Lemon Bars

I'm back!!!

I had to take a break from Blogging for a while.  But I am back now!!! It took much thought and many folks asking where I have been and why have I not added anything new, today is the day I come back to blogging and talking about food.  And who doesn't love talking about food.

A few weeks ago I ended up with the biggest bag of lemons in my kitchen and they were slowly starting to go bad.  I wanted to use them for something yummy but could only think of lemon meringue pie, which is one of my favorite desserts, but this was not the answer.  I searched though many magazines and on-line sites then I found it ... Lemon Bars.  They are rich, tart, and so yummy.

Lemon is that flavor that can be so luscious, since it can be sweet to tart and all in the middle.  I found a recipe in Food Network Magazine, that had no picture but all these ingredients listed and it sounded easy and yummy, knew this was the one. 

This is what I did ...

Lemon Bars 
for the CRUST
Vegetable oil for greasing
1 1/2 sticks of cold unsalted butter, diced
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt

for the FILLING
4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1 cup of fresh squeezed and strained lemon juice (6-8 lemons)

To make the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 foil lined pan with the oil, leaving 2 inch overhang on all four sides.  Combine butter, flour, both sugars, and salt in food processor or stand mixer, until dough comes together.  Press it evenly into the bottom of the pan, make sure there are no cracks.  Bake crust till golden brown, approx 25 minutes. 

While the crust is in the oven, now its tame to make the filling.  Whisk all the eggs, sugar, and four until smooth.  Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. 

Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees (and if you forget don't worry, they will still come just as good).  Pour the filling over the crust and return to oven for 30-35 minutes.

Let the bars cool in the pan, then move to the refrigerator to completely cool, and become firm (approx 2 hours.  Using the foil lift out of the pan and cut into squares or bars.  Dust with confectioners sugar before serving. 

One of the greatest things about the recipe is the fact that the Microplane can be used.  This is my new favorite kitchen tool.  I never thought I would love it so much but I do and everyone should get one.  the zest it makes is so fine and delicate, it keeps the filling smooth & creamy.  A must have for anyone. 

So if you love lemon as much as I do you should try this dessert.

YUM!!! 

Carlo's Bakery

A couple of weeks ago my family and I went on a weekend road trip to New Jersey to see a play, The Nutcracker & I, another family member had in production. We really had no plans for the weekend other than the play and thought we would just make it up as we went along. When we checked into our hotel in New Jersey we found out we were 5 miles from the TV famous Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ. Since my family is Italian and love Modern Pastry in North End, we knew this Bakery was going to be one of our stops.

The town of Hoboken is very sweet and adorable. We wished we had more time to walk down the road the bakery is on, but our time waiting to get into the bakery consumed most of our time. In Hoboken there are so many little shops, and restaurants to stop at, so we decided the the next time we come we are most definitely going to spend more time in Hoboken, NJ to explore. You see the reason we did not have time was going to this bakery is an all day affair, it took us about four hours from the time we got in line to the time I made my purchase. We got in line around 10:am and got a number, around noonish we were in front of the bakery awaiting to go in, around 1:30/2:pm I made my purchase.

When you get inside the small Bakery the smell brings you to a true Italian Bakery. There are cakes, cookies, pastries of all kinds to drool over in crystal clear glass cases. Which makes it so hard to decide what you want to bring home. The one thing to remember is we still had to wait for our number to be called once we were inside the bakery, but those smells wafting from the kitchen were enough to fill my belly till #71 was called.

Italian Cookies

Cheesecakes

The night before my Mom & I went on the Carlo's web site to think about what kind of treat we wanted to take home with us. There are so many to choose from but since I have my favorite that would be what I would get, sfoilletella.

If you are a reader of my blog you already know I go to the North End to get sfoilletella early on a Saturday morning when they are still hot to bring home for desert that afternoon. These are my favorite treats and I am quite picky when it comes to them. Only Modern Pastry in the North End makes the best (you can also get them at Caffe Victoria's with a cafe latte, since they get theirs from Modern Pastry). In my opinion they cannot have candied fruit in them and they must be the right mix of textures, from soft creamy interior to crunchy, flaky exterior.

I know I have high standards but I had to see if this bakery could live up to them. At first glance I noticed they are much smaller than the ones you get in the North End, but they looked so yummy.

My tied box of treats

Sfoilletella

As you can see I picked up a half dozen of them. We waited till we got home to have our treats, and found that the Modern Pastry still has the best Sfoilletella around. The ones from Carlo's did not have any candied fruit, which is good, and had great texture, but there was something off with the flavor and none of us could figure it out. So the next time we pick up some Sfoilletella we are going to the North End.

The one thing I will say is we went to Carlo's Bakery, we missed the Cake Boss, at least we have family photos of us in front of the bakery, and a good story to tell our grand-children.

YUM!!!

Pickity Place

This week my Mom & I decided to go on an adventure to Pickity Place in Mason, NH. I personally have never gone but my Mom was there once with her Garden Club, but it was so long ago she was excited to go again. After I read about it I knew this would be the perfect place.

