How about this for a great Memorial Day pick? Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ has chosen the caramelized onion dip with veggies from page 154 of June Living. Thanks Megan! I hope some of you can play along.

How about this for a great Memorial Day pick? Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ has chosen the caramelized onion dip with veggies from page 154 of June Living. Thanks Megan! I hope some of you can play along.

Going into the oven

Today’s Martha Mondays project was chosen by Hannah at City Interludes. Lemon Poppyseed Cookies (from June Everyday Food) sounded terrific. I once made something similar from Martha (years ago) and it was fantastic, so I had high hopes. Let me just say, this did not meet them!

I am still scratching my head at this recipe.  It has almost nothing in it. 1/2 c flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp poppyseeds. Wet ingredients include only 1 tbsp veg oil, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp lemon zest. The recipe does say the dough will be dry, but it didn’t mention it would be a bowl of sand. I could not get this to stay together. As you can see, what I sent into the oven did not resemble cookies. I tried to use a spoon, a cookie dough scoop and my hands to get this to stick together, but it just would not.

It came out of the oven looking about the same, just browner. Although it was a total disaster in terms of appearance, they did taste quite good, so it’s a shame they wouldn’t act like cookies! I’ll be interested to hear if anyone else had success – maybe I’m just a loser who couldn’t make this one work!

End result

Today’s Martha Mondays project was chosen by Hannah at City Interludes. Lemon Poppyseed Cookies (from June Everyday Food) sounded terrific. I once made something similar from Martha (years ago) and it was fantastic, so I had high hopes. Let me just say, this did not meet them! I am still scratching my head at this … Read more →

Slab pie? That sounded so weird to me when I ran across this recipe in June Everyday Food. Dude Martha saw me looking at it and wanted it, so I bought the ingredients and got to work. The crust is to be made in the food processer. Oh, snap, mine’s broken and I haven’t ordered the part yet. No problem, I thought, I’ll just use my pastry cutter. Well, it had vanished. I already had all the ingredients in a bowl, so I went in with my hands! It actually worked pretty well (5 c flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp sugar, 4 sticks butter 1 to 1 1/2 c water)

This pie is made in a jellyroll pan, hence the concept of it being a slab. The filling is basic – blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest, and cornstarch. Now, I approached this with a skeptical eye. I sometimes find Martha’s fruit desserts too tart. There is a history in our family of too tart desserts. My mother does not have a sweet tooth and likes her pies on the sour side. We call them pucker pies. I like mine sweet, sweet, sweet. So I DOUBLED the amount of sugar, thinking that ought to do it. I also added a tsp of cinnamon since I think it enhances the flavor (the recipe says: 8 c blueberries, 3 tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 c sugar, 1 tbsp zest, 3 tbsp lemon juice).

I pressed the bottom crust into the pan without rolling (I am such a rebel), smeared the filling and then rolled out the top crust. Into the oven it went – and promptly leaked all over the bottom of my oven (I should have put a tray under it).

It came out looking really gorgeous. It sliced nicely. I liked how it was a short pie. In my opinion, you don’t always need gobs of filling – sometimes a lot of crust can be a good thing. As for taste? It was still a little tart for me. Everyone did like it (including the famous Dude Martha who is watching me type this) and happily gobbled it. The crust texture was pretty fantastic, probably because I used my hands.

So I have to say the concept of a slab pie is getting high marks from me, although next time, I would use more sugar!

Slab pie? That sounded so weird to me when I ran across this recipe in June Everyday Food. Dude Martha saw me looking at it and wanted it, so I bought the ingredients and got to work. The crust is to be made in the food processer. Oh, snap, mine’s broken and I haven’t ordered … Read more →

Hannah at City Interludes has chosen lemon poppyseed cookies from June Martha Stewart Everyday Food for our next project. As always, if you need the recipe, let me know.

Hannah at City Interludes has chosen lemon poppyseed cookies from June Martha Stewart Everyday Food for our next project. As always, if you need the recipe, let me know.

Recently my son, Dude Martha, was in the mood to bake cookies. I’m always happy to turn the kitchen over to him and reap the benefits. I suggested my grandmother’s molasses cookies, which are one of THE BEST cookies you will ever taste – rich, dark, soft, and chewy, they are incredible. He did a great job making them and the house smelled wonderful. The cookies quickly disappeared though. I thought I would share the recipe:

Gai’s Molasses Cookies

¾ cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 ¼ cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

Mix shortening, brown sugar, egg and molasses, then add other ingredients. Roll into balls and dip the tops in water then white sugar. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Recently my son, Dude Martha, was in the mood to bake cookies. I’m always happy to turn the kitchen over to him and reap the benefits. I suggested my grandmother’s molasses cookies, which are one of THE BEST cookies you will ever taste – rich, dark, soft, and chewy, they are incredible. He did a … Read more →

I’d never had ramps, but I’d certainly heard of them. When I ran across them in the grocery store, I grabbed some. I love green onions (scallions) so I was excited to try this relative that is only available in the spring.

I had a nice bunch, so I made two different dinners with them. For the first, I started with tortillas, to which I added feta cheese (I wanted to use goat cheese but had none), shrimp, the sliced ramps, mushrooms, some leftover broccoli, and a little cheddar cheese. I cooked them at 400 until the shrimp were cooked through. When I took them out, I added some sliced avocado and squeezed lemon over them. This was very good, but would have been better with goat cheese. I did not taste the ramps very much – all the tastes blended together.

