Chocolate pecan cookies

This is an original recipe! Give it a try and tell me your results!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 stick plus 1 T butter, room temp, divided.
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 T light corn syrup
1 t vanilla extract
3 T cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 t baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 pecans, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 375.

In a glass bowl, combine 1 T of the butter with the semisweet chocolate chips. Microwave on full power for 30 seconds. Stir and do it again until the chocolate and butter melt together. Stir until smooth.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of an upright mixer, combine the sugars and remaining butter and mix with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla and corn syrup. Mix. Add the melted chocolate mixture and combine thoroughly. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder together and add to the mixer in 2 batches to combine thoroughly. Finally, stir in the chopped pecans.

Using 2 teaspoons, or a small (1T) scoop, make 1" balls of dough and drop onto an ungreased baking stone or cookie sheet.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes until the top begins to crack and the cookies have formed a crust. Don't overbake.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the stone and cooling on a rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

I would have taken a picture, but they got eaten too fast!

Lamb fore

Brace yourselves! We had dinner at my mom's last night and she made a unique cut of lamb called the 'fore'.

Basically you are getting the front breast quarter, the front shank and a few ribs. (the image above includes the neck. Ours didn't.) It is a big hunk of meat that the butcher usually cuts into forequarter chops and other parts. Mom went in to the grocery store the other day and discovered that chops were on sale for $1.99 a lb, so she asked the butcher if she could buy a whole fore at that price. He brought a kryovac bag out of the back and labeled it for her. Total cost: around $14 bucks.

The fore is a fairly fatty cut, so first thing you do is cut off all visible fat. Then, she rubbed it all over with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano and put it into a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes to cook off some of the fat. She drained out all the fat and at that point added to the roasting pan:

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
2 green peppers, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 cup dry red wine
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
2 to 5 cloves minced garlic
zest and juice from 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

You can add other veggies if you like. Try diced eggplant or zucchini or green beans, for example.

Cover the whole thing with foil, lower the temperature to 325 degrees and cook until the meat is falling off the bone. (About another 2 1/2 hours.) Check after 1 hour and add more liquid if necessary.

Remove as much fat as possible from the vegetables. The lamb just pulls apart at this point, so remove chunks and serve over pilaf with the veggies and a salad. It is a very rich meal, so follow with some fruit and tea for dessert.

This recipe also works for lamb shanks.

The result? My youngest son announced that it was the best dinner he had ever eaten. I brazenly went back for seconds, immediately regretted it and had to go lie down on the sofa. It was spectacular, with succulent meat and incredibly rich tasting vegetables. A sure hit.

Eggplant Parmesan- from the Urban Mermaid

Here's another great recipe from The Urban Mermaid. Thanks Emily!

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Slice two large eggplants paper thin. Salt both sides (I like Kosher salt) and let drain in colander.

Forget about them for an hour. Come back and rinse the salt and then stack up the slices between two plates weighed down with a few cast iron pans. Let drain for an hour or more.

You can then refrigerate the whole deal in a plastic container and make it another day if you wish.

When you are ready scramble five eggs and pour into a glass pie plate. Dip three or four eggplant slices at a time in the egg to coat both sides. Then fry in a 1/4 cup of hot olive oil 375 degrees, in a large frying pan. The slices cook in seconds, turning golden on each side. When cooked lay them on paper towels or paper bag to drain the oil. You may want to use long handle tongs to avoid occasional oil splatter. When done and slices are drained, place slices in oven proof dish over a layer of tomato sauce. Then alternately layer the eggplant slices and the tomato sauce thinly and bake at 375 for ten minutes. I used two and a half jars of Job lot tomato sauce to cover the eggplants. (Job Lot is a local discount store with gourmet foods on sale. Try Trader Joes if you have one, or make homemade sauce!)

Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan.

Enjoy with salad.

Guest Blogger: The Urban Mermaid!

Ok, all you granola fans, here is a great recipe that you can make yourself. I'd probably have to scale it down a bit, but maybe not!!!

Thanks to The Urban Mermaid for this fantastic recipe. Oh, and there is a bonus at the end, LOL.

The Urban Mermaid Granola

It's so easy to make.

We buy 50 pound bags of thick cut oats and store them in our cold cellar in gigantic tins.

