Mom is here, and we are doing our own thing – we thought about having a ham dinner, and that sounded good, but lobster sounded better.

So, Mom made up a beautiful little Easter Tree -

- and we enjoyed a spectacular repast, though it would have been nicer with Dad and John here.

Roasted Asparagus Craig-style:

Soak lovely asparagus spears in icy-cold water, after bending them in your hands and letting them break where they may (they naturally break at the tender part…so the bottom ends that break off are the woody, pithy parts you don’t want to eat, anyway…)

Then, toss them in olive oil, coarse salt, and coarsely-ground pepper.

Roast at 500 degrees (yes. 500!) for 8 minutes.

Serve, after the briefest squeeze of lemon over the entire dish…

Perfection.   Every time.

So, it was for us – a Day of Celebration, Redemption, and Life Everlasting.

Certainly, a day to be grateful.

Happy Easter; Happy Spring!

This old girl and I have lived together for nearly 16 years. Its nearly 1:00 in the morning (I’m waiting on my chili to finish cooking…

and…

before you ask…

I’m making chili to enter it in the SOCCENT Wives’ Chili Cookoff tomorrow at the unit.)

So, anyhow…if Dosie wants to eat her supper with her paw, who am I to say anything?

Great times with two special families…and finally making good on an idea hatched back in January.

(You know you’re busy when it takes five months to get together.)

We cooked up a couple of ginormous lobsters, John grilled some steak for the non-lobster eaters (we had two…due to allergies, pour souls), and the kids loved it.

I did not. I love the eatin’ hate the killin’.

We had a four-legged guest, too. Dosie was less than enthused.

Sweet girl…

Sweet girls…

…and terrific friends. Proof that your house doesn’t have to be neat and perfect to host a gathering…just open.

…and that would be…Margaret Adele Ball Craig.

She was my grandmother (and Armour’s, and Andrew’s, and Sara’s, too…)

I attribute my love of cooking to her!

She gave the best presents – always from a silly character that had a small reference to the gift she was giving you (like “Oliver Twist” the year she gave me a beautiful wooden spoon) and she loved Julia Child before it was cool.

She knitted complicated sweaters (saying she liked knitting because it was ”like doing a puzzle”) and loved peonies, a good mystery novel, and a dry martini.

Gin, please.

She would have been 94 yesterday.

I miss her.

Hello ultra-thin asparagus and miniature pattypans…

You were most excellent for supper with a salad and a baked filet of flounder …

 
Well, John and I had another wonderful Christmas with his folks – but I have to say, I was missin’ mine. It’s been four long years since we’ve spent Christmas with them – and there’s just something great about a snowy, cold, Colorado Christmas, the typical pâté and caviar pie, and my dad’s Prime Rib and his cheesy Christmas vest.

Still, we were so fortunate to be with John’s family – and I enjoyed every minute of it…I cooked the Main Event(s) of Prime Rib and Goose and both turned out well (in the case of the Prime Rib – a little too well-done for my taste – but it turns out that most people at the table preferred it that way.) Another of life’s Happy Accidents, I guess.

Here are some pictures from our gathering…hope y’all had a wonderful, meaningful Christmas.

XOXO -

Hol

 And once we were home again … the goose went into a pot!

This is always a really busy time of year.  Armour was born on the 23^rd (not the worst of the Birthday Lottery – but almost.  I think the worst birthdays are the ones that fall either from 26-30 December or 2 -5 January.  Those poor folks have to squeeze in a celebration right after huge holidays and not on a holiday.  Bummer.

Anyway, Arms turned 34 yesterday…which just means that he’s one year away from being at the age when he really needs to know what he’s doing (I mean, wasn’t JFK a Senator at 35?) and about 6 years away from my age, which officially means “Welcome to the last half of your life”. 

So – enjoy this next year, Bro.  Love and Respect from Tampa.

And then, of course, there’s Christmas. One of my favorite times of the year. I’m thankful for a husband who understands and respects the “reason for the Season” and who wants to go to church to give thanks “for all we’ve been given, and the life we’re livin’.”

