Pots and Pins

Finger-Knitting...

It's only right that today I show you the blanket I knitted with my fingers since it's a balmy 52 degrees outside!  It is supposed to warm up this afternoon but in the meantime, I'll be on the sofa, with Rosie, all cozied up with my new blanket...

I went with a group of friends to this darling shop in Millcreek to learn how to make this chunky-knit blanket.  The class was $90, it included instruction and all of the yarn, which was 5 skeins of very soft yarn and we got to pick the color.  Of course I picked red...it's a neutral for me!  We had about 2 1/2 hours of time to make the blanket - after an hour I was done so I bought more yarn ($12 each) and just continued knitting away...my blanket ended up much larger than the others and for that I'm super happy!!

AR Workshop is owned by Rhonda Lone, pictured above, and she and her team were so helpful and sweet!  If you click on this link, you can see all of the other fun stuff she teaches at her shop.  They teach woodworking, painting signs, canvas bags, picture frames - all kinds of cool things!  Rosie thinks the blanket is hers - she loves it - doesn't she look so cute?  

Rosie is always protecting her blanket...but she will share, which is nice.  AR Workshops will do private classes, which is what our group did.  But...if you really wanted to make a chunky-knit blanket and you have no friends, can't get to Millcreek, don't have $90, then guess what, you can truly DIY by watching a YouTube video and ordering your yarn online.  These blankets are super easy and fast to make and would make fabulous gifts...for Christmas...which is only 214 days away!!!

Yep, this is how I'm going to spend my Memorial Day weekend...lounging on the sofa.  I might be persuaded to go out to eat but then it's right back to the sofa...I've earned it!  Happy Memorial Day to all of you...remember those who served and died...eat a burger or a hot dog or two...plant flowers, go to a movie, be with people you love...that's how to have a great day!

 

Cathead Biscuits...

If you want to keep 'em comin' back to the table then you need to make cathead biscuits.  The name of these Southern staples refers to their large size (about as big as a cat's head, albeit a small cat).  When I read this recipe I couldn't wait to make them - just the name alone had me in the kitchen in a flash!  Cathead biscuits just struck my funny bone! But don't let the name fool you - these biscuits are no laughing matter - they are the everything you hope for in a homemade biscuit and more.

Instead of mixing the dry ingredients into the wet you mix the wet into the dry...not a huge thing but it does make a difference.  These biscuits come out fluffy, not flaky, and fluffy is a very good thing.  The mister loved these - the first time I made them he said they were the best biscuits he'd ever had.  Not particularly high praise since the man thinks plain boiled chicken is haute cuisine.  But the second time I made these biscuits, he repeated his love for them, over and over.  And here's the truly remarkable thing...for once we actually agree on something!  

There is a secret ingredient in these biscuits...hope you're sitting down...it's bacon grease.  Each bite will give just the slightest hint of smoky bacon, so eating one is not an option, it's two or three or none at all.  Oh, they are so easy to make you won't believe it...so fry yourself up some bacon 'cause you're gonna need the grease!

You can bake them on a rimmed baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet, which I prefer.  Either way they will rise up into the most beautiful biscuits.  Served with a bit of honey butter and jam and you've got yourself some serious eats!

Things of beauty.  Let me rephrase that, biscuits of beauty.  Nope, almost got it, but let me give it another go...HUGE beautiful biscuits!  And they taste as good as they look...even better!  If you don't have bacon grease, you can use lard/Crisco...but then you won't have the amazing flavor the bacon grease gives to these biscuits...and really, if you're going to eat biscuits with honey butter and jam, bacon grease is not your worst enemy!

  

Cathead Biscuits - Adapted from Epicurious

2 cups buttermilk

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

6 tablespoons bacon fat, slightly softened

6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and slightly softened, plus more, melted, if desired to brush on top

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for rolling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In large bowl whisk baking powder, salt, sugar together.  Add buttermilk, softened bacon grease and softened butter.  Add 2 cups flour and mix with a fork until mixture resembles porridge.  Using a fork, or your hands, press fats against side of bowl to cut into smaller, irregular, flattened pieces.  Fold in remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and mix with hands until a wet dough forms.  Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface.  Dust top of dough with more flour.  Gently fold dough into itself until it feels like a pillow and is no longer sticky.  Using a floured butter knife, divide dough into 11 or 12 equal pieces.  Working with 1 piece at a time, dip cut sides in flour and gently roll into a ball with your hands.  Nestle each ball side by side in a large cast iron skillet or on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake biscuits until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.  Brush with melted butter after baking, if desired (just do it, now is not the time to worry about calories!)  Serve with butter, honey butter or jam.  

 

Elephant Walk Quilt...

Every now and then I make a quilt just for me.  This is one of those quilts.  Made for my 9-year old self who loved elephants so very much.  I remembering asking my parents for an elephant (a baby elephant, I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to ask for a full-grown elephant, our house wasn't that big!) when I was 9, they rudely said no.  I promised to care for it and clean up after it, again they said no.  My heartbreak lasted for a very long time, maybe a full tortuous hour and then I moved on and asked for a panda bear.  My parents, still exercising their favorite word, again said no.  Koala?  Polar Bear?  A baby giraffe?  They said no to everything I suggested...obviously they didn't care one bit about me!

