Candy, despite its hyperactive reputation, seems to like the slow lane when it comes to production. Rebecca and I learned this the hard way (even if the company made the spoiled batches less annoying on balance) so you won’t have to. We were both having a little personal nostalgia trip with homemade candy recipes passed down from family. For my part, I pulled out my Aunt Helen’s Caramel recipe: small bites of soft-ish caramel sprinkled with pecans and individually wrapped in squares of waxed paper. Prior to this year, my role had historically been limited to assistant candy wrapper. The launch of the holiday season to my younger self was always marked by the evening I ran next door to… Continue reading »
Pop Over Any Day
I was inspired once again by Little Blue Hen, though I was also nervous enough about the baking that I followed the advice and instruction provided by King Arthur Flour. And just wow. If you can commit to popping out of bed an hour before visiting house guests, the rewards are myriad.
Pasta Project 2010
I wasn’t really in a shopping mood on this, the most commercial of American weekends, so getting a jump on some of the homemade holiday gifts I was hoping to produce seemed like a good idea. Plus, the husband was amenable to being conscripted into pasta machine cranking duty and, in all seriousness, I couldn’t have done it without him. How people manage to make excellent pasta with just their wits and a rolling pin continues to impress me greatly. The basic recipe for this project was pretty simple (based off this one on Martha Stewart’s site): 4 eggs plus 2 egg whites, a scant cup of pureed vegetable*, 2 cups semolina, 3 cups all-purposes flour, and two teaspoons kosher… Continue reading »
T-Day: What’s Cooking in Baltimore
A vegetarian feast! (for two). B and I have both been a little under the weather, so as far as menu planning went, the key ingredient was ultimately what required no outside resources to prepare. We had plenty in the fridge to work with, however, so it wasn’t exactly a master round of Iron Chef or anything. To get specific: Butternut squash soup of my own devising (roasted squash, a couple potatoes, onion, veg stock, some sweet curry powder, a little milk, etc.) Roasted root vegetables with a maple syrup/mustard/garlic powder glaze Roasted rapini with garlic And since that big red cabbage would not stop begging me to pay some attention to it, braised red cabbage with a sprinkle of… Continue reading »
It Takes a Shopping Cart
This morning’s market outing marked the last week of our CSA share. The aisles were packed extra tightly with shoppers despite the increased chill–perhaps the coming holiday summoned everyone out of bed with roasted root vegetables on their mind. I had to get unusually aggressive just to avoid having my eggs snatched out from under me while I paid for them. Celebration kitchen stress was already wearing down nerves before anyone even got going in the kitchen, it seems. I also overheard more than one consumer ask for advice on appropriate purchase amounts for feeding ten or so family members–a reminder of how rarely we actually gather everyone together around the table these days. As for me and my house,… Continue reading »
Pizza Heaven
The apple, as they say, falls in proximity to the tree, so it probably comes as little shock that my dad is also at home running experiments in the kitchen. Here he offers his advice on how those of us living far from the Windy City can enjoy deep-dish pizza straight out of our home ovens.–MS If you are going to be in Chicago soon, then stop in to Giordano’s on Rush St. for authentic deep-dish pizza. If you cannot make the trip, then try this. You need approximately $15.00 and about 3 hours. This puts the “pie” in pizza pie. You have to sit down to eat this 2 1/2″ tall crust with layers of cheese, pepperoni and sausage,… Continue reading »
