Favorite Aprons

 
 
 

I was inspired today by an artist friend's blog about her apron-making talent. She designed a pretty retro-style apron and suddenly I was up running for one of my new acquisitions.

I started "my collection" the first year of Home At Last! I still have all my old aprons and have many favorites including . . . a very small delicate apron that belonged to my grandmother.

One of my newest favorites is the one featured in these photos, from Harrod's Department Store. It's laminated and easy to clean. Perfect for baking and BBQ-ing! I picked this up in London after sailing across the Atlanta on the Queen Mary en route to Tuscany! Talk about a relaxing vacation. . .

Six luxurious days aboard a very elegant ship bound for the other side of the big pond. Sigh . . .how I miss our early evenings in the Queen's lounge, sipping cosmos on a buttery leather chesterfield sofa . . .mesmerized by the large, dark gray-green waves lapping up against our ship.

Sunny afternoons were enjoyed at the bow of the ship in one of our favorite spots-the ship's library. I enjoyed every English decorating magazine I could lay my hands on, checked emails, and read a thriller from a favorite author.

Late evenings we developed an extravagant habit with room service. Asking for two simple bowls of ice-cream, each night our attendants added more flavors, more embellishments and bigger grins. I wondered if there were bets placed back in the kitchen . . ."let's see if they can eat this?"
Posted by Picasa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pate

Image
Every silky-smooth bite of this pleasing chicken liver pate was worth the extra calories!  Created by my daughter-in-law's mother, Jill, the recipe captured everything I love about pate! A perfectly smooth pate enhanced by the addition of cognac. The rich chicken livers pared deliciously with a dark berry compote made of strawberries, blackberries and fresh blueberries! Recipe: Jacque Pepin's Chicken Liver Pâté FAST MAKE-AHEAD 1/2 pound chicken livers, well-trimmed 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced 1 small garlic clove, smashed and peeled 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves Kosher salt 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 2 teaspoons Cognac or Scotch whisky Freshly ground pepper Toasted baguette slices, for serving In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to l...
Read more

California Sourdough Bread

Image
I found this recipe in one of my favorite chef cookbooks. The recipe is made over a couple of days and calls for starter made from potato water. I had just made up a batch of potato starter-but with potatoes and the potato water, so, that was the first substitution I made. I also switched one cup of the required bread flour for a cup of Italian flour. The results were wonderful. As you can see there is a golden crust around the entire bread but instead of a typical chewy sourdough crust this was a little more crispy. . .like German brotchen. The recipe called for spritzing the dough with water before putting into the oven-which I did-but I also placed a small glass bowl with water in the oven-occasionally pouring water on the floor of the oven to create steam. My husband told me he loved me as he ate his hot-from-the-oven bread! I wanted to share a photo of the inspiration behind all the sudden interest in bread baking.  My friend, Char Fontane gave this to me for Ch...
Read more

Parrot Fish

Image
Asian-style Parrot Fish Dark soy, sesame oil mixed with a little olive oil, freshly-grated ginger and garlic! Yum. A little chopped green onion and blood orange. Yes! One of my last blood oranges was squeezed for a citrus marinade that made for a nicely-flavored and springlike taste! I might be rushing the seasons a little but this easy recipe would certainly be good anytime of the year! The Parrot Fish has a nice firm texture with lots of flavor. The bones were easily removed from the meat and so the yield is very good. I grilled the fish on the infrared for about eight minutes and finished it off in a very hot oven! Definitely worth a try!
Read more