PC Potato Salad

Pressure cookers make easy work of potato salad, especially with red potatoes since you're not peeling them. The addition of the Penzeys Shallot Salt and Pepper gives the salad a consistent onion-y taste, even if you're planning to enjoy the salad over a few days. (I hate the taste of day old onions in pasta and tuna salad, etc)

PC Potato Cabbage Salad

5 lbs red potatoes, quartered (halved if very small)
5 Tbs dill pickle juice
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp brown mustard
1 tsp Penzeys Shallot Pepper
1 tsp Penzeys Shallot Salt
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups chopped green cabbage
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery

Place potatoes pressure cooker with recommended amount of water for steaming (consult your owner's manual) Bring to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes, then use quick release method.

Drain potatoes thoroughly, place in a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Pour dill pickle juice over potatoes and toss gently. Let cool for about 15 more minutes.

Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and toss with the potatoes. Chill and toss again just before serving.

More Lemon Recipes

The windy weather has kept my friend Ahmed busy picking up lemons in his yard. I am lucky enough be a frequent recipient of this leftovers. Time to get busy in the kitchen!

Lemonade

8-10 lemons 1 1/2-2 cups of lemon juice
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
2 qts water

Juice the lemons and combine all in a tall pitcher. Serve over ice.


Strawberry Lemonade

http://www.eastvalleylife.com/2008/03/strawberry-lemonade.html

Lemon Bars

2 sticks butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners sugar plus 1 tbsp for dusting on top
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp flour
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Preparation:
Heat oven to 325°. Blend butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Pat into ungreased 13x9x2-inch pan lined with parchment paper for easy removal. Bake for 15-20 minutes. For filling, blend together eggs, sugar, 4 tbsp flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Pour over first layer. Return to oven and bake at 325° for 20 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes then sift confectioners' sugar over the top just prior to serving.

Yorkshire Pudding

My favorite Yorkshire Pudding recipe, adapted from the recipe in "Tea and Sympathy" by Anita Naughton.

Yorkshire Pudding
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups milk
roast beef pan drippings

*** Things to remember - You may need to reposition your oven rack to accomodate the rising of the popovers. Do not open the oven during while baking - this may cause the popovers to fall.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Whisk in the eggs and milk until the batter has the consistency of pancake batter. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Put about 1 tsp of roast beef drippings in each well of a large non-stick popover pan. Place pan in the oven until you can hear the drippings make popping and crackling sounds.
Remove from oven and fill each well with batter about 3/4 full.

Bake about 30 minutes or until well risen.

Serve hot.

Easy Apricot Barbecue Chicken

Chicken leg quarters are usually a bargain at Midwestern Meats so I pick some up nearly every week. They're so versatile. This week I made Apricot Barbecue Chicken.

Easy Apricot Barbecue Chicken
4-6 chicken leg quarters
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb Seasoning. Bake in a shallow baking dish at 350 for 40 minutes.

Heat apricot preserves in the microwave for a few seconds and blend with the barbecue sauce. If the mixture doesn't blend easily you can microwave for a few more seconds to thin the preserves.

Spread about half the sauce mixture on the chicken and return to the oven for 10 minutes, remove and coat chicken with the remaining sauce and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.

Serve over rice.

Photo op while plant shopping. . .

Went to A & P Nurseries to get some tomato and Italian parsley plants for the garden. We ran into this big guy sleeping the ornamental grass. He looked very comfortable.

Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House

Last weekend while shopping for a new bed we stumbled upon Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House on the NW corner of Mc Kellips and Power in Mesa. Dolores at Mattress Firm had nothing but praise for the establishment and I couldn't wait to check it out. I stopped in late last week to check out their gift shop (fabulous!) and I vowed to go for tea as soon as possible.

As HuzBen is not fond of tea and it took me a few days to find a dining partner. Thankfully my step mom Susan was as excited as I was to go there.

We stopped in today for tea and some shopping. Dolores was spot on, the place is wonderful. The decor is Victorian inspired, tastefully done but not cluttered. It reminded me of tea in my Aunt's parlor many years ago. The tea settings are beautiful and they include a honey pot at the table as well as sugar cubes. The tea was kept hot by a delicate looking silver teapot warmer (see blurry cell phone photo above) that I would have purchased in a second if they sold them in the gift shop.

We had the Miss Marianne Tea, which consists of a fruit cup, quiche, scones, tea sandwiches and sorbet. Other options omitted the quiche or added soup so you could customize your afternoon tea to your level of hunger. There are also some a la carte items and breakfast offerings. The food was fresh and tasty. I do wish they offered more varieties of tea.

A big plus over another popular tearoom in Mesa is that Ms. Thomas keeps her gift shop separate from the dining area. It was nice to enjoy a quiet lunch without someone kicking your while chair trying reach the price tag on a bottle of hand lotion.

When we finished I checked out the gift shop which offers lovely gifts as well as hard to find tea related items like honey spoons, sugar cube tongs and drip catchers for your teapot. I bought a butterfly drip catcher on my visit last week and it works very well, even on my little 2 cup teapot. (see picture below)

Ms. Thomas' Lovely Tea House is located at 6620 E, McKellips, Suite 102, Mesa, AZ. Phone 480-807-5133. Hours of operation are Mon-Sat 8:30am-2:30pm. Reservations strongly suggested.