I know, corny header. Couldn’t help myself since I needed something to perk me up after making Steamed Halibut from April Martha Stewart Living (also featured on the tv show).

I wasn’t excited by the idea of this recipe, but honestly Martha totally raved about it when she had it on the show and it looked easy, so I gave it a shot. I couldn’t find halibut steaks, so I used filets. Martha says to steam the fish on a bed of herbs. I had some flat leaf parsley so I used that.

It steamed very quickly – 5 or 6 minutes. Very simple. It looked pretty when I served it on the bed of herbs with some lemon. How did it taste? Eh. That’s about the best I can do. It was ok. Nothing to write home about (yet apparently enough to write on a blog about!). The fish was flaky and moist. It did have a hint of the parsley flavor. But it was bland and boring. The lemon helped a bit but not a lot.  I would not serve halibut this way again.

And please let me point out that I used a metal steamer and all the herbs sort of cooked onto it and it was a pain in the watusi to clean it.  That’s my complaint of the day.

I know, corny header. Couldn’t help myself since I needed something to perk me up after making Steamed Halibut from April Martha Stewart Living (also featured on the tv show). I wasn’t excited by the idea of this recipe, but honestly Martha totally raved about it when she had it on the show and it … Read more →

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears.

I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I get bored with it. There are a few ways I normally make it. The first is just cut up and boiled with butter and salt and pepper. My preferred method is to roast it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I coat it in panko and pan fry it.

First up is the asparagus with goat cheese. I cooked my whole asparagus stalks in a pan with a tiny bit of water. They cooked very quickly. I sliced the goat cheese into rounds and coated them with flour then panko and froze them and quickly browned them in a pan. I loved the goat cheese on this! The rounds looked gorgeous and brown and so very professional. This is a terrific way to dress up plain asparagus with not a lot of work and I will definitely be making it again. This one is truly fab.

Asparagus experiment number two is Spaghetti with Shaved Asparagus. I was intrigued by this- I had never thought of shaving asparagus. Martha says to take a vegetable peeler and peel shavings off your asparagus. This was a totally weird thing to do and let me just say it is pretty wasteful. You do not use the tops (and as my mother, Big MarthaAndMe will tell you, the tops are the best part, since she and her brother used to fight over them) and you end up wasting a good portion of the spear itself.

You boil some spaghetti (I used whole wheat) and reserve some of the cooking water. Then you add the shaved asparagus and lemon shavings. Drain it and add butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice and reserved water which comes together to make a very light sauce. You shave some parmesan over the top at the end.

This is interesting looking, but the thing is you do not taste the asparagus at all! It just tastes like a mouthful of pasta with something green in it. I was quite disappointed by that. First you waste so much of the asparagus, then you don’t even taste it? Bah! Skip this one – I wouldn’t make it again. Asparagus tally? One yes, one no.

Asparagus with Mustard Sauce

Now for asparagus recipe number three, Asparagus with Creamy Mustard Sauce. This tells you to steam your asaparagus and chill it. Then you mix up a quick cold sauce with mayo, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. That’s it! Pour the sauce over your asparagus and go to town. I thought the mustard sauce had a nice flavor. This strikes me as a summer dish though. It would taste wonderful for a supper on a hot day. At this time of year it was not so terrific as a cold dish, although it had a nice flavor, it just was not palate pleasing to eat a cold vegetable.

Total tally: One definite, one maybe and one no.

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears. I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I … Read more →

In the April issue of Everyday Food, Martha has a recipe for what is called Chocolate ‘n’ Cream Sandwich Cookies.  AKA Oreos. A recipe that lets you make Oreos at home? Oh yes! I was in.

Cutting Out

First you make the chocolate dough. Martha directs that you roll it out in two pieces to 1/4 of an inch thick. The recipe says to put the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to roll it out. The problem is, you then cannot roll it since it slides all over your counter. It actually takes two people – one to hold it in place and one to roll.  There was much grumbling during this step of the process, I must admit! The next step is to refrigerate (of course – is there a Martha cookie recipe that doesn’t require refrigeration?).  I don’t have a round cookie cutter so I used a tiny glass measuring cup. The pieces came out easily, but there was LOTS leftover (we’ll get to that in a second) and the recipe does not say to roll it all out again.

