I posted my Valentine’s and St. Patrick Day trees, so I thought I would share my Easter tree with you also. I have some other eggs around the house and I like to display them in egg cups. I like my Easter tree because it not only has eggs, but it also has rabbits and some baskets.

I posted my Valentine’s and St. Patrick Day trees, so I thought I would share my Easter tree with you also. I have some other eggs around the house and I like to display them in egg cups. I like my Easter tree because it not only has eggs, but it also has rabbits and … Read more →

Martha’s got an interesting recipe in April Martha Stewart Living – Twice Baked Potatoes made with Greek yogurt. The idea is the yogurt replaces sour cream. I was game. First problem – no Greek yogurt to be found! The recipe says you cannot substitute regular yogurt because it will separate, so I wasn’t willing to strain regular yogurt and use that instead, even though a few Twitter pals  suggested that. My grocery store, Wegman’s, does not carry Greek yogurt, which I find to be just weird. Another Twitter pal found it at Costco (we don’t have one of those here). Finally, I found it at a small family-owned store in my neighborhood, called Dash’s. However, I paid $6.50 for a two cup container! Not such an affordable little recipe, Martha.

Once I had my yogurt safely home (and delicately placed in the fridge so none of the liquid gold would spill), I got to work. I baked my potatoes, peeled them and because I don’t have a ricer (yet another gadget to add to my growing, expensive Martha to-buy list) I just used a mixer and smushed it up. I added melted butter and cream, the yogurt, and salt and pepper.

March chives

Then, dear reader, I sloshed out in the rain to see if I had any chives coming up. They were there – just peeking out of the ground, so I snipped a few tops and came back in and shook myself off like a dog. I mixed those in.

Then I tasted it. There was certainly no cheering. It was pretty bland. So I added what any potato goes happily with – cheese. Some parmesan cheese (also known as nectar of the gods). That gave it some flavor.

I baked this in a square baking pan for 40 minutes as directed. It came out looking nice and brown. It smelled good too.

But how did it taste, you ask? Ah, there’s the rub. It was not fabulous. It was grainy and kind of dry tasting. Thank goodness I added the cheese because it really would not have been great without that. I know the Greek yogurt is healthier than sour cream, but I would much rather use light sour cream than Greek yogurt in this dish.  Or maybe even a mixture of the two would give it the moisture it lacked. So, I’m afraid I can’t recommend this dish. Not a good thing.

Martha’s got an interesting recipe in April Martha Stewart Living – Twice Baked Potatoes made with Greek yogurt. The idea is the yogurt replaces sour cream. I was game. First problem – no Greek yogurt to be found! The recipe says you cannot substitute regular yogurt because it will separate, so I wasn’t willing to … Read more →

Martha’s got an interesting recipe in April Martha Stewart Living – Twice Baked Potatoes made with Greek yogurt. The idea is the yogurt replaces sour cream. I was game. First problem – no Greek yogurt to be found! The recipe says you cannot substitute regular yogurt because it will separate, so I wasn’t willing to strain regular yogurt and use that instead, even though a few Twitter pals  suggested that. My grocery store, Wegman’s, does not carry Greek yogurt, which I find to be just weird. Another Twitter pal found it at Costco (we don’t have one of those here). Finally, I found it at a small family-owned store in my neighborhood, called Dash’s. However, I paid $6.50 for a two cup container! Not such an affordable little recipe, Martha.

Once I had my yogurt safely home (and delicately placed in the fridge so none of the liquid gold would spill), I got to work. I baked my potatoes, peeled them and because I don’t have a ricer (yet another gadget to add to my growing, expensive Martha to-buy list) I just used a mixer and smushed it up. I added melted butter and cream, the yogurt, and salt and pepper.

March chives

Then, dear reader, I sloshed out in the rain to see if I had any chives coming up. They were there – just peeking out of the ground, so I snipped a few tops and came back in and shook myself off like a dog. I mixed those in.

Then I tasted it. There was certainly no cheering. It was pretty bland. So I added what any potato goes happily with – cheese. Some parmesan cheese (also known as nectar of the gods). That gave it some flavor.

I baked this in a square baking pan for 40 minutes as directed. It came out looking nice and brown. It smelled good too.

But how did it taste, you ask? Ah, there’s the rub. It was not fabulous. It was grainy and kind of dry tasting. Thank goodness I added the cheese because it really would not have been great without that. I know the Greek yogurt is healthier than sour cream, but I would much rather use light sour cream than Greek yogurt in this dish.  Or maybe even a mixture of the two would give it the moisture it lacked. So, I’m afraid I can’t recommend this dish. Not a good thing.

