Let me first say that I read this recipe and could not get over the fact that Martha wanted me to make kebabs out of ground beef. It sounded like a disaster in the making. The Grilled Beef with Scallions, Cilantro, and Mint from the March issue of Martha Stewart Living are certainly not your usual kebabs.

I started by chopping my scallions and ginger and cooking them. Now, Martha actually wants you to start this recipe by toasting whole peppercorns and whole coriander then grinding them in a spice grinder. Since I don’t have a spice grinder, I just used prepared coriander and a pepper grinder. I guess I’m going to have to buy a spice grinder.

You mix the spices with the ginger and scallions and let it cool. Then you mix in ground beef along with cilantro and mint. I have made several trips to the store but cannot find fresh cilantro or mint in March in Buffalo, so I used dried. You refrigerate this mix for half an hour then attempt to form it into logs on skewers. This wasn’t as hard as I expected. You stick a lemon wedge on the skewer and refrigerate again.

Now comes the grilling part. This was a little dicey.  I had no problem getting them on the grill. My biggest problem is that my Jenn-Air has hot and cold spots, so some cooked quickly while others did not and I had to kind of rotate things. One small problem was that some of my skewers burned and fell apart! If bare skewer was hanging out over the grill with no meat, it quickly charred and broke in half, leaving me with not a lot to hold on to. I only had one kebab fall apart and partially come off the skewer.

As for taste? These have a very Asian flavor which I liked, but I needed soy sauce. I added that and ate it with some rice and it was delicious. These would be really cute tasty little Asian hors d’oevre meatballs if you just baked them and served with a toothpick and a little dipping sauce. As a meal it was kind of weird, but still tasty.

Let me first say that I read this recipe and could not get over the fact that Martha wanted me to make kebabs out of ground beef. It sounded like a disaster in the making. The Grilled Beef with Scallions, Cilantro, and Mint from the March issue of Martha Stewart Living are certainly not your … Read more →

The Martha Stewart Living Cookie of the Month for March is Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate (that’s a mouthful). Since I am writing a book about the history of cookies, this sparked my interest.

These are easy to make – your basic oatmeal cookie, except you add chopped apricots and chopped white chocolate. They baked up nicely and kept their shape, which is always a pleasant ending. As always, they took longer in my oven and as usual I switched over to convection when I got impatient!

Mr. MarthaandMe is the white chocolate lover in this house, so I will give you his verdict: thumbs up. He liked the apricots and said it was “like raisins, but not”.

Confession time  – I siphoned off part of the batter and made it with just chocolate chips (no apricots or white chocolate) and it was very, very yummy. These cookies are crunchy outside and soft on the inside. Very, very good.

The Martha Stewart Living Cookie of the Month for March is Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate (that’s a mouthful). Since I am writing a book about the history of cookies, this sparked my interest. These are easy to make – your basic oatmeal cookie, except you add chopped apricots and chopped white … Read more →

Have you seen Martha make salad? She thinks it is a brilliant idea to make the dressing first, in the bottom of the bowl, then add the greens on top. She says you can refrigerate it that way, then toss just before you serve. I have to say, it did sound like a way to reduce dishes (a rarity for Martha!) so I was willing to give it a try. I decided to make the Citrus Viniagrette from the March issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The dressing was simple. I did not use grapefruit juice since I think it is sour and nasty, so mine was just OJ and lemon. The other ingredients are rice wine vinegar, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. I added some sugar since I find Martha’s dressings always need some sugar (she doesn’t seem to use it as an ingredient in dressings, ever).

This whisked together very nicely. I piled my salad greens on top and tossed before serving.

The dressing was delicious and I will definitely make it again. I will not, however, make it in this way again. If you make your dressing in the bottom of your bowl, you have no control over the ratio of dressing to salad – you’ve got to hope you washed just the right amount of greens. I would much rather make the dressing in a separate container and drizzle over just the right amount.

