For the New Year, I have found an all together fascinating book that has been getting some notable and well deserved attention recently. "At Home" by Bill Bryson is a close examination of his own Victorian house, in which he discovers not just his families history, or the history of the structure, but the entire history of the world. From the Introduction..."...whatever happens in the world - whatever is discovered or created or bitterly fought over - eventually ends up, in one way or another, in your house. Wars, famines, the Industrial Revolution, the Enlightenment - they are all there in your sofas and chests of drawers, tucked into the folds of your curtains, in the downy softness of your pillows, in the paint on your walls and the water in your pipes. So the history of household life isn't just a history of beds and sofas and kitchen stoves, as I had vaguely supposed it would be, but of scurvy and guano and the Eiffel Tower and bedbugs and body-snatching and just about everything else that has ever happened. Houses aren't refuges from history. They are where history ends up."
What a truly wonderful and fresh perspective with which to ring in the New Year! Such an idea, that the very history of ourselves as human beings can be found in the home is especially poignant for bed and breakfast goers, who find rejuvenation and inspiration from their B&B experiences, learning and living in another's home.
Speaking of books, we here at Lanier Publishing are proud to announce our 8th cookbook, to be released in the fall of 2011, called Inn Love: Romantic Recipes to Serve the Ones You Love. We are searching for suitable and delicious recipes to include right now, and would like to call on our members to submit their best and most loved recipes as soon as possible so we can feature it in this year's highly anticipated cookbook. Please email your recipe to Romantic Recipes Submission in order to be included!Please find below some excellent recipes to kick off 2011. I simply cannot wait for the excitement, inspiration, and surprises that this year has in store!
Rita's Gnocchi
* You will need: 5 large idaho potatoes
* 1 egg
* 8 cups of all purpose flour
In a deep pot of salted boiling water cook 5 large Idaho potatoes in the jacket until just tender. Peel while hot under running water, then put through a ricer immediately into a large bowl. Beat 1 egg and add to potatoes, mix quickly. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time, slowly beating all ingredients together until you've used all 2 pounds. Roll on a floured board into 1 inch cylinders, then cut into half inch pieces. Flatten slightly with the tines of a fork and allow to dry while salt water comes to a boil in a large pot. Cook until the gnocchi float to the surface. Drain and keep warm, serve with marinara sauce or pesto or 1/2 and 1/2 of each!
Aunt Flora's Lanier's Holiday Salad
* You will need: 1 large gelatin mold
* 1 pkg lime-flavored JELL-O
* 1/2 pkg plain Knox gelatin
* 14 large marshmallows cut into small cubes
* 1 8-oz pkg of cream cheese
* 1 16-oz can grated pineapple, well-drained and cooled
* 1 cup (or so) pecans, finely chopped
* 1 11-oz can Mandarin orange slices
* 1/2 cup Queen Anne cherries, drained and chopped
* 1/2 pint of heavy cream, well-whipped
Chill the JELL-O mold in the refrigerator ahead of time.
Dissolve the Jell-O in 1 cup of boiling water. Add the marshmallows and stir until dissolved (will be foamy). Remove from burner and allow to cool. Once cooled, add the cream cheese and stir until completely blended and smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine pineapple, pecans, Mandarin oranges and cherries.
Fold the pineapple mixture into the JELL-O mixture until combined.
Gently fold in the whipped cream and pour into the chilled mold. Refrigerate until well-set.
This salad can be made the day before.
This is pure comfort food; cool, creamy and luscious.
Mary Gean's Corn Bread
* You will need: 1 cup flour
* 1 cup corn meal
* 4 tsp baking powder
* Pinch salt
* 1 egg
* 1 cup whole milk
* 1/3 cup oil
Mix dry, then wet on top of dry, mix all together.
Pour into a hot skillet with touch of oil, cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm and always fresh out of the oven.
Finally, we had this sensational cornbread while driving through the Black Hills of New Mexico on the way back from the New Mexico Bed and Breakfast Conference in November (see recipe above). Verbally, Lynn gave us the recipe for their infamous, wondrous, Chipotle Beef brisket. Take a whole brisket well trimmed of fat, salt and pepper both side thoroughly spread one small can, chipotle in adobo sauce, roast at 275 degrees for 12 hours. Tent with aluminum foil (and for my taste, put in some onions that last 4 hours, around the brisket, whole or half).
Best wishes and healthy 2011!
Pamela
