Waxing Nostalgic

This is how it all started.  When we bought our property in 2003, we had no intention of building a house, we just wanted a place to go camping on the weekends during the summer.  The 5 acres was completely wooded and isolated and we had no electricity and no plumbing. We would drive up in total darkness on a friday night and light candles and hope that mice had not taken over the cabin.  We bought the property and there was a very small clearing and we ordered a building built out of Pennsylvania and they literally dropped it on a gravel pad on the property and that was that.  I think of those days as magical.  Candlelight, campfires, outdoor   solar heated showers, skunks, mice, hammocks, bicycles and no stress over gardens and water supplies and although I love our house and gardens - this image brings back such great memories.  This cabin now anchors our garden and is a guest house during the summer. The kids are going to be sharing this space for July 4th week this year and it should be a lot of fun.

Braised Chicken with Winter Vegetables

Braised Chicken Thighs with Winter Vegetables

Sorry - not trying to be redundant with braised chicken recipes back to back each weekend but we are dieting and Fresh Fish on the weekend upstate doesn't feel very Wintery - ish.  

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), patted dry

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 slices bacon, diced medium

4 garlic cloves, smashed  and peeled

1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut into 3/4 wedges

1 large russet potato peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/4 small Savoy cabbage, cored and thick ribs removed, cut into 1/2 - by - 2 inch stripes

1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith or Mutsu, peeled and cut into 1/2 - inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large ovenproof pan, heat oil over meduim-high.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until browned on both sides, 8 minutes per side.   Transfer chicken to a plate.  Reduce heat to medium, add bacon and garlic to pan, and cook until bacon fat is rendered , 5 minutes.  Add onion, potato, and carrots; season with salt and pepper . Transfer to oven and bake 20 minutes.  

2. Remove pan from oven and stir in cabbage, apple, red-pepper flakes, broth and mustard,  Add chicken , return to oven, and bake until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes stirring vegetables halfway through.  

3 Day Weekend

3 Day Weekend

It was a nice long weekend. It's a new year so the committee had a busy Saturday morning with Event Planning meeting for this year for the Bovina Public Library.  We drove to Oneonta to pick up tile and supplies.  Drove back to Bovina to lay tile.  Cooked dinner and collapsed with Netflix under quilts on the sofa.

On Sunday, we went for  a long walk along Coulter Brook and it was sunny but freezing.  We didn't even finish our walk because it got too cold to be outside even with snow pants and all.  An afternoon spent curled up in bed under layers of blankets and cocktails and a good book.

Monday, antiquing, cookbook shopping, lunch and trainride back to the city.  Blogging, Facebook, Emails, Smurf Village, Words with Friends and the week begins tomorrow.

DIY PROJECT: Guest Bathroom Floor Tile

DIY: Guest Bathroom Floor Tile

So - tile, grout and I don't mix well.  I love to lay tile but I hate to grout.  It's only taken the last year to finish the kitchen island and backsplash with subway tile.  The tile went up very quickly but the grout - not so quickly.  Grouting vertically is very different from grouting horizontally.  I prefer to be horizontal.  (With a cocktail). The kitchen is almost finished but I started on the bathroom because the tile I ordered finally arrived.  I got so excited and I wanted to take advantage of a 3 day weekend and the tile went down in an afternoon. I have some trimming and cutting still to do but it's quickly grout time.  Tim laughs because I have already started hemming and hawing. I will put it off till next weekend.  However, I love the tile - chocolate marble cut into hexagon mini tile.  It looks great!  Anyone want to give me a hand?

Kale with Shaved Pears and Crushed Amaretti

Kale with Shaved Pears and Crushed Amaretti

This had to be the most delicious salad we have ever made.

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 bunches kale, washed and trimmed, stems removed
3 packages amaretti ( 6 cookies), crushed
1 ripe medium Anjou pear, washed
1/4 cup grated pecorino Romano
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

1.  Place the balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a large stainless-steel bowl. Add the kale and amaretti.

2. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the pear thin (1/8 -inch slices), removing the seeds, and add to the bowl.

3. Add the pecorino Romano and toss thoroughly so the vinaigrette coats the kale well.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve in a ceramic ( or other nonreactive) bowl.

