TRAVELBLOG POST #4 - KOKOMO

KOKOMO

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I want to take you,
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama ...

This afternoon we will be arriving at Aruba, so it only makes sense that last night I dreamt I was in ... New Paltz.  Even stranger, it was a follow-up I had to a dream several years ago, in which I drove up to New Paltz, on the sly, looking for ... what? ... I can't remember.  But the sky was terribly overcast and so was my mood.  Anyway, in Episode 2, I had traveled to the SUNY campus there - my home-away-from-home for two very formative years - to see my old dormitory.  Apparently I was the producer of a TV show that was based on my years at the college.  Who knew my life was that interesting?  Only in my dreams, obviously.

Robert in front of the Alto Vista Chapel

The building had weirdly been stucco painted white, an anomaly in the Shawangunk Mountains where it just keeps snowing until the entire mid-Hudson Valley is filled to the top. College Hall was comprised of the oldest dorms on campus, built in the late forties or very early fifties.  Our basement was a bona fide bomb shelter, at least what passed for a bomb shelter back then.  Eerie, especially the cinder blocks piled up under every above-ground window, and the closets full of army surplus food.  I think the expiration dates are still out in the future.  Must be delicious.  My dream took place in a strange, reactionary world where the students were locked in at night, and had no freedom even during the day to leave campus.  How I was getting away with this TV show about life in the hippie dippy seventies was unknown to the me in the dream.  What was also unknown was why it was urgent that I drive home to my parent's house, because I was not allowed to take a hotel room and stay over the night.  The dream ended about then, right after one of the students showed me the window of a high rise dorm (nonexistent) through which a sniper had shot and killed two other students.  Now that I think about it, the dream was all about how the bucolic campus had turned into Fort Apache, The Bronx.  Let's hope there is no Episode 3.

Today is a very special day having nothing to do with the upcoming Best of Aruba Island Tour.  It is my parents-in-law's anniversary, and - are you sitting down? - it is number 71.  Yes, seventy-one.  Seven One. Big seven, Big one.  They were married on December 9, 1943.  It was World War II, a very different time and place.  They worked hard, raised three great sons and one daughter-in-law (I was only 19 when I started dating Rob), and have been blessed with six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and one great-grandchild-to be. I could not have asked for better, more loving, or more supportive in-laws.  Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Aruba is a very interesting island.  I enjoyed the history lesson, especially the connections to Holland (I'm one-eighth Dutch, you know) and New York (I'm 100% New York), the beautiful shots I got of water and white caps and natural bridges, a teeny tiny chapel, little lighthouse, and a chance to glance on homes belonging to Will Smith and the late Whitney Houston.

The California Lighthouse

Food winner of the day came from a visit to the Mongolian grill at Ji Ji Asian Kitchen.  I got smart and picked thin noodles, the type you get in a Singapore noodle dish.  Lots of veggies.  Pork, black bean sauce. Chopsticks.  Good lunch.

Above-ground mausoleums; reminded me of pictures from New Orleans

This has been a great cruise so far.  There are even other knitters onboard - well, one other knitter, one crocheter, and a cross-stitcher. I am catching up on sleep.  My Advil consumption has plummeted.  My anti-sea sickness wrist bands are working perfectly.  I feel good.  About damn tootin' time, too, after a year I am glad to say goodbye to.

 Had to snap this photo - this is the door of another tour bus!  Love it!

Aruba is a volcanic island, and those are volcanic rocks.  Apparently it is tradition in some culture there to place other rocks on top of the volcanic formations.  Reminds me in a way of a Jewish cemetery, except on Aruba it is done for the purpose of making wishes (I hope I'm remembering this correctly.)

The "Baby Bridge" at Arikok National Park

That reminds me - what are you all doing for Christmas and New Year's Eve?  And for my fellow MOTs (Members of the Tribe), what are you making to go with the all-important potato latkes?  All of these are important holidays for food planning, folks.  Now brisket goes naturally with the latkes, as does homemade applesauce.  And as soon as I get back to Florida, I'm going to arrange a bank loan so I can afford to purchase a nice big piece of brisket.

