Do you own this?

I bought it about three years ago but it's still available on Amazon, because Amazon is awesome like that.

This cookbook features every comforting dish you've ever met but overhauls them from the buffet table at Golden Corral to an art form that you just want to crawl into and live for all eternity. Lasagna, mac and cheese, ziti, chicken enchiladas, and all the American classics, including pete's Smothered Pork Chops. But lest you think it all standard fare, there are also recipes for Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic from France, Moroccan Chicken Tagine, Italian White Bean Cassarole, Thai Curry and Irish Guiness Beef Stew.

The best thing about the cookbook, aside from the kick ass recipes, is all the detail the writers go into explaining how to choose the right ingredients, why you should use a shallow sided frying pan, how to chose a frying pan, etc. I dare you to try to screw up one of these recipes, even if adding cream of crap to rice is the extent of your cooking skills.

Now that I've yammered your ear off, here's the recipe for Smothered Pork Chops.

4 slices of bacon, chopped
3 tbps flour
1 3/4c chicken broth
1 tbsp veggie oil (I used olive oil)
4 bone in pork chops, 1/2-3/4 in thick
salt and pepper
2 medium onions, halved and sliced thin
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaves

1. Fry the bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove, leaving behind the fat. Hide the bacon in a safe place lest you eat it all before you're done cooking.
2. Reduce heat to medium and sprinkle the flour over the surface. Stir with a wooden spoon, letting the flour cook until it's golden brown, working out any lumps. Add chicken broth in a steady stream as you stir. Reduce heat to low, cover and keep warm.
3. In a skillet, heat the oil. Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels then salt and pepper generously. Add to the frying pan and sear on very high heat until deep brown. Turn and repeat on the other side. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Drop heat to medium and add the onions and a 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir as you cook, scraping up the browned bits, until the onions get all golden and soft. Add the garlic and the thyme and stir through. Put the pork chops back, covering them with the onions. Pour in the sauce, add the bay leaves and turn on low. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the pork chops and cover with foil. Heat the sauce and onions on high, stirring until the sauce thickens into an amazing gravy. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.
6. Serve with rice.

Help me, Rhonda

I bought this book for my mom at Christmas with the plan to read it along with her. We sort of accomplished that goal. I had it sooner than she did and I couldn't wait. I was only ahead of her by a couple of days though so it still worked out.

If you can get your hands on this book, you really should give it a read. We tend to only see the heartwarming nostalgia of the "Good Old Days" but the reality is that the seemingly idyllic world of the 50's and 60's was only warm and fuzzy for a select few. Not even being white and somewhat well off guaranteed happiness then.

This book centers on the lives of two groups of women living very different lives in the same Southern town, a handful of white housewives and their black maids. There were a few things that struck me as I was furiously flipping the pages. The first is that the story is set in 1962, the year before my mother was born. Some would have us believe that this is all ancient history but the fact of the matter is it really wasn't that long ago. I'm not sure why people believe racism is dead when just a generation or two ago, white households didn't want to share a toilet seat with the black woman who was raising their children.

The second part that struck me was how difficult it can be to look past the way things always have been and to make your voice heard amongst a group of people who don't see the point of questioning. People you've grown up with can turn on you fairly quickly and fairly viciously when you challenge the status quo.

If you want to know more, you should pick up the book. It's a very quick read, an easy read that still manages to be thought provoking. I'm a huge history buff so this was right up my alley but even if you aren't, I think reading about a topic in a context that we can understand, such as the complex relationships between women can really help you get a feel for something you might otherwise find boring or too complicated.

So go find it.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Fly Like an Eagle

Ever notice how the UPS man always takes his slow sweet time when you're waiting for something?

Ass.

And boy was I waiting for something. Interestingly enough, I ordered this little gem before I had my grand idea but it's quite appropriate for my new venture. I perused a copy in Barnes and Noble then went right home and ordered it from amazon.com. What can I say? Amazon has better pricing.

And here she is: A is for Apron by Nathalie Mornu.

Don't let the cover fool you. It's chockabock full of cute little apron ideas fom the half apron pictured on the cover to smock style aprons that will cover you up like Jim Bob's eighth wife.

If I'm going to be getting dressed every morning and doing stuff like cleaning, baking, and other nice housewifey things, I'll be needing a couple aprons to keep my clothes from looking like something my dog shat on after playing tug of war with the kids. I already have some fabric in mind, a couple recent purchases from Connecting Threads.

I'd show you which ones but they appear to be sold out. I'll just have to sew up one or two and post tomorrow.