Pasta Salad

Ahhhh, pasta salad. This summery salad makes it's appearance at lots of family functions. It's right up there with potato salad most of the time. I had a version of this for the first time when we lived in Redlands, CA. The mom of one of Tawna and Taya's friend (Sis. Williams, Nacole's mom) made a pasta salad and the girls brought some home. She made hers with spaghetti noodles. I couldn't stop eating it and of course called for her recipe. The salad has evolved a little, but is only better.

The pic above was added in June of 2012 after Jade brought pasta salad to our bbq while we were home. Her's is a little different than my standard salad, but we love different too. She makes a great pasta salad.  I will estimate the ingredient quantities to the best of my ability, but adjust them to your taste.

1 bag or box of Rotini (some of us don't like the colored noodles, some do, you decide)
1/2 bag or box of another kind of noodle. Maybe the mini lasagne pieces or something similar for variety.
Boil the noodles al Dente, rinse with cool water and drain. Transfer to a large bowl and put pretty much an entire bottle of Italian Dressing on them. (maybe not the whole thing right away, but enough to keep the noodles from sticking to each other).

Dice up:
1-2 Cups Red Bell Peppers (seeded)
1-2 Cups Green Bell Peppers (seeded)
1 Cup black olives, sliced
1 med. Cucumber (cut in 4ths lengthwise and sliced crosswise)
1 Bunch Green Onions (sliced thin. And the white part if you like onion flavor)
2-3 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
Dash of Parsley Flakes

I like:
1 Cup Artichoke Hearts (sliced thin)
1/4 Cup Small Capers
1 whole Avocado Diced and tossed with 1-2 T. lemon juice

Add some Parmesan cheese to taste, I like about 1/2 Cup.
Mix well and adjust quantities to your liking.

Add some more Italian Dressing (my favorite is Newman's Own Restaurant Italian) but Wishbone regular Italian is good. Whatever kind you like. I have been known to put in just a shot of Red Wine Vinegar for good measure.  Salt & Pepper and even a little Granulated Garlic to taste. It's all good.
I have tried this with a Creamy Italian and it is awesome.

Some other things people put in:
Broccoli Florets
Grape Tomatoes instead of Romas
Small squares of different kinds of cheese
Feta crumbles

Adjust quantities to fit your crowd and enjoy. 

Chocolate Nutty Delight

I was trying to remember where I was when I got this recipe. I think it was at a baby shower in Okinawa, Japan while we were serving there in the Air Force. I knew right away it was a keeper for our family and it is with us still, some 30 years later. It's just one of those desserts that everyone loves. We have all made this for countless functions and it makes an appearance regularly at family get togethers.

This recipe is for a 9"x13" (regular size) oblong cake pan. *
Preheat oven to 350º.

Crust:

• 1 stick (1/2 C.) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 C. pecans chopped small (Walnuts can be used) (no nuts can be used and it's still good)
  
• 1 C. Flour

In a small bowl, cut flour into softened butter. When the texture is mealy, mix in pecans and turn into a 9x13 pan. Press into bottom of pan and put into oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove and allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Layer:

• 2-8 oz. Cream Cheese softened
• 2 C. Powdered Sugar
• 2 C. Cool Whip or stabilized whipped cream

In a small bowl stir ingredients together until smooth. Mixture should be very easy to pour onto crust. If it is too sticky it will pull up the crust, so be sure and get it about the consistency of cake batter. I soften the cream cheese in the microwave. Spread over cooled crust and refrigerate until cream cheese has firmed up. Food coloring can be added to this layer for seasonal purposes. I usually make this layer green or pink.

Pudding Layer:

• 1 sm. Box Instant Vanilla Pudding
• 1 sm. Box Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 3 C. cold milk

In a medium bowl combine instant puddings and milk. Stir together with a wire whip until smooth. Donʼt wait for pudding to completely thicken in the bowl. Pour over cream cheese layer and refrigerate.

