A Wonderful Long Weekend

Turkey roasted to perfection. Delicious.

Plenty of leftover Salty Honey Pie to last the whole weekend. The salty & sweet combination is just heavenly on the tongue.

I even managed to take out my tripod to take a group picture in our new backyard. 

Napoleon

Caesar

The day after Thanksgiving, I used the leftover turkey to make a hearty & comforting pot of Turkey Congee (rice porridge).

We invited a small group of family and friends over to help celebrate my DH's milestone birthday.

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

Over the Weekend

During the early morning hours while everyone was still asleep, I pulled out a old weaving project. It's a 6 inch Weavette and the yarn is Stonesthrow Farm Vintage IV (53% Cormo/47% young mohair). I am still not sure what it will become and it's fine with me. For now, I am just enjoying a mindless weaving project. I will see how many squares I end up with when I am done weaving.

Another advantage of waking up early is that I get to enjoy one of my favorite breakfasts in peace. A toasted NYC Everything Bagel with whipped cream cheese, tomatoes and lox, sprinkled with sea salt, black pepper and dill. Delicious. Usually, I am busy making everyone their breakfast requests and I am always the last person that gets to eat.

One of the fun things we have discovered after we moved to the suburbs are Garage, Yard and Estate Sales. In NYC, we were use to Stoop Sales since most people don't have yards or garages. The selections here are very different. Most of the garage sales around here are empty nesters or older folks getting their house ready to sell. There are lots of treasures to dig through. In NYC, I rarely ever bought anything since it's usually younger people or people my age getting rid of their things to make space in their tiny apartments or people moving out. Whenever you see moving trucks in NYC, you can be sure that it's either the end of the month, the first of the month or the middle of the month.

I think we went to 6 yard sales over the weekend. Melody's treasures are on the left of the picture above and mine is on the right. See those clogs? She put them on and never took them off. The girl does love shoes! I was happy with my single purchase. One of my neighbors had a box of crocheted doilies, table cloths and runners. She told me that her mother-in-law made them for all the daughter-in-laws in the family. I picked out a very large table runner. It just needs to be washed and blocked.

As you can see, she adores everything she got. The doll has never left her side once. It plays music when you wind it up and the song is starting to grate on our nerves. She plays it in the house, in the car, while eating dinner ...etc. Lol.

What did you do over the weekend?

Welcoming Fall!

 

My number 1 assistant woke up early to help me bake Pumpkin Doughnuts. I was invited to a knitter's get-together brunch and wanted to bring something sweet. Nothing screams Fall like pumpkin. 

They turned out gorgeous and delicious. I used 2 different sizes of doughnut pans. My Quality Control Team (DH & Melody) sampled the fresh doughnuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar and they gave it 2 thumbs ups. The recipe is called Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts. I subbed KA Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour because DH misread the label when he was grocery shopping. But it turned out just as good and healthier, too. Gabby was the lovely hostess and my pumpkin doughnuts paired well with the delicious soup she made. 

 

Here is Kim working on her steek. Karen, Gabby, Stephanie, and I all cheered Kim on to finish her Rhinebeck sweater. Yes, NYS Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY is coming up real soon.

DH, Melody and I were very excited to attend our town's Fall Festival. It's a great way to get to know all the local businesses and services. We ran into her English teacher from school and her Karate Academy had a booth there. She had a lot of fun listening to the live music and walking around. 

 

I have never seen a Tornado Potato before and had to get one before we left the festival. Melody gobbled it up with delight. What's not to like? Fried potato with lots of salt = YUM. 

 

Then we came home and she worked on her chalk art on the driveway. DH and I worked on the house and yard work. It was a lovely weekend. Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Easy Meals

We all have our lazy days or those nights where you had a long day and all you can manage is a simple meal. On those days, I look for simple and fast recipes. And the less pots, pans, and utensils I have to dirty, the better. I wanted to share 2 recipes that I have made many times with success.

My friend, Jen, gave me In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite a few years ago for Christmas. I read that book every night before bed time and enjoyed the author's stories behind the recipes. I love cook books that read like a story book. One day, I had one of those long stressful days and this recipe for a easy macaroni and cheese called out to me.

It was delicious and super easy. It tasted like a sophisticated mac & cheese, but simplified. It's not your standard mac & cheese with a super cheesy sauce, but it's really good. Try it!

Even Easier One-Handed Macaroni with Creamy Peas and Cheese
(From In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite )

Time: 10 min

Serves 2 adults or numerous small children

Kosher salt

8 ounces macaroni or tiny shells pasta (2 cups)

2/3 cup frozen peas

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 large sage sprigs

1 fat garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (optional)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. About 30 seconds before the pasta is done to taste, stir in the frozen peas. Drain well.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan, bring the cream, sage, garlic, and lemon zest (if using) to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cheese, nutmeg, pepper, pasta, and peas. Stir well until the pasta is coated with the sauce and season with salt to taste. Serve hot, discarding the sage.

Egg Boat

This Egg Boat was amazing! Crispy on the outside and inside filled with eggy, cheesy deliciousness. After the first time I made it, I continued to make it 3 days straight because I loved it so much. I also made it for DH and he agreed that it tasted fantastic.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I took 1 demi-baguette and cut a v shape lengthwise to take out some of the bread. Then in a bowl I mixed together: 1 egg, dash of cream, chopped up cooked bacon, 1 scallion chopped, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese, salt & pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into the demi-baguette and bake it until puffed and browned.

I was inspired by this recipe, Baked Egg Boat, but you don't really need a recipe. It's so simple. I just used what I had in the fridge. Try it, your stomach will thank you.