We drove and drove to get there, and we drove mostly back roads, through the woods. And how funny that we drove through the woods since the house the restaurant is in, is the original House that the story Little Red Riding Hood was illustrated from. There is even this huge oak tree in front of the house that is in the book as well.


The house is so old there are really no level floors, low ceilings, narrow doorways, and three small rooms to eat it. The grounds and the samll cottage have such a New Hampshire feeling you cannot help but fall in love the minute you step out of your car. Over the past few years it looks like they have added a solarium to eat in that overlooks the gardens, which must be so beautiful in the summertime.

The nice thing about going here is they have a fixed 5 course menu that changes each month. Since we just went last week if you go between now and the end of December you can experience the same menu. This is what we had ...

Crackers with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Spread

Golden Russet and Creamy Carrot Soup

Apple Pecan Slaw

Winter Solstice Fruit Bread with Cranberry Lemon Butter

Chicken & Eggplant Neapolitan

or

Winter Vegetable Cassoulet

Pickled Red Cabbage

Brandied Eggnog Pie

When you look at the menu they always have a Vegetarian dish on the menu (that was the one I had) and it was so good I forgot they was no meat or chicken. Every course is delivered to you, with some kind of herbs that came right from their garden, how awesome is that.

All I know id the menu for January looks like comfort food at its max I am looking for someone to go with me? Any takers ... I know you will live every morsel that you eat.

YUM!!!

Cranberry Muffins

A couple of weeks ago a relative of mine was leaving for Florida for the winter and was cleaning out their fridge for the winter and found a bag of cranberries, and some how these cranberries ended up in my freezer. I was thinking I would make home-made cranberry sauce for our Annual Turkey Dinner, but instead I made muffins.

You see I am from Massachusetts where I think the most cranberries are produced annually, at Ocean Spray in Plymouth, MA. You must understand that as a kid in school one field trip a year in Elementary School is to the Mayflower ship, Plymouth Rock, and the Ocean Spray factory. Cranberries are a very cool fruit, not only how they grow but especially how they are harvested by flooding the bogs and skimming the surface to harvest all the little berries. Berries that pack almost as much flavor in them as Pom berries from Pomegranates.

Cranberries are not always the first fruit I go to when I am making muffins. I usually think of bananas or apples, but it is fall in New England and cranberries are the in fruit now. The funny thing about cranberries, much like Toll House Chocolate Chips, there is a recipe for Cranberry Nut Bread on the package, that was the starting point to these muffins.

This is what I did ...
Cranberry Muffins
2 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup of orange juice
1 egg
2 cups of cranberries
2 teaspoons of sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pan by lining the muffin cups.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix till combined. If you are using a mixer at this point you are finished with the "power tool." Gently fold in the cranberries, being careful not to burst any.

Put approximately 1/4 of a cup of batter in each muffin cup and sprinkle with sugar over top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until when toothpick inserted come out clean.



These muffins we found to be tart more than sweet, which is a welcoming change to the norm. You can of course always add 1 tablespoon of orange zest to punch up the orange flavor, or you could add some crushed walnuts.

Welcome Autumn in New England!!!

YUM!!!

Almond Macaroons

Cookies, cookies, cookies I love cookies and when they are Italian cookies I love them even more than you know. I think I mentioned before that as a kid my first job was at an Italian bakery. When you work at a bakery you find your favorites and those are what you seem to eat all the time. You also get to be part of the "test kitchen" when new cakes, treats and cookies are being made for the first time.

Since I love Italian cookies I ate a lot of them, butter cookies that have sprinkles (or as we call them in Boston Jimmies) around the edges are my favorite, and in the bakery we call them champagne cookies. And my second favorite cookie is an almond Macaroon. They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the inside. Sometimes they are topped with candied cherries, slivered almonds, or pine nuts, but I prefer them just plain and simple.

The other night I took a batch to a party my Italian family was having and there were none left on the plate at the end of the evening. It was so nice to hear my aunt ask where the cookies were purchased, when I told her they were home-made. These cookies are super easy and always come out great.

This is how to make them ...
Almond Macaroons
8 oz. can of almond paste
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs, whites only, room temperature

options: red or green cherries, toasted almond slivers, toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer combine almond paste and sugar, beat until blended. add egg whites and beat until smooth.

Scoop up 1 teaspoon and roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet, put slivered almonds, cherries or pine nuts on.



Bake 15-17 minutes until cookies are browned.

I have made a version of these with one tablespoon of orange zest (using only the skin of the orange), to the batter to make Almond Orange Macaroons.

So Yummy and so easy to make!!!

YUM!!!

Cornbread/Corn Muffins

Last week I made chili for the Pat's game viewing at our house. When I made the chili I made it two, maybe three alarm and needed to put the fire out on our palettes some how, and thought bread would be good. But really did not want just white bread. Then it came to me, cornbread!!!

