The idea of this cake from April Everyday Food got me excited. It sounded like it would be easy and healthy. It wasn’t all that easy! I assumed it would use applesauce. Nope. You have to peel, core, and cut apples and then cook them. Then you mix that with all the other ingredients and bake it.

You are supposed to dust it with powdered sugar when serving. Even with that as a topping, this was not very sweet. Therefore, no one wanted to eat it. It also didn’t taste very apple-y. Since it only has three apples in it, the flavor was not strong. I’m not even going to bother sharing ingredients here since I don’t recommend this cake at all.

HOWEVER, I am going to share my own recipe for an apple cake that is to die for, so hold on to your hats for this one:

Brette’s Apple Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups diced, peeled tart raw apples (about 4 apples)

1 cup pecans

2 tsp vanilla

Combine the oil and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Beat in flour, soda, spices and salt.  Stir in apples and nuts.

Bake in a buttered and floured tube pan at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let it cool in the pan then remove.

Make the sauce:

6 tbsp butter

6 tbsp brown sugar

6 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp heavy cream

3/4 tsp vanilla

Melt all together in a saucepan then boil for 1 minute. Serve alongside the cake as a sauce.

The idea of this cake from April Everyday Food got me excited. It sounded like it would be easy and healthy. It wasn’t all that easy! I assumed it would use applesauce. Nope. You have to peel, core, and cut apples and then cook them. Then you mix that with all the other ingredients and … Read more →

I like asparagus just plain, but when it gets into asparagus season I sometimes feel overwhelmed with it and tired of the same preparation. So I was happy to try something new – Asparagus with Breadcrumbs and Parmesan from Everyday Food, Apr issue. Nothing complicated here, just whiz up 4 slices of white bread. Mix with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 cup Parmesan and salt and pepper. Lay 2 bunches of asparagus out on a 9×13 baking dish and cover with the mix. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes until the breading is brown. It comes out very crunchy and wonderful and is a nice accompaniment to the asparagus.

I like asparagus just plain, but when it gets into asparagus season I sometimes feel overwhelmed with it and tired of the same preparation. So I was happy to try something new – Asparagus with Breadcrumbs and Parmesan from Everyday Food, Apr issue. Nothing complicated here, just whiz up 4 slices of white bread. Mix … Read more →

Someone please help. I’m being held hostage by Martha’s double chocolate brownies, from April Living. OMG these are SO good. They’re evil. Melt 8 oz bittersweet chocolate with a stick of butter (I did it in the microwave, heck on that double boiler insanity). Then whisk in 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 eggs. Fold in 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp flour and 1/4 cup cocoa and 1/2 tsp salt. That’s it! Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and then prepare to get out the fat pants. This is deep, rich, moist, crunchy at the edges and simply heaven.

Someone please help. I’m being held hostage by Martha’s double chocolate brownies, from April Living. OMG these are SO good. They’re evil. Melt 8 oz bittersweet chocolate with a stick of butter (I did it in the microwave, heck on that double boiler insanity). Then whisk in 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 eggs. Fold … Read more →

When I was in high school, I worked in a Greek ice cream shop. One side was a chocolate shop and the other was an ice cream shop. The ice cream shop also sold homemade (actually made at home by the owner’s wife) rice pudding which was delicious. I’ve never tried to make it though, so when I saw that Martha had a recipe for honey rice pudding in April Living, I decided to give it a go. The recipe called for arborio rice, which seemed sort of odd to me. I know my grandmother never used arborio rice in hers. I went with it though. The recipe is simple – 3 1/2 cups milk (I mixed skim milk and some heavy cream), 1/2 cup arborio rice, 1/2 tsp salt, and a tsp of vanilla with 2 tbsp sugar (I added more since I decided I didn’t want to add honey to this). That’s it. Martha says to cook 20-25 minutes. Mine took MUCH longer – about 45 minutes to get the right consistency. I sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top when serving (you have to do this – it makes it taste even better).

After I made this, I called my mom and got my grandmother’s recipe and made it for comparison. Don’t tell anyone, but Martha’s is much, much better! My grandmother’s recipe involves egg and gets baked in a water bath.  It tastes very eggy, not nearly as creamy and it just more complicated. Martha’s method is straightforward and totally fab. In fact, it all disappeared within 12 hours. So now I’ll be making some more since there is rioting.