Whipped Cream Layer:

• 1 Large container cool whip or stablized whipped cream (the non-dairy whipped topping mix in the refrigerated case at Smart & Final works well too)
• Mini chocolate chips or chocolate curls

Spread cream over top of pudding. Sprinkle chocolate chips or chocolate curls to garnish. A grated Hershey with Almonds bar makes a great garnish too. Refrigerate. Serves 12-15

For a Christmas version Candy cane chocolate kisses chopped in the food processor are a yummy addition to the mini-chips or chocolate curls on top.

*If you are doubling this recipe in the big cake pans we love in this family, only do one and a half the recipe for the cream cheese layer.

I have made this in individual servings in clear, plastic 8 oz. cups. I got Pecan Sandie cookies for the crust as they just fit in the bottom of the cups. You could also make several pans of crust and crumble it into the bottoms to keep the recipe more true. I put the cream cheese layer in by loading a pastry bag with it, using a large hole tip. Nana always had large pastry bags around and a wonderful array of tips to choose from. I did the same with the pudding layer and the whipped topping. It made the cutest little parfaits and they are so delicious. A little more work, but serving them was really fun. No cutting and plating and no pan to wash.

Peanut Brittle

Peanut brittle is by far the thing Papa loved about Christmas. He is a peanut brittle man. There is a little store on McKellips Road called the Orange Patch Too. He stops in at this store when he gets a craving for ice cream, as they have a small ice cream counter there. At the ice cream counter are also the fudge, turtles, various chocolates and yep, peanut brittle. Actually, different kinds of brittles are there and it's all tempting. Often Pop would come home from visiting Falcon Field with a small bag of peanut brittle. Nana would make several batches of peanut brittle just to keep on the counter for anyone who might be by, and of course for Papa to snack on.

Butter a 12"x18" (half sheet cake) pan and set aside. A silipat can also be used with great results. A large pizza pan works well also.
In a small mixing bowl combine:

• 1/2 t. Salt
• 2 t. Baking Soda
• 2 t. Vanilla
• Set aside

In a heavy 4 qt. sauce pan combine:

• 3 C. Sugar
• 1 1/4 C. Corn Syrup (light)
• 1 1/4 C. Water

Put on medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a full boil. (about 20-30 minutes). Remove from heat and add:

• 1/2 C. Butter (1 stick) Cut into chunks

Clip on candy thermometer and return to burner. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture reaches 280º or soft crack stage. Add:

• 3 C. raw peanuts

Stirring constantly, bring mixture up to 300º or hard-crack stage. (about 12-14 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in baking soda mixture. Be careful as this will cause steam and you could burn your hand. Pour into prepared pan and cool for 1-2 minutes. Working quickly, begin stretching the brittle from the edges with buttered hands or two forks. As it stretches beyond the pan, allow those pieces to break off and place them on the counter, or onto another silipat. If you turn them upside down, this will cause the peanuts to stay in the middle rather than sink to the bottom of the candy. Continue stretching and pulling off pieces until all the candy has been stretched. Allow to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

Panocha (Penuche)

The "blond fudge" Nana would make every year that everyone loves. This and her chocolate fudge were the neighborhood hits every Christmas. Everyone looked forward to her gifts from the kitchen especially when they came in round take-out containers with a bow on the lid.

• 2 C. Whipping Cream
• 1 T. Corn Syrup (light)
• 2 C. Sugar
• 1 C. Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
• 3 T. Butter
• 1/2 C. White Compound Coating* (or white chocolate chips)
• 1 1/2 C. Nuts (usually pecans or walnuts, but up to you)

Butter an 8"x8" pan and set aside. In a heavy 4 qt. sauce pan combine cream, corn syrup and sugars. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring with a wooden spoon. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush if sugar crystals on present. Clip on candy thermometer and cook stirring occasionally to 238º, or soft-ball stage. Remove from heat. Without stirring add butter. Set aside until it cools to 210º. Without stirring add white chocolate chips. Let stand 1 minute. Add nuts and stir with wooden spoon until smooth. Candy should be thick and creamy. Scrape into prepared, buttered pan. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Store in a cool dry place. Can be refrigerated.

