More Holiday Food

Everyone should have a guaranteed hit dish for the holidays. Our family has one that always hits it out of the park - Jello salad. Don't laugh. Know, it's terribly mid-western, but believe me, there are some holidays where its been the only thing edible. One Thanksgiving, it was the only thing we could actually eat and enjoy - the turkey was rubbery, the potatoes tasted like paste, the vegetables were over cooked, the rolls undercooked, and the pie raw. Thank God for the Jello Salad.

Our Jello Salad is a little different than the typical Jello Salad (does that make any sense?). You'll need the following items:

24oz. Jar of Regular Apple Sauce
2 sugar free packets of Raspberry jello
24 oz. of Diet 7-Up

That's it.

Dump the Apple Sauce in into a saucepan and bring to a boil. While this is reaching boiling, use the jar to flatten the fizzy soda, pour the 7-Up in the jar and let it sit. When the apple sauce is boiling slowly add the jello into the mix. Stir quickly or it will clump.

Let mixture cool slightly and then stir in 7-Up - Note: If you haven't let it go flat stir it in a little at a time as it will bubble and spill over.

Once soda has been added, pour mixture into the serving bowl and place in refrigerator.

This is also a nice recipe as you can make it the day before and it's ready to go. If you make it the day of, make it early to give the jello time to set.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Which means it's pie time! One pie in particular - Mincemeat. Before you wrinkle your nose and ask me -- What?!? Let me explain - Mincemeat has nothing to do with meat. Nope. No cows, chickens, pigs, etc were harmed in the making of this pie. Mincemeat is apples, pears, and raisins in a heavy syrup that's spicy and sweet. It smells very pungent and most places in the US don't make it - luckily for us folks it comes in jars and you can make your own.

Roll out your pie crust available in the refrigerator section of the grocery store and line the pie plate with it.
Pie filling loaded into it's shell . . .

There are a few companies that make Mincemeat - but the best is Crosse and Blackwell. You'll need two jars for a standard pie.

Fold the top layer of crust over to make it easier to place on top of the pie.

Trim excess crust, wet edges to get it to seal, and crimp shut. Take a knife to vent top of pie. Before placing in oven at 350 for 45 min - put a ring of tinfoil around the top of pie to keep it from burning.

Remove from oven and let cool. Serve with whip cream.

Admittedly - Mincemeat is not my favorite kind of pie. But it's a family tradition and my Dad's favorite, so it wouldn't be the Holiday's without it.

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

I'm back in New Jersey for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Now if you are of my generation, odds are you are familiar with this movie:


Unless your like my strange roomie Kirsten who has NEVER seen this movie.

Even if you are a fan, you might not know that this movie was partially filmed in West Long Branch, NJ at Monmouth University. The University's campus is based around Woodrow Wilson's Summer House (read: Mansion). It serves as Daddy Warbuck's Mansion in the movie.

This might look familiar:

If the outside doesn't, perhaps the inside does . . .

It was all I could do to not run around singing and dancing . . .

Tweed Ride DC

Ever have the urge to put on Tweed hats, vests, jackets, pants, get on a bike, and ride through DC? Me too. That's why this last Saturday I was pleasantly surprised to find an entire pack of tweed clad cyclists peddling their way through downtown.

It was the group Dandies and Quaintrelles on their second annual Tweed Ride. This group is also responsible for the Seersucker Social held earlier this summer. I will be keeping my eye on this group, it looks like they have a lot of fun. You can find out more about them here.

Here's some pics of the fun:

Rosemary Jelly

With apples in season, I just couldn't help myself. I decided to try and make Rosemary Jelly.

All you need - Apples, Rosemary, and lemon

Pull off the leaves on the Rosemary and save the stems. Put the leaves on a baking tray. Pop in the oven for two hours at 200 degrees. This dries them out.

Cut 2lbs of apples up (chunky as you like, feel free to include stems and cores). Put on the stove and add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook until it becomes mush. Put a layer of cheesecloth inside a strainer and then pour mush into strainer over a bowl.

Leave the mixture to strain overnight. (Again, if only I followed directions . . . )

The following day (after the mixture has strained all night long), put on the stove and heat to a boil. Add the 2 cups of sugar and juice from the lemon. Cook for around 20 min or until the mixture begins to gel. Add rosemary leaves at the very end. Pour into sterilized jars and give them the hot water bath treatment.

Across Part of the United States

I have never really driven East when leaving Kansas City. After living in Los Angeles for five years, most of the time - I head West. But thanks to needing to pick up the car here are some pics of my adventure heading East -

Leaving early, early in the morning - (as in before 8 AM . . .)

I grew up going to St. Louis on the weekends and I still love going through. We didn't have much time as I needed to get back to DC, but we did manage to stop at the Hill. It's the Italian section of the city. There you can find the most wonderful food. My favorites? Try Amighetti's for fresh baked bread, lasagna, and sandwiches. The whole place smells like heaven.

While your there, head down the street to the Missouri Baking Company located at Edwards and Wilson. Their pastries are awesome! Shelves filled with Josephines, Napoleons, cream puffs, cannollis, biscotti, and other delicacies await you! My favorite is the Josephine - white cake, a layer of strawberry filling, a layer of cream on a heavy base and dusted with powdered sugar. This bakery has been in business since 1915 (?) and it's now being operated by the family's 4th generation. While we were there an elderly lady stopped by and said she'd worked there as a teenager during WWII. Don't forget to check out the oven mitts framed on the wall - in use from 1915 to 2007!

So many options, so little time!

Ohh yum! In back are the Josephines covered in powdered sugar, a piece of German Chocolate cake peeks out of the corner, two chocolate cream puffs sit on the right, and a sugar rose tops a Napoleon.

We also drove through the beautiful city of Louisville, Kentucky! We didn't have a chance to stop, but I'm definitely adding this city to my list of must sees! It looked beautiful!

And of course there was a small surprise for us as we reached West Virginia . . .

SNOW! Just a light dusting, but enough to remind us that winter is well on its way.

Back in DC

I have returned! Earlier than expected after the series of car issues. We had a beautiful drive back - pictures to follow when I locate the connector from the camera to the computer (which has gone missing . . . again. Apparently I never learn . . .)

Another lovely trip to Kansas City - can one ever get tired of the Plaza?

Or Mass St. in Lawrence?

That said, I'm ecstatic to be back in my apartment and returning to regular activities. I have several projects which I'm staring to work on and will hopefully finish before the busy holiday season takes over.