Up early

[mojosmom]

It snowed again last night (though just a couple of inches), so I decided to dig out/clean off the car first thing, to get it out of the way. Didn't take too long.

Yesterday, I got all the presents wrapped for today, so that's done. I had bought something for Peggy, but when I went to Marva's Open House, I got her something else, a small "face" bowl, so-called because it has a face in the bottom. P. & G. had come to one of M's open houses a couple of years ago, and had really liked her work, so since this was reasonably priced, I decided it would be more special than what I'd picked out at Mikasa. M. got some publicity in the Trib last weekend, so she had a slew of folks, and by the time I showed up, around 3:00, most of the stuff was gone. But it was time to break out the wine. I did succumb to a beautfiul bowl. It's about 5" deep, and 14" diameter, with a deep scalloped rim. It's a creamy background color, with blotches of deep pinkish-red that are strawberries. However, the image of strawberries is created by a subtlety of shape and by the stippled texture of the surface. It's kind of hard to describe but it's awesome, and quite a bit different from most of Marva's work. I was admiring it, but commented that it was probably out of my price range. M. said she'd had it around for a year, and gave it to me for waaaaaaay less than I thought it would be. So I'm happy. My holiday present to myself. ;-))

Comments

[texaswren.livejournal.com]

The bowl sounds beautiful. Picture?

I love pottery and glassware-bowls especially. It is so hard for me to leave an antique store without a bowl. All that stops me is remembering how many of my beautiful bowls are sitting in a box in storage because I have no place for them in this house.

[mojosmom.livejournal.com]

If I ever get around (time and money-wise) to upgrading my computer and getting a digital camera, I'll be able to post pictures!

In the meantime, as a substitute, here's a recipe for some awesome sweet potatoes my friend Fran made for dinner tonight:

For the full recepie, I double the topping recipe. Today I used three pounds of potatoes, so I did a recipe and a half of topping and reduced the eggs to 3 the maple syrup to a generous two teaspoons and the vanilla to 1-1/2 tablespoons. Also, I use my Quisinart to puree the potatoes, creates a fluffy smooth texture.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH BROWN SUGAR AND PECANS
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

5 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

4 large eggs
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix sugar, pecans and butter in small bowl. Cover and chill until ready to use. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain. Let stand in colander 15 minutes. Purée sweet potatoes in processor.

Beat eggs, syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and salt in large bowl. Mix in puréed sweet potatoes. Transfer sweet potato mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle pecan topping evenly over mixture.

Bake until sweet potato mixture is set and topping bubbles, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.
Serves 12 to 14.
Bon Appétit
R.S.V.P.
November 1998
The Olde Union House, Red Bank NJ