I have never made cornbread before and really thought I was not really a cornbread fan. Think about it every time you stop by Boston Market to get a quick dinner they seem to give cornbread but most of ours seems to go in the trash. This month thought cornbread was one of the feature recipes in Everyday Food magazine. (Yes, I love Everyday Food magazine.) And for some reason the cornbread looked so good and looked so easy to make, so I thought why not make cornbread to put the "chili fire out."

The one thing I have to say is when I made my cornbread I wanted to make it "user friendly." Meaning I made corn muffins with the same recipe so everyone could take a bowl of chili and a muffin. Such a good idea when there is a crowd. And I could freeze all the ones we did not eat for the next time I make chili or want a corn muffin with butter for breakfast.

This is what I did ...

Cornbread

1/2 cup or 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 cup of leveled all purpose flour
6 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt (if you only have salted butter omit this salt)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of buttermilk
3 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Either butter an 8" baking pan or line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl; cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a second bowl mix the wet ingredients; melted butter, buttermilk & eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir till combined, but do not over mix.

Transfer to pan or muffin cups and bake.

When making one bread bake for 20-25 minutes, when making muffins bake for 12-15 minutes. In both cases bake till toothpick when inserted in center comes out clean.

This cornbread recipe came out so good, not too sweet and not too savory, they were pretty much perfect. I think there are many ways this cornbread base can go from sweet to savory with other flavors added to it as well.

Try this even if you are not a fan of cornbread, you might be like me and like it after all.

YUM!!!

Aprile's European Resturant

I know I have not blogged in a while about my cooking, baking or eating out. Lots has been going on in my life that took precedence over blogging. I also became very disillusioned by some about my blogging that a needed break was good for the soul to get myself back on track. Now that I am back my blog will be including more "Eating Out" places. Eating out is such a huge part of our life that it should show more here in my blog. I will still be posting recipes of yummy things that I make but also talking about all those good chefs out there that sometimes don't get the recognition they deserve. Hope you enjoy ... The other day my husband was asking me where I wanted to have dinner that night. To be totally honest I love to cook but the days I work I really have no desire to rush home, make dinner, and clean up. When I could have someone else do all the work and totally enjoy myself.

It was a Friday night, Date Night to be exact and a new restaurant opened a few months ago in my town. And since I am very into eating local, even if that means keeping the business in town I am all for it. The place is called Aprile's European Restaurant and it is located in an old mill building right on the train tracks, with a river running right next to it. Very lovely setting.

This location has been a restaurant for a long time but all the other ones seemed to have failed after a couple of years. Many times I tried to eat there when it was something else again and again but it just was not good. From the moment we walked into the new Restaurant there was a good feeling. Many folks dining in the open dining room, the wait staff bustling around delivering food and drinks to all those eating. We knew this time this was going to be a good place to eat. We found two seats at the bar and settled in for our experience.

The Restaurant is very Italian so it was going to be a red wine night, we chose the Cigar Box Malbec and it was very good choice. We then moved on to the stuffed mushrooms (they were stuffed with spinach and cheese). There was not one left when we were ready for our main course.

I got the Chianti Braised Short Ribs with Cipollini Onions, Asparagus Tips, Red Bliss Mashed, Braising Jus. I have this theory that anything braised (ie cooked low and slow) has to be yummy since much care has to be put into it since it takes so long too cook. The meat was so tender and the veggies were like candy. Even the lady who sat next to me got the same thing after seeing mine. We both could not figure out why we had a knife on our plate since it was not necessary to cut the meat with, so I dubbed it "plate decoration."

My husband got the Parmigiana Eggplant Breaded and Baked with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella Cheese Accompanied with Linguine. Which is what he gets when we eat out since i do not like Eggplant but he does.

We also decided to share dessert. This is very much out of the norm for us, my husband does not like chocolate or sweets for that matter. The funny thing is I can get him to eat Tiramisu. That is exactly what we got. It was such a good ending to a very good meal, we left none behind.

Dinner was so yummy from start to finish I had to talk about it more than a Yelp post or a Tweet. If anyone is in the Merrimack Valley/Chelmsford MA area and is looking for Italian food try Aprile's European hopefully you will love it as much as we did.

Tea at the Four Season's Boston

A couple of weeks ago my cousin and I went to the Four Season's Boston for High Tea. It was a cold November afternoon and this was a perfect way to finish a day filled with shopping and walking all over the city.

I am a fan of High Tea and love to go to all the hotels in the city for tea and see who has the best tea, treats and ambiance. The Four Season's Boston is so beautiful since it overlooks the park, and this time of year the park is full of skaters, lights and happy people walking. We may live in one of the coldest cities in the country but we do make the best of the cold days, and look beautiful in our coats, hats & scarfs.

Boston is a famous place to have tea since the most famous "tea event" happened here ... The Boston Tea Party, in 1773. It was a cold December night, when a small band of colonists threw 340 chests of tea into the Boston Harbour as a sign of protest against “taxation without representation.” It was the beginning of a chain reaction that eventually led to the Declaration of Independence.