1 cup corn oil

1 cup regular Barbados molasses

sprinkle of Kosher salt

1 Tablespoon of Job Lot's real vanilla

4 or five empty (quart) yogurt containers filled with oats

Heat oil, molasses, salt, and vanilla, in a large pot. While stirring add oats. Mix thoroughly, then spread over two Pampered chef stoneware baking trays and bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrunch the oats to fill the corners of the pan and they won't burn! Stir oats from edges of baking pan every 20 minutes. The oats are done when they are golden brown. (three or four 20 minute sessions) Let cool and then put in sealed container. We use thick cut oats.

Carry a bag of this granola with raisins, with you and you'll never starve!

Enjoy!!

Mermaid's Fast Baked Beans

Take some leftover home cooked pinto beans and add some Musselman's apple butter and heat, it's like Boston baked beans in a pinch.

Tools I couldn't live without

Because I sell kitchen tools, people ask me all the time which ones are my favorites. To be honest, there are very few in our line I don't love... but there are a bunch that I use constantly:

All of these are by The Pampered Chef. The best kitchen tools on the market if you ask me.

9x13" Stoneware baking pan. I use this thing at least a couple of times a week. I'll throw a bunch of chicken thighs with herbs and garlic on them to bake. I made ziti in it last week. I make my baked ravioli in it. I can do brownies or sheet cakes one day and baked pork roast the next. It is my constant companion in the kitchen and the perfect size for a family of 4. (Bread pudding in it is to die for, too. I made the French bread with bourbon sauce from the Joy of Cooking and people were blown away.)

Deep dish pie plate. Ok, I admit, I think the fluting around the top is sort of dorky, but I really really love the way the pies come out in this thing. Mine is just now starting to develop the right patina and it bakes the crusts beautifully. No more soggy bottoms. Now that I have discovered the roll out ready-made pie crusts, I make pies for dinner all the time. It is a very quick way to use up left-overs and the kids love them.

8" Executive saute pan. What's not to love? It is non-stick, but it has a lifetime warranty. It has a silicone handle so I don't have to use a pot holder on the stove. It has a flared rim so I can pour stuff out of it without dripping. And it fries up an egg perfectly. Every time. I love my cast iron pans, don't get me wrong, but when I am frying my eggs in the morning, I use my little saute pan and love it.

Chef's tongs. These are great because the ends have silicone covers, so they won't mar my non-stick cookware. Plus they are self locking so you can put them in your tool canister without them flopping open and tangling up the rest of your stuff. Love them.

Garlic press. Don't have to peel the cloves. Actually can fit a whole clove in the hopper. Great contoured handle. Hasn't broken yet, which is more than my last two presses can say.

Pizza stone. I use the 15" for cookies and lots of pizzas. I am a fan of Callise Bakery crust in a bag, but even frozen pizza tastes better when the crust isn't a soggy mess.

12" Family Skillet. PC has two versions of this, but I like the Executive. Goes from the stovetop to the oven up to 400 degrees. I make a quick chicken parmesan in mine that is delicious. Plus you can bake a pretty impressive pineapple upside down cake in it, too!

Those are my favorite Pampered Chef tools. For non-PC tools I like:

Oxo salad spinner. Since we make salad every stinkin' night, plus have a hungry bunny to feed, we better have a handy way to wash all that romaine. We are on our third OXO spinner and will be buying another one when this one breaks.

12" Cast iron frying pan. Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways. I love that you weigh 20 lbs. (Actually, the only thing I don't love...) I love that you are now non-stick after I have carefully tended to your beautiful seasoning over all these years. I love that my kids kids will be able to fry chicken or make a whopping huge cornbread or stir fry their veggies in you. I love that you cost me about $15. New.

Pyrex measuring cups. I wish they nested, yes, but I like the heft of these cups. They just seem indestructible and that is a good thing when I am measuring out all those potentially dangerous ingredients, LOL.

Kitchenaid stand mixer. I don't bake tons, but when I do, it is AMAZING to have the right tool for the job. See earlier posts about my mixer obsession. But for day to day work, the KA is the one for me.

All these tools make getting dinner on the table easier. And since I do that 5 or 6 nights a week, it is great to have good stuff in the kitchen!

Chicken pot pie

Ok all you busy folks, here's something I have been doing lately to make life easier.

Step one: Roast a pair of chickens. Save the juices to make gravy. Eat 1 roasted chicken for dinner and throw the second one in the fridge. Save the carcass from the first one.

