Metro New Orleans DISers - check in!!! - Part II

[Terry36]

How was everyone's Easter?

We had a good time eating, laughing, hiding eggs/goodies and watching the kids hunt for them. The day passes by to fast though.

 

[lori1043]

With all the disarray and disagreement in my family among a sib or 2-yeah, more family drama with my sister- but we are all past it and not surprised and not allowing it to affect our family-we had a WONDERFUL Easter day at my home. We got a Honeybaked ham(yyyuuummm ), pistolettes to make ham sandwiches, my MIL made potato salad, I made green bean casserole, we had chippy/dippy finger foods and Easter cupcakes.(And i found out later in the day that one of my brothers brought a german chocolate cake, put it in the fridge and no none knew about it, then they brought it home b/c it wasn't touched-think that was planned??!! -didn't matter though , since Easter is SO filled with sweets) NOW I feel like I can make a mean pot o' beans with my ham bone. For some reason, my beans come out SOOOOOO much better with a ham bone. I made some a couple weeks ago and it just was lacking-ugghh, so that was when i made up my mind to have a ham for Easter. I was going to make one myself but even though HB hams are high priced-they are SOOOO worth it!

Have any hints i can use for my beans when i don't have a ham bone?? I have used Savoie's pickled pork, and a variety of like products and it just ain't the same

This was one of the most enjoyable Easter's I can remember having in a while. All 4 of us sibs, my DH's DB and mom, my parents plus my mom's hubby(who never comes to anything except Christmas). All missing was my DH's SIL, who is the wife of his brother that passed away in January.

I hope Lorie's reunion was just as peaceful with no sad,mean words passed. THIS is what is supposed to happen. Cast your mess aside for a day and enjoy what we LIKE about each other!!

Lori

 

[MrsKreamer]

Thanks to all the congrats about the cake! I am going to finish all of the classes before I start selling cakes.

Am I reading this wrong or did Al Copeland really pass away today?


ETA: I am trying to watch JFK right now, I am too distracted by all of the horrible New Orleans accents! UGH

 

[nolaginabina]

No, Mrs.Kreamer, you are right he died in Germany. That is so sad.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

 

[TigerKat]

Good morning!

Lori - Have you tried using a ham hock? That's what I use when I don't have a ham bone. I also use the pickled pork .

 

[Ms Marigny]

Hey y'all!

The reunion went well, no sad or hurtful words spoken, everyone was very civil. And Sienna was a great distraction- anytime there was an awkward moment, I just scurried away to check on her . Sienna was at her hammiest best- she loves nothing more than entertaining a crowd, so she was the life of the party. They were playing some Cuban music, so she got up there and danced up a storm. Who wouldn't love that? And I got to see cousins I haven't seen in 25 years- I feel old! There were tons of people there from all over the country. I saw my grandmother who is turning 90 next month- unfortunately, she is slipping a bit. That was kind of hard to see.

The mango cheesecake was a hit- I saved it with the whipped cream. I'll post the recipe with some comments on how I would do things a little differently next time to avoid the cracking.

Lori- I have never found a substitute for the hame bone! The ham bone makes the BEST beans ever! So whenever I have one, it's like a bonus! Otherwise the beans are just "normal".

And I can't believe Al Copeland is gone! He's been a local celebrity my entire life! I remember going to see the Christmas lights at his house when I was little.

 

[TigerKat]

Lorie - I'm so happy to hear the reunion went so well!!!! I'll bet everyone just fell in love with Sienna.

 

[Ms Marigny]

Lorie - I'm so happy to hear the reunion went so well!!!! I'll bet everyone just fell in love with Sienna.

Oh, everyone loved her! Well, the biggest "problem person" that I was worried about was still fairly cold to me and didn't pay much attention to Sienna, but everyone else was very nice to her.

Thanks for the compliments on her new "Hollywood" picture- she just walked in the kitchen a couple of days ago decked out like that and I had to snap a picture! She is also carrying a balloon in her hand left from her party, you can't see it in the picture. It's all about the accessories!

 

[FloraFauna]

Good morning everyone. Sorry I haven't posted--we spent a few days in Destin. We left after the kids got out of school on Wednesday and got back late Saturday nite. It was chilly there, but so beautiful. Erica's birthday fell on Good Friday. We went to Bonefish Grill and saw a movie. I wish they would open a Bonefish Grill here. I think the closest one is in Lafayette, but I'm not sure. The food is delicious. See--I have food on my mind early this morning.

We had a quiet Easter here, but really nice. It was peaceful and I needed that with having two teenagers

I hope everyone's day was great yesterday.

 

[Ms Marigny]

Mango Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick/3 oz/85g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
3 large very ripe mangoes (each about 13 ounces), peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Instructions:
For Crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. Lightly butter a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.

Stir cracker crumbs and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

For Filling:
Puree mangoes in processor until smooth. Set aside 2 cups mango puree (reserve any remaining puree for another use or use to spread over top of cheesecake). Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the reserved 2 cups mango puree and beat until well blended. Pour filling over crust in pan.

Bake cake until set and puffed and golden around edges (center may move very slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 25 minutes. Cool cake 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Run small knife between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter.

Makes 12 servings.