*Compound coating is a vegetable oil base rather than a cocoa butter base.

Caramels

I'm into Nana's files for Christmas candies she has made and found some good caramel recipes. She taught me to make them too, long ago. It's been awhile. A long while. I did put the nuts in my batch, but next time I make them I won't. I don't like the texture as well, and I really just like the caramel part anyway. Again, personal preference. I didn't have the right size pan, so put them in this dish. Some of my caramels have curved edges, but they still taste just the same.

• 2 C. Light Corn Syrup
• 1 (12-14 oz. can) Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 1/2 C. Milk
• 1 C. Whipping Cream
• 1 C. (two sticks) Butter
• 4 C. Sugar
• 2 t. Vanilla
• 2 C. Nuts (optional)

Butter a 9" x 13" baking pan. Glass is best, or maybe a non-stick kind. Set aside.
In a heavy 6 quart pan, combine first six ingredients. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until mixture comes to a boil. If you have sugar crystals on the side, brush the sides down with a wet pastry brush.

Clip on a candy thermometer. Cook, stirring constantly now to 240º, or a soft-ball stage. If you don't stir it now, it will stick to the bottom and burn. The stirring is important. Kind of a lazy stir that keeps the bottom in motion. Once it has reached 240º, remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and nuts (if you are using nuts). Pour into prepared pan without scraping sides. Allow to stand at room temperature overnight. 24 hours is good. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into 1" squares or rectangles. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and put into air-tight container. Can also be dipped into dipping chocolate for an even more decadent treat. Makes about 110 pieces.



I made a mistake and got regular evaporated milk instead of the sweetened condensed. Duh, I know, right? The recipe still worked, but took a long time to reach the soft-ball stage. The texture is a little different too. I'm sure if I do it again with the right ingredients they will be fabulous! They still taste good, they just aren't the ones I remember. You live, you learn. The people I give them to this Christmas will like them just the same.

Golden Good Caramels

This recipe is like the one Nana made long ago when we lived on Allen Circle. Our neighbors, the Sherwoods in the next circle over had milk cows and we would get our milk from them. We would go through the rosebushes in the back yard, over to their carport where they had two refrigerators. We would sign the clip-board on top of one of the fridges as to how many gallons we were taking, reach inside for a glass, gallon jar of milk. I loved that milk. No hormones, no crazy processes, just milk from the cow. Nana would sometimes skim the cream off the top and save it to make various goodies. Ice cream in the summer and candies in the fall. Caramels were one of my favorites. Another neighbor, Theresa Robinson had a great recipe for the most delicious caramels and that is the one Nana used. I have looked in her file for a reference to that recipe, but none of them say Theresa's caramels. This recipe is the most like that one of long ago.

• 2 C. Whipping Cream
• 1/2 C. Milk
• 1 1/4 C. Light Corn Syrup
• 2 C. Sugar
• 1/4 t. Salt
• 1/2 C. Evaporated Milk
• 1 t. Vanilla

Butter an 8" square baking pan. Set aside. In a 4 cup glass measure combine cream and milk. In a heavy 4 qt. sauce pan combine 1/3 of the cream/milk mixture, corn syrup, sugar and salt. Place over low heat and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. When mixture comes to a boil, stir occasionally for about 30 minutes until it turns a light tan color. Clip cany thermometer on and increase the heat to medium. Without stopping the boiling action slowly pour in 1/2 of the remaining cream/milk. Stirring constantly now, cook for 15 minutes. Slowly pour in the rest of the cream/milk and the evaporated milk. When temperature reaches 245º, or firm ball stage remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla. Without scraping, pour mixture into prepared baking pan and allow to set at room temperature overnight. Turn out onto cutting board and cut into squares. Wrap in wax paper and store at room temperature. Makes about 50 pieces.