Step two: Make chicken pot pie out of the leftovers (see recipe below).

Step three: Make chicken soup out of the carcasses.

So here is my super simple chicken pot pie recipe:

2 pie crusts (homemade or store bought dough)
shredded leftover chicken. (3 cups or so)
1/2 a bag of frozen veggies
Gravy (homemade or canned)
Salt and Pepper

This isn't rocket science. I put the bottom crust into the pie plate. Fill it with the chicken and veggies. Pour over the gravy until the filling is nice and moist. (about 2 cups of gravy) Salt and pepper it and put on the top crust. Crimp the edges, vent the top and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Since the chicken is already cooked, you only want to worry about your crust.

Last night I made one of these before going to a meeting and by the time I came home, my husband and two boys had eaten the entire thing. I ended up having to get takeout, if you can believe it.

Great News!

My mom has agreed to post on this blog. You have no idea how lucky you are, dear readers. I am a lightweight in the kitchen compared to her. She is the best cook I have ever known. So put a napkin in your collar and prepare to be amazed.

Her name is Pat. In addition to cooking, she is a writer, poet and theatre director.

Welcome, Ma!

Crock pot spaghetti sauce

This is the second great recipe for the crock pot. Easy enough for a weeknight. Makes enough for a spaghetti dinner one night and baked ravioli the next.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbs Olive oil
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 large can of whole tomatoes
1 medium can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 tsp. allspice. Yes, you read right. This is the secret ingredient for a great tomato sauce.
1 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. Italian pork sausage, sweet or hot.

In a small saute pan, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until just translucent. Put in the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Set on high for at least 6 hours, or until the sausage is fully cooked.

I love this over regular linguine... but you can also use the leftovers for a quick baked casserole. I like to pour some sauce in the bottom of an oval baking dish, layer it with a single layer of frozen ravioli, more sauce, more ravioli, and end with sauce, the chopped sausages and some shredded mozzarella cheese on top. This goes in a moderate (350 degree) oven for about an hour until the ravioli is tender and fully cooked. (This really works, LOL. You don't even have to defrost the ravioli!)

Another options is to cook a pound of ziti to al dente. Saute some zucchini or other veggies. Mix the ziti, sauce and veggies in a 9" X 13" stoneware baking pan and top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 20-25 minutes, at 350. Serves a ton of people.

Pulled Pork

Pork seems to be a theme of this blog. Maybe I ought to rename it 'The Pig Pen', lol.

This recipe uses a tool with which I have a love/hate relationship: The crock pot. I have ruined many a fine pieces of stew meat in this device. Beef comes out dry and stringy. Chicken? Fuggetaboudit. In my kitchen, the crock pot makes two dishes exceptionally well: Spaghetti sauce with sausage, and my fabulous pulled pork.

Here's the recipe:

1 picnic pork shoulder, fresh. Skin and all visible surface fat removed. (You can also make this with a boneless shoulder.)

2 cups Kansas City barbecue sauce

Kansas City barbecue sauce: (Adapted from a recipe in Saveur Magazine. This is, without a doubt, the best barbecue sauce I have EVER had.)

In a large bowl, add together
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground mace (I usually use nutmeg)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup white vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1/2 tsp hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Franks

Mix it all together.

To make pulled pork, place the shoulder in a crock pot. Cover with the barbecue sauce. Cook on medium or high until the pork pulls apart easily with a fork. (8 to 10 hours)

When the pork is done, cool slightly and pull the flesh apart with a pair of forks. I like to serve this on toasted garlic buns with some cole slaw on the side. Or serve it on a plate with mashed potatoes.

This makes a boatload of barbecue. Bring it to the church pot luck and impress your friends.

Marguerites

Speaking of Ritz Crackers, Here is another recipe from the Sacred Heart cookbook. This time it is a dessert.

I had these cookies for the first time when my friend Annette brought them to church. They are simple to make, and just weird enough to be delicious.

Thanks to Pauline from Sacred Heart for sharing your recipe.

1/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbs. milk
3/4 tsp. maple flavored extract
Walnut halves
Ritz Crackers

For frosting: Cream butter; gradually add sugar and alternate with milk. Add the maple flavoring. Yields about a cup of frosting. Spread onto crackers and top with half a walnut.