When I was in high school, I worked in a Greek ice cream shop. One side was a chocolate shop and the other was an ice cream shop. The ice cream shop also sold homemade (actually made at home by the owner’s wife) rice pudding which was delicious. I’ve never tried to make it though, … Read more →

Thanks to Teresa at Homemade Iowa Life for picking this project – the assignment was to make Easter eggs from the selection on Martha’s site. I made the silk tie dyed eggs last year (#12 in that slide show if this link does’t take you directly there) and my only regret is that I used hard boiled eggs, so all my hard work was thrown out! They were gorgeous and a great project – I highly recommend them. This year I decided it was time to try blowing out eggs. The first

challenge was the eggs. I only buy organic, and they only come in brown, so we ended up buying regular eggs and dumping the contents (wasteful, and I am ashamed).

I read Martha’s instructions for this and her method is to go buy a egg blowing contraption. I decided I didn’t want to invest in that so we decided to do it the old fashioned way. I read some other online

instructions about how to do this yourself and we got started. Mr. MarthaAndMe went first since his hands actually do what his brain tells them to do. He used a cake tester and scratched and scratched and scratched at one end until he had a hole. He did the same on the other end and moved the cake tester around to make the hole bigger.  Then you swirl the cake tester around inside to break up the yolk.

Hold the egg over a bowl, big hole down and blow through the small hole. Success! Next, submerge the egg in a bowl of water and keep blowing water out until it runs clear. Set it back in the egg carton to completely dry.

When I tried it, I couldn’t get the egg to come out. When Dude Martha tried it, his holes ended up uneven and shattered looking. Mr. MarthaAndMe decided that there had to be an easier way. He’s a man, so that meant power tools. He came back with his drill and used a small bit for the small hole and a slightly bigger one for the bigger hole. He stood the drill up

and held it stationary and then moved the egg towards the drill bit so he could control it. This worked well the first time. The next few broke, but then he got back on track. Some eggs broke as they were being blown. Out of a dozen eggs, we ended up with 8, 3 of which had nicely shaped holes. Not such a great ratio. It was fun to try this though since I had always wondered how hard it was (pretty hard). I also enjoyed making comments about Mr. MarthaAndMe sucking eggs which made him almost choke as he was trying to blow one out, so that was a highlight as well.

The next day we colored the eggs. I decided to try Marbelizing Eggs. The directions say to color the egg first in one bowl then in another bowl, mix up the dye and add oil. Swirl the oil and roll the egg through it to get the marbelized effect. Total disaster. No marbelizing happened at all. None. We tried adding more dye, more oil, etc and nothing working. So Dude Martha and Mr. MarthaAndMe then began to experiment (shudder). Mr. MarthaAndMe has memories of making these kinds of eggs as a kid and tried to recreate it by

adding drops of food coloring to vinegar and water, not mixing it, and quickly rolling the egg through it. It sort of worked. Then he started dripping food coloring directly on the egg and rolling it in the water. That worked the best and resulted in the more brightly colored eggs. Dude Martha did the same thing and the eggs really did turn out quite vibrant and interesting.

This was fun, but was not as successful as I’d hoped. I do like having blown out eggs to work with so that if you’re lucky enough to create something beautiful, you can keep it. That being said, I think I’ll go back to the Broadway Market next year (see yesterday’s post) and buy some more professionally made eggs for $10!

Thanks to Teresa at Homemade Iowa Life for picking this project – the assignment was to make Easter eggs from the selection on Martha’s site. I made the silk tie dyed eggs last year (#12 in that slide show if this link does’t take you directly there) and my only regret is that I used … Read more →

We made an excursion to The Broadway Market, a market in downtown Buffalo that is a traditional place to visit during the Easter season. It struck me as something Martha would enjoy, so I snapped some photos and thought I would share the experience. The market is open year round, but the Easter and Christmas seasons are when it is in full swing. In fact, the market makes all of its money during those seasons and is in danger of closing because no one comes to it at other times of the year (organizers are trying to revitalize it and I hope they are able to since this is a tradition everyone who lives in Buffalo knows and loves).

At this time of year, there are many traditional items at the market that people come from miles around to buy. Pussy willows are always for sale and people take bunches of them home. Horseradish is another popular item – whole or ground.

Butter lambs are a beautiful addition to an Easter table and I buy one every year.

The market is also home to many Polish baked good specialties. This year I

bought some chrusciki – a deep fried dough covered in powdered sugar. There are lots of breads and pastries for sale as well, but it’s hard to maneuver with the lines and crowds of people to get to the counter and place your order.

We also usually buy some local specialties, such as Crystal Beach sugar

waffles and suckers. Crystal Beach was an amusement park across the border in Canada (now closed) and my dad’s family spent summers there and most people of his age have fond memories of it.  They were also famous for their loganberry drink.