Cream Filling

I popped the cookies in the oven and baked them until they were “firm and fragrant” as the recipe directed (which seemed sort of a weird description, but I went with it). While they cooled, I made the cream filling. You beat butter until it is fluffy then gradually add in the sugar. I did as directed and started to panic! All it looked like was a bowl of sand. It was not becoming creamy in any way. Eeek. I ditched the mixer and went at it with a spoon. Finally I found that if I smushed it against the sides, it would come together. Whew.

The Final Product

Mini-Martha (my 11 yr old son) and I filled the cookies and put them together. They looked pretty good, if not completely professional. How did they taste? You’re not going to believe this, but they really tasted like Oreos! The cookie is crunchy and sweet and the cream has the right flavor. It was pretty amazing. Total thumbs up. A true Good Thing.

Now for my complaints, if you will bear with me. First of all, the recipe says it makes 15 cookies. 15??? Who is going to do all this work for a mere 15 cookies? That’s pretty ridiculous. After cutting out the cookies, there was a

The Leftovers

lot of dough leftover, and as I mentioned earlier, the recipe does not say you should roll it out again, which seems very wasteful to me. Mini-Martha in particular was distressed at the thought of letting this go to waste. So, in typical 11 yr old fashion, he suggested we make the world’s largest Oreo.  Together we rolled the dough out into two big pieces and baked it. He filled it with the remaining cream. The result was pretty huge and quite full – like a double

Giant Cookie in the Making

stuff Oreo. He was pleased with the result though.

MSL RADIO

If you heard me on Morning Living Live this morning on Sirius, Martha Stewart Living Radio, would you drop them a note saying you enjoyed it?

In the April issue of Everyday Food, Martha has a recipe for what is called Chocolate ‘n’ Cream Sandwich Cookies.  AKA Oreos. A recipe that lets you make Oreos at home? Oh yes! I was in. First you make the chocolate dough. Martha directs that you roll it out in two pieces to 1/4 of … Read more →

Yesterday Martha had a show that was all about sandwiches. I was excited! Sandwiches – real food that real people can make with regular ingredients! Well, I was disappointed. There wasn’t a single sandwich on that show I want to eat. Everything had at least one offensive ingredient! Olives, anchovies, curry paste, liver. Ick! And Martha’s favorite – a baguette with buttter, boiled ham and Jarlsburg? BORING.

Because I was so disappointed, I’m guessing some of you were too. Therefore I’m going to share my three favorite sandwich recipes with you.

Heart Attack From a Novel

This sandwich is based on one I read about in one of Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone books. You start with an onion roll. Put mustard on it.  Place colby jack cheese on the bottom and broil it so the cheese melts. Fry a sunny side up egg. Place salami on top of the cheese, then place the fried egg on top and place the top of the bun on that. When you bite into it, the egg yolk runs down the sandwich. This is incredibly good.

Shrimp Po Boy

Take a loaf of Italian bread and slice it in half, so you have a top and a bottom like you would with a bun. Now pick out a lot of the soft white insides of the loaf, so that you have concave pieces of bread. Put mayo on the bread. Pan fry some breaded shrimp.  Place lettuce, tomato and onion on the roll then pile the shrimp on. Squeeze some lemon over the shrimp and put the top of the bread on. Slice the loaf into 4 segments.

Hawaiian Heaven

This is a sandwich I have making at home for years, and then last summer I had a version of it while we were in Hawaii (with fresh avocadoes) and it was to die for. Start with two pieces of bread of your choosing (rye, wheat,  or marble rye are some of my favorites). Spread honey mustard on both halves. Slice half an avocado. Cook some bacon (I use uncured, organic, nitrate free, but I wish they made it in a light version). Place Swiss cheese on the sandwich.