Nana's Roast Turkey

Nana always made such delicious turkeys. And not always for the holidays. We used to laugh that Papa was a true turkey junkie. He does love a good turkey. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas for sure Nana was up early getting the turkey prepped for roasting. I remember big roasting pans in the oven, and then when they were available to buy, roasters on the counter that freed up the oven for other things. She would shop for a Butterball turkey most years, but then decided there were other brands that did just fine too. As the turkey sales became more competitive, she would get a great deal on more than one, so she would have one in the freezer for sometime. I know she made turkey dinner on Father's Day now and then because of Papa's addiction to a good turkey. (and dressing, etc.) She also decided the 12-16 lb. turkeys were more tender, so she would roast 2 smaller ones as opposed to the traditional 20 pounder. Any left-over turkey that was not consumed in a couple of days went into her famous pot-pies. She would make up several small pot pies and freeze them. They were so very good. Another of Pop's favorites.

Nan's tricks of perfecting her prep evolved over the years and became the following:
The night before she would mix up a brine recipe and get the turkey into it overnight. There are lots of brine recipes to choose from. Hers was just a simple brine.

For about a 16 lb. Turkey

• 1 C. kosher salt
• 1/2 C. Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Gallon Vegetable Stock (or chicken stock), or water.
• 1 T. black peppercorns
• 1/2 gallon ice water (more if needed).

Combine all brine ingredients (except the ice water) in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat. Cool to room temp and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

There are brining bags available at the store which make it much easier. Follow manufacturer's direction on amount of liquid content for the bag. A five-gallon bucket can be used if you have no bag. Place turkey in bag or bucket and pour the cooled brine mixture in. Add enough ice water to cover turkey and place in the refrigerator, or if it is cold enough, in the garage maybe. Needs at least 6 hours to brine well.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine. Pat the bird dry with paper towels. Stuff with your favorite dressing recipe, or add aromatics to the cavity. Loosen the skin on the breast of the bird. Do not remove the skin, just loosen it from the breast meat so you can get your fingers in-between the skin and the meat. Nana would make a paste of softened butter, a little flour, salt, pepper and maybe a little garlic. She would then work the paste between the skin and the meat. Then she would rub any left on the outside of the skin over the breast. In the early days she would then put tin foil over the breast before putting it in the oven. When the counter top roasters were on the scene, the foil didn't matter anymore. Even better are the Reynold roasting bags that she used even in the counter-top roasters. No more basting. The bags hold the juices and make clean up even easier. Roast at lower temps (200 or 250) for a longer amount of time, or at 350 for a shorter time. Use a table for temp/pounds of meat to determine cooking time. The counter top roasters usually get the birds done in less time. A meat thermometer is good also. 161º inside meat temp is recommended.

Turkey should rest for about 15 minutes after removing from the roaster before carving.

Some aromatics for the cavity if you are not stuffing with dressing:

A peeled onion and some garlic cloves are the simplest.

Nana found this recipe online and wrote her additions and tweaks to it:

• 1 Red Apple, sliced
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 C. Water
• 5 Sage leaves
• 2-3 Sprigs Rosemary
• Vegetable Oil

In a saucepan combine first four ingredients. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to steep until cool. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Coat the whole bird with vegetable oil for a really brown turkey.

Nana's Turkey Dressing

I wanted to get Nana's recipe for dressing on here as I see there is nothing posted for the hallowed holiday of Thanksgiving.

Nana's Simple Dressing

1 Box cornbread croutons (or cornbread made ahead, broken up and dried out) Nana was good to make her cornbread ahead of time. We would have soup or beans and cornbread about a week before Thanksgiving. She would then break up the cornbread and put it into large bowls to begin drying out. You have to stir it up once in a while so it all dries and doesn't mold in the bottom.

Other breads she would dry out to make a good combination for the whole were:
a bakery white bread
a bakery wheat bread
some leftover hotdog or hamburger buns
or leftover rolls.

