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Ken, Gardner, and my cousin Jared relax after the meal.

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Apple pie # 3

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So, today I'm attempting an apple pie for the third time in my culinary life. The first I made in the fall of 1998....Ken and I were dating, and I made a Cooking Light apple pie to take to a church youth group party. It was okay....it's tough to make a reduced-fat crust taste good. I think I used the wrong kind of apples, too. The second pie was one I made last year, about this time. I went all out, making the crust out of REAL shortening (to ensure its flakiness), even though it killed me inside to think of the harm we were doing to our arteries. :) I used Granny Smiths, and I even got all artistic and cut out fluted heart shapes to decorate the top. It was, oh, my, delicious. Thanks to my brother-and-sister-in-law's help, it was gone within 2 hours. Today, I make another Granny Smith version, but I am cheating. I bought a Pillsbury ready crust in the dairy section. It's not that I'm intimidated about making a crust from scratch again, it's just that i...
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Let me just take a minute to brag on my dear husband . He listened to me, listened to my subtle little wishes for one last kitchen gadget to satisfy my craving for a pseudo-gourmet kitchen. There are many tools that I would never, ever have any use for....in fact, a trip to Williams-Sonoma makes me see many things which would be rendered totally useless in my opinion. Yet there was this one thing....this one thing which has been on my wish list for a long time, as well as my yard sale list (although anyone who'd let this thing for for under $5 would be totally clueless)....a slicing mandoline. Imagine my surprise when I opened my birthday gift yesterday and found this underneath the two layers of white wrapping paper (to cleverly hide the "OXO" logo...he knows me well). I haven't even opened it yet....but supposedly I can even make waffle fries with this thigamajigger. I can't wait to test it out.
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Can I come over? Huh?

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I haven't given props yet on my blog to someone who inspires me culinarily more than most.... Paula Deen. It's not that she uses extra-technical savviness or know-how....it's just that she is a warm, Southern, hospitable lady who loves to cook for others. Though her recipes are not exactly on the list of the American Heart Association's "top ten" (by far), I turn to her sometimes....after all, what's life if you can't have a treat every now and then? I watch her show with enthusiasm....I look at her outfitted kitchen with a bit of envy....and I want so badly to crash through the television screen and get a hug from her cheery, grandma-self. I'd love to spend a day with her and just listen to her wisecracks and funny old sayings. And then, there's the food itself that she creates..... In honor of her, I am whipping up a batch of sausage balls this afternoon to serve at home group's "brunch" tonight. I am not the only home group...
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