Tag Archives: Fannie Farmer

Peter & Tom Sitting in a Tree

02 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Christmas, Epicurean, Holidays

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Growing up, there was a Thanksgiving song we would sing, “The Turkey Ran Away.” Well, I think Tom the Turkey and Peter the Rabbit ran away; and, now they’re sitting in a tree laughing at the woes of one Paula Rivera.

Goffle Road Pultry

I called my poultry guy (true confession, I don’t yet have enough of a relationship with them to refer to them as my ‘guys’), Goffle Road Poultry Farm, to order a rabbit for Christmas. I could hear the guy smirking as he kindly explained, ‘we’re sold out of rabbit.’ Sigh. What to do for Christmas, get a turkey; order a hen; chicken for my friends? All dismal thoughts (only dismal as we eat these things regularly). So I went for the duck. Yes, daffy duck was the menu for Christmas.

In finding a recipe, I went to all my standard books, Fannie Farmer, two Gourmet cookbooks, and even my Spanish and French books. But, alas, it was Burt, good ol’ Burt Wolf, who came to my rescue.

Taiwanese Duck #Yummy

My husband was lobbying for a crispy duck and that, ultimately, what I would have liked to have made. The goddess of time was not swayed to favor me this Christmas season. The one recipe I found for ‘crispy duck’ was in the Gourmet Cookbook. It was a two day recipe that involved a fan and the duck’s cavity. Burt’s recipe on the other hand only involved four hours of simmering. Yes, simmering. I thought I was cooking the effing thing in the oven and discovered my faux pas early Christmas morning providing enough angst to throw my entire day off.

All worked out well the day’s menu started with stuff clams, shrimp cocktail, cheese, olives and bread, and some Greek apps; duck, turnip and mushrooms, and acorn squash with spinach (again, thanks Burt and #Yummy), followed for the main meal. Dessert consisted of an assortment of chocolates and a selection of cordials to top off the evening.

I’m beginning to plan our winter and spring travels and have determined that I need a winter ‘things to do’ list which I plan to put together over the coming week(s). I’ll keep you updated as the days progress — which are getting longer. Until then, I wish you safe travels, smooth sailings and, of course, bon appetite.

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.

Random Musings for a Friday Night…

19 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by in Bars, Cookies, Fannie Farmer, Friday Night, Holidays, Pie, Uncategorized, Very Best Baking, Williams Sonoma

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Friday night; the night I usually do my ‘once a week’ things (sad, used to be the night I’d go raging on the town). Blogging might just prove to be a fun avoidance from those pesky little things moving forward.

Am baking O’Henry bars and an apple pie, for youth ministry and thanksgiving, respectively. An old family recipe, the O’Henry bars are quick, easy and I’ve yet to find someone who does not like them. The apple pie recipe I tend to use, and I have a ton of apple pie recipes, is from the ‘bible,’ aka The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Given to me by my sister, who excitedly exclaimed as she presented it to me, ‘it even tells you how to boil eggs’, I find the book to be a valuable resource in my various culinary endeavors.

So, before I go embark upon my exciting Friday night, a few thoughts:

Don’t be afraid of the crust: Pie crust is easy to make and takes one’s pie to the next level of yummy. While I remember, as a kid, making crust with Mims, my grandmother, my mother was the one who introduced me to the frozen crust. “It’s so much easier than making it from scratch and just as good,” she said. And dutifully, I listened. Well, it is easier and I’m a proponent of keeping one around just in case; however, it definitely isn’t as good (sorry Mom). So, go ahead, try a crust. The bible has a few easy recipes and you won’t be disappointed.

Fresh is the way to go: We’re a childless couple, and in the food department, that’s borderline being single. My sister and her family came over once, the kids were hungry, and the only thing I could offer was a can of sardines; apple sauce, that expired 3 years prior — we may have even moved in with the jar; or rice, that wasn’t cooked. My sister triumphantly pulled a box of microwave popcorn out and, we, sadly, couldn’t produce a microwave (we even called friends). So, sometimes, it’s a sad state when it comes to the food in our house. This doesn’t bother me as we tend to buy food as we need it, whether it be from a grocery store, the farmer’s market, or the local ‘farm’ by work, DePiero’s. And, I’ve grown to enjoy this. We don’t have food sitting around aimlessly and the quality is always better than things left in the fridge for Lord knows how long. So, I say go local, go fresh. In fact, my husband, Tony, and his friend, Manny, even buy a lot of our meat as needed and I’ve vowed to go with them to the chicken farm to pick out our dinner one night…ekks.

Ice can be fun: My fine friend’s at Maker’s Mark (who have a marketing budget I would kill for) send gifts at Christmas to their ambassadors (yes, I’m an ambassador). The gifts have been great, Maker’s Mark wax stamp, they’re known for their wax bottle top; a mini shaker and bar accessories; and, last year, bourbon ball ice cube trays. Well, we loved the frozen bourbon balls and used that thing so much that it cracked apart. So, for Tony’s birthday, I got him some fun ice cube trays. Actually, what I got him was this silicone baby food freezer thing from Williams Sonoma (really?  Do people really make their own baby food?). So we have half bourbon balls and they’re fun.  Sometimes, it really is about the simple things.

FYI, Ikea also has fun ice trays, however, the main draw back is that the ‘cubes’ are little. 

Keep the basics around: I once needed to make cookies for some sort of event (thanks, Tony, for the advance notice) and really didn’t have a lot of things in the cupboard (again, we don’t keep a lot on our shelves). I pulled what we did have out and searched the verybestbaking.com website for some recipes.  Happily, I now have a recipe for amazing pumpkin cookies!

Holiday Shopping: It’s that time of year. I work in a department with few employees. Christmas time has always been awkward with gifts. However, last year I stumbled upon an amazing candy jar at Williams Sonoma. I got the assortment and used them as gifts for my colleagues, which they loved. So, I highly recommend, for those needing to buy for numerous people, these fun confectionery treats as they’re inexpensive, yummy, and a classic gift for just about anyone.

I’ll update you on my baking endeavors this weekend and hope, as we get closer to Thanksgiving, to hear about your successes, challenges, and tips and techiniques you used to keep sane…opps…I mean to make your masterpieces.