Some of the damage so far and it is still coming down. The crashes we keep hearing are terrible. The power was out for about 2 hours. Thank God it wasn’t any longer. Hopefully it will stay on now. – Christi
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From the monthly archives:
January 2009
I woke up this morning to an icy wonderland. It is eerily quite. No cars driving past, no one out walking their dogs. Every now and then I here the crash of tree branches breaking and falling to the ground. This is the first Winter storm this year but it is doing a lot of damage. I just hope we don’t lose power. I’m making beef stew today. If we lose power, I can at least heat it up on my gas stove. Hopefully it won’t come to that.
Today’s Lagniappe: Beef Stew
Lightly dredge 2 lb. of stew meat in flour. Brown the meat in a little oil in the bottom of a dutch oven. When the meat is brown, add a couple of potatoes and 3 or 4 carrots that have been cut into bite size chunks 1 can of beef broth, 1 lg. can of tomato sauce, 2 cups red wine, a few tablespoons of Worcestershire, garlic powder, salt and pepper (to taste). Bring to a boil and then simmer for a couple of hours. Serve with cornbread.
Sorry for the vague measurements. I am trying to write fast in case we lose power.
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Since I posted Mama-isms, one of my two beautiful sisters requested that I give equal time to Daddy-isms. My Daddy died in 1992 at the age of 54 of cancer. Daddy was a big, lovable man, full of integrity and loved by all who knew him. He laughed a lot and smiled a lot and I am very blessed to have had such a great Daddy. He was a very optimistic and positive man who had sayings that deserve equal time as well as a few funny memories.
When asked how are you his response was invariably, “If I was any better I couldn’t stand it!”
You can’t go through life looking in the rear-view mirror.
About anyone who was a good cook – You’re a good cooker.
About Marriage – Love is important but commitment is equally important.
The Bible is a book that is meant to be understood by reading.
When we were kids, my younger sister had a slumber party on March 31st one year. The following morning, my Daddy woke all of the sleeping girls and told them to be calm but to hurry outside because the house was on fire. When they were all safely outside he called to them from the door “April Fools.” He loved to pull April Fools jokes but that was one of the best.
Daddy loved to swim and he made sure we all had swimming lessons. He would take us to the pool and delight us by throwing us high in the air. We would wear him out by begging him to throw us again.
He would wake us up in the morning by turning on the light and singing (loudly)
Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
We’re all in our places
With bright shiny faces.
For this is the way,
To start a new day.
If we didn’t wake up after the singing, he would stand at the end of the bed and say chop, chop, chop (as he was falling forward) to give us time to get up before he said TIMBER and fell on top of us. To my recollection, he never actually fell on top of any of us.
I could go on and on. As you can see, Daddy was a fun guy.
Today’s Lagniappe: Recipe for Spinach Madeleine or Crawfish Spinach Dip
I spent the afternoon yesterday with my friend Darlene planning our upcoming Mardi Gras party and it put me in mind of something with a little New Orleans’ Flavor. This is copied from Chef John Folse & Company Website. If you don’t have the River Road Cookbooks, look for them, they are great.
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 5-6 Servings
Comment:
This traditional Louisiana recipe was first presented in River Road’s cookbook from the Junior League of Baton Rouge. It is safe to say that this single recipe made the book world famous. In the late 1990s, Kraft foods did away with their jalapeño cheese roll which was originally used in the recipe. Recently, an alert customer informed us that Kraft’s Velveeta line introduced a similar Mexican cheese.
Ingredients:
* 2 packages chopped spinach, frozen
* 4 tbsps butter
* 2 tbsps flour
* 2 tbsps chopped onions
* ½ cup evaporated milk
* ½ cup reserved spinach liquor
* ½ tsp black pepper
* ¾ tsp celery salt
* ¾ tsp garlic salt
* 6 ounces Velveeta Mexican cheese, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
* salt and red pepper to taste
* 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Method:
Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquid. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onions and sauté 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Add evaporated milk, spinach liquor and Worcestershire sauce slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and cubed cheese. Stir until melted and combine with cooked spinach. This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator overnight.
This traditional dish can be spruced up for the holidays by adding ¼ cup diced red bell peppers when the onions are sautéed.
There are other great dishes that can be made with this versatile recipe, such as:
Crawfish Spinach Dip: Add 1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails when you add the cheese and serve warm with tortilla chips or crackers
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My Grandpa will be 93 tomorrow. I wish everybody could have a Grandpa like mine. Grandpa has always lived his life with a passion. Whenever I think about Grandpa, I think of him with a smile on his face. He has the best stories of anyone I’ve ever known and his life would make a great movie.
From Grandpa, I learned a great work ethic. When I was in high school, I worked for him in one of his businesses and I remember being 7 minutes late one morning. He told me if I was ever late again he would fire me. I learned at a young age the value of being on time.
Grandpa has always been so full of life. He always worked hard and played hard. He loves fishing. He used to go fishing in Canada and Mexico a lot and has wonderful stories from those times.
He always has the most beautiful lawn around and he is an expert on growing green lush grass. He used get the Wall Street Journal. I remember, he would give his old copies to me. He told me three columns to read so that I could carry on an interesting conversation with anyone.
Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love you.
