the ultimate comfort food or italian ramen

This is something I have came to make on my own but it is adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe and what my mom makes us out of leftovers sometimes. Prepare for non-stop shoveling into your mouth and greasy lips. This is not a healthy dish. Only delicious.

Ingredients:
1 cube bouillon (I use chicken or vegetable)
leftover pasta of any shape- enough for 2 servings
butter
olive oil
garlic powder
paprika
grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt a generous pat of butter in a non-stick pan with a glug of olive oil
2. Add in the bouillon cube and coat with oil, once coated it is easy to break up with some tongs
3. Sprinkle in your spices and swirl the whole mess around until it is sort of a sauce.
4. Toss in your pasta and fry the whole mess up until some of the pasta is a little crispy.
5. Top with cheese and eat it.

Toffee Nut Bars

This recipe comes from my Great Grandmother's friend Roz.

Toffee Nut Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup plus 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2T flour
• 2 eggs
• 1t vanilla
• 1T baking powder
• 1/2T salt
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cut nuts
• oven preheated to 350 degrees

1. Mix shortening, butter, and 1/2 cup brown sugar until thoroughly mixed then, add in 1 cup flour

     2. Press into a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan and bake for 10 minutes

    

     3.  Beat eggs and stir in vanilla and the remaining cup of brown sugar

     4. In another bowl mix 2T flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine flour mixture with egg mixture

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     5. Mix in coconut and nuts and spread over pre-baked crust.

    
     6. Bake for another 26 minutes. Cool and then cut into squares.

 

Spaetzle is delicious

Today I woke up some of my German roots and made spaetzle. These little dumplings/noodles work with everything. They are great sauteed with some butter and a little crispy. Also, wonderful with just about any sauce or protein. This recipe may not be the truest of spaetzle but I don't care. They taste good.

Ok, my recipe starts with:

• 3 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• 2 TBS melted butter

1. Mix the flour, salt, and eggs together
2. Slowly add the water until you get a smooth dough. A consistency between bread dough and pancake batter.Stir with a wooden spoon until you get some bubbles and the dough sticks together.
3. Then add the melted butter and stir until well combined. 
4. Have a bot of salted boiling water ready. This is where I change things up from traditional methods. German housewives have an amazing technique where they have a smooth cutting board and scrape the dough off in thin strips into boiling water. I can't do that. Then you could buy a spaetzle maker, I don't have one. You could use the colander method and squish the dough through the holes of a large holed colander. I don't have one of those. So I use my trusty slotted spoon. It is basically the colander method but on a smaller scale.
5. Use one of the many spaetzle forming methods and drop the dumplings into boiling water. Let them float to the surface and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Do this in several batches and DO NOT crowd the spaetzle in the pot. They will glob together.

6. Scoop out the spaetzle into another colander with a bowl under it. I like to take the water that drains and dump it back into the pot of boiling water so I don't lose to much cooking water for the last batches.

What to do with these weird looking yummy things.

1. Sautee the cooked spaetzle in a pan with some butter and make sure to let it get a little crispy and browned. 
2. Eat until you can't move.

Recipe 1- Lemon Bisque

Lemon Bisque was the light and airy dessert that my Great Grandma Ruth made for us every time she came to visit. Today was her 95th birthday so, I had to make this for her. It is a fairly simple Jell-O dessert but it does take some time. Happy eating!

For this recipe you  will need:
1 tall can of evaporated milk             2 TBS lemon juice
1 package of lemon gelatin               1/2 grated lemon rind
1 1/4 cup boiling water                     1 pkg vanilla wafers or  
1/3 cup honey                                  1/3 -2/3 pkg graham crackers pulverized into crumbs
1/8 tsp salt

1. Thoroughly chill the milk. Overnight works well.
2. Dissolve gelatin in the boiling water

3. Add honey, salt, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Let sit until slightly congealed

4. Beat the chilled, evaporated milk until stiff (I never can get it quite stiff but it still works)

5. Whip in gelatin mixture.
6. Press half of  the wafer/cracker crumbs into a 10x13 inch pan 
7.Pour the lemon mix over the crumbs and top with remaining crumbs

8. Chill in the fridge at least 3 hours or overnight

My Misson

At my bridal shower, my great grandmother gave me a box of recipe cards. Each card was filled with a recipe she wrote or used or was from one of her friends. Some were even family specialties that I have grown up eating.

I also received many recipes from other friends and family around the time of my wedding. Partly because one of my showers was themed around my love of cooking and baking. But also, because sharing part of your life (your food) is such a special gift.

I have been particularly bored with my usual repertoire of recipes lately and need a boost on things to try. So comes the idea for this blog. I will be using this to document and share as many or the dishes I make from my grandmother's recipes. I will no limit this to one of my grandmothers either. Any recipe that I get that is passed from a family member or friend's family member can and will be used. Such as the recipe for cookies that is in the recipe box from my Great-Grandmother's best friend growing up.
I may make one dish or I might re-create an entire meal from the 1950's. I also will gladly accept anyone else's family heirloom dishes. Do you have something that Grandma used to make? Send it to me and I will try it out.
I also will be putting in my personal recipes that I like to serve and share. No reason to keep them to myself.
Here goes!

Me wearing an apron made by Grandma Ruth and using her red roasting pan

Domestic goddess pose Apron courtesy of Aunt Nancy!