Happy Easter!

I made this scruptious lemon meringue pie for dessert for our Easter dinner. We also had a baked ham, au gratin potatoes, and asparagus w/hollandaise sauce.

I also made these adorable little place cards for our table setting, but we ended up eating in the living room becuase it got so late! (I didn't really want to write our names on them anyway!)

Cinnamon Rolls 101

I'll admit that I have only used yeast a handful of times in my life (and not always successfully!) When I read an article in Bon Appetit by Molly Wizenberg (a.k.a. Orangette) titled "The Trouble with Yeast," I knew that I had to try to make these gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze for myself. I had to put the rolls directly on the heat register so that they would be warm enough to rise, and it took a lot longer than the recipe suggested, but they were a success! I took a picture of the rolls in the pan so that I would know when they had "doubled in size." This picture shows them at the peak of plumpness.

A Trio of Chocolate Treats!

It was two of my co-workers birthdays on Saturday, so I decided to make something sweet to bring to work: Peanut Butter Bon-Bons, Truffles with Grand Mariner, and Chocolate Brandy Balls. They were a hit!

The recipe for the Peanut Butter Bon-Bons comes from the Glenwood City Centennial Cookbook published in 1985. The recipe was submitted by my aunt, Sandi Canfield.

Peanut Butter Bon-Bons

Mix together:

3 c. Rice Krispies

2 c. powdered sugar

2 c. chunky peanut butter

1 stick butter, melted

Roll into balls.

Melt over double boiler:

1/2 cake paraffin wax

16 oz. chocolate chips

Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate mixture and let cool. Enjoy!!

Super Bowl Sunday - It's All About the Food!

Baby Greens, Pear, and Blue Cheese Salad

We wanted a light lunch on Super Bowl Sunday so that we would have plenty of room for excessive amounts of food during the game. After all, that's what the Super Bowl is about, right? The food!!

We had some juicy pears from Harry and David and made this salad along with a fresh baked bagette (from Whole Foods - did you know that they sell frozen specialty breads that you just pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes?)

Fried Chicken with Bacon and Pepper Cream Gravy

How do you make an already deliciously greasy meal even better? Add bacon!

This was my first time ever frying chicken and my critic thinks that I need a bit more practice. I think that means that he just wants more fried chicken!

Steaks with Merlot and Boursin Sauce

We love to cook together on Saturday nights and have a few drinks and relax. This Saturday, we made a recipe from Bon Appetite, Steaks with Merlot and Boursin Sauce.http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/241087 We used dry-aged angus ribeyes from Whole Foods and cooked them in a cast-iron skillet. We used no oil as the steak was so nicely marblized. Next we tented the steaks with the cheese on top while we prepared the refined merlot sauce in the cast iron skillet. We then drizzled the sauce over the cheese and the steak and it was truly amazing.

Cara Cara Oranges

Here is a nice breakfast side. Sunny Cara Cara oranges, topped with brown sugar and melted butter and cinnamon and broiled. Finish with torch.

Summer Beaujolais Party with Smoked Lamb

Here is some of the table spread. Local Duxbury oysters and marinate olives and feta with toasted pita points. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/101876

We smoked three leg of lamb with different rubs over hickory for 10 hours.

Very tasty. Here I am mopping with thyme & rosemary bundles.