Eternal Flame

I think that my oven has been on for about two weeks solid--at least that's how I feel. So, just for all of my gentle readers, I have compiled some photos of the things that I have made in the past few weeks. I hope that you enjoy it.

My first batch of Madeleines, using Ina Garten's recipe:

Grambi gave me a Madeleine pan this summer, so I was happy to finally have a chance to use it. I didn't love the recipe, so I think I'll try some others to see if I can find one that I like more. These were an odd texture that I didn't like, but Mother of Ken suggested a lemon glaze that you put on while they are warm, so I might try that next time.

I also roasted some chicken breasts--you'll see later in the post how I used the meat, but I saved everything else for stock.

I also tried a new kind of squash--Red Kuri:

This thing has a very thick skin, so I did some research and learned that you have to either use a hammer or pound it on a hard surface to open the squash. Someone actually told a story about her mother-in-law putting one of these into a pillowcase and throwing it down the stairs until it broke open. I knew it wouldn't be easy, so I wrapped it in a towel and tried hitting it with a hammer. That didn't work--it just bounced around. So, I ended up just holding it by the ends of the towel and bashing it against the floor until it cracked open.



Perfect!

I cooked the squash at 400 degrees until it was tender and used some olive oil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar toward the end of the cooking process to give it some flavor. It probably took about 45 minutes to an hour. It was pretty good, but I don't think that I will go to the trouble to break one of these open again anytime soon. And, yes, I know that this is not the nicest looking picture ;-)

With the chicken, I made pot pies with puff pastry lids in my cute little pie pans. I wanted to make a filling like the one that Grambi used to make that had lemon in it and wasn't quite as thick as traditional pot pie filling. I got close by using chicken stock and just a little milk and the juice of a whole lemon and I am really glad to have a few of these in the freezer:

Last Saturday, while I was making cinnamon rolls, pie, and lasagna, I got a box from Grambi that I had been expecting. She generously gifted me with her FoodSaver and I am thrilled!

I have already started food saving--sausage, lasagna... When I first moved out on my own and I was living in Dallas, working two jobs and feeling homesick, Grambi gave me a red cooler and every time I came home, she would load it up with things that she had food saved--spaghetti, turkey, roast beef, all kinds of things. I was so glad to be able to come home, put one of those in a pot of boiling water, and have a home cooked dinner almost every night that summer. This was, of course, supplemented by Mother of Ken's offerings so that when I had been on my feet for 8 to 10 hours a day working at a retail store, I didn't have to cook for myself and I had a little taste of home. That is one of the things I miss most living so far away--no food from home. It's a good thing I can cook for myself.

My lasagna--I used whole wheat egg lasagna noodles that were on sale and filled it with sweet Italian sausage, spinach, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and lots of cheese:

Lasagna with some homemade French bread:

I forgot to take pictures of the cinnamon rolls, but I did remember to take a picture of the world's cutest cherry pie:

I'm giving my oven a well deserved rest now and I hope to be back with a special Jell-O related post soon.