Goodbye to January – thank you! It was actually a good month for me – I was away having fun for 2 of the 4 weeks, so I can’t really complain. How to follow that up? Hmmmm.
On to February – today is the 3rd, already and I will be glad if it wizzes right by! Then, we will work slowly to the next change of season in March. That’s a long way away, I know and I wish I weren’t wishing the weeks away. So,…….
I got to thinking the other morning about where the word, February came from. According to the Online Entymology Dictionary, the word February comes from the “late 14th century Latin februarius mensis or, month of purification, from februa “purifications, expiatory rites (plural of februum), of unknown origin, said to be a Sabine (an ancient people of central Italy, conquered and assimilated by the Romans in 290 BC). word. The last month of the ancient (pre-450 B.C.E.) Roman calendar, so named in reference to the Roman feast of purification, held on the ides of the month. In Britain, replaced Old English solmonad “mud month.” English first (c.1200) borrowed it from Old French Feverier, which yielded feoverel before a respelling to conform to Latin.” This is interesting and somewhat timely – a month to purify……thoughts, deeds, eating habits, recipes, subject lists to pursue……just a short list for me. Onward.
Yesterday we trekked into the Winter Antiques Show in New York. Always fun but disturbing to see the prices there. I was hoping to see some kitchen implements but there weren’t any. I guess the “downstairs” life isn’t on the radar screen for this show.
It is becoming more and more evident to me that “we”have tried to pack special things to think about and do in these dastardly months to help pass them by until we can get back outside again. The Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, Emmys, Grammys and Oscars, Winter Antiques Show, Super Bowl, NCAA Basketball, to name a few. I know there are people who really enjoy this time of year but, after looking through my picture collection since I commenced this blog last March, well, I can’t wait to see the signs of live emerge outside in a few weeks.
I ran outside to snap a few pictures the other day – there is beauty in Winter, too, isn’t there? Yes, but it is a brooding beauty to me – except for the sunshiny days. Not a whole lot, really, not today, anyway. It is really cold and blustery and dreary feeling with a little snow down – makes me want to make a pot roast and bake a cake. Um no, I think I feel like a big, fat apple pie today!
MOM’S CLASSIC POT ROAST
1 bottom round or chuck roast – about 3-4 lbs
2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
14 oz homemade or canned low-sodium beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
1 lb carrots
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tblsp extra virgin olive oil (Mom used suet) if you have bacon drippings, this is great, too
In a large dutch oven (Le Creuset), heat 4 tblsp olive oil and saute onions on low heat until softened and golden brown, about 10 -15 minutes. Remove onions and set aside. Add more olive oil to the pan just to cover bottom. Turn heat up to medium high. Generously salt and pepper the roast. Sear the on all sides – about 3 minutes per side. Remove meat from pan and drain all drippings out and discard. Pour in beef broth and reduce by half. Add the red wine and return the meat and onions to the pot. Cover and braise on simmer (my range does not have an extra low setting so this cooks too fast on top of stove) for at least 3 hours. Or place into preheated 300F oven for at least 3 hours. For the last hour, add the carrots, peeled and cut into 2” chunks to the pot. Return to cook in oven or on top of stove for last hour. Check occasionally to make sure the braise does not dry out. If it does, add a little more broth and/or wine. When ready to serve, check consistency of the gravy. If it is too thin, remove the meat and vegetables (cover to keep warm) and reduce to desired consistency. Serve with mashed potatoes – I like mashed sweet potatoes. Enjoy!
MY FAVORITE APPLE PIE – adapted from My Mom’s Apple Pie
This is a simple apple pie recipe that tugs on my heartstrings every time I make it.
1 recipe double pie crust, I use Ina Garten’s Perfect Pie Crust
10-12 golden delicious apples
1/2- 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tblsp butter
milk for brushing
Preheat oven to 400F. Peel core and cut apples into thin slices (1/4″) and place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss to mix. Pour over apples and toss to coat all slices well. Roll out half of the crust and place in a 9″ pie plate. Add apples. Top with small dollops of the butter all around. Roll out second half of pie crust and place on top. Crimp crust all around and vent with several small slits. Brush top of crust with milk.
Bake for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling and crust is a deep golden brown and just bordering on burning. Because of the quantity of apples, you must bake this pie as long as possible to ensure the apples are fully baked. Enjoy!
a very crumbly crust; some mishaps in oven
New crop of Meyer Lemons – aren’t they gorgeous?
Will see what mischief we can get into with these!