Martha’s got an interesting recipe in April Martha Stewart Living – Twice Baked Potatoes made with Greek yogurt. The idea is the yogurt replaces sour cream. I was game. First problem – no Greek yogurt to be found! The recipe says you cannot substitute regular yogurt because it will separate, so I wasn’t willing to … Read more →

On a recent episode, Lucinda Scala Quinn demonstrated some of the fish recipes from April Martha Stewart Living. Now, I have professed my love for Lucinda before and I must say she has not disappointed me this time.

I decided to make Slow-Roasted Salmon.  Salmon is one of my go-to meals and I prefer to use wild salmon, but it’s out of season, so I had to settle for farmed salmon. When I make salmon I often grill it and serve it with lemon and dill. Sometimes I will oven roast it. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, has a fab recipe for asian salmon that is to die for.

Lucinda’s recipe is super simple. You mix up some chopped tomato, chopped orange and chili paste (the only chili paste I could find was a sweet and sour Thai version – but that worked for me since I don’t like hot spicy things too much). You slit your salmon filets and sort of stuff them with the mixture, then the directions say to roast at 250 for 25 minutes.  At 25 min mine was still raw, so I cranked on convection and put it up to 400 and finished it off quickly.

This tasted terrific. I loved the citrus flavor and the chili paste gave it a little zing, but not too much for me. It was simply beautiful looking. I’ll definitely make this again. Points for Lucinda.

On a recent episode, Lucinda Scala Quinn demonstrated some of the fish recipes from April Martha Stewart Living. Now, I have professed my love for Lucinda before and I must say she has not disappointed me this time. I decided to make Slow-Roasted Salmon.  Salmon is one of my go-to meals and I prefer to … Read more →

Continuing on with the fish bonanza in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living, I made the pan sauteed sole. Sole is a fish that I make fairly often. I like it because it is mild and quick to cook.

Martha says to dust your fish with Wondra and pan fry it in some butter. When you flip it over, you add thin slices of lemon to the pan. I’ve pan fried sole before, but I’ve never added the lemon slices to the pan, and this was a nice touch. It made the dish very pretty and it seemed to really infuse the fish with a nice taste. I would definitely make this again.

Now for the drama. Although sole is a food I make often, I think this batch caused me to have an allergic reaction! About an hour or two after dinner, I started to feel hot. My entire face, chest and neck had turned beet red, as if I had the world’s worst sunburn. My cheeks were puffy and I was starting to feel like I was having some trouble breathing. I took some Benadryl which did the trick, but also knocked me out. I ate almost nothing else that day other than cereal, fruit, vegetables, and potatoes and definitely nothing that was new or weird. It seems quite odd to me that a fish I have eaten regularly could cause such a violent reaction, but I don’t know what else to think.

Continuing on with the fish bonanza in the April issue of Martha Stewart Living, I made the pan sauteed sole. Sole is a fish that I make fairly often. I like it because it is mild and quick to cook. Martha says to dust your fish with Wondra and pan fry it in some butter. … Read more →

April Fool’s Day is a special day in our family. It is teen Martha’s (my teen daughter) birthday. Happy 17th Birthday Teen Martha! Because of this special event, we are usually more concentrated on birthday celebrations than on tricks. It is apropos that she was born on April Fool’s Day since she played a little April fool joke us on the day she was born. My bouncing bundle of joy weighed in at a whopping 11 1/2 lbs. Quite a funny little joke, except it was no joke! And I lived to tell the tale. I’m under strict orders not to post ANY photos of her on here or she will never speak to me again.

I thought I would share a special birthday cake I made for her a few years ago. It’s an April Fool’s cake – spaghetti and meatballs cake.

First I made a one layer chocolate cake (using my grandmother’s recipe which I might share with you someday if you’re nice!). I made white frosting and squeezed it out through a pastry bag to make it look like spaghetti. I made the meatballs out of fudge. The red sauce is strawberry jam and the parmesan cheese is grated white chocolate. It was a huge hit.

