  He insisted his was best, but for me you can’t beat Grand Marnier.  Anyway, both were flawless.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and went into the Library Bar for an after dinner drink and a little entertainment.  They had a lovely female singer who wasn’t bad, but it was glorified karioki with prerecorded background instruments.  I wonder how good she could have been if she had been accompanied by live piano and drums or bass which would have allowed her some room to express herself instead of following a pre-set arrangement.

Anyway, what a lovely birthday.  Great food, beautiful surroundings, lovely music - it doesn’t get any better.  How lucky I am to be married to someone who loves these things like I do, and generously lavishes me with them.

I had another dinner party that I thought went really well.  It was lots of fun and the menu was quite easy.

Insalata Caprese

Pork Medallions with Mustard Caper Sauce

Soft Polenta

Asparagus with Lemon Butter

Red Wine & Pear Sorbet

Pecan Wafers

I varied the Insalata Caprese just a little by fanning out the beautiful tomato slices (from a fresh farm stand in East Texas) and scattering bocconcini (little mozzarella balls) on top with chiffonade of basil sprinkled over all then drizzled generously with fruity extra virgin olive oil.  I placed the pork medallions over the polenta and napped them with the sauce.  With the bright green asparagus, it made a really pretty plate.  And the Red Wine & Pear Sorbet (thanks Everday Food) was beautifully rose colored with a little Pecan Wafer (thanks, Nick Malgieri) nestled next to the scoops of sorbet.  After we finished dinner, LJ went into the kitchen and retreived the container with the rest of the cookies, and my guests sat at the table and proceeded to eat every single one of them.  It made me laugh.

The recipe for the Pork Medallions with Mustard Caper Sauce is my own.  The recipe below serves 2, but it can be easily multiplied for larger parties.

Pork Medallions with Mustard Caper Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1” medallions and slightly flattened

Salt and pepper

1 shallot, finely minced

½ cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons cream

Heat olive oil in a 12” skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle medallions with salt and pepper.  Cook for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.  Remove to plate and cover with foil.

Add shallots to pan and sauté until soft.  Deglaze pan with white wine, scraping up fond.  Reduce wine by half and add chicken stock.  Add juices that have accumulated on the plate from the resting medallions.  Reduce slightly and add mustard, capers and cream.  Cook, simmering until slightly thickened and bubbly.    Serve sauce over medallions.

We slept in this morning after last night’s wonderful anniversay experience.  We went to the Botonist for Brunch around 10:30.  LJ had blueberry pancakes and I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.  I’ve certainly had my yearly requirement for salmon since I’ve been here.

Outside the Botonist

Our neighborhood

We’ve had such great luck with retail therapy over here, we don’t think we have room in our luggage for everything we bought.  So we went to the Post Office and bought a box to put our dirty clothes and some other stuff in.  We took it back to the Post Office and shipped it to ourselves.  It cost over $100 to mail that silly box!  Oh, well.  We’ve had better ideas.

Early afternoon we took the tube to Green Park Station which lets you out at St. James Street.  There we wandered through the Ritz and past Christies which had amazing artifacts in the windows.  We went to Wolsely’s at 4:00 for tea.  The building was originally the headquarters for the Wolsely automobile which went out of business during the depression.  The building is perfectly restored and looks like the set of a 1920’s movie.  It was really elegant and beautiful.

Big Ben and Parliament

After tea we went to look for a very old pub called the Red Lion, but we never found it.  Sometimes directions in guidebooks are somewhat less than perfect.  Anyway, we found a perfectly wonderful little pub called the Golden Lion and we stopped for a glass of wine.

We went back to the flat to pack and get ready for the long flight home tomorrow.  It’s been such a memorable trip.  I really hope to be back soon.