Have you seen Martha make salad? She thinks it is a brilliant idea to make the dressing first, in the bottom of the bowl, then add the greens on top. She says you can refrigerate it that way, then toss just before you serve. I have to say, it did sound like a way to … Read more →

I love St. Pat’s Day and I love corned beef, so obviously I HAVE to make Martha’s corned beef. The recipe in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living (which Martha also made on the show), tells you how to corn your own. I’ve never done this and it sounded like fun. I love to brine turkey, so this was a new brining adventure!

I wrote down what I needed and went to the store. Immediate problem. Pink curing salt? They didn’t have it.  Three other stores (including two “gourmet” shops) did not have it either. Home I went with my head hung low. Martha provides a source, but I needed to get this beef corning, since it needs to sit for two full weeks, so there was no time for ordering and shipping.

Next I did some Googling to see if there is an adequate substitute. Based on information there, out I went to the store again, this time to buy Morton’s Quick Cure Salt. Apparently it’s almost the same, but without the pink color. So my corned beef will not be bright pink  – I think I will live through it.

Now that I had all the ingredients, I needed to crush coriander seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. I don’t have a mortar and pestle (what Martha used on the show) and I don’t have a spice grinder. So I used the mini-Cuisinart. It did a partial job and that is going to have to be good enough. I cooked up the brine and got the meat soaking. Fingers crossed this turns out! Tune in on St. Pat’s Day to find out!

I love St. Pat’s Day and I love corned beef, so obviously I HAVE to make Martha’s corned beef. The recipe in the March issue of Martha Stewart Living (which Martha also made on the show), tells you how to corn your own. I’ve never done this and it sounded like fun. I love to … Read more →

Another item on the March Martha Stewart Living “What’s for Dinner” menu is spring onion soup. I simply adore French onion soup, so I was definitely interested in making this.

Now, of course, I could not find spring onions. So I substituted the yellow onions recommended. My store has them labeled as “sweet yellow onions” so that encouraged me.

There is not a heck of a lot to this soup. You slice your onions thinly then cook for about 15 minutes until they are translucent, but not carmelizing. Then you add chicken stock and water. The next step is to put it in a blender. If you recall my Shrimp Bisque in My Sock post, you will know I had some trouble with this in the past! This time, I tried to use my hand blender (the ‘boat motor’ as Emeril calls it). It didn’t work. There were too many onions and not enough liquid. I bypassed the Cuisinart (since I didn’t want spring onion soup in my sock) and went straight to the blender. It worked beautifully.

I put the soup in bowls and drizzled with oil. I didn’t have any flatbread, so I served it with some stoned wheat crackers.

The soup had a nice flavor – very sweet and a very creamy texture. My biggest beef was that it was not hot and I would have preferred it hot. By the time you put it through the blender and then into a bowl, it’s not hot anymore.

It needed pepper, so we added that as we were eating it. I would recommend putting it in as you cook. This was good, but I would rather have French onion soup!

Another item on the March Martha Stewart Living “What’s for Dinner” menu is spring onion soup. I simply adore French onion soup, so I was definitely interested in making this. Now, of course, I could not find spring onions. So I substituted the yellow onions recommended. My store has them labeled as “sweet yellow onions” … Read more →

Another item on the March Martha Stewart Living “What’s for Dinner” menu is spring onion soup. I simply adore French onion soup, so I was definitely interested in making this.

Now, of course, I could not find spring onions. So I substituted the yellow onions recommended. My store has them labeled as “sweet yellow onions” so that encouraged me.

There is not a heck of a lot to this soup. You slice your onions thinly then cook for about 15 minutes until they are translucent, but not carmelizing. Then you add chicken stock and water. The next step is to put it in a blender. If you recall my Shrimp Bisque in My Sock post, you will know I had some trouble with this in the past! This time, I tried to use my hand blender (the ‘boat motor’ as Emeril calls it). It didn’t work. There were too many onions and not enough liquid. I bypassed the Cuisinart (since I didn’t want spring onion soup in my sock) and went straight to the blender. It worked beautifully.

I put the soup in bowls and drizzled with oil. I didn’t have any flatbread, so I served it with some stoned wheat crackers.