"Today, afternoon tea is no longer a sign of protest – it is a civilized, refined respite from the taxing pace of the day’s activities." - Four Season's

This is what we had ...
Scones and Tea Bread
Strawberry Jam, Lemon Curd and Devonshire Cream

Selection of Tea Sandwiches and Pastries

Served with a Pot of Brewed Tea of Your choice
Gunpowder – Organic Variety of Rolled Chinese Green Tea with a Crisp Refreshing Flavour
Crimson Berry – Lively Herbal Tea Made with Elderberries, Grapes, Currants, Bilberries and Hibiscus
Wild Mint – This Mint Herbal Tea is very Aromatic, but not Sharp. A Full, Complex and Refreshing Tea
Lemon Camomile – Herbal Tea, Blending the Camomile with Lemongrass and Lavender Flowers

All the treats that were served were so yummy and very traditional for tea. We had sandwiches such as cucumber, curried chicken, and smoked salmon. Sweets such as lemon tartlets, profiteroles filled with whipped cream and raspberry, a lemon poppy bread, and how can I forget scones. Scones that were warm when they were delivered to the table and tasted so full of flavor with tea.

The best part of going out for tea is how relaxing tea is and how much uninterrupted time you can spend with a person when you are having tea. There is no need to have your cell phone on, and ll that matters is what is in front of you ... the company and the treats.

If you have never experienced an outing for tea you should definitely do it. Bring your Mother, Sister, Best Friend, Daughter, etc. This is the perfect way to end a day of shopping, or a day walking around the city in the cold. Tea warms you up and the company you have will warm your soul.

YUM!!!

Peanut-Rasin Granola Bars

Last week I was looking through my pantry for a snack and found so many different granola bars. Some we like and some we are not too fond of but still eat, but there were so many. And they all have such crazy ingredients in them, some I cannot even pronounce, I thought they were healthy treats but when you have no idea what is in them how can be healthy.

I seem to be on the kick on making everything we put in our bodies at my house. It may take a bit of time and energy but in the long run now you know what is it so you know how healthy it is. The other nice thing about making more of the things you eat is the love that you put in each meal you cook. Love translate in taste, flavor, and texture ... believe me when someone makes something with love it shows.

This is how I made my granola bars ...

cooking spray

2 1/2 cups organic rolled oats

1 cup dry roasted peanuts

1 cup of raisins (or 3 boxes of Sunmaid raisins)

1 cup organic sunflower seeds, hulled

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.

Mix the oats, peanuts, raisins, seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, condensed milk and butter in a bowl. Bake in oven till golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly, flip over, peel off the foil and cut into bars.

These are such a yummy treat when you need a pick-me-up. Thinking of using dried cranberries, mini chocolate chips, and possible chocolate drizzle on future ones. Maybe even candied ginger or dried apricots. Wow the possibilities are endless.

YUM!!!

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Yes!!! More whoopie pies. I think I am a bit hooked on them now and loving everyone that comes out of my oven. In my last post I mentioned that I had never made whoopie pies but they have a deep root in my life. You see when I was a kid my Dad would bring me to the local Italian bakery called Mirabella's Bakery to get fresh bread. But as a little girl I would see all kinds of pastry and treats in the glass refrigerator cases and would ask for a treat. Usually around the time I started looking for a treat the owner would come out and see my Dad and give me a special treat to take home, a Cookie Monster Whoopie Pie. It was the silliest treat but it was one of my favorite treats, and special because Mr. Mirabella always told me he made it special for me.

You may be wondering what is a Cookie Monster Whoopie Pie? Well, they would take a whoopie pie and fill the center but before putting the top on a pink butter cookie was cut in half to look like a tongue. The top was put on. Half the top was covered in blue frosting and sprinkled with coconut to look like fur. Two dollops of frosting made the eyes and M&M's made the pupils. It was sheer delight for a young girl like myself.

What also makes this so special is years later when I needed my first job, I went to Mr Mirabella and I started working for him. And all those Cookie Monster Whoopie Pies that I would see sold and the little ones who's eyes would light up when their parents would bye them one. Childhood memories last forever. When these whoopie pies came out of the oven all those childhood memories flooded back.

These were so much fun to make and very different from the Pumpkin ones I spoke of earlier. The real reason why these were made goes back to that very sweet book that was dropped on my desk. The original request was for traditional whoopie pies with traditional filling. So that is what I did. These are very yummy!!!

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pie

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.


Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt onto a piece of wax paper.


Beat the butter, shorting, and brown sugar together until fluffy and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, beat for 2 minutes.


Add half of the milk and half the four mix beat until Incorporated. Add the remaining four and milk and beat till completely combined.


Drop 1 tablespoon onto a prepared sheet spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack.

Classic Marshmallow Filling
1 1/2 cups of marshmallow fluff
1 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Beat together the fluff and the shortening until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until Incorporated.

