Nov 26, 2015

Tips from The Cat Hair Cook and Pushy Pie Crust

Pumpkin Pie from a *real* pumpkin.
Pumpkin Pie from a *real* pumpkin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you use a plastic fork to stir the ingredients for the pumpkin pie because all of the other dishes are dirty in the sink just be sure to look at the fork carefully after stirring the mixture to make sure all of the tines are still there.



Pushy Pie Crust


1 1/2 cups of flour

big pinch of salt

stick of butter  (1/2 cup)

2 eggs


stir the flour and salt

grate the butter into the flour

(just take the butter out of the fridge and use the large holes on a box grater--it is helpful to have a large bowl or large frying pan if all of the bowls are dirty, too)

just keep covering and stirring in the butter with the flour so the little pieces are covered in flour and do not get into one big ball

crack 2 eggs directly into the butter flour mixture and beat with a fork

mix the whole thing together with your hands

the mix should turn into a ball quickly and just push it down with the heel of your hand a few times to mix it

place the dough ball into the pie pan--I have a glass pie dish--this may be difficult if it is a disposable aluminum pie pan

push the ball down and flatten with your hands--if it is too sticky sprinkle with a little bit of flour

just keep flattening and pushing the crust--it takes a while but I could not find my rolling pin and it eventually works well.

Continue flattening the bottom of the crust in the dish until it is the usual pie crust feel or thickness--it does not have to be exactly even all over the dish.  If the crust becomes too thin in the process just pinch off a little and fill it in.  It works like play dough.

After the bottom seems right--it is not an exact science--continue to flatten the crust against the sides of the pie shell and over the edge.

Cut off the the crust overlapping the edge of the dish running a knife along the edge.

Crimp the edge.

Save the rest of the crust in a flat ball in the fridge to make jelly tarts later--a plastic square container is good.



Readers, do you live with someone insane and you are trying to survive the holidays without overeating because you deserve it.

Do you have any tips?



comments on insane family members and pie crust accepted--agree or disagree


big boy bams



liza--makes good pot roast
sam--the mixer is not a couch
chloe--writes a blog



Nov 25, 2015

Obama Lover: trump is weird

English: President George W. Bush and Presiden...
English: President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House Monday, November 10, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Karl Rove Assistant to the President,...
English: Karl Rove Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This thing is an emergency situation to me.  Of course I value freedom of speech and every ones opinion but trump and Carson are an embarrassment to our country.  I feel like Hiter is running for office and too many people like it.  

It would be nice if policy was the issue and not rounding people up which is obnoxious and unrealistic.

Voting for Hillary but admire Kasich for being more or less normal with a good track record and having the nerve to call out donald with the knowledge that an ungly backlash would come his way.

Call me Karl Rove but it is the political conversation that moves things forward--DT is  not conversational.

Folks accuse President Obama of being too intellectual--isn't that a good thing--we do not have to worry about that term ever being applied to trump.

Hello.

Hillary girl forever and Obama lover.....cl


Ohio Gov. John Kasich talks Detroit, Donald Trump on 8th presidential campaign visit to Michigan




copied from mlive.com


Emily Lawler | elawler@mlive.comBy Emily Lawler | elawler@mlive.com 
on November 25, 2015 at 9:52 AM, updated November 25, 2015 at 10:50 AM


DETROIT, MI -- The Detroit skyline lit up through the windows of a black SUV taking presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich between appointments Monday.
"I gotta tell ya, I like Detroit," Kasich says, looking out the window and into the city.
After serving in Congress for 18 years Kasich entered the private sector, taking a job with the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. Working there he'd traveled to Detroit a lot, and when he became governor of Ohio in 2010 he started coming for the Auto Show. Like many Michiganders, he's optimistic that Detroit is on the verge of a major comeback.
"I know you ride through some of it and you just say, "how's it ever going to come back?' But that's the way Brooklyn was," he says.
He's been to Michigan eight times so far during his presidential run, most recently to tour Shelby Township-based incubator Velocity. He expects Michigan to be an important state in the primary and general elections in 2016.
As the governor of a neighboring state he's worked with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and thinks highly of him. They're both often cited as moderate Republican governors for decisions like expanding Medicaid. But Kasich says he's a hands-down conservative.
"When they say that we're not conservatives, or I'm not conservative at least, I don't know where that comes from. When you balance as many budgets as I have, cut as many taxes as I have, supported as much school choice as I have, reform regulation, strengthened our credit, reform our pension system, what is it that's not conservative about that?" He said. "I am a conservative and maybe if some people would like me to have an angry tone I'm just not going to have one."
But Kasich -- trailing in the polls at 2.8 percent, according to an average from Real Clear Politics --  has picked a Twitter fight with leading contender and ultra-conservative Donald Trump over some of his issues. He says he doesn't have any personal animosity toward Trump but thinks he strikes it wrong on things like his tax plan, which Kasich says doesn't add up, and foreign policy surrounding ISIS.
"These are just positions that I think need to be challenged, but it has nothing to do whatsoever with any personal feelings towards Mr. Trump," Kasich said.
He says he isn't focused on any of his opponents in the crowded Republican field. If he isn't personally, the Super PAC supporting him is. On Monday the New Day for America super PAC released an ad attacking Trump.
But Kasich said his biggest challenge isn't his opponents.
"My challenge is that I'm still largely unknown," Kasich said.
He's trying to combat that by being visible and continuing to "be known," as he puts it. He touts a lot of experience. In Congress he served on the House Armed Services Committee and balanced budgets as chair of the House Budget Committee. As governor of Ohio, he helped bring the state out of a recession and can rattle off a list of numbers to prove it.
"When you're on an airplane you'd like to have a pilot who knows how to land it. And I think particularly with the problems in Paris and the problems of national security, of which I served for 18 years, and whether it's getting the country to climb out of what has been a very poor recovery, I think at the end people will go for somebody that has a record and somebody that has a vision for the future," Kasich said.
His experience, especially in balancing budgets, has attracted some important supporters in Michigan including House Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, and Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive.
Leonard met with Kasich for about half an hour while he was in Lansing in September.
"I will tell you honestly, going in I had no intention, no plans of getting involved in this presidential race," Leonard said.
But he came away impressed.
Leonard pointed to Kasich's experience balancing state and federal budgets, as well as being an executive.
"First and foremost I do want to see a governor in the White House. I think we need somebody that has shown that they can lead, that has shown that they can govern, has shown that they can work with legislators on both sides of the aisle and evidently Gov. Kasich has done that," Leonard said.
But on a practical level, Leonard thinks Kasich has a winning case to make in the general election.
"Most importantly, Republicans have to win. And this is a governor that just won his reelection in Ohio with 65 percent of the vote. We have to carry Ohio and I believe he's best positioned to do that," Leonard said.
Emily Lawler is a Capitol/Business reporter for MLive. You can reach her atelawler@mlive.com, subscribe to her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter:@emilyjanelawler.

