First BBQ of the Year

The temperature hit 68F, the yard has been cleaned up, it's barbeque time!


First Hoegaarden of the summer (and yes that is a Krups scale bowl we are using as an ice bucket!)


Polly banished to the bridge while there are hamburgers about


Sadie drooling


Life is just a bowl of cherries - and cherries are the perfect summer dessert.

Laundry Update: Cabinets

I wrote this post before I went walkabout:

Some weeks ago I promised an update to the failed initial laundry room plan. I drew and redrew the plan and eventually came up with something I could live with: 2 x 24" cabinets over the washer/dyer, a high cabinet next to the dyer and oak countertops. On the adjacent wall there will be one 18" and one 24" cabinet next to the laundry chute. Underneath the laundry chute a 15" cabinet, next to it a 24" sink base and then an 18" pull-out drawer unit. That will mean we only need a 2" filler, so no wasted space, and I ordered 39" tall wall cabinets so I'll have lots of room to store cat food.
The floor will have the same porcelain tiles we are using in the powder room. They are really low-maintenance, as easy to clean as the white Applad cabinets we've chosen. It should be a breeze to get this room finished.
Unfortunately, when we went to Ikea to buy the cabinets the high cabinet was out of stock so we ended up just getting the wall cabinets, which we have had neatly stacked in the garage for a month now. The plan was to make one cabinet per evening in the hopes we could have hung them by the following weekend but plans tend to get postponed in this house. Sometimes indefinitely.

Then I came back from Boston and to my great surprise I found:


Boxes assembled

and boxes on the wall. With doors. And handles. I'm totally impressed, maybe I should go away more often.
It's looking very shiny and clean, and much bigger than before. I can't wait to get the rest of the laundry room finished.

I'm back

but a little like this. Even if you don't speak French I think you'll get the idea (thanks for the video Fliss).

An orange, orange scones and a goldfish

Marilyn at Simmer Till Done had a mouth-watering post on Orange Chocolate Chip Scones that sent me straight to the kitchen. But I'm a purist. I like my chocolate in bars or occasionally in the form of pralines with creme fraiche, but never in the form of chips. What to do? Substitute the choc chips for ginger of course. Except when I got to the store cupboard I was out of crystallized ginger. But I did have orange flavored cranberries, hee, hee.


Her recipe is here. All you have to do if you want to make my scones is replace the words chocolate chip with dried cranberries and viola. Couldn't be simpler, could it? See that gorgeous mesh of grated orange zest? It smells as good as it looks and it leaves the rest of the orange for you to make something else with that we'll get to in a minute.


Marilyn makes beautiful scones, in triangles. Go back and look at her photos. That's what they are supposed to look like. I make odd shaped squares


and circles; but they still taste great, not English scones but American scohnes, not too sweet and full of flavour.


Remember that orange I zested earlier?
Cut the orange in half and juice it, cut a lime in half, cut a slice from the middle and reserve, then juice the two lime halves, too. Take a highball glass and half fill with ice cubes, or if you are British, use the two ice cubes you are allowed under rationing rules, add a measure or two of gin to the glass, pour over the juice, top with tonic water, stir. Garnish with that reserved slice of lime. Delicious, refreshing and full of vitamins.
The goldfish? It was decorating the glass swizzle stick and I dropped it, snapping him off. I have a few of them now and I'm thinking of using them as table decorations next time we have people to dinner.....

Friday Night Fun

Because we'd taken advantage of the fabulous weather on Thursday evening and taken guests to Prime Restaurant for a sunset seafood and fish dinner on the deck overlooking Huntington Harbor we forwent (really, forwent? went without? denied ourselves? Whatever) our usual Friday night booze fest Martini and meal in town and made this vegetable thin crust pizza (recipe over here) instead. OK I had a Martini and some olives to start but it was basically a low-calorie supper.


Then because it was still early I had a crazy desire to get a jump start on the weekend by putting up the curtain rods for the drapery panels I bought.


Of course the previous sentence makes it sound as if I was actually wielding the drill when we know my role is to take photographs and alert The Guy to the fact that the middle bracket is 1/4" off center.


