Category Archives: Holidays

Random Musings for a Friday Night…Rabbit Edition

26 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by in Epicurean, Friday Night, Holidays, Massachusetts, Recipes, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend

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I need to be better in marking down the meals I create and recipes I’m riffing off of (I’m sure there’s an app for that, any suggestions?).  I go through phases where I’ll create a meal completely out of my culinary comfort zone.  These meals are cobbled together from the numerous cookbooks gracing my shelves, focus on a particular region of the world, and often call for about $100 worth of ingredients that I most likely will never use again — turmeric powder for a Mexican meal; fenugreek seeds for my Mediterranean meal.  Past highlight include a random rabbit recipe and a wonderfully flavorful Italian soup.  The reality is I wanted to make both this weekend but, for the life of me, I can’t find the recipes.  Other random thoughts for this Friday evening:

woodland cabin

Woodland Cabin, Warren, MA

Thanksgiving with Marley & Co: Last year Tony and I realized, on Nov 1st, that we had no plans for Thanksgiving.  With some fancy, yet furious, finger work (OK, Airbnb has eliminated that last minute booking panic), I found and secured a cabin in Warren, MA for the holiday and am tickled that we’ll be returning this year (I think we’ll be doing this for as long as Mary Jane will have us).  Woodland Cabin is a fabulous get-away in the southwest region of Worcester County, MA that serves up freshly laid  eggs from the on-site hens each morning; has three wonderful goats, Marley being the most playful, that will go on walks with you; and offers up approximately 80 acres of hiking trails for one’s enjoyment.  Tony is salivating at the prospect of cooking our meals over the open fire — they have a fireplace that’s large enough for me to walk into. We’ll blog throughout the weekend providing blow-by-blow run downs on Tony’s open-fire cooking.

Seasonal Things to Do:  I have two master “Things to Do” lists that I update annually with current year dates (another app I need). The lists — one for summer and another for the holiday season.  I need to update the Christmas list which will, of course, commence with the Cabin.  I’m feeling giving this year and will share some of my favorite must do’s throughout the season.

German Christmas Markets:  Speaking of a favorite thing to do…the market at Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ is worth the drive.  To be fair, last year was the first year I attended and I’ve only seen one other advert, just this year, for another local market.  But, one of my bucket list items is to do the whole, proper German/European Christmas Market thing. Until then, I’ll be satisfied with the Northeast’s markets.

Boozy Burbs: This is fun.  Thanks to my good friend Nancy, I’m now hip to Boozy Burbs, Greater Bergen County’s ‘not-so-secret ingredient’ to discovering all things culinary in the area, including Rockland, Hudson, Essex and Passaic county bordering towns. Check it out, it’s well curated and will answer most of your ‘where am I going; what am I eating this weekend?’ questions.

Restaurant Week:  Featuring Hudson Valley – Sometimes they’re in the spring, sometimes the fall.  In NYC, I believe, it’s in the dead of winter. But Hudson Valley’s Restaurant Week kicks off on Sunday.  I like these weeks, wherever they may fall, as they give you the opportunity to experience a new restaurant or revisit a perennial favorite at a rate tolerable for most pocketbooks.  Featuring both lunch and dinner meus, restaurants can be booked in advance on OpenTable (another great site that answers the ‘what’s going on?’ question). 

Chicken Stock Ice Cubes: And, for a Fun Tip, when making chicken stock, freeze cubes of the stock.  This will enable you to grab as many as you might need for smaller batch cooking — i.e. replacing water when making rice, using broth vs. water to steam vegetables, or to enhance the flavor of a canned soup.  Whatever your desire having cubes to work with is an easily wonderful way to pretend you’re an epicurean maven.