Rapidly approaching sunset, near the California Lighthouse 

Tropical paradise.   I stuck to my bottled water Arnold Palmer. 

Seriously, those are their license plates.  Truth in advertising!

Rabbit Tracks in the Snow - Happy Hanukkah

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When I got into my car this morning, it was officially fifty-six degrees Fahrenheit. I say officially because the front of my house, like the front of the courthouse, faces north.  There is never ever EVER any sunlight there. So it always feels at least 10 degrees colder than the rest of the street. Practically freezing.  Throw in the wind tunnel that is trapped there, and you might even find yourself  searching for a pair of gloves.

And while I am worried about frostbite, my friend and fellow attorney Tony Richardson is dreaming about snow.  The man wants to SEE snow.  He wants to EXPERIENCE snow.  He wants a white Christmas.  In Central Florida.  Good luck, buddy.

It is scarf weather, my friends.  Not cold enough for a sweater (except in front of the courthouse), but a not-too-heavy scarf wards off the Florida chill, as well as an overworked air conditioner.  When it comes to scarves, I am set in my ways, and those ways are hand knit or hand crocheted.  Like socks, once you have worn a well-made hand knit scarf, there is no turning back.

I love lace knitting, so you will see lace patterns show up on most of my socks and many of my scarves.  I love the look, I love working the patterns.  Most of all, I love the results.

I have designed a number of scarves (and socks, and mittens) but this is one of my favorites because of the lace pattern, which I believe is called "Oriel" or sometimes "Cathedral Windows."  This is worked totally in acrylic baby yarn from Hobby Lobby.  So soft.

This is the scarf I wrapped around me today.  The pattern is from a very talented designer and prolific blogger, Alison Jeppson Hyde.  She calls the pattern "Rabbit Tracks" and provides the pattern on her blog at this link:

Rabbit Tracks Scarf Pattern

For my scarf, which I call "Cat's Paw", I added a fourth repeat of the pattern, so it looks like there are four paws moving across the fabric.  I also followed her suggestion for the lacy edging.

I purchased her book Wrapped in Comfort some years ago, and I completed one of her wonderful shawls.  I'm crazy about hand knit shawls.  Her patterns are gorgeous.  Gorgeous.  And there is a story behind each one.

I used Paton's "Lace" for this - if I remember correctly, I used two skeins.  Nice yarn to work with and very reasonably priced.

The year is streaking to the end, and tonight is the first night of Hanukkah.  Happy Hanukkah to my family and friends!  May your lives shine as brightly as the candles on the menorah.  And may your latkes never get soggy!

TRAVELBLOG POST #3 - SUNDAY CALLS TO ME

SUNDAY CALLS TO ME

Finally settled in, I think.  You never realize how tightly wound you are from everyday stressors until you are able to move out of that environment and can then feel yourself start to unwind.   Yesterday, I felt like an old-fashioned clock, with the internal wires loosening and unwinding.  By the time I woke up this morning, I felt like something approaching normal.  Last night I got all dressed up and ate lobster, then went with my best boy to watch a show.  I hate to admit that I dozed through the show - part of that unwinding process.

There was a cooking demonstration yesterday at the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse.  Mushroom Cappuccino (don't expect to see this on Starbucks' menu); Baby Leaf Spinach and Mushroom salad (damn blue cheese); some kind of chicken dish (very good); mac n' cheese, which was one of the best I've eaten; and a tiramisu that had 3 different liquors in it.  Given my total inability to imbibe, I took half a teaspoon to taste, and put it down.  Holy macaroni, what the hell was THAT?  And one old geezer sitting near us complained, "you didn't even try it!"  Not a dessert for kids, by the way.  I think the geezer had already scarfed his down before I even lifted my spoon, which might explain his impertinence.