You'd hardly think from his smiling face that he had a drill in his hand and it was menacingly close to my eye, would you? Still, in the end it all went off quite smoothly. I believe the drink before dinner helped, and the pizza, of course. There's nothing worse than tackling projects with a rumbling stomach, is there?


There was only one teensy-weensy little problem. When the curtains went up. I HATED THEM. They're definitely oatmeal not pearl and I hate oatmeal. What was I thinking?


I couldn't bring myself to fess up to The Guy that I thought they were a mistake, especially as he didn't want drapes in the first place, so I lived with them until Sunday afternoon but in the end they had to go. We tried them in the our bedroom but they were still oatmeal. Not every plan is a good plan and I'm admitting this was not my best but at least we know what won't work in both the den and the master.

Spring at the beach

The wind is coming from the north-east, which accounts for the chilliness but it's bringing the smell of the ocean to Long Island Sound. Two sailboats, a speedboat and a skiff are on the Bay, the sun is shining out of a bright blue sky and Jeff's Seafood has soft shell crabs so it must be Spring.

Win a Designer Pillow

2Modern Design are giving away this gorgeous Thomaspaul pillow currently on sale for $96. Just visit Create My Event and leave a comment with a creative Spring party theme idea to enter. Simple and possibly very satisfying. While you're there scroll down the page for my easy frozen yoghurt recipe. Also simple and guaranteed satisfying.
The competition runs until April 20 2008. Good Luck.

It's a long way to go

This is the Easter egg I wanted yesterday. The one on the left. From my favorite chocolate shop in the world L'Art du Paslin, Wavre, Belgium. Third-generation handmade chocolates, the best ingredients: butter, cream and of course dark, milk and white chocolate. What could be more perfect? The smell, the rich, chocolatey smell of the pralines, that's the only thing that's missing from the video below.

Easter = ikea

A trip to Ikea to buy some cabinets to finish the laundry room was a big fat bust. I had everything planned out, wall and base cabinets from the Udden range in clean, mod, white and stainless steel, plus a Mossby stainless shelf but, as so often when we get to the store, we started to second-guess the plan. To replace the existing sink countertop where the cats feed happily away from the ever-hungry dogs who would otherwise devour their treats, we could have either a free-standing unit with a single sink that would leave enough room for the cats to feed (just) but there would be a 9" gap at one end and that would be really annoying (you try scraping dried-on cat food out of a space that size)or a unit that would fit exactly that comes with a double-sink meaning the cats would have to eat in the sink. Rats. Thwarted once again.
So we came home empty-handed and cleaned the laundry which didn't make me feel even the teeniest bit better about the waste of time and fuel.
My mood wasn't made any better by listening to a segment on NPR about chocolate for Easter and hearing Chocolate Dinosaurs were a big seller. Because now I want a chocolate dinosaur and I didn't even get a little egg.

Help my houseplants

Have you ever seen anything more pathetic? These brown and shriveled plants aren't dead yet. In fact they've been hanging on in this state for quite some time. The one in the middle I bought as a huge healthy mother-in-law's tongue from Wholefoods in 2002. I chose it because nothing was supposed to kill them. Well, maybe not but I've managed to do it some serious damage. It's about an eighth the size it used to be and decidedly unhappy. The other two plants I inherited with the house. The Anthurium used to have big white waxy flowers, now it barely has leaves. And the 8' tall plant? I have no idea what it is but the broom handle I tied it to to stop it toppling over only adds to the element of desperation. I feel really bad about these two because I promised the previous home owner I'd take care of them.
I moved them so they'd get more light and put them all together so they could lean on each other for emotional support. But what else should I do?


Just so you don't think I have the gardening thumb of death, take a look at the Devils' Ivy in the dining room. Just running away with itself.



And then there's this beautiful orchid. Maybe I haven't had this one long enough to do major damage? I don't have seem to have problems with outdoor plants, so what can it be? Advice please.

Cake or death?

