LoveFeast Table

Good memories and times at the table can often be traced back to a place, the atmosphere, and of course great food.  Heidi’s Restaurant was just the type of place to leave you with with memorable moments.  Sadly, on the same day Stewart Woodman was chosen as a 2010 James Beard Award semifinalist for best Midwestern chef, Heidi’s Restaurant was destroyed in a terrible fire.  We were so shocked and sad to hear this news, since Heidi’s was one of our favorite restaurants.

Through the years, LoveFeast Table has had many special times at the table.  These are times when the conversation flows, the food is beyond wonderful, the atmosphere and decor just perfect… the servers so charming.  When a restaurant hits all these pieces in perfect cadence, the meal becomes a pleasurable dance and the memory a treasure.

This was our experience at Heidi’s.  We had been there a couple of times in the past.  Todd and I knew for sure when Kristin and Devon visited us again this was a place we were taking them.  Our expectations for a perfect night were not disappointed.

We hope that Stewart, Heidi, and Frank and the charming and delightful servers that we enjoyed so much will continue on to create yet another place that pulls together so many wonderful elements for a memorable night out.

We are saddened by your loss.  And our hope for you is that you will go on to create another beautiful place and bring those talents again, to the table.  We thank you for what you gave us…a special night, a treasured memory and a story to tell.

Charming, Delightful, Delicious, and Memorable.

That’s the way it was.

My grandmother, Betty, was always the foodie of our family!  She was a professional waitress for more years than I’ve been alive!  We’d drive to Jersey and visit her every Christmas.  She’s greet us and quickly make us feel at home, being the experienced hostess that she was!  I vividly remember a very seventies house decked out with shag carpet and wood paneling.  I don’t remember the presents.  I do remember the retro spread of food she laid out every year!  There were perfectly sectioned hors d’ ouerves plates, with mini gherkins, olives, deviled eggs and celery stuffed with cream cheese.  We’d sit down and pass around the mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey, then came the classics…watergate salad (remember creamy lime green jello with fruit and marshmallows?!), ambrosia salad (loaded with fruit cocktail) and then the favorite…fresh fruit salad loaded with strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes then tossed with homemade whipped cream.

Fast forward many years.  I found myself having waited tables for 14 years, went to school, received a degree in hotel restaurant management and opened a coffeeshop/cafe with my husband.  I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me until then, that I was following in the footsteps of my grandmother!

I can’t say that I’ve ever made watergate salad…or any kind of jello salad for that matter.  I have made jello jigglers for my kids when they were little.  They always make kids smile!  But, in honor of my grandmother, there is one 70’s inspired dish (I admit) I still make for my family.  It’s one my mom depended on weekly!  Every time I make it, it invokes childhood memories, it also fools the senses!  I once made it for Chris Ann right after her son Lars was born.  Her mom, who’s middle name is Organic, could not get over the “healthy” and delicious meal I had made!  I’m sorry to admit…the chicken was probably the healthiest thing, before it was bathed in Campbell’s goodness!

It really does taste good!  Devon and I have since recreated the meal to be much healthier by substituting real chopped celery, real chopped mushrooms, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and milk in place of the canned soups.  It’s up to you!! Just remember to keep the same amount of liquid so the rice cooks properly!

Original Chicken and Rice Casserole Recipe:

6 chicken leg quarters

1 Can cream of mushroom soup

1 Can cream of celery soup

1/2 C. milk

1 C. rice

1 package of Lipton onion soup mix

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together the soups, milk and rice and put in the bottom of a 9X11 baking dish.  Place the chicken legs on top.   Sprinkle the chicken with the package of Lipton soup.

Cover dish with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Take foil off and bake for another 1/2 hour.

Healthier Version of Chicken and Rice Casserole:

6 Chicken leg quarters (you can use boneless chicken breast to make this even healthier!)

1/2 C finely chopped celery

1/2 C finely chopped mushrooms

1/2 C finely chopped onions

4 cloves of mince garlic (it is also really good if you use roasted garlic!)