Of course I got the recipes, what do you think?  I took pictures, too.

Which brings us to Sunday morning breakfast, and this nifty niche with tables and Oriental music, the type they play at Kobe's, the Japanese steakhouse we like.  A rather nice improvement to the Lido deck, which has always had the aspect of a high school cafeteria.  The lady sitting next to us - portly, but not grotesquely so - just ate more food for breakfast than I am capable of eating in a week.  I used to be able to eat fairly large quantities of food, especially when I was a teenager, but I never came close to that. My father-in-law, who had a healthy appetite and came from a family of happily voracious eaters, could not have managed that.  My entire digestive system is cringing from having to watch. Time for some Serenity.

Such a nice place for adults to hang out.  We were able to snag one of those cute half-bubble wicker things, with a circular seating mat inside, just the right size for two.  We read books, I napped, we snacked, I finished my book, we saw a waterspout forming out in the distance.  Rob took pictures. I started another book.  A lady passed by our bubble and complimented my socks.  She asked if I had made them, and when I responded in the affirmative, she gave me a thumb's up.

And now we are at a proper tea.  I only drink tea when I am sick, so this is a special event.  I am having a scone and some Devonshire cream with my tea.  This reminds me of a lovely going-away party we had given for our former supervisor, Dianne, complete with all types of tiny sandwiches and sweets.  And hats, big hats that would have looked at home on female coiffed heads at the Kentucky Derby, or the wedding of Prince William and Catherine.

Circle back to the knitting, which is a big part of my relaxation package. This year has been a bust for finished projects.  Our car travel was down, my lunch hours became practically nonexistent, my time at home was absorbed by the home refit and taking care of my poor sick Ira and our new little rescue Chelsea.

And then I rebooted the blog at the beginning of October, and boy, does that absorb time!  Happy time, productive time (the boys are eating very well) , but nonetheless time away from my needles.  For this trip, after much consideration and consultation (with myself) I decided on one "inside" project - a very large log cabin afghan that really can't be worked on outside while sitting in the sun - and a couple of small, "outside" projects.  Since I have about 10 pairs of unfinished socks, each in their own ziploc bag, it was easy to choose.  One easy, peasy sock, the one I always carry in my purse, the one the Yarn Harlot calls "plain vanilla"; one medium difficulty sock, of my own design, involving yarn overs and strategically placed decreases; and one crazy-ass pattern by the amazing designer Cookie A.  Not that I expect to finish any one of them, but making progress is enough for now.

Knit socks are some of the most wonderful items of clothing you will ever wear.  Once you've worn hand-knit socks, you can never go back, no matter how cute and crazy your store-bought socks might be.  The hardest part is figuring out what shoes to wear, and in what size.  I wear oversized clogs.  Extremely comfortable for casual days and for standing on my feet for long periods of time.  One of these days I am going to break down and buy myself a pair of see-through clogs to wear with my hand-knit beauties.

This evening we had our reservation at Fahrenheit 555, and since it is a steakhouse, I ordered lamb.  Lobster bisque (ooh-la-lah!) and a Caesar salad redolent of garlic and anchovies.   Rob ordered a cowboy steak that mooed when you poked it with a fork.  That's how he likes it.  Me, I like them rare, but not mooing.  I love steak - Rob and I grew up in an era when beef was eaten several nights a week in the average middle class home - but truth be known, I love lamb even more, especially the really good stuff.  Tonight was the really good stuff.                                                                                                  

Kielbasa and Kraut

I have been making this dish for well over 35 years.  I think I got it from the back of a Hillshire Farms label, tweaked it a bit (come on, you knew I'd say that) and perfected it, at least according to the men in my life.

