Happy Birthday, little blog!
photo credit to Jack-i and Flickr
One year ago today, I dipped my toe into the blogging waters. Part lark, part creative outlet, I originally titled this blog Saffron and Lavender. That name did not begin to hint at any aspect of my personality - mostly joyful, slightly unpredictable, and filled with energy to spare. Didn’t know what I was doing (still don’t), but I knew I wanted to share some part of myself with the world.
75 (!) posts later, all I know is that I want to keep going. Keep sharing, keep learning, keep trying new things. Thanks to each of you, my readers, for your insight, humor and commentary.
Since gift giving is traditional on birthdays and anniversaries, I thought I’d shake things up a bit by doing my first ever giveaway post here at Full Gastronomic Tilt!
Up for grabs, to be given to one lucky local winner selected at random, is a $10 gift certificate to French Broad Chocolate Lounge!*
photo credit Locavoracious Weblog
Who doesn’t love the French Broad Chocolate Lounge?? To enter, just leave a comment on this post with some inspiration: link to or tell me a story about your absolute favorite recipe - ever or of the moment, doesn’t matter. Thread will be open to comments through Saturday, February 20. Winner will be chosen on Sunday, February 21.
A few restrictions:
~ One comment per person, no more. Break the rules, lose your chance.
~ Residents of Western North Carolina only, please. Jill made a good point. Let’s broaden that to two hours from Asheville in either direction, as long as you make it to our fair city occasionally. Statesville to Knoxville, bring it! (Apologies to my respective posses in Raleigh, Brooklyn, Portland and Atlanta.)
~ You must be contactable and willing to either meet me for a cup o’ joe to pick up your winnings or provide me with a mailing address I can send it off to.
Good luck, much love and thank you!!
*Gift bought and paid for with my own hard-earned cash. FBCL did not approach me in any way or provide me with any incentives to do this.
I give because I love…you!
Only one recipe?!?!
At first thought it seems complicated and almost impossible to decide. So many choices from breakfast to dinner, bunch to drinks. Sweet or savory. Exotic or usual fare… but after truly thinking about my favorite recipe it was an easy pick. I have been making it for at least 25 years.
The Peanut Butter Cookie recipe from the Joy of Cooking. http://www.thejoykitchen.com/recipe.lasso?recipe=1145&menu=one
I remember my Nana opening her copy of that book, published in the 50’s. Pages stained with previous cooking adventures I recall dancing around the kitchen making cookies with her.
Later my mother would alter that same recipe and we started making peanut butter and jelly cookies. Her Joy of Cooking was from 1975. I love that we can open her book and it will magically fall open to that page, with her writting on the pages in green marker.
Now as a mother, armed with my of Joy of Cooking (circa 1997), the page in my copy for the Peanut Butter Cookies is also happily streaked with peanut butter.
My grandmother, who has just began to lose her memory, taught me how to make pie crust when I was eight. Having spent that sweltering afternoon swinging on her clothesline I retired into the kitchen for some water. Before I knew it, she’d enticed me to join her in mixing, then rolling out the crust. I had not even an interest in food at that age (though I loved to eat her apple pie) but learned something that day that has remained one of my most vivid and meaningful memories. I can still see her strong arms working the rolling pin and hear the sounds of the summer entering through the screen door.
I have always loved apple pie.
Double Pie Crust
4C flr
1 3/4 shortening (can experiment with cold cubed butter or shortening)
1 TB sgr
2 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
1/2 C ice cold water + some splashes as needed (esp if you’re in Montana where my Grandmother and I were)
Mix 1st four ingredients with pastry blender. In another bowl, beat remaining ingredients gently. Combine w/ 1st bowl until moist (just until it comes together). Press dough together (knead if necessary, but not more than 8 times). Chill about 30 minutes (this is important so that the gluten strands in the dough relax, giving you a tender crust). Divide in two. Roll out first half. Transfer to pie plate. Fill with what you love, roll the top edge under the bottom, and finish the edge with your favorite method. Don’t forget to vent the crust and to brush it with egg or milk. This seels it and gives it a nice golden color!
Drat, seriously? I live lots closer than some folks in WNC, but technically, I’m in Tennessee, and always willing to meet for coffee when I’m in town (which is both too frequently and too sparse).
Oh well. I’ll wish vicarious love to someone else - more good in the world is more good in the world.
Happy blogiversary!
Techinicality, schmecnicality. If you wanna try your luck and get to Asheville occasionally, give it a shot!
It occurs to me I shouldn’t have put such a restriction on things, since there are broad interpretations of what constitutes WNC. I was thinking west of Statesville to Knoxville, or two hours in either direction…WHOOPS!!!
Hey, thanks! I’ll really pull out the important stuff, then.
