Deep Fryer Giveaway

A fellow Examiner.com is giving away a deep fryer

check out the details here

http://www.examiner.com/x-10387-Easy-Meals-Examiner~y2009m11d16-Fryer-giveaway-and-homemade-egg-roll-recipe

Zesty Slow-Cooker Italian Pot Roast

Zesty Slow-Cooker Italian Pot Roast

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A Round Tuit

In theory the idea of being an organ donor had always been in the back of my mind. But for some reason I just never did it.

Then a dear friend died while waiting for a kidney transplant. He was our daughter's "best college friend" and we came to know and love him while she was at Chico State. I can't begin to tell you how much he enjoyed life. Whether he was donating time to the Boy Scouts in Nevada City, whipping up gourmet dinners in his tiny Chico apartment, or earning his teaching credential so he could pass on his thirst for knowledge, everything he took on was done to the best of his ability and with every ounce of enthusiasm he had. He gave generously of his time to those he loved. He helped decorate for our daughter's wedding, and graciously made room for our out of town family and friends, even hosting the Bachelor Party and giving everyone a walking tour of the downtown Chico clubs.

I couldn't get over the senselessness of his death. He had just turned thirty. He was a young man wise beyond his years, a man who knew how short life could be, and lived every waking moment.

I kept thinking, "What if only one more person had donated an organ, Kevin might be alive today." And then I realized that someday, I might be that "one person" to someone else. That did it. I got "a round tuit" that very day.

For more information visit http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/

Fri

Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Heaven on a plate! Fresh zucchini blossoms stuffed with just a bit of sharp cheddar cheese, lightly fried (egg wash, then dipped in a mixture of flour, panko, and Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning).

Garnished with a bit more of sharp cheddar, and sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper (the only kind in my kitchen!) and Hawaiian red sea salt.

Lifelong Friendships

How many of you can boast childhood friends of over fifty years—ones you still stay in touch with and see as frequently as possible?

I grew up in the very small community of Loleta, CA (up in Humboldt County---please spare me the “pot” jokes, I’ve probably heard them all!). Growing up Loleta in the 1950’s was the best of times.

A small town of about eight hundred (I used to joke that included the cows, but in fact, the rich dairy land in the Loleta bottoms probably had a larger populations than that of our human one).

One of the advantages of living in a small town like Loleta is the close-knit community feeling. Any event you attended was merely an extension of the people you knew from home/school/church. There was no need to put up a façade, or indeed, was that even possible, since everyone knew everyone else! What you did on the playground, whose birthday party you went to, or even what you had in your lunchbox every day was public knowledge.

I attended first through eighth grades in the same school, and then went on to high school in the “big” town of Fortuna (population 5,000) five miles away. There were cliques in my high school, same as today, but instead of the jocks and the cheerleaders, the geeks and the stoners we tended to stay in our own little small-town groups—Loleta, Fortuna, Hydesville, Rhonerville, Rio Dell/Scotia.

I have stayed in touch with two of my best friends from those years. After high school it was Christmas cards and birthday cards, with an occasional letter or postcard thrown in. After we all hooked up on the Internet in the late 1990’s, our friendship was easier to maintain. So much so that when we get together now, we don’t have to spend a great deal of time getting “caught up” on each other’s lives. We reminisce, we laugh, we cry. We are comfortable in each other’s presence because of the history we share.

Earlier this month the three of us held a “slumber party” weekend in Sacramento. Although the kool-aid and potato chips were replaced by tapas and sangria, the giggles and laughter and friendship were as they had always been—easy and loud and full of love for old friends.

For more on the value of “old” friendships see:

http://www.nyc-plus.com/nyc13/friendsforlife.html

TFI Friday's Crisp Green Bean Fries

Had these at dinner last night and can't wait to try a copycat recipe out at home.

YUMMO

Blue Plate Meatloaf with Bacon Gravy

From the Blue Plate Diner in San Francisco

The meat loaf:
2 tsp. bacon fat or butter
1 medium onion diced small
5 cloves garlic minced
2/3 cups breadcrumbs
pinch of dried thyme
2 tsp. minced fresh sage
3 tbsp. chopped fresh italian parsley
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. worcestshire sauce
3/4 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt
a few drops tabasco sauce
1 lb. ground beef
5 ounces ground pork

The gravy:
4 strips thick-cut smoked bacon
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh thyme chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock

For the meat loaf:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 5 by 9 inch pan with nonstick spray. In a saute pan, add bacon fat or butter, onion and garlic, and cook over medium heat, until onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Take care not to carmelize the onions. Remove from pan and reserve. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the meat. Let sit for 5 minutes, which allows the crumbs to absorb the wet mix and soften, preventing the loaf from cracking.
Add the meat and onion mixture to the bowl and mix by hand until well combined. Transfer the mixture to the greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes, rotating the pan half way through the cooking time. Let cool before unmolding.

For the gravy:
In a large shallow saute pan over medium low heat, cook bacon with 1 tbsp. butter, the olive oil, shallot, garlic, and thyme. Add white wine, bring to a simmer and reduce for about 4 to 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half. Stir in the remaining tbsp. butter and serve over the meatloaf.
Serves: 6-8
Total time: 1 1/2 hours


Susan's Notes:

We made this last night.

The meatloaf was good, nothing extraordinary, but the GRAVY is what made this recipe a winner! We used a “real” smoked applewood bacon (as opposed to a “sprayed on” hickory flavoring).

We doubled the recipe, and kind of eyeballed some of the ingredients (i.e. 2 eggs instead of 4, a little less milk than called for, cut the garlic in half, used poultry seasoning instead of some of the herbs called for).

One mistake we made was doing a single recipe of the gravy, because we had no idea how good it would be!

Even though we simmered it down, it was still a little thin for our taste, so we made a slurry out of cornstarch and water and thickened it up a bit.

This gravy will make it’s appearance again and again in our house!