This weekend’s adventures may or may not entail a rabbit, if it’s to be Peter, we’ll definitely make note as to where the recipes are housed and will let you know all about our culinary adventures. Until then, happy trails and bon appetite …

 

 

A Big Hot King Cake Mess…

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in Festivals, Holidays, Uncategorized, Yeast

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A Big Hot King Cake Mess

A Big Hot King Cake Mess

Well I did it; this weekend I made a King Cake in honor of Mardi Gras (why else would one make a King Cake?).  I didn’t have a recipe readily available so did the Google thing and found one on allrecipes.com.  The reviews were solid and the recipe seemed straight forward, albeit I was hesitant to bake with yeast, something I’ve never done before.  While I followed the recipe to a tee, that sucker came out hard as a rock and those I served it to were a bit thrown by the lack of a cake-like texture.  I was appalled, but hey those eating it were kids and let’s be realistic, they’ll eat anything.

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Tony demonstrating proper kneading technique.

I’ve only had King Cake once before, many years ago, and don’t remember it being that hard.  My husband, who is pretty agile when it comes to baking with yeast, was of no help.  After tapping the hard exterior he began drilling me about my technique.  Apparently, following the recipe should have yielded a softer cake.  I’m confident I did everything right, but was a tad bit devastated, pondering what went wrong and where I went amiss.

The dough was slow to rise, which I believe was my down fall (and was the reason I dubbed it the Jewish King Cake).  We believe that the kitchen wasn’t warm enough and the air too dry.  In speaking with a colleague, an engineer who loves to bake (something about the exactness of the measurements and the reactions between the ingredients that thrills those types), he offered some advice:

  1. Make sure the yeast isn’t old or expired.
  2. Preheat the oven to ~ 100 degrees, once the dough is ready for the rising process, turn off the oven and pop the dough, in a lightly oiled bowl, into the oven.
  3. Run a kitchen towel (clean, obviously) under the faucet and wring out cover the bowl with the towel.

We’ll have to wait another year before I attempt this festive delight again (who can eat that much sugar more than once a year?), however will be fine tuning my skill set when it comes to yeast between now and then; ultimately, hoping to create, next year, a cake that doesn’t require a saw to cut it…

Christmas Festivities…Part I

24 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in Cookies, Epicurean, Fannie Farmer, Holidays, New Jersey, Polish, Winter Solstice

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Today commences, what I believe to be, the beginning of the true Christmas season.  Tony and I do the gift giving thing on Little Christmas, January 6, and since we started this tradition, Christmas has been less stressful and more enjoyable, helped, immensely, by my December schedule at work, which usually entails having at least the last two weeks of the year off.   Yesterday was spent in Pennsylvania, dining at a little gem of a restaurant, A Taste of Portugal on Route 209 in East Stroudsburg.  Typical Portuguese fare, the prices are right and the ambience as homey as one could want.   The late afternoon drive home was capped off with billowy pink clouds and the mountains of the Delaware reflecting the rays of the setting sun.

Thursday, in honor of the Winter Solstice, we had a down and out Polish feast for dinner.  My theory is that there are two secular, non-patriotic days that should be celebrated each year in the company of good friends — the Winter and Summer Solstice.  Our friend, Brian, was kind enough to bring a selection of sausages and pierogies, as well as authentic sauerkraut, mustard and mayonnaise for dinner.   Himself a Pole, he picked everything up in Wallington, a town that has remained predominately Polish over the years.  In fact, the town is so steeped in its heritage that preference is given to those of Polish decent, no matter how much money others are offering, to homebuyers in Wallington.

Once Brian got settled in the kitchen, it’s not uncommon for friends to come over and man handle our kitchen, I demonstrated my cooking prowess in a manner that was borderline embarrassing.  ‘Help yourself to whatever you need, I’m no good in there,’ was my bold proclamation.  Kind of funny considering that the only culinary skills needed were the ability to boil water and toss some pierogi’s around in a frying pan.  The pierogi’s were delightful (not that I’m a connseiure of the pierogi).  