Now for the super secret move. Slice a tomato and remove the seeds and wet part. Place your slices on a paper towel. Let them sit a minute then flip them over.

Now assemble your sandwich – bread, cheese, bacon, tomato, and avocado. Grill it like grilled cheese on low heat until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are warm.

Draining the tomato keeps the sandwich from getting wet and mushy and it also keeps the tomato from sliding out.

You can substitute turkey instead of bacon and sometimes I add sprouts to this as well.

Yesterday Martha had a show that was all about sandwiches. I was excited! Sandwiches – real food that real people can make with regular ingredients! Well, I was disappointed. There wasn’t a single sandwich on that show I want to eat. Everything had at least one offensive ingredient! Olives, anchovies, curry paste, liver. Ick! And … Read more →

Yesterday on Martha, she had an entire show about yarn. I started to feel a little left out (not one of the cool kids!) since I don’t know how to knit, but then I remembered that I do know some basic crochet, which my grandmother taught me. When I was a child, I used to make crocheted padded hangers. I dug through my closets and found that I still have one! So this is my one and only item I can contribute to the yarn show!

Yesterday on Martha, she had an entire show about yarn. I started to feel a little left out (not one of the cool kids!) since I don’t know how to knit, but then I remembered that I do know some basic crochet, which my grandmother taught me. When I was a child, I used to … Read more →

On the March 20 show, Martha demonstrated some ways to use lemon around the house. This also appeared in Apr Living. One of her tips is about using lemon to polish copper. She says to dip half a lemon in coarse salt and then rub your copper with it.

The only copper item I have is a pot with a copper bottom, and to be honest, I never worried about cleaning the copper on it. It’s just the bottom of a pot, so it really wasn’t very high on my to-do list. Martha piqued my curiosity and I decided to see if this would work.

Check out the before and after photos.

Before

You can see that before I had a very dull and dirty pot. Ok, seeing it upside down like this, I will admit it is pretty gross!

Now check out the after. What do you think? It did make a difference, however it did not get it completely clean – and I really

After

scrubbed the heck out of it. It’s definitely a much brighter color.

Any ideas on how to get it completely clean?

On the March 20 show, Martha demonstrated some ways to use lemon around the house. This also appeared in Apr Living. One of her tips is about using lemon to polish copper. She says to dip half a lemon in coarse salt and then rub your copper with it. The only copper item I have … Read more →

I’m moving ahead to the April issues now although it still doesn’t feel like spring here with a high today of 35!

Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares are the Last Course in the April Martha Stewart Living (the replacement for Cookie of the Month). Decadent is the word that comes to mind from looking at the recipe and photos.

I started by lining my baking pan with parchment. It annoyed me though. I would rather just spray the pan, but I followed Martha’s instructions even though it seemed a little silly. Mixing up the brownie dough was easy and the dough tasted really good! Then, though, I had to go through Martha’s usual 30 steps of making something and refrigerating it and then baking and cooling, etc. I gritted my teeth and followed the instructions.

You bake the brownie crust, but reserve a cup of dough. Once the bottom is cooled, you mix up the cheesecake mixture, pour that on, then sprinkle the remaining dough on top and bake.

I baked mine to the time specified, but I really think it could have baked a bit longer. The bottom was wonderful – crunchy and very chocolate. The cheesecake part was a bit gooey for me. Despite that criticism, this is currently the item in the house that is causing me paroxysms of guilt. It is evil.

I’m moving ahead to the April issues now although it still doesn’t feel like spring here with a high today of 35! Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares are the Last Course in the April Martha Stewart Living (the replacement for Cookie of the Month). Decadent is the word that comes to mind from looking at the recipe … Read more →

In March Martha Stewart Living,  Lucinda Scala Quinn (my fave!) has a section on Eastern influences, so I decided to make the Soba Soup with Chicken, Shrimp, and Vegetables and the Edamame with Sesame Salt.

Edamame

The edamame is simple and it’s something I make all the time. I like to make extra and keep it in the fridge for snacks. You just boil it and season it. If you’ve never had edamame, they taste a lot like lima beans.