Nov 24, 2015

Singing Turkey: Happy thanksgiving from the ronnie re.......

Thanksgiving Day Greetings
Thanksgiving Day Greetings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thanksgiving Turkey
Thanksgiving Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thanksgiving Background
Thanksgiving Background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Oven roasted turkey, common fare for ...
English: Oven roasted turkey, common fare for Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)



Happy Thanksgiving from the ronnie re.......





click here on this link for the singing





the ronnie republic: Joan Hamburg's Ritz Cracker Stuffing

the ronnie republic: Joan Hamburg's Ritz Cracker Stuffing: Red onion slices (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) English: Kentucky Fried Chicken soup in Indonesia. Chicken pieces and vegetables in chick...

Joan Hamburg's Ritz Cracker Stuffing

Red onion slices
Red onion slices (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Kentucky Fried Chicken soup in Indone...
English: Kentucky Fried Chicken soup in Indonesia. Chicken pieces and vegetables in chicken broth soup. This kinds of soup actually a typical Indonesian "sayur sop" (chicken vegetable soup), contains chicken, carrot, potato, green bean, onion and celery. Bahasa Indonesia: Sup Ayam Kentucky Fried Chicken di Indonesia. Sup yang umum ditemukan dalam masakan Indonesia, yaitu potongan ayam dan sayuran seperti wortel, kentang, buncis, bawang, dan seledri dalam kuah kaldu ayam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Onions on a neutral, mostly white background
Onions on a neutral, mostly white background (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    Joan's Ritz Cracker Stuffing


    Source of Recipe

    Joan Hamburg

    Recipe Introduction

    Serves 8 to 10

    List of Ingredients

    5 Large Onions diced
    Chicken Fat (or oil)
    2-3 stalks of raw celery
    1 large box Ritz Crackers (or 1 large and 1 small)
    2 eggs
    1 -14 oz. can chicken broth
    4 T. butter
    pepper to taste

    Recipe

    In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, warm the chicken fat or oil then fry the onions, stirring frequently, until they are very brown, at least 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium after the onions have wilted and become golden.

    Meanwhile, crush the Ritz crackers in your hands so the largest pieces are no bigger than a nickel.

    In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned onions, the crushed crackers, and the diced celery. Toss well.

    In a small bowl, beat the eggs to mix well, then beat in the pepper and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Pour the mixture over the cracker mixture and mix very well again.

    Pack stuffing into a 2-quart casserole or souffl̩ dish Рnot too tightly.

    Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.



Hey all of you radio listeners out there and Joan Hamburg fans.............


To me she seems like the nicest lady and she has the best tips for visiting New York City.  

Listening to her every Saturday morning but usually on the podcast as the time frame from New York to San Diego is always unattainable.


77 WABC New York Talk Radio.

My goal is to go to her holiday dinner at Sardi's--maybe next year.


Here is an easy way to get chicken broth and fat.


In San Diego we have plenty of produce stores with chicken at a pretty good buy.  Purchase about six legs or thighs or drumsticks.

Cover the chicken in water and cook on a low heat with a lid that fits inside of the pan--so the steam and condensation do not drain all over the stove.

Watch a show for about an hour.........adjust the heat accordingly on your particular stove so it does not boil over but simmers at a very low boil.

I just love Perry Mason in the morning.

Turn the chicken over after about 30 minutes.

The chicken really only takes about 30 mins to cook after it gets going but I just like to put it on low so I do not have to look at it and I do it often so I know the number to put on my stove.


So after an hour just turn off the heat and let it cool.  

Seriously, I used to think making homemade chicken noodle soup was such a big deal but once I started making chicken for the baby it became very simple--anything is simple if you do it a few times a week.

After a while I realized the homemade chicken made very delicious broth and chicken without any seasoning at all.

So once it cools and eventually place it in the fridge and the next day plenty of chicken fat will be on the top to use for flavor or frying--just spoon it off the top--even if it has liquid with it the liquid will evaporate quickly in the frying pan.

I just did it so often I got it down to a science and the chicken is perfect for chicken salad sandwiches or to add to other dishes.

There are only a few bones to remove that are large as opposed to picking the meat off a whole chicken with tiny bones.

I hope this works for you--it is basically just boiling a chicken slow--early in the day or on the back of the stove while you are cooking something else because it does take a while to cool and the chicken is more tender if it cooks slowly.

Thanks for reading this--Happy thanksgiving.

I really like Joan.



the baby--a fool for chicken




copied from Recipe Circus--thank you, Rita Flynn.