A few days ahead she would break it all up (about the size of large croutons) in a big metal bowl to start drying out. If it wasn't dried enough by the day before she would put it in the oven on 200ºF. Stir often so it drys uniformly. Should be like croutons when done.

1 Cup chopped celery. She always pulled the strings down the backs and even scraped the backs a little (to take the bitterness out), sliced it lengthwise and then across for a good dice.

2-3 Chicken Breasts. Nana got to where she didn't like to boil the neck, and innards of the turkey to dice up for the dressing. She started boiling a chicken breast or two to put in the dressing instead. Much more convenient and then the kids don't think you are putting weird stuff in the dressing. When cooled dice and save the water (now chicken stock) for later.

1 Large Onion. Also diced rather small. Green onions can be added also if your family likes them.

3-4 Cloves Fresh Garlic. (optional) I added this as my family likes garlic.

2 T. Poultry Seasoning
Butter (at least 3 sticks)
Salt and Pepper
Eggs
Chicken Broth or Water

All measurements are guidelines. More or less of anything is just personal preference. I never saw her measure anything in this process. It was mostly a tried and true combination of quantities that went into each batch through the years.

In a really big bowl combine all the dried breads. It looks like a lot, but it does "cook down" and gets less volume as the eggs and broth or water is added. Put in the onions, green onions, garlic (if you are using it), celery, diced chicken breasts, and salt and pepper. Mix it all up well.

Now dice up at least 1 stick of butter (I use two) and add it to the mix in the bowl. Take a couple of eggs and slightly beat them before adding them to mix. Kind of getting a moister consistency now. Add in some chicken broth or stock. She would add about a cup at first and then more by small increments until she got it to the consistency she liked. It should be crumbly still, but if pressed together would stay a little. She made it a little on the dry side at first knowing that once in the turkey it would absorb the juices as the turkey cooked. She would stuff the turkey loosely so it wasn't so packed in and had a little room. After the turkey was stuffed she would add a little more stock to it for a moister consistency and put into a sprayed or buttered casserole dish for baking later. She would dot the top with more diced butter. After all, it is mostly bread and butter, right? She would bake covered at 350º for about an hour. We all looked so forward to her wonderful dressing. It was better than the turkey, or the potatoes. I do love dressing.



This is sadly the only picture I have of our Thanksgiving prep this year. Or any year. I don't remember to get the camera out while doing the prep, probably because my hands are doing the prep! This is what it looks like in the drier state before stuffing the turkey. It is moister looking (and feeling) after more stock is added for the pan dressing.

Valentine Sugar Cookies

Such a good recipe. A great find on the the internet. Nana did not have a tried and true sugar cookie recipe in her file, but had one from the food network, so I will post that one also. Meanwhile this recipe makes soft, moist sugar cookies that are so good. The dough holds its shape well too, so if you are using big cookie cutters, they don't break trying to put them on the cookie sheet to bake. I did use a spatula to help and it worked great. 

Soft Sugar Cookies

1 C. Sour Cream

2 C. Sugar

1 C. Shortening

4 Eggs

1 t. Vanilla

6 C. Flour

3 t. Baking Powder

1 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Salt

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Combine first five ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients until everything is well mixed. Let the dough chill for about 15 minutes.

Form dough into small balls, or use fun cookie cutters. When rolling dough, use a floured surface and dough should be rolled to about a 1/4" thick. 

Bake until LIGHT golden brown - no more than about 10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, they may seem underdone, but they aren't. Just let them cool on the pan and you will find that they are perfectly soft and moist. I baked mine on a silpat for 11 minutes as they were on the large side. If you prefer sugar cookies that are a little crunchier, just bake them a little longer and maybe roll your dough a tad thinner.

