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When I got a Paderno spiral slicer for Christmas, I knew exactly who was going to love this new gadget. My brother, the engineer who never met a machine he didn’t like.
15 days until Christmas, and we’re making progress. How are you doing?Over the last two weeks I have made two recipes from Damaris Phillips’s new show on the Food Network, entitled Southern At Heart. And they were both fabulous.
I’m going to be perfectly frank here; I was not convinced about Damaris when she won Food Network Star this year. Although I liked loved her unfiltered personality, I wasn’t sure that she had what it takes to join Alton, Giada, Ree, or even Guy (not my favorite) on her own show.
She has proven me wrong.
I like everything about the show. I like how she starts by visiting a local Louisville purveyor to get her special ingredient. I like the guys who have signed on to be taught to cook a special meal for their sweethearts. I like her sass and I like her recipes.
Recipes are where it’s at in the rundown to Christmas.
What is usable and what is not? If you are going to try something new that’s out of your traditional rut, where do you want to go?
Beer Mac and Cheese. Click into photo for recipe.
We made the Beer Cheese and Mac and her Curry Cauliflower and Rice casserole in the last two weeks, and they were both winners in the empty nest. I highly recommend that you consider these recipes for your Christmas entertaining. Both have unexpected ingredients that take a familiar recipe to the next level, and that’s why I recommend them.
On the Christmas countdown tally sheet, we’ve ticked off some items. We set up the three new pillow top mattress sets in anticipation of the Christmas Gathering of the Clan, bought a paper towel holder (isn’t it always the mundane things that drive you crazy when people are working in your kitchen?), and talked to the visiting English chef/daughter’s boyfriend about the menu. He says he can make naan bread from scratch. Really??? I’m pretty sure I would buy it from my local Indian market — we live in Chicagoland and we are fortunate that there are actually Indian markets that are likely to be open on Christmas day, but I’m willing to let him do whatever he wants. That’s what I promised, a no-drama mama Christmas. 🙂
How are you doing on your preparations? Do you have your gifts purchased? I’m almost done with that as well; thank goodness for online shopping! Thanks for stopping by to see how Music Man and I are getting ready for Christmas in our empty nest.
Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”
Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)
17 days until Christmas! Did you have a busy weekend? We sure did here in our empty nest — music, shopping, decorating galore! That’s when a good crockpot recipe is just the thing, and today I’m sharing one of the best.When your days are so busy that you don’t have time to cook, and when you need a potluck dish for a crowd, Calico Baked Beans are sure to be a hit. I shared this special crockpot recipe for entertaining a crowd last year. Please click here for the best hearty bean and meat stew that you will encounter all season!
Click into photo for the recipe.
We were so busy decorating that I didn’t get time to take any good photos for this week’s posts, but I intend to remedy that soon. I snapped a few for Facebook, but we have some wonderful things to share with you WHEN they are totally finished and photographed. Thanks for joining us for 25 Days of Christmas in the Empty Nest.
Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford.
Like a child in wild anticipation,
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”
Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)
Julia Child has been my summer obsession.
I’ve read several books related to Julia, and I started to actually cook from my mother-in-law’s copy of her cookbook. My most successful dish was also probably the easiest for the “servantless cook” to master — Poulet Rôti. Julia included multiple versions of roasted chicken in her various cookbooks and I will link up some recipes at the end of the post for you to try!
Although Julia appeared to be very laid back, I’m pretty sure she would not have approved of the one adaptation I made to her recipe.
I decided to use an upright roaster to drain off some of the fat from the chicken. I put the roaster in a larger pan to give it more stability and make it easier to handle and to catch any drippings that didn’t go into the little drip pan.
It came out of the oven with a glorious crispy skin and it was moist and delicious on the inside despite the upright roaster. Success!
I served the roasted chicken with corn on the cob and our favorite go-to summer dessert, fruit salad.
The web is full of recipes claiming to be Julia Child’s — this video is one of many. The guy drives me crazy when he calls the divine Mrs. C Julia Childs, but otherwise, it’s a good tutorial if you’ve never stuffed and roasted a chicken before.
While not exactly like Julia’s recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, this recipe is a simplified version and has the steps that Julia liked to use when she wrote cookbooks.
This recipe is from a 2000 edition of Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom and apparently Emeril used it on the Food Network when he cooked roast chicken.
The fun thing about getting to know my way around Mastering the Art of French Cooking is that it turns out Julia Child was right.
The servantless American cook CAN master French techniques if you just follow Julia’s instructions. She worked for ten years to create a foolproof book, and at least in the roasted chicken department, she succeeded.
Bon appétit!
