Panade a la Provence…Yum!

Panade a la Provence…Yum!

Food & Wine Magazine did it again. They totally seduced me. I mean, I love to make fun of how out of touch they are with the “little folk” who don’t have $80 to plunk down on a wine. And the recipes? Don’t get me started. Half of them require ingredients that you need to crawl up a Himalayan mountain and see the guy in the second yurt on the left in order to find them. Or hit up six specialty stores, depending on your neighborhood.

But every now and then, they’ll showcase a recipe that looks easy. Panade? Well, maybe not. BUT – call it a Tomato, Chard and Gruyere Casserole, and you’ve hooked me. How easy can that be?

Six hours after I started shopping for ingredients, the darn thing is in the oven. (Okay, so I went along the untrodden pathways to find the freshest tomatoes at little roadside stands. So it took awhile. Cutting up the chard? That took forever!) Unfortunately, the first roadside stand is where I bought my tomatoes. It was also the biggest roadside stand, the most commercial stand, and the most expensive stand. It is not a place I will go to again.

But the ingredients, by themselves, weren’t expensive, except for the gruyere cheese. $21 a pound! I bought just under half a pound, since I knew I had some in the fridge – but still, $8.50 for a tiny sliver of CHEESE? I’m thinking, the next time I’ll make it with swiss cheese, and whatever else I may happen to have in the fridge.

So you butter a casserole, layer in the day old peasant bread (which I cut the minute we got home and let just sit out), then layer in thickly-cut fresh tomatoes, then the cooked chard/onion mix (oh, go ahead and look it up – you KNOW you want to!), plus the aforementioned gruyere. Repeat, and end with the last of the bread.  Then you do some magic to it (get the recipe!) and put it in the oven. For an  hour. And a bit.

photo of the sandwich - layers of bread, tomato, cheese & chard

See? It’s a sandwich. Sigh.

When I showed the photo of the casserole to my oldest son, he said to me, “Oh. A sandwich.”

I felt like such an idiot. Because duh, this is exactly that. A sandwich. True, a hot sandwich with no meat in it and a nifty sense of France, but still…a sandwich. With expensive and yummy cheese in it.

Seduced again by Food & Wine. (Recipe, page 100 of the August 2012 Food & Wine Magazine)

What are you cooking this week?

~ ~ ~

Hey, all month I’m over at The Romance Reviews for their Sizzling Summer Event! http://www.theromancereviews.com/event.php

Lots of contests and freebies and Author Chats – I’m there Saturday, July 14th.  Drop on by and say “hey” !

 

Talking Out the Book (Plus an ARC!)

Talking Out the Book (Plus an ARC!)

This week has been an up and down week. Sure, I’ve gotten 6k in over three days, an excellent total for me lately; but the book is turning on me. It’s not keeping the tone I had set at the beginning; rewriting already is a PITA. I can’t say who the target publisher is, so I won’t. Ahem.

Of course, I’m working on something out of my comfort zone. Well, I’m working on TWO projects – whoops, make that THREE – out of my comfort zone; one is going swimmingly, being half done, and I’m itching to get back to it. The other – that’s got the 6k in it. One-tenth done. SIGH. But I’m finding that if I just keep my head down and do the work, some words – even words with the wrong feel to them – are better than no words. (The third project? That’s a new play. No, seriously. STOP LAUGHING!!! Okay, it’s a comedy, but really…must you bust a gut?!!)

I’m also thinking that maybe I started this story in the wrong place. As much as I REALLY like the opening scene, maybe that should just be the heroine’s intro? Maybe, in order to make the hero much more sympathetic, I need to open with him and his travails? See, he’s a grounded-for-life pilot who now runs his family’s private charter plane company…his brother died over in Iraq and his parents (who don’t like him in the first place) can’t forgive him for not enlisting, too. So…well, he does something his parents REALLY want him to do because he just doesn’t care anymore. And then he meets this girl. In a bar. Who will never get a tattoo because she’s boring as hell, as she puts it. And meeting her changes everything he thought he knew about himself and the world around him.

Hm…I’m just thinking this might be the way to go. Sometimes I need to talk out a book over coffee or wine…and when I’m at work, I can’t really “talk out” a book aloud, so I’m using the blog for my “talk out”. Hope you all don’t mind!

Well? Am I on the right track? Is this a book you’d want to read, or should I toss the idea? Let me know!

One lucky, randomly-selected commenter will win an ARC of DEMON HUNT if I get more than just me talking to myself here…so let your friends know, too, and make sure you leave your email address in your comment!

Wines for Summertime

Wines for Summertime

In these days of high unemployment and global financial crisis, it’s nice to relax with a bottle of wine that doesn’t break your pocketbook. But when you check out the hundreds of wines available in the grocery store, what do you buy? Relax! I’m here for you, sorting out the memorable from the truly awful. Each bottle is under $10 unless noted otherwise.

Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha, 2008  Calatayud Product of Spain  Alcohol 14.1% by Volume. $14.99 at BevMo! – bought on a 5 cent sale (1 bottle regular price, 2nd bottle 5 cents).

On The Label: Just the typical government warning.

My Take: I had bought Las Rocas Garnacha on a 5 cent sale earlier in the year, and just recently drank the second bottle. It is very like a big, full-bodied Zinfandel, with lots of lovely pepper and dark fruit to it. When I noticed it won “Best of Class” in it’s section at the L.A. Wine Fest this year, I decided I really needed to pick up another bottle. Or two.

I’m SO glad I did. The wine went very well with the BBQ’d pork ribs I’d made for my family.  I’ve got one more bottle up in my wine bin, and I may just have to bring it down for this July 4th BBQ. It’s great with grilled meats of any kind, and would also be fabulous with just about any Italian dish.

My Rating: ~Stay away! This is MY wine, you slut!~ Yes. It’s been awhile, but this wine deserves the rating. Plus, on the 5 cent sale, you can buy two bottles which puts each individual bottle under $10! (I’m sneaky that way…) 2008 seems to have been a VERY good wine year.

 

Barefoot Pinot Grigio n/v Alcohol 12.5% by Volume $6.99 at Vonsphoto of barefoot pinot grigio

On The Label: “Barefoot’s Pinot Grigio Blends have won BEST BUY from the Wine Enthusiast, March 2011 ‘Consistent Quality, Proven Value’.

“Barefoot Pinot Grigio is a crisp and refreshing wine with bright aromas and flavors of citrus and fresh green apple. Hints of jasmine complement a bright, delicate, flavorful finish.

“Barefoot Pinot Grigio is a perfect match with poultry, seafood, spicy pasta, and pizza. Refreshing!”

My Take: This (along with just about every Pinot Grigio) is the perfect summer wine. Often I don’t remember to chill my white wines in advance; this wine, in a big glass filled with ice, is the perfect party sipper. Plus at this price, it won’t break your wallet. Take two bottles and make your hosts happy! (Note to self; Pick up a couple bottles at the store before heading out to the drum circle today.)

If you notice, I’m not raving about the wine. I have a hard time raving about whites; I don’t know why. But it is a solid player and one I’m not ashamed to serve – or give.

My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ Stock up on it for the summer, so you’ll always have some on hand!

My Rating System: Undrinkable, Barely Drinkable, Drinkable, Very Drinkable, and the ever popular Stay away! This is MY wine, you slut!

~~~

As usual, this is just my honest opinion and depend upon my mood, the weather, how much writing I’ve managed that day, and what cycle the moon is in. Your taste buds will differ.

~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~

Blood Dreams is now available, just 99 cents! Demon Hunt, Book 2 in the Caine Brothers  Series, coming late Summer 2012.

 

 

In Dad’s Garden

In Dad’s Garden

Yesterday, Tom and I went to visit my dad down in San Diego. One of the highlights, always, is the Garden Tour. Every time I’ve visited since I moved out thirty years ago, the first words (after initial greetings) from dad have been  – “How about a garden tour?”

The man has magic in his hands. About twenty years or so ago, he decided to dig up his lawn and plant. Tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins – you name it, he planted it. This section of used-to-be-lawn now regularly gets tilled (the old fashioned way – with a shovel) and prepared every February for planting.

These are his tomato plants. They make mine look puny. PUNY, I tell you! (Note the sunflowers facing away at the top of the photo!)

Dad's tomato plants

And take a look at his pumpkins. Mine got started about a month after his did, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that eventually they’ll really take off. Neither of mine are the gigantic pumpkins like his are, but still…aren’t those leaves pretty?

Dad's big punkin

This one is about 12 – 15 inches across.

Dad's punkin patch

The leaves are about knee high.

Then there are the sunflowers. Freaking gorgeous! When I told him about my spindly ones with lots of flowers, he said he’s always wanted to grow those. So…this fall, we shall have a sunflower seed exchange, lol. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to grow dinner plate beauties!

Sunflowers

These stand about 17′ high.

Plus his apple trees, berry bushes, and the Meyer Lemon tree that started my fixation with all things lemon, a long time ago. I always make sure to pick as many lemons as I can, and stash them in the fridge to keep them as long as I can. I may actually have to learn how to preserve lemons!

(So far, my own little Meyer Lemon trees still have their lemons – and they’re getting to be a good size, too. So keep your fingers crossed for those trees!)

Here’s Dad’s Meyer Lemon tree…

Dad's Meyer Lemon tree

The tree that started it all…

And now, of course, a photo of my dad, resting in the garden.

Dad

Chet Cunningham

Though you can’t see it, behind the lemon tree to the left is the berry bush – beyond that is a pear tree.  You can see just a bit of the Grapefruit Tree that Ate the House on the right.

This is the yard I grew up in, missing only the swing and the above-ground pool (which used to stand where the tomatoes are now).

Now you know why I garden. Thanks, Daddy. Love you!

~~~

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Thanks so much for stopping by. I’m so glad to see you!