French Meat Pie

This recipe is adapted from the Sacred Heart Church cookbook I bought at the French Farmer's Market in Woonsocket, RI a few weeks ago. My brother said it was the best meat pie he ever had. I have to concur.

Crust for a two crust pie (I cheated this time and used the Pillsbury refrigerated crusts.)
3 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 lbs. lean ground pork. (I ground my own in the food processor, but you can buy it ready ground.)
salt and pepper
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
10 to 12 Ritz crackers, crushed fine
2 tsp. Bell's poultry seasoning (or more, to taste)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan, cover potatoes with water and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender. In a large 10 to 12 inch skillet, saute the onion in butter until translucent. Add the pork and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains.

Drain the water from the potatoes and add them to the pork. Mash with a potato masher until the potatoes are well incorporated into the meat mixture. Add cracker crumbs and seasoning. Taste and adjust spices as necessary. Use meat to fill a pie crust. Add the top crust and pierce to vent the steam. This is a huge pie, so be sure to use a big enough pie plate. (I used the Pampered Chef deep dish pie plate.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

The traditional Woonsocket way to serve this is doused in ketchup, but it is so delicious on its own that I can't bring myself to do it. Also, another traditional spice for this dish is ground cloves. You might try a tiny pinch and see if you like it.

Bon appetit, mes amis. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Linguica, kale and white bean soup

6 cups of chicken broth (I sometimes make homemade)
1 lb linguica, casings removed and chopped coarse (Or, if you prefer it spicy, you can substitute chourico.)
1 bunch of kale, washed, stems removed and chopped coarse
1 onion, diced
1 can of white beans (great northern work well)
1 Tb. olive oil

In a large stock pot, fry onion in olive oil until translucent. Add linguica and saute until cooked through, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, kale and beans. Simmer until kale is cooked, about 15 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread.

Don't even get me started on toasters!

I have no idea where my obsession with vintage appliances began. It is possibly the time I stayed home from school for several weeks when I was around 9. I had a sore throat that wouldn't quit and spent my time watching old movies on channel 56 all day. I became obsessed with shoulder pads. Later, as a teen, I spent a lot of time in St. Paul's thrift shop where I even found a 1940s woman's suit, once, the jacket of which I wore for years.

During "big trash" week in Newport, I would scour the huge piles for old stuff. Once, I brought home a perfect, working, 1920s vacuum cleaner. It had a huge aluminum head and a big black bag that you had to empty. I loved that vacuum.

So, toasters.

In my first apartment I had an old broil king that I used to toast stuff. Then, in my second one, I got a toaster at the Earthen Vessel thrift shop that I finally had to throw away because a mouse got electrocuted in it. Ick.

At one point I made the transition to toaster ovens.... starting with a great one from Black and Decker that lasted 10 years, but ending up with pieces of crap that would practically break on start up. They were horribly designed. One after another, I desparately tried to find one that worked. Even the Black and Deckers had gone to the dark side.

Then, one day, I was in Ocean State Job Lot and found a reconditioned Cuisinart toaster. I brought it home and plugged it in, wondering if I could live without the tiny broiler on my counter. It lasted a few months bofore it died. Then I bought a brand new one from Linens and Things, which has lasted a couple of years.

Is it any wonder I love the vintage ones?

About a year ago I became obsessed with the Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster. I scoured ebay looking for just the right one. Finally, I made a bid on a t-35 and won. 2 weeks later, a completely trashed toaster arrived on my doorstep. It was smashed on one side, didn't work, the bakelite base was broken. Of course the seller blamed the post office. I was out $20 bucks, but worse, crushed! LOL.

My friend Kelly from the mixer forum said he had a spare Sunbeam Toaster and offered to send it to me. Days later, it arrived.... all shiny and beautiful. He had packed it within and inch of it's life. When we placed a piece of toast in the slot, it lowered automatically, clicked on the element and toasted that baby beautifully. Then, gently, raised the toast when it was finished. It was "Automatic Beyond Belief". The toaster is proudly displayed with my Sunbeam percolator.

Here are a couple of links I found from my mixer forum: (Thanks to Jon, my major enabler!)

The Toaster Museum

Sunbeam Radiant Control Toasters

Toaster Central

Toast anyone?

Simple French Vanilla Ice Cream

I didn't have all the ingredients that were called for in the ice cream recipe I had... so I started to just throw stuff together and it turned out to be a delicious and simple ice cream recipe.

