It's a small one, but I like this outdated oven in the in-laws' house.

Girl rarely used it, so it didn't require cleaning.

It hinges on the side:

That's no good.

Mr. Parker died at his desk yesterday.

What a neurotic.

The in-laws' house sold the second day the sign was out front. The family was looking for a fair price, not to maximize profit.

But there was the niggling matter of those two scummy taps in the back shower stall bugging me no end. So I took care of that this morning, I feel better, and I'm done. There.

But this week is to be mostly clear with temps in the 70s. This house could use care, too.

Let's taste this recipe for Oven Fried Mustard Chicken tonight.

I'll let you know.

UPDATE: The chicken is moist and flavorful, but I ain't crazy about the texture of the bran flakes, even if the flavor is fine. Next time I try this, I'll use panko bread crumbs. Then it might be a keeper. It's certainly easy.

On the side were cauliflower florets and broccoli spears tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper and sliced garlic, then roasted at 425 degrees. Served with a squeeze of lemon.

Oh, and a slice of peasant bread from the recipe in the book.

Today's recommended cleaning agent is Cameo Aluminum and Stainless Steel Cleaner.

That polished up the aluminum frame of a shower door when nothing else would do. No more scum or hard water deposits.

I have some aluminum frames around here that could use some work too, and this stuff has been under the sink for years for the stainless steel in the kitchen. Never read the whole label. Recommended for chrome, too.

I've been getting a jump on spring cleaning over at the in-laws' house.

Girl will be staying at the assisted living center, and their house is up for sale.

She was an OCD fastidious housekeeper until she couldn't keep up with it any more, and it shows up the past few years. Mind, she'll be 90 in March and rarely complains about the arthritis in her hands.

White ceramic tile covers the floors in the small laundry room (which also served as carport entry) and the kitchen, the proper foyer and hall to the bedrooms. Over the years the kitchen tile had become grimy. Now it looks like new.

Here's what I did: sprayed with full strength LA Totally Awesome Cleaner (1/2 gallon concentrate sells at Family Dollar for $3.15), scrubbed languidly with any kind of non-scratch scrub pad, then mopped with clean water. I worked sections, maybe a square yard each. Some spots needed a spray or two more, but the floor is gleaming.

I also like this stuff for grime around light switches and door knobs.

Now, if I can move everyone from here to that clean house, and work on this one while they're gone, we'll be a happier family.

Okay, okay, Jordana.

I did buy the book for Christmas. We've used the Master recipe (unbleached all-purpose white flour) and have moved on to a half-recipe of light wheat.

We don't eat a lot of bread, so a refrigerated dough that can be used for two weeks is up our alley. And the taste is good. Even Lyman likes it, the boy who went to school in New Orleans where the fresh-baked baguette is common fare. (Don't mistake me here, the French baguette is another loaf, much lighter.)

I'll start looking for rye flour for a peasant loaf.

For other readers, this is what we are talking about.

Egg for Lucy this morning.

Oh, Lucy.

There was an egg in the cage this morning. First for 2010.

There have been other eggs since the accident. Two in the week of Dec. 13.

Y'all have a happy and prosperous new year.

Maybe I'll have a few glasses of wine and work out the moves to the Pharaonic Chicken dance.

Pharaonic Chicken? If you say so.

Let's give it a try anyway.

UPDATE: It's a keeper. Not for people who don't like lemon. Those slightly exotic Middle Eastern flavors delight me every time. Wilted spinach went well with it.

Don't let me forget about this scalloped potato recipe.

My, my, Lucy, but that dish was good. I did increase the dry mustard to 1/2 teaspoon, and used a lot more black pepper, but that had nothing to do with the creaminess of the sauce or the infusion of green onion flavor.

Hope you had a happy Christmas day.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Aren't these little guys cute? And pricey.

What a face!

Masked Booby is the cutline, pic by Theodore Cross

Hissssss. I used correct procedures this time and still had to whirl that batter in the food processor to make it smooth. I'm doing the sweet potato cheesecake again for the Christmas luncheon on Friday.

This year's menu: shrimp cocktail, shrimp and corn soup maque choux style, Caesar salad, braised beef short ribs with mashed potatoes, and cheesecake with whipped cream.

Yeah, yeah, two shrimp dishes. This family loves shrimp. And the soup is a top notch dish from John Folse, similar to gumbo.

Let's get into the sweet potato cheesecake. It was something of a mess, but everyone said it tasted delicious.

The biggest problem was that it was lumpy, and that was because I am not much experienced in the baking of cheesecakes. And it's possible that the editors of the mag are even less.

The recipe:

Crust

2 c. graham cracker crumbs, crushed
1/4 c. cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 c. melted butter

Combine and press into 10" springform pan

Filling

3 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
4 large eggs
3 egg yolks
3 tbs. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 c. whipping cream
1-1/2 c. mashed sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar and eggs until smooth; beat in the flour, cinnamon and ginger. Beat cream and well-mashed sweet potatoes on med. speed of hand-held mixer just until well-combined. Add to cream-cheese mixture. Pour batter into the prepared crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 275 degrees and bake one hour longer. Turn heat off and leave in the oven to cool for several hours, or cool on a wire rack. Top with whipped cream or caramel sauce.

So there it is. I checked other recipes for ingredients, but not technique. I added a more than generous teaspoon of vanilla and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg.

Subsequent reading do say, beat that cream cheese until creamy smooth by itself, then add the sugar until thoroughly combined, then add those eggs one at a time until the whole mass is smooth. That's how you avoid lumps.

Lumpy still? Spin the batter through a food processor or blender until it smooths out.

I also thought the center wasn't set as well as could be. Do you cheesecake bakers have a solution for that?

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

It's been quiet around here. Nothing to write home about. We'll be having dinner today so Lyman's younger son and his lady friend can be back on the road to Georgia tomorrow. She'll be working on Black Friday.

I did enjoy Wolf Hall, and am looking forward to the sequel.

Yesterday, I tried a sweet potato cheesecake recipe from a small magazine we receive from an electrical utility in Alabama. We'll let you know.

Frozen strawberries in syrup were packaged in a waxed box with metal ends in the early sixties.

I remember sitting on the linoleum floor in front of the console TV set with the nearly round screen, eating thawed strawberries from the box, and watching Soupy Sales on a Saturday morning.

RIP, Mr. Sales.

UPDATE: There were Roadrunner cartoons after, then American Bandstand, then the event worth waiting for -- ABC's Wide World of Sports.