2 Tbls.  fresh thyme

1 Tbls. fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp. salt

fresh cracked pepper

1 C rice

1 C whole milk

1 C skim milk (you could probably use 2 C skim milk, but I mixed them, not wanted to loose some of the creaminess

1/C water

1 package of Lipton onion soup mix (I thought about using different spices to do away with this step, but I have to tell you, there is something about this ingredient that does make the chicken taste good…I admit it, the one time I embrace msg…yikes!  It’s seriously the only time in my cooking arsenal I do!)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together celery, mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme, parsely, salt and pepper to taste.  Add milk, water and rice.  Place on the bottom of a 9×11 baking dish.

Place chicken on top and sprinkle with Lipton onion soup mix.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Take foil off and bake for another 1/2 hour.

As I blog hop, there is a common theme this time of year.  It usually comes in the form of pumpkins, apple picking and hay rides.  I have to say, they all begin to look alike after a while.  Cute kids.  Crisp pink noses.  Huge, orange pumpkins.  Red apples…and lots of apple recipes.  I’d like to tell you this post will be different.  But, it won’t.

There are cute kids with pink noses.

Orange pumpkins.

Piles of apples in wagons.

And a Bonus!!  The bonus is one of the most killer apple cake recipes I have ever come across.  This recipe was given to me by my dear friend, Amanda.  As I was concocting this post in my head last night, she came to mind.  Her recipe, came to mind and I smiled.  There is something really special about exchanging recipes with a friend.  Usually, it comes with a story or a memory of sharing that special meal or dessert.  I remember the first time I had this recipe… it was at Amanda’s old, old house! :)  We were there with a bunch of friends, just hanging out, with all of our kids.  I love those times!  But, the moment she sliced that cake, time stood still.  With one taste of that Caramel Apple Cake,  suddenly the flavors embodied the moment.  I’m sure you have recipes that have impacted your life!  Those recipes, that when you make and eat them, you are taken back to a time or reminded of someone special.

This recipe is special to me.  I want to share it with you…and thank Amanda, for sharing it with me.  I miss you my friend!!

Caramel Apple Cake~shared by Amanda

Preheat oven to 350 F.

2 Cups sugar

1 1/2 Cups vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

3 Cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 medium granny smith apples, peeled, finely chopped

1 Cup nuts (I use pecan) chopped

Mix together sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs in an electric mixer.  In a medium bow, mix together flour, salt and baking soda.  Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix just until blended.  Add the apples and nuts and mix just until blended.

Pour cake batter into a greased bundt pan.

Bake cake for 1-1 1/2 hour…until knife comes out clean.

While cake is baking put…

1/2 Cup butter

1/2 Cup brown sugar

2 tsp. milk

In a small saucepan and boil until it becomes a golden caramel.

Pour on warm cake.

What? Does this picture look fuzzy to you? Forget about it, it’s all that Limoncello, you’ve been drinking! Welcome to our Limoncello table! This is us, two years ago in Florence, Italy. There’s Kristin, next to her man and chef, Devon. See the stroller behind them? That’s Little Baby. We were so happy he did not get left behind any tables or under any trees. He was so good; it would have been easy to forget that he was there! He was a great little Italian traveler for five months old, except in the Duomo! (ya’ know you’ve started out a great culinary life, when you’ve been nursed in the Duomo!) My husband, Todd, took the picture, and I’m in the blue sweater, raising my glass of homemade Limoncello, a starter to a wonderful meal memory in Italy!

It was late. So late, that even the Italian restaurants were closing. On a curvy road, across the river we found a big house that had a restaurant on the lower floor that was willing to seat us. We hustled in, happy to have found a place. And, what a find! We were led around the back of the house and seated in the back garden at this lovely tiled table. It was warm and balmy. The garden smelled wonderful. Our view over looked the hazy glow of the lights of Florence. It felt like a dream. And, as we cooed over the view, the garden, and the blessing of this moment, our waitress placed in front of us, a little cut glass goblet filled with lemony liquid. It was our first homemade Italian Lemoncello! This was going to be a great meal!

