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 →

In recent years, I’ve begun doing something special for Mardi Gras. It was never something we celebrated as a kid, but I find that by this time of year, everyone can use a little celebration to help them get through the winter doldrums.

Last year I made a king cake. This year, I bought paczkis.  Never heard of these? I’ll bet Martha has since they are a Polish tradition (a search of her site didn’t turn anything up – so I say Martha needs to do a show about these).

You used to have to go to a few specific bakeries in our area to find them, but now our grocery stores carry them for Fat Tuesday. Paczkis (pronounced “poonch-keys”) are similar to a jelly donut, but have a different texture. They are a bit heavier – like fried dough. They are filled with jelly or custard cream and are glazed, sugared, or powdered sugared. They are incredibly delicious!

I found this recipe online, although I haven’t tried it myself. If you’ve made them, let me know. Maybe next year I will make them myself.

In recent years, I’ve begun doing something special for Mardi Gras. It was never something we celebrated as a kid, but I find that by this time of year, everyone can use a little celebration to help them get through the winter doldrums. Last year I made a king cake. This year, I bought paczkis.  … 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 →

The cupcake issue is sending me to the breaking point. I may never want to see or eat another cupcake (ok, I can probably always eat cupcakes, I just may never want to make them again). I made the One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes from February Martha Stewart Living.  Wow, this sounded easy and I’m always up for anything chocolate. It was easy – you simply dump everything in one bowl (although you’re supposed to sift – you know there’s no way I was going to sift, right?) and mix. Easy. The batter tasted a little salty to me, but I went with it.

They baked up easily enough, although some of the cupcakes collapsed inward when they cooled.

I contemplated making the Basic Buttercream frosting, but I just could not bring myself to use 3 sticks of butter and one pound of powdered sugar. Instead, I made my own version, involving only one stick of butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, and a little milk.

The frosting process was a complete disaster. The cupcakes are far too soft and crumbly. You cannot spread anything on them (I suppose Martha intends for us to squirt frosting on with a pastry bag, but that’s just not in cards for me on a busy weeknight). So they were mighty ugly looking.

The verdict? These are very good – moist and wonderful.  I do think it was a little too salty, so I would cut back the salt if I made it again.

The cupcake issue is sending me to the breaking point. I may never want to see or eat another cupcake (ok, I can probably always eat cupcakes, I just may never want to make them again). I made the One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes from February Martha Stewart Living.  Wow, this sounded easy and I’m always up … Read more →

Hold onto your hats guys, here’s a recipe that was a winner! I know, can you believe it? I made Meat Loaf Sandwiches with Tomato Relish on Garlic Bread from February Martha Stewart Living (page 158).  I was a little unenthusiastic going in, I admit. Another three part recipe, I sighed to myself.

First you make the meatloaf. It’s a pretty basic recipe, except instead of bread crumbs, Martha has you cut up some chunks of bread and soak them in milk. For meat, she directs you to use a mix of beef, pork and buffalo. Yes, buffalo.  My dirty little secret – I just used beef and nothing else. The meatloaf was easy to make, no problems there.

Then you make a tomato relish. God lord, I thought. How silly this sounds. You broil tomatoes (I cut the recipe in half, so I only broiled one) then cook up a mix of scallion, honey, balsamic vinegar, oil, sugar, and water. Once the tomatoes are broiled you chop them and add them to the mix. You cook it a little longer then strain it and discard the liquid. I was left with a very tiny amount (if you make this recipe you need to make much, much more of this – double or triple it).

Then you made garlic bread, but Martha directs you to use rye (off I ran to the store for that).

Ok, once you’ve got all that made, you assemble it into a sandwich. You’re supposed to add some mache to it, but I forgot (it would have been good though, so do add it if you make this).

Wow. This was really good!! It was just the perfect combo of sweet, garlic, meat, and flavors. I loved it. If you’ve ever had Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jelly, it is sort of like that.

This one is a good thing for sure!

Hold onto your hats guys, here’s a recipe that was a winner! I know, can you believe it? I made Meat Loaf Sandwiches with Tomato Relish on Garlic Bread from February Martha Stewart Living (page 158).  I was a little unenthusiastic going in, I admit. Another three part recipe, I sighed to myself. First you … Read more →

I love to read Martha’s organizing ideas, so I have carefully read the Organizing Principles on page 80-81 of  February Martha Stewart Living.

– Martha suggests storing food in glass jars. This is something I do want to do. I currently store some things in plastic, but I have to say I am becoming paranoid about plastic. The recent news about BPA makes me question the safety of all plastic, so I would love to make the switch to glass. It’s an expensive proposition though to buy all the right sizes and shapes. I’m not wild about freezing in glass jars though.