These are so light and fluffy from the batter to the frosting. Let's hope everyone who eats them loves them like I love them. I wonder what will be the next Whoopie Pies I make?!?

YUM!!!

Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pies are something that I have NEVER made in my life but was presented with a book the other day in my office called "Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em Match 'em Eat 'em Up by Sarah Billingsley & Amy Treadwell.

This book is so sweet in more way than one. After looking through this book I knew I had to make the Pumpkin Spice Whoopies first. But before I start baking I looked through this very sweet book, everything you need to know about making, filling and the history of whoopies. The book is illustrated so simple, ANYONE can make these, and want to make these. The other really nice thing about this book is there are Gluten-free whoopies, Vegan whoopies, and Savory whoopies. The book is laid out so that the pies and the fillings are separate so you can mix and match. YUM!!

The Pumpkin Spice Whoopies seemed very fitting for a dessert with Turkey and all the fixings. Keeping the theme of dinner start to finish is what I like to do most often, and since pumpkin is in season this time of year, made it the perfect choice.

I will tell you that the recipe calls for pumpkin, and this when you have to decide do I want pumpkin that comes in a can or do I want to roast my own pumpkin? Even though filling in a can is so cheep you get so much more natural flavor and texture from the real thing. And since roasting a pumpkin is so easy why not roast your own vegetable. (side note: you can also salt and roast your pumpkin seeds for a snack while you make your whoopie pies

This is what I did ...
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose baking flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cup solid packed pumpkin
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt on wax paper. Set aside.

Mix brown sugar and butter on low speed until combined. Add the pumpkin, then the egg, beat well. Add the vanilla and beat till combined.

Add the flour fix and to mix, beat on low till combined

Drop 2 tablespoons of batter on lined cookie sheets spacing them 2 inches apart. bake for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and beginning to crack. Let the cakes cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for them to cool completely before filling.

The filling ...

Classic Buttercream
3 cups confections' sugar
1/2 cup (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Beat together the confections' sugar with the butter, starting on low and increasing the speed until the mix is crumbly, about 1 minute. Add the heavy cream, vanilla,and salt and beat on high until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Fill the whoopies and serve!!!

These were such a hit after turkey I had to snap a photo before they all got eaten.

YUM!!!

Apple Bread

Now that the fall is here there are cool days and cold nights. The leaves are changing (well they are are here in New England) and the days are getting shorter. All of this means I am cooking and baking more. My husband loves it too ... well, his waist-line may not like it too much but he sure loves it all.

I noticed the other day that I had some apples that were looking not so good, well for eating raw, but that means they are perfect for baking. And that is exactly what I did with them. You see a few years ago a friend of mine made this great Apple Bread and brought it over to my house for tea, it was so good I had to get the recipie and make it myself. It is quite different than many of the other breads I make, but so yummy.

This is what I did ...

Makes 2 loafs

Cream: 1 cup shortening (I use butter flavored shortining)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
Add: 2 eggs
1 cup milk
Sift: 4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Chop: 2 cups of apples (peeled & cored)
Slice: 2 apples (peeled & cored)


Preheat oven to 35o degrees


Blend dry ingredients, fold in apples


Pour into greesed loaf trays (two). fan the sliced appples on the top.


Bake for 1 hour




The original version did not have as much spices and the sliced apples on the top. But much of what I like to do is make it my own. Think about that when you make your version of Apple Bread.

YUM!!!

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie is on of my favorite pies to eat in the summer, and sometimes the only reason why on a 90 degree day my oven gets turned on. As some of you may already know I really love to make pies, and would try any pie recipe you put in front of me and see if I like it or not. If it is one I like I guarantee I will make it again and again.

The nice thing about making pies is in most cases there is not too much work that has to be done and you can have one of the most tasty and beautiful baked goods. Fruit pies are usually very easy and very good, since when you add sugar to the fruit the flavors ooze out of the fruit and make the fruit oh so much better then in their raw state. This holds true with this pie ... My Blueberry Pie, which really should be called Mixed Berry Pie but since there are more blueberries in it than any other berry I fool everyone with the name.

This is how it is made ...

2 Crusts for 9" pie
1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh cut strawberries
1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together the sugar, flour, salt and spices. I a large bowl mix the berries and then sprinkle the dry ingredient over the berries.

Line a pie pan with one of the crusts. Pour in the Blueberry mix. Dot the top with butter. Cover the pie with the second crust. (if you do not lattice the top don't forget to cut in vent holes). I also like to egg wash my crust tops and sprinkle with sugar ... makes the top golden brown and gives it a bit of crunch.

Bake in oven for 50 minutes till crust is golden brown.


Yum!!!

Tea at the Taj

A few weeks ago a close girlfriend of mine (Allyson) and myself went out for a girls day, and it took us to the Taj in Boston for Traditional High Tea. This was one of the most exciting experiences of our lives. We were truly treated like queens while we were there.

Our afternoon began with a walk through the Public Gardens and a stroll down Newbury Street in Boston for some shopping, and gallery browsing. What made it better was the day was a perfect 10, which made walking such a nice thing to do.

