Breukelen to Amsterdam ~ The Last Boat and Bike Tour Day - Visiting a Cheese Farm (Day 11, Part 1 of 3)

We had reached our final day of riding with our Boat and Bike Tour.  It went way too fast!  One of our table mates finally asked, "Did you get lost yesterday?"  I think they had already figured it out since we hadn't been complaining the night before.  We were all able to laugh about it after everyone had a good night's sleep!

 

It was a bit busier on our ride this day - it was a Saturday and local runners and cyclists were out in force.  We didn't mind, it's great seeing such an active culture.   We crossed the Breukelen bridge - Breukelen is the original Dutch namesake for Brooklyn, New York!  About 10 miles into our ride we arrived at our first stop - De Willigen a local cheese farm.  Franklin had contacted the owner in advance and she gave us a tour of the facilities.

 

The owner was so fun to listen to!

After viewing where the cheese is made, we went into the shop where we were given samples.  And yes, we bought cheese to take home with us!  

 

 We also got our mandatory coffee and a piece of apple pie. 

 

We shared our table with Todd and Lucia again, along with a few other cyclists.  We also had chickens wandering around our feet.

 

 The grounds were beautiful!

 

 We spent about an hour here before traveling on...

Our Christmas Date

For many years now, Les and I have gone on a special Christmas date.  This includes a very nice meal and live music.  Last night we went to the Alex Theatre in Glendale and saw the Angeles Chorale with the Burbank Philharmonic.  I'll get back to that, but first our dinner!

 

After booking our concert tickets, I started looking for two things.  Places to park and places to eat!  The Orange Street parking structure was one block from the theater and parking was $1 for four hours with validation.  We ended up parked there for about five hours, but were only charged $1.  That is a steal!  

 

There are restaurants of every cuisine imaginable within walking distance, so it was just a matter of choosing.  We decided on Raffi's Place for Persian food and it was fantastic!  We ordered two different kinds of beef kabobs.  The dinners came with basmati rice, but we chose to upgrade to Persian rices. We ordered half and half - mine were Albaloo Polo (with cherries) and Sabzee Polo (with fresh herbs.) Les got the Albaloo and Zereshk Polo (mixed with barberries.)  As you can see, the portions were HUGE!  But that's okay, we have plenty of leftovers to tide us over until Christmas!

After dinner, we walked back to the car to store our leftovers, then on to the theater.  Actually, it's spelled "theatre" which I guess makes it a little fancier!  While we waited for the doors to open, we explored the lobby and found lots of history on the Alex.  It was built in 1925 during the days of silent films.  They had a resident organist who was known to expertly improvise on films he had never seen.

The concert was "Holiday in Harmony - Handel's Messiah and More!"  The first half was all music from Handel's Messiah.  I have heard about Handel's Messiah but never sat down and listened to the entire composition.  Hearing it live was extremely moving.  The singers and musicians were flawless, but the words touched my soul.  As one who has studied the Bible, I recognized numerous passages.  (This page lists each act and what scriptures it is based upon.)

The entire Messiah is over two hours with three distinct parts.  Part I focuses on the Old Testament prophecies of Christ and the rejoicing of angels as told in the Book of Luke. Part II centers around Christ’s passion, crucifixion, and resurrection, culminating with the Hallelujah Chorus (books of Isaiah, Psalm, Hebrews, Romans, and Revelation). And Part III is a reflective commentary with text coming largely from First Corinthians.  Most Christmas performances use pieces from Part I and conclude with the Hallelujah Chorus, which is what we experienced last night.  "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" was both beautiful and powerful.  

After intermission we were treated to more singing and music.  This included a bell choir, something else I had never seen live.  Because the choir and orchestra were both local, many in the audience had friends or family members performing.  We were out way past our bedtime, but it was worth it.  It was a fantastic night!

Thanksgiving Success!

I'll get to my food in a bit, but our Thanksgiving was just wonderful!  It really started Tuesday evening at our annual Thanksgiving service.  I love hearing what everyone is thankful for each year.  We followed this up with our annual youth bake auction.  There were so many great treats and our auctioneers did a great job pushing the prices up.  Our youth department raised over $3,300!  Les and I bought Oreo Truffles:

  

and Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 

We got home and stayed up waiting for Leksi to arrive.  While we waited, I made two types of muffins.  I spent much of Wednesday prepping as much food as possible.  I sent Kim a tempting picture of my dressing:

Les made his double layer pumpkin pie:

 

 

I was up early on Thursday morning and got my turkey going in the crock-pot.  This is the same kind of turkey I bought a couple of years ago, Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey Breast.  As I mentioned, there wouldn't be room in my oven so I followed the directions for slow cooker.  Just add one cup of water, put the completely frozen turkey in, and cook on high for 4 hours.  I also added some chicken broth for a little extra flavor.

I also baked my peach cobbler.  It was the only thing that needed to bake at a higher temperature, but it didn't need to be ready at the same time.  It was still warm hours later when we were ready for dessert.