– I used to have the worst time finding my keys and cell phone in my purse. Martha suggests using a shower curtain ring to attach your keys to your purse handle. That doesn’t strike me as very attractive! My solution has been to only buy purses that have a cell phone pocket and a pocket for keys.  She also says to use a mini file folder in your purse for receipts.  I usually stuff receipts in and remove them when I get home. I do have  a separate little zippy wallet thing to keep coupons, reward certificates and punch cards in. I keep all of my store reward cards on a ring. Mr. MarthaAndMe punched a hole in each one and they are now on there in alphabetical order so I can find them!

– Martha suggests keeping a dish next to the sink to put your scrub brush on. We have a tip out little compartment on the front of our sink that I keep ours in. Out of sight, out of mind. I would rather not see my scrub brush.

– My spice collection is on a group of little wire shelves on the side of the pantry. Martha suggests a lazy Susan. I hate those things! Things always fall off behind them. They seem like such a 70’s thing to me. It doesn’t strike me as a new solution.

– We keep our appliance manuals in a big box, alphabetized. Martha suggests keeping the ones you need for the tv, etc in that room. That’s a good idea. Or it would be if Mr. MarthaAndMe would ever consent to actually read an instruction book!

– Martha has a tip for storing your ironing board. Mine’s even easier. Don’t have one. Seriously. I do not iron. I know that is so not Martha, but I really have nothing that requires ironing. Mr. MarthaandMe’s dress shirts go to the cleaners.

– I do not keep magazine stacks around the house. I cut out recipes I want and toss the rest. This dovetails nicely with Martha’s advice, so I’m already on the bandwagon there. She says to cut them out and keep them in binders. I have 5 three ring binders that I keep all my recipes in, divided by category. I actually learned to do that from my mom, who has always kept hers that way.

– Martha says to have a laundry caddy for stain removal. I just keep all my stain removers above the washer. No caddy necessary. I don’t quite know why you would need a caddy for this – don’t you just work on stains in the laundry area?

– The bathroom makeover tips are interesting – I’ll be posting more about that in coming weeks. We are redoing a bathroom right now (a nightmare of workmen and dust).

– I generally write on leftover containers of food with a Sharpie. Martha says to use masking tape. I find that by the time I’ve written on the container and crossed it off and written on it several more times, it is ready to be thrown out anyhow.

– I had to laugh at the suggestion that we screw the lids of small glass jars to the undersides of cabinets, so you can just screw the jar of bolts or whatever right onto the lid. My father did this in the basement workshop area when I was a kid. He used baby food jars. I remember how impossible it was to screw the jar onto the lid – much harder than just putting a lid on a jar!

I love to read Martha’s organizing ideas, so I have carefully read the Organizing Principles on page 80-81 of  February Martha Stewart Living. – Martha suggests storing food in glass jars. This is something I do want to do. I currently store some things in plastic, but I have to say I am becoming paranoid … Read more →

As part of Martha’s whole ‘meat and potatoes’ section in February Martha Stewart Living (p. 155), she has a recipe for Herb (can we all say “herb” with the ‘h’ sound at the beginning please?) Crusted Pork Roast with New Potatoes. This sounded like a great weeknight meal to me, since it is all made in one pan.

The first problem – Martha calls for a bone-in pork roast (5-6 lbs), frenched. Five to six pounds is way too much for this family and my store does not sell bone-in pork roasts. Yes, I know I should go to the butcher shop or order it at the meat counter, but goodness, sometimes it’s just all too much. So I opted for a boneless pork roast of a much smaller size.

Ready for the oven

First you create the herb crust -0 live oil, garlic, thyme, sage, and rosemary. You rub half on the roast and half on the potatoes.

I stuck this in the oven and ran to hockey practice. When I returned, the meat was done, but the potatoes were not as brown and crispy as I like them, so they went back in the oven on convection roast for a few minutes.

Potatoes

The potatoes were really good. I liked the herbs and garlic on them, but they needed some more seasoning I think.

The pork roast was moist and delicious, but the herb crust just does not do it for me.  Yes, it looks cute, but you end up with a slice of meat with a tiny bit of seasoning on one edge. I really want flavor all through my meat, which is why I usually stick

The roast

slivers of garlic and herbs down in the pork roast when I make it. The meat was just kind of flavorless in my opinion.

A sauce or gravy would have really helped this one. I’m really kind of disappointed with this meat and potatoes section – it’s kind of boring.

As part of Martha’s whole ‘meat and potatoes’ section in February Martha Stewart Living (p. 155), she has a recipe for Herb (can we all say “herb” with the ‘h’ sound at the beginning please?) Crusted Pork Roast with New Potatoes. This sounded like a great weeknight meal to me, since it is all made … Read more →

On page 156 of Martha Stewart Living (Feb issue) Martha has a recipe for Cote de Boeuf with Hash Browns. In case you’re wondering, this is a fancy name for a hunk of beef with some shredded potatoes.