I posted my favorite recipe over here: http://maplequilt.blogspot.com/2010/02/bad-day-brownies.html
Oops - sorry to pile them up, but I probably need to point out that my fav. is OH MY GOSH Bad Day Brownies (their official name, according to the handwritten title in my cookbook). It takes a bit of effort but nothing convoluted, and you end up with a guaranteed improvement to your day. These brownies should not be loosely made - they should be saved for truly bad days.
Happy birthday indeed! I’d love to contribute a chocolate-based recipe in the spirit of the prize, but I don’t have any that come close to the fabulousness of the offerings at the Chocolate Lounge. So, here’s a recipe for pumpkin cornbread, which makes a great treat any time of year. I recently had it with white chili and the two complemented each other quite nicely.
Pumpkin Cornbread
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup cornmeal (not self-rising)
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or freshly cooked and processed)
2/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbs molasses
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 10-inch glass pie pan or 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Sift flours, baking powder, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in cornmeal.
3. In separate bowl, beat eggs lightly. Whisk in pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and molasses.
4. Make a well in the dry mixture. Add pumpkin mixture and blend batter with a few quick strokes (just until blended- don’t overmix).
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cornbread is browned and the surface has a slightly springy feel.
Servings: 8
Screw your rules, Leigh! Rules don’t belong in the kitchen!
My favorite recipe is Eryn’s Cincinnati Chili. The most satisfying meal ever. If anyone out there has never had Cincinnati Chili, it’s like regular chili and spaghetti sauce had a baby.
Anyway, we make it with:
diced tomatoes
tomato paste
diced onion (some to be sauteed, and some to put on at the end as a garnish)
garlic
ground beef
ground pork
ground lamb
cinnamon
chocolate
chili powder
vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
simmer for about two hours then serve on top of pasta (I like rotini, she likes spaghetti), garnishing with diced onion and cheddar cheese (and a little parmesan)
I like it so much that when Eryn and I make it we have gone from using one pound for the recipe, to once quadrupling it and using four pounds (as I will inevitably gorge myself on it that night, and the following nights until it’s all gone).
Aaaaaaanyways. I wanted to make it for my mom, so when I went to visit her for christmas, we went shopping to get all of the supplies. Once Mom realized that it had chili powder in it, she stuck her nose up at the whole idea, and didn’t want to even try it (she doesn’t like hot food). I convinced her, but she nagged at me every time I put in more chili powder. However, when we finally sat down to eat, she LOVED it. Said she had never tasted anything like it, and made me promise to get her the recipe.
Anyways, maybe I’ll make it for you some day, Leigh. It’s great cold weather food, but really meaty, and I know how you are, so you might want to go vegan for a few days before hand…and after hand.
Don’t have a story about an exact recipe, per se, but just this neat one about the summer before I got married. I was one of those young brides - - not even out of college yet - - and had not a clue how to find my way around the kitchen without a map. But what I WAS in possession of were two incredible southern grandmas - - one from each side - - who took me in for three weeks each that summer and attempted to teach me in three weeks what had taken them forty years to learn. I came away from that experience with a beautiful wooden box of hand-written recipes, a bit more confidence behind my apron, and an even greater appreciation for two of the most beautiful women Dixie ever created. And of course those recipes, which are now lovingly gravy and grease stained are still my favorite ones of all time.
My favorite dinner recipe is Morgan’s Pad Thai, because he and Sloan worked for years to duplicate The Dragon’s recipe. (Oh, how I miss The Dragon!). Their first few tries were horrid (ketchup! peanut butter! ugh!), but now it’s incredibly delicious. We did send that you you eventually, right?
For dessert, there are two that I go back to again and again. Variations on my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Raspberry Crisp. Both of which I developed back when I was vegan, perfected to the point that you really can’t tell they’re vegan.
You know, I first learned about the French Broad Chocolate Lounge thanks to one of your first entries in this blog.
I DO have your recipe, and it works like a charm! Thanks, again, for that. You sent me off to play with the proportions and mine ends up with more tamarind, which I think is great!
Now I want pad thai for dinner…
I also swear by your mac ‘n cheese recipe. I’ve tried more than half a dozen and you and Morgan’s is the best!
My new baking obsession is vegan treats. Most of the time, you really can’t tell (if it’s a good recipe), and then I feel even better that my sweets are slightly less bad for you.
My favorite recipe changes depending on my hunger. I love deserts and picked up a cinnamon twist recipe 26 years ago at a Lamaze get together. The dough is butter and cream cheese with a bit of flour mixed in. You roll out the dough in 12-16 inch circles, sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and crushed nuts. Slice the circle into wedges and roll up like crescents. They are a family favorite and always remind me of being young and having my children! The children are all in their twenties and make them for me now.
I waited to post a comment ’til the giveaway was over because I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRFDAY, FGT!
I’m that Same as Juli Happy birthday to the blog and I’m glad it’s taking off and filling you with joy. ^_^ Even if there is sometimes the deadline stress.
Thanks for sharing, you’ve inspired me to cook something special today.