1 pound kielbasa, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
2 sliced onions
1 - 14.4 oz. cans Bavarian sauerkraut, drained
salt, pepper
caraway seeds
1 cup sour cream
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Wondra flour (optional)

Place the onions on the bottom of a large deep skillet.  Cover the onions with the sliced kielbasa; cover the skillet and steam over medium-low heat until the onions are soft.  Remove the cover and stir in the sauerkraut, salt, pepper and caraway seeds.  Heat through and take off the heat.

Just before serving, mix the mayonnaise with the sour cream to make a smooth sauce.  Over low heat, stirring, add the sauce slowly to the kielbasa.   Add more pepper if necessary.

I usually serve this with buttered egg noodles, but since I've learned the ways of spaetzle making, I think that would be a splendid side dish offering.  This is also good with a side of potato pierogen.  I always use frozen, but would love to try making my own.  Maybe someday.

TRAVELBLOG POST #2 - SATURDAY NIGHT (DEAD)

SATURDAY NIGHT WISH-I-WAS-DEAD

Saturday Night Live at 40??? I must have missed the last 35 years, and watching this tonight, I remember why.  And what is going on with Nicki Minaj's tuchus?  As my Pop used to say - about me, by the way - her backside is big enough for six pinochle players and two kibbitzers.  Years ago, my oversized booty was a source of great consternation and embarrassment, especially when trying to fit into an airline seat in coach.   Despite the popularity of songs like "I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie", the big-bootied still have to cope with airline seats.  I can't imagine that they can ALL afford to fly first class.

We missed our first night's dinner.  The ship started rockin' and rollin' and I was caught without those special wristbands I wear to keep seasickness at bay. Taken in combination with the chocolate martini I'd been sipping for an hour and a half, I was not feeling my best.  Okay, actually I was pretty much passed out after chewing on a couple of Bonine.  The Bonine was terribly bitter, but preferable to that awful seasickness hangover-type feeling. Now that I'm awake, I'm steady on my feet and the wrist bands are working, but the headache is a skull splitter.  Fortunately, this cruise has all night pizza and other snacks and so we head upstairs. Good night, nurse!

Bobby Darin singing "Beyond the Sea" during breakfast - how perfect!  Breakfast on the Sunshine compared to breakfast on the Ecstasy, Sensation, Dream and Triumph: absolutely the same!  The cooked stuff is okay, plus there are copious amounts of fresh fruit, cold cuts, breads and muffins, and little danish.  Eating breakfast is nothing more than an annoyance for me, but I love sitting by a window with my coffee, watching the baby whitecaps peak and quickly fade away.

Tonight is "cruise elegant" where we all get to play dress up for dinner.  Rob and I have skipped it for years, ever since we switched to "your time" dining.  I used to enjoy getting seated with strangers - nice to meet new people from very different parts of the country - but after the one table where some of the guests had bonded rather uncomfortably during the martini-testing hour, we decided we liked each other's company enough to get a table for two.  But we also decided that for this trip, we would enjoy the elegant aspects for a change.  As long as we don't have to put up with crazy drunk middle age strangers.

There are a couple of new eating opportunities onboard this ship.  In addition to the Lido buffet (called the Marketplace on this ship) and the regular dining rooms (Sunrise, Sunset - oh hell, there goes another ear worm),   Ji Ji Asian Kitchen, Cucina del Capitano, Fahrenheit 555, Bonsai Sushi, and other assorted taste bars and bistros tucked in unexpected places.  Oh, and Guy's Burger Joint.  The man is amazing and the burgers aren't bad either.  Actually, quite good.  Great fries and toppings.  And to think I voted for the other guy (Reggie) to win.