The soup had a nice flavor – very sweet and a very creamy texture. My biggest beef was that it was not hot and I would have preferred it hot. By the time you put it through the blender and then into a bowl, it’s not hot anymore.

It needed pepper, so we added that as we were eating it. I would recommend putting it in as you cook. This was good, but I would rather have French onion soup!

Another item on the March Martha Stewart Living “What’s for Dinner” menu is spring onion soup. I simply adore French onion soup, so I was definitely interested in making this. Now, of course, I could not find spring onions. So I substituted the yellow onions recommended. My store has them labeled as “sweet yellow onions” … Read more →

The March “What’s for Dinner” main entree in Martha Stewart Living is Scallops with Wilted Spinach and Arugula. I love scallops and was ready to give this a try. This is a very simple recipe. You pan fry your scallops in a little oil. I love cooking scallops this way – the outside gets brown and crunchy. Once the scallops are done, you take them out and cook some garlic and add spinach and arugula and cook until wilted. You serve the scallops over the greens.

My biggest beef with this recipe was that it really needed some lemon, so we ended up squeezing lemon over it. I loved the greens and will definitely try those two in combination together again. What is truly shocking is Teen Martha ate the greens and liked them and usually she will turn and run at the sight of spinach.

The best part about this dish was the presentation. The scallops looked just gorgeous against the greens.

The March “What’s for Dinner” main entree in Martha Stewart Living is Scallops with Wilted Spinach and Arugula. I love scallops and was ready to give this a try. This is a very simple recipe. You pan fry your scallops in a little oil. I love cooking scallops this way – the outside gets brown … Read more →

The March “What’s for Dinner” main entree in Martha Stewart Living is Scallops with Wilted Spinach and Arugula. I love scallops and was ready to give this a try. This is a very simple recipe. You pan fry your scallops in a little oil. I love cooking scallops this way – the outside gets brown and crunchy. Once the scallops are done, you take them out and cook some garlic and add spinach and arugula and cook until wilted. You serve the scallops over the greens.

My biggest beef with this recipe was that it really needed some lemon, so we ended up squeezing lemon over it. I loved the greens and will definitely try those two in combination together again. What is truly shocking is Teen Martha ate the greens and liked them and usually she will turn and run at the sight of spinach.

The best part about this dish was the presentation. The scallops looked just gorgeous against the greens.

The March “What’s for Dinner” main entree in Martha Stewart Living is Scallops with Wilted Spinach and Arugula. I love scallops and was ready to give this a try. This is a very simple recipe. You pan fry your scallops in a little oil. I love cooking scallops this way – the outside gets brown … Read more →

There’s a two page spread in Feb Martha Stewart Living about how to save money in the kitchen. I read it eagerly hoping for some good tips.

– The first tip is to freeze leftover and overripe fruit for smoothies. This is a good idea, although the only time I seem to make smoothies is when we are in Florida and I’m in a tropical mood.

– The next tip is to save carrot peelings,  onion layers, bones, etc to use in making stock. I never throw out chicken bones and do usually use those. I also save leftover piece of steak and beef and use those to make a stroganoff. I don’t save the onion peels and carrots ends though. I will start a bag of these the in freezer. What I have been saving for years is leftover vegetables. Whenever I have leftover veggies from dinner, I dump them in a plastic container in the freezer, then I use it in soups.

– Another tip is a cast iron skillet. I don’t have one of these, but I remember my grandmother did. I don’t really like them and don’t see it as much of a money saver since I have other pans to use.

– Martha says to save leftover gravy, pesto, stock, etc and freeze it in ice cube trays. I really almost never have any of these leftover and I don’t have an ice cube tray, so I’m not sure this tip would work for me.

– Freezing foods in smaller portions is a great idea. My MIL told me once she freezes bacon in small packages.

– Buying olive oil in bulk is another suggestions. I do this. I have a big plastic bottle in the pantry and a small glass olive oil container by the stove that  I refill.