April Fool’s Day is a special day in our family. It is teen Martha’s (my teen daughter) birthday. Happy 17th Birthday Teen Martha! Because of this special event, we are usually more concentrated on birthday celebrations than on tricks. It is apropos that she was born on April Fool’s Day since she played a little … Read more →

April Fool’s Day is a special day in our family. It is teen Martha’s (my teen daughter) birthday. Happy 17th Birthday Teen Martha! Because of this special event, we are usually more concentrated on birthday celebrations than on tricks. It is apropos that she was born on April Fool’s Day since she played a little April fool joke us on the day she was born. My bouncing bundle of joy weighed in at a whopping 11 1/2 lbs. Quite a funny little joke, except it was no joke! And I lived to tell the tale. I’m under strict orders not to post ANY photos of her on here or she will never speak to me again.

I thought I would share a special birthday cake I made for her a few years ago. It’s an April Fool’s cake – spaghetti and meatballs cake.

First I made a one layer chocolate cake (using my grandmother’s recipe which I might share with you someday if you’re nice!). I made white frosting and squeezed it out through a pastry bag to make it look like spaghetti. I made the meatballs out of fudge. The red sauce is strawberry jam and the parmesan cheese is grated white chocolate. It was a huge hit.

April Fool’s Day is a special day in our family. It is teen Martha’s (my teen daughter) birthday. Happy 17th Birthday Teen Martha! Because of this special event, we are usually more concentrated on birthday celebrations than on tricks. It is apropos that she was born on April Fool’s Day since she played a little … Read more →

I whipped up Martha’s Asparagus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche when I was stumped about what to make for dinner.

This is easy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and use a store bought crust! You cook the asparagus and leek in a pan. Grate your cheese (I wish Gruyere did not smell so bad! Who wants stinky feet in their quiche?) and put it in the bottom of the crust. Add the veggies then the egg and cream mix. That’s it. Bake for about 50 minutes.

Mine came out very nicely – puffy and slightly golden. I thought it tasted great and was a nice alternative to the quiche I seem to always make, which is spinach and mushroom. It’s a nice way to use asparagus if you have a lot.

How did the quiche go over with the family? Teen Martha wasn’t home. Mini-Martha would not touch it. Mr. MarthaandMe said it was “ok”. He and mini-Martha scarfed down the Polish sausage I cooked up for them happily and ate his one piece of quiche. I guess real mean eat quiche, but prefer Polish sausage.

Now that you’ve read how the dinner went, let me tell you what happened afterwards. I got really sick. Mr. MarthaAndMe was not affected. I didn’t believe it could be the quiche, but all I had with it was bread and melon. So the next day I ate it again. And I got really sick again. Again – Mr. MarthaAndMe not affected. I can’t explain it, but I don’t think I’ll be making this again ever! Now this is not to say I am saying the recipe is bad, instead I’m guessing there was something wrong with one of my ingredients.

I whipped up Martha’s Asparagus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche when I was stumped about what to make for dinner. This is easy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and use a store bought crust! You cook the asparagus and leek in a pan. Grate your cheese (I wish Gruyere did not smell … Read more →

Easter eggs. Anyone can do that, right?  Well, that’s what I thought anyway. I decided to do some decoupage eggs as Martha shows in April Martha Stewart Living and also the glitter eggs that are mentioned at the front of the magazine as being online (and are also in the Craft Encyclopedia). This sounded like something I could manage.

The first step was getting the eggs. Blowing out eggs was way too much work for me. Martha says in the magazine you can find blown out eggs at “any craft store”. Ha! Neither Michael’s nor Joann had them. Joann had no eggs of any kind – nothing wooden, paper, etc (and snotty people working there who were not interested in helping me). What craft store has NO wooden or faux eggs available 2 weeks before Easter?

Michael’s had wooden eggs so I bought some of those. I also bought some Mod Podge glue. As for decoupage, I simply do not have the fine motor skills to cut out the shapes in the template in the magazine. Not a chance. So I thought I would be clever and buy some Easter stickers and some cute little confetti.

Sticker Shock

The first thing I did was to paint the eggs I was going to decoupage. The first problem was that that the price stickers would not come off!

I don’t know how you paint these without getting fingerprints all over them. I ended up doing several coats and got it all over my hands and the table. I kept dropping the eggs (good thing they weren’t real!).

Painting

Glue for Glitter

While those dried, I attempted to do the glitter eggs. I read the instructions in the craft encyclopedia several times. It says to hold the egg and paint it with glue then set it in the glitter and cover it. If you hold the egg while putting glue on, the glue comes off on your hands and does not stick to the egg. When you pick the egg up out of the glitter, the glitter comes off on your hands. This is why my first egg ended up with bald spots! I tried to dab a little more glue on and put more glitter, but that was unsuccessful.

