Tea Party Birthday.....

On my mothers recent 87th birthday my aunt had a tea party for her and for my Aunt Kathern, two birthday girls...My Aunt Mary has the best tea party's! Take a peek, I will show you...

this is my mother on the left and Aunt Mary on the right..they are putting the finishing touches on the table..

the place settings included name place cards....the theme was St Patrick's day...

when you come to my Aunt's  tea party you MUST wear a hat...and it you forget she has at least a hundred hats she has collected through the years....so pick your hat! and look at all the gloves and purses...this is the best room!

Don't they look adorable? This is Sarah with her mother Althea..both are looking lovely with their spring bonnets....

worthy of a few photo's!

Cousins!

Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Kathern, both a little reluctant about the hat thing...but never fear, there daughters got them all fixed up!

a beautiful subdued hat with a feather for Aunt Dorothy....

and a regal fur pill box hat for Aunt Kathern...and cousin Susan with a camel colored fedora..

Sister Candy, chose a charming silver cap and Aunt Janet a hat perfect for St Patrick's Day.... 

this is cousin Diane with a beautiful Red hat, with red tuleing, deep in conversation...

Aunt Mary welcomes everyone ....oh wait see that bookcase on the wall behind her?

it is a quilt her girls made for her for her anniversary...isn't it beautiful? I love looking at it...Aunt Mary's house is enchanting...

OK back to the party..Mother and Aunt Mary start the precession to the kitchen to begin!

the tea party food is Haystacks....have you ever had them? They are great!

You make a cream chicken gravy.....which you pour over...

cooked rice....

then stack up all the toppings....you can use a variety of ingredients here....we had peas, pineapple, mandarin oranges, celery, crispy noodles, tomatoes, onions, olives, raisins, assorted nuts and toasted coconut....

pick up your fresh out of the oven homemade roll...there never was a better smell than homemade bread....hmmmm...I can still smell them....

Stop an get your beverage....oh I want to show you one more thing in Aunt Mary's kitchen...

see those two drawers with candy fronts? they are FULL of candy bars...yep, I checked...wouldn't you just love to be her grandchild? or niece?

What a fun group! I just love these women!

Birthday girls! Mother and Aunt Kathern...I love this picture!!! They are young at heart.

Lemon cake and ice cream for dessert....Thank you Aunt Mary for the funnest, bestest afternoon...I encourage everyone to have a tea party with hats, it is never to late to start playing...oh please start today!!

Cheers to Happy!!

Peach Pie...

I made my first Gluten Free Pie yesterday... I am a pie maker, it is what I did for a job for quite a long time, ...I made pies...so after almost a year of making 'regular pie' at home and at my restaurant and eating no pie myself, I decided it was time to give gluten free pie crust a try...after researching recipes I decided on Gluten Free Girl's recipe for my first go round...it was a little more difficult than regular flour dough, because of no gluten flour, it turned into a really wet dough, if it was regular flour, I would of thrown it away and started over...I used Bob's Redmill all purpose gluten free flour...the dough is soft and not easy to roll out...the bottom crust I rolled between wax paper and it stuck too much to that...the top I used plastic wrap for rolling and it worked fine...the crust is buttery and cookie like, not flaky, like pastry...but still very good....

I used fresh frozen peaches that I bought last summer in Yakima, for my filling....and vanilla ice cream really tops it off!

see?...kind of funky looking...

but cut nice, and held together....

don't laugh! this is the bottom crust, after I pieced it back together...I kept thinking, this will never even be edible...Holy Cow!

then I used the plastic wrap to roll the top...

peaches inside...

top on...edges pinched....(wished I would have spent more time with the edges) but at this point I really didn't think this pie was going to work out.....

in the oven, half cooked.....ok really starting to look like pie...'oh ye of little faith'...

after a couple of hours....pie and ice cream...good enough for company!  Yes I will be trying it again...cause I am still a pie baker....

Cheers to Happy  !!

Gluten Free or a Crap Shoot....

I get so discouraged going out to eat and getting 'glutened'...there is very few times I have eaten out and not gotten glutened...it is a crap shoot....but how wonderful it would be to trust a restaurant to really be gluten-free...

