Some eats, some thrifts: Brother's Birthday Dinner and Cake - "Fried" Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce; Vintage bundt pan, tablecloth, table runner

We had two snow days in a row. The second day, I got pretty stir crazy. It happened to be the day before my brother's 25th birthday, so I put together a pretty decent meal with stuff we had in the house, cake included.

This post is part eats and part thrifts. My vintage bundt pan was a gift from a friend's mom. I'd said how I wanted to make a bundt cake, she gave me this pan, and then three years later, I'm finally using it. Sigh. 

Vintage bundt pan

The pan worked wonderfully. The cake was delicious, but I made a bad decision. I'll discuss it below.

Also, in the following pictures you can see my vintage fruit tablecloth and table runner. My grandmother gave me the tablecloth from her personal stash (it had belonged to my great-grandmother), and the runner came from the Southport Antique Mall last spring. Funny story...I bought it thinking it was two kitchen towels. I didn't realize until the day before the following pictures were taken that it was, in fact, a table runner. I had put it away, thinking we have enough dish towels, and I would save it for when that wasn't the case. Sigh.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

I learned this way of making fried chicken from my mom. Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, wash them, dry them, then cover them with a flour mixture that includes salt, pepper, and paprika. I put this mixture in a pie pan and dip the chicken in it. Heat some oil in a pan on medium high - Just coat the pan a little heavily, there's a reason I put "fried" in quotes. Cook the chicken until golden brown, turning as necessary. Have your oven preheated to about 250 deg. F, and once the chicken is browned, place it in a baking dish in the oven to finish cooking through.

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas; Vintage tablecloth, vintage table runner

Eats - Iced-in Brunch

French toast with apples cooked in sorghum and maple syrup,
scrambled eggs with cheddar and spinach, orange slices, coffee

So apparently we are enjoying a record-breaking, or at least quite impressive, ice storm. We had a snow day at work. Snow days are one of my favorite things about winter. An unexpected day off. And not only a day off, but a day when I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted to. Glorious. So after I did some Pilates, cleaned a bit, and de-iced my back stairs and car (just in time for them to ice back over), I made a hefty brunch for my sister-blogger (who braved the ice so our puppies could play) and me. I do get a kick out of calling him my "sister"-blogger, but he's done it to himself.

The brunch included French toast made from the leftover bread from my previous post - the multigrain sandwich bread - dipped in eggs, heavy cream, a splash of milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla and then cooked in oil until crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and topped with apples cooked in butter, sorghum, and maple syrup. Mm. The eggs were scrambled with cheddar and cream cheeses, a bit of milk, spinach, black and cayenne peppers, and salt.

Eats - White Bean and Chard Stew with Poached Eggs and Multigrain Bread

And this is the first of two posts from the "teaser" picture I posted yesterday - the one with all the produce.

White bean and chard stew with poached eggs and multigrain bread.

I started with the same broth as in this post. I used much less of it, keeping the rest back for for reheating the stew a dthe potato leek soup I made the same evening and .

Making the stock

I admit parts of this recipe will sound pretty similar to that other post with the white bean and cabbage stew, but the end result was not. The presentation was considerably different, and where the cabbage stew was brothy, this one was dry. Don't be too quick to judge my repetition. I have a thing for soups and stews and beans and cooked greens in the winter.

Ok, so. For the stew. Brown three shallots in oil. Add four cloves of garlic, two carrots, and two celery stalks (finely chopped). Brown in oil for a few minutes, then add two 12 oz. cans of white northern beans. Add 1/4 cup white wine, cook down, then add two cups of the vegetable stock, a few teaspoons each of thyme and rosemary, two bay leaves and salt, black, and white pepper to taste. Cook for five minutes or until the beans are cooked. Add two bunches of chard, stems removed and coarsely chopped. Put a lid on and allow the chard to wilt, stirring occasionally.

White bean and chard stew

Teaser

Thrift: Camera bag

So, I got a really nice camera for Christmas (Thanks, Mom and Dad!). Soon after, I began the great search for the perfect bag to put it in (for under a bizillion dollars, of course). The internets failed me, so I turned to my old stand-by. It took multiple trips, but as usual, Value World came through with this super sweet leather camera bag, with pockets in all the right places, for a measly $3. Awesome.