A few years ago, elephant quilts seemed to be everywhere.  A new pattern had been released, all paper-pieced I think, and it was amazing.  My quilt friend Janet made one of these elephant quilts and when I saw it (pictured below) my heart skipped a beat!

In person, this quilt is even more impressive!  It's huge and the details are quite incredible.  I couldn't find a picture of Janet's quilt after it was quilted (or a decent one that showed the entire quilt) but I remember how beautiful the quilting was.  Anyway, this quilt got me thinking, again, about elephants, and how much I wanted one!  

Janet went on to make another elephant quilt!  Look how exactly precise each elephants mouth, tail and trunk were cut!  As you know, precision is not my thing...but I did swoon ever so slightly over this quilt.  Once again, elephants were on my brain.

I've learned a few things since I was 9 years old...like the only elephant I was going to get would be a quilted one.   And if I could make my own quilted elephant, then it could be any color I wanted...red elephants, walking through the red Savannah, tails and trunks locked together.  That's what I came up with and they turned out to be the best red elephant friends I think, looking out for each other and all that!  I used the scraps of red fabrics that I had on hand - and while I tried not to duplicate, I did - I ran out of fabrics!

The trunks overlapped the border on one side and the tails on the other.  The elephants are all machine blanket-stitched, and I used an iron-on, very light-weight fusible underneath each elephant; this quilt is very soft.  I love it so very much.  It's now my "go-to-quilt" when it's time to plop down in front of the boob tube.

The backing fabric is called rice paddy; it seemed appropriate even though it's a batik and batiks are notorious bleeders.  So I thought about pre-washing the fabric - for about 5 minutes - and then decided not to.  I know, risky, but guess what?!?!  Not ONE of those red fabrics, including the backing, bled.  Not one!  I did throw in a handful of color-catchers into the wash and they came out the color they went in - white!  I almost fell over dead, not one red bled!  That right there is a miracle...a quilting miracle!

This one was two years in the making...thank you Janet for being my inspiration - I'm so happy to have it done!  

Tequila Lime Chicken...

Whether you Cinco de Mayo or not, this chicken should be on your menu/grill soon!  The mister is not a fan of the grill, he will turn it on, sometimes clean it, but he loathes doing anything else that involves grilling, like the fun stuff of opening the lid and flipping whatever needs flipping.  He'd rather be positioned in front of the TV in case there is breaking news, or watching M*A*S*H, his latest obsession.  No time for flipping chicken if Hot Lips Houlihan is on TV!  

The mister, as you know, loves all things military, even pretend things, like Hollywood's version of the Korean War.  So nightly, he watches at least two episodes of M*A*S*H, actually that's incorrect, he doesn't just watch, he participates...he thinks it's an interactive TV show and that Hawkeye, Radar and the gang can hear him...so they talk, he talks, and he loves to tell them how it really was in Korea...except that he wasn't in Korea, he was in Vietnam, but I guess it's all the same to him.  It's all great fun for me for about 30 seconds and then I have to leave the room so my head doesn't explode!

Just thought you'd like to know what we do around here of an evening...now let's talk Tequila Lime Chicken, shall we?  It's so easy.  Make the marinade, pour over chicken, let sit overnight or for at least 6 hours and then grill.  What's that?  You don't like Tequila?  Well really, who does?  Certainly not the worm!  But alcohol is a great tenderizer and that's what the tequila does in this recipe, it tenderizes the chicken and it gives it a nice zesty flavor.  The alcohol is burned off so no worries about feeding it to the littles or anyone else.  

The marinade is so flavorful - tequila, lime, orange juice, jalapeno and garlic - those are the kick-starters - with just enough kick to blast this chicken, over the wall (!) South of the Border! 

Gratuitous Princess-Angel-Baby-Dog shot...Rosie Ann Marie loves it when we grill, even though she may not look like it in this picture, she's one happy little girl.

 

Tequila Lime Chicken - Adapted slightly from Barefoot Contessa

1/2 cup tequila (I used 2 mini bottles, which is just about 1/2 cup. Mini bottles are the way to go if you don't want to invest in an entire bottle.)

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh jalapeno pepper, divided (1 large pepper seeded)

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 boneless chicken breasts  (I used what I had on hand, boneless/skinless, but skin on would be great and chicken thighs are awesome) 

Optional toppings:  cilantro, green onion, sliced avocado, black olives, jalapeno

In a large measuring cup combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, 1 tablespoon of the diced jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt and pepper.  Put chicken in a large Zip-lock style plastic bag, pour marinade over chicken, seal bag and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.  (Longer is better for the best flavor.)  When ready to grill, oil the grill grates and heat grill to about 400 degrees.  Place chicken on the grill for about 5 minutes, lower heat to about 350 (if you can) until nicely browned.  Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through.  Remove from the grill to a plate, cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle reserved 1/2 tablespoon jalapenos over chicken and other toppings, if using.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Serves 4.  

This is perfect and ready to serve just as it is...but is excellent sliced really thin and used in tacos!  I like to serve it with a side of freshly cooked black beans, slices of avocado, mango and jicama...and maybe a Strawberry Mojito Mocktail if I'm really feeling it! 

For more great Cinco De Mayo recipes, scroll down on the right side and click on Mexican Mania...it's got some chalupalicious recipes just waiting for you!  Happy Cinco De Mayo!