Lemon Pound Cake A Faded Cottage with Author Diann Shaddox

Hello to all my foodies friends out there in Web Land its Madjon and we are here today to talk about a book on Essential Tremor and love here in the great state of South Carolina.  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of the company of a not so famous author as yet of a book titled "A Faded Cottage".  It's about a South Carolina Love Story and being that it's close to that wonderful Love day called "Valentines Day", I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the author and the book.  Well "A Faded Cottage" a South Carolina love Story.  Author is Diann Shaddox.  It's about a journal of a famous artist not of his life, but of only two weeks, a love story about aging and two people being reunited after thirty years finding love can conquer all.  He also suffers from (ET), Essential Tremor which is a progressive neurological condition that causes a rhythmic trembling of the hands, head, voice, legs, or trunk.  It is often confused with Parkinson's disease and dystonia.  Anyway the book tells you how he deals with (ET) and how it effects his art work, life and a love that lasted sixty years.  Any who its a very nice read and it will make you recall and fall in love all over again. Now as to the illness Diann also suffers from Essential Tremor which is partly why she wrote "A Faded Cottage".  Also some of the proceeds of the sale of the book will go to a charity which has not been named as yet. You can get more information about the book at www.diannshaddox.com.  Also at the lunch that day I met with Randy Mills and John Vaughn who wrote the book trailer for "A Faded Cottage", he is a composer and pianist.  Any who I made my famous Clam Chowder and served Joan's Lemon Cake for dessert and am willing to pass on the recipe for you to try.  I must say its a great tasting treat.  It was her mother's recipe and one of the secret to a great pound cake is in the sifting, the more you sift the better the pound cake is.  Happy baking and try this to help start your spring!

o   Lemon Pound Cake

2 sticks butter soften
1/2 c Crisco
3 c sugar
5 eggs
3 c flour (sifted 5x's)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (sift last 2 ingr w/last time sifting flour)
3/4 c milk
1/4 c lemon juice
 2 tbs lemon flavoring

·

o   Lemon Pound Cake cont...
Cream butter and shortening add sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time till yellow disappears. Alternate flour, milk/lemon juice, starting and ending w/flour. Add flavoring. Bake @ 325 for 1 hour 15 minutes or until done in greased/floured tube pan.

 Glaze: 1 c powered sugar add 3 tbs lemon juice. I doubled the icing recipe.

Happy trails to you until we meet again and to find A Faded Cottage go to this link http://www.eaglequillpublishing.com/.  Come like my page on face book,"Cooking with MadJon & Friends.

Catering For Diplomats With MadJon & Southern Comforts Foods Beauford Stew

D.C.-based diplomats say goodbye to Aiken

Hello to all my foodies friends out there in web land hope all is well.  Here is a article that was written for us when the D.C. Diplomats visited Aiken and I had the honor of ch-effing for them with some good old Southern comfort foods and help from a friend of mine named Tim O'Briant, he helped me with cooking the Beau-ford Stew which is a great favorite from the low country of South Carolina.  We had to make it with Turkey Sausage instead of a pork sausage product which hey smoke flavor is smoke flavor to me and we cooked it in Beer and Chicken Broth from my recipe.  It was a treat loved by all.  We also made Greens with Smoked Turkey necks.  Black Eyed Peas and Corn Bread, also a Southern Favorites.  I made Peach Pies as well.    A good time was had by all and then I remember we got on a train headed for Washington D.C. after the catering for my son's 40th birthday celebration.  Now that's another story which I'll save until later.   I want to also thank Donna Ritter for picking me to do the ch-effing for this group of great people who I know are new friends of Aiken. This article was written by: Rob Nova.

As the visiting Washington-based diplomats prepared to leave Aiken on Sunday morning, New Zealand wing commander Allan Jenkinson expressed a sentiment shared by several other ambassadors, attaches and their spouses."The whole time we've been in Washington, we were looking for the opportunity to see what the real America is all about it," he said. "Washington is a very provincial and transient city, with people coming in and out."The weekend visit included a Lowcountry Boil and shag lessons at the Aiken County Historical Museum, the Aiken Trials and a visit with Cot Campbell and Dogwood Stable. The Lowcountry Boil was provided by Eileen Hudson, known professionally as Madjon.The weekend event was coordinated by part-time Aiken resident Donna Ritter, a volunteer with The Hospitality and Information Services (THIS), which provides assistance to diplomats and their families living in the Washington, D.C., area. Ritter and her husband Martin hosted a dinner of fried turkey and other Southern dishes Saturday, furnished by Allen Willing.The countries represented include Fiji, Germany, France, Switzerland, Malta and several more."I think they have gone home extremely excited and want to repeat this visit next year," Ritter said. "They called it the most unique visit ever. They're not naive; they know that Washington doesn't represent American culture. I felt they have seen the real-time America now."Several of the couples have visited extensively in mostly large U.S. cities. But few have been to the deep South and wanted to experience the hospitality.Another unique aspect was the opportunity to stay with host families, an effort coordinated by Aiken resident Lyn Kenney. She did a great job of matching the hosts with the visitors, Ritter said.Hank and Jen Smalling played hosts to Madagascar ambassador Jocelyn Radifera and his wife Erna."We talked about all the things going on in the world," said Hank. "We enjoyed getting to know the feelings they had about being here. They appreciated the hospitality and the kindness and how people took care of them."But diplomatic work didn't take a holiday this weekend. Radifera was on the Internet Sunday at 4 a.m., getting the latest information on the political turmoil in his country.Doreen Merkel, wife of European Union minister counselor Bernard Merkel, said with a smile that the weekend provided a different political experience."Where we hang out tends to be very left wing," she said. "Here, it's more Republican. In Washington, we're nothing, just little tadpoles. But here, we're the big fish in a small pond, and it's amazing to be given this great big honor."Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com

