Since I spent way too much time yesterday shopping at the Annual Pajama Sale in Elk Rapids, there was a lot to do for the New Year Open House at the Writing Studio and Bait Shop, and some of it wasn’t done by the appointed time. Wendi Wooten to the rescue. She arrived first, bearing chocolate, and washed all the dishes I’d dumped in the sink during the cooking frenzy. Have I mentioned recently that I have extraordinarily kind friends?
While Wendi created order from chaos, I made a batch of Carol Park’s famous scalloped pineapple, lots of coffee and a hashbrown casserole. I set out an array of cold beverages and some spiral-sliced ham. I kept the Cowboy from absconding with the ham. The neighbors trooped in, ate, chatted, and demanded the recipe for the scalloped pineapple.
Louan Lechler, who sold me most of the stock at Stuff ‘n’ Such during Wednesday’s sale, came in with an important news bulletin. The 2009 New Year baby at Munson Hospital in Traverse City was Maddox Maddux Jack Koch, born to Jeff and Danielle Koch, grandchild of Pat and Jack Koch, all of Elk Rapids. Congratulations all round. Since Grandma Pat owns Stuff ‘n’ Such, I could see that everything I spent on Wednesday was going to be transformed into giant stuffed bears and other grandparently indulgence before nightfall. I’ve done my part for the economy AND scooped all the local papers with the news of Maddox’s Maddux’s birth. [Ed. 01-02-09: Pride goeth before a fall. This is where reporters have it all over bloggers. They have editors and fact checkers . . . OK, I had a fact checker, too, but when Louan called last night to update me on the spelling of Maddux’s name I was just too lazy to go back and re-do the post. Sorry, Maddux! And welcome to Antrim County.]
Louan stayed after to help walk the dogs and pin up my new slacks for shortening. I am so far ahead of the game, and so delighted with all these accomplishments, most of them other people’s, that I’m going to go take a nap. I would offer you some scalloped pineapple, but it’s all gone.
What a good day it’s been. Hope you’re having a good start, too.
Torch Lake Views 
uphilldowndale
January 2, 2009
We are, having a good start; it would be even better if I knew what scalloped pineapple tasted like!! Happy New Year to you all
Beth Toner
January 2, 2009
Happy New Year, Gerry!
Gerry
January 2, 2009
Happy New Year!
I would send you scalloped pineapple but it just isn’t practical. Instead I’ll give you Carol’s recipe. As you see, it is one of those classic Midwestern recipes that includes many things that are bad for us, that we swear we are too sophisticated to make, or even eat . . . and that we can’t, in the end, resist. (Someday I may have to try chocolate fluff fruit dip, but not this year.)
Scalloped Pineapple
l can pineapple chunks or crushed pineapple in juice (drained)
3 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
8 slices bread – white/Wonder type – cubed
l cup melted butter
Mix together and bake at 350 until top is browned (about 50 – 55 minutes depending on pan used). Um, that’s 350 degrees F., but you knew that, right? Just checking.
Note: You will end up with a great deal of leftover white Wonder type bread. I recommend you mush it into balls and use it for ice-fishing. It’s winter. Fish will eat anything.
uphilldowndale
January 2, 2009
You could make the remaining white bread into ‘bread and butter pudding’
cut crusts off the sliced bread, spread with butter, cut to fit and layer in a pudding bowl, sprinkle each layer with sugar and dried fruit, Keep adding layers of buttered bread, fruit and sugar, till you reach the top, sprinkle the top layer with sugar but not fruit.
whisk one egg and add to a pint of milk, pour over the bread and butter, leave for the bread to soak up the milk/egg mix, for an hour or so (it helps to press the bread down a bit, with the back of a spoon, to make sure the top layer gets its share of the egg and milk mix) then bake in the oven, but you knew how to do that didn’t you 🙂
But then white bread is the only bread that is suitable for what we would call a ‘chip buttie’ (fries in a sandwich) with salt vinegar for me, and mayo for my man
dmarks
January 2, 2009
Seems like a difference between Mad Docs (doctors) and Mad Ducks.
p.j. grath
January 2, 2009
The very thought of scalloped pineapple has my ears pinned back in wonder and amazement. Yes, the new year is off to a good start on our side of Grand Traverse Bay, too, but tomorrow is (already) my last day in the bookstore until we re-open in the spring! Maybe when that happy season arrives, you and I will each find time to journey into one another’s actual, geographical worlds. I hope so. Happy new year!
Gerry
January 2, 2009
Among my guilty pleasures are mystery novels. Some of the very best are British Police Procedurals, and it is there I made the acquaintance of bread and butter pudding. However, never, until now, did I have the slightest idea what it was. As soon as I recover from eating scalloped pineapple, I am going to make the pudding, with dried cherries from King Orchards. I should invite Carol Park up for the weekend to sample the result. I’m pretty sure this whole thing is her fault.
And chip butties?? Really?? I may try that even before the pudding.
That sound you hear is my New Year’s Resolution crashing to the floor.
Gerry
January 2, 2009
Oh, dmarks, I’ll bet you were that kid in the third grade who burdened other kids with nicknames that sent them to therapy in their thirties.
Gerry
January 2, 2009
PJ, wonder and amazement pretty well describes it. But the chip butties elevate the culinary adventure to shock and awe.
I am gloomy at the thought of a shuttered Dog Ears Books over in Northport. That, on top of Sonny’s closing for five weeks, depresses me no end. At least the promised reopenings give me something to look forward to.
Happy New Year!
uphilldowndale
January 3, 2009
Here are the chip butty rules, according to my favourite British cookery writer, Nigel Slater (from his book ‘Real Fast Food’, published by Penguin)
The bread should be white thick sliced. The ‘plastic’ type is more suitable than ‘real bakers bread’ because it absorbs the melting butter more readily
The chips should be fried in dripping, not oil, and sprinkled with salt and, malt -yes I said- malt-vinegar
The sandwich should drip with butter.
Good eaten slightly drunk, and the perfect antidote to the char- grilled-with-balsamic-vinegar-and-shaved Parmesan school of cookery.
And so frightfully common.
uphilldowndale
January 3, 2009
Oh, just in case there is any confusion, I am talking about ‘British chips’ as in fingers of potato deep fried!!
Gerry
January 3, 2009
The chip butty sounds like my kind of snack, which is a shame, as it’s probably deadly. However, I believe I’ll make one and take a picture of it for you.