I'm back, in living color!

So, about a week ago, my old friend Winter-Depression hit me.  I think it it had something to do with the approach of Thanksgiving; the winter holidays always get me down.  I missed church Sunday because I really didn't want to see anybody.  Usually going for my walk in the woods peps me up somewhat, but all I could think was how I wished I could go to Grandma's house for the holidays, see my aunts and uncles and hear them telling me how big I'm getting.  I could picture myself going into her house from the cold and smelling those wonderful smells of delicious things cooking.  That made me even more downcast, because they are all gone.  Since my sister is fifteen years older than I am, she's the only one of that generation who is left, and I don't know if I'll ever see her again.

The grandson's girl-friend's family were going to have Thanksgiving dinner in the shop, and we were invited; but I still didn't really want to be with a lot of people, and I decided Cliff and I would go it alone.  However, I vowed to make all my favorite holiday dishes, if only for the sake of memories.  I soon learned that if you are going to make about 20 different items it still wears me out the same, whether I'm doing it for two or a dozen.  Our daughter in town messaged me and asked if they could come out Thanksgiving day just to visit because they missed us; of course I told her yes, come any time.  They hadn't intended to eat with us, but everything was done by 11:30 and they hadn't left yet, so they stayed.  And about that time, my old S.A.D friend disappeared and hasn't shown back up.

Because we weren't feeding a huge crowd of people, I tried a couple of new things that were huge successes with all four of us.  The first was Ree Drummond's mashed potatoes.  Folks, I've been mashing potatoes ever since I married, but these potatoes were straight out of heaven, although a lot more work that I'm accustomed to.  First of all, she insisted I used my potato masher instead of a mixer (although I knew the masher was preferable), and that was only the beginning.  Here's the recipe, which is for five pounds of potatoes; but I only made half that much:

5 pounds russet or Yukon gold potatoes

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, plus more for topping

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 

1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half 

1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoned salt, such as Lawry's 

1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. (When they're cooked through a fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Drain the potatoes thoroughly in a large colander. Place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape before adding in all the other ingredients.
4. Turn off the heat and add the butter, cream cheese and about 1/2 cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir well, and then taste and add more half-and-half, seasoning salt and pepper if needed.
5. Transfer the potatoes to a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place in the oven until the butter is melted and the potatoes are warmed through.

Cook’s Note

This dish can be made 1 to 2 days in advance. Follow the recipe up to putting the mashed potatoes in a baking dish and then refrigerate. Take the potatoes out of the fridge 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree-oven until warmed through, 20 to 30 minutes.

I did it exactly as Ree said to, the day before Thanksgiving.  I won't be using this recipe every time I make mashed potatoes, but I'll remember it when we're having company.

My other trial recipe was for candied sweet potatoes, but they were cooked in a cast iron skillet given to me by my mother-in-law.  They, too, were the best I've ever had.  That recipe is HERE.  However, my only lid for it, passed along from my mother, is barely big enough to cover the skillet.  

This morning I went looking for a decent lid and found one for $4 off on Amazon.  It would even work on my one non-stick skillet, since the part that touches the pan is silicone.  

I think that's it for today, unless you want to read a review a guy did on the lid I bought.  I just copied and pasted, so don't blame me for the typos, lack of capitals, and so on.  I found it rather humorous.  

"so being a guy...and being a guy that does not hang out in bed, bath & beyond every other day... my knowledge of cook ware is some what limited. yet...i cook ALOT and am actually an awesome cook. yea...im a foodie & a plumper. lol!

I bought a really "neat" modern non stick fry pan from BJ's wholesale. the pan is called "the Rock" made by ifrit. i do not believe that the product has anything to do with the supa-star wrestler Dwayne Johnson.Anywho... oh...the pan is actually awesome by the way. very well made and heavy duty! get one...you'll love it. fairly priced at BJ's... HOWEVER... the pan did not come with a lid. It seems to be the norm for fry pans to be sold with out lids included.

you still reading this? wow....nice. lol! I am def surprised you are "hangin in there"...
SO.... after cooking with the pan for a week or so i realized that i really wished it had a lid! and there my friend is where the anxiety sets in! now i have to start up a fry pan lid investigation. just what i needed! where to start? naturally... i figured the best starting place would be with the makers of the pan. i checked their website...to no avail so i called them only to find out that they do not have customer service reps readily available. they ask that you "leave them a message" and they will get back to you with in a few days. so that effectively ended that. lets just say i left them an entertaining voice mail message.
so now what? i asked a woman i know where she would go to secure a lid and she said something about QVC and i quickly shut her idea down. QVC may be cool for some things for some people.... but not for me.
naturally I realized...what am i making such a big deal about this? i jumped onto Amazon and simply typed in "fry pan lid"
and there it was...AMAZONS CHOICE...my savior. i might have read 2 reviews...maybe 3 but no more then that. SOLD! at my house in ONE DAY....INSANE! Amazon...you saved me again! thank you SO much.
The lid is SO SO nice. beautifully put together. love it! so satisfied. so easy to clean too!
I hate to admit this...but i LOVE how EASY Amazon makes a purchase like this for me. silicone...is SO much better then a lid with a metal edge. get it folks...you will love it!
and now i will go make a flour tortilla PAN pizza. Chow!"