The recipe calls for bone in rib eye. As if. I only buy organic meat. My grocery store currently is carrying 4 cuts and rib eye ain’t one of ’em. So there I am in the store asking myself do I sacrifice my principles and possibly my family’s health and buy the cut Martha requires or do I fool with the recipe. You can guess which won. I bought sirloin.

The real work in this recipe is the potatoes. Martha just wants you to sear the beef then stick it in the oven. Bah. I made mine on the Jenn-air grill and I also made a little Bernaise sauce because who wants just plain boring meat? Not I.

Ok, so moving on to the potatoes. You cook some bacon, then cook onion in the grease. You peel and shred potatoes, rinse and drain them so they are very dry. You mix them with the onion and bacon then smush it into the skillet and press down on it.  You let it cook 15 min then flip it (I was so proud of myself for using a pizza pan to flip it – I doubled this recipe and used a big ass skillet and there was no way I was flipping it with a spatula).

Hash browns

Once it’s flipped, it cooks another 15 min then you’re supposed to stick your skillet in the oven. Boys and girls, I have no idea if my skillets are oven safe (not sure about the handles), so I dumped it into a Corningware round dish instead and cooked it another half hour in the oven.

Results? Loved the hash browns! Crispy on the outside, perfectly cooked on the inside. Yum. You need a little sour cream to go on this one though. The meat was ok. Not sure why this is so exciting it needs its own recipe.  The hash browns are fab, so give those a try.

On page 156 of Martha Stewart Living (Feb issue) Martha has a recipe for Cote de Boeuf with Hash Browns. In case you’re wondering, this is a fancy name for a hunk of beef with some shredded potatoes. The recipe calls for bone in rib eye. As if. I only buy organic meat. My grocery … Read more →

Just to give you a little preview of where this is heading, other titles I considered for this blog were: Trail of Shrimp Bisque Tears, Shrimp Bisque Down the Drain, and Shrimp Bisque Gruel.

It all started out innocently enough. Shrimp bisque sounded like a lovely dinner and it is listed in Martha Stewart Living February in the index under “main dishes”.

Veggies and Shells

So I peeled my shrimp and roasted the shells. That sounded like it would give some nice flavor. I cooked the shrimp, then cooked my vegetables (fennel, carrots and shallot). No problems. I added the shells to the mix, then added tomato paste, then cognac, water, salt, pepper, bay leaf and parsley. By this time I was getting tired of this dish, but I brought it to a boil and let it simmer the required 25 minutes, then cooled it. By this time, half the day has gone by.

Adding Liquid

The next step is to puree it in a blender and then strain it. Here’s where things got a little wild. I decided to use the Cuisinart to puree. So there I am, emptying the pot into it, when I realize all the soup is running out the bottom of the Cuisinart bowl!!!! I have no idea why. We just bought a brand new bowl for that Cuisinart and it’s never leaked before. I quickly rip the bowl off and dump most of it back in the pot.  Then I have this

The Mess

giant mess all over the counter to clean up – which is when I realized it had dripped down onto my feet. I did have the presence of mind to stop and take a photo partway through the clean up, just because it was oh so much fun.

It was right about at this moment that the dog chose to throw up. Please can someone explain to me why dogs MUST throw up on carpet? We’re in the kitchen with a big open floor with just a couple rugs around and the dog has to throw up on the carpet.

So I clean up both messes and decide to dig the blender out to give the pureeing another try. Of course the blender is too full, and the soup starts to run out the top. This is where I start to think this recipe is just cursed. So I quickly dump some out and try again. I strain it, and puree the

Straining the Puree

rest and strain that.

Now what I am left with is a pot full of very, very thin broth. In my book, shrimp bisque is a thick, creamy soup with actual pieces of shrimp. I didn’t understand why the recipe says to strain it – all the good stuff got strained out. But I decided to have patience because I wasn’t done yet.

Martha then says to heat it up, but don’t let it boil. Then add the evaporated milk.  Once that is heated, you ladle the soup into bowls and put some pieces of cooked shrimp in the bowl (they promptly sank right to the bottom so you can’t see them in the photo).

The Final Product

By this point I am tired of this damn soup and am very, very hungry. I even broke out my nice cobalt soup bowls and matching plate set for this. We sit down to eat it and it is like dishwater. No flavor, no consistency, just nasty, tasteless dishwater.

I think this may be the absolute worst Martha recipe I have ever made. The entire thing was dumped down the drain and we had cereal for dinner.

This soup has so many things wrong with it. It needs to be much, much thicker. It needs pieces of shrimp. It needs some actual flavor.  It needs a complete extreme makeover to even be worthy of putting in a bowl. Just writing about it is making me mad, mad, mad. Excuse me while I go change my socks.

Just to give you a little preview of where this is heading, other titles I considered for this blog were: Trail of Shrimp Bisque Tears, Shrimp Bisque Down the Drain, and Shrimp Bisque Gruel. It all started out innocently enough. Shrimp bisque sounded like a lovely dinner and it is listed in Martha Stewart Living … Read more →