Guess what we will be doing this evening?
We have tickets to see Eddie Izzard at the Union Square Theatre in NYC. One little "oops" moment. I booked the tickets and didn't check the time of the performance. It starts at 10:30 pm. Since the bout of bugness we've haven't made it past the 10 o'clock news, so this should be an interesting experience. Hopefully the raucous laughter will keep us awake. What? You didn't think that was funny? Then check out this one



You liked it? He'll be gigging until March 8th..
The question is, should we complete the unique Britishness of the experience by eating fish & chips at A Salt & Battery first?

Snow Day Baking

What can you do when the snow is thickly falling outside? You could spend a few hours reading your favorite blogs, catching up on the laundry or cleaning the house. Or you could invite the neighbors over for spaghetti supper and spend the afternoon making Buffalo Bolognese, Tuscan bread and Lemon and Almond biscotti.


Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon to finish
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs + 1 egg white to glaze
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped almonds


Method
Cream the butter and cup of sugar. Add the salt, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and whole eggs, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour and almonds. Finish the mixing by hand and shape into 2 12"x6" rectangles.
Place these on a baking sheet 4" apart. Whisk the egg white until foamy and brush over the tops. Sprinkle the tablespoon of sugar over the dough and bake in a pre-heated 375F oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool on the tray for 1 hour. Then slice on the diagonal into 1/2" slices. Lower the oven temperature to 325F and bake for a further 10 minutes or so until drip and crisp.


Serve with espresso, or fruit salad with whipped cream. Or if your guests can't wait for the Fettucine to cook, they make an acceptable hors d'oeuvre!

Going Modern

Shiro Kuramata, 49 Drawers (1970), Museum of Modert Art, NYC.
We renewed our subscription to MoMA and as no-one has to work today we popped in to the city to see the Lucian Freud exhibit. Just the two of us and twenty million other people who wanted to see modern art on a warm wet Monday morning. It's really not possible to enjoy looking at anything with these crowds so we cut our losses and joined friends for a long (4 hour) leisurely lunch at The Modern.
The $55 pre-fixe was possibly the best meal we have had in NYC since we ate there back in 2005. Light and velvety lentil broth with foie gras flan, garlicky carpaccio of sea bass, crispy trout and the tart apple and pear dessert were the stand-outs. The service was impeccable and the amuse bouche and complimentary petits fours were greatly appreciated. My only tiny quibble is that MoMA offers a 10% discount to members dining in their other restaurants but apparently not in The Modern. Still, I can't think of a better way to spend President's Day. It sure beats shopping my way to poverty.

Valentine's Day: The British Edition

For all those homesick Brits, here's one more thing to crave on Valentine's Day.


Champagne with the black stuff? Mmmm.
Last year it was Guinness for St. Patrick's Day. I wonder what they have in store for 2009?
via Trendhunter.

Valentine's Day: The "weekender" edition

I would like to thank our neighbors for a fun-filled Saturday evening of great food and wine but especially for the Valentine's related topics of conversation ranging from serial engagements to love handles (both on the body and the handles in the shape of hearts on the Valentine's mugs, which I named "love handles") and from fig leaves to E.D. and what to do if you are afflicted by a four-hour erection resulting from an overdose of Cialis. Would a dip in a neighbor's icy-cold pool take the ahem edge off, so to speak? I haven't laughed so much since 2007.
I was suffering from verbal diarrhoea, the result, I think, of not being able to speak for the last couple of weeks and a couple of glasses of red wine, which always loosens my tongue. It was so bad that even when we went to bed I kept waking up every couple of hours and I WAS STILL TALKING. I seemed to have got it out of my system now, though.
So once again, thanks both for the wonderful hospitality and for the opportunity to mention erectile dysfunction on my blog.

Still sick but at least we haven't lost our appetites

We're still too sick to do anything productive like go out for cocktails but at least I can still cook.


What's in the huge size 28 Le Creuset casserole I inherited?


Buffalo chili, lots of buffalo chili. Enough to feed 2 people twice a day for five days.


