Spanish Fillet

Given that I pretty much hate fish (and I live in New England, yes, I know), I probably won't be trying this one... but don't let me hold the rest of you back:

Spanish Fillet

Fillets of flounder, sole, turbot (or other white fish)

Toasted Almonds

Green Olives, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

butter

lemon juice

-Saute the onion and celery in butter.

-Add olives and almonds to mixture. Reserve some olives and almonds for topping.

-Roll or stuff the fish fillets with mixture.

-Top with additional almonds and olives.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 min.

Pecan Puffs, aka Canon Balls

These cookies, which I associate with Christmas, also go by the name "Canon Balls". You can thank my 3 year old self for that. I misheard the word "pecan", and since they are ball-shaped... well, you can kind of see the logic. Kids know way more about pirate weaponry than about nut varieties.

Pecan Puffs

1 cup butter, softened

4 TB sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups pecans, chopped

2 cups flour

-Cream the butter and sugar.

-Add the vanilla, pecans and flour. Mix.

-Roll the dough into small balls (the circumference of a quarter)

-Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 300 for 45 minutes.

-Roll balls in powdered sugar.

Buttery Corn Bread

Autumn has certain foods associated with it, apple pie, roast turkey, etc. For some reason, I always wait until fall to make cornbread. If you like your corn bread on the... cornier side... (sorry, that sounds like something Grampy Chuck would have said), switch the measurements for the flour and the cornmeal.

Buttery Corn Bread

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 2/3 cup milk

2 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

4 1/2 ts baking powder

1 ts salt

-In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

-Add eggs and milk.

-Mix in flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

-Pour into greased 13" x 9" baking pan.

-Bake at 400 degrees for 22-27 minutes.

Pickled Fruit

When we think of Grammy and pickled fruit, usually it's all about the watermelon rind. According to this recipe, though, you can pickle just about everything.

Pickled Fruit

5 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

12" stick cinnamon, broken

2 ts whole cloves

5 lbs fruit, washed, seeded and peeled

(peaches, pears, pineapple, melon, papaya, citrus, kumquats)

-In a large Dutch oven combine sugar, water, vinegar, cinnamon and cloves.

-Heat until boiling, reduce heat.

-Add fruit to syrup and...

(oops! okay, that's all we have of that recipe. Still, Grammy knew how to pickle, so I bet if we follow the instructions for pickled watermelon rind, we'll have good results)

Carrot Broccoli Casserole

Good morning!

Hope everybody had a wonderful 3 day weekend (if your job gave you Columbus day off, that is). Here's a warm fall dish that can work either as a side dish, or could work as a main dish if you're going vegetarian.

Carrot Broccoli Casserole

1 pkg baby carrots

1 1/2 lbs fresh broccoli, chopped (or 2 pkgs frozen broccoli, chopped)

8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed

3/4 cup butter, divided

1 3/4 butter flavored crackers, crushed

-Place 1" of water in saucepan; add carrots and bring to boil.

-Reduce heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes.

-Add broccoli, cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes.

-Drain and set aside.

-In a saucepan, melt the cheese and 1/4 cup butter until smooth. Add broccoli and carrots.

-Melt the remaining butter and toss with cracker crumbs.

-Layer the buttery crumbs, then vegetable mix, crumbs mix, vegetables, top with crumbs.

-Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Dorcus Lamson's Salad

As always, a slightly surprising ingredient pops up here...

Dorcus Lamson's Salad

small marshmallows

green grapes

canned pineapple chunks

mandarin oranges

sour cream

-mix everything together!

Cream of Carrot Soup

It's been a cold, wet week up here in Massachusetts. Perfect for some soup. This recipe also came from The Red Lion Inn.

Cream of Carrot Soup

3 TB butter

1/3 cup leeks, diced

1/3 cup onion, diced

1/3 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

3 TB flour

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup light cream

salt, pepper, thyme

1/3 cup white wine

-Melt butter in sauce pan and add leeks, onion, celery and carrots. Saute for 5 min.

-Blend in flour, then add chicken stock. Bring to boil.

-Add salt, pepper, thyme and wine. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

-Puree in blender.

-Return to low heat and add cream just before serving.

Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding

(Double click on the image to enlarge)

It's starting to get cold again, so we're posting something hearty. Double click the recipe's image to enlarge it -- though the jist of it is roast 6-7 lbs of beef at 325 for 2 1/2 hours... a meat thermometer would be a big help.