Today’s Lagniappe: Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
This is one of Grandpa’s favorites. It was also a favorite of my Daddy’s. Grandmother Dicus and Mama used Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise for this recipe but you could use either one.
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
1 cup sugar
1 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise
2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoon soda
4 teaspoon cocoa (Mama used a little less)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together sugar and miracle whip. Add soda and cocoa to warm water and then to stir it into the sugar mixture with vanilla.
Bake 325 for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. Let cake cool then spread with chocolate fudge frosting. Place pecan halves all over the top of the cake.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
4 cups powdered sugar (Mama uses regular sugar)
1/2 cup hot milk
2 tsps. vanilla
In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add cocoa, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat, set aside to cool slightly.
In large mixer bowl combine sugar and milk, beat until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature to spreading consistency, about 1/2 hour.
Leave comments for Grandpa here. If you haven’t commented on this blog before, your comment will be held until I approve it. I’ll be checking often so I can approve everyones comments. Once I’ve approved you, you can come back anytime and comment without me having to approve you 
and I hope y’all will come back to visit.
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I remember Sunday lunches when I was growing up fondly. When we got home from church we would set the table with the good china and all gather round the table. Often, we would have company and spend 2 or 3 hours at the table visiting.
I remember one occasion when my mother had put a roast in the oven before church. When we got home, she had a migraine headache so we were going to just have a low key lunch so she could rest. As it happened, there was a mix up in dates and one of the ministers from the church and his wife thought they were invited for lunch that Sunday and, of course, showed up ready to eat. My poor mother, got us to set the table and she went ahead and presented a lovely meal with a smile (even though she felt terrible).
I’m not sure how my mother managed. She often didn’t know how many would actually show up but there was always plenty of food for everyone served with grace and beautiful Southern hospitality. I always appreciated how everyone always felt welcome in our home. I hope people feel as welcome in my own home as my mother made them feel in hers.
Todays Lagniappe: Mama’s Sunday Roast
Place a 3 to 5 lb. roast in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper.
Mix together cream of mushroom soup, 1 pkg. of Campbell’s beefy onion soup mix and a can of beef consumme. Pour over roast.
Put roast in 325 degree F. oven and roast for 2 to 3 hours.
Place potatoes that have been quartered or cut into 8ths and carrot chunks into pan around the roast after the roast has cooked for 2 hours or so.
Raise oven temperature to 35o degrees F. and cook for an additional 30 to 40 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Remove roast and vegetables from pan and make a gravy with the pan drippings. Serve roast and vegetables with hot rolls, a green vegetable and a smile.
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When you need to entertain at the drop of a hat, what would you serve? For some crazy reason, I think about this a lot. I have a vision that 12 people could show up unexpectedly on my doorstep and I could entertain them beautifully without blinking an eye. In real life, I might could handle 2 people if they were visually impaired enough to not see dust on my furniture or dishes in my sink. I could feed them cheese and crackers and maybe a glass of wine (if not wine, I could probably come up with some lemonade).In my dream world, everything would be spotless and I would have everything on hand. I think having these items on hand would work:
- Sausage cheese balls and cheese and olive roulades and cheese straws served on a pretty silver tray (that doesn’t need polishing) I would just happen to have these in the freezer, I would just pop them in the oven for a few minutes and serve piping hot.
- A variety of wines, soft drinks, etc. with sparkling clean glasses and garnishments at the ready.
- A variety of cheese and fruit or antipasto fixings that I would throw on a tray and they would land in an artful arrangement that would wow my guests.
- Fresh flowers arranged beautifully.
Of course, I would also serve these with my flawlessly manicured hands in my beautiful hostess attire without a hair out of place.
Luckily for me, I have never had 12 people show up at my door unexpectedly. I have had 2 show up occasionally and I managed just fine. Thanks to my mother for teaching how to be a good hostess, I know how to smile and put things on pretty plates or trays and wing it.
You know, I could probably put some of those things in my freezer, just in case . . .
Today’s Lagniappe: Sausage Cheese Balls
2 cups Bisquick
1 pound hot sausage
1-1/2 cup medium or sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with your hands. Roll mixture into balls a little smaller than a golf ball. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 minutes.
Christi’s note: I like to add garlic powder, a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of cayenne and sometimes a little dried parsley to this mixture.
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The time to plant seeds indoors to get a jump on the season will be here before you know it. Many seeds should be planted 4-8 weeks before the last frost inside and then transplanted outside when danger of frost has passed. If you don’t know your last frost date, check your state’s extension service. You may have to search around a little bit, depending on your state.
I also like to plant according to moon phases. You can check the moon phases here or check planting dates with the Farmer’s Almanac here. My grandmother was good about telling the weather by looking at the sky or the trees or the sun. She grew up on a farm and they didn’t have the methods we have now. I learned that she was usually right and it gives me a sense of peace to watch nature to see what it is trying to tell us.
Anyway, if you plan to plant anything from seed the time to order is now, if you haven’t already. If you haven’t ever grown anything from seed, try it. It is very special to put a seed in soil and watch it sprout into a full grown plant and then into something that actually bears fruit. It happens in gardens and fields all over the world every year, but to me it is always a miracle.
Gardening can really be a great source of therapy. Watching the cycles of nature. Nurturing plants and seeing them grow. It’s downright addictive.
Today’s Lagniappe: A Pepper Tidbit
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
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