Braised Chicken With Shallots and Vinegar

Braised Chicken with Shallots and Vinegar

Tim and I are eating lighter and healthier and here is a delicious chicken dish we made this weekend.

4 large chicken legs approximately 14 ounces each, seasoned with salt and pepper.

1 cup of cornichons in their brine, sliced a few times lengthwise

1 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 cup cider vinegar
1 quart excellent-quality chicken stock
1 -12 ounce bottle excellent-quality hard cider
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped at the last minute before serving
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat a heavy -bottomed, wide pan (one with a tight-fitting lid that is just large enough to hold all four legs comfortably) over medium heat for a full minute.

2. Add the olive oil.  The oil should streak and ripple subtly when the pan is hot enough to cook in.

3. Add the seasoned chicken legs to the hot pan, skin-side down.  There should be a moderate hiss when the meat hits the pan.  Don't touch or move them for the first few minutes.

4. Brown the chicken legs on both sides, taking care not to tear the skin when turning.

5. Remove the browned meat to a platter.  Pour off any fat from the pan and discard.   Return the pan to the burner and reduce heat to low.

6. Add shallots to the pan and stir to prevent burning.  Some of the nice brown bits from the pan will start to coat the shallots.

7. Add the cornichons and their brine and continue stirring, loosening all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Adjust the heat so the liquid is simmering gently.

8.  Arrange the browned chicken legs in one layer in the pan, pour in the vinegar, the chicken stock, and the hard cider, and then gently stir in and around the legs to bring all of the goodies together: shallots, cornichons, and liquids.

9.  Season the contents of the pan with more salt and pepper to taste--- the broth should be bright with acid and rich from chicken stock, and with as much salt and pepper needed to not taste wan or washed-out.

10. Bring the contents of the pan to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, slightly reduce the heat, and allow to braise on the stove top for 30 minutes.

11. Remove the lid and check the doneness of the meat by wiggling the leg and noticing it's flexibility at the thigh joint.   The meat of the drumstick should also be separating from the bone.  Re-cover and continue cooking another 10 minutes if needed to get meat that is just shy of falling off the bone.

12. Transfer chicken to plates.  Scatter the cubes of butter into the sauce and stir.  Spoon sauce over the chicken.  Sprinkle with the chopped parsley before serving.

Weekend Trip To North Carolina

It so happened that I picked up and started reading the book The Help recently.  In a weird way it made me feel very nostalgic for North Carolina where my father's family is from and where I lived for 11 years.  I had to fly to Charlotte on business and decided to fly down for the weekend and visit  Hickory and Winston-Salem where I used to live.  One of my best friend's, Quinn, and I spent the weekend wandering around town sight seeing and shopping and enjoying the beautiful warm weather for January.

We drove to Hickory and I gave Q a tour of the town. I showed Q my Great Grandparents home where they lived and my Grandfather grew up and later my Great Aunt Vera and my Great Uncle Gordon lived before they sold it to cousins who own it now.
The red brick house looked beautiful despite the leaves gone from the trees.

We visited my Great Aunt Vera's home where she lived after they sold my Great Grandparents house. I spent many weekends helping her in her garden and sitting in her parlor talking. I really miss her. Her grey house looks well cared for by the new owners.  She just passed away a couple years ago. She was the Grandmother I never had.  A wonderful Lady.  I miss her wonderful accent, her sense of humor, her graciousness, her honesty, her apricot-colored poodles, her congealed salads , her daffodils, and summer days with ice tea in her parlor.  She represented everything that was good about the south to me.

Quinn and I drove back to Winston and went to Old Salem, Reynolda, and to Forsythe cemetary where my best friend, Bill, lies with his partner, David, together. I put flowers on their grave.  I miss Bill very much.  I keep a picture of him on my bedside table and two Staffordshire figurines that belonged to him as well as a book of poems that he wrote to always remind me of him.

We managed to have dinner with two additional old friends of mine, Jack and William.  We talked for hours and stood outside the restaurant after it closed laughing so hard and not wanting to go home.

A visit to Winston would not be complete without visits to some of our favorite haunts - K&W cafeteria and Mr. Barbecue made the weekend complete and I left for Charlotte for work.

It was a great weekend, and thanks Quinn for keeping me company.  I miss North Carolina!