Grandma Joyce: food innovator and badass

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending an evening with my Grandma Joyce.  This gal just celebrated her 85th birthday and still looks and behaves likes a spring chicken.  She can largely take credit for my affection for cooking. She's pretty much a badass.  

My research assistant and I arrived at her house late in the evening, tired from driving all day, ready for a beer and True Blood.  Then she asked if we were hungry. Come to Grandma's house and not eat?  Is the sky blue?

She offered me a variety of items, but one thing caught my ear: carrot salad.  I immediately thought raw, shredded carrots, perhaps Indian spices and raisons.  Silly, Hailey.  Imagine potato salad with carrots.  I ate the whole container.

Being an Idaho girl, I am genetically inclined to love potatoes, but dare I say, I think I might enjoy carrot salad better than potato salad!  Everyone has their own favorite combination of mayo, sweet or dill relish, eggs, celery, what have you, so try swapping out white for orange.  Thank Grandma Joyce for being such a food innovator.  

The only thing that would have made this better: chopped celery.  

Nothing ever tastes as good as Grandma's.

If you could eat summer it would look like this

The following pictures may confuse you.  You may think, wow, Hailey drove to the coast for Memorial weekend.  Gray skies, waves, sand.  Then you will be jolted back to reality when you see the RV, which gets less than appealing gas mileage and a drive to the coast would require me to sell one of my kidneys to afford the trip.  Also, sagebrush.  I am fairly certain sagebrush does not grow on the coastline.  

However, this location (which I have been sworn to secrecy by my sweet friends who shared this little spot of heaven) was in Idaho -- a little more than an hour's drive away from my home.  The weather required us to enjoy the haven of the RV for a large part of our night's stay, but listening to whitecaps smash on the rocks truly felt like we were on the ocean.  Perhaps I am just easily amused, but living in a landlocked state, I will gladly take moments like this any time.  Plus, s'mores cooked over the gas stove with reeses peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate revolutionized the way I look at marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. 

 See Tuli in the front seat -- he would drive if he had thumbs.

 Sand, shore birds and waves. Oh my!

 He's so fashion-forward.

 Breakfast scramble with zucchini, onions, peppers and squash, and CREAM CHEESE.  Next time you scramble eggs, add a few tbs of cream cheese instead of cheese = delicious.

 Served our breakfast guests espresso in plastic cups.  Keepin' it classy in the rv!

After enduring the wind and weather as long as we could, we escaped to my parents house . . .  to their hot tub.  My mom prepared a fabulous Memorial weekend meal that channeled warmth and summer -- bbq chicken, watermelon, corn on the cob.  Eating food like this really does get you excited for the months ahead.  Bring on summer!

 Next time you eat corn on the cob, try this combination: equal parts sour cream and crumbled feta cheese (eyeball enough to serve your guests), season with salt and pepper.  Slather on hot corn and have a napkin handy -- messy but worth it!

 Grilled corn and bbq chicken.

If you could eat summer it would look like this.

We were on a break!

I am feeling a little sentimental this morning so please forgive me while I mush a bit.

It's amazing how this site has helped me to reconnect with friends. I occasionally receive sweet emails of encouragement from folks I haven't seen or heard from in years, which makes my heart swell three sizes -- just like the Grinch's -- not that I had an unreasonably meager-sized heart to begin with, no, that's just how happy I am when I receive such correspondence. HAPPY!

Grinch diatribe aside, one of my favorite friends jotted me a note reminding me of our ritualistic Thursday night dinners in college. Each week we visited a different girlfriend's house who treated us to dinner, drinks and NBC's now defunct lineup of kick-ass television: "Friends," "Will and Grace," and "ER" (there was one more show in the lineup, but it was trumped by the other three).

In retrospect, my passion for cooking and sharing food with those I love started with those women. Each time the rotation landed on my shoulders I did my damnedest to create meals that were so scrumptious we wanted to reserve some for our boyfriends, which rarely was the case, as eating (and drinking) was something for which we could have received college credit.

Now we're all grown up and living all over the country. We're busy with myriad responsibilities: husbands, babies, jobs, graduate programs, life. It's almost been TEN years since we've all been together. Amazing how people can fade out of your life yet feel as though they've never left your side.

Here's the inscription from the cookbook that the following scalloped potato recipe hails: "Merry Christmas 2001. I look forward to enjoying meals at your table for many years to come. Love you, xx Mom."

Start the tradition of sharing meals at your table; the memories and relationships are irreplaceable.

xx Hailey

Craving summer.

This is THE MOST helpful kitchen tool I own,

besides my knives.

Use your tax return and buy yourself one.

Thank me later.

I could have eaten this with a spoon.

Yukon gold.

I never knew how to chiffonade basil.

Here's a ghetto tutorial:

stack up basil.

Roll up like a cigar. I've never rolled a cigar,

but I imagine this is how.

Slice thinly. You end up with lovely, wispy basil.

Be forewarned: hot potatoes and

pesto are IMPOSSIBLE to resist.

Best have someone in the kitchen as referee.

Layering.

Cheese: Good.

After these, you will NEVER look at potatoes the same.

Sorry.

Scalloped potatoes with sun-dried tomato pesto

adapted from Back to the Table

3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices (mandolin would be helpful)

1 cup sun-dried tomato pesto (recipe follows)

2 tbs basil, chiffonade

2 tbs Italian parsley, chopped

1 cup chicken broth, heated to a boil

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about eight minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl. Carefully toss with the pesto, coating evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper (won't need a great deal of salt because of the broth).

Layer half of the potatoes in a large baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese and basil. Add the remaining potatoes, cheese and basil. (I had some parmesan in my fridge and do not leave any cheese on the bench for fear of hurting feelings). Pour the heated broth evenly over the potatoes. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered, and then 15 minutes uncovered. Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley.

Sun-dried tomato pest0

adapted from Back to the Table

2 cups sun-dried tomatoes (recipe called for tomatoes packed in oil, but I used dry for a 'healthier' version)

1/4 cup basil

1/4 cup Italian parsley

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, less the oil. Gradually stream in the olive oil. Pulse until a course paste is formed. The pesto can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to one month.

Better believe they're from Idaho

I tend to ask a lot of questions, especially when I am getting to know a new person. One of my favorite questions to ask is "If you had to eat one for the rest of your life, what would you eat?" It is always fascinating to hear what people choose--black olives, UGH. My answer always changes: sushi, ice cream (Grandma, I know we share this!), pasta, bacon. Today, it's potatoes. No coincidence I am from Idaho.

Au gratin Potatoes

8-10 small potatoes, sliced (I used small red and yukon gold)

1 cup 1/2 and 1/2

1 cup milk

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 cup italian blend cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small sauce pan, steep the milk and cream with the garlic slices over medium heat. Be careful not to burn. Layer the potato slices in a casserole dish, sprinkling with cheese and salt and pepper along the way. Evenly pour the milk mixture over the potatoes and top with cheese and thyme. Bake about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are bubbly.