Dark Chocolate Crackle Cookies with Orange

Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine Holiday Cookie Edition

There are two kinds of bakers: fat bakers and skinny bakers. The fat bakers just love to bake and consume far too much of their product and so… well, they’re giving their lives to the cause.

The skinny bakers used to be a mystery to me until I figured out their secret. They bake for the pleasure of baking and then find a way to dispose of the results without harming themselves. Some skinny bakers find outlets to sell their products- a great trick. Others find ways to foist the calories off on other people. They find circuits of things to bring cookies or pies to: meetings, parties, potlucks and picnics. They’re always looking for someone who just had surgery and needs a dozen cookies to cheer them up. Read more

The Outer Limits of Beets

Well, that was interesting.

I accomplished my objective, diverging from my morning breakfast rotation, which was boring the hell out of me. Now I know that I do not like beets in pancakes. Read more

Conch Fajitas

For the full story on Conch Fajitas, go to this link. The snorkel boat captain suggested that I grill the conch steaks by pounding them very thin, wrapping them in foil with peppers and onions and cooking them quickly. That sounded like a fajita to me, so I improvised a marinade from what was in the fridge and the spices I’d packed. Read more

Conch Marinate

If you’re headed to the Caribbean for Spring Break, give conch a try.  Conch is very mild, but not at all tasteless- similar to fresh scallops. It can be chewy if overcooked, but when uncooked or cooked properly, it is tender with a texture similar to al dente pasta.

This is my interpretation of what our snorkel boat captain dictated to me. The kids loved it, in spite of being initially freaked out by watching our conch being caught and dispatched.   Read more

Could ya grab me some dinner if you see some?

We spent the morning yesterday on a boat charter, doing the obligatory Stingray City stop as well as two other North Sound snorkel stops. Stingray City is a sandbar on the north end of the island where, long ago, fisherman stopped to clean the day’s catch. The local stingray population got wise to the free eats and began to show up in droves. Tourists have now replaced the fishermen. Though it is often a parking lot of loud boats filled with cruiseship passengers in iridescent Oakley wrap-around sunglasses and bodies that glow like hot coals, it is still a “must have” experience. Having done it more times than I can count, I still enjoy the thrill of having stingrays brush up against me like a bunch of cats at suppertime. Read more

Making Eye Contact with Dinner

In the days when Bill and I were still conducting our due diligence on each other as boyfriend and girlfriend, we took our first trip together. Our destination? Grand Cayman, a world-renowned destination for scuba divers. Bill was already a diver. I went through the process of getting my certification during that trip.

I will never forget how terrified I was the first time the boat took us out for a true open water dive. Face mask on, tank hanging off my shoulders, regulator in my mouth and Bill standing next to me I was told, “Okay, enter the water.” I wasn’t sure I could do it. I couldn’t see the bottom. I’ve always been anxious about deep water- suspicious that malevolent sea creatures see my dangling legs as an Italian sees salamis hanging above a deli. Read more

Big Batch Italian Meatballs

Aside from pizza, is there any other meal that is as sure to get an enthusiastic reception as spaghetti and meatballs?

I’m a fan myself. Five years ago, that big warehouse club bag of meatballs was omnipresent in our freezer. I’d have been as panicked to discover I’d run out of meatballs as Cheerios. However, with my new, make-it-myself way of eating, I’ve lost my taste for them. I’ve also found that- like most dishes- making it myself isn’t a big ordeal. I’ve played quite a bit and have come up with my idea of the perfect meatball to pair with spaghetti and marinara Read more

The Swiss Army Knife of Kitchen Appliances

Like a redneck handyman without a roll of duct tape, I’d be lost without my immersion blender. I’d sooner give up my iPhone or baby wipes.  There is no better or more effective kitchen multi-tasker. Nothing else saves me more effort or clean up. Nothing comes close to its versatility. I reach for it as often as I reach for my chef’s knife. Read more

Why I Love My Pricey Eats

Why-oh-why-oh-why-oh-why did I say I’d write a post about why I pay more for my food?

It sounded like an obvious and simple post to write at the time.

I poured a cup o’ joe and perched my laptop on my knees. I stared at my blinking cursor.  I felt confused.

My reasons are fluid. I originally reached for some of these foods out of curiosity. I now reach for them for their myriad satisfactions. I don’t have hard, fast rules about what I buy. I buy what I enjoy but I enjoy these things for lots of reasons. Read more

Very Warm Cocoa

“Homemade” Hot Cocoa mesmerizes my kids’ playdates in the winter. “You mean your mom actually makes hot cocoa from scratch??!!” I love the illusion I can spin with homemade cocoa: kids think I am a genius super-mom. The word “homemade” implies work and care and effort. I sort of feel like I’m cheating:  what a ridiculously easy way to be a hero. Read more

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