Super Deli

Coming from Super Deli, the lovely little suckers had a very subtle crunch on the outside; the insides were soft with a warm, almost creamy, texture of potato that left behind a surprising hint, actually the perfect tasting, of pepper.  The kielbasa and kabanos, purchased at Adams’ Deli, stuffed and smoked on premises, were also tasty.  Eaten on Polish rye bread, the sausages were accentuated by Bacik Musztarda and Polonaise Horseradish; delightful on their own, but even better when combined.  The meal was complemented with homemade apple sauce (from the ‘bible,’ aka the Fannie Farmer Cookbook), and clam dip (old family recipe) and wonderful Polish pastries that were made and delivered by one of Tony’s students. 

Earlier in the day, I had the pleasure of dining at the award winning Saddle River Inn where I had the most wonderful of tarts — truffle mushroom and onion.  The Inn, appropriately enough situated in the quaint town of Saddle River (yes, Jersey has some quaint towns), is a century old barn that is consistently ranked as a favorite by Zagats. 

Italian Cookies...Yummy!

Wednesday was spent at the Portuguese Club and, on Tuesday, I finished making my cookies.  Monday was spent in the good company of friends — both for lunch and dinner.  Dinner was a Portugese classic — the mixed grill (essentially a lot of meat on a plate) and, for lunch, we had Manny C Burgers.  Made by our good friend Manny C, it is perhaps the best burger I ever had.

Having recently received the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) newsletter, I’ve begun plotting out 2012.  Am also preparing for the second half of my holiday with a trip to Massachusetts on the agenda as well as some more dinners with a motley assortment of characters.

My Italian Grandma’s Cookies…

18 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in Cookies, Epicurean, Holidays, Italian, New Jersey, Recipes

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I’m not Italian and have no right headlining this post as ‘My Italian Grandma’s’ anything.  However, I think it fair to say that we all have that one little ole Italian lady that strikes a sweet chord within us.  Mine is Annie, a lady, at least 75 years old, that I worked with for ~ 9 years.  She truly believed that she was the glue that kept her department together and that no one else could figure out the computer system.  She was always ready with a kind word, a random pill from the bottom of her purse, and, the wonders of home-made Italian food — whether it be a main meal or a random selection of desserts.

Smiling right back at yah...Annie's Cookies

Without fail, Annie would make her Italian cookies at Christmas and, after the first bite, I believe it fair to say that I was addicted.  It took me many years to work up the courage to ask her about them, and a few additional years before I became so bold as to ask for the recipe; something she more than happily gave up.   I’ve probably had the recipe for 5 years or so, and this is the first year I pulled it out in an effort to liven up my holiday selection, of, well nothing but monster cookies (when a recipe makes ~ 400 cookies, do you really need any other?). Annie’s cookies have been yanked from the oven and will be frosted/sprinkled tomorrow, but according to the look on my Italian husband’s face, I believe, I found something good.    I have no idea as to where Annie got this recipe, I fantasize that it’s been handed down from generation to generation, and, for all I know, it could be from a book or the back of a bag of flour, but it is with the most heartfelt and warmest of thoughts that I share it with you today:

Annie’s Italian Cookies:

Melt 3 sticks of margarine; add one cup of sugar and cream together (Note, I, personally, use butter).

Add three eggs, mix thoroughly and then add 4 teaspoons of baking powder to mixture, one teaspoon of flavoring — organe, anisette or whatever you prefer, mix again.

Add 3.5 cups of flour or more and mix again (I wound up using about 5 cups of flour).

The doug should be pliable, not stiff.  If too soft, add more flour until the dough can be worked and is not sticky but very, very soft.  Make round balls, about 1 inch round, bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until you see that the cookie looks whole and not soft.

Icing:

After the cookies have cooled, make a mixture of 1.5 cups of confectionery sugar, add 1 teaspoon of flavoring (to complement the flavoring used earlier, if not the same one); and 1 teaspoon of water to the sugar.  Mix together ( it should be thick, like cream.  If too loose, add more sugar), then dip the cookie into mixture and put round, colored sprinkles on top.

