(no subject)
Since everyone else is doing it--here is my How My Christmas Was Post. (Warning: nothing much really happened except for relaxation, eating, and general contentment.)
I. My parents & grandparents & Syb came over on Saturday night for Christmas Dinner (Bill made Rosemary Chicken & Mashed Red Potatoes; I made Classy Green Bean Casserole & a very ugly but good-tasting pumpkin-pecan pie) & my dad & grandpa yelled at the Cowboy Game & then we opened presents. When they were ready to leave my Mom hugged me and said, "You realize this is your first Christmas away from home," and I cried for like an hour for some reason about that.
II. We drove to San Antonio, taking Puppybuns with us to meet Bill's parents. This was relatively uneventful.
III. We got to Bill's parents, who have four cats. I thought maybe I wasn't really allergic to cats--like maybe it was just all in my head. We have never stayed there for more than one night... suffice it to say that I AM allergic to cats, and the longer I am around the cats the less well Benadryl works. Mostly I led an Astrid-like existence... I ate, I slept, I read on the couch in a zombie-like state until I fell asleep again, then woke up when it was time to eat. (Bill's mom is what you call a Feeder. I got some good recipes, though.) But it was very nice and relaxing, and I like Bill's parents, and his Mom said, "I'm so glad you two got together. I have never seen Bill this relaxed around a girl before."
IV. We drove home, stopping at the San Marcos outlets which really are as good as they are reputed to be. There was an excellent Williams Sonoma Outlet & I got six bars of the Heavenly Hilton Soap at the Crabtree and Evelyn Outlet.
V. Last night I saw Austin College/Austin roommate Heather and her boyfriend Josh. It was fun. I was a little worried that since she moved to Oregon & moved left on the Hippie-Yuppie continuum, and since I moved to Dallas & moved right on said continuum, that there would be strange uncomfortable issues, but there weren't. (Heather is living in a refurbished schoolbus, however, and the boyfriend lives on a real live commune!)
VI. The following remain for my vacation: I want to see the following: Sweeney Todd, Juno, and the Golden Compass. I want to hang out with My Favorite Laydees. I want to clean out the closet in the Sewing Room/Man Lair. I want to read books until my eyeballs melt. I want to watch ALL the things saved on Tivo. I want to aggressively RELAX and do very little of value for the next week.
Classy (or just A Bit Classier than Usual) Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
four slices bacon
ten white mushrooms, chopped small
1/2 yellon onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, roasted & pressed
salt & pepper
some of that gravy-kind of flour that comes in a can
milk or cream
1 1/2 bags frozen green beans, thawed
1 c. grated white cheddar
1 sm. can french onions
Directions:
1. Cook bacon. Drain on paper towels & then chop. Pour off most of grease (but leave a little in the pan).
2. Sautee mushrooms, garlic, & onions in same pan.
3. Pour in some cream & stir around to make a gravy. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add gravy-flour to create desired thickness.
4. Spray casserole dish with Pam. Mix beans, bacon, & gravy-stuff in dish. Top with grated cheese & onions. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until hot throughout. Eat.
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
Frozen Pie Shell
Pumpkin Filling:
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbs. white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs. whipping cream
1 tbs. softened butter
1 tbs. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch allspice
Pecan Stuff:
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. maple syrup
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbs. melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
3/4 c. pecan halves
Bourbon Butter Sauce:
1/2 stick butter
1/3 c. white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbsp. hot water
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. bourbon
Directions:
1. Pre-bake pie crust at 350 for 5 min.
2. Mix up all the pumpkin stuff.
3. Mix up all the pecan stuff.
4. Pour the pumpkin stuff in the crust. Then put the pecan stuff on top. IMPORTANT: put the pie on a cookie sheet in order to avert a burned sugary-stuff oven disaster.
5. Bake at 325 for about an hour and a half. Check to see if middle is firm. You may need to bake 10-15 more minutes depending on your oven.
6. Melt the butter in double boiler (or regular pan in a bigger pan of boiling water). Beat sugar and egg together, then whisk inot butter. Add hot water and stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 7 min). Remove from heat and let cool to room temp. Stir in cream and whiskey; pour over pie.
7. Notes: I made this without the sauce stuff & it was GREAT. The pumpkin layer was especially creamy and good. I think next time I want to make a pumpkin pie, I'll just use the recipe for the pumpkin layer & 1 1/2 it.
Bill's Mom's Rum Cake
Cake:
1 c. chopped pecans
1 yellow cake mix
1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. dark rum
Glaze:
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. rum
1. Mix all the cake stuff together.
2. Grease a bundt cake pan. Sprinke nuts over bottom. Pour in cake mix & bake at 325 for one hour.
3. Cool & put it on some kind of plate.
4. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar and water. Boil for 5 min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & stir in rum.
5. Poke holes in cake and pour on top.
6. Serve with whipped cream. (Bill's Mom had Whip-Its! Which made me laugh, 'cause last time I saw Whip-Its was in like 1995 & we were NOT making whipped cream.)