Fresh out of the oven a loaf of No-time bread


Unfortunately it looks like this bread isn't going to last a day, let alone five. It is seriously good, requires only an hour once you've collected the ingredients from the pantry to slicing it and smearing it butter and it smells like heaven. At least I think it does. I lost my sense of smell sometime around January 3 with the first cold and it hasn't returned yet.
The basic recipe was so good last time that I got creative and made a *Tuscan inspired version


*No-Time Bread (standard recipe)
1 loaf

4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (two packets)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer put the yeast, sugar, and water and let it sit.

Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven in to warm as the oven heats. Get out your flour, salt, vinegar, spray oil, and anything else you need.

Now that the yeast has had a few minutes to bubble up, add 3 cups of the flour as well as the salt and vinegar and beat for several minutes with the paddle. Add the last 1/2 cup of flour and switch to the dough hook and beat for seven minutes. Alternately, knead vigorously for five minutes, or until the dough becomes extremely elastic. This will still be a wet dough, but not goopy. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl but still stick to the bottom

Oil a microwave-safe bowl and transfer the bread dough to it, rolling it in the oil. Cover the bowl with a very wet towel. Cover the whole thing with a dry towel and put in the microwave for 25 seconds.

Tuscan Loaf
To the dry ingredients I added:
I tablespoon chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
To the water and balsamic I added:
2 tablespoons olive oil

Recipe via thekitchn.com

Food for a cold day

Is there anything better when the temperature is below freezing than homemade salsa soup*


A loaf of bread direct from the oven


And a hunk of Iberian cheese with red pepper?


Oh yes, it's that glass of Cabernet that adds the appropriate warmth to the lunch.

*Salsa Soup
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 chopped onion
* 2 chopped carrots
* 2 chopped sticks celery
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon salt and fresh pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* carton vegetable or chicken stock
* 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
* 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans
* 2 tablespoons salsa

Sweat onions, garlic, carrots and celery in olive oil for 5 mins. Add beans, tomatoes, stock, red pepper flakes and oregano. Season. Cook 45 mins - 1 hour. Stir in salsa. Serve.

Hoppin' John

We didn't manage to do without food today although we were frugal, and there was no alcohol imbibed. I made the customary New Year's Day dish of rice and beans known as Hoppin' John, although my recipe is anything but traditional.
Disclaimer: This is spicy. We like our food very spicy. You may prefer it without a couple of the *HOT* ingredients.

Hoppin' John
1 can black-eyed peas
Olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes
Oregano
Salt and pepper
Dash of Tabasco
Half a spicy chorizo
1-2 cup(s) chicken stock
Rice

In a casserole fry the onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add can of beans. Add herb and spices to taste. Cook five minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock and Tabasco. You may need more chicken stock depending on taste and how long you let the beans cook.
In a pan gently brown slices of chorizo. Add to beans. Fifteen minutes before you are ready to eat cook rice in a separate pan. Serve beans over rice.
Makes enough for 2-3.
Brilliant for hangovers.

Happy New Year

Tapas
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Tapas 2007

We are giving up food and alcohol for the New Year so here's a photo from the holiday celebrations to remind us what tapas looked like.
Enjoy!

Stollen

This afternoon I made Stollen, a non-traditional recipe* without marzipan or glacé cherries, which I hate.


I was going for just one loaf but I could see by the amount of risen dough that this was going to deliver many loaves.


In the end I shaped it into five equal amounts, one to eat now and the rest to be frozen or given away.


I glazed them with lemon icing, which made them shiny, but I think I'll give them another coat when they cool down so that it will look more like snow on top.

*Stollen

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 pkgs dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup candied golden raisins
1/2 cup candied citrus peel
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Frosting:
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
I tblsp lemon juice

Heat milk until almost to hot to touch. Add sugar, butter, and salt, and cool to lukewarm. Add 2 whole eggs, and 2 yolks. Mix.
Add to flour and yeast. Mix, knead (I use a mixer with a dough hook) and let rise until doubled in size.
Mix in cardamom, raisins, peel, and almonds. Knead. Cover and let rise again.
When risen, cut into 4 pieces. Roll each into an oval, fold in half lengthwise, butter all over. Put on greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise until doubled.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.
Remove to rack. While still warm mix confectioner's sugar with lemon juice and spread over Stollen.