allsorts

This is absolutely my last post relating to Christmas, I promise

I realized that I forgot to show you this fun vintage cookbook! Here are a few photos I snapped whilst my tea was steeping.

After seeing Sarah's pics of her copy of Holiday Punches, I couldn't google Peter Pauper Press fast enough. Happily, I found another one of theirs, Holiday Goodies, from an online bookseller. It came in its original box which is probably why its in such great shape. There are fun graphics all through the little book...

Dancing around the butter churn. Love the birds on the sugar bowl...

I do believe that's Santa and a couple of his reindeer on the facing page. Now we know what he does after Christmas...

I haven't even read the recipes, I keep getting sidetracked drooling over Vee Guthrie's artwork!

Okay I absolutely positively swear that's it for Christmas... possibly.

Cheers,

Jenny

Cute fruit

So... this is a typical plate of apples and pears, right?

Nope.

They are regular in every way except about half the size.

Trying to convey how little they are...

And how cute! I couldn't resist.

Cheers,

Jenny

ps - I should clarify that these are real, found in the produce section at Central Market!

Happy now

That's better... (thank you Photoshop)

Cheers,

Jenny

Tea vs espresso

I'm having tea today...

And someone's not happy about it.

Don't worry, I'll have espresso tomorrow, I promise!

Cheers,

Jenny

Victoria Redux

Apparently I wasn't the only person who missed Victoria. The first new issue arrived yesterday, and it's still way over the top with the lace and brocade stuff but is still a nice relaxing read. It kind of takes you to another era... sort of a mini-vacation.

One of the pictorials is of Tasha Tudor's collection of antique dresses. Ironically I recently did a post of a story about her I found in an old issue. Isn't this fan amazing?

But what really got me were the recipes, which they have nicely posted on their site. All of them really cried out to my taste buds, especially:

Buttermilk Grand Marnier Panna Cotta...

Chocolate, Cherry and Hazelnut Terrine...

And Pumpkin Chai Pots De Créme...

Now is really not the time to fall off my diet... but please!

Cheers,

Jenny

Au currant

After.

Happy Fourth of July!

Jenny

Currantly

Before....

Sweet birdies and an even sweeter dish

Found via a new favorite (very Swedish, but in English) blog, red house. This happy image is from a company called Isak. Based in the UK, their look is decidedly Swedish. Lovely things! These birdies are from a counting poster.

And guess what has been spotted at Central Market? These:

Which means some of this:

Just in time for the Fourth of July, this very festive, very tasty bread pudding(recipe here). The lucky ones who had helpings last year are still raving. How could I resist?

Cheers, have a wonderful week, and a wonderful holiday!

Jenny

Can't have too many blue and white dishes

Hmmm... the trend seems to be that I start each post with a thank you. So, thank you... again, for letting me whine and vent and be a grouchy old grouch. Only one further Bad Thing happened after the last post, my MIL took another tumble, cut open her head and spent the day in the ER getting her scalp stapled (yes, I shudder every time I think of that, too). She's on the mend, and we've made her promise not to fall any more.

So now the sun is shining here, both inside and out! One nice thing adding to the sunshine... last weekend I snagged a set of blue and white dishes at my neighbors garage sale...

She called me over and showed me this little pile, wondering if it was my pattern. Before I even knew how many she had I told her I'd buy them all. Turned out she had a pristine service for eight, cream and sugar, serving bowl and platter, in a pattern called Finlandia. Yes, I was one happy gumball, because these go perfectly with my other blue and white dishes (which now fill my cupboard quite nicely).

My first set of dishes in this theme was a similar pattern for which I can supply no name, made by Schonwald of Germany, I think I have service for six or so. Next up was Mason's Denmark, the dishes we bought and used when we lived in London, as well as back here in the US. I have a LOT of this but many pieces have been chipped along the way. These as well as the Finlandia are loosely based on the classic Royal Copenhagen pattern, of which I have only a few pieces, as it is scary expensive stuff. Here they all are, nicely posing for their photo:

I love that my dishes are variations on a theme, like a large cobbled together family, all similar but unique in their own right. Whether they're stoneware or fine porcelain, or maybe a little chipped around the edges, they are part of the family.

And isn't it a wonderful thing when they all play nicely together?

Have a happy Mother's Day!

Cheers,

Jenny

We have a winner!

I won't keep you in suspense any longer, last night the currants were transformed into this:

Bread and Butter Pudding with Fresh Currants and Raspberries. And it was delicious! It was a bit of a fuss, but not too much, really. Here is the recipe (from the June issue of Country Living magazine):

1 12-oz. loaf challah bread, cut into 3/4 inch slices and dried overnight
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup fresh red currants
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Heat the oven to 325F. Brush each slice of bread on both sides with the softened butter and cut each piece in half. Arrange the bread in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, overlapping the slices in concentric circles to resemble a flower design. Tuck 1/2 cup each of currants and raspberries between the bread slices. Whisk the eggs, yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, milk and heavy cream together and pour over the bread. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup each of currants and and raspberries on top, cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil and seal around the rim. Press gently to help the bread absorb the liquid. Let sit for 30 minutes. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil, sprinkle the pudding with the remaining 1 table spoon sugar and increase the oven temperature to 350F. Bake until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown - 25 more minutes or so. Cool on a a wire rack.

Tips: The bread can also be dried by placing it in a 200F oven for 30 minutes, then allowing to cool. I don't have a 9-in deep dish pie plate, but my 10-in stoneware pie plate worked just fine. And although we had fresh raspberries when we got home from Central Market, they disappeared onto ice cream so I used frozen whole raspberries, which worked fine. Fresh would have probably been better, but this was really all about the currants, and they were fantastic... very tart and sweet, perfect for a fairly rich dish like this. Two yums up!

And I must give proper thanks to the two who are mostly responsible, my son who nipped out to the market for additional ingredients, and Ro who drove the process so we weren't eating after midnight. As it was, it was rather late before it was cool enough to eat, and they were very patient when I snatched it from under their noses so I could take its portrait. The blog must be fed, too!

If I see fresh currants again at the market, I will snap them up and try another one of the recipes, possibly the tart. I would have given it a go, but lacked a tart pan. Thanks for sharing my anticipation!

Onward!

Jenny