Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

These little slices of heaven have brown butter, rosemary, ground & toasted walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon. They have been on my to-do list for months and I finally conquered this flavor challenge! Another SUCCESS!

Pasketti & Meatballs!

Ground beef and ground pork, the veal made me too sad to add it into the mix, even though the lovely Ina Garten recommends it.

You know, we always cook for two. But like my family traditions have always guided me in the choices I make, here with go, 3 dozen meatballs!

Dig in, get your hands dirty. It is always fun to get "hands on" while cooking. Brian is often my faucet assistant, taking a break from his grading to turn on the water and squirt the dish soap onto my hands. Important to remember that contaminating your workspace isn't safe! Keep germs in line!

We worked as a team to create this dinner. What a special time to spend together when you add love to the mix with dinner.

Brian joined me in the kitchen to seer the meatballs and make the homemade sauce. This is a first for both of us.

Lately, I turn on the computer and want to "surf the web" but I never know where to surf. Sometimes I look at LLBean.com, or facebook... I often cross my fingers that I'll open my blog to discover new followers or a comment on something I have created here...

Yeah for NEW FOLLOWERS!

I have discovered MarthaStewart.com, great ideas, recipes and a really easy to use website. It triggered my searching for other new food related sites, and lots of great new ideas as a result!!

So, below is the creation of the sauce. Onions, garlic, red wine, herbs, olive oil, and the little brown bits left over from the meat balls. It is so fun when you discover magic in the ease of creating one of your favorite foods in your own kitchen from scratch!

The great thing about making something like spaghetti and meatballs is that you never need to worry about setting the timer. The meat gets mixed and rolled... no time limit on this one. The ingredients get dumped into the pot for the sauce, and it simmers. Simmering until it is perfect. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or maybe turn the pot down low, and start a movie.

This is a foreign experience as I am most often baking. Lately experimenting with yeast dough, and baking cupcakes, your timer is your best friend. Don't forget to start it, or restart it! Also, like an important science experiment, you need to accurately measure the ingredients... with this dinner above, we decided to add extra onion, garlic and some bonus herbs that we found at the store... delicious and only improved the flavor.

I LOVE COOKING!

Key Lime Pie... the cheaters edition... my favorite!

For Brian's birthday every year, we have Key Lime Pie! A few weeks late, but he is still excited!

You can see the homemade graham cracker crust I worked SO hard to bake. I was lucky enough to find a bottle of REAL KL juice! (No more squeezing those little buggers until my thumbs fall off!)

I know it isn't cheating when Brian LOVES it! But when you make a real crust, squeeze the little limes, add the zest, crack the eggs, bake the pie... it is just more like a true story rather than a fairy tale!

(My true story is that I have only made 1 homemade crust for Brian's pies in 10 birthdays... and I quickly gave up the squeezing thing when I found the magic bottle!)

A Brain Glitch... and The Hitch... hmmmm.

Living in Wells, Maine for the first two thirds of my life, I have had many touristy experiences. Southern Maine with the white sand beaches, fresh-fried-seafood stands on every corner, and homemade ice cream every 2 miles down Route 1 offers a certain kind of experience for a kid like me. (A chubby kid like me!)

We would hop in the car, Mom, Dad, Nathan, and I, off to where ever. Sometimes we'd travel west to Sanford, to avoid the crowd, other times to Aunt Jeanne's house to swim in the pool and BBQ. The less frequent, but most memorable were the trips into town when we would brave the crowd to enjoy the Southern Maine indulgences.

Big Daddy's. Scoop Deck. Billy's Chowder House. Maine Diner.

Congdon's. Need I say more?

If you've been to Wells, You have been to these places, driven past them when the wait is at least 2 hours. There are folks from Quebec and Massachusetts with sunburned faces, screaming children, and wacky tee shirts waiting in line to have the best of something in town.

In the car on the way to Aunt Jeanne's, I can't wait to play with my cousins but, I really want some black raspberry ice cream from Big Daddy's even more. The line was most often wrapped around the building and down the road which meant, no, another day Beth. Maybe next week. (Maybe next week?!?!)

Anyway, on those certain days when Mom and Dad had a true hankering for one of these special treats, we would brave the lines

and crazy tourists for a taste of heaven.

Going out to dinner at exactly 5pm when Dad got out of work. Going out for ice cream at 9pm when hopefully the lines have died. Nothing like looking across the picnic table at my Mom and Dad eating their ice cream, we are all smiling. Dad's is gone first... He got his last, ordered the largest, and it disappears in mere seconds. (One of my fondest memories... waiting for the moment when his ice cream has just vanished!)

In the mean time, I have dripped ice cream down my shirt and Mom has gone to retrieve one of those little Styrofoam bowls so I can dump my cone in and not loose it in the dirt!

