I hope you’re all enjoying an extra day off on this Labor Day weekend. Yesterday was a day of constant rain. At the end of the day the sun came out and I was finally able to get out on the porch to take a quick picture.
We ran some errands yesterday, including getting a passport picture of yours truly as I have to renew my passport. I’ll send all of that info tomorrow.
Exciting, right?
We did get around to making dinner, but very late, because we ate a late lunch when we were out and about. So I wavered about whether to try the Cloud Biscuits or not. I ended up going for it. Don grilled some vegetables on the broiler, aka The Grillevator (yes, that’s the name), which caused our smoke alarm to go off a thousand times until we were finally able to dismantle it. Yikes. The veggies were great, a little more charred than we were aiming for, but the danged smoke alarm kept taking our attention away from the task at hand.
Because I was making the biscuits at night, the photos are pretty bad. Nevertheless, I promised to share them with you, so share them I will.
Before:
After:
They were amazingly good. Whether that’s because they are always good or because of Stella, I’m not sure, but they melted in our mouths. Oh, my heavens!
If I was a food blogger, I’d make this in the daytime and take lots of artfully staged photos of them from an overhead perspective. I’m not a food blogger, so this is what you get.
Just trust me: Stella can bake like nobody’s business! Yay!
I finished Sue Grafton’s newest Kinsey Millhone mystery yesterday and I started (barely) Glass Houses by Louise Penny last night. Today? Time outside as it will be the only dry and sunny day this week.
Oh, I have to tell you this! One of the newer readers of this blog mentioned in a comment that she had gone back to read past posts and came upon one where I shared my Christmas Wish List. I had completely forgotten about that list; I described it as a fantasy list. It was posted on December 5, 2012 – nearly five years ago.
On that wish list was a vintage gas stove “preferably O’Keefe and Merritt.” And I used a picture from Country Living of Kitty Bartholemew’s stove, an O’Keefe and Merritt. Here it is:
Except for the part-chrome part-porcelain top (ours is all chrome) this is the exact stove that we ended up buying. The exact stove. I had completely forgotten about this.
Boy, do dreams come true!!
Happy Monday!
Dreams do come true!
Happy extra day to you and Don! (and Stella)
Thank you, Debbie!
“Grillevator”. So mid-century. I love it!
I’ll take a picture of it – it’s called a grillevator because you can change the level of the broiler pan. It’s pretty amazing.
How wonderful that your dream did come true!!
It is wonderful, Amy. Thank you!
The biscuits look delicious…I’m sure Stella had something to do with that! ;)
She sure did! She’s a keeper!
How fun that someone found your wish list and shared that you fulfilled at least one of your dreams! The biscuits look so good! Ashleigh is flying back to Cali today and I’m going to miss her very much. Hoping to see the Grands a little later this afternoon. It’s been a long week but we have been strong and gotten through it. Hugs!
Among the items on the list wer a camera, a second car, more professional work, and some bookcases in the den – they’ve all come true as well!
That is really awesome! Time to make new wish list!
I will!
Oh, I think Stella really came through on those biscuits! They look perfectly delicious, which I’m sure they are. And PS – how are these poor photos? They look just fine to me [an untrained eye to be sure, but still…] My Mom’s old stove – a Chambers – had a broiler on the left, 3 gas burners & a pressure cooker in a well on the right, with the oven & a storage area on the bottom. You used a handle on the front of the stove to raise and lower the broiler “lid” which was also where the broiler flame emanated. Wish I had a $1 for every pan full of bacon, burgers, sausage meat my Dad would cook on that broiler. Of course whenever there wasn’t a foot of snow on it, Dad would cook on his grill outside – that was his preferred method. But this was Rochester and we often had a foot of snow on the grill – LOL. Hope you enjoy another delicious Stella meal tonight & enjoy the remainder of your time at home! Peace.
Oh PS – Claudia, I wanted to ask whether Don’s show uses Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s My Job?” I think it’s a relatively unknownish song of his but it’s always been my favorite, ever since I first heard it on the radio back in the 80s. Thanks and Happy Labor Day!
#Resist
Overhead lighting is never good and the color is off. I have to do a lot of tweaking to make them passable.
The other vintage stove I love is a Chambers. They’re really incredible. How neat that your mom had one! I saw one the other day that was a cheery yellow.
I just checked the program – no, they don’t use that song.
