What you see pictured above is this blogger's Mom-in-Law at The French Hen. She's a sweet old thing, but not hardly that OLD, and she does love butter on her bread. That, you see, is the reason she's wielding a knife towards me...reaching for the BUTTER! Oh! O-k-a-y, then.
She decided the set of Pendleton sweaters that Ed and I gifted her with for Christmas was too big for her tiny lil' ole' scrap of a self and so, yesterday, nothing would do but we all drive down to Utica Square and exchange then for something that would better show off her feminine attributes. (She's gonna kill me for that one! Pray she uses something sharper, and therefore quicker, than a butter knife.)
Anyway, while we were out shopping in that precious warm sunshine, I decided I'd hoof it over to Sonoma (also in Utica Square) and see how much money I could (again) throw on the alter of the god's of good cooks. The spice racks above Ruth's head are part of what I purchased. I like the way they sit securely on the back of the stove...we have a small kitchen here at the lakehouse, sorta like the Granddaddy to a kitchenette, actually. Anyway, new and inventive storage places are always a thrill! The spice caddies contain: Malt Vinegar Sea Salt (for fish?), Sweet Basil Leaves, Extra-Fine French Grey Sea Salt , Blood Orange Peel, Soup Base Seasoning....yup...just base for plain old generic soup...I will tell you though it smells heavily of CHICKEN!, Toasted Onion Powder, Sun Dried Tomato Flakes, Lemon Herb Seasoning--which is not just lemon basil, it's sea salt, lemon peel, garlic, onion, parsley, citric acid, thyme, savory, black pepper; The Mexican oregano is, on the other hand, just plain Mexican Oregano....not oregano pumped up with peppers, ha!, Juniper Berries; Chili Seasoning, Fennel Seed.
I think it's sort of fitting that a photo of my mother-in-law show up now and again in these blog pages. After all, she's the one that introduced me to entertaining, the one who spurred my love of fine dishes and cutlery, of heavy pots and pans...not to mention the art of cooking! Ruth is a wonderful cook. She cooks, as she does everything in life, with a light hand and her dishes always taste perfectly seasoned!
Anyhoo-hoo....The recipes for today are really the recipes left over from the weekend when my sister was here for a couple of days. The recipes are really (REALLY) good. They are also really (REALLY) rich, so if you endeavor, you're taking your life into your own hands. And...there's something else about these recipes, too...you have to go fetch this one and, then this one. I'm sure you'll find all kinds of wonderful recipes on those sites but they should pop open to White Chicken Enchiladas and Salted Caramel 6-layer Chocolate Cake. I made the cake exactly like the instructions (except for the part where I boiled caramel all over my electric stove top and made a hideous mess that has not been completely resolved as of yet). The cake is "too good for words"....needs to be outlawed, punishable only by death. With the enchaladas, I was wanting 2pans of large size enchiladas (10 in each pan) so I boiled a whole chicken and then deboned it and reserved the broth for the sauce. Everything else in the recipe was doubled. Also...instead of Monterrey Jack I used Extra Sharp White Cheddar. MmmmMmmm.....
Movin' Slow, But I Gotta Go, NoNNaLo
Comments