Ground Cherries

Summer is not my favorite season, but I always look forward to the fruits and vegetables that are available in these hot and scorching months. I was at my local gourmet grocery store, Choice Greene, this morning and saw these pints of Ground Cherries. I have never seen these before and struck up a conversation with the purveyor. He told me they are similar to tomatillos with the paper-like husk and encouraged me to try some. It was sweet and fruity with lots of tiny seeds. It tasted like a sweet grape tomato with a hint of pineapple.

I think these would be delicious in a salad, made into a salsa, or even jam! The possibilities are endless. Melody was very fascinated with them and asked to try them. One bite later, she spit it out and told me she didn't like them. But she took the paper-like husks and used them in her play kitchen to cook with it. I can't stop popping them in my mouth like candy. Have you ever tried Ground Cherries before? What's your favorite way of eating them?

Rustic Tuscan Apple Cake

Apparently, I didn't get enough of baking last week. The day after Thanksgiving, I was ready to fire up the oven again. I had book marked this recipe, Rustic Tuscan Apple Cake, a few weeks ago and it has been calling to me. The recipe was quick and easy to make. You just mix up the batter and throw in the apples. It was the perfect activity to do with Melody. She was so happy that she got to help make the cake.

The recipe calls for 00 Flour, but I used All Purpose Flour and it was fine. Since I had plenty of heavy cream leftover from the Thanksgiving baking, I whipped up some fresh whipped cream to go with the cake. Um yes, the cake was delicious and whipped cream does make everything 100 times better. :-)

Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. This year we are spending Thanksgiving at my friend's house in Brooklyn, NY. I am looking forward to spending time with friends I haven't seen in a while. We have been so busy with work and every day life that it's nice to slow down and relax for a bit.

This is my contribution to the Thanksgiving desserts this year. I had a lot of fun making these treats and hope everyone will enjoy them.

Maple Nut Tart ready to go into the oven.

Making the chocolate ganache for the Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles.

The finished Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes dipped in Chocolate Ganache.

A perfect 2-3 bite treat after the Thanksgiving meal.

Chinese Short Ribs

This recipe for Chinese Short Ribs is delicious and so simple. I have a bunch of projects with deadlines looming, so dinner preparations has to be quick and tasty. This was perfect. Just a few simple ingredients to make a great meal.

Instead of digging out my slow cooker, I just used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and let it simmer for 3 hours on the stove top. I used Beef Flanken Short Ribs because it was available at my local market. It is cut cross wise, so all I had to do was cut them into pieces in between the bones. I also sauteed the broccoli instead of steaming because we like our broccoli crunchy. As you can see in the picture, I served mine over brown rice.

Thank you for the tasty recipe, Minty Fresh!

Crafting and Baking

Last Thursday, Melody made her first arts & crafts project at school. I was so proud of her when she showed it to me after school. Seriously, it was hard not to tear up seeing her huge smile. I had explained to her that we needed to save the gift until Father's Day. She woke up from her nap when dh came home from work and ran downstairs clutching the gift. It was very cute to see how proud she was to present her daddy with the gift that she had made in school. Even if she was 3 days early! Oh well. :-)

Remember the savory item that I said I was bringing to the baby shower?

I had seen a recipe for Tomato Feta Scones a few months ago on the Etsy Blog and book marked it. Although scones are one of my favorite things to bake, I have never made savory scones before. The baby shower was the perfect excuse for me to give it a try. Unfortunately, Sarah, whom the baby shower was for, is allergic to garlic and onions, which the recipe calls for. No problem. I figured I would just omit the green onions and garlic salt. At the grocery store, I picked up a tomato and basil feta cheese to add in extra flavor that was taken out by omitting the garlic salt and green onions. My grocery store does not carry roasted tomatoes, so I bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil. I made sure to drain and blot off as much of the oil as I could. I didn't want to make the scone dough too wet. They baked up perfectly and were absolutely delicious. I tried one while they were cooling, but I easily could have eaten two in one sitting. It paired well with a cup of tea.

Sun-dried Tomato Feta Scones
adapted from Tomato Feta Scones With Savory Sweet Life (Etsy Blog)

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg slightly beaten
1 - 4 oz package feta cheese (tomato basil flavor), diced up
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, 2 knives or your fingers until it resembles coarse meal

Stir in heavy cream and egg, until it comes together. Add feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Gently mix the ingredients by hand until the savory ingredients are evenly distributed. On a floured surface, form a big dough ball. Flatten the dough into a 1 inch disk and cut it in 8 equal pieces. Bake for 15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Remove scones from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters

I am attending a baby shower today and it's going to be potluck style. Last night, I whipped up these Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters. I have been wanting to try this recipe for a while and I am glad that I finally did. It was really easy because it was more about assembling than anything else. I think Melody would love to help me make this next time. I am bringing both a sweet and savory item for the potluck baby shower. The savory item will have to be for another post because it just came out of the oven.

Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters
from Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies Magazine (special holiday issue)

Makes 1 dozen

1 cup pecan halves, toasted
12 soft caramels
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 12 pieces (1/2 inch each)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside 36 pecan halves. Coarsely chop remaining pecans (about 1/4 cup)

2. On a parchment line baking sheet, make 12 clusters by arranging 2 pecans vertically, side by side, and placing 1 pecan vertically above them. On a piece of parchment, gently flatten each caramel, center 1 on top of each cluster. Bake clusters 5 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on).

3. Place 1 piece of chocolate on top of each cluster. Return to oven; bake until chocolate begins to melt, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, gently spread chocolate over caramel without completely covering it.

4. Sprinkle clusters evenly with reserved chopped pecans. Chill just until set, about 15 minutes. Pecan clusters can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.