I also made pumpkin cookies tonight (a favorite), but alas, feel woefully inadequate as my aunt had a cookie party recently and wound up with ~1200 cookies.  I think I made all of 100 cookies today…oh well, c’est la vie.

Monster cookies to follow tomorrow (a half batch…) in between stuffing sausages…

A New England Christmas Pagaent

15 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Epicurean, Fannie Farmer, Holidays, Massachusetts, Pizza, Travel

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Decked for the Holidays in New England

Some things in New England go beyond enchanting — a church at night with its steeple aglow reaching toward the heavens, the beach and mountains all within easy driving distance and, most especially, Christmas when houses come alive with the sparkle of a candle and wreaths decked out in big red bows, often times both adorning the windows.  This past weekend was spent in Harvard, Mass.   Settled in 1658, this community of 7000 possesses all the charm one would expect of a New England town.  There’s a general store (yes, one general store and that’s about it); the town square is flanked by two churches — one at each end; and ‘Lover’s Lane’ is quite literally off of the town square. 

We made the pilgrimage up North to see our nieces — India and Sophie — in the town’s Christmas pageant.  A gift from the town’s children, the story of Christ’s birth was brought to life through song and scripture readings.  The simple set was adorned with ~ 30 actors, ranging in age from a few months to 16-17 years, whose costumes mimicked the wardrobe of the period, and a choir whose well-trained voices brought us back to Christmas’ of old.   Tony, the musician of the family, was especially impressed by the second ‘We Three Kings’ soloist.  With an angelic voice, this girl graced us with amazing delivery of intonation and pitch that embodied the spirit of the play.  Afterward, candles were handed out and we, along with scores of Harvard’s residents, strolled down the common for the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree.  

Weldon, Fannie Farmer's House in Harvard, MA

In a town Fannie Farmer wanted to live in (she was building a house, ‘Weldon’ named after the culinary saying ‘well done’, but wound up sick and dead before it was finished), epicurean delights were a plenty.  Tony made pizza (in an electric oven none-the-less), we had a wonderful chocolate cake for my sister’s birthday, and lady bug cupcakes compliments of Sophie.  After the pageant hot cocoa was whipped up while burgers and dogs were quickly barbecued for the kids.   My sister, Alice, has a dining room great for socializing, so much time was spent around the table, a table used on the farm by my father’s family, talking, laughing and explaining to the New Englanders that there is a difference between Stromboli and Calzone.

We left Harvard venturing out to Route 2, aka the Mohawk Trail, for a casual ride home.  A four-lane road, lined with evergreens and birch trees, the drive was beautiful, enhanced by the remants of a soft snow fall that magically capped off the landscape.   There’s not much on Route 2 itself, but there are quite a few things just off the beaten path, in Orange — home to the US’ first automobile factory; Turner’s Falls, a national registered historic district; and Greenfield, with its mountain and Poet’s Tower.   

Wolfies, South Deerfield, MA

Arriving in Deerfield and needing to dine, we resisted the urge to do the touristy thing, Chandler’s Restaurant at the Yankee Candle store, and opted to go to a cozy little restaurant in town, Wolfies.   The menu, prominently featuring the restaurant’s logo, a wolf in overalls, cookbook in one hand, cleaver in the other, featured such items as the King Philip and Arrow Head sandwiches, roast beef and rib eye, respectively.  Typical pub fare, my burger, the Wolfie Burger, was delicious and Tony was impressed with the Roast Beef Club.  The waitress, Teresa, was warm and friendly while running from table to table, making sure everyone was happy with their meal.

We ended the weekend having dinner with our good friend Manny C.  He’s promised to give me some tutorials on cooking — he’s an amazing cook, Portuguese his specialty — and may even appear in a video or two (he doesn’t know that yet).  At any rate, we’ll be going to his house over the weekend so he and Tony can stuff sausages…a direct product of the pig that they killed last week.