He's a Bird Dog - Rodeo Dog Macaroni and Cheese

Johnny is a joker (he's a bird)
A very funny joker (he's a bird)
But when he jokes my honey (he's a dog)
His jokin' ain't so funny (what a dog)
Johnny is a joker that's a'tryin' to steal my honey (he's a bird dog)

Without a shadow of a doubt, New York hot dogs are much better than Chicago hot dogs.  While I love all the toppings and the poppy seed roll on a Chicago dog, the dog itself is barely meh.  Although I've never been in Chicago, except once in 1977 while changing planes on my way back from Hawaii, I have been able to experience Chicago dogs right here in Kissimmee.  The place is called Willy's Wieners,  and that's all I'm going to say about that except their food products are from Chicago, so it's fair to say their dogs are pretty representative of what folks are eating in the Second City.  I like Willy's a lot, and it's not their fault I grew up eating Hebrew National and Nathan's and even Sabrett hot dogs, all of them representing the very pinnacle of dog-ness.  Maybe Sabrett is not quite the pinnacle but it stands pretty darn close, and as "dirty water" hot dogs go, it is nose and tail above the Chicago dog.  Pah.  Second City, second-class dog.  But Willy's also has fried corn bites which are beyond awesome. Obviously not from Chicago.

The inspiration for this macaroni and cheese dish came from the Rodeo Dog I ordered from Willy's recently.  I was trying to come up with another dish to leave for Cory while we were at sea for the week, which coincided with one of my rare but fruitless attempts to eat a hot dog.  My fault, not Willy's.  The toppings were awesome, but after two bites I pulled the dog out of the bun, and just kept enjoying the bun and toppings.  Again, my fault, not Willy's.  I'm still having trouble eating.

So I made some notes from my ideas:

Macaroni and cheese (use Ragu cheddar sauce)
Hot dog (Nathan's) - cut up and cooked in oven, grease drained on paper towels
Bacon (not thick cut) - cut up and cooked in oven, grease drained on paper towels
Grilled onions (use regular white onions)
Barbecue sauce (drizzle on top)
More cheese on top of everything (shredded cheddar)

After some more thought, and searching through my pantry, fridge, and freezer, this is what I actually prepared:

8 oz. ziti macaroni, cooked al dente
1 - 16 oz. jar Gourmet Gardens Loco Cheese Dip (contains tomatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers)
1/3 cup milk or half-and-half
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar, divided
1 onion, slivered (I used one half of a sweet onion, but cut it lengthwise into thin slivers)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1 inch squares
4-5 Nathan's frankfurters (with natural casing) cut into 1 inch pieces
salt, pepper, Emeril's Essence
barbecue sauce (I used sauce from Jimmy Bear's BBQ in St. Cloud)

Butter the inside of a 2 quart deep casserole.  Combine the cheese dip with the cooked macaroni.  Stir in the milk, then 1 cup of the shredded cheese, salt, pepper and Essence to taste.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lay out the bacon in one pan, the hot dog pieces in the other.  Drizzle one tablespoon of the olive oil over the hot dogs.  Place both pans in the oven and bake until done,  Don't let either meat get over-browned.  Remove each from the pans with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.  Lower the oven's temperature to 350 degrees.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions.  Do not add any salt.  Sauté slowly until the onions caramelize nicely.  Lower the heat has needed so that the onions don't burn.  When most of the onions are browned and sweet, take off the heat and set aside.

Now construct the casserole:  pour the macaroni into the buttered casserole.  Spread one-half cup of cheese over the macaroni.  Place the hot dogs next.  Drizzle some barbecue sauce all over the hot dogs.  Next place the bacon pieces over the top, starting with the spots that are not covered with the hot dogs.  Then spread the onions evenly over the bacon.  Now drizzle more barbecue sauce over the onions, but don't use too much sauce.  You don't want the barbecue sauce to override the flavors of the other ingredients.  Finally, top the casserole with the remaining cheese, and put the dish in the oven for 25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.  Serve by spooning straight down, so each portion includes the macaroni plus all of the delicious toppings.

Yup, it was good.  Really good.  Probably the New York hot dog that made the dish.  Next time I make it, though, I'm going to make my own cheese sauce for the macaroni.  Maybe even use some smoked cheese.  I'll let you know.

