Beef Beer Bread Bonanza

So, as I posted earlier, Kahlua Pig and I went to Oktoberfest cooking class last month. Tonight I was lonely cause Piggie has to work until 10, poor guy! I went nuts and made -- Beer Braised Beef Short Ribs. The photo does not come with smell-o-vision but it should. It is off the hook (as we say in the hood.) Then I made roasted winter root veggies to assuage the guilt of having zero nutritional goodness. The veggies are sweet potatoes, turnips, squash and onion coated in olive oil, s&p and roasted to perfection. Then I made the absolute coolest recipe of all BEER BREAD. That's right folks. Bread. With Beer. The recipe is so awesome I provide it below. It comes out gooey on the inside, yeasty and beery with a crispy outside. I am bringing my crazy beer bread to Thanksgiving. Try and stop me.

Beer bread (makes one loaf)

3 cups white flour

3 T brown sugar

1 t salt

1T baking soda

Combine the dry ingredients. Grease up a loaf pan with butter. Now, the fun part, take a 12 oz. bottle of some flavorful beer like a Sam Adams or a Guinness - a good ale or a stout - and pour it directly into the dry ingredients. Holy #$%$! It's foaming like a 6th grade science experiment! That, my friend, would be the yeasty goodness getting to work. Stir only enough to wet the dry ingredients leaving in plenty of lumps. Pour batter into the pan, break off a few chunks of butter to put on top so that the crust is nice and browned, then pop the loaf pan into a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 -40 mins. And....voila.

Hungry?

Interlude

We were looking forward this weekend to a long visit from our adorable grandchildren and had planned lots of fun and exciting adventures - hiking in the woods , playing in the creek, riding ponies, playing in the attic - but instead we spent most of the weekend tending to a very sick little boy.

Thank goodness he got better eventually and this morning we were greeting the dawn ( note condition of the sky through window ) by playing with every toy in the house. What a relief !

And just look at the fine crown which was made for Pete, prince of cats.

And now,

we return to our regularly scheduled program

The Greek Cruise

Episode One : The Ship

Tea is served on deck or in the Lounge where a grand piano accompanies the genteel tinkle of tea cups being placed on saucers


Our luxurious living room, doors lead out on to a veranda complete with chairs and a table, where tea can also be served, as well as any other little nosh you might fancy.


The pool deck, where there is a grill and a bar , but tea is also to be had.

The dessert buffet - in the center is a castle made entirely of dark and white chocolate. It is the size of a small bungalow in a modest subdivision of Smalltown, USA. Drink of choice ? Tea, of course !

Oh,yeah, in case you were wondering - there was lots of other stuff to drink besides tea ( the bar opened at 9AM and closed in the wee hours ) , it's just that I loved teatime so much....

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode : The Sights !

Hope Springs Eternal

It's a new day in America - a time of change, progress and peaceful revolution. GO OBAMA!!!

Busy,busy,busy...

We cruised, we toured, we island hopped in the Mediterranean and now we're back and still sorting through hundreds of pictures. Come back in a day or so and we'll share some of the most amazing pictures with you.

The Acropolis

After climbing the steep hill up to the Acropolis, we entered through the Propylae and saw the Parthenon for the first time. What an imposing structure, even with all the scaffolding all over it.

My favorite temple is the Erechteion, however. Notice that the columns now have Ionic capitals and are much slimmer and more graceful. The whole temple is just lovely, its feminity underscored by the wonderful karyatids which gaze out over the city of Athens.

This is how high the sacred rock of the Acropolis rises above the city.

Next stop, the ancient Agora at the foot of the Acropolis, where the public life of Athens took place and where Socrates, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Xenophon and St. Paul instructed in the stalls of the building below. Many of the great debates of Athenian democracy were held here. The Agora was marketplace, administrative center and THE place to hang out in the 6th century BC.

For now, however, I must say " καληνύχτα " ( that's good-night to you ) , we must go to bed so we can get up early for our last day here in Athens. What to do - more Agora, both Greek and Roman ? or the National Museum with priceless treasures from the ancient world ( gold mask of Telemachus anyone ? )

Time is just zipping along and getting short- tomorrow we also board our ship for the beginning of The Cruise ! There is so much to do and see here, I haven't talked yet about the food ( yummy ), the people ( fun to watch and very pleasant ) and the amazing breakthrought that happened to me late this afternoon in an alley - I am beginning to be able to read Greek !!

Greek Adventure Day 1

It seems like just a day or two ago that we were sitting in a little Greek restaurant at home, celebrating The Patriarch's 70th birthday and trying to recover from the shock of his magnificent present.We were still trying to come to grips with the reality of this magnificent gift as we were packing for the trip and now we are actually here !



Does this look familiar to anyone ? It's the Acropolis, as seen from just outside our adorable hotel, the O&B, a ( and I quote ) " boutique hotel, very modern, but very cozy. " And indeed it is. The staff is incredible, someone came out into the street as soon as we pulled up in our car (complete with driver ! The luxury ! ), greeted us, whisked our luggae to our room, brought us tea and frappe ( iced Greek coffee ) and made us feel totally welcome and at home.
The first thing we did after our loooong flight, was take a nap and then we took a stroll up to the Acropolis as the sun was setting and a big full moon came out to light our way. As in all mediterranean countries, the twilight hour is the time to take a stroll, to see and be seen, and we enjoyed not only the Antiquities at every step, but the local color as well.

Athens is a huge city,very spread out, but cozy in feel. There are mountains on three sides and the sea on the other. This hill has a small church on top which lit up fiery and golden as the sun set.
After a lovely dinner in our hotel ( American Greek food does NOT equal Greek food in Greece ! ) we are ready to turn in early so that we can do a long sightseeing day tomorrow - Acropolis, Agora, and more-a !!!!
Thank you again, incredible family, for making this dream come true !