This is the recipe- but I changed it a bit. In the crust, I used 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar- gives the flavor a bit more depth. Same for filling- I used 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Also, the recipe constantly says to beat well, blend well, beat some more.... you have to watch that with cheesecakes- if you beat to much air into the filling, it will rise like a souffle when baking, then deflate. So just watch that you don't overbeat the filling- just beat enough to blend. And finally, I never bake cheesecakes for more than an hour- this recipe calls for 1 hour 25 minutes. Against my better judgement I followed this and it overbaked. Time it at one hour, and then keep checking it until done. Another tip: put a pan of water on a lower rack in the oven while baking- this keeps the oven humid while baking and helps keep the cheesecake from drying out.

 

[TigerKat]

Oh, everyone loved her! Well, the biggest "problem person" that I was worried about was still fairly cold to me and didn't pay much attention to Sienna, but everyone else was very nice to her.

That "problem person" must be very, very miserable to be able to resist Sienna.

Good morning everyone. Sorry I haven't posted--we spent a few days in Destin. We left after the kids got out of school on Wednesday and got back late Saturday nite. It was chilly there, but so beautiful. Erica's birthday fell on Good Friday. We went to Bonefish Grill and saw a movie. I wish they would open a Bonefish Grill here. I think the closest one is in Lafayette, but I'm not sure. The food is delicious. See--I have food on my mind early this morning.

We had a quiet Easter here, but really nice. It was peaceful and I needed that with having two teenagers

I hope everyone's day was great yesterday.

Sounds like a great time!! I've never heard of Bonefish Grill, gotta go check it out......

 

[ilovejack02]

Baton Rouge has a Bonefish Grill, we really like it and we arent huge chain restaurant fans, but we keep returning to it.

Gotta read a few pages back and catch up lol.

Oh and are we still up for April 12th, I am planning on being there!

 

[ilovejack02]

So im pretty sure some of yall are going for the food and wine fest... what are your dates?

I was just looking at booking Oct. trip, i should have done it ages ago lol.

 

[TigerKat]

So im pretty sure some of yall are going for the food and wine fest... what are your dates?

I was just looking at booking Oct. trip, i should have done it ages ago lol.

We're catching the last few days of F&W, 11/8-11/13. Can't wait, it's our first time!

Where's Sheryl????????

 

[ilovejack02]

We're catching the last few days of F&W, 11/8-11/13. Can't wait, it's our first time!

Where's Sheryl????????

poop i think that will be to late for us, Im looking at Oct 30 thru maybe Nov. 5.

 

[shovan]

Here I am! Bob is home & was hogging the computer all morning!

poop i think that will be to late for us, Im looking at Oct 30 thru maybe Nov. 5.

Jenny, We'll be there Oct 26th checking out on Nov 1st! Alexis & her Mom & Dad will be with us too. So maybe we can work out some time to get together!

Lorie, Glad the reunion went well! Thanks for the mango cheescake recipe! I've been wanting to get springform pan, now I really have a reason to go get one!

Mary, Glad y'all had a nice trip.

Lori, I'll use a ham hock but it's still not as good as with the leftover ham bone.


We had a nice day yesterday, crawfish were yummy! It was a bit chilly out under the covered patio, but was still nice.

 

[lori1043]

Okay, I have heard of using a ham hock and maybe usd it long ago, BUT isn't that something you ask the butcher for or is it in a pack somewhere??

Glad everything went well, Lorie, at the reunion!

I get a ham only a couple times a year and freeze them sometimes to use for later-THEN I make a HUGE pot of beans and freeze half and we eat the other half!! Just to spread it out longer. I will look for the ham hock the NEXT time i make any kind of white or red beans

Thank you-Lori

 

[TigerKat]

Lori - All the store carry packaged ham hocks. I agree with everyone that there is no sub for the real ham bone though.

 

[lori1043]

Thank you, ya'll!! I agree that there is nuthin' like a ham bone-makes me wanna' go buy a ham more often!! I made a casserole with leftovers tonight and my whole family liked it a lot-we used leftover ham, bread(pistolettes), and eggs, although not the hard boiled ones -also onions and broccoli (instead of spinach that i did not have). It was sort of like a quiche, but no crust-you just cubed the bread from yesterday instead. it was called Strata(??). Beans will be made next week.

OT- DH finally went to the doc after his brothers death for a check up. He is slightly over weight and we are both more sedentary than we'd like. The doc just told him he had a few years b/f the magic age of 40 and that he should take advantage of getting in shape in the next 2 years. he really only has about 18 months b/f he turns 40!! And i am not far behind.
So we both need to get on the ball and start walking again. I cannot run due to my knee-it now crackles(ugghh sounding) and feels wierd when it does. Anyway- I am praying we can both get motivated and get healthier. It helps that Ashton is so health concious. (it sort of drives us batty but I guess we did it to her throughout her chemo). Payback!! already. She hates fast food so we seldom do that anymore at all(we used to be once a weekers at Wendy's or something). She asked DH to give up his coke(it is like his coffee) and he now maybe has one every 3-4 days. It used to be daily. We hate diet and we found that his headaches were caused by Coke Zero, which we liked. We can handle splenda and so now I am making tea(decaf) daily! I alternate sugar with splenda b/c of the whole cancer thing-you just can't win-it is your heart or the possibility of cancer.

ahhhhh, anyway. See ya!

Lori

adding to my TR tonight!

 

[FloraFauna]

I forgot about the Bonefish in Baton Rouge. That's a lot closer than Lafayette

Yep, I'm 41 and I find the only way I can keep the pounds off is if I keep up with my walking. Trouble is, I need to stop finding excuses why I can't do it. Especially after all the Heavenly Hash eggs from Easter.