TRAVELBLOG POST #1 - SAIL AWAY

SAIL AWAY

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standing here outside your door,
I hate to wake you up to say good-bye.
But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn, the taxi's waiting 
He's blowing his horn.
Already I'm so lonesome I could die.
So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you'll wait for me, hold me like you'll never let me go.
'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again. Oh, babe, I hate to go.

Every single Carnival cruise I have ever been on - too many to count, as I am nothing if not brand loyal, you know me - Hellman's mayonnaise, Heinz ketchup, and Carnival Cruise Lines -  has ended with this old chestnut being sung at the last dinner before departure, by the entire dining room staff, all claiming English as a second language.  It's corny, I know, but sweet.  And premature; this cruise is just starting.  And inaccurate; I have come to hate flying.  How about this one?

I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board, I'm the captain, so climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I'll try, oh Lord, I'll try to carry on

I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on

Better, at least for this stage of the trip.

If I wasn't in desperate need of a vacation before this, preparing for the vacation wore me out to the point that I really need a vacation.  (That's convenient, because as I type this I'm just under 2 miles from the cruise terminal.)  The effort expended to prepare all my cases for next week was beyond crazy.  Well worth it, though.  This is an awesome ship, folks.  Although it is Carnival's newest ship, it is not, technically, a new ship.  I never sailed on the Carnival Destiny before it's uber-refit and rename to the Carnival Sunshine, so I can't make any comparisons, but this is even nicer than the Carnival Dream, which is/was a brand new ship.  I look forward to exploring.

We're in the Alchemy Bar now, sipping on martinis.  Make mine chocolate.  The first toast of the cruise always goes to Bethe and Maurice, God bless their precious, generous souls.  We did have lunch on the Lido deck, but deviated from our traditional stop at the deli counter and chose from the regular buffet.  Oh, it was great!  Very different from the usual Lido Deck fare.  What I particularly loved was a baked eggplant slice topped with melty cheese and a caponata-type topping.  I am also a sucker for chicken fingers and honey mustard dipping sauce.  Good lunch.

Getting ready for the cruise involves a lot more than preparing all my cases for court.  It involves making decisions.  Tough decisions about important stuff, like which knitting projects to bring?  This takes some pretty heavy thought, my friends. I have to consider all angles - am I working outside or inside?  What projects are at the top of the list to be finished?  How heavy are the bigger projects, like shawls and afghans?  Will they sit nicely in my lap, or are they so heavy and warm as to set off hot flashes?  And what about downloads to my Kindle app?  When I am on vacation, I can read a book a day.  Cornwell, Fairstein, Haddam, or classics likes Rex Stout and Ellery Queen?  Such gorgeous choices!

Salad Days, My Way - The Layered Salad

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall; 
And did it my way.

I've never really liked Frank Sinatra.  But he sang some good songs, even long after his voice was gone, and this was one of them.  He didn't write this, Paul Anka did, which may also account for why I like it.  I like Paul Anka.  Sinatra, not so much. (And if you are one of the readers who thought "Sinatra who?", see if you can Netflix the first "Godfather" movie.  Don Corleone should have slapped him harder.)

There are many millions of blogs out there.  Some are very well-known and widely read, and this is not one of them.  I'd say Inspiration Nation borders on the obscure.  Still, there is a small, loyal group that does follow what is mostly a cooking blog, and I was wondering if anyone actually tries any of the recipes.  You can leave comments on the actual blog, as I would love to hear from you, about the recipes or anything else.

I try to post something everyday, a recipe and/or an ear worm story, so I just wanted to mention that there will be a period of 6, maybe 7 days, where I won't be able to post.  I also won't be able to cook, so that works out okay, I guess.

I'm writing this to be the last post before I sail away from Port Canaveral, so I want to leave you with more than just one recipe.  Ear worms are at your own discretion.