– She suggests having paper in the kitchen to make shopping lists. I have a magnetic notepad on the side of the fridge where I make my lists. And to be truly Martha-ish, I have different notepads for different seasons and holidays.

– Making your own nut butter is another tip. The only nut butter used in this house is peanut butter and I buy the organic store brand. I’m not wild about the idea of making my own since it’s not something used very often.

– I like the idea of making more of what you’re cooking. I do this a lot so that I can freeze half and have another meal. It’s not really a money saving tip though.

There’s a two page spread in Feb Martha Stewart Living about how to save money in the kitchen. I read it eagerly hoping for some good tips. – The first tip is to freeze leftover and overripe fruit for smoothies. This is a good idea, although the only time I seem to make smoothies is … Read more →

The section in February Martha Stewart Living on packing is classic Martha. Four pages of how to pack a suitcase. Now, I must confess I am not so good at packing. Mr. MarthaandMe usually is the one who gets it all to fit nicely in the suitcase, but I am definitely involved in what we take and how it is packaged.

Martha says to pack outfits together on one hanger. When I travel, I don’t usually have complete outfits. I usually have several things that mix and match, so there is no need to put them on a hanger together.

The next tip is to fold sweaters with tissue paper. I just don’t understand how tissue paper is going to help the situation. When your luggage has 20 other bags piled on top of it, a piece of tissue paper isn’t going to do squat.

She also says to tuck shoes around the perimeter of the suitcase. That’s what we do and it works out well, although we do not have special little bags for our shoes like Martha does.

Martha says to pack accessories in little bags. My suitcase has some big zippered compartments that store lingerie, socks, etc. in. This works out well, particularly if we are moving from place to place. I can always find them easily.

Martha says to pack chargers in ziploc bags. We have a cute little charger bag that comes with a power strip (since there are never enough outlets in a hotel room). We love this little thing and highly recommend it.

When we went to Hawaii last summer, instead of a purse, I used a big bag, which allowed me to then carry on a second item since that bag counted as my ‘purse’. Martha recommends a messenger bag instead of a purse- same concept and it’s a good tip and a great way to get around that one carry-on rule.

I always put bathroom toiletry items in double ziploc bags. We’ve had things leak with just one bag, so we always double bag them now.

I keep my jewelry in this cute jewelry organizer and I always put it in my carry-on. My carry-on also always contains the camera, cell phone, sunglasses, my glasses to wear when I take my contacts out, a contact lens case, prescription meds (because if they’re lost it takes a while to replace them), a small pack of wet hand wipes, Advil, Tylenol, Rolaids, gum, Kleenex, my own headset to use for the airplane tv, a small bottle of lotion because I do find the plane dehydrating, maps we need upon arrival, the GPS if we are bringing it, books and magazines, and some snacks. When my kids were smaller, I always carried paper toilet seat covers with me when we traveled.

The biggest problem we have with packing is the airline weight restrictions.  You can’t really fill a full-size suitcase and have it come in under the weight limit. We bought this cute little scale to use. Now we don’t have to try to get a suitcase on the bathroom scale or play the guessing game when we pack to come home. It was a great investment.

My other packing tip is to buy the TSA approved locks. Martha suggests twine, but I like the TSA locks. Martha says to tie a bright ribbon your luggage. Mr. MarthaandMe put a big piece of blue painter’s tape on each of our suitcases and we also have bright pink name tags on them which makes them easy to spot.

When we went to Hawaii, I packed a neck pillow in each carry-on, as well as a lightweight blanket, and they were absolute godsends. On all trips, I always make sure to dress in layers, with some kind of warm zip up as the last layer since I am always cold on airplanes. We always wear comfortable clothes and sneakers and always, always wear socks to go through security with.

I always pack sandwiches to bring along. They taste better than the stuff you buy at airports and are cheaper too.

The section in February Martha Stewart Living on packing is classic Martha. Four pages of how to pack a suitcase. Now, I must confess I am not so good at packing. Mr. MarthaandMe usually is the one who gets it all to fit nicely in the suitcase, but I am definitely involved in what we … Read more →