I. My parents & grandparents & Syb came over on Saturday night for Christmas Dinner (Bill made Rosemary Chicken & Mashed Red Potatoes; I made Classy Green Bean Casserole & a very ugly but good-tasting pumpkin-pecan pie) & my dad & grandpa yelled at the Cowboy Game & then we opened presents. When they were ready to leave my Mom hugged me and said, "You realize this is your first Christmas away from home," and I cried for like an hour for some reason about that.
II. We drove to San Antonio, taking Puppybuns with us to meet Bill's parents. This was relatively uneventful.
III. We got to Bill's parents, who have four cats. I thought maybe I wasn't really allergic to cats--like maybe it was just all in my head. We have never stayed there for more than one night... suffice it to say that I AM allergic to cats, and the longer I am around the cats the less well Benadryl works. Mostly I led an Astrid-like existence... I ate, I slept, I read on the couch in a zombie-like state until I fell asleep again, then woke up when it was time to eat. (Bill's mom is what you call a Feeder. I got some good recipes, though.) But it was very nice and relaxing, and I like Bill's parents, and his Mom said, "I'm so glad you two got together. I have never seen Bill this relaxed around a girl before."
IV. We drove home, stopping at the San Marcos outlets which really are as good as they are reputed to be. There was an excellent Williams Sonoma Outlet & I got six bars of the Heavenly Hilton Soap at the Crabtree and Evelyn Outlet.
V. Last night I saw Austin College/Austin roommate Heather and her boyfriend Josh. It was fun. I was a little worried that since she moved to Oregon & moved left on the Hippie-Yuppie continuum, and since I moved to Dallas & moved right on said continuum, that there would be strange uncomfortable issues, but there weren't. (Heather is living in a refurbished schoolbus, however, and the boyfriend lives on a real live commune!)
VI. The following remain for my vacation: I want to see the following: Sweeney Todd, Juno, and the Golden Compass. I want to hang out with My Favorite Laydees. I want to clean out the closet in the Sewing Room/Man Lair. I want to read books until my eyeballs melt. I want to watch ALL the things saved on Tivo. I want to aggressively RELAX and do very little of value for the next week.
Classy (or just A Bit Classier than Usual) Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
four slices bacon
ten white mushrooms, chopped small
1/2 yellon onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, roasted & pressed
salt & pepper
some of that gravy-kind of flour that comes in a can
milk or cream
1 1/2 bags frozen green beans, thawed
1 c. grated white cheddar
1 sm. can french onions
Directions:
1. Cook bacon. Drain on paper towels & then chop. Pour off most of grease (but leave a little in the pan).
2. Sautee mushrooms, garlic, & onions in same pan.
3. Pour in some cream & stir around to make a gravy. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add gravy-flour to create desired thickness.
4. Spray casserole dish with Pam. Mix beans, bacon, & gravy-stuff in dish. Top with grated cheese & onions. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until hot throughout. Eat.
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
Frozen Pie Shell
Pumpkin Filling:
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbs. white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs. whipping cream
1 tbs. softened butter
1 tbs. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch allspice
Pecan Stuff:
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. maple syrup
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbs. melted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt
pinch cinnamon
3/4 c. pecan halves
Bourbon Butter Sauce:
1/2 stick butter
1/3 c. white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbsp. hot water
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. bourbon
Directions:
1. Pre-bake pie crust at 350 for 5 min.
2. Mix up all the pumpkin stuff.
3. Mix up all the pecan stuff.
4. Pour the pumpkin stuff in the crust. Then put the pecan stuff on top. IMPORTANT: put the pie on a cookie sheet in order to avert a burned sugary-stuff oven disaster.
5. Bake at 325 for about an hour and a half. Check to see if middle is firm. You may need to bake 10-15 more minutes depending on your oven.
6. Melt the butter in double boiler (or regular pan in a bigger pan of boiling water). Beat sugar and egg together, then whisk inot butter. Add hot water and stir until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 7 min). Remove from heat and let cool to room temp. Stir in cream and whiskey; pour over pie.
7. Notes: I made this without the sauce stuff & it was GREAT. The pumpkin layer was especially creamy and good. I think next time I want to make a pumpkin pie, I'll just use the recipe for the pumpkin layer & 1 1/2 it.
Bill's Mom's Rum Cake
Cake:
1 c. chopped pecans
1 yellow cake mix
1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. dark rum
Glaze:
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp. water
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. rum
1. Mix all the cake stuff together.
2. Grease a bundt cake pan. Sprinke nuts over bottom. Pour in cake mix & bake at 325 for one hour.
3. Cool & put it on some kind of plate.
4. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in sugar and water. Boil for 5 min, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & stir in rum.
5. Poke holes in cake and pour on top.
6. Serve with whipped cream. (Bill's Mom had Whip-Its! Which made me laugh, 'cause last time I saw Whip-Its was in like 1995 & we were NOT making whipped cream.)