cooking

Coronation Day

Happy Coronation Day!

This was a day I both hoped would never come (because to get here, first Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had to pass), and one that I have eagerly anticipated. The Coronation of King Charles III was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me (to date, anyway), and I loved reading through the detailed order of service and watching every moment. It was a beautiful ceremony, and all of the history and tradition contained within it both made a connection with the distant past as well as pointed the way to the future. The music was lovely, from “I Was Glad” and “Zadok the Priest” to “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.” It was clear watching it that it doesn’t matter if you are crowned when you are young, as was Queen Elizabeth II, or after a lifetime of preparation like King Charles III, the truth of the saying “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” was evident, as you could see the weight of it on both of their faces in archive footage and on live TV. The Princess of Wales hit the perfect balance between tiara and headpiece (although I still wish she’d worn a full tiara), and it was lovely to see her in the robes of the Royal Victorian Order. Princess Charlotte in her matching outfit and headpiece was adorable, as was the way she kept a watchful eye and gentle hand on her little brother. The Princess Royal, as always, “stood tall among men,” riding horseback in uniform in the procession in order to serve and protect her brother the King. I loved seeing the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh front and center, in a place worthy of such hard-working, dedicated (but sometimes overlooked) royals. It was such a thrill to see St. Edward’s Crown being worn, even for a short time. Young Prince George was a splendid Page of Honor, and it was moving to see him carry his grandfather the King’s train. There is something special about seeing the crowned heads of Europe (or their representatives) gather to see an important moment for one of their peers (and often an extended family member, as well). The touching moment when Prince William, “liege man of life and limb,” paid homage to his father and king, as representative of the Royal Family, was one I will always remember. Is there anything more splendid than seeing the coordinated “hip hip hooray” of thousands of soldiers? Prince Louis was so well-behaved at the Abbey, and so animated on the balcony. Hearing “God Save the King” brought a tear to my eye. Even though I was worried the low clouds and rain would prohibit the flypast, we were treated to a grand display by the Red Arrows.

The day began for me at 3:45 a.m., but it didn’t end when the Royal Family left the balcony. I planned a tea party to celebrate this auspicious occasion:

The star of the meal was the “Coronation Quiche,” prepared according to the recipe shared by the Royal Family to be enjoyed this weekend, and especially at “Big Lunches.”

I made a few other favorite items, including chocolate chip scones, an orange-poppyseed cake, and three types of finger sandwiches: egg salad, coronation chicken (ok, turkey), and cucumber:

I dug way back into my files to find a crown we made in school for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012 for our centerpiece, and I also tried a new napkin fold called “The Crown.”

The tea of choice was Darjeeling…I don’t know if it’s actually enjoyed by King Charles III, but it’s one of my favorites! It was a lovely lunchtime celebration!

For dinner, I threw it way back to the last coronation, and made coronation chicken (again, actually turkey) served over rice:

And for dessert, what’s more English than a trifle?

I even planned a coronation-themed outfit in Animal Crossing!

This was a very special day, and one I know I’ll always remember!

Star Wars Days

May the Fourth be with You! (But watch out for the Revenge of the Fifth!) We’ve had another fun two-day Star Wars Day(s) celebration. Most of the recipes we tried this year were new, starting with yesterday’s breakfast of Keshian Spice Bread from Star Wars: Galactic Baking (a new cookbook in our collection):

Dinner last night was a repeat (but so worth it)…I made Ronto Wrappers (flatbreads) from the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cookbook, and Batuuan Ronto Wraps from The Official Disney Parks Cookbook (just like we had at Disney World last summer and so delicious):

I also made the iconic Star Wars Blue Milk from a recipe on the Disney Food Blog…this one was pretty hit or miss, but it looked pretty!

Dessert was Hoth Cocoa Cream Puffs from Star Wars: Galactic Baking…they were amazing!

