Life, Fannishness, and Thespic Infatuation

Okay. We all know that pie is a recurring theme in SPN. Dean loves pie. Pie was a comfort food Mary offered him as a child. Generally speaking, pie is a very fandom-friendly dessert (SPN, Twin Peaks, and Pushing Daisies, just to name a few).

This season, however, SPN is expanding it's culinary pallet to include cupcakes and waffles. And it's making me hungry.

Cupcakes have been mentioned in "Shut Up, Dr. Phil" . . . HEARTS IN MY CUPCAKES! (And yes, I've been trying to figure out how to create a jelly-filled cupcake that "bleeds" when you bite into it, for next Halloween.

And there was a reference to Dean's penchant for Ding Dongs Bing Bongs in "Slash Fiction." This, unfortunately, has sent me on my current culinary search for a recipe for homemade Ding Dongs. The cake, of course, is standard. The filling is easy. It's the coating that appears to prove a challenge, a challenge I now want to take on! Forward!

Waffles, of course, speak for themselves. I got Geo a fantastic waffle iron for his b-day, and we've used it almost every weekend since.

I need a pie/cupcake/waffle icon. *nods*

A culinary question for the f-list (and any random passers-by).

So. I've moved south of the Mason-Dixon line. And in doing so, I've discovered that a very popular dish in these here parts is banana pudding. (Actually, it's a trifle, not a pudding.)

We never had this in Ohio, though it is on any given box of Nabisco 'Nilla Wafers.

Well, we're going to a potluck this week, and Geo has expressed a desire for trifle. (I love trifle. I don't know why it's been years since I made one. I used to do them frequently. One of my favorite wedding gifts, from one of my favorite of Geo's at-the-time-bachelor friends, was a trifle bowl. He said he had no idea what a trifle bowl is, but it was on my registry. I told him I was thrilled with it and thanked him profusely. Now, where was I? . . . )

Well, last year, Southern Living published a recipe that I've been very interested to try: Nutter Butter-Banana Pudding Trifle.

Now, knowing that banana pudding is a very Southern dessert/comfort food, but also knowing that we don't make it in the North (and I'm not overly fond of banana creme pie), I decided to try to find out why it's a "Southern thing."

Here's what I found. (I find the history of food fascinating.)

So I guess my question is this: Are you from the South, and if so, where, and is banana pudding popular where you are, and do you like it? (Okay, that's, like, four questions, but I think you get the idea.)

(Also, I'm feeling the need for a new "Nomnomnom" icon. Anyone interested in creating one?

Oh, my word, you guys. I just made the most amazing soup for dinner tonight. You know how last week I mentioned having pumpkin soup and how finding a comparable recipe was my new culinary quest? You guys. Here's what I found.

Well, first of all, I found pumpkinsoup.org. Everything you wanted to know about pumpkin soup but didn't know to ask. Lots of interesting recipes there of varying levels of complexity.

But that's not where I got tonight's dinner from.

No, one of my newest go-to sites for recipes (I also subscribe to the hard copy magazine) is the Southern Living website. Being from Ohio, I also try to find things on the Midwest Living website, but nine times out of ten, I like the Southern Living recipes better. (If I want Midwestern recipes, I usually head to the church/fundraiser cookbooks from back home.) The trick is to watch your fat ingredients, because if there's one thing Southerners like to cook with, it's fat.

But I digress.

Tonight's dinner was originally printed in the October 1997 issue of Southern Living.

Pumpkin-Corn Chowder

I used 1 cup of half-and-half and 1 cup of 1% milk in place of the 2 cups of half-and-half. And you could use vegetable bouillon cubes or other vegetarian bouillon for a vegetarian variation.

A mild, creamy soup to warm your tummy on a cold winter evening. And delightfully easy, because if you are what you eat, then I'm fast, cheap, and easy.

Also of note: Today I started burning my favorite Christmas fragrance candle. Yankee Candle's Sugared Plum (which they have since repackaged under a different name and color). I've used this fragrance for years, for as far back in our marriage as either Geo or I can remember. It's a warm, comforting fragrance that makes me content and nostalgic at the same time. It smells like Christmas at home.

Last month, I made reference to a recipe for cookies that my mom makes, called snowflake cookies. just_ruth requested the recipe, and here I am, finally getting around to it, after making a batch. Considering the weather, I thought it appropriate. :-)

This is an old recipe from my Great-Aunt Ono. It is my bro's favorite.

( Snowflake Cookies )

For my f-listies who claim they "can't cook" . . . izhilzha? I'm lookin' at you.

( Four Ingredient, No Pre-Cooking Baked Mac & Cheese )

just_ruth asked for the recipe to the molasses cake Geo made me for my b-day. So here it is. :-) It's from the Pillsbury's Best 1000 Recipes: Best of the Bake-Off Collection, copyright 1959. The cake was the Junior Winner, submitted by Margaret Mary Flesse of Youngstown, Ohio.

( Molasses Whisper Cake )

It's that time of year. And this year I've been more inclined to bake than I have in years past. Thus I have been perusing my recipe box today.

My recipe box is not organized in any traditional way. It's not alphabetical, and it's not by type of food (appetizer, main dish, dessert). No, because in my mind recipes are so closely associated with the person who makes the item, or gave me the recipe, my box is organized by person. I have a section for recipes from my mom, from my cousins, from my SiL, from my MiL, from my school days, from bridal showers, from co-workers, etc. Recipes are like a history of my family. I often have my mom point out which handwritten recipes are from my Grandmama M. or my Grandma K. or my Great Aunt Ono. My dad likes the springerles (I'm hoping to inherit the springerle rolling pin someday), Little Bro likes the sugar cookies, and I'm partial to molasses cookies and date pinwheels.

I've often suggested putting together a family cookbook, but no one else seems to be interested. Which is a bit of a pity, because my cousins could include recipes from their Italian grandmother (from the other side of their family).