I watched Martha make Fudgy Skillet Brownies on the Today show (I almost can’t watch those segments – they are so disjointed and quick compared to Martha’s usual style and I can never get the image of her before the trial saying “I just want to focus on my salad” out of my head) and then looked the recipe up in March Everyday Food. I have to say I am still scratching my head at the concept. It’s in a section of the magazine about skillet cooking, which is supposed to be sort of, almost, not really easier than other cooking. It seems to me in this recipe, you are just substituting a skillet for a baking pan and it doesn’t make anything simpler.

I started by whisking eggs and sugar in bowl #1. Then you’re supposed to mix the dry ingredients in bowl #2. I skipped this step and just dumped those ingredients straight from the measuring cups when the time came. I melted butter and heated cream in the skillet then added the chocolate (I used a mix of dark and semisweet since I didn’t have any bittersweet hanging around – call me Substitution Sally).

You’re supposed to let the chocolate mixture sit for 5 minutes before incorporating it into the eggs. I had no patience for that – it was 8 pm and I needed my chocolate fix! Instead I tempered the eggs with it and then added it. No problems there. I added my dry ingredients and dumped it into the skillet. The batter is very thick and fudgy looking.

The recipe says to cook for 40 minutes. Mine was done at 25 minutes. They tasted good and came out of my nonstick skillet easily. They were definitely very chocolately and had a nice crunchy top and a soft delicious middle. Is there anything better than brownies late at night? I think not.

Would I do this again? Probably not. It seemed a little silly to me to use a skillet to make brownies. You still need to use at least one bowl to make this, so it’s not a one dish situation. Have you made this recipe? I’d love to hear what other think.

I watched Martha make Fudgy Skillet Brownies on the Today show (I almost can’t watch those segments – they are so disjointed and quick compared to Martha’s usual style and I can never get the image of her before the trial saying “I just want to focus on my salad” out of my head) and … Read more →

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 →

I want to send my condolences to Martha on the loss of her beautiful chow Genghis Khan in an horrific kennel fire. My thoughts are also with the kennel owner and the propane delivery man who was injured in the blaze. I know how hard it is to lose a pet and my thoughts are with everyone involved.

I want to send my condolences to Martha on the loss of her beautiful chow Genghis Khan in an horrific kennel fire. My thoughts are also with the kennel owner and the propane delivery man who was injured in the blaze. I know how hard it is to lose a pet and my thoughts are … 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 →

We love Dutch baby pancakes in this house. We first had them at the Original Pancake House, where they are truly fabulous. A few years ago, I began requesting them for Mother’s Day breakfast. There’s a recipe for a Dutch Baby Pancake in the March Martha Stewart Everyday Food, so I woke up on a weekend morning and decided to whip it up.

I saw Martha make this on the Today show last week and may I just say, she completely and totally burned it! This recipe is part of a section on skillet cooking. I find this concept silly. It doesn’t save you any pots and pans and there is nothing easier about it at all, so I don’t quite see why it is so exciting. I don’t have a cast iron skillet, so I had to cheat and use round baking pans for this recipe (that’s how we normally make our own Dutch Baby recipe anyhow).

In the Blender

Martha says to mix the entire recipe in the blender. I don’t know what her fascination is with the blender, but she’s had a lot of blender recipes lately too. I’m not wild about the blender. It always oozes down the side and is not easy to clean.  I’m much happier with a bowl and a spoon I think.

Ok, so you dump in your eggs, sugar, salt, flour and milk and whizz it up. You melt butter in your skillet (cake pans for me) and put it in the oven.

Martha says one Dutch baby

Pouring

pancake feeds four. I doubled this for 4 people and it wasn’t enough! I also cooked mine on convection since everyone was VERY HUNGRY and did not want to wait.

Once they come out of the oven, Martha says to put powdered sugar and lemon juice on them. That is how we make our Dutch babies, but we also add sliced strawberries and maple syrup.

