Mama Mia At The Fox

The highest ranking on the National Register of Historic Places is The Fox.  This was my second time to attend an event here among the 96 stars shining from the ceiling of this theater. A third of them have heat sensors that make these stars twinkle. Also, The Fox was one of the first air-conditioned buildings in the country, preceding even the White House.  To build this venue today would cost more that $300 million.

The Mighty Mo is a Moller Opus 5566 Theatre Organ.  It's the second largest Moller theater organ in the world. It was custom made in 1929 at a cost of $42,000.

Ahhhhh bacon, whats not to love!  It tastes good plain, candied, or added to just about anything.  Heck, a few weeks ago I attended a Cupcake Festival and devoured a cupcake with bacon on top and it was fabulous.  Who would have thought?  In fact, it was so good, I voted for it.  We all know anything with bacon is sooooo good.  My daddy loved his bacon.  Knowing this, whenever I eat any, I always think of him. 

The buns where waiting for the bison patties to be cooked.  Jim buttered them and popped them in the oven for a bit.

This would be Monster Cat, my grandcat.  She's an adorable old girl.  It appears she spends most of her day guarding the sofa which she does quite well. She goes from one end to the other making sure all is well in-between naps.  Being a guard can be exhausting.

Another grand cat, Smushie, perched herself on the stairway for most of our visit. She defiantly kept an eye on all the happenings. I'm told this is her happy face.  I guess if you look really close and use your imagination, you can see a faint smile.

 Brussels sprouts, chopped onions, throw in a little bacon greased, add some salt and pepper and roast these babies up.  You know it was good.  I could have eaten the entire pan.

Jim was a superb host, grilling Stone and I Bison Burgers, which I had never tasted. Jim was up early so he could get to the farmers market and pick up all these fresh ingredients. On my next visit I want to go.  It sounded like my kind of place.

Bison, the other red meat, has lower fat content, fewer calories, and more protein than beef.  Jim makes his own sauce with a little kick of heat to brush on top.  These where yum-o!

The Lilly is my Malia Girl's favorite flowers.  There where two vases of these, one on each end of the counter.  I assumed Jim had purchased these especially for her.  Malia was on a business trip to India. I missed her terribly since she was not there.  

Yum, you know your stomach growled just looking at this picture. Jim placed some of the bacon on top of the patties and then placed a slice of cheese on top to melt.   

The bison patties where done and the brussels sprouts where roasted to perfection.  I brought a corn salad, Paula Deans to be exact, to go with the burgers.  I added the chili cheese corn chips, gave it a stir and we where ready to dig in.

For dessert I made banana pudding.  Hmmm, it's a cooking light recipe so I should have had a larger bowl:(  Hey, it's ok since Stone and I walked back to Malia and Jim's house from THE FOX.  I knew after a three and a half hour drive and what we where eating, I needed the exercise.  Jim chauffeured us to the Fox Theater and we walked back, covering two miles.  Not that two miles took care of all the calories I consumed with this meal, but its better than nothing and the taste was sooooo worth any pounds I might have accumulated.

Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

dash of salt 

2 1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoon butter

3 cups sliced ripe bananas, divided

45 reduced-fat vanilla wafers, divided

Top with whip cream, if desired

Directions:

1.Combine flour and salt in a microwave safe bowl.

2.  Gradually add milks and yolks to the above; stir well.

3. Cook in microwave until slightly thicken.  Cook 2 minutes, stir. Cook 2 more minutes, stir again.  Cook 2 more minutes, stir.  Cook 2 more minutes and stir. Lastly cook 30 sec.

4. Remove from microwave; stir in vanilla and butter.

5. Arrange 1 cup banana slices in bottom of a 2 quart baking dish.

6. Spoon one third of pudding mixture over banana's.

7. Arrange 15 wafers on top of pudding.

8. Repeat layers twice, arranging the last 15 wafers around the edge of dish.

9. Place banana pudding into refrig.  Place a piece of saran wrap directly on top of pudding.  When cool, top with whip cream if you like.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/banana-pudding-10000000222208/

Yield: 10 servings

Banana Pudding may be a bit soupy when you first remove it from the microwave.  Refrigerate it.

https://foxtheatre.org