A blog of food, recipes, photos, family and fun. Come cook and laugh with me..if not, people will think I'm talking to myself and have me committed. Really, they're looking for an excuse.
The Laughing Matriarch
ma·tri·arch/ˈ A woman who is the head of a family or tribe.
It's been 307 days since I enjoyed food- 307 days since I shared food with my husband, Ralph.
It was almost midnight on September 16, 2018, and we stood in our tiny beach-house sharing bites of Ben &Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream after he had stopped at a liquor store and bought me a small carton of the delicious dessert.
Our Tiny Beach House in San Diego, CA
We had spent that Sunday at an all-day concert called Kaaboo in Del Mar and we shared our favorite moments ( his favorite was the lady-band TLC and mine was Katy Perry.) while taking turns eating out of the carton with forks. (It's a family tradition to use forks.)
The ice cream was delicious.
Not Us
The next day, while I was out, he died of a sudden heart attack. I haven't enjoyed food since that night, but it's time.
I've lost 17 pounds since he left (he came to me in a dream and told me I was too thin. As if.) and I've moved three times. I cooked at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the food was flavored with my tears.
I recently moved in with family and I've been cooking again. It's a form of meditation and it makes me happy to feed people. (I occasionally eat what I cook...it's going to take time.)
I need to write again while I cook because this blog holds so many happy memories and I want- no I NEED to make new memories.
My husband of 40 years loved that I cooked for so many people and he enjoyed helping me plan dinner parties. He's not here anymore, but I am. I'm still a matriarch and soon- with the help of family and friends- I will once again cook for family and friends and be the Laughing Matriarch.
Our Last Photo was taken at Kaaboo- Del Mar- Sept. 16, 2018
because we live on a damn-fine lake in the high desert of Washington.
And people come to visit. And I cook and I clean and I cook and I entertain and I cook. So that's why I haven't posted. But good news- I'm baaaack!
Last week we had the September book club at Reed's Last Resort here in Chelan. This is the first time the folks back home in CA were able to experience summertime. I think they thought it rains 361 days a year here. Uh, no, that would be Seattle.
So this first post is about a little sandwich I prepared for our afternoon of boating. I wanted it to be easy and fun.
These tomatoes are from my friend Patty's garden- so lucky!
Like you-know-who.
We grew the lettuce- even luckier!
So I tried to remember what went into one of those yummy sandwiches we used to buy at Nicalosi's in San Diego before the Aztec games back in the day when I pretended to like football. (Before marriage)
Good and messy.
Our lunch spot- a few miles down the lake.
Carolee- who looks like she needs to eat the whole sandwich.
I think he likes it.
The three Stooges after lunch
So this is what I came up with- Chelan Chub Chanwich. (OK, that sucks, but I'm kind of busy here.)
“How can one make friends without exquisite dishes! It is mainly through the table that one governs!” Jean-Jacques Regis de Cambaceres French politician (1713-1824)
Chelan Chub Chanwich
1loaf of Italian or French bread (18 inches)
1/2 cupmayonnaise
1/4 cupItalian dressing
6large lettuce leaves
sliced ham
hard salami
pastrami
1/4 poundprovolone cheese
1/4 poundmild cheddar cheese
1small red onion, sliced thin
***************************
Split bread lengthwise.
Mix mayonnaise and salad dressing together until well blended and spread mixture onto both cut surfaces of the bread.
Place the lettuce on the bottom half of the bread; top with ham, hard salami, and pastrami, sliced cheeses and red onions. Top with second half of the bread. Cut into six servings and enjoy. Serves 6 or so
In San Diego...yes, fine, those are not the words, but it's my blog.
Our last few days in San Diego were spent at The Daughter's new little beach shack in Ocean Beach. It's a little town of hamburger joints, saloons, hippies and smoke shops- ahh yes, the dodgy end.
Since Ocean Beach is where I was born I can't judge. The kids love it and so I love it. The Daughter and The New Husband made dinner for eight of us- people I invited- and proved that simple is best! (Val brought guacamole and chips ....
and Hilda brought Spinach dip...Hilda catches bad guys so no judging.)