Here's the recipe:

3 cups light cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan, over medium heat. Stir constantly as the mixture warms up. Do not allow it to boil, or the eggs will curdle. Just as the liquid begins to steam, lower the heat. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens slightly and can coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Take the custard off the heat and allow it to cool completely. I poured it into a 1 quart mason jar and refridgerated it.... then threw it in the freezer to speed up the cooling process. It took about an hour to get good and cold. Place the custard in an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.

Mine came out perfectly custardy, vanilla-ish and amazingly creamy. After I took it out of the ice cream machine, I froze it in a plastic tub for another 45 minutes or so to make it more solid. It was simply incredible!

Next time I am going to try adding fruit... berries or peaches, perhaps. Summer is here!

Grilled Vietnamese Pork Chops

6 pork chops, bone in.

Marinade:

1/4 cup salad oil
2 T Vietnamese fish sauce (or to taste.)
1 T sugar
Fresh ground pepper
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup sliced green onion, tops only.

Marinate the pork chops in a plastic bag filled with the marinade ingredients. Grill over hot coals until charbroiled.

Serve with hot jasmine rice and salad.

Salad dressing:

1/4 cup salad oil
1/8 cup white vinegar
2 cloves garlic, skinned and crushed
plenty of black ground pepper.

We just use romain or green leaf lettuce for this dish. Nothing else in the salad.

On the table we have soy sauce and shark brand hot sauce.

Is it safe?

Sandy, of the aforementioned 'We Actually Collect Electric Mixers' club asked me to post pics of my cake safe. Because of the teak handle, I am pretty sure it would fall into the Danish Modern catagory. Although that might be a huge assumption on my part. Kind of like people on ebay calling everything "Eames" trying to capture people in the search engine. (Did the Eames actually make kitchen gadgets, table cloths, toasters and purses? You should see the stuff attributed to them on ebay!)

I bought this cake safe at the resale store down the street from me. They have a lovely, but small, selection of kitchen stuff. It is on the third level, which is a sort of catwalk that overlooks the big second floor filled with furniture. There are deals to be had. I found a great, cream colored cassarole dish with cover for $12. The cake safe was on sale for $15. Occasionally you will find a vintage toastmaster or electric skillet. Even a cuisinart, once, with a bunch of attachments.

In the days following my foray into English mixers, I have been trying to account for the irresistable pull that vintage kitchen stuff has for me. I don't think it is nostalgia, exactly. My mother, though she is a superb cook, was not too into gadgets, especially vintage ones. She had a brief romance with a GE food processor in the late 70s, but mostly her cooking involved a big Glenwood C wood stove in the dining room of our farm. Yes, we had an electric stove, but for years, literally, the element in the oven was burned out, so we made do with wood in the winter and cooked on the grill or stovetop for summer.

My granny didn't have vintage appliances much, either. There was a toaster oven at the place in Canada. And a hot plate for when it was too hot to cook on the wood stove in her oven. At some point her daughter convinced her to install an electric stove and the woodstove was pulled out. But there was no mixer, no blender, no electric gadgets save for the tea kettle and Farberware percolator.

My dad certainly isn't into this stuff. He is a man who collects bits of nature. In particular, animal skulls that he finds on his daily walks into the woods. He has hundreds of them, classified and lined up on shelves. Periodically he culls his collection, giving away duplicate specimen to anyone he thinks might be interested. The other day, my children got a box, posted from Newfoundland, of teeth. Horse molars, beaver incisors, moose. Packaged in a box with a label for customs: Toys.

So where does this romance come from? I try to keep from collecting much of anything. I have the demon of aquisitiveness which I hold at bay by avoiding 'collections'. (Meaning three of anything!) I have a tarot deck collection which I am planning to dismantle. And a tarot book collection that I am trying to decide what to do with.

And now kitchen stuff. Both from the local junk store, and from Pampered Chef.

I wonder where it comes from?

My new love....

At first I was attracted by his boyish good looks. But when I actually got him home, I discovered that he has all the muscle I knead. (LOL)

He's my new to me Kenwood Chef A700, circa 1950. This is an English mixer, very rare on this side of the pond. Even rarer is the fact that this one was designed for export, so it actually uses 110 electricity. And he is in mint condition. 300 watts of power. Swoon.

So, why does a perfectly sane girl need three mixers? It isn't that I'll use them all at the same time, right?