The end result was a lot like Yorkshire pudding in my opinion. It’s very eggy. Everyone agreed it was not very filling at all. It was good, but I think I am going to stick with my

Done

own Dutch Baby recipe. Here it is if you want to try it:

– 3 eggs

– 1/2 c. flour

– 1/2 tsp salt

– 1/2 c. milk

– 2 tbsp melted butter

Whisk eggs until blended. Stir in flour and salt, then add milk and melted butter. Pour into a 9 inch greased pan and bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temp to 350, and prick the edges of the pancake with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve with butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and syrup.

We love Dutch baby pancakes in this house. We first had them at the Original Pancake House, where they are truly fabulous. A few years ago, I began requesting them for Mother’s Day breakfast. There’s a recipe for a Dutch Baby Pancake in the March Martha Stewart Everyday Food, so I woke up on a … 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 →

It sounded simple enough to whip up the Balsamic-Rosemary Viniagrette in March Martha Stewart Everyday Food and marinate some pork chops in it for Balsamic Glased Pork Chops.After all, Lucinda Scala Quinn made it look very easy and tasty when she appeared on the Martha Stewart Show.  Silly me.

This is another one of those blender recipes Martha is so fond of lately. You dump in your balsamic, water, garlic clove, salt, pepper, rosemary and mustard and whizz it up. Then you drizzle your olive oil in and presto it is supposed to be done.

Not so fast! As I was pouring it out into a container, the big lump of garlic clove came plopping out. The blender didn’t even touch it. So I dumped it all back in and pulsed it. Still nothing. So next I fished it out and put it in the mini- Cuisinart. No luck there either – it just hung out on the sides and refused to chop. Finally I pulled out a cutting board and minced it by hand. By this point, I had a counter full of dirty dishes for a recipe that was supposed to be simple! This not a happy Martha moment.

I poured some over the chops and let them sit in the fridge a couple of hours. Then I grilled them on the Jenn-Air.

I wasn’t excited about these at all. I think they really need to marinate overnight to get any flavor. I could barely taste the viniagrette. There wasn’t anything special about this, and after all the work it was to make, I was annoyed!

It sounded simple enough to whip up the Balsamic-Rosemary Viniagrette in March Martha Stewart Everyday Food and marinate some pork chops in it for Balsamic Glased Pork Chops.After all, Lucinda Scala Quinn made it look very easy and tasty when she appeared on the Martha Stewart Show.  Silly me. This is another one of those … Read more →

On the last Cooking School segment, Martha Stewart and Sarah Carey made custards. I would have made the creme brulee, but oddly I just don’t have a blow torch sitting around. So I decided to go with the flan. I have never made flan or creme brulee, so this was a new experience for me.

First I cooked the sugar and water. This was simple – and I kept wiping down the sides of the pan with water. It turned the right color. When I poured it in the ramekins, I had the same problem Martha had on the show – it cooled very quickly and I could not get the bottom of each covered evenly.

Then I moved on to make the custard. I whisked the eggs and egg yolks and cooked the milk and sugar. I tempered the eggs, then added the rest of the milk. I strained it and poured it into ramekins. I added the water bath and cooked for about 35 minutes. They came out perfectly.

One small problem. Martha says to remove them from the water bath using tongs. They kept slipping out of the tongs and I almost got them wet, which would have been not so wonderful. Mr. MarthaandMe came riding to the rescue and got them out, but did manage to burn himself with the hot water in the process.

I let them cool on a rack, then chilled them. They came out of the ramekins nicely without a lot of trouble, and looked really pretty on the plates with the syrup on them. There was just one teeny tiny problem. They tasted really, really awful. As in edible. The custard was just gross  – no flavor to it. The syrup had a slightly burned taste. It was simply horrendous, so they all got dumped down the drain. So much for flan.

On the last Cooking School segment, Martha Stewart and Sarah Carey made custards. I would have made the creme brulee, but oddly I just don’t have a blow torch sitting around. So I decided to go with the flan. I have never made flan or creme brulee, so this was a new experience for me. … 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 →