The market is also famous for its holiday meats. Polish sausage is a popular item, as well as hams. Another food you can find everywhere is pierogis – dumplings stuffed with potato, cheese, onion, or other combinations. I have to admit I’m not a fan of the pierogi, mostly because I find it weird to have a dumpling filled with potato ( I don’t like knishes for the same reason).

It wouldn’t be Easter without candy, so there are lots of candy bunnies for sale, as well as jelly beans, chocolate bark, chocolate covered apples, and more.

While the food that is available is pretty amazing, the market also has lots of Easter eggs for sale, many made in Poland, Russian, or Austria. They come in every design imaginable, as well as every color. For about $10 each, they are a nice souvenir to take home. If you’re ever in Buffalo at Easter, I urge you to visit this landmark market.

We made an excursion to The Broadway Market, a market in downtown Buffalo that is a traditional place to visit during the Easter season. It struck me as something Martha would enjoy, so I snapped some photos and thought I would share the experience. The market is open year round, but the Easter and Christmas … Read more →

This week’s project was chosen by Pru at Perfecting Pru. Maple Bacon Quiche sounded good,

but I am fan of quiche in general. Maple and bacon can also do no wrong in my book.

I started making this much later than I should have, but I put the oven on convection and we were able to eat dinnerbefore it was time to go to bed:) First up was the pate brisee.  This made a lot of pie crust. In fact, it uses twice as much butter and almost twice as much flour as my usual recipe for pate brisee. I’m not sure why Martha wanted the crust so thick and so big. You make the crust and then bake it separately. Then you cook bacon, and cook some onion in a little bacon grease, adding maple syrup. That all gets mixed with egg, cream and thyme and goes into the pie shell.

I thought it was very good. Mr. MarthaAndMe thought it had too strong of a maple flavor. I also thought it seemed very rich – it’s mostly egg, cream and bacon! I’m used to quiche that has vegetables in it, so this was a heavier version. It looked pretty with the bacon sprinkled on top.

This week’s project was chosen by Pru at Perfecting Pru. Maple Bacon Quiche sounded good, but I am fan of quiche in general. Maple and bacon can also do no wrong in my book. I started making this much later than I should have, but I put the oven on convection and we were able … 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 →

Today’s Martha Mondays is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache. Well, this one sounded really good. Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ for the pick.

I must confess to a tiny goof on this recipe! I used only 3 oz of chocolate in the bread instead of 5. I just read the recipe wrong. It came out looking gorgeous. It tasted good and the ganache was yummy. But I would rather have real chocolate cake than quick bread any day think. If I wasn’t trying to lose weight, I could see having this with a cup of tea in the afternoon and it would be lovely, but if I have to pick and choose my calories, I’ll pick cake – or ice cream – or pie – or cookies over this I think. I’m not a fan of the texture of it somehow – too grainy or not quite moist enough. Maybe I’m just craving cake! Anyway, it was good and very pretty. What did everyone else think?

Today’s Martha Mondays is Chocolate Marble Quick Bread with Ganache. Well, this one sounded really good. Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ for the pick. I must confess to a tiny goof on this recipe! I used only 3 oz of chocolate in the bread instead of 5. I just read the recipe wrong. It … Read more →

Thanks to Robyn at Robyn’s Nest for today’s pick, healthy mac and cheese.  I was intrigued by this recipe and as soon as I read it, I knew that my friend Ward at Sensei Cooks would love it. Ward has a 6 yr old son named Dylan who loves mac and cheese and Ward routinely sneaks things into it. So this would be perfect for you, Ward!

To make this recipe, you cook butternut squash in milk and chicken broth and then mash it. Boil your noodles and mix the mashed squash, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into it. Top with bread crumbs and cheese and bake.

It looks like mac and cheese but doesn’t taste the same. It’s not very cheesy at all and the squash flavor dominates. I did not tell the family what this was – just that it was mac and cheese. Mr. MarthaAndMe said he liked it. Dude Martha said it was ok. Teen Martha said “this is weird” and knew something was up. She is the family mac and cheese connossieur. Once I fessed up what was in it, she pushed it away and wanted no part of it. The other two family members weren’t horrifed.

This recipe made a LOT. So I’m freezing a bunch and hoping it reheats ok. As for me, I thought it was ok, but it wasn’t mac and cheese. It was a squash/pasta dish. I don’t think I would make this again, although we will definitely eat up the leftovers. And I might cheat and put a little more cheese on it when I heat it up!

Thanks to Robyn at Robyn’s Nest for today’s pick, healthy mac and cheese.  I was intrigued by this recipe and as soon as I read it, I knew that my friend Ward at Sensei Cooks would love it. Ward has a 6 yr old son named Dylan who loves mac and cheese and Ward routinely … Read more →