Toffee

I made this recipe over and over last year to pack in Christmas tins for my kids and others. Nana used to make this toffee recipe every Christmas, and I so love toffee. I have Nana's recipe here. I remember long ago when we still lived in the house on Allen Circle her getting out her toffee making pan (the one with teflon coating) and stirring up a batch of toffee at Christmas. Now we have scilipats to make our lives easier. I've never had a hard time getting the toffee out of the pan when I use one. Nana gave me my first scilipat and she loved how easy they made candy and baking. After many years, she went to her famous fudge recipes. For my fellow toffee addict Taylor, and all of you, here is the recipe for Nana's wonderful toffee…

Butter a 12 x 18 (half sheet cake) baking sheet, cover with chopped pecans (or walnuts)
and set aside. You can also use a scilipat baking sheet (minus the butter) in your baking sheet for great results. They are the perfect size to fit a half sheet cake pan. (pictured above with the ingredients).

In a heavy bottomed 3 qt. saucepan…
2 C. Butter (1#) not margarine
1/2 C. Water
1/4 C. Light corn syrup (Karo)
2-1/2 C. Sugar
Combine above ingredients over medium high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Continue stirring until mixture begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low, remove wooden spoon and do not continue to stir.
Clip on candy thermometer and cook syrup to 290ºF (or 145ºC), a soft crack stage.



Remove from heat and pour over pecans in prepared baking sheet.



When just hardened, but still hot:
Sprinkle 1 pound (or so) chocolate chips on candy. Sprinkle densely. After just a few moments chips are soft so you can spread evenly to coat candy.



While chocolate is still warm, sprinkle finely chopped walnuts (2-4 cups) over top and gently press to set nuts into chocolate. After cooled completely you can turn entire block over, melt some more chocolate chips to spread over the back side and coat with nuts. Double coated is good, but a lot more work. I usually just do the one layer chocolate.
Any kind of nuts you like will work, and milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips - whatever your tastes are.

When completely cooled:
I use a clean white dishtowel to turn the toffee out on. I loosen the edges with a sharp knife and then lay the baking sheet upside down over the dishtowel. After the toffee is out of the sheet, peel off the scilipat and turn the whole block over so the chocolate and nuts are once again on top. Break into irregular pieces and store in an airtight container.
Makes 4-5 pounds (about 150 pieces).



Sometimes syrup mixture separates during cooking leaving a buttery looking layer on the surface and a thicker mixture underneath. To save the batch try and correct, add about 1/2 C. hot water and stir well. You may need to add additional hot water, but this should correct and save your batch. I've never had to do this, but got this tip from a candy book.

Taya sent me a pic of the toffee tin they got at Christmas. Thanks Taya.

Food for the 4th

As the holidays roll around, the traditional food that accompanies them are part of the memories. I don't have any real recipes for some of these dishes, but thought I would list ingredients. Everyone has their own spin on the salads and dishes, so to each their own.

For our 4th, we enjoy coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, baked beans, hamburgers, steaks, chicken, hotdogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, homemade ice cream and chocolate cake. We didn't have all those things this year, but we have been known to. I fell in love with Grandma Dorothy's coleslaw long ago. I have been making it for years, so this is how it goes…

The Coleslaw

Nana's Way (sweet, almost a little Hawaiian)1 med/lg. Head Cabbage (sliced thin and then sort of diced)
1 16 oz. Can Crushed Pineapple (drained well)
1 med. Carrot (peeled and shredded)
1 C. Mayo
1/4 C. Cream
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash of Sugar
In a large bowl combine the cabbage, pineapple and apple. Mix well. In another smaller bowl mix the mayo, cream, sugar and salt & pepper. Pour over salad mixture and mix well.

Dorothy's Way (adapted, more like a Texas Coleslaw)
1 med/lg. Head Cabbage (sliced thin and then cut across a few times so it's not too long. More like a fine shred)
1 Bunch Green Onions (slice the green part only)
1-2 Tomatoes (diced. I like Romas, but any kind will work)
1 C. Mayo
1/4 C. Rice Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
In a large bowl combine the cabbage, green onions and tomatoes. In a smaller bowl whisk the mayo, Vinegar, Salt & Pepper. Pour over cabbage mixture and mix well.