 

I started putting everything else in around 10:45.  Everything was going along great for about the next hour or so when my oven started smoking.  Unfortunately my macaroni and cheese boiled over and made a mess!  It was on the bottom rack, which was good because it didn't boil over in to anything else, but I suspect that is exactly why it boiled over!  We opened some windows and let everything finish baking.  Here is the spread:

Everything was SO good!  Yes, it was a lot of work, but I loved doing it.  This is the first time I've gotten to do this and hopefully won't be the last.  Leksi had told me she doesn't like dressing and I told her she didn't need to eat everything.  But she tried it and said, "This is the best dressing I've ever had."  Kim said it was one of the nicest Thanksgivings she's ever had.  My heart was as full as my belly!

Leksi turned 20 on Saturday.  Last time she was here, she told me that her skillet is kind of a mess and Wednesday morning she mentioned it again.  It was a simple gift, but we were happy to get it for her!

Rodney served in the Air Force, so it was fun to watch him and Leksi bond over their shared experiences.  It really was a Thanksgiving success - on both the food and family scene!

P.S.  As far as my oven goes - it's clean now.  My oven has two cleaning settings - Steam Cleaning and Self Cleaning.  For Steam Cleaning, I just poured a cup of water in the bottom of the oven and turned it on.  The steam helps everything soften up.  It wasn't enough, so I then used Self Cleaning.  I went for the full 5 hours and it worked like a charm!  The oven heats to a very high temperature and I ended up with ashes at the bottom of the oven.  Once it unlocked, I pulled the racks out and let it cool.  Then all I needed was a wet rag and everything wiped up!  No chemicals and Brillo pads required.

Thanksgiving Math

 

We are hosting a small gathering at our house on Thanksgiving.  This is a first for me!  Leksi will be here along with my sister, Kim, and her husband, Rodney.  Everyone else had other plans with other family members.  I'm so excited that I get to do this, but a little nervous about everything turning out.

Along with turkey and ham, I'm making dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, and rolls.  My turkey will go in the crock-pot, but everything else needs to go in the oven at 350 degrees. (There will also be cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and peach cobbler.)   I did a little research and most articles said to add about 15% more cooking time when more items are in the oven.  Of course not everything needs to bake the same amount of time. 

 

For now I have a chart of when everything needs to go in - the ham will go in about 30 minutes before everything else.  Next will be the dressing.  Then about every 5-10 minutes I'll add another dish!  Wish me luck!

P.S.  If you're wondering how much the calories of your meal will be, here is an old post from my WW days.  The points are the original plan, figuring about 50 calories per point.  Do You Really Want to Know?

Friday Foodie

We have now hit the time of the year when we slide quickly to the holidays!  But Summer has tightened its grip here in Southern California.  We are in the middle of heat wave with an expected high of 109 today.  I'm thankful for air conditioning, a swimming pool, and homemade ice cream!

Last weekend we had a special visitor.  Our niece, Leksi, is now in the Marine Corps.  She went to boot camp in South Carolina in January.  She spent most of the summer in 29 Palms, but as of about two weeks ago she is stationed at Camp Pendleton - just a little over 100 miles from us!  She will be there for the next four years.  We are so thankful she is stationed so close.  She will also be spending Thanksgiving with us.

I wanted to spoil her since she's been eating chow hall food for so long.  I tried two new things and a couple of things I'd made before.  Here's the roundup!

Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob

I've made this before, but never posted.

4 ears fresh corn, husks removed

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

Seasonings of your choice - garlic salt, paprika, etc.

Preheat oven to 425.  

Mix butter and seasonings together.  Spread on corn, then wrap each ear individually in foil.

Place corn on baking pan and bake 25-30 minutes until soft.

Santa Maria Tri-Tip

I asked Lisa (Leksi's mom) if there was any special food that Leksi had really been missing.  She said she likes just about everything, but probably hadn't had a good steak in a while.  When I did my grocery shopping, I found a Santa Maria Tri-Tip that was already seasoned.  I looked around for recipes and found quite a few.  Since mine was already seasoned, I was able to go directly to cooking:

Preheat oven to 425 (conveniently the same temp as my corn!)

Heat large, even proof skillet (cast iron for the win!) to medium heat.  When hot, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat the pan.

Add Tri-Tip and sear each side for 3-4 minutes, until a golden brown crust forms.  (Oh the delicious aromas!)

Transfer skillet directly to oven.  Cook 10-12 minutes per pound.  Mine was 2.6 pounds, but I didn't want to over-cook it, so I went for about 20 minutes.  Tri-Tip is usually thinner on the ends and thicker towards the middle, so it won't be evenly cooked - the middle will be medium-rare, while then ends are medium-well.

Remove from oven and add about 2 tablespoons of butter.  Swirl around in the pan to melt.  Cover with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.  This will also let your meat cook a little longer.  The cast iron skillet will be very hot!