We’re headed to Mom & Dad Silkman’s for dinner and it will be a great one. I volunteered to cook the main event…which will be a 4-rib Prime Rib and a Roast Goose with lots of sides, and there’d better be – since we expect a fairly big crowd.

I’ve been working this list for a couple weeks, now…and now it’s execution time.

John’s mom is an artist when it comes to desserts – and his dad is actually the Christmas decorations Guru (don’t worry, I’ll take lots of pictures and probably post on Boxing Day) – so I don’t have to decorate (I’m Grinchy that way) and get to do what I like – which is cook but not bake.

Mostly, though? I’m thankful for life, limb, and being in my own country for Christmas.

Love y’all.

In terms of our economic downturn, let me just say this: I believe in cooking at home as often as possible. Mostly for two reasons:

1. It’s fun!
2. It’s cheaper.
3. Generally, it tastes better. (Exceptions would be things I can’t cook myself – like Thai, or sushi, or really authentic Mexican food – my absolute favorite cuisine…)

Oh, wait. That would actually be three reasons, Hol.

Hoo Boy.

Anyhoot…before we left Florida for this mini-deployment, I saw a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, in their RSVP section. And to make a long-story-longer, I’d like to note that I rarely like braised, or any other type of slow-cooked meats. Armour’s Osso Bucco is a notable exception.

This dislike drives me a little bit crazy, though, because I know (!) we’re missing out on delectable things like Puerto Rican oxtails, Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons, coq au vin, or any number of slow-cooked dishes from around the world.

I mean, People – I really don’t even like chili. How bad is that????

So with all of that in mind, I tried this short rib recipe (which I can’t find now online, but it really doesn’t matter because it turned out to be horrible anyway.)

Here’s why: the butcher convinced me to buy the shortribs he was selling: boneless shortribs. (“You pay too much for the bone that you can’t eat, ma’am.”)

Don’t ever do that. It’s worth it to buy them on the bone…the bones impart a lot of flavor, they’re nice to nibble on (and if it’s just family eating them with you, who cares?) and you can then use the scraps and bones for wonderful beef stock – so you definitely get your money’s worth.

Here’s the picture of what I started with:

It looks like it would be good, doesn’t it? (And don’t you love the little salt & pepper vessels? Perfect for my kitchen. From Sisi – natch.) The ingredients are simple, colorful, not too many flavors – but I didn’t even take a picture of the end product because it was a brown, glutinous, every-flavor-but-beef Mess.

The moral of the story is: whoever heard of ribs without the ribs? Don’t waste your money on bad butcher advice.

Hmmph.

Quite a while ago, actually.

Disclaimer: I did this during out trip up to the Wedding at the Top of the Hill, so I was using the utensils I found in the cabin’s cupboards…not the best of equipment – but I persevered and they were excellent, anyway!

Now, if you don’t have a lovely steamer insert, or a cool bamboo steamer (like I have in storage and that the vacation cabin didn’t have!!!!) then just put a colander into the pot. The thing is, you want the water to just reach the bottom of the insert…whatever insert you happen to have. What’s inconvenient about having to cobble together a steamer is that you may have to add more water as the artichokes cook.

Now, cut off the top 1/6 of the artichoke. It creates a nice flat top and cuts off all those nasty prickers.

Snip off (using scissors) the rest of the leaves’ tops. The leaves all have a pricker at the apex. You need to cut that off…you’ll see in a minute.

Rinse those suckers well, Honey. Sometimes there is sand in there, and you need to flush it out.

See how pretty? (The art-i-choke, Peo-ple. Not me! It was morning and I was cooking these for an eggs Benedict type-of-thing.)

Now, put them in the colander!

Put the lid on, and steam away (adding water as necessary to keep the water level up) for about 45 minutes, or until you can easily poke a knife down into the heart or pull a leaf without resistance.

And to eat? Oh, My. Pluck each leaf, draw the white parts through your teeth so you scrape off the flesh, and when you get down to the Choke, you gently tear out the “hairy” choke fibers, and divide the heart itself (which is the flower bud). Dip each piece of the artichoke heart in melted butter and luxuriate as it melts on your tongue!

Awesome! John’s favorite!