Layered salads are quintessentially American, extremely practical in that you can prepare a salad, with the dressing, the day before you plan on serving it, and it is capable of endless variations.  The first time I tasted a layered salad was at the home of a coworker, back when I worked for the American Hull Insurance Syndicate.  It was very similar to this recipe for a simple seven layer salad.  What grabbed me was the addition of the peas as well as a layer of cheddar cheese.  It was so good, I could have eaten it in lieu of anything else on the menu.

My father-in-law loves salads, so I always try to have something I know he'll enjoy.  For years I have made Paula Deen's Cornucopia Salad for Dad, an absolutely awesome variation which includes water chestnuts, bananas, nuts, and raisins in addition to the usual ingredients.  It makes a gorgeous presentation in my 2 quart glass soufflé dish.  I have come up with a number of variations, some successful, some not so much.  If you google layered salads on the web, you will have hundreds to choose from; this one is the classic, though, and I recommend you try it first.

SIMPLE SEVEN LAYER SALAD

1/2 pound bacon
1/2 large head iceberg lettuce - rinsed, dried, and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas, thawed
5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
(1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped - optional eighth layer)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside. (I cook my bacon in the oven, at 400-425 degrees. I also chop it first).

In a large flat bowl, place the chopped lettuce and top with a layer of onion, peas, shredded cheese, cauliflower, the optional green pepper and bacon. (I prefer a deep glass bowl.  For this, I used a 1 quart glass souffle dish).

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle over salad and refrigerate until chilled.  You can double the dressing ingredients and seal the entire top of the salad.

Like this one.  All twelve layers of it.   Not even sure I wrote down what I did, but you get the idea.

I Love the Cauliflower Girl - Bacon Curry Cauliflower "Slaw"

Who remembers the Cowsills?

I saw her sitting in the rain
Raindrops falling on her
She didn't seem to care
She sat there and smiled at me

And I knew (I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew)
She could make me happy (happy, happy)
Flowers in her hair, flowers everywhere

I love the flower girl
Oh, I don't know just why
She simply caught my eye
I love the flower girl she seemed so sweet and kind.

Better yet, who remembers the name of the TV show which was based on this singing family?  There are no prizes for the winner, but if you can get this one right, I think I love you.

I have spent the better part of the past 18 hours trying to figure out what to do with my Thanksgiving leftovers.  Not the turkey, mind you - I've got that covered.

In fact, I've got plans for everything except a fairly substantial amount of raw cauliflower and Brussel sprouts.  And that aggravates me, because right now I am over the whole roasted vegetable thing.  I thought about an unctuous cheese sauce, with extra sharp cheddar and a touch of mozzarella and parmesan, but that left me as cold as winter in Minnesota. Cauliflower in the crockpot?  Yeah, and then what?  Let me tell you, my friends, I was stumped.

Being a lawyer, I proceeded to do some serious research, some of it at 3:00 in the morning.  The internet let me down.  My vegetable cookbooks failed me miserably.  Nothing was clicking in my head (except for the usual voices, giving me ear worms).  Then I sat down and checked my own very extensive collection of recipes, focussing on a big binder full of vegetable and salad recipes.  I have them organized by "tried" and "not tried", and then within each category, by the particular type of vegetable.  I discovered something I had never realized before - I have collected zero, zilch, zip, nada cauliflower recipes.  Well, one exception - my mother-in-law's recipe for breaded vegetables, which involved cauliflower and Brussel sprouts.  Delicious, but I had already considered that and rejected the idea early on - I wanted something DIFFERENT.  It blew me away that I had never come across a recipe for cauliflower that I wanted to try enough to print out the recipe and run out for the ingredients.

It didn't help, mind you, that I had already made a whole crockpot full of broccoli spears in a creamy garlic sauce that was to die for.  When you get right down to it, broccoli and cauliflower are practically interchangeable.  So I looked through my broccoli recipes, and that didn't help either.

And then ... ILLUMINATION.