When we were seated at our table ... it was such a cute table for two in an elegant room with high ceilings, a fireplace and the most beautiful drapes adorning the windows. The room was wall covered with damask fabric which made each table have its own personal conversations that stayed with them and not with everyone in the room. Did I mention that there was a woman playing the violin the entire time. The setting and the company were just awesome that day.

We both had a difficult time deciding on what we were going to drink for tea and what we were going to eat for sandwiches. But then we realized all we had to do was figure out the tea and the sandwiches and sweets would be chosen for us.

The tea that was chosen was Green and Earl Grey ... and when they arrived we each had our own pot, warmer and tea leaf strainer ... it was so nice.

This is the Menu for Taj Royal ... as they call Traditional High Tea, and what we had ...

This was our First Course:

Smoked Salmon and American Caviar

Cucumber & Cream Cheese

Traditional Egg Salad

Lobster Profiterole

Prosciutto and Melon

(and that is Allyson)

As you can see they come to your table on this beautiful tiered platter. I am not sure if we know which one is best ... but what we do know is each bite was a mouth full of flavors that complimented the tea so nicely.

Then came the Second Course

Currant and Cherry Cornmeal Scones served with Devon shire Cream and Lemon Curd

Traditional Opera Torte

Citrus Tartlette

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry

Pistachio Financier

Madeline

Spiced Chai French Macaroon

As you can see it was on another tiered platter. Each level had its own yummy goodness to be savored bite by bite.

By the time we finished eating all the sandwiches and the sweet treats we were full. Not only were we full of sweet treats and savory bites but we were full of stories and memories to last us both a long time.

Thank you Taj Boston for such an enjoyable day being a girl.

YUM!!!

Spiced Bran Muffins

Baked Goods ... yum!!! Baked goods have always been a weakness of mine since I was a little girl. As a teenager I worked at the best Italian bakery in the town I grew up in, our master baker was trained by the famous "Mike" of Mike's Pastry in the North End of Boston ... so you can only imagine what yumminess that was baked daily and eaten daily by myself and all my co-workers. So as I got older I find I am still drawn to bakeries all the goodness that comes out of them, weather healthy or not. And that is where these spiced bran muffins come into play.

I think I have mentioned before that I am an avid reader of Real Simple Magazine, Daily Thoughts, and Weekly Recipes. Everyday I eagerly await for my email to come in and see what Real Simple is delivering me. The recipes though seem to only come once a week ... but when they come I think of when I can make it, who I want to make it for and how can I alter this recipe and make it all my own.

Then this recipe came, Spiced Bran Muffins, I was so excited about making muffins that are 262 calories and have 3g of fiber per muffin. I have just found healthy baked goods ... these are muffins I had to make.

This is what I did ...

Ingredients
1 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup Greek plain yogurt

1/3 cup molasses
1 cup currants (or raisins)

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oat bran, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt; set aside. In a second bowl beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Add the yogurt and molasses and beat to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated. Fold in the currants.

Spoon the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper liners. Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Serve with butter or jam, if desired . YUM!!!

Of course there are ways to make this recipe gluten-free and even lactose free, this time not too much changing. When I do I will update this post and what was changed.

High-Tea

A few weeks ago my Mother and Cousins went out for High-Tea at our favorite place to have High-Tea; Stonehenge Inn & Spa in Tyngsboro, MA. A beautiful place to be pampered and treated like a queen/king for a day.

The day we went for tea it was bitter cold outside and all we wanted was a nice pot of hot tea to warm us up. As it turned out we sat in the Lounge right next to the fireplace and we knew we were going to have a fantastic day together. It was such a good day I had to share it with all my readers. I waited till now to share this because Stonehenge Inn is one of the restaurants participating in Restaurant Week Boston which has come up upon us again. It does not say it on this link but on the Stonehenge Inn page it gives you information about "restaurant week tea."

Tea is something one must remember that it is NOT to be rushed, and should take a couple of hours to drink, eat and enjoy those with you.

This is what we ordered*:

Tea:

Finest Earl Grey, Black Tea
Ginger Lemon Herbal Tea
Crimson Berry Herbal Tea

Sencha (Japanese) Green Tea

Tea Sandwiches (choice of three):

Maine Lobster BLT on Brioche

Grilled Asparagus w/ Boursin & Prosciutto on White Bread

Fresh Mozzarella, Basil Pesto & Plum Tomato on Focaccia

Cucumber & Herb Cheese on Multi grain Bread

Smoked Salmon on Rye Bread w/ Herb Creme Fraice

Currant-Raisin Scones w/ Devonshire Cream & Fruit Preserves

Petite Pastries & Tea Cookies

* There are other Teas & Sandwiches to choose from on the menu, these are the ones we chose.

We ate and drank all this and it took about 2 and half hours, and was only $23.00

(Restaurant week $20.10)

It is such a nice "girly" thing to do, with your mother, daughter, sister or best friend ... I definitely have to say this is a must do for those who love to drink tea.

