If you’re curious about my new book The Parchment Paper Cookbook, you can check out the new book trailer for it. Amazon is already shipping it (ahead of schedule), so you can get yours now!

If you’re curious about my new book The Parchment Paper Cookbook, you can check out the new book trailer for it. Amazon is already shipping it (ahead of schedule), so you can get yours now!

I’m setting up a blog tour for my book, The Parchment Paper Cookbook, throughout the first 3 weeks of November. If you have a blog that might be a good fit and are interested, please let me know. I’ll be doing guest posts, Q&As, giveaways, excerpts, and more. The book focuses on easy, no mess, no clean up recipes that are healthy and delicious.

I’m setting up a blog tour for my book, The Parchment Paper Cookbook, throughout the first 3 weeks of November. If you have a blog that might be a good fit and are interested, please let me know. I’ll be doing guest posts, Q&As, giveaways, excerpts, and more. The book focuses on easy, no mess, … Read more →

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve just signed the contract for the No-Pot Cooking cookbook! It will be published later this year by Adams Media. Thank you to everyone who has visited and commented on this blog. This book is for you, with lots of great recipes for cooking in parchment with no mess and no fuss. I can’t wait to share it with you. I’ll post more details once we have a definite pub date.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve just signed the contract for the No-Pot Cooking cookbook! It will be published later this year by Adams Media. Thank you to everyone who has visited and commented on this blog. This book is for you, with lots of great recipes for cooking in parchment with no mess and … Read more →

I love to read cookbooks. So, I was happy to receive two for Christmas. Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me a wonderful local cookbook written by the recently retired food editor of the Buffalo News, Buffalo Cooks. I’ve only read a few pages, but am loving it. It contains recipes for local specialties (yes, that includes chicken wings, but also things you might not know about like chocolate covered sponge candy, kummelweck, fastnachts, and more) as well as recipes for many favorite Buffalo News recipes.

The other cookbook I received, from my mom, is Sarabeth’s Bakery, a famous restaurant/bakery in NYC, which has come out with their own cookbook. I haven’t looked through this one very much yet, but the pictures are great and I know I’m going to enjoy reading it and trying some things from it.

It wouldn’t be the day after Christmas if I didn’t do a little shopping for myself, picking up the things I wanted that no one bought, so I bought myself Cooking in the South with Johnnie Gabriel. I love Southern food and am looking forward to going through that book (it hasn’t arrived yet).

I gave only one cookbook as a gift this year. I bought Teen Martha Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. She wants to “learn” how to cook. I don’t think she realizes she already knows how to cook, but just needs to develop some favorites and some techniques. This book ought to help. It’s a really nice book, with lots of interesting things mixed with standards. I might have to try a few things from it myself!

Last year I made a family cookbook for Christmas and gave it to my aunt, cousin, and her new daughter-in-law. It was made up of my grandmother’s recipes (she passed away last year and left me all her handwritten cooking notebooks). That was a big hit. I’m planning at some point to make up a big cookbook for my kids that will have recipes from both of my grandmothers, as well all of my recipes and the few recipes I have from Mr. MarthaAndMe’s family.

Did you give or get any cookbooks for Christmas? I would love to hear about them if you did!

I love to read cookbooks. So, I was happy to receive two for Christmas. Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me a wonderful local cookbook written by the recently retired food editor of the Buffalo News, Buffalo Cooks. I’ve only read a few pages, but am loving it. It contains recipes for local specialties (yes, that includes chicken … Read more →

Are you excited? Another giveaway of Martha swag for my blog readers. Sad that you didn’t win last week’s treat boxes? Well cheer up. This week MSLO is giving away 10 sets of Martha Stewart Holiday Compartment Treat Boxes. These are smaller than last week’s, but just as cute. It’s the same snowflake pattern. Each set comes with 6 boxes, 24 compartments, 24 sheets of tissue paper, 6 pieces of ribbon, and 6 labels. I used these last year as well. They’re really great for small cookies and for candy. Brownies and bar cookies fit well in each compartment also. They are super cute. Last year I used these to give an uncle a “tower of treats” like you see in those food gift catalogs. I stacked all 6 boxes (each filled with different things I’d made) and tied it all with a big ribbon. He was thrilled. Good luck!

