Posted on 03/28/2018 4:07:48 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
I have fond memories of dying Easter eggs when I was a kid; today, the smell of vinegar will always take me back to the dining-room table of my childhood, and the PAAS egg-dying kits. Last week, I discovered a somewhat messier alternative technique that nevertheless results in a beautiful dyed egg: Shaving Cream Easter eggs (remember to only use shaving CREAM for this, not the gel):
https://www.bhg.com/holidays/easter/eggs/shaving-cream-easter-eggs/
In 1937, a General Connor wrote from West Point to Colonel Simon Bolivar Buckner of Kentucky - who was then at Fort Meade - a request for the latter’s famous Mint Julep recipe. S. B. Buckner responded with a beautifully lyrical letter describing the preparation of this
‘ quintessence of gentlemanly beverages...A mint julep is not the product of a FORMULA. It is a CEREMONY and must be performed by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic, a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite that must not be entrusted to a novice, a statistician, nor a Yankee. It is a heritage of the old South, an emblem of hospitality and a vehicle in which noble minds can travel together upon the flower-strewn paths of happy and congenial thought….’
Here is a link to the letter on the Buckner family home page, including the recipe for this ‘beverage eminently appropriate for honorable men and beautiful women’:
http://www.thebucknerhome.com/julep/recipe.html
And to go with your drinks: Angels on Horseback – Oysters wrapped in bacon and broiled or grilled. If you’ve never tried – or think you don’t like – oysters, as this post on the site What’s Cooking America suggests these ‘Angels’ might be a great way to introduce yourself to them:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/AngelsOnHorseback.htm
-JT
Brushing them all over with lemon oil before roasting could also help attain the crispiness.....and adds more lemon flavor.
Yes; I think my problem was that I had too many potatoes for the pan I used. You need to make sure they are in one layer, not on top of each other; and flip them halfway-through.
“Flipping them half-way through”....that brought memories of my Mom cooking Sunday dinner.
She made the crispiest roast potatoes. But she helped them along.....kept turning them.
I went on a tear learning to make - and MAKING - premium liqueurs last week: Bailey’s Amaretto, Kahlua and Grand Marnier. Now I’m using all the assorted extracts I’ve collected to make exotic cheesecakes with my .29 blocks of Neufchatel from Aldi’s, last night was Pistachio. No carb except the graham cracker crust and maybe 30 melted white choc chips in the whipped cream topping.
That cheesecake sounds luscious.
All those homemade liqueurs......my, my you are industrious.
I think that Charles Eames once said that “the details are not the details - they make the design”.
Picasso's Guernica---his painting as a polemic against war---is huge. I saw it when it was lent to a US museum.
The details Picasso inserted are meaningful....and its quite difficult to absorb all at once.
But I will say the whole work of art in its entirety is visually stunning.
I know that the painting is highly touted; but I’ve never liked it or much of Picasso at all, beyond some of his earliest work - which implied a promise to which he never lived up. To depict such a serious theme in an almost ‘cartoon’ style is, to me, repulsive. I guess I’m just old-fashioned.
Leonardo, Goya, Delacroix all did much better when dealing with similar themes, and made them sensible to the average person looking at them, instead of just trivializing and confusing.
Picasso is best understood in that he is the father of Cubism.
His paintings look weird b/c he looked at a subject and painted it in three dimensions (cubism) on a flat canvas.
Picasso discarded all attempts at sentimentality and romanticism.
It’s not what’s on the canvas so much as it is ones brain working at Mach One speed to figure it all out.
Not the relaxing feeling of looking at a simple still life......or a lovely girl on a swing as a romantic like Watteau painted.
No question......patriots’ hearts sing at that depiction.
So I guess it’s “to each his own.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.
Exactly. God put us here to express and experience our individual Selves.
I will look more closely at Piccasso - but I’ll probably still wind up liking only his early stuff ;-)
Romanian Pasca Easter Bread Cheesecake
Ingredients
Sweet bread dough
1 package instant dry yeast 2 teaspoons
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter softened
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
4 - 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cheesecake filling
1 cup ricotta
4 ounces cream cheese 1/2 package
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Egg wash
1 egg
1 teaspoon milk
Glaze
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon milk
Instructions
Sweet bread dough
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment, add the yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Let it proof and raise.
Meanwhile, measure out the remaining ingredients for the bread. Mix them into the yeast mixture starting with 4 cups of flour and then adding more if necessary. The dough should be soft and only slightly sticky. The amount depends on the flour and air humidity.
Let knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Alternatively, knead the dough by hand. Lightly oil the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1-2 hours.
Divide the dough into halves. Press one half onto the bottom of a 10-inch greased springform pan.
Divide the other half into three even pieces. Form each piece into a thin rope, about 32-inch long. Braid the pieces together and loop around the edge of the pan. Cut off excess dough and pinch the ends together to seal. Use the extra dough to form a cross and place it on top of the filling (optional).
Let rise for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cheesecake filling
With an electric mixer, beat the ricotta, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Assemble
Press down the center of the dough flat. Brush the braid with egg wash. Pour the cheesecake filling in the middle of the braided circle.
Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 40-45 more minutes or until the crust is a deep brown. Turn off the heat and let cool in the oven without opening the door for 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Just before serving, brush the braid with honey glaze.
Recipe Notes
~ Free Tip ~
Add ½ cup raisins to the cheesecake filling (soak them in rum to soften).
For a quick dough rise, place the bowl into a larger bowl filled halfway with hot water.
Use just one kind of cheese for the filling - 12 oz. (1 ½ cup) of ricotta, cream cheese or farmers cheese.
https://all-thats-jas.com/easter-bread-cheesecake-pasca.html
The best rice krispies treats I’ve ever had were made with homemade marshmallows.
I love the picture of that and how it turns out.
So beautiful with the cross Christ died on etched in pastry....surrounded by the exquisitely decorated eggs.
Ground Lamb Patties in Cognac and Green Peppercorn Sauce
PATTIES Mix 2 lb grnd boned lamb shoulder, 1/4 cup minced onion, 2 tb minced fresh parsley, 4 minced gar/cl, s/p.
Form into patties slightly less than 3/4" thick. Batch/cook bottoms crusty in butter/ol/oil on high heat (do not crowd) 4 min.
Turn; cook 2nd side. Transfer to platter.
SAUCE Pour off fat from skillet; set pan on med-high. Stir in shallots. Add cognac, stir/scrape up browned bits.
Tilt pan, heat 1/4 c cognac and ignite. When flames subside, add cup chix stock; reduce by half.
Add cup h/cream or crème fraîche; stir til golden brown; simmer to sauce-like consistency. Add few peppercorns, lemon juice droplets.
FINAL Offheat, swirl in tb butter. S/p.
SERVE Pour over plated patties. Sprinkle w/ peppercorns. Serve immediately.
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