YUM!!!

Apple Cinnamon Strudel

I know this is a crazy time of year to be making apple pie, strudel, or anything apple but I seem to be doing a lot of it lately. The apple is such a versatile fruit which seems to be one everyone loves and eats. It is sweet and tart and cooks up very well. And with all the varieties of apples out there why not try them all in baking.

I am not one to follow a recipe to the tee, for I need to tweak everything I make to make it more mine than the one who came up with it. I say all this because I am a huge fan of the magazine Everyday-Food. Not only is it small and easy to keep in a kitchen cabinet for reference, but it has super easy recipes that anyone can make. It becomes a starting point for me and much of what I make. It is also very good at keeping up with the seasons and what you can get seasonally.

With that in mind a couple of years ago in September I fund this recipe and made it for a get together with friends. It comes out so beautiful, and looks like you slaved for hours in the kitchen when it really does not take too much time at all.

This is what I did ...

Apple Cinnamon Strudel

flour for rolling

1 sheet puff pastry

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 cup sugar, and more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 egg for wash

Preheat oven 400 degrees

Unfold pastry roll out to 12 x 14 and put on a cookie sheet and chill in fridge

In a large skillet melt butter, add apples, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cook until liquid has evaporated. about 15 minutes and let cool.

Add filling to center of dough. Fold dough over the filling. "Glue" edges with egg wash. Turn over so the seam is on the bottom. Egg wash & sprinkle with sugar. With a paring knife cut out steam vents.

Bake until golden brown 35-40 minutes.

YUM!!!

I have made this so many times the only thing that makes this dessert better is a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream. We perfect to go to Sully's Ice Cream, since it is walking distance from our house. But if you cannot get homemade ice cream and Ben & Jerry's vanilla will be just as good.

Apple Cranberry Popover Puff Pie

The past week had been a bit crazy here at my house for our family is in town for a BIG wedding!!! A very long anticipated wedding, that is one the entire family is looking for. Family is flying in from all over the world staying where ever there is an open place to sleep. With all these people come lots of meals to make and lots of time we are spending together.




Last night we had a family dinner and I was responsible for the dessert. But the BIG question last night was what was I going to make. I knew all I wanted to make was a pie, but what kind to make. Then it came to me ... A Popover Crusted Apple Pie. The recipe is from a Pampered Chef $1 cookbook. (Which is usually what I buy at those parties ... not really a fan of those "house" parties, too much pressure to buy something ... so I usually buy the cookbook and it stays on the bookshelf till years later.)



The one thing I would like to get out in the open while I am on this topic is those cookbooks sponsored or written but companies that sell either food or kitchen tools are NOT my type of cookbook. When someone tells me what tool I need to use to do the job or what processed food I need to cook with ... that takes all the fun out of the kitchen and more on commercialism.



Now that I got all that out of the way let's talk about this Pampered Chef Pie ...



Apple Cranberry Popover Puff Pie
Popover Puff Crust
3 tablespoons of butter
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt


Apple Cranberry Filling
1 orange
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 package of vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
4 firm apples (2 Granny smith apples and 2 Macintosh apples)
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
powdered sugar for dusting


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


Melt the butter, brush the bottom of a deep dish baking dish with one tablespoon of butter.

Whip the milk, egg and remaining butter with a wire whisk. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients; flour and salt. Add to the egg mix and whisk till smooth. Pour batter in baking dish and bake in oven 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and cook another 10-15 minutes, till puffed and golden brown.


While crust is baking make the filling. Zest the orange, and squeeze the orange, add water to make 1 cup of juice. In a large bowl mix zest, juice, cranberries, pudding mix, and seasonings. Peel, core and slice apples, add to the pudding mix. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. stir gently and microwave again on high for 4 minutes until glaze is thickened. Apples should be evenly covered.


When crust is cooled, pour the filling in the crust. Sprinkle the edges with the almonds and shake powdered sugar over pie.

This is a nice alternative since the crust is more of an egg base than a butter flour mix.

YUM!!!

Oatmeal Raspberry-Jam Bars

When I met my husband I learned from Day I that he was not a sweet eater nor did he like chocolate, and when he eats chocolate he gets ill. Whenever we look for a dessert I need to find something without chocolate in it, so we can both eat it. This also holds true for when i am making something at home, needs to have NO CHOCOLATE in it or he will not eat any of it.

On my quest to find a dessert that he would like I came across this recipe and thought it is sweet from the berries but not too sweet. But I took the recipe and tucked it away and forgot all about it for almost 5 years. The other day I was looking for something and came across this and knew it was time to make these.

This is what I did ...

Oatmeal Raspberry Jam Bars

1 3/4 cups

flour

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon backing soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups quick oats

2 teaspoons lemon zest (i.e. zest from one lemon)

1 cup raspberry jam

1 small package of fresh raspberries

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch ground clove

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Mix four, sugar, salt, baking soda, and butter in a bowl or food processor and pulse several times until the ingredients are combined and crumbly and a dough is starting to be formed. Ass the oats and lemon zest. Pulse quickly two tomes to combine.