Here’s how to win. Leave a comment on this post, then visit No Pot Cooking and leave a comment on any post. You MUST comment in both places to be eligible. Please use the same name so I can match you up! You must enter by midnight on Friday December 3, 2010. I’ll randomly and blindly select ten winners by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct  address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/3/10. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winners on the blog. Prizes will be sent by MSLO to winners and MarthaAndMe is not liable for any failure of MSLO to deliver.

Are you excited? Another giveaway of Martha swag for my blog readers. Sad that you didn’t win last week’s treat boxes? Well cheer up. This week MSLO is giving away 10 sets of Martha Stewart Holiday Compartment Treat Boxes. These are smaller than last week’s, but just as cute. It’s the same snowflake pattern. Each … Read more →

You already know I think Lucinda Scala Quinn is a genius. I’ve got her cookbook, Mad Hungry, and I love the segments she does on Martha and the pieces she writes for Living. She’s got her own tv show now on Hallmark, called Mad Hungry. I’ve been DVRing it daily. One day she made Pork Chops with Apples and Onions and also sauteed cabbage. Both recipes are from her book and I already had them flagged as things to try, so the show gave me that nudge I needed to try them.

A couple of admissions first. I don’t have a cast iron pan. And I used boneless pork chops. So sue me.

The pork chops were very easy to make. Essentially you sear them then you cook the onions and apples, add some liquid and add the chops back in to cook until done. I love apples and pork and liked this method of cooking them. Next time I would add some thyme or some sage – it needed some herbs I think. I might also be tempted to sear the pork, then stick the whole thing in the oven. The pork was moist and the apples amazing. I liked this a lot. Very hearty and homey.

The cabbage was a little trickier. The ingredients are simple – some onion, a little tomato and then cook the cabbage until wilted. I had to cook mine a really long time to get it to be soft enough to eat (and I covered it to get it to cook faster). I don’t like it crunchy. So if you make this, just be prepared to be patient. I did like it once it was done, but thought it was a little bland. Not sure what it needs – something.  Lots of leftovers, but I used them in all sorts of things (quesadillas and fried rice).

You already know I think Lucinda Scala Quinn is a genius. I’ve got her cookbook, Mad Hungry, and I love the segments she does on Martha and the pieces she writes for Living. She’s got her own tv show now on Hallmark, called Mad Hungry. I’ve been DVRing it daily. One day she made Pork … Read more →

John Barricelli has been on Martha’s show many times and he’s also appeared in the magazines and is a host of Everyday Food. He’s one of her cast of characters. He kind of fascinates me because there’s something weird about him. Is he nervous around Martha? Uncomfortable? Annoyed? I don’t know what it is but I keep watching. He always seems so very confident about his baking and Martha always raves about his bakery cafe. He’s got a new cookbook out called The Sono Baking Company Cookbook, which I just got. So far I’m in love.

My first try from it was the chocolate cream pie. Now this is something I love, but never, never have. No one serves that anymore, but they should.

This pie was to die for. Major OMG moment. The crust is incredible. I know it sounds simple (graham cracker with chocolate) but it ends up having this fabulous nutty flavor and crunchy texture. And the filling. Well. It was stupendous. I put whipped cream on top of mine as instructed, but next time I wouldn’t bother. It doesn’t need it.

Crust:

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1  2/3 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated on large holes of a grater (about 1/2 cup)

Filling:

6 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

3 cups milk

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla

4 tbsp unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch pie pan.

To make the crust, mix the crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt. Add the chocolate. Press into the pan. Chill for 30 min, then bake for 18-20 min.

To make the filling: whisk egg yolks, half the sugar, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of milk.

In a saucepan, mix the rest of the sugar, the rest of the milk and the cocoa, chocolate and salt. Bring to a simmer, whisking. Gradually pour the milk mix into the egg mix, tempering it.

Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan then boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 10 seconds, whisking, making sure it boils in the center of the pan, not just on the sides. It will thicken to a pudding like consistency.

Pour into a bowl and use a mixer for 2-3 minutes to cool it. Add vanilla. With the mixer running, add butter in small pieces, a little at a time. Pour it into the pie crust and chill for 2-3 hours.

If you want whipped cream on top, whisk 3/4 cup heavy cream with 2 tbsp powdered sugar until soft peaks form then spread on top of chilled pie.