For dinner tonight, I made Nerf Kebabs from the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cookbook, and served Wawaatt Sprouts from The Life Day Cookbook with them:

I modified the recipe for Lothal Spicebrew from the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cookbook to make it non-alcoholic…it was much more popular than last night’s drink!

For dessert, I baked Sith Cookies from Star Wars: Galactic Baking. The were soft and delicious.

This has become one of my favorite bonus holiday celebrations, and I’m really excited that there’s another Star Wars cookbook coming out later this year, so we can try even more recipes!

Easter 2023

As hard as it is to believe since Lent always seems like it lasts forever, Holy Week and Easter Sunday have already come and gone. We had our traditional four day celebration, beginning on Maundy Thursday, with a fun twist for Easter dinner this year! I really look forward to this celebration every year, this 2023 did not disappoint!

On Maundy Thursday, I made hot cross buns. This is definitely a tradition now…what started as an experiment in 2020 when I was only grocery shopping once every two weeks and couldn’t plan on purchasing them has become an expected part of our Holy Week observances! I did try a new recipe this time, and I think we all liked it even better than the other ones I’ve made!

The evening church service was, as expected, lovely, especially the music.

Everyone had off of school on Good Friday, which was nice. I dedicated my day to baking. I made what were probably the best buttermilk biscuits ever, as well as blueberry muffins:

We were back at church that evening for another moving service:

Would you be surprised to know that I was back to baking on Holy Saturday? I made my first-ever angel food cake…keep reading to see how it turned out!

We also made this year’s Paschal candle…I think this was our best effort ever!

The Great Vigil of Easter is still my favorite service of the whole church year…I love the meaning behind each different part!

On the way home, we stopped at Wendy’s for Frostys and fries:

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful!

One of my favorite traditions is taking pictures of the Fab Five by the baptismal font:

Of course, I took other pictures, too:

We also got a very nice family photo:

When we got home, we had Easter brunch (our first brunch of the day…stay with me!). I made biscuits and gravy, and we also had scrambled eggs, sausage patties, and a variety of mini donuts. And pomegranate juice, which has become something of a tradition.

It was a great first meal of the day!

We watched some of our favorite Easter specials, and I visited Zipper T. Bunny when I wasn’t working on our big meal.

I learned how to turn our napkins into flowers for Easter!

I love how pretty the Easter table always looks!

For Easter dinner, we had Easter brunch (again). But this was a fancier brunch suggested by Turkey, including eggs Benedict, breakfast casserole, bacon, waffles, a salmon and radish tart, fresh fruit, gouda tea sandwiches, blueberry muffins, and a cheese board.

It was fun (and delicious!) to do something so different for dinner!!!

For dessert, we had the angel food cake I made, served with strawberries and a cream cheese filling/frosting…it was really good!

Easter is, of course, the highlight of the church year, and our celebration this year at church and home was especially lovely!

Tasty Tuesday–A Day Inspired by Final Fantasy XIV

Ladybug has been wanting to prepare a meal (or two!) using recipes from The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook, and we decided that spring break was the perfect opportunity. So last Wednesday, we had a day of Final Fantasy XIV-themed foods, starting with a “Sandwich Basket” for lunch. It included egg salad, roast beef with horseradish sauce, and lettuce, tomato, and avocado varieties:

For dinner, she choose “Deep-Fried Okeanis,” which was pretty much a schnitzel that would also work well for pork katsu sandwiches. It was served with some herb roasted potatoes that were really good.

Every good themed meal needs a special drink, so we made “The Black Shroud Lemonade,” which had a simple syrup made of honey and sugar…that gave it a unique flavor that I really enjoyed!

And for dessert, we made a “Rolanberry Cheesecake,” which had a combination of cherries, strawberries, and raspberries in the sauce. It was really delicious, and it didn’t crack at all!

I’m not really familiar with the game itself, but it certainly did provide us with a lot of good food!