Janet – I take that back. It’s my Job isn’t in the program but Don says it is in the show. It was added after Previews started (the program had already been printed.) Sung by the female lead. Sorry!
Oh that’s great! Thanks for the update! It really is a wonderful little jewel of a song but not very well-known. A true Parrothead friend of mine, who’s been to dozens of Jimmy’s concerts, has told me she’d never heard it at all, which really surprised me. I would’ve thought he’d have done it at least at ONE of the many concerts she’s been to. Sure hope I get to see Don in the show at some point – & for me the closest would probably be NYC. Unless they’re touring to Toronto, maybe [I saw “Phantom” in Toronto]. Anyways thanks again! 🎸
This first tour will be only to New Orleans, Houston and Chicago. Though I can’t imagine that the Houston leg will still be on after the horrendous damage from the hurricane. Maybe if it tours nationally someday, it might get closer to where you are.
I saw the pics on IG yesterday and those biscuits look amazing! Stella has a magic touch!! Our smoke alarm in the kitchen is hyper sensitive and drives me crazy, too. Necessary evil, I guess.
We are doing brats on the grill tonight. Looking forward to that. The sun has come out here after a cloudy morning. I still am amazed it is Labor Day. Again….. if only Jan, Feb and March would go by even HALF as quickly as do June, July & Aug!! Have a wonderful day!!!!
I know it! Why does winter last so long and summer go by so quickly? Have fun today!
That view from your porch is heaven itself. We are usually a rainy part of the country but we have only had sprinkles for about 2 months now and our gardens are brown and dying. Bring on the rain.
You need some rain, Jan! I’d gladly send you some if I could!
Claudia, I’ve heard that writing your wishes down go a long way in making hem come true. I’m happy for you! I’m going to have to bake those biscuits using my new jelly roll pans by USA Pan. I had loaf pans made by the company and love them, so bought a couple of jelly roll pans. Made snickerdoodles on them and I love the jelly roll pans too!
I think I’ll be writing more wishes down! It’s great to write them down and then forget about them – look what happens!
Those biscuits look delicious and it looks like Stella did a superb job.
Marilyn
She really did, Marilyn! I hope she’s happy doing what she was meant to do!
I think it’s time for all of us to put our wishes into writing!
Yes! We should!
The biscuits turned out beautiful, but sorry to hear about the food in the Grillavator making the smoke alarm go off. Do you think this will happen every time, or was it just the particular food you were cooking? Was there a lot of smoke? I’m just thinking perhaps you need a range hood.
Very cool about you having this stove on your wishlist five years ago!
Nope. There wasn’t a lot of smoke. And our other smoke alarm (which is closer to the stove) didn’t go off at all. I think it’s an extra-sensitive smoke alarm. Nevertheless, at some point, we’ll think of a hood. Not now, however. I never use the broiler and Don will be away for most of the next three months.
Dreams certainly do! We sometimes have to wait a bit, but it makes it all the sweeter. :) Kit
It does indeed. Thanks, Kit!
That picture of sun and shade on your porch looks so inviting!…those biscuits look even better!…Isn’t it amazing that the stove you picked on your wishlist is the same stove that you got?
It is truly amazing. I love that kind of thing.
No wonder you fell for Stella when you saw her at first in person! She was the stove of your dreams!! Isn’t that amazing! Good to know she bakes as well as you thought. I am so happy for you and Don. The stove and the fireplace are the heart of the home. When you have time you should try the old quilt pattern with the small red patch and the log cabin type bars around it–pretty horrible description but a read will perhaps give you better details. The red patch symbolizes the fireplace (or in this case the fire in Stella). I’m always inspired by the life you and Don make for yourselves by focusing on the things that are important to you. You seem to have a knack for knowing what is truly important and not getting distracted which is easy to do. After some very tough years, it sounds like 2017 will be rewarding and exciting and cosy in many ways and the angel biscuits are going to be frequent on the menu when you are both home. Thank you as always for sharing so much with us. Stelllllllllla!!!
I know that pattern well, Nora. I almost made one once, but didn’t for some reason.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m excited about 2017 and 2018, as Don has the tour and will be going to Broadway and I’ll have more work off and on with Anastasia. The challenge will be coping with the ‘being apart more often than not’ aspect of it!
Can I just say your picture from 2012 even looks like there are biscuits on the stove? With the yellow and red accents I initially thought it was your kitchen! Some things are just meant to be. :)
Amazing, right?