Now for my notes! I goofed and dumped the cocoa into the eggs instead of the saucepan. I was not about to dump it out so I left it and everything turned out just fine.

I used a deep dish pie pan and I can’t imagine how you could use anything else since it was filled to the rim. Make sure you get that crust all the way up the sides. Next time, I think I am going to double the crust because I had trouble getting it to completely cover my pan.

I think it needs to chill longer than 2-3 hours. It wasn’t cold enough at that point in my opinion. Give it a good 5-6 hours.

This was fabulous. I’m going to try it with dark chocolate next time I think.

John Barricelli has been on Martha’s show many times and he’s also appeared in the magazines and is a host of Everyday Food. He’s one of her cast of characters. He kind of fascinates me because there’s something weird about him. Is he nervous around Martha? Uncomfortable? Annoyed? I don’t know what it is but … Read more →

I just finished reading The Best of Friends by Mariana Pasternak, the new tell-all memoir about Martha. The author was friends with Martha for 20 years before testifying against her during her trial. The best part of the book was “seeing” inside Martha’s houses and reading about the trips she takes.  It is a rare glimpse inside Martha’s real life. I enjoyed reading about how she bought the different houses, how they are furnished and decorated. The trips she took with the author were simply stunning and things most of us could only dream of doing.

I had some problems with the book. At times, the author talks about how she didn’t like things Martha did or felt that Martha made unsafe choices for her children, yet she did nothing.  If someone encouraged my child to go water skiing on a river filled with piranhas, I would definitely step in and stop it and make a big, big fuss afterwards. Mariana also took many loans from Martha over the years so that she could afford to go on Martha’s extravagant trips. I have the travel bug too, so I understand the urge to want to go to wonderful places, but I’m pretty sure I would not take out loan after loan from a friend to do so (and then complain when interest is added to the loan!). It seemed to me that the author was living a life beyond her means at times  – doing things like taking on multiple mortgages, but then building a beach house at the same time. No one can keep up with Martha’s lifestyle and I don’t know why she thought she could.

The book tries to say she and Martha were the closest of friends, yet at the same time she expresses her reservations about Martha and her distrust of her. The two don’t quite go together in my mind. Then there is the troublesome tale that leads up to the trial. The author claims total ignorance of what Martha was doing, yet at the same time acknowledges she had a feeling it had to be breaking some laws. Again, you can’t have it both ways. Then she insisted for months she could not remember if Martha commented about what her broker did, then at trial, offers convoluted reasoning for why she eventually said Martha did comment on this. Maybe she was one very confused woman, but it didn’t quite ring true for me.

Getting back to Martha though, the author talks about Martha candidly in ways that match things others have said. She describes Martha as cold, calculating, demanding, selfish, cruel, yet also says she desperately was seeking love. I don’t know how you get to where Martha is without being driven, tough, and calculating. She’s always been portrayed as cold and difficult and from watching her closely for a year for this project, I think those attributes peek through in her public persona and must be quite obvious when you know her on a personal level. The author doesn’t talk much about Martha’s incredible knowledge, her dead-on sense about many things, and her truly stunning business acumen, which I think are also key attributes of Martha.

I enjoyed seeing inside Martha’s world, even if I took some of it with a grain of salt. There’s not much mention of Martha’s daughter Alexis and I would have liked to know more about her.  If you want to see behind the scenes in Martha’s life, you’ll enjoy this book.

I just finished reading The Best of Friends by Mariana Pasternak, the new tell-all memoir about Martha. The author was friends with Martha for 20 years before testifying against her during her trial. The best part of the book was “seeing” inside Martha’s houses and reading about the trips she takes.  It is a rare … Read more →

Congratulations to Donna Hull, winner of the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book!!!

I’ll be doing another giveaway soon, so check back for details!

Congratulations to Donna Hull, winner of the Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book!!! I’ll be doing another giveaway soon, so check back for details!

It’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for.

The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or S’mores Cupcakes to name a few), some great standard cupcakes, gorgeous holiday cupcakes and totally insane decorating ideas if you want to be a cupcake artiste. It is totally FUN.

And because it is so much fun, I want to share a copy. If you’d like to enter the drawing, just post a comment to this post before Thursday, June 10. I’ll randomly and blindly select one winner. Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email, not responsible for email transmission problems. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

It’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for. The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or … Read more →