Read more: D.C.-based diplomats say goodbye to Aiken | Aiken Standard
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MadJon's Shrimp Boil

Fresh Large Shrimp                             1 pound, 16 ozs. Water                                                    Cover the shrimp for boil, 2 quarts maybe Lemon                                                    1 Cut in half and juiced Celery                                                    1 stalk, broken in half Onion                                                     1 small onion, diced Fresh Garlic                                            4 pods crushed Bay Leafs                                               3-4 leafs whole Black Pepper kernels                             2 tsp. whole black pepper Old Bay                                                   2 TBSP  kernels Mrs. Dash’s                                              2 TBSP Tabasco                                                   4 dashes, please

DIRECTIONS

Place the water into a pan and add the bay leafs, lemon juice with lemon thrown into pot, celery, onion, garlic, pepper corns, Mrs. Dash’s, old bay, and tobacco.  Bring the water and mix to a boil and then let it simmer for about 15 minutes to blend your spices.  Then clean and wash your shrimp and pour into the pot and boil for about 5 minutes or until curled and nice and pink. You may use this as a garnish or as a appetizer if you wish.  Enjoy.

That's it for this blog and I say Happy Trails to you until we meet again.  Come watch the cooking shows at aikenstandard.tv and you may also buy any of the season's shows at this site.  Come like my fan page on face book.  See ya, MadJon.

Baked Peaches & Chicken with some Catering

Baked Chicken with Peaches

1 whole Chicken cut up

Salt and Pepper to taste to dust

Onion & Garlic Powders to dust

Paprika to dust

Ground Cumin to dust

½ cup flour

1 Can sliced Peaches

2 TBSP of Butter

Juice from peaches

2 dashes hot sauce

2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Now you are going to dust the chicken with all the spices and salt and pepper.  Then you are going to rub the chicken with the flour or lightly coat the chicken. Place chicken in a pre-heated oven on about 375 degrees uncovered on a flat pan with a rim. Now bake your chicken for about 45 minutes and turn once.  Drain your peach juice in a pan and place the peaches on top of the chicken.  To the juice you add the butter, cinnamon and hot sauce.  Bring to a simmer and melt the butter and blend the cinnamon.  Brush your chicken with the sauce bake the chicken another 20 minutes or until brown.  Bon’a Y’all

Can't get this thing to work for the last three days.  Sorry.  Enjoy.

 Happy trails and my computer has been off line for the last few weeks and so we are up and running again.  Enjoy this recipe my friend. MadJon, aikenstandard.tv "Cooking with MadJon & Friends.

National Soup Day another Italian Chili Recipe A Good One

Hello to all my foodie friends out there in Web Land its Madjon again and am bringing to your plates today a recipe for Italian Chili from my test Kitchen to yours.  After all this is suppose to be National Soup Day.  I have shown here two soups one is the Italian Chili and the other one is Butternut Squash which I have the recipe for that one on my blog as well.  I made that one up for the Les Marmitons  group at Sandy Springs.  Which I have been invited back to cook with the group from Canton this March, am much going to enjoy that.  We will be cooking up some Short Ribs in a Wine Sauce.  Any who I've been meaning to send this recipe along to you for about a month, time just slips away from me sometimes.  How did you like watching the Super Bowl, I told you that the Sea Hawks would win.  Oh well sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.   Its hard to lose nicely.  I hope that you are staying warm this winter and out of the snow.  My daughter had to go to Boston and she's in the snow right now and they are due another storm on Thursday.    So here is the chili recipe for you to try also if you don't have all the ingredients for a recipe just don't make it till you have the right ingredients.  Recipes are made like a formula and if you deviate from a formula it will not work.

Italian Chili
1 package sweet or hot Italian Sausage, Turkey Sausage may be used as well.
1 pound ground Beef 3 TBSP Flour
1 Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper, diced
1 package sliced Mushrooms
6 cloves Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 hot Pepper
1 can Rotel Tomatoes-Green Chili's
1 can diced Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp. Onion & Garlic Powders
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper
1 can Kidney & Black Beans
1 can Beer (optional)

Cook the onions, bell pepper, hot pepper, garlic cloves with the meats and brown.  Mix the flour with the meat.  Stir in all the spices. Stir in the sliced mushrooms.  Stir in the Rotel, tomatoes, and one can of water or a beer into the meat mix.  Add the Tomato paste. Add any spices you may have forgotten along with the beans into the pot and simmer for about 45 minutes on low.  Serve topped with Sour Cream and Cheese if you wish.

Happy trails to you until we meet again and also come watch the TV shows at aikenstandard.tv, you may buy the DVD's of the shows for the last 4 seasons.  Come like my fan page on that thing called Face Book at, Cooking With MadJon & Friends.