Birthday supper third course

Poor man's black forest cherry cake.  Devil's food cake mix with cherry pie filling and fsssht on top.  A yummy ending to a pretty great birthday observed. 

Birthday supper second course

Prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli.  The rib roast came with our half-beef, so what would cost $18 a lb at the store only cost us $6.  We told the boys tonight's dinner would be about $60 in a nice restaurant.  They seemed impressed.

Birthday supper first course

Wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, balsamic reduction and bacon pieces.  We reduced the balsamic this afternoon.  Sooo tasty.  My hubby is a fantastic cook.

Birthday breakfast

Nothing brings me back to England faster than a grilled tomato.

What I see

 G is all like this now:

And this:

And this:

But all I can see is this:

And this:

And this:

Auction treasures

Remember my previous infatuation with an online auction? Well, it happened again about a month ago.  I found an online auction in St. Peter about 45 minutes from us.  It was an auction from the estate of Beverly Gustafson, an elderly widow who had spent a lifetime of learning, traveling, collecting, teaching and raising a family.  The auction items painted the story of a rich life shared with her husband - boxes of sheet music, instruments and textiles from around the world, sheds of furniture waiting for repair, cedar chests full of fabric and linens, paintings and pottery galore.

I was originally interested in getting basic household items for G's new apartment.  And I was successful in that regard - silverware, plates, kitchen utensils, towels, etc.  But I also spotted something that piqued my personal interest - cookbooks.  I'm a sucker for old cookbooks.  And not only were there cookbooks, there was an old recipe box stuffed full of recipe cards and clippings.  I'm astounded some child or grandchild hadn't snatch the box up as a treasured memento of family suppers.  But their loss is my gain.

It's obvious this woman loved to cook.  And she was an adventurous cook - dishes from different regions, cultures, cooking styles.  She clipped recipes from magazines, newspapers and food wrappers.  She collected cards from friends and family members.  I spent a good hour going through them all, keeping the ones that looked promising and tossing the others.  The box itself is a little beat up, but with a bit of glue and TLC it should be right as rain.

Her cookbooks are a history in themselves.  She took copious notes of the dishes she tried, and the adjustments she made to the recipes.  She was big on flavor - her main critique for a bad recipe was that it was "bland."  She wasn't afraid to make changes, adding or subtracting amounts or ingredients.  And she dated most of her trials.  I found recipe dates going back to the 1960s.

I got a kick out of this cookbook title - "All This, And Rye Bread Too."  The lady on the cover seems very ... alert. 

After reading the introduction, I learned Evelyn was the Director of Food Service at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter for many years.  She was known for her boundless energy and enthusiasm, volunteerism, sharing her Swedish heritage, and of course good cooking. She was beloved by students and staff alike.  Her rye bread recipe was apparently world famous.  I share it with you here, at the risk of copyright infringement.  I've not tried it myself, yet.  But it must be good - Beverly seems to think so.

Some of the kitchen gadgets that we got threw us for a loop.  Neither Hubby nor I had ever heard of an "Ah So" for opening wine bottles.  And we didn't think we'd have any use for an Oregon Bean Spoon.  This decorative tray was intriguing, so I looked it up on the googles. 

It's a Streamline Adler Ware meat platter.  Apparently you put your sizzling roasts on the tray and the tree indentations catch the juices.  An interesting bit of culinary weirdness, but not something I see myself using.  

Overall, it was a successful auction haul.  Especially since I've gotten to know two very interesting ladies and fellow cookbook enthusiasts, Beverly and Evelyn, along the way.