Bald Patch

I was ready to toss the damn eggs out the window, when Mr. MarthaAndMe suggested sticking a nail in the bottom of each one so I could hold the nail. The man is a genius. This worked perfectly and I ended up with evenly glittered eggs that looked pretty darn nice. He made some holes in a piece of wood so we could just stick the nails in it and let the eggs dry. My father-

The Solution

in-law says you can do anything if you have the right tools, and again he was proven correct. I think the instructions for this craft made it sound far too simple and did not offer enough guidance.

Next, onto the decoupage. I have never decoupaged, but after hearing Rosie O’Donnell rave about it for years, I thought, how hard could it be? I’ve seen her demonstrate it several times and it looked so easy.

Disaster

Wrong. The problem probably lies in my materials and I am willing to admit that up front. The stickers did not work. First of all, they were too large and crumpled at the edges because the eggs are curved. Mr. MarthaAndMe said they were too thick to work and that somehow the adhesive on the stickers interfered with the glue.  Similar problem with the confetti – it would not stick. I was using Martha Stewart confetti and it was kind of stiff.

The Ones that Turned Out

Again, I was ready to open the window and pitch the damn things out, but Mr. MarthaAndMe suggested we just hole punch some white paper and use the dots to make polka dots with decoupage. You can see why I married this man. This worked pretty well. I had some trouble with the glue making the paint moist and the paint smearing and coming off.  I was also able to use the tiny Easter egg stickers I had – some of them stuck and some of it didn’t.

Was this fun? Umm, no. It made me crazy. It made a mess. It was not cheap. I would rather buy some decorative eggs for display than monkey around with this and have it never be quite right.

I guess the Easter bunny will not be too happy with me this year.

Easter eggs. Anyone can do that, right?  Well, that’s what I thought anyway. I decided to do some decoupage eggs as Martha shows in April Martha Stewart Living and also the glitter eggs that are mentioned at the front of the magazine as being online (and are also in the Craft Encyclopedia). This sounded like … Read more →

The April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Broccoli, Tomato and Mozarella Stromboli. In this neck of the woods, we call these pizza pods, which are made at a local restaurant called Pizza Plant. We like to go there because you can custom order your own pod. I usually order one with a spinach dough and spinach and mushrooms inside. Mr. MarthaandMe likes his with anchovies. The kids have always liked it there too because they bring some fresh dough to the table for kids to play with.

So, I was happy to give Martha’s stromboli a try. I bought wheat pizza dough at the grocery store and reserved 1/4 of it for Mini-Martha, who wanted to make a small pizza instead of a stromboli. I rolled the other 3 pieces of dough out, but it was difficult to get them to the right size.

Next, I piled on the ingredients. Mine had broccoli (and can I say this recipe calls for frozen broccoli which I have never in my life bought before – I was brave and bought it), spinach, salami, mushroom, cheese and sauce. Mr. MarthaandMe’s had mushrooms, broccoli, salami, cheese, sauce and anchovy paste (blech!).

Rolling them up was a bit of a challenge because, as you can see,  I may have overstuffed them a teeny bit!

Now we come to the part where things got a little hairy. I rolled them up and put them on the baking sheet, seam side down. The recipe says to line the baking sheet with foil. I was a bit surprised by this since Martha seems to have a paranoia about foil touching food and all of her recipes tell you to put parchment between the foil and the food. Not so in this recipe. It says to put the strombolis on the foil. So I did, then I baked them.

They turned out gorgeously brown and puffy with some filling oozing out. Then I tried to get them off the baking sheet. Right. Not happening. The foil stuck to the bottoms and would not peel off. It was a huge mess. I may have lost my temper and had a few choice words for Martha. Sometimes I get so tired of spending all this time and effort and having things not turn out.

I may have thrown down my spatula in disgust and walked away. Mr. MarthaAndMe valiantly stepped in. He ended up cutting the foil between them, flipping them over and peeling off tiny pieces of foil one at a time. Very frustrating and ridiculous.

I was so upset I forgot to take a photo of the inside, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. They tasted good and I enjoyed the salami, which is not something I would normally have added.  Would I make this again? I don’t know – I think I would rather just have a pizza. Same ingredients and less mess.

The April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Broccoli, Tomato and Mozarella Stromboli. In this neck of the woods, we call these pizza pods, which are made at a local restaurant called Pizza Plant. We like to go there because you can custom order your own pod. I usually order one … Read more →