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Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

A Mayan dinner party for 12.21.12

Posted in Taza Chocolate Tour, Travel, tagged , , , on December 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

Matt Armendariz/McNab Publishing, Ltd

Matt Armendariz/McNab Publishing, Ltd

There is a lot of talk about the Mayan calendar rolling over to Dec. 21, 2012 and simply coming to end, which has been translated by some as, that’s it, folks. No more time, no more us. I can’t say that I agree, since I’ve already received my 2013 work calendar and everything there seems to be in order just fine. For a more reasoned, scientific explanation, you might want to check out NPR‘s report, “A Guarantee: The world will not end on Friday.”

My first brush with Mayan culture was when I hopped off a cruise ship in Cozumel in 2006 and explored the Chacchoben Mayan ruins. That’s where I found a rather modest exhibit sign next to one of the many-stepped pyramid temples indicating that the Mayan calendar would finish up in six years. It tried to be reassuring that while some people interpreted this to mean the end of time, it could also be seen as a restart. A clean slate for all of us.

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I’d like to suggest that you give both theories a rest and instead actually learn something about Mayan culture. A good place to start would be with Flavors of Belize: The cookbook created by Tanya McNab and Shelley Bowen Stonesifer. First of all, the Mayans haven’t vanished. There are by some estimates some 7 million Mayans alive and well living throughout Guatemala, southern Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras. (more…)

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Cookbook review: Cowgirl Chef by Ellise Pierce

Posted in Cookbook reviews, Main dish, tagged , , , , on December 6, 2012| 3 Comments »

France, it has long been known, has the power to ignite a passion for food.

Julia Child overcame prejudice and disdain for Americans to earn her culinary badge from Paris Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in the 1950s. Her memoir, “My Life in France,” details her love affair with the country and its culinary masterpieces. Food writer Amanda Hesser wooed a grumpy peasant caretaker in a walled kitchen garden at Chateau du Fey in Burgundy, France, and wrote about it in “The Cook and the Gardner.” And even food blogger-turned author Molly Wizenburg of Orangette fame traces her food writing epiphany to the streets of France in “A Homemade Life.”

A street in Paris from "Cowgirl Chef" by Ellise Pierce (Steve Legato/Courtesy of Running Press).

A street in Paris from “Cowgirl Chef” by Ellise Pierce (Steve Legato/Courtesy of Running Press).

There are countless other Americans who traveled to France and suddenly found a new direction in life centered on food. So revered is French cuisine that its principles are a bedrock in Western culinary schools. In November 2010, French gastronomy was added to UNESCO’s “intangible cultural heritage” world list.

And then there is Ellise Pierce, the Cowgirl Chef, who followed a Frenchman to Paris only to get homesick for Texas. There, in the romantic culinary capital of the world, the former journalist found herself yearning for cornbread, hot chilis, and even – gasp – Milky Way candybars.

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Victorian pumpkin pie

Posted in Dessert, Holiday dishes, Mary Baker Eddy Library, tagged , , , on November 18, 2012| 4 Comments »

On most American Thanksgiving tables, pumpkin pie is as much a presence as the turkey centerpiece. In modern forms it may appear as a flan, a cheesecake, or a frozen whipped delight.

In a Victorian-era cookbook, “The Art of Cookery: A Manual for Home and Schools” by Emma P Ewing, I found a recipe for a pumpkin pie that surprised me for two reasons: the heavy use of molasses and no cinnamon.

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Artichoke and spinach dip for election night

Posted in Appetizers, tagged , , on November 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The Nov. 5 cover story for The Christian Science Monitor weekly edition shares the voices of voters in swing states. In addition to the resounding chorus of “Washington, get something done!,” the sentiment from these towns, which may be deeply divided politically and with serious concerns about our individual and collective future, is that neighbors and friends are still able to get along.

“My best friend in the world is a super-left-wing liberal,” Anne Wanke, an unswerving Republican, from Janesville, Wis., told the Monitor. “I mean, she’s pro-abortion. I’m pro-life. She’s very Democrat. But we’ve worked on projects for 30-something years in this town and love each other dearly. I wish our politicians did the same thing.” Read the full story here.

If you are watching the election returns tonight with friends who may or may not share your political persuasion, maybe you should break out a bag of blue and a bag of red tortilla chips (and maybe a plain corn one for Third Party fans) and dig into this delicious, warm artichoke and spinach dip.

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Boston Baked Beans & Indian cake

Posted in Mary Baker Eddy Library, tagged , , on November 3, 2012| 9 Comments »

A perfect place to start a discussion about Victorian menus at the end of the 19th century in Boston, Mass., is with baked beans and brown bread.

Boston earned its nickname “Beantown” for the wide consumption of baked beans by its residents. The Puritan sabbath lasted from sundown on Saturday until sundown on Sunday, and this time was reserved for quiet piety and refrained from any exertion, including cooking. Baked beans provided an easy-to-prepare dish for the Puritans. The bean pot could be kept in the slow heat of a fireplace on Saturday evening that could be served for dinner on Saturday and for Sunday morning breakfast.

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Apple sour cream pie

Posted in Dessert, tagged , , , , on October 26, 2012| 1 Comment »

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This is my second apple pie of the season. My first apple pie came after an annual trek out to an apple orchard to ride in the tractor pulled wagon, pick a bag of apples, and eat way too may cider doughnuts and fist-fulls of kettle corn. It’s one of those things we do to mark the passing of time in New England.

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White and dark chocolate chip blondies

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on October 12, 2012| 1 Comment »

This is a blondie recipe I put together while watching the vice presidential debates. I wanted to make something simple that wouldn’t have me babysitting the oven the way a batch of chocolate chip cookies would. I also needed to use up the miscellaneous ingredients I had in my pantry leftover from making Presidential Cookies with recipes from Michelle Obama and Ann Romney.

After poking around online, I found this recipe to serve as my base and then added white and dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and toasted coconut to make a blondie brownie bar. (more…)

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Presidential ballot 2012: Which cookie will win?

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Recipes, tagged , , on October 11, 2012| 2 Comments »

Michelle Obama’s “White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie” (l.) beat out Ann Romney’s “M&M Cookies” (r.) by a slim margin with readers of Family Circle. (Courtesy of Family Circle)

If you are one of the scores of independent voters yet to decide how you will cast your vote come November, here’s a taste test that could tip your ballot: the great Presidential Cookie Bake-Off. A recipe for success is what this country needs, after all.

For the past 20 years, Family Circle‘s Presidential Cookie Bake-Off has squared-off the mixing bowls of the candidates’ spouses and asked their readers to decide: Who has the better cookie recipe? The editors at Family Circle claim their contest, in which readers test the dueling recipes and vote for their favorite, has resulted in correctly calling the actual elections outcome since 1992 – except once. (more…)

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Tuna steak kabobs

Posted in Main dish, tagged , , , , on September 25, 2012| 5 Comments »

Juicy, tasty, healthy, and – best of all – quick, tuna steak kabobs don’t require an outdoor grill. Just stir together some olive oil, lime juice, and Dijon mustard for a tangy-spicy marinade and load up some kabob skewers for just a few minutes under the broiler.

Tuna steak kabobs, or use your favorite fish, is a fast go-to dinner for a busy weekday night.

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Classic lasagna

Posted in Main dish, tagged , , , on September 18, 2012| 2 Comments »

My friend Jeremy had posted this recipe on my Recipe List page and I finally had a chance to make it when a few friends got together recently for a baby shower.

Lasagna is a perfect potluck item to bring, and although I love this Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagna, I thought our get together would be a good opportunity to try out Jeremy’s recipe. (more…)

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