Press 2/3 of the dough firmly into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Spread the jam evenly over the crust and even distribute the berries over the jam. Sprinkle the nutmeg, clove and cinnamon over the berries. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the jam, gently pressing down.

Bake until golden brown, approximately 40-45 minutes.

Cool completely, about 3 hours, cut into bars, store in an airtight container.

YUM!!!

These were such a success and so yummy. Perfect for with tea or a mid morning snack.

Sfogliatelle

Last Sunday morning I found myself taking some family to Logan Airport. It was pretty early in the morning, and I was really craving a cappuccino from the North End (The Little Italy of Boston) and thought after I dropped everyone off I was going to see if I could find a bakery open to get a cup.

The thing about the North End and me is that when I was a little girl I would spend time there with my Great Grandmother who lived right across the street from Paul Revere's house. She lived in the heart of the North End with the bakeries, delis and grocery stores all within walking distance. She was quite and old fashioned lady in that she would not keep anything perishable on hand but would go out each day to by meat, veggies, and treats. Everyday was an adventure for her in what she would cook for her family.

The North End is famous for many things since Paul Revere rode his famous ride, to the cobblestone streets, and all the restaurants (most of which are holes in the wall family run with the best food your could find for the money). The other thing the North End has is many bakeries with the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the streets that ropes you in to see all the desserts they have in store for you. Most folks who eat Italian pastry are drawn to the canolli, napolean, or tiramisu, all of which have become main stream and can be found even at your local grocrery store, but the sfogliatelle is one that most may not know about.

The best place in the North End to get one of these is Modern Pastry on Hanover Street. As a little girl my Great Grandmother and I would get up early and go to the bakery first thing to pick up a couple of theses for our dessert. For you see Modern Pastry only makes so many a day and when they are gone you cannot get anymore till the next day so it is very important to be there early. This is what I remember most, so the other day when I went to get a cup of cappucino I stooped at Modern and asked about the Sfogliatelle and best of all they just came out of the oven. I got myself two with my cafe and went on my way home.

A good Italian bakery will also put your treats in a Small box and tie the box, and that is just what I received ....

The package!!!

What's inside the package!!!

I have always wanted to learn how to make this flaky, moist and chewy dessert but have not tried yet. But this is the recipe of how to make them. I do know on thing for sure, they take time and are not very easy to make. If you do make them let me know how it goes ... or if you are like me ... get up early and drive to the North End and pick up a few to eat with coffee or tea later.

Sfogliatelle (Lobster Tails)

Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semolina flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lard or margarine, melted

Note: You may wish to substitute 1 (1 pound package of frozen
puff pastry dough, thawed, for the above pastry recipe

Filling
1 cup milk
1/4 cup semolina flour
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon candied orange bits or grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Confectioners' sugar for dusting

To make the dough:
In a large bowl, combine both flours, sugar and salt.
Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture.
Gradually add the water until a soft dough forms.
Form the dough into a disk, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
To make the filling:
Put the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Slowly add the semolina flour, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
Simmer the mixture 3-4 minutes, until thick and smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool about 5 minutes.

Press the ricotta cheese through a sieve to remove any lumps.
Add the ricotta, egg, sugar, candied fruit, and cinnamon to the semolina mixture.
Beat well to blend and set aside.
Making the sfogliatelle:
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 2 equal pieces.
If you are using puff pastry, use 1 of the 2 pieces from the package.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 16 x 22-inch rectangle.
The dough will be very, very thin.
Starting at a short end, brush the first 1/3 of dough with some of the melted lard.
Begin rolling the pastry up like a jellyroll.
Brush the second 1/3 of dough with more lard, and continue rolling.
Finally, brush the last 1/3 with lard, and roll up completely.
Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces, which will resemble narrow rolls of ribbon.

Forming the sfogliatelle:
Place one of the slices in the palm of your hand.
Press the thumb of your other hand in the center of the pastry and push it down to form a small ribbed cup.
You do not want the ribs to separate.
Now you will begin to stretch the dough.
Carefully work around the cup, pushing down with your thumbs and pulling up with your fingers.
Think of it an opening a collapsible travel cup.
Form each piece into a cone, shaped 3 to 4 inches across the mouth and 1-inch at the tip.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Lightly grease or line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Fill each pastry cone with 2 tablespoons of the filling.
Gently press the open edges together to seal the pastry. Pull out the top ends to form a seashell shape.
Place the sfogliatelle 1-inch apart on the baking sheets.

Repeat the procedure with the second piece of pastry dough.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
Allow the pastry to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
Transfer the pastry to wire racks to cool completely.

To serve:
Sprinkle the sfogliatelle with confectioners' sugar and serve.

Makes about 32 pastries

Give it a try if you are ambitious.

YUM!!!