Took the left over (b/c I wanted to share) roast beef/gravy/veggie delicious blend w/me to my Dad's on Tuesday night. Went to p/u some fresh par-baked French bread but all they had were veritable breadsticks w/a hint of steroid. So, I grabbed two of them and pondered the concept of 'decontstructed po'boys'...
Dished up the 'delicious blend' into my Dad's Corelle dish and topped w/sliced French bread and baked for a bit, to bake off the bread and heat up the mixture. Well, "yay" and "boo"...the overall concept worked, but in future - I'll just cut the loaf length-wise and leave the crust side up.
But, hey - I tried it. :) And we pigged out.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Purge!
OMG - I suffer from "but I can use that for "X"!!!" syndrome something on a SEVERE level!
This website is something I will start to incorporate into my life TODAY!
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/18-things-you-can-get-rid-of-today-2440361
Whatever I can/will get rid of from my casa - will make it to the Houston Area Women's Center or similar - as long as it is usable and in good condition.
Please feel free to check it out and do what you can, too!
This website is something I will start to incorporate into my life TODAY!
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/18-things-you-can-get-rid-of-today-2440361
Whatever I can/will get rid of from my casa - will make it to the Houston Area Women's Center or similar - as long as it is usable and in good condition.
Please feel free to check it out and do what you can, too!
Roast Beef Cooking Away
After having dosed myself w/store-brand Nyquil last night, I slept pretty danged soundly. Finally acceded to the demands of my mobile phone's wake-up alarm at 8 a.m.. Got ready and went to breakfast w/my Dad and friends. I brought the King Cake I bought at Rouses last Monday before leaving New Orleans.
Speaking of King Cake...DANG, Houston people think getting 'the baby' is some sort of curse and not a reason to keep the party going...!??! The guys (GUYS!?!) only wanted 'thin slices'...and were terrified they might get the danged baby. Cripes, it's just an excuse to get another King Cake and have a party, not a draft notice. So, w/only a few slices nommed, I brought the cake home - it's now chilling in the fridge. There WILL be coffee and King Cake later! :)
After dropping some checks at the bank at last - jeeze, this whole direct deposit thingy has really ruined me for getting to the bank regularly...(so I sit on checks, whoops!) I went by the thrift store and indulged in three (3) dollars of decadence: I bought a pair of red patent heels to convert to MUSES throws! :)
Came home, stowed the aforementioned King Cake and then started getting my meez rocking for the roast!
Peeled about 5-6 butter gold potatoes (they are little) and halved them, chopped two ribs of celery into rustic sizes (forgot to string 'em...dammit!), sliced about half a yellow onion (getting a white one next time), and added about a half a pound of baby carrots already peeled.
Got out a plate, poured out some unbleached AP flour and liberally dosed it w/black pepper, garlic powder, Kosher salt (not SO much) and some Tony Chachere's. Mixed that up, then dredged the trimmed roast (about a 2 pounder) in it and set that to sear in the heated pot w/a bit of veggie oil.
Set the seared roast on a plate, deglazed the pot w/a copious splash of Barefoot Merlot, poured that into a smaller saucepan, added the box of beef broth (organic), a spoonful of tomato paste (check the label - make sure it's JUST tomato listed...cripes one of the brands had all manner of crap in there!??!), and a spoonful of Penzey's beef soup base (this is my first time to try to use that - just describing it, not plugging the brand - although I LOVE Penzey's!). Let that simmer a bit and stirred w/whisk.
I then put the roast in the waiting crock pot, poured in the prepped veggies. In a tall drinking cup, I poured just shy of a cup of the Merlot and about the same of the bottled Parkway Bakery water I brought back from NOLA - just as a nod to one of my FAVE NOLA joints! I put that liquid blend into the crock pot for giggles and then added the simmered/whisked beefy-winey mixture and covered.
The crock pot is set at High for 4 hours, then I'll run it at low for 6 hours and see where we're at.
There's a waiting loaf of par-baked French bread to finish off that will be misted as it heats up so that it crisps up on the outside. But that's not until the meat is falling apart tender.
So, now I'm about to work on the already-started MUSES shoeses and hopefully some tidying up around this sty of a bachelorette pad. Maybe a little sandwich for lunch and, hmmm...a slice of King Cake? ;)
Cheers!
Speaking of King Cake...DANG, Houston people think getting 'the baby' is some sort of curse and not a reason to keep the party going...!??! The guys (GUYS!?!) only wanted 'thin slices'...and were terrified they might get the danged baby. Cripes, it's just an excuse to get another King Cake and have a party, not a draft notice. So, w/only a few slices nommed, I brought the cake home - it's now chilling in the fridge. There WILL be coffee and King Cake later! :)
After dropping some checks at the bank at last - jeeze, this whole direct deposit thingy has really ruined me for getting to the bank regularly...(so I sit on checks, whoops!) I went by the thrift store and indulged in three (3) dollars of decadence: I bought a pair of red patent heels to convert to MUSES throws! :)
Came home, stowed the aforementioned King Cake and then started getting my meez rocking for the roast!