The bad news about eating gluten free is when you are craving chicken nuggets and fries at Mc Donalds...you are S.O.L....the good news is you get to make it yourself and it is better with very few indgredients... and for that matter, all that you can spell!....it taste so yummy! it might be cheaper,...ok maybe not...but it was delicious!!!

Cheers to Happy !!

Lidia's Meatballs....

Lidia's famous meatballs or my cousin Susan's....or they could be yours, you choose....

For my BIG Birthday my cousin made me dinner...lovingly and tenderly and gluten-free...she made me dinner....this is her famous recipe, she claims it is Lidia's...I claim it is my cousin Susan's...and if you make it, you can claim it yours! Lidia Bastianich is one of the most-loved chefs on television, a best-selling cookbook author, and restaurateur. ......My cousin adjusted some of ingredients just for me...the gluten free outcome did not change a thing!

This is (and I promise, cross my heart) the best meatball recipe you will ever make!!!!  And might I add right here, right now, I am so bummed about my birthday 'year'.... and I will not dwell on it...I will simply deny it and forget it! there, birthday? what birthday?

Lidia's Meatballs

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/3 cup shredded parmigiana reggiano cheese

1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh pepper

all purpose flour for dredging

1/4 cup olive oil

you mix the first 9 ingredients together...in a bowl...my cousin used Johnsonville Italian sausage for the pork sausage and very lean ground beef for the beef....she also doubled the recipe, so we would have plenty of leftovers.....

here is everything except the parsley...in a bowl....

lots of flat leaf parsley..chopped...fresh parsley makes all the difference...

mix it all together and then ....

roll in flour to coat the meatballs....

place them aside and wait until all are done to fry...

these are large meatballs and take some time to fry...allow for lots of time...

 brown on all sides....

when finished...add the sauce of your choice to the pan and cover and let simmer at least 30 minutes....

at that time you can cook your noodles.....

check that wonderful sauce again and time to dish up!!!!

there you go... simple noodles, simple sauce and the MOST exciting meatballs you will ever eat!!!!!oh and a little fresh Parmesan...

save room for cake!

Cheers to Happy  !!

Oven baked Crab Cakes...

Homemade crab cakes are the best! the ones you have in a restaurant have alot of filler...and rightfully so! ...at 33.00 dollars a pound for dungeness crab, you have to use a filler,take it from me...When you make them at home, you can make them without the filler....they are very crabby, almost all crab!!! they are so special, buttery and perfect for that special occasion!

Oven baked Crab Cakes

2 ½ cups finely crushed corn flakes

¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon spicy Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1⁄8; teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg yolk
1 lb fresh crabmeat
2 tablespoons soft butter

Directions:
1Spread crushed cornflakes in a shallow baking pan.
2Whisk mayonnaise, mustard, seasoning, cayenne and egg yolk.
3Add crab meat.
4S& p to taste.
5.Divide crab cake mixture into 10 equal piles and form slightly flattened cakes
6.Turn cakes over in crushed corn flakes until covered.
7.Cover pan w/ plastic, transfer cakes to pan and cover with more plastic wrap.
8.Chill 2-4 hours.
9.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
10.Transfer crab cakes to a large greased baking sheet.
11.Put about 1/2 teaspoon butter on each crab cake.
12Bake around 15 minutes.
13Cakes should be golden brown.

I used corn chex, (gluten free) they do make a gluten free cornflakes, use that if you can...but regular cornflakes for most of you...they are great! I just whirled them in a blender to make a course powder....or in the bread crumb section of most grocery store they sell cornflake crumbs...they are also good on pork chops and chicken...

add the first 6 ingredients together and whisk...

fold in the dungeness crab...gently, very, very gently. You don't want to break up the crab...you want chunks of crab in every buttery bite!

and drop by the large spoonfuls into the crumb mixture...

very gently coat and...

place on a baking sheet, that has been sprayed by an oil spray...

                                     melt the butter and spoon a half tsp. on each crab cake...

bake in the over about 15 minutes.....

take out and serve!!!

Oh baby these are the best crab cakes you have ever eaten!!

Cheers to Happy !!