These memories are so important to me. Mom and I would plan to make Dad take us out to Scoop Deck, but it was never very hard to talk him into it. Dad almost always wore his work uniform out on Friday nights, hungry, tired, and in a hurry to get the family fed, off we'd go. His customers would smile and introduce themselves every where we went. Mom has a knack for finding friends in strangers... and also knew almost everyone in Wells to boot!

Anyway, I guess I am struggling with the point here... I have yet to start the coffee!

There was a special place called the Hitch in Wells, right across the street from school. My memories are so vague, yet I know this is where I was introduced to carrot cake. I am certain of this fact.

I am pretty sure that this place was only open for lunch?

Really, not sure. My Dad never joined us, it was just Mom and me.

We would eat soup and sandwiches, and sit at the window facing route 1 where I could see the school, right across the street.

Did we go there on early release days? Maybe on Mom's lunch break before I started school? Was I in kindergarten, and only went to school for a half a day anyway? I can't tell you for sure. Why didn't Dad ever come?

It is so random that I can't remember any details, but the memory of the carrot cake was so profound. It is places like the Hitch that makes Wells so special. It is the fact that despite the glitches within my mind, I still know, unconditionally, that they had the best damn cake I had ever eaten.

From the moment I tasted it, I remember wanting to have it again. I know we went there just for cake sometimes.

I know that because of the Hitch I have worked toward a masterpiece of carrot cake. You won't be surprised to know that I have found it. Here it is. Perfection.

Two stories. Who knows where I was going with this?

Here I guess:

(I better quit before things get worse!)

EAT CARROT CAKE AND BE HAPPY IN LIFE! We only get one chance - so they are right when they tell you to eat dessert first.

Also - if you want a second cupcake... have one... what if you die tomorrow never feeling fully satisfied with your carrot cake consumption?

Cinnamon Bun Success!

Thanks to Jen and Tim for the Cooks Illustrated that allowed me to make my first successful batch of cinnamon buns from scratch! Now I just need some of your inside tips on perfecting the recipe and process!

Lots of butter, lots of sugar, and a really HUGE piece of dough - close to a brioche, says the Cooks Illustrated.

Some TLC, roll it up, cut it, wait... bake it, wait... make icing, wait...

Yes, more butter... Yes, they smell AMAZING! We are drooling, trying to pass the time...

It's not really working. They are HOT! Mmmmmm.... They smell SO GOOD! How are you supposed to be patient when you are waiting for one of the best things on earth, and you are smelling the fragrance of sugar, butter, cinnamon and love baking in the oven?

(Recipe called for cream cheese icing, but milk and me don't get along, so I went with a basic icing recipe with butter, sugar and vanilla... easy, and "low fat" I guess.)

I DID IT!

Cranberry Pecan Pancakes

You will notice that Aunt Jeanne replenished my nut selection, and it now includes pecans... I just can't stay away from them. I want to add cranberries and pecans to EVERYTHING I make!

Yet another batch of pancakes on a Saturday morning! Working at L.L. Bean I have A LOT of opportunities to taste Stonewall Kitchen's finest tasty treats. With the new "spring" floor set, we are carrying some new and different items.

This little bottle inspired a need for some tasty pancakes... though, many things inspire me to make new and exciting pancakes - they are my favorite breakfast food! Fresh (frozen) cranberries from Dad, toasted pecans and a dash of cinnamon made the Hungry Jack pancake mix worth the $.50 that Aunt Jeanne paid for them!

Generally, I would say, make your own mix! Cheap, easy, and by far the best taste. Stonewall does make a mix called Farmhouse, which is my favorite store-bought mix. I highly recommend this! If you have a chance to buy it, on sale, clearance, or full price, it is worth every penny!

When it comes to my pantry though, Aunt Jeanne generously gives us a few little bargains to try, and that is how we ended up with the Hungry Jack. I had never had this before. Bisquick was the pancake of my childhood, and Aunt Jemima at the Dodge's, why not try this other brand?

As it turns out, once you add delicious ingredients, it really doesn't matter what mix you are using! They are all yummy!

I will say that the syrup was nothing like what I had hoped for. It is probably better suited for ice cream or some dessert. Unfortunately, adding real pecans detracted even more from the flavor. There was an artificial aftertaste that is unusual for Stonewall products.

In the future, I won't buy the flavored syrups, and I will stick with the real fruit jam that they have mastered!

Do try adding some cranberries to your pancakes. Maple syrup would be a great compliment to the tartness, and I am certain that you'd enjoy this idea!! Also, come to the L.L. Home Store and try some of our tasty Stonewall products, and pick up some Farmhouse mix while you are there, it won't disappoint!

