10/13/11

I am certain that you have heard the adage “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. Last week’s Magic Moments had a similar catastrophe. A friend’s son left a copy of one of his Mother’s recipes on my back door. There was one ingredient that was unfamiliar to me. I had two ideas as to what it might be, but at the same time I decided it was probably an herb that I have never heard of, since I use herbs very sparingly. Consequently I carefully typed it as it was written. After the paper was printed I got a phone call from the original cook stating that one ingredient was wrong. So here I am trying to make amends. If you have or are planning to make the Sweet and Sour Meat Balls, change the margarine to “marjoram”. I am certain that the margarine won’t hurt them, but the herb will improve them. So apologies are from three too many cooks, her son, myself and my faithful proof readers.

I was pleasantly included in a surprise birthday party at her son’s home on Saturday evening. She was so completely overwhelmed and pleased. I gave her one of my antique cup and saucer sets which was graciously received so I think I am still on her list of friends. Actually she is a friend of my daughter but she is very gracious to me. I met two of her “older” friends whom I thoroughly enjoyed and have made some tentative plans to have some future contacts. There are really a lot of very nice, charismatic, intelligent people that we come in contact with but don’t make the effort to really interact with them.

Now I am back to two of my favorite foods – potatoes and apples. Since am on a short schedule this morning, I am going to use two recipes that I saved that came from weekend ads in the daily paper. Two things captivated my attention. They were apples and potatoes and the pictures were so fascinating they will have to taste fantastic. Hope you like them.

GARLIC AND HERB POTATOES
1 ½ pounds of small red potatoes, scrubbed
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon paprika
Cut each potato into quarters. Place in an
ungreased 8 inch square baking dish. Combine
the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour over
the potatoes and stir. Bake at 400 degrees for
20 to 25 minutes. A suggestion was made to
substitute herbs, like chives and oregano.

APPLE CRUMBLE
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 stick butter
Filling: 4 large apples
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Peel, core and slice apples. Layer the apples
In a two quart baking dish. Sprinkle the brown
sugar and cinnamon over the apple slices. Combine
the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of
the apples. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes
until the apples have softened and the topping is
slightly browned. Serve warm.