:: Mental Kudzu ::

Cannoli. The comfort food of the gods.

Despite my “Fishing for Nixon” winning a first place BLUE ribbon at the Beaufort County Arts Council Fine Arts Show this year (and an honorable mention for “Opium, the careful spider”), this blog has begun driving down a new highway – the road to food. I suppose that’s all right for now, but Artistic Endeavors return tomorrow. Yesterday’s trip to Michaels yielded much goodness and fodder for the 3D imagination. Friday means a Greenville antiquing stroll for objects duh art. So… on with the blog…

November means more than election time. It’s the beginning of the Food Season. The fifth and final season of the year. It truly commenced yesterday as Phoebe Kate and I strolled leisurely amidst the aisles of carefully arranged delicacies at that heavenly building which hosts our Fresh Market. We purchased cannolis, Napoleans, parmesan-bread crusted talapia, artichokes the size of a toddler head, and cobs of delicious corn. This officially begins Food Season for me. Let the baking begin!

A week or so ago, a bundt cake – not a phenomenal one – caused the rebirth of baking finesse in my kitchen. When the Kitchen Aid began to purr, it became obvious to all within earshot that warm ovens and cooling racks would once again rule my domestic efforts. Chocolate. Madagascar vanilla. Oh, and I just remembered – I promised Phoebe Kate some biscotti as she has never had the homemade variety.

When Food Season is in full swing, it becomes difficult to spend my precious daily allotment of “free time” on writing. As my fingers whiz across the keyboard, visions of eclairs dance in my head.

Betcha’ wish you could have one.

*Pittsburgh PA cannoli update: The BEST cannolis in this world can be found for sale outside the shops on The Strip on Saturday mornings.

Am I right or what? And there must be peas. It’s not real without the really green little peas.

This is the OFFICIAL Campbell’s Soup recipe with my comments. I was going to put my own recipe in here but realized the quantity of ingredients would be wrong because I use a “bunch of peas”, a “can or two of tuna”, whatever size can of creamed whatever kind of soup I have in the pantry… and I add more milk if it “looks” thick, and use whatever kind of noodles I have in the pantry… which works but you might want better details.

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Celery Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free) *or mushroom
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cooked peas (or frozen peas for a zing)
2 tbsp. chopped pimentos (what??? I never added that, hmmmm…)
2 cans (about 6 oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs (crushed potato chips really work best here, old family favorite)
1 tbsp. butter OR margarine, melted

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 400°F.

MIX soup, milk, peas, pimiento, tuna and noodles in 1 1/2-qt. baking dish.

BAKE for 20 min.

STIR . Mix bread crumbs with butter. Sprinkle on top. Bake 5 min. or until hot.

Serve with your favorite frozen vegetable combination. For dessert serve ice cream.

To melt butter, remove wrapper and place in microwave-safe cup. Cover and microwave on HIGH 30 seconds.

If you don’t dip your Snickerdoodles in milk, then you’re just not eating them properly. Best when consumed in front of really trashy TV, like the Young and the Restless.

I looked through the recipe box for my grandmother’s recipe. Can’t find it. So here’s one similar to what I remember because they have cream of tartar in them. That’s the real trick to real Snickerdoodles. Snicks are NOT sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar. No way.

1 c. shortening (I think my grandmother used 1/2 Crisco and 1/2 butter)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together shortening, sugar and eggs. Next sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Mix all ingredients together and form into small balls.

Roll each in a mixture of 2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Grill the Nathan’s dogs in a cast iron skillet with a bit of butter sizzling in the pre-heated pan. Put the cooked dog in a bun and cover it with shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Wrap it, deli-style, in wax paper, then wrap with paper towel. Microwave for 30 seconds. This is the perfect comfort dog. Oh, and I butter the bun. I know… health is not the idea here, nor are my arteries. I’m talking comfort

Grits, real stone ground grits, taste better than anything I know. Yes, it is a sign of me being southern, but hey… I yam what I yam. [sweet potato pie recipe coming up soon]
Ingredients:

* 6 cups water
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 cups GRITS (stone ground, real true to God from a mill not Quaker Oat Co. instant)
* 1/2 cup butter – the real thing, no cheating with a health spread imitation
* 3 eggs, well beaten ( free range, of course)
* 16 ounces shredded sharp cheese
* 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced (or more, according to your needs)
* freshly ground black pepper to taste
You might need more salt, it depends on the salt content in the cheese

Bring water and salt to a rolling boil; gradually stir in grits. Cook, stirring constantly, until all water is absorbed. With real grits, this can take up to 20 minutes. Stir in butter a tablespoon at a time; stir in the beaten eggs, working quickly so eggs will not cook before thoroughly blended into the grits, then stir in the shredded cheese, garlic and a little black pepper. Put into a greased 2 1/2-quart casserole. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes.
Serves 8 for most families, for mine — it serves 4.