Another take on the healthy muffin recipe...

Fresh cranberries, organic pumpkin and toasted pecans.... mmmmmm...

We did go to Sea Dog in Topsham for their famous brunch yesterday, but when you wake up at 4:30am, 11:30 brunch is a LONG way away! I enjoyed these muffins for an early breakfast snack with Brian. Since they have such hearty ingredients, they really are satisfying and will hold you over for a few hours.

A quick recap of the yummy treats we tasted at Sea Dog:

(I wish I had photos of this stuff!)

Beer, onion, cheese bread

Crostini with dill, cream cheese, salmon, red onion and cucumber

Scallops wrapped in bacon

Pumpkin cheesecake filled crepes

Grilled mixed sausage

Hash browns

Corned beed hash

Pumpkin ravioli with pesto cream sauce

Caesar potato salad

Waffle and Omelet bar

Endless fresh fruit

Pastries.... mmmm.... raspberry cheesecake bars

The waitress asked us if we wanted something to drink, when we sat down. No one could decide. I spoke up and ordered a Bloody Mary... then... All 7 of us ended up with a Bloody Mary!

Mexican Spiced Cookies

Cooking Light published this recipe and I immediately made some changes - but not enough! It called for 1/2 teaspoon each of Ancho chili powder and Chipotle chili powder. This I immediately doubled, since I was making them for Brian who LOVES spicy!

We were both thankful for this, the flavor would have been lacking the heat that we both enjoy from the chipotles. The next change I made was to add some almonds to the top for a little more texture.

The biggest problem was that the recipe called for 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of oil. There is no room in a shortbread cookie for any fat other than butter! This made the cookie brittle and oily to the touch. Where the butter would have become solid at room temperature, the oil leaves your fingers greasy when you are done eating the cookies.

Ghirardelli cocoa powder gave this a scrumptious flavor - of course - and the heat from the chili peppers really did blend perfectly! Next time, blend some nuts into the batter, use only butter, and maybe blend a little more chili pepper flavor into the mix.

Cooking Light has SO many great recipes - they are always worth a try and always end up with a tasty result... I just usually end up adding back the items that when missing - make the recipes light!

Thai food!

Beef satay with peanut sauce

After having the flu and sitting around for almost 3 days, I decided to get creative. We love Thai food, and it is usually easy to make, as long as you have the right ingredients. Not authentic, but it definitely feeds a Thai food craving and you have lots of leftovers for tomorrow!

Coconut milk , peanut butter, onion, brown sugar and spices. Peanut sauce is SO easy to make. The center photo is the sauce cooking. I think given the right situation, I would eat this like soup! I have to say that satay overall is truly easy. The marinade is prepared with only a few ingredients and the longer it sits the better it gets. This is great for preparing it in advance because you can just throw it on the grill and have something to eat in less than 5 minutes. It gives you time to prepare the rest of dinner.

Just a note, Dad said that sirloin would be a nice choice for this, so I just bought a steak and sliced it up - really this only took 5 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to cook - with a few hours of marinating in between... this is when I slept!

With our satay, I made some red curry with lots of veggies and fresh baby Maine shrimp. Also easy - but this flavor is harder to get right. It is always tasty but never gets close enough to going out for Thai food in a restaurant.

The Flu

It's going around in many shapes and forms at L.L. Bean. Last week I was out of work 2 days, I sat on the couch and had ginger tea with honey. (Here is is waiting for the H2O)

Of course I watched 4 Harry Potter movies and all 3 Twilights!

Being sick does have the benefit of getting away with a couple of lazy couch days!

Christmas 2010 Treat Review

Dad's lemon pie

Dad's pumpkin pie... in a funny crust but STILL AMAZING!

(It's what's on the inside that counts!)

Blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, apple pie

Nancy's cookie tray (with little spice cake squares... YUM!)

Amy's famous coffee brandy pie! Mousse, homemade whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzle. This was DELICIOUS! Thank you AMY!

Wink's Trifle

(Homemade custard in the bottom!)

Gram's spinach bars - extra crispy with a sprinkle of feta - especially for Aunt Jeanne.

Memere & Pepere Villemaire's olive stuffed celery

(It isn't Christmas until the celery arrives)

Mama Dodges cookies! We never got a great photo of them, but we've been eating them for a week! Little nut cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner. Lacey cookies filled with chocolate, lemon cookies, and THE APPLE! This year had toffee, chocolate and caramel.

Crispy Maki with crunchy SURPRISE!

Even though I missed the party - Brian took a photo tour of the treats so I wouldn't miss out on the Kidder yums!

Kidder cookies... ginger cookie sandwich... gingerbread... raspberry jelly cookies....mmmmmmm...

CIDER!