The Lazy Gourmet

[Rusty Edge]

I made this recently and it was a crowd pleaser.   It's a Betty Crocker recipe from the Picture Cookbook in 1958 or 59. It was a go to for my mother because it was relatively quick and easy as baking goes.

Listed as Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced cooking apples OR 4 cups fresh blueberries OR 4 cups thawed  and drained blueberries.

3/4 cup of packed brown sugar.
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)
1/3 cup soft butter
3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8X8X2 pan.

Spread the fruit in the bottom of the pan. Mix the other ingredients, then sprinkle them on top of the fruit.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping turns golden.

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It's so easy a kid could do it.

[Rusty Edge]

We make this all the time at my house, but we all like the smell of cooking onions so we do it in the kitchen.  I tend to use red cooking wine and white grape juice because we're not drinkers.  I use the beef cubes or homemade stock, and I think I use more butter than you too, but I don't spring for the Kerrygold.

I just learned what Emmental cheese was, not common around here, even in Dairyland, I will try this...

I was grilling a frozen pizza tonight and put some Jarlsberg on it, in the spirit of the Pizza god. I came back to this thread to verify that I had mentioned Jarlsberg ( of the Monty Python cheese sketch fame) as a suitable onion soup component of a multi-cheese topping.


But it reminds me of a story. The wife and I were at ECOT in Disney, which is sort of a permanent World's Fair. In the back of the "Italy" section is a Napolese Restaurant. Disney imports natives to work in the various "countries" in the world showcase area. College students to internships and summer jobs there because learning Disney customer service standards look good on their resume.

So we had a waitress from Napoli. I had to ask her what was the most "authentic" Napoli pizza on the menu. She said the margarita and the quattro fromagio.  So there you have it- proof that the Pizza god approach is actually authentic Italian.
Then she started to laugh and said "Funny Story" . There is also a pizza which is very popular with children and that she herself likes. Called "The Americano", it is topped with slices of hot dogs, french fries, and mayonnaise.

No. Mayonaise was a bridge too far in our estimation. We have enjoyed pizze with red sauce, white sauce, and barbeque sauce. But mayonnaise?  That sounds disgusting.

[Elok]

It can be done.  I know some people put mayo in tuna noodle casserole (though I always do it with a proper cream sauce, mayo is for tuna salad).  I do put mayo in tuna-stuffed potatoes, and it comes out fine.  Drizzling it on a pizza straight-up does sound a little weird, but then so do the fries and hot dogs.

[Buster's Uncle]

A little cream cheese might be worth trying...

[Rusty Edge]

A little cream cheese might be worth trying...

A new cheese. It certainly fits with the pizza god philosophy.

[Unorthodox]

Uno's not Alfredo cheese sauce: 

1 stick butter
1 package cream cheese
1 tub of grated parmesan (BelGiosioso)
Milk

Melt butter, melt cream cheese into butter.  Add milk and bring to simmer.  Melt parmesan in.  salt/pepper/basil/garlic to taste if wanted. 

Adding another cheese as well to change flavor works using it as a base, milk for consistency as needed.  Have even used to make a nacho cheese by adding hot sauce and american. 

It is usually microwave stable on reheats. 

[Rusty Edge]

Returned from a Food& Wine festival and various fine dining in Disney and Vero beach.
Had various stuff on the bruschetta/caprese/burrata spectrum. It's always better with multiple varieties of tomato.  Not as easy to do here. Florida has better produce and selection and freshness.

Had some delicious smoked Gouda mashed potatoes. I usually go for sour cream, but I have a feeling that I will never make plain mashed potatoes again. If for no other reason, potatoes are higher in oxalates, and pairing the dairy with the potatoes means that the calcium and oxalates combine in the gut instead of the bloodstream. Calcium oxalates are the kind of kidney stones that my wife and I get.

I want to make a beef Burgundy to serve with the cheesy mashed potatoes

I had a couple of great Wagu NY strip steaks. The first was just to try it at a proper steakhouse, went back to confirm that it was the best I've ever had. I must admit that any Wagu or Kobe burgers or steaks I'd had before in my life didn't impress me.

[Rusty Edge]

Haven't done the beef Burgundy yet.

I made some croissant based stuffing for our evening Thanksgiving dinner. It was completed in the slow-cooker, and included some onions I'd slow caramelized for 18 hours, then froze for future use.
I was happy with it, but I have been the only one eating it. We had a cancellation due to illness. While I sent them some leftovers including this, I haven't heard back, and their nose is probably stuffed up anyway.

I have experienced some turkey disasters over the years... started with an unthawed bird, forgot to turn the oven on , too dry to eat and not enough gravy to fix it, etc. The usual pitfalls.  I often wished somebody would have simply sliced it and put it on a gas grill, rather than having guests sit around a table in a tie for hours, smelling a feast, yet having to wait for actual food.

My eventual brother-in-law is of similar mind about the turkey. We both loved a turducken we once had with cornbread and sausage stuffing, I thought the duck fat improved the turkey. Alas, nobody else was impressed with it. So, he took up smoking turkey breasts about 20 years ago. I thought this year's bird was the best I'd ever tasted. Very moist and flavorful without any bitterness. I don't know what kind of wood he used this year, but I know he uses a meat thermometer a lot.