Now for the soup. I did a major cheat on this one. Martha (Lucinda, actually in this recipe!) wants you to make your own broth. Sigh. It just takes so much time and as much time as I put into this blog, I can’t do even more. So instead I used pre-made broth and added some ginger and garlic and cooked it a bit. The soup itself contains chicken, which I cooked in the broth, then shredded, shrimp cooked in the broth, and napa cabbage, mushroom, carrot, and tofu. Tofu. I know, I was scared too. But I have to say I did not even notice it in this soup. You also add soy sauce and you put some sesame oil on the soba noodles.

The Soup

This came together quickly and was really a very satisfying meal. All the protein the bowl made it feel very hearty and it was great on a cold night. I just love soba noodles. They’re actually made of buckwheat and one of my most favorite things in the world is buckwheat pancakes, so it’s no surprise. Thumbs up on this one Lucinda!

In March Martha Stewart Living,  Lucinda Scala Quinn (my fave!) has a section on Eastern influences, so I decided to make the Soba Soup with Chicken, Shrimp, and Vegetables and the Edamame with Sesame Salt. The edamame is simple and it’s something I make all the time. I like to make extra and keep it … Read more →

The concept of the Warm Tomato Dressing (Martha Stewart Living, March) seemed sort of weird to me. It sounded more like a sauce than a dressing, but I gave it a try. It was very simple to make and was quick to come together. You cook cherry tomatoes until they blister, then you add balsamic vinegar, red wine, garlic, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt. I had to smush the tomatoes a little to get them to soften up but once I did that it quickly thickened.

I served this over some wilted spinach and it was really delicious! This would taste good on many things – chicken, pasta, a hearty fish (like swordfish).  It has a really beautiful color and a nice consistency. This is a good thing!

The concept of the Warm Tomato Dressing (Martha Stewart Living, March) seemed sort of weird to me. It sounded more like a sauce than a dressing, but I gave it a try. It was very simple to make and was quick to come together. You cook cherry tomatoes until they blister, then you add balsamic … Read more →

Ok you get two for the price one in this post. I made Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair and Asian Carrot Slaw for dinner (both from the March issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food).

First I made the slaw. You are supposed to take carrots and shave them with a vegetable peeler. No problem. Now picture yourself trying to do this with baby carrots. Not that easy. Please envision me holding on to the tip of the baby carrot with my finger tips, getting little miniature shavings off. I didn’t make a lot of this since it was taking me forever to shave the baby carrots! Thinly sliced scallions, toasted sesames, rice vinegar, oil, salt and pepper complete the recipe. I added a dash of sugar since I find Martha’s dressings too tart.

This was very good. The scallion gave it just a little kick. I loved the subdued Asian dressing on it and the sesame gave it some nice flavor. I like shaved carrots like this. Somehow a whole raw baby carrot is just too crunchy sometimes, but when it is shaved like this, it’s very mild and nice.

Next up is the Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair. Full confession – I cheated a bit (a lot) on this. First you dredge your chicken pieces in flour then cook them in a little oil. No problem. You are supposed to remove them and add some chicken stock. I had none and I couldn’t even find my emergency jar of boullion. My solution? Open a dusty can of chicken noodle soup and use the broth from it.

Next you add artichoke hearts and capers. Small problem – no capers in my pantry today. So this is where I got creative. I thought this dish sounded a little bland anyhow, so I added some mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Then I put the chicken back in the sauce, added a little butter and served it over the angel hair pasta.

Here is where I get to pat myself on the back. I ate it without any parmesan cheese. Now look, as far as I’m concerned, pasta and parmesan are meant to go together. I held back from adding it to see if I could focus on the flavor of the ingredients. And I have to admit it was good without the cheese.

I would add something else to this to liven it up – some herbs. It was a little bland, but it was still good.

Ok you get two for the price one in this post. I made Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair and Asian Carrot Slaw for dinner (both from the March issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food). First I made the slaw. You are supposed to take carrots and shave them with a vegetable peeler. No problem. … Read more →