What could be better in February than grilled hamburgers and all the fixen's? (don't you just love that word? Fixen's.)
Enjoy the photos they will make you wish for summer. Eat em' up!
"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Wimpy
Lord knows I love my fancy Frenchie sit-down dinners.
Nothing makes me happier than slow-roasting a leg of lamb and filling the house with the scent of Herb de Provence. My heart skips a beat when I torch the tops of little pots of creme brulee and welcome my guests at two in the afternoon and bid them farewell at noon the next day.
And then there are Sunday football get-to-gethers. Sigh.
I will admit to hardly ever paying attention to the game, I still can't remember what The Husband's position in high school football was (but he WAS the captain) and hosting a houseful of yelling and screaming fans was once a challenge. But when I realized these sports-nuts had to eat, I was instantly a fan.
Last week we were invited to the next big town over, (I love writing that!) Wenatchee- to some friends house to watch the San Diego Charger game. The Friends are originally from San Diego and one played football with The Husband. Small world, right?
I wondered what I should make. I could have made an entire meal- because I get a little excited- but I calmed down and made these tasty little football sliders. They were a tad cold, but no one seemed to mind. We brought a few leftovers home, heated them up and had them again...while watching Monday Night Football of course.
"The best way to die is to sit under a tree, eats lots of bologna and salami, drink a case of beer and blow up." — Art Donovan, former defensive tackle, Baltimore Colts
San Diego Recharger Sliders
Adapted from Ree Drumond
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Chopped Finely
½ cups White Or Red Wine (optional)
4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
3 pounds Ground Beef
4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 slices Swiss Cheese, Cut Into Four Squares
8 whole Dinner (or Slider) Rolls, Split
Preparation Instructions
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine (if using), Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minutes over medium heat, or until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.
Mix ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients. Form 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook. In the same skillet as the one used to cook the mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add four patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip. Spoon generous portion of mushroom mixture on each patty, then top with one or two squares of Swiss, depending on your preference. Place lid on skillet and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until burgers are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove to a place and keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.
Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with a mayo-ketchup type sauce such as Kraft Chipolte Mayo and cheer on the Chargers!
You missed it. I almost missed it, but then I forgot to tell you about it. Whatever, I'm sure you're already into the bag of Snickers that are supposed to go to the kids. Up here on the Lake we will have no Trick-or-Treaters-you can bank on it. Back in San Diego we only had kids a few times, but that meant we could pile our own kids in the car and head to popular tract-house neighborhoods and let them run wild.
But back to National Chocolate Day. It was Thursday. No one sent me a card, so I had a mini-celebration all by myself. I made chocolate covered cranberries to see if they would be a nice addition to the holidays- oh, and they are! Tart and chocolate- my tongue went a little crazy when I tossed them in my mouth.
After I cleaned up the chocolate pan-with my fingers- I was reading my hoity-toity, New York Magazine and read about a drink from Italy called- il bicerin- which I did not taste when I was there...but that's another story. I did find a recipe on The Google, which I then tweaked just a little. It has chocolate and espresso mixed together with my secret ingredient added and, oh my- its Multi bene!
So if you don't want anymore Snickers or Smarty’s and you want to be a grown-up tomorrow night, toss some cranberries into some melted chocolate and fire up the espresso machine. And don’t answer the door.
Bicerin- Adapted from David Lebovitz
Two servings It’s important to use a clear glass; you need to be able to see all three or four layers.
To make a bicerin, warm one cup whole milk in a medium-sized saucepan with 3 ounces (90 gr) of chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. Whisk the mixture until it begins to boil, then let it boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly
Afterward, remove it from the heat and set aside. Make a shot of espresso.
Fill the bottom third of a clear, heat-proof glass with the warm chocolate mixture. Pour in some coffee or espresso. (If you want to help it create a definite layer, pour it over the back of a spoon, into the glass.) Add a small dash or so of Baileys Irish Cream. (Tweak!)
Top with a nice swirl of sweetened, freshly-whipped cream.
