A delightful evening at Chez Van Gaal!

What a wonderful evening! And Brenda did it all. I just browned the pork chops and provided the inspiration I suppose. I was in town on Saturday at my quilting class when I got a call from Brenda asking if I could bring over a table cloth if I had one big enough to fit her table. She also needed some tiny dishes for dips. Now I'm intrigued as there was also an inquiry into what to do with frozen puff pastry.

I went home, packed up my stuff, and headed over. She had made the filling for some sausage rolls that she saw on the CBC cooking show that she's been watching, and was rolling out the puff pastry when I got there. I have to say, these were far and away the best sausage rolls I've ever eaten.
She had the filling all prepared for the stuffed pork chops, the potatoes and vegetables were all prepped and ready to go on the stove.
There was nothing for me to do except marvel a what a great job she had done.
When the guests arrived, the table was set, the wine glasses polished, and everything looked so elegant.
Raymond and Marlene arrived and we baked and served the sausage rolls first. I can still taste those melt in your mouth little morsels!
The main course was the stuffed pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, finished with a little sour cream, green onions and fresh parsley. Carrot and turnip sticks cooked then mixed together with a little butter, proved to be a hit as well. Marlene commented that it was as good, if not better, than meals they've had at the culinary institute.
Well done, Brenda!

I made a Rhubarb Bavarian for dessert, that was also well received. Meghan (1) I have included the recipe here for you as your mom says you really like rhubarb. It's easy to make and tastes really nice. It needs to set for a few hours so it's a great make ahead dessert. I did mine on Friday night.

Saturday's quilting class went well. I was planning to only make 3 squares but you can't do that with this pattern, so I may as well make an entire quilt. So this one will be for our bed, as we don't have one yet. I found a fabric I loved, with a dark background and a dark salmon pink flower and bright yellow dragon flies. I absolutely loved it. The contrasting fabric is a medium green that picks up some of the tones of the leaves in the floral print. I can't wait to see how the blocks come together.

Sunday dawned early, with bright sunshine streaming in my bedroom window at 6:30. It is such a motivator to wake up to that. I spent the morning doing laundry, tidying, etc to get ready for Patti and the kids. Then Brenda called around 10:00 and I got dressed and went over there for coffee and then we headed over to our property on Patti Lane, to ski. It was a bit of a challenge getting down to the river, but someone had been through before us pulling a sled or something, so we followed that pathway. It was just such a glorious day, it was too nice to stay inside all day. I took Cooper with me and he had a great time exploring all the wonders of the woods and the river. When we got back we stopped in to see Richard and Daralen. After a cup of tea, it was back home and back to work. But I must admit, I didn't accomplish nearly as much in the afternoon as I did in the morning, but I did get my homework done for next weeks quilting class.

This morning I've checked the weather network and they've taken the snow out of the forecast. Last wek it said we were in for 10 to 15 cms of snow on Tuesday, with another 5 to follow on Wednesday. Now that is gone, and replaced by a few flurries. It's not looking too great for James and his snowboard. But it is still cold at night so I think they might still be making snow out at the ski hill. We'll just have to take it a day at a time.

Here's the recipe for the Rhubarb Bavarian:

Base:
1 cup sifted flour ( I didn't bother)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

Topping:
4 cups diced rhubarb (I used frozen that was partially thawed)
1/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 envelopes unflavoured gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
red food colouring (optional - I didn't use)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped, or you could use whipped topping of your choice

Procedure: Base:
Combine dry ingredient. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course bread crumbs. Spread evenly in bottom of a greased 9 inch square pan (I actually used a 10 inch spring form pan with a sheet of parchment in the bottom and it worked great)
Bake at 350 ' until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Topping:
Combine rhubarb,1/4 cup cold water, sugar and salt; simmer until rhubarb is tender, stirring occasionally. Soak gelatin in the 1/3 cup of water in a bowl. Add hot rhubarb. Stir until the gelatin is disolved. Add food colouring if desired. Chill until partially set, then fold in whipped cream. Spread onto base and chill until firm, at least 3 hours. I garnished mine with a little whipped cream but that too is optional.

It was firm enough I could easily remove the spring form pan sides, after running a paring knife around the sides. Then I put it onto a plate and I was able to carefully remove the parchment. But if you don't have a spring form pan, you could easily do it in the square pan. Meghan, if you don't have a spring form pan, please don't buy one. For some unknown reason, I have 3 - 10 inch pans, and I will gladly give you one the next time I see you.

Today is Brenda's first training day on her way to becoming a School Bus Driver. It was odd this morning driving by her place and not seeing her car. I look forward to hearing all about her day when I get home tonight!