Strange Sunday

Okay, so it's Sunday morning and, as I mentioned, I got no Internet connection on my computer. But, when my Administrator called back, he talked me through the problem (simple, really... Not sure why I didn't catch that).

Anyway, I finally checked my email and found one from my son Jeremy, telling me that he and the family would be here at 10:00 AM! Yikes!! I thought they would come around 2:00 or 3:00! I'd planned a nice dinner for them!! Now what the hell do I do?

I thought briefly about making some scones or cinnamon rolls, but I'm not much of a baker. So, I went with the pecan pie I'd planned for Lu and Sadie (but they weren't here long enough).

So, I made the pie dough with six ounces of flour, one stick of butter (cut into small chunks) and ice water added until I had the right texture (you would double this if you were making a pie crust on the top and bottom). Basically, the ratio is three parts flour; two parts fat (butter or lard) and one part water. I mixed it by hand and it's important that the fat is very cold, that you work quickly and that you don't knead it or squeeze it. I put the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes while I made the filling.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F. Then I coarsely chopped 1 1/4 cups of pecans and set them aside. In a medium bowl, I combined four large eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar, by whisking. Then I added one cup of dark Karo (corn) syrup, 1/2 cup of light Karo syrup and one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. I added in the chopped pecans and stirred it.

Meanwhile, I took out the pie crust and, on a floured board, I rolled it into a 12-inch round. I put that into my glass pie plate and, using kitchen scissors, cut it about one half inch longer than the edge. Then, using two fingers on my right hand and one on my left, I pressed the excess dough into a pretty pie crust. I poured the filling in and then took perfect pecan halves and arranged them on the top. It looked REALLY good! (I wish I would have taken a picture of it for you).

I put that in the oven and set the timer for 55 minutes. About 3/4 of the way through the baking process, Jeremy and his kids showed up. They had their cats "fixed" yesterday and Jyl was babysitting them.

They brought me my Christmas gifts, two angled stools (perfect for computer work!) one with Riese's photo and samples of her school work and the other from Joe, with his picture and school work, both decoupaged in. So, one will go in the office and one I'll take to work. Thanks, guys!

The timer went off and I checked the pie. It was done, but the crust was a bit overcooked. So, I pulled it out and let it cool.

We sat and chatted for a while. Jeremy and myself had some of the 12 cups of coffee I'd made (fresh ground Columbian beans, BTW). Unfortunately, I only had evaporated milk for him (sorry).

At one point, Riese wanted to go out back, so I lent her my boots (she came here with flip-flops on - go figure...)

So, even though it was still warm (it was supposed to cool completely before eating), I served up the pie. They all said it was good, but I dunno. No way should a Type 2 diabetic eat anything like that! I searched around and finally found a tin pie plate to send the last two pieces home with them (Jeremy had two, but who's counting?) I hope that Jyl got at least one piece of it...

They left around noon and I sat down on the couch to finish the magazine I was reading.

Jake called and he described the dinner for tonight: Swedish meatballs served on mashed potatoes and some quick pickled cucumbers. As I told him, I have eaten Swedish meatballs all my life and only had them served on top of wide egg noodles. But, when I thought about it, the Swedish meatballs are served with gravy, so mashed potatoes made some kind of sense.

Did I mention I love Swedish meatballs?

But, what interested me were the quick pickled cucumbers. Why? Because I have most of an English (seedless) cucumber left from Sadie's salad.

I got a phone call from Melissa and another phone call from my friend, B___ in the afternoon, both just checking in.

I checked out the pickle recipe and pared it down (only having 3/4 of the cucumber left).

So, I put one cup of white vinegar and 3/4 cup of sugar on a sauce pan. I have no allspice seeds in-house, so I added a pinch of ground allspice. I slowly simmered that, whisking occasionally and, when the sugar dissolved, I moved it off the heat to cool.

So, I took my mandoline and set it to 1/8 inch. I ran though the cucumber and then 1/2 of a red onion. I salted the onions and cukes and let them sit a bit then I dumped the pickling juice over top of them. I mixed them all together and put them in the fridge for four hours. Hmmm... should be ready just about the time I want to go to bed!

Then I started on my Sunday supper: Cheese and Nut Stuffed Shells. This was another one I'd thought of for Sadie and Lu and then was going to serve to Jeremy's family today. So, to heck with them all, I'll eat 'em myself!!

I carefully boiled the box of jumbo shells, drained them, rinsed them in cold water and set them aside. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees F.

It was when I was getting out the cheese to make the stuffing I realized my mistake! I had the shredded mozzarella and the shredded Parmesan, but couldn't find the ricotta. Then I remembered that, when I bought the stuff for the ladies' visit, Kroger's was out of ricotta. I figured I'd pick some up somewhere else, but I never did! It's a darn good thing it worked out I didn't try and make it for anyone, because I would have looked as stupid as I felt!!

So, I put the cooked shells in the fridge (it occurred to me much later I probably should have tossed them in olive oil first, to prevent them sticking together, but I didn't). I heated up a can of Hormel chili (grumbling to myself) and ate that watching the first of my Sunday shows. I left the third show to be taped and went to bed at 10:00 PM.