For either salad adjust mayo mixture so the consistency is what you like. Cabbage will sort of shrink down once the mayo goes on. It will shrink a little more as it chills. Best if made ahead of time so flavors can blend. Nan liked them both.

I also grew up with Nana's Potato Salad and love it. She just kept it really simple, so I have too. I sometimes leave out the boiled eggs and the celery because I have a few egg and celery haters in the family. Sometimes I don't and they just have to deal with it. Sometimes they add chopped onions (which I don't like) and I have to deal with it. Family give and take, right?

Nana's Potato Salad
(The way I remember it as a kid growing up)

For about 5 pounds of potatoes:
8 lg. Eggs
Mayo
Mustard
Sm. Can Black Olives
3-4 med. Stalks Celery (optional, diced fine)
Dill Weed
Granulated Garlic
Green Onions
3 med/lg. Dill Pickles (diced fine)

Boil the potatoes until they are just tender when a fork is inserted. I use a large stock pot and about 3 inches of water in the bottom. Drain off the water and put the lid back on slightly askew so the potatoes can cool without drying out. Once cool enough to handle strip off the skins and discard. Dice the potatoes. If you like boiled eggs, hard boil about 8 eggs and set aside to cool. Remove shells when cool and reserve 2-3 eggs for garnish. Dice the rest with an egg slicer first one way, then the other for a fine dice (almost julienne) cut. Drain a small can of sliced black olives. Slice thinly a bunch of green onions (just the green part unless you like a more oniony taste). In a large bowl combine the diced potatoes, pickles, green onions, eggs, celery and olives. Mix well. In a smaller bowl combine the following:

Quantities are estimated depending on personal taste:
2 C. Mayo
1/2 C. Mustard (just the regular yellow kind)
1 T. Dried Dill Weed
1/2 t. Granulated Garlic
1/4-1/2 C. Dill Pickle Juice (to taste and for consistency)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Pour over potatoes and mix in well. When the consistency is the way you like it transfer to a serving bowl and smooth the top. Take the remaining eggs and slice with the egg slicer (just one way). Arrange sliced eggs on the top and maybe a few olives if you like. Sprinkle a little paprika over the top and chill. Good if you think to do it the day before as the flavors develop in the fridge. If you like other ingredients, throw them in. Nana always liked to try new things. This is a staple for summer holiday dinners. Love it.

Of course my little bowl of sample is a must. You gotta sample it, right?

Now for the Baked Beans.
Nana pretty much used canned pork and beans as a base. She would drain off the juice, discard the token piece of pork and add her own mixture of things. She added a splash of liquid smoke, a bit of her BBQ sauce, maybe some diced green chiles (or not, depending on the majorities' ability to handle the heat), salt and pepper. She would bake them uncovered for at least 45 mintues in a 350º oven.

Again, there are many versions of baked beans. It's always fun to try a new one, but I keep coming back to the tried and true beans that were such a part of our family BBQs. She always had a can of beans on hand.



I remember the many times we would go out on the sundeck to watch the fireworks. Not a fan of crowds, we didn't often go to the city stadiums for the show, like maybe once in Chandler. I do have many fond memories of the 4th of July celebrations in Queen Creek. We would go out with our ice cream packed in ice and wrapped in a quilt, chocolate cake, fried chicken, salads, etc. and enjoy free corn on the cob and watermelon courtesy of the Barney's and the Schnepf's. Our Schnepf cousins were there as well as friends. There were always great fireworks and it wasn't like a crowded city stadium. It was in the ball field in back of the old Queen Creek Mormon Church and I loved it.

Thanksgiving Pies, Anyone?

Just curious if anyone is interested in getting together for a pie fest after dinner on Thanksgiving. Kevin's sister Leslie has made it a tradition in their family and it looks like so much fun. If I got the info straight in my head, you just bring your favorite pies (or not if you only want to eat) and everyone samples the wares. If any of you are liking the idea, or have an idea of your own, just leave a comment and the cooks of this nook will endeavor to make it happen. It would be cool to start a new tradition we could all enjoy.