Zippy's Chili Frank Plate

 $9.99 until 12/14.  Good deal.  And it's ono!  Normally it's $13.99.

Ceramics Class

This session went by so fast!  We all produced a lot of pieces considering we only meet for 2 hours once a week.  And I finally made stuff worthy enough to give away this time.  Yessss.

This will be my final post for this year.  But if anything interesting comes up, I'll drop by to share.  Otherwise, Happy Holidays to y'all!  Be calm and at peace.  Well, try at least.

Dd's Seafood Manicotti

This sure looks yummy!

 

SEAFOOD MANICOTTI

6 manicotti shells, cooked according to package directions, drained

Stuffing:

6 medium shrimp

6 large scallops

Water as needed

2 tsp. pickling spice

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. butter

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ c. frozen chopped spinach, drained well

¼ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB mayonnaise

Kosher, freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

2 TB butter

2 TB flour

1 ½ c. milk

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper

½ c Parmesan cheese, grated

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat bring water, pickling spice, bay leaf, lemon juice and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; add shrimp and scallops. Cook 2 minutes. Drain immediately. Coarsely chop shrimp and scallops. Set aside in a mixing bowl. 

In a small skillet over medium heat sauté shallot and garlic in butter until tender. Cool slightly. Transfer into mixing bowl with reserved shrimp and scallops. Stir in spinach, cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Reserve. Save any leftover stuffing.

Sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and coarsely ground pepper; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil stirring until thickened to desired consistency. Whisk in Parmesan cheese. 

Spoon ½ of sauce into bottom of baking dish. On work surface divide seafood mixture and stuff on prepared pasta. Place in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Place any remaining stuffing on top of stuffed pasta. Cover; bake 15 minutes until heated through and bubbly.

Switch oven to broil. Remove cover and broil until golden brown. Serves 3-4.

Cleta's Pineapple Cake

Cleta gave me a whole pan of this super ono pineapple cake.  It was like a pan layered manju with pineapple filling.  The recipe is from Mochi Mommy and is actually called One Pan Taiwanese Pineapple Cake.

Thank you, Cleta!!

Ingredients

Pineapple Filling

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 20 oz cans crushed pineapple
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup maltose 

Crust

• 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter 
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

• In a strainer, drain the cans of crushed pineapple. Gently press the crushed pineapple against the sides to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add strained pineapple, sugar, and maltose. Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are dissolved and all the liquid is evaporated, about 5-10 minutes. Pineapple mixture should turn a golden brown and have no liquid left bubbling at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and line a metal 9x9" baking pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, baking soda, and salt until light and fluffy.
• Add sweetened condensed milk and flour and gently mix until a dough forms. Divide dough in half.
• Press half the dough into your prepared baking pan until dough is evenly flat.
• Gently spread about 1 1/2 cups of the pineapple filling over the dough (you probably will have about 1/2 cup of pineapple leftover).
• With a large piece of plastic wrap, gently flatten out the remaining half of the dough into a roughly 9x9" square. Transfer flattened dough to your pan, placing it on top of the pineapple filling and gently pressing the dough until it touches the edges of the pan.
• Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg (you may not need to use the whole egg) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Allow pastry to cool completely before slicing into rectangles. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.

Walmart Item Locator

I was in Walmart one day looking at items on a shelf when I noticed that a tiny light on one of the price sign's upper left corner was flashing red.  Soon after, a guy came, grabbed the item above it and the flashing stopped. 

I asked him if he had made the thing blink.  He said yes. He said that he was a shopper who shopped for other people.  His customer selects what they want on an app, and he's able to use that app to locate the exact items by using the blinky feature.  

How cool izddat!!??

Reverse Sneeze

About a month ago Kai scared me with what appeared to be difficulty breathing.  It happened twice in the evening and once the next morning when I took the below video.

I made a squeeze-in-emergency-rate appointment with the vet.  I showed her the video and she laughed.  She said that it's called a reverse sneeze, and is just that . . . a sneeze.  I was so relieved, and more so when she said, "no charge".

Dd's Roast Pork

Didi's photo doesn't show the gravy which she provided the recipe for, but it sure sounds good with the balsamic vinegar!

ROAST PORK

 

3 # pork butt or boneless shoulder, cut in half

2 TB Dd’s Season All* (3/4 TB kosher salt, ½ tsp. black pepper, ¼ tsp. alae salt, ¼ tsp. garlic salt, ½ tsp. Italian seasoning)

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

1 medium onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, 1-inch pieces

1 medium carrot, 1-inch pieces

1 c water

Cremini Mushroom Gravy:

2 TB pan drippings

1 medium onion , thinly sliced

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 TB butter

4 TB flour

2 c beef broth

1 tsp balsamic vinegar 

additional pan drippings

salt, freshly cracked black pepper

 

Pork: Keep pork at room temperature for 1 hour before roasting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Trim any fat (keeping in large piece(s); reserve. 

In large baking dish place vegetables. Place pork and trimmed fat onto vegetables; generously season pork on all sides. Add water into pan. Roast 2 hours. Remove roast; cover with foil to keep warm.  Serves 4.

Gravy: Carefully skim 2 TB of oil from top of pan drippings and place in skillet. Discard remaining oil (place in refrigerator to solidify before discarding). Over medium heat sauté onions in skillet. Add butter; sauté mushrooms until golden. Stir in flour, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring continually. Stir in beef broth, vinegar, any remaining drippings from roast. Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk continually until gravy is thickened.  Cover; simmer 5-10 minutes. Add additional water to bring to desired consistency. 

Makes 2 ½ cups.

Ceramics Class

Here are a few of Cleta's pieces that she painted at home.  

We'll get our fired pieces back next Tuesday!

Ceramics Class

Brought some pieces home to paint.  My favorite part!

Dd's Beer-Braised Corned Beef and Irish Colcannon

I missed St. Patrick's Day by about 8 months, but any day is good for Didi's meals.

 

BEER BRAISED CORNED BEEF

 

3 # corned beef brisket round tip

2 each 12 oz. bottles beer

Water as needed

2 bay leaves

1 TB pickling spice

1 medium onion, quartered

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Serve with grain mustard

 

In a large saucepot over medium heat cover brisket with beer. Add water as needed to cover brisket with liquid. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer 2 hours. Serves 3-4.

 

 

IRISH COLCANNON (good way to hide cabbage)

 

3 medium yokon gold potatoes, 2-inch stew cut, boiled, drained

4 TB butter

2 c. green cabbage, chopped

1 tsp. salt, plus additional to taste

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ bunch green onions, chopped and divided, reserve 2 TB

3 garlic cloves, chopped

½ c. half-and-half

Garnish: Additional butter, 3 TB chopped green onion

 

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the cabbage, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the cabbage is softened, about 5 minutes. Add green onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often until garlic is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add half-and-half; cook 2-3 minutes until warm. Add mashed potatoes stirring until mixture is well combined. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Top with additional butter as desired and reserved green onions. Serves 2-3.