Well, the story is this: I bought the Hamilton Beach model K at a Salvation Army last fall. It is a lovely, chrome mixer from the 1940s. It is in mint condition. And it is very limited in it's usefulness because it has a pair of beaters that are stuck together as a single unit, which makes them awful to clean. Plus, the old girl doesn't have the ball bearings to get through something like a stiff cookie dough, never mind bread.

So, I convinced my husband to get me a refurbished Kitchenaid Artisan for my birthday. And I was in mixer love: Sir Mix-A-Lot is extremely powerful, has a great paddle that is easy to clean, a huge bowl and the ever-necessary 'planetary action' that means the stuff in the bowl gets thoroughly mixed.

My husband thought I was crazy to want to keep the Hamilton Beach at this point, but I liked her Chromy-ness and put her on top of my cabinet, where she reflects the kitchen light.

So where does the Kenwood come in? Well, I belong, believe it or not, to a vintage mixer club on the internet. We Actually Collect Electric Mixers is a great group, full of knowledgeable and friendly people. People who will act like crack pushers when it comes to mixers. Want a little taste? Here, it's free. And soon you are hooked. HOOOKED.

I swore it was just curiosity when I logged on to ebay that day. I am NOT interested in any mixers. I will never need another mixer.

And then, there was the Kenwood. Pristine. US voltage. Can still get a potato peeler and pea huller attachments. And so. Darn. Gorgeous.

I posted to the group, begging them to talk me down. One friend half heartedly agreed to bid on the Kenwood, but by then, it was already too late. Another friend from England sent me a private email RAVING about the Kenwoods. She has 3 of the vintage ones. Ahem. (Crack, I tell you.)

So I bid. I chose a reasonable amount of money. $32.24 was my bid. I posted it at the last minute. (Yes, sniped, I am sorry to say.) And won.

And waited. I had chosen parcel post, as it was less expensive. But the seller was exceptional and posted it the next morning and within a week he was sitting on my counter next to Sir Mix-A-Lot.

I don't need another mixer. In fact, my english friend, even at this moment, is scouring ebay.uk for a beater and dough hook for it, as it only came with the whip. But in the mean time I'll make meringue and whip some cream and dream of the day I can bake 3 loaves of bread at once, with both mixers whirring away on the counter.....

grilled pizza

Yeah, you can do it the hard way, with a charcoal grill and real dough. Or you can do it the easy, cheap-ass, weeknight dinner for the kids, way.

I bought a pair of prebaked packaged thin pizza crusts. I doused them in garlic, olive oil and italian spices. I slapped them on a hot gas grill and slightly charred the top, then flipped 'em, doused the other side and covered it with red onion, black olive, fresh grated parmesan and mozarella. I turned off the heat directly below and closed the lid just long enough to melt the cheese.

That's all folks. Not a crumb left.

Why heat up the house when the weather is warm? Go outside and play!

Salad

My friend Peter thinks I make the best salads. And frankly, I have to agree.

Here's my no fail recipe:

romain lettuce, torn into pieces
kalamata olives
big chunks of feta cheese
capers (that is the secret ingredient... around these parts, I buy my capers in big jars at our local Job Lot. For those of you elsewhere, try Cosco.)
And Newman's Own olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing.

That is my every day salad. If I want to get fancy, I might add jarred artichoke hearts, red onion or some raddiccio. If I am making my own dressing, it is a lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic combination that I learned from my french former step-uncle.

I like wooden salad bowls. The best one I have is from a church yard sale. It is a single piece of maple that is beautifully carved. By now it is completely impregnated with oil, so it is sticky on the outside. But it is a dark, warm color, and it miraculously holds just the right amount of salad, no matter how many people are eating it. (It is like my loaves and fishes salad bowl)

I'll post a picture later.

Welcome to my new blog!

This one is all about kitchen stuff. I am a kitchen gadget fanatic, and love little odds and ends. Plus, I sell Pampered Chef kitchen tools for a job, so I am always interested in tools that make cooking simpler. I am going to invite my friend Emily to post on the Tool Crib too!

To start, I should disclose that I own 3 mixers:

A KitchenAid Artisan named Sir Mix-A-Lot
A Hamilton Beach Model K named Harriet (circa 1940s)
And I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my brand new (to me) 1940s Kenwood Chef.

I am not an addict. I can stop anytime.

Now go away. I am cruising Ebay...