There is a saying that cauliflower is cabbage with a college education. Never was this a truer statement than when I found a coleslaw recipe which I was able to rework into a cauliflower "slaw" with Brussel sprouts and other good stuff.  Although this recipe was all about the cauliflower to me, the real stars of the dish are the bacon and the curry dressing.  Oh my word, that dressing! I switched out sour cream for part of the mayo, added more curry powder (why are some people so timid with curry powder?) and tweaked a few other things - well, almost everything.  Okay, I changed everything, alright?

Bacon Curry Cauliflower "Slaw"

Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons sugar
2-3 teaspoons curry powder

1 cup frozen cooked extra-small shrimp, defrosted under cold water and well-drained
8 slices bacon (about 1/2 pound) chopped, cooked, drained on paper towels

3 cups of cauliflower florets, broke into very small pieces (use just the tops of the florets)
1 cup of very thinly sliced Brussel sprouts (slice across horizontally)
1/4 cup very thinly sliced onion
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced green bell pepper
1/4 cup lightly packed grated carrot
black pepper

1/2 cup roast pecans, chopped (optional)

Combine the dressing ingredients, cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours so that the flavors can meld.  In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Add all of the dressing, toss again to evenly coat all of the vegetables, cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Add the chopped pecans, if using, and toss again.

Happy Broccoli, Mr. President - Crockpot Broccoli with a Creamy Garlic Sauce

Five days to cruising.  I like the looks of that sentence, incomplete though it may be.  Four days at sea, three days in various ports, and departure day which is half-port, half-sea, and a fire drill.  That adds up to eight days without access to a kitchen  Eight days without the feel, the touch of my santoku knife.  Eight days without my kids.  Ouch.

I'll be trading my knives for knitting needles.  Nice!  But before that - just now, I developed a craving for chopped liver.   Blame Andrew Zimmern and his trip to Brooklyn.  The only problem is that craving is going to require some duck fat, which I do not keep in the house as a matter of course.  Something else to put into my cyber shopping cart when I order the duck breasts (hello, turducken!) and a couple of confit duck legs.

Liver is a food that my son, who cheerfully downs raw fish, eel, goat, and all sorts of game, will absolutely not eat.  Liver is a food that both of his parents grew up on, and we love it - chicken, calf, beef, and best of the best, foie gras.  The cheapest meal I can prepare involves a pound of chicken livers - organic is best and still economical - and a lot of onions, some to fry in something a bit healthier than duck fat, the rest left raw to chop fine.  A lot of kosher salt and pepper.  Perfect.  And cheap, did I mention cheap?  Chicken liver also plays well with others, like garlic, oregano, and fresh sage.  Oh myyyyyy ... I may not be able to wait until I can get hold of that duck fat.

Today's recipe is from the Thanksgiving menu.  Nothing as adventurous as chicken liver, but controversial in it's own way, thanks to President Bush the First:

"I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli."  - George H.W. Bush.  

Sorry, Mr. President, but if you can jump out of airplanes at your age, and wear crazy socks (I love that he wears crazy socks!) you can try my broccoli recipe.

Crockpot Broccoli in Creamy Garlic Sauce

1 - 22 oz. bag frozen broccoli spears (Birdseye)
5 cloves fresh garlic cloves, slightly cracked and peeled
Olive oil
1 jar Ragu Creamy Mozzarella or Roasted Garlic Sauce
About 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
Kosher salt, to taste
coarse black pepper, to taste
Italian seasoning (optional)
Shredded mozzarella

Pour one or two tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a 3-4 quart crockpot.  Add the garlic cloves, then lay the broccoli spears on top.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the broccoli, then add the granulated garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning, if using. Cover and cook on high for one hour.

Uncover and rearrange the broccoli.  The garlic cloves should remain touching the bottom of the crock.  Cover and cook another hour, rotating the broccoli spears periodically.  Pour on the sauce, reduce the setting to low, cover and cook another 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.  Serve from the crockpot or move to a serving dish, top with the mozzarella and put in a warm oven just until the cheese melts.