Fall is Really Here!

This morning we woke up to no electricity and the first freeze of the season. After a couple of hours the electricity was restored, the house began to warm back up while the frost melted in the sunshine. But what a beautiful day! I may have to adjourn to my deck this afternoon with my cat.

This is the view I have from my library where I sit at my computer. Everywhere we look we see trees.

We got to meet our daughter's boyfriend last evening, so I made steaks, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, sauteed crimini mushrooms and Green and Gold salad for dinner. He seemed to enjoy dinner. I know I did.

Perhaps the best part was that I grilled an extra sirloin steak and saved it for my lunch today. I then thinly sliced it across the grain and briefly heated them in the microwave. Meanwhile, I put mayonnaise on a whole wheat bun, added sliced onion and a slice of swiss cheese. I simply adore steak sandwiches. Hot or cold, they are just delicious.



GREEN AND GOLD SALAD

This is a favorite recipe for our family. My daughter likes her peas uncooked anyway, and with the additional ingredients, she is in heaven. Frozen peas have been blanched during the processing, so there is no problem with not cooking them first. Oddly, people either love this recipe or hate it. This salad does not hold up well to storage, so the dressing needs to be added to the other ingredients just before serving. I often omit the mustard and salt, resulting in a slightly sweeter salad.

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen green peas
1/2 c. shredded natural cheddar cheese
2 tbs. chopped onion
3 tbs. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tsp. prepared mustard, opt.
1/4 tsp. salt
crisp salad greens, opt.
fresh mint, finely chopped, opt.

Rinse peas with small amount of running cold water to separate the peas and to remove ice crystals; drain. Mix all ingredients except salad greens. Serve salad on greens.

Makes 4 or 5 servings. Marilyn’s note: don’t mix rest of ingredients with peas and cheese until just before serving.

Green and Gold Salad

Remember my newly found treasure? I cleaned the copper with half a lemon dipped in tablesalt per a wise person's advice and voila! No scrubbing necessary. I am already dreaming of sauces to be made in this beautiful pot.

It's even prettier cleaned up.

She who laughs last - didn't understand the joke

Does anyone need a laugh today? Especially since it is at my expense? All right then. Many years ago my husband's grandmother gave me an old copper pot. It is a 2 quart sauce pan with a lid. The inside is stainless steel and the handles seem to be solid brass.

The mystery pot - isn't it pretty?

So, how do I use this pot? I don't. It is beautiful and I have always treated it as a piece of art. Simply put, it hangs on my kitchen wall. That's it. Fast forward to this morning. Out of curiosity I read the name that is engraved on the underside of the pot handle. I have to admit: the name has never meant anything to me. I had never heard of it and had always assumed it was an off brand. I do know that the pot was several years old when it was given to me 15 or so years ago.


But now that I have the vast resources of the internet available to me, I decided to see if I could find out anything about this mystery pot. Cop*R*Chef. Holy cow! It's All-Clad! As in this is not a cheap pot. As in, why in the world haven't I been using the thing? Well, it certainly will be used from now on. I found a treasure that had been hiding in plain sight all these years. It looks good on the wall.




















I took the time last evening to prepare breakfast for this morning. This casserole must be assembled the night before, to allow the custard mixture to soften the bread. I allow the casserole to set up for a bit after I remove it from the oven. The dish holds well and reheats easily.

GOOD MORNING CASSEROLE

I was first served this at my best friend Jeanie's house. She, in turn, had gotten it from another friend. This has to be made the night before so it can sit in the refrigerator overnight.

~ 6 slices Pepperidge Farm bread
margarine spread
1 lb. sausage
6 eggs, beaten
1 c. half and half
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese


Remove crusts from the bread and spread margarine on one side. Grease a 13 X 9 X 2 inch pan; lay bread with margarine side up. Brown sausage, crumbled. Drain and spoon over bread. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Mix and pour egg, half and half, milk and salt. Cover casserole and chill over night.

When ready to bake, let casserole stand out 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered 45 minutes or until set.

This looks good enough to eat!