Peeled about 5-6 butter gold potatoes (they are little) and halved them, chopped two ribs of celery into rustic sizes (forgot to string 'em...dammit!), sliced about half a yellow onion (getting a white one next time), and added about a half a pound of baby carrots already peeled.
Got out a plate, poured out some unbleached AP flour and liberally dosed it w/black pepper, garlic powder, Kosher salt (not SO much) and some Tony Chachere's. Mixed that up, then dredged the trimmed roast (about a 2 pounder) in it and set that to sear in the heated pot w/a bit of veggie oil.
Set the seared roast on a plate, deglazed the pot w/a copious splash of Barefoot Merlot, poured that into a smaller saucepan, added the box of beef broth (organic), a spoonful of tomato paste (check the label - make sure it's JUST tomato listed...cripes one of the brands had all manner of crap in there!??!), and a spoonful of Penzey's beef soup base (this is my first time to try to use that - just describing it, not plugging the brand - although I LOVE Penzey's!). Let that simmer a bit and stirred w/whisk.
I then put the roast in the waiting crock pot, poured in the prepped veggies. In a tall drinking cup, I poured just shy of a cup of the Merlot and about the same of the bottled Parkway Bakery water I brought back from NOLA - just as a nod to one of my FAVE NOLA joints! I put that liquid blend into the crock pot for giggles and then added the simmered/whisked beefy-winey mixture and covered.
The crock pot is set at High for 4 hours, then I'll run it at low for 6 hours and see where we're at.
There's a waiting loaf of par-baked French bread to finish off that will be misted as it heats up so that it crisps up on the outside. But that's not until the meat is falling apart tender.
So, now I'm about to work on the already-started MUSES shoeses and hopefully some tidying up around this sty of a bachelorette pad. Maybe a little sandwich for lunch and, hmmm...a slice of King Cake? ;)
Cheers!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Because I Could
Welcome to Rebellious Pigtails!
For a few years now, I've reclaimed my seemingly lost ability to wear pigtails BECAUSE I'm well above the age one typically stops wearing them. Someone admonished me a few years back when I started to wear them on the weekend - that I shouldn't do that...hence, the name of my blog.
This is my personal rant/review/ramble blog. All opinions are therefore just that - my .02 (though in this economy, probably about a half-penny) and are NOT recommendations or to be used in lieu of talking with your doctor, pharmacist, elder, sex therapist, curling coach or any person you look up to.
;)
I'll also be sharing recipes, cat stories (I have two), and such. Full disclosure: I am an incurable NOLA-holic, but I have a blog about that and how I'm trying to get there. But sometimes it will intrude (I'm very permissive w/my love for New Orleans) so just deal. But there will be links to music, movies, news, and whatnot - and all copyrights of that property obviously remain intact. I am not passing off any such info as my own, but will offer my opinion and such.
I have (and hope to continue having) a WONDERFUL boyfriend who is someone who came back into my life at the end of 2009 after a 26 year gap, for the sake of his general privacy - he'll be referred to simply as the "Dude". Some of you may know him and some won't. He's an amazing fellow who keeps me on an even keel, even when (I'm sure) he wants to keelhaul me! LOL!
So, here goes.
Who's up for roast beef po' boys? :)
(updated to edit some bogus punctuation)
For a few years now, I've reclaimed my seemingly lost ability to wear pigtails BECAUSE I'm well above the age one typically stops wearing them. Someone admonished me a few years back when I started to wear them on the weekend - that I shouldn't do that...hence, the name of my blog.
This is my personal rant/review/ramble blog. All opinions are therefore just that - my .02 (though in this economy, probably about a half-penny) and are NOT recommendations or to be used in lieu of talking with your doctor, pharmacist, elder, sex therapist, curling coach or any person you look up to.
;)
I'll also be sharing recipes, cat stories (I have two), and such. Full disclosure: I am an incurable NOLA-holic, but I have a blog about that and how I'm trying to get there. But sometimes it will intrude (I'm very permissive w/my love for New Orleans) so just deal. But there will be links to music, movies, news, and whatnot - and all copyrights of that property obviously remain intact. I am not passing off any such info as my own, but will offer my opinion and such.
I have (and hope to continue having) a WONDERFUL boyfriend who is someone who came back into my life at the end of 2009 after a 26 year gap, for the sake of his general privacy - he'll be referred to simply as the "Dude". Some of you may know him and some won't. He's an amazing fellow who keeps me on an even keel, even when (I'm sure) he wants to keelhaul me! LOL!
So, here goes.
Who's up for roast beef po' boys? :)
(updated to edit some bogus punctuation)
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