For dinner #2 I decided I wanted to really be able to taste the ramps. I took a pork tenderloin, cut it into 2 inch wide pieces and marinated them in olive oil, thyme, Worchestershire, salt, pepper and some pineapple mango juice.  Then I sent Mr. MarthaAndMe out to the grill with instructions to grill the meat and to also grill the ramps (which had been rubbed with olive oil). The photo at the right is the one I took when dinner was brought in – before I realized the ramps were not cooked at all. He put them on the top rack right at the end and they got warm, but didn’t cook. Back out to the grill he went and cooked them some more on the lower shelf and this time they cooked. I really liked them. The flavor is more refined than that of green onions. I wouldn’t say it is more delicate, because it does have a little kick, but it just different. I really enjoyed them.

I’d never had ramps, but I’d certainly heard of them. When I ran across them in the grocery store, I grabbed some. I love green onions (scallions) so I was excited to try this relative that is only available in the spring. I had a nice bunch, so I made two different dinners with them. … Read more →

Potato and Zucchini Hash from May Martha Stewart Everyday Food was our pick for today, chosen by At Least Twice a Week.  I love potatoes and am always looking for something new to do with zucchini. This recipe was pretty simple – fry up 2 potatoes (peeled and sliced thinly in small pieces) with half a sliced onion. Once the potato is cooked, add in 1 thinly sliced and cut zucchini. Salt and pepper it to taste. Martha says to serve with fried eggs, but I skipped that.

Very simple, and very good! I liked this, even though it sounded sort of weird (potatoes and zucchini?). It worked well as a dish though and was easy to put together.  I love it when Martha has me try something new and I am pleasantly surprised.

Potato and Zucchini Hash from May Martha Stewart Everyday Food was our pick for today, chosen by At Least Twice a Week.  I love potatoes and am always looking for something new to do with zucchini. This recipe was pretty simple – fry up 2 potatoes (peeled and sliced thinly in small pieces) with half … Read more →

This month’s MS Cupcake Club pick is Tres Leches Cupcakes, from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. I just finished making these. The batter was easy to make (even though I accidentally got egg yolk in the whites and had to start over). After you bake it, you are supposed to brush a mix of cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk on them. It made so much though and it took forever to brush it over and over on the cupcakes. I stopped when I had a few tablespoons left and the cupcakes looked pretty saturated.

I tasted one after they sat for 30 min and I didn’t care for it. It tasted very eggy and custardy to me. I then sprinkled my last bite with cinnamon sugar, and that was good, so I did it to the rest and put them in the fridge and am hoping maybe they will taste better cold later tonight or tomorrow. They’re also really wet, so maybe they will sort of set up once they’re cold.

This month’s MS Cupcake Club pick is Tres Leches Cupcakes, from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. I just finished making these. The batter was easy to make (even though I accidentally got egg yolk in the whites and had to start over). After you bake it, you are supposed to brush a mix of cream, … Read more →

I’m embracing all spring has to offer and that includes trying some new foods. I’ve never had fiddleheads and when I saw them in the grocery store, I pounced.  I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so I checked Martha’s site. Her only recipe was to steam them and put butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice on them, so that is what I did. They weren’t bad, but I think you have to get used to them. They are a bit like asparagus, which can have  a strong flavor.

I did a little research after we had them and learned some interesting facts. Fiddleheads are actually ferns that have not yet unfurled. They’re named fiddleheads because they look like the curved top end of a fiddle. They have to be cooked to be edible (when I steamed them, the steaming water turned brown which was kind of icky!). I found some recipes here and will definitely try some of those in the future.

My next spring food experiment? Ramps!

I’m embracing all spring has to offer and that includes trying some new foods. I’ve never had fiddleheads and when I saw them in the grocery store, I pounced.  I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so I checked Martha’s site. Her only recipe was to steam them and put butter, salt, pepper and … Read more →

I have Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook, Mad Hungry. Lucinda is an editor at MSL and I’ve always thought her recipes in the magazine were dead on. The cookbook is pretty fun and is supposed to be about feeding a family of men and boys. Although I don’t have 3 sons like she does, I have found some things in it to make.

Recently I decided to try her recipe for Crunchy Sesame Chicken Wings, but modified to my needs. The photo in the book looked fantastic and my kids are HUGE fans of sesame chicken. I was stuck with chicken legs though since I can’t get organic wings. I used 10 legs. The recipe says to mix up 3 eggs and coat the chicken in them. I used 1 egg and 1 egg white. I mixed in honey and sesame oil, hoping it would make this taste more like the Chinese restaurant dish sesame chicken.

Then you dip the wings in a mix of 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 1/2 flour, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 2-3 minced garlic cloves. Bake the legs on a greased baking sheet at 375 for 30 minutes, then turn it up to 400 for another 20-30 minutes. I lined my sheet with foil that I sprayed with Pam, and ended up sprinkling some olive oil over it halfway through.

The chicken was fantastically crunchy – Lucinda was a genius in constructing this coating. However, I felt like it was just lacking in flavor. If I make this again, I would either marinate the chicken in honey and sesame oil and maybe some soy sauce or I would try to coat it in just honey with a little water to loosen it up. My kids like their sesame chicken sweet and this wasn’t.  It’s worth making again if I can pump up the flavor b/c it was just so majestically crunchy!

I have Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook, Mad Hungry. Lucinda is an editor at MSL and I’ve always thought her recipes in the magazine were dead on. The cookbook is pretty fun and is supposed to be about feeding a family of men and boys. Although I don’t have 3 sons like she does, I have … Read more →