St. Patrick’s Day 2023

Happy St. Paddy’s Day! We started the day as we always do, by setting out our leprechaun trap:

And, as always, we found evidence that Lucky had visited, but no leprechaun himself…he did leave some nice candy, though!

We had our traditional St. Patrick’s Day breakfast of Lucky Charms:

And our standard dinner of corned beef and cabbage, roast potatoes and carrots, and soda bread with Irish butter. Oh, and a local favorite, Ski soda, just because the bottle is green!

Dessert was a little different…Bunny took our recipe for Guinness cake and made mini bundt cakes. Just as delicious, but so much more adorable!

It was a fun day, but only a warm-up to an even bigger day tomorrow…stay tuned!

Tasty Tuesday–Food for MAR10 Day

You may have noticed that I like to take a theme and run with it, whether the celebration is big or small. MAR10 Day is no exception, and I had a fun time coming up with something special for our dinner on Friday. Last year, MAR10 Day fell during our “Markel Family Tour di Pizza,” but in previous years, I’ve chosen something Italian for dinner. I decided to do that again this year, but I wanted to make something new, so I found a recipe for beef ragu with pappardelle. It was excellent, and I will definitely make it again. I also found clementine Italian soda to serve with it.

For dessert, Ladybug and I made an Italian lemon cream cake, which was amazing:

I love finding fun reasons to prepare special meals!

Tasty Tuesday–Another Disney Dinner

Last year, I cooked a whole series of “Disney Dinners,” using Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World as one of my primary inspirations for Disney-themed meals and desserts. Well, Delicious Disney has a new offering this year…The Official Disney Parks Cookbook, so I’m back at it. Here’s a look at one of the first recipes I made from the book: Shrimp boil tacos with andouille sausage and corn from the On the Cob Marketplace stand at Disney California Adventure’s Food & Wine Festival:

No Disney Dinner is complete without a Disney Dessert, so Ladybug and I also made a Honey Crunch Cake from the California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort:

Both of these recipes were amazing, and I’m looking forward to trying more recipes from the cookbook in the future!

Mardi Gras 2023

As hard as it is to believe (since it seems like we just celebrated Christmas), Lent is upon us already. But first, let’s take a look at Mardi Gras 2023 in the Markel house!

As I did last year, I made plum Berliner instead of pączki. I’m not saving myself any work by doing so, but I like the Berliner a little more.

I don’t understand why the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Festivale event is on Monday and not either the weekend or Tuesday, but I had a fun time hanging out with Pavé!

For dinner, I turned back to two of our favorite recipes from the Entertaining with Disney cookbook…Tiana’s Famous Gumbo and Bayou Queen Punch:

For dessert I made a King cake. I couldn’t find quite the shade of green sugar I wanted, but it was still pretty and tasted great!

Now that the celebration is over, I guess it’s time to really buckle down for Lent.

Tasty Tuesday–Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today started with Conversation Hearts and flowers:

I made bolognese sauce to go with my new favorite bucatini noodles for dinner:

And Ladybug and I tried a new brownie recipe that used avocado oil for dessert:

I don’t know which was the most delicious part of the day!

Tasty Tuesday–Reuben Casserole

I’m not a big casserole person (I actually hate most of them!), but there is an exception, and I don’t just tolerate Reuben casserole, it’s one of my favorite dinners! I even like it better than the more traditional Reuben sandwich…I think it’s at least partly because the toasty Rye bread on top is so delicious!

  • 1 lb. deli corned beef, chopped
  • 1000 Island dressing
  • 14 oz. canned sauerkraut, drained well
  • 8 oz. Swiss cheese (you can use shredded or sliced)
  • 1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
  • 8 slices Rye bread, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Spread chopped corned beef on bottom of 9×13 pan. Drizzle about 1/2 cup 1000 Island on top. Sprinkle with sauerkraut. Top with Swiss cheese. Toss chopped bread with melted butter, and place over cheese. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes until the bread is toasty.