It turned out our waitress was the wife. The husband was the chef. When it came time to order, they helped us talk through our meal through broken Italian (ours) and broken English (there’s). The chef soon came out with a big slab of meat, maybe three pounds. He motioned to us, that it would be the size for our table. How big? We were trying to understand. And, then in a rich Italian roll-of-tongue, he pronounced, “it’s a bey-bee!! (Meaning, the size of a baby!!) We all laughed, “Bring us that baby then!!”

As we enjoyed our meal, laughing and chatting and eating into the night, the chef proudly watched us as he cleaned his kitchen, which was open to the back of the house behind us, and then, hosed down his garden for the evening. It was the ultimate in hospitality, to be relaxed in your giving and the making of a meal, and to enjoy your guests’ enjoyment. We couldn’t thank him enough because there are meals and there are moments when food and friends come together, blend at the table, and create a life memory.

Do you have a meal memory that became a life memory? Then, leave a comment and share it at our table! (Also, coming soon, all about our Limoncello throw down, that involved, lemons, of course, and other secret ingredients.)

Grandma Bessie’s kitchen was always warm.   I remember looking up to the white oven and being shooed away and warned of the heat as I came in through the back door.  In the winter, we came in the back door because often the front porch was covered up in plastic to seal out the North Dakota cold.  That back door led to what Grandma called the back porch, which was merely really a small hallway to enter the house.  To the left, inside the back porch, was a small dresser, lined on top with a row of silver coffee cans filled with wax paper and mostly homemade cookies.  The first chance I got, once I was in Grandma’s house, I would peel back each plastic lid, to see what was inside each can.  When I was very little there were lots of choices:  chocolate chip, crumbly peanut butter printed with the back of a fork, sometimes oatmeal raisin, a sugar topped gingersnap, a cakey molasses cookie with sour cream frosting, and always store bought Cameo cookies.  Now that I am older, I am amazed at how well prepared she was for guests and grandchildren.  Grandma Bessie was also resourceful and inventive.  She made dish towels and placemats out of old flour sack and crocheted the edges.  Another thing she did was bake her banana bread in a silver coffee can; a can just like the ones she stored the cookies in.  That is the one trick I learned from my Grandma Bessie’s kitchen.

So, when I was reading a food blog I like called Whipped, I found a recipe called My Favorite Banana Bread Recipe.  I was looking for a replacement one, since my standby with oatmeal was boring me.  This one calls for real butter, and I used the good stuff.  The only thing I did differently was I baked it in an old coffee can, like Grandma Bessie use to do.  I baked it 70 minutes, a little longer than suggested, probably because of the can.  I greased the can with butter and flour Pam spray.  It popped out just fine!

Do you have a trick you learned from your Grandma’s kitchen?  Please share!

Chris Ann and I have been asking people, “What is your favorite food memory?”  Many people respond with, “I’ve never thought about that!”  I posed this question to my Aunt Bonnie over the holidays.  Aunt Bonnie is an artist and has always been the eccentric aunty of the family…that’s why we call her Uncle Bonnie!  She has created art all over the world.  I had the privilege of helping her with a mural here in Baltimore when I was a teenager.  She is currently wrapping up her first comic novel!  Needless to say she’s very talented.

“My favorite food memory…hmmm?  I remember I had just moved to New York and had recently discovered lavender.  I was growing my first plant at my apartment.  I went out to dinner with some friends and there on the menu, was lavender sorbet!  As an artist, the lavender sorbet appealed to all my senses!  It is a memory that stands out in my mind!”  -Uncle Bonnie

We know that many of you have favorite food memories…those times in your life, around a table, when time stands still and you remember the sights, the sound, the conversations and the taste!!  Will you share with us?