Place on cutting board and slice against the grain.  This is a little tricky, as the grain of the Tri-Tip changes.  At this point I could see that some of the meat was under-cooked, but there was plenty that was cooked to our liking - the under-cooked portions made excellent leftovers!

This was very tasty!

Peach Cobbler

 

I have an email from my Dad's sister, Aunt Suzie, dated December 4, 2009.   She hosted Thanksgiving for many years and I requested her cobbler recipe.  This recipe doesn't get any more old fashioned with approximate measurements and lines like "I use the pie crust recipe on the Crisco can" and " I just watched Mom to figure it out." But this was the cobbler that my uncles fought over each year, making sure they each got plenty!  Aunt Suzie's email:

For the cobbler in my pan I use:

12 cups of peaches

2 to 3 cups of sweetener (I use part sugar and part equal for cooking)

3/4 to 1 cup of flour
and about 2 tablespoons of butter on the top before you put on the to crust.
I use red hots instead of cinnamon and I just add about 2 tablespoons of crushed ones
or you can use about a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
I use the pie crust recipe on the Crisco can.

I just watched Mom to figure it out.
It would only take about 4 cups of peaches for a 9" pie and cut the other ingredients

 

Here is how I made the cobbler for a 9" pie:

Filling:

4 cups of peaches

1 cup of sweetener (I used all sugar this time)

1/3 cup of flour
1 Tbs. of butter on the top before you put on the to crust.
1/2 tsp of cinnamon

 

Crust:
From Crisco.com.  This recipe has several different options, I chose the Double-Crust recipe:

2 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C. cold Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
4 to 8 Tbs. ice cold water

Stir flour and salt in large bowl until blended. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork until shortening pieces are the size of peas. Gradually add just enough water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring with fork just until dough holds together and forms a smooth ball.

Shape dough into a ball for single pie crust. Divide dough in half and shape into two balls for double crust pie. Flatten into 1/2-inch thick disk(s). Wrap disk(s) in plastic wrap. Chill 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

 

*I did the first steps on Saturday morning, then let the crust chill.  I started the next part while my Tri-Tip and corn were baking:

 

Preheat oven to 425 (how convenient!)

Mix ingredients for filling.  (I should have cut my peaches in bite size pieces.)

Roll dough on lightly floured surface, rolling from center outward. For 9-inch pie plate, roll into an 11-inch circle. For 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate, roll into a 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to pie plate.

Fill unbaked pie crust according to recipe directions.  There were no directions for this part from my aunt, so I just poured my filling right in.

Roll out remaining dough disk.  I deviated from the Crisco directions here and chose to make a lattice top crust.  Using my pizza cutter, I cut strips approximately 1/2" wide and laid them across the top.  Fold top edge under bottom crust. Press edges together to seal. Flute edges as desired.

Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

This!!  Oh, this was so good!  I was amazed at how good the crust tasted.  With so few ingredients, I really didn't expect it to taste so good, but it was fantastic!  I made homemade ice cream on Friday, so we topped it with vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer sweet.  I'll be hosting some of our family for Thanksgiving this year and this cobbler will definitely be on the table!

Milan Cooking Class ~ Pizza and Gelato (Day 6)

 

Friday was our last day in Milan.  We had the morning to ourselves and did a lot of walking and window shopping.  Monica and I very much enjoyed going in shops together and our husbands very much enjoyed the fact that we didn't buy anything!  Milan is known as one of the Fashion Capitals of the World (along with Paris, New York and London.)  And while we saw many beautiful things, we couldn't imagine spending the kind of money they were asking.

 

I found another fun idea on Viator - Milan Cooking Class: Authentic Pizza & Gelato Making.  Our choices were for a 3:00 p.m. class or 6:30 p.m.  The four of us prefer eating earlier than Europeans so we chose the 3:00 class.  This ended up being a blast!  We met our chef, Matteo, in the Towns of Italy Cooking School.  This was located in a back corner, on the second floor of the central train station.  Thankfully, I had read reviews that gave good directions!

We started our lessons making our pizza dough.  Some of us were a little more experienced, but we eventually had our dough mixed, kneaded and rising.

While our dough was rising, Matteo made the gelato.  This was obviously something we couldn't all do since there would be too many large batches to process.  It was okay as long as I got to sample some!  We did get to make our own waffle bowls that were later filled with gelato!

We were back to our dough.  Groups of 5 were called up to start shaping their dough into pizza crusts...

 

 

And adding sauce, basil and mozzarella...

 

I didn't get any pictures of us putting our pizzas in the oven.  This was an industrial oven that baked our pizzas in 90 seconds!  Mama Mia!  They were delicious!!

Les is the only one that I got a picture of eating the gelato, but we all enjoyed it immensely!

 

Once class was dismissed we decided to hop a metro.  This took us from Central Station to the Duomo.  We were able to take a trolley to a couple of other sites, but we didn't take any pictures! What you see here are four happy, fed, and tired travelers!