Food Class Friday

Are we ready to try our hands at a meat dish?

At least I think its meat.

Today, will are making Liver and Bacon with Bananas!
Break out the family silver and polish it up! This is a dish for the best china only! I guarantee you won't find it on the table of your common friends!

These succulent, sauteed calf livers are browned nicely and served with bacon rolls! Yes, bacon rolls! Flat bacon is for the masses! Line the platter with bananas baked in butter and then crumb coated. This slightly sweet addition is a delicious complement to the liver. Serve it all on a fluffy bed of rice.

For that extra decoration punch, don't forget to lay it all out on your best Berber carpet!

According to hubs, this masterpiece is to be filed under the "What the flip? Over." category.

Enjoy!

Food Class Friday

How did those congealed salads go? Anybody have some pictures or stories to share? Cooking can be so rewarding!

Today, we will be adding a soup recipe to our books. A soup that would go soooo well with last weeks salad. Matchy matchy is always fun!

How about some FRESH Potato Swirl Soup? Yummy, yummy!!

Now, its important to remember to use FRESH potatoes for this recipe. You won't get the same creamy effect from the old potatoes at the bottom of the cellar pile. And those canned potatoes? A big no-no! Can you believe I did not even know there was such a thing as canned potatoes until I was an adult and shopping for myself??? Yes, sad for me, I grew up in a household that though those fresh potatoes were not only better for you, but tasted better. Talk about old fashioned.

You have your regular onion, celery and chicken broth in here. Easy enough to get your hands on. But the real punch comes from that grassy green colored swirl! What a visual delight!! I know the color green in food I'm not expecting it in ALWAYS catches my eye and turns my head!

And no worries! Its just watercress and parsley making up this pureed swirl of green goodness. Both should be rather easy to find at your local market. At the last minute prior to serving, the watercress mixture is gently swirled through the potato mixture to add that amazing contrast in both color AND flavor.

For that extra touch of sophistication, drag out that mega-huge sangria glass from Don Pablo's to serve your soup in! Talk about making use out of what you have! Now that's classy and frugal all at the same time! And for that extra pop, find yourself a green doily or decorative mat to set the sangria glass on!

Watch out Martha Stewart!

Girls, you are really cooking now!

Food Class Friday

So its a brand NEW year! It's always nice to have a new beginning. Hopefully, this new year will be far less eventful than last year. No unexpected moves. No crazy travel happenings. No large financial losses.

Please.

I thought I'd try a themed day this year on the blog. After much thought, I think I came up with something. It wasn't easy. I have one friend that does snapshot Saturday and Thankful Thursday. Another bloggy friend posts a scripture and adoption related links from around the web on Sundays. Yet another blog friend does a homemaker post on Mondays and Crockpot meals on Thursdays. Then there is another blog I read that does book reviews on Thursdays.

It's hard to come up with something new.

But one thing we all love? Food. And since you can NEVER run out of fodder for food, I decided that was it. And to date, I've pretty much passed on all I know to two other adults that did not have mothers that taught them to cook....so this can also be a need in some households.

Are you ready for this?

Lets start out the new year with a dish that brings back shudders....(of something) to my dear hubs. A dish that he uses as the trump card in comparison stories from when he grew up. A delight that always wins hands down.

Grandma Sjurseths lovely green jello salad with onions and olives.
Yes friends, we will start our recipe file with a delightful Congealed Salad. The congealed salad is a most desirable accompaniment to a meal. They are colorful, light and refreshing. They also have the benefit of being able to be molded into many different decorative shapes and sizes! How appealing for that special occasion!

Now, I must confess that I have never made this culinary delight. I like my green foods a little more firm and a lot less jiggly. Since I've never tried this one myself, I don't have a true picture for you to drool over. I also don't own the recipe. Shame on me.

So we will have to settle for this very similar one.

Instead of the lovely olives, that look like eyes, floating around in the green goo, in this delight you will find radishes, carrot curls and celery . But you cut the radishes in flower shapes, so its almost like the olive eyes. Right?

It's very important to remember to cut the green onion just right. Yes, you must slice each piece lengthwise into very thin slits. This results in a green onion tree. And who wouldn't love the look of a graceful green onion tree in the middle of their green jello? Don't skip this step. It MAKES the salad friend.

For maximum visual appeal, make sure to find some of those yellow and white daisies. Green and yellow are sure to pack a visual punch. So very 70's retro. Won't your mom be so delighted?

This amazing salad would be appropriate in many situations. Invited to a potluck by the boss' wife? Looking to make an unforgettable impression? I promise this one fits the bill.

Need a unique side for the church picnic? This is sure to bring them running to the table. You will be surrounded by amazed faces!

Yes, this one has lots of public appeal!

Oh, and don't forget to email me a picture of your first congealed salad for my recipe book! I will be so proud!

And according to hubs, this one should be filed in the "some things are just visually incorrect" section of our new recipe books.

Enjoy!