“I KNOW HOW TO BOIL WATER; I JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S DONE": ham topping

Thursday, November 8, 2007

How to: Baked Potatoes

Run potatoes through water for a thorough washing
8 large potatoes, unpeeled
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Wash potatoes well and dry. Pierce the potatoes 2 or 3 times with a fork. Rub a little of the oil on your hands and then rub over the entire potato. Place potato on a square piece of aluminum foil. Wrap potato in foil. Place (directly on rack) in a preheated 350° oven for 1 hour or until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork. Split tops of potatoes with a knife and serve with your desired toppings. (Such as chili or ham topping).

Oh, so easy! My mother told me that the oil makes all the difference. It softens the skin just enough, so you can eat the entire potato for a healthy serving of vitamins and nutrients. My husband would never eat the skin when he was young (of course, he wouldn’t eat the yellow on a sunny-side up egg, either). That changed when he got to college and learned to eat whatever was served in the cafeteria. Funny how things change when you are hungry. I told him that he was missing all the vitamins and minerals in the skin, but he was adamant. Over time, he tried it a little at a time, and now, the entire spud gets devoured . Fortunately, when the kids were young, we cut up the potato with the skin, and they grew up eating it all.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Ham Topping for Baked Potatoes

1 chicken bouillon cube
½ cup boiling water
1 ½ cup milk
¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ cup shredded cheese (Your choice, I use Cheddar or American)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups cubed, cooked ham
1/3 cup sliced olives
2 Tbsp. diced pimiento
1 Tbsp. dried parsley

Dissolve bouillon cube in boiling water. Stir in milk and set aside. Melt butter in saucepan; add flour, stirring, over medium heat until smooth. Cook 1 minute. Gradually add bouillon mix. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add cheese and Worcestershire. When cheese melts, add ham, olives, pimiento and parsley. Heat thoroughly. Serve over baked potatoes.

Enjoy! Élvez! Piacere! Gustirati! Radosť!

Natural Resource

Beginnings

It was tradition in my family that soup was served almost every Sunday. There were only a handful of Sundays where soup wasn't part of the menu. On those days, we probably took a trip to Rivesville, West Virginia to visit with my Grandma, who usually had her own pot of soup on, and homemade bread to sink our teeth into. Sundays started with Mass, and after returning home, we would have breakfast. One of my favorite morning dishes was palachintas (yum). Mom would already have soup on the stovetop, and between noon and 2 o'clock it was time for the "soup feast." You could tell time at our house by the Sunday meal plan. A lot of them were based on the time of the football game, or other sporting event. Soup was always served as the noon time meal, followed by a hearty meatloaf, roast beef, stuffed cabbage, chicken paprikas, or the like, at suppertime (usually around 4 o’clock). It seemed like all we did on Sunday was eat and relax. You would wonder how you could be hungry for supper at 4 or 5 o’clock. Amazingly, you were. There were times I would remember that if there wasn’t enough roast beef to make you content, Mom would give you a slice of bread on your plate and cover it with gravy (Gravy Bread). What an added feast we thought we were getting. Little did we know, there probably wasn't enough meat for seconds, and who cared, because there was always plenty of gravy for that "oh so special" Gravy Bread. I really don’t remember a lot of desserts. I know we probably had them from time to time, but even if there were, I don’t know how one would find, or want to find, the room to fit it in. Well, all this talk is making me hungry. Go turn on the water and let’s get started!

Dedication

I dedicate this website to the 4 best cooks I know: My mother, who nourished me from the day of my first breath, both physically and spiritually; my mother-in-law, introducing me to her family favorites and customs; my husband’s grandmother, who had a unique, physical and verbal way of teaching me all her different techniques, to pass on traditional dishes; and last, and foremost, my heavenly mother, Mary, who is always by my side guiding me with spiritual intervention every step, and ingredient, of the way. It is with a deep love of my heritage that I also dedicate this collection of recipes to all the cooks who are just starting out and continuing the tradition of using recipes that are "family recipes." I hope that this website will serve to preserve some of my "family recipes" and to kindle an interest in traditional cooking among the younger families in a not always traditional way.

Enjoy!
With much love, Beve