A recent 24 hour period in my life can only be described as “ topsy turvy – upside down – backside to” with a myriad of events that left me breathless. (I think I am finally in recovery mode.) Continue reading “Mom’s American Chop Suey” »
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September 16, 2009
August 24, 2009
Blueberry Battle
I am engaged in the annual battle for the blueberries with my feathered friends who hang out in the back garden, and as usual, they are winning. Some of the blue jays are clever enough to pick through the nylon netting that I so painstakingly used to cover the blueberry bushes. So much for THAT idea! I actually went out and had a chat with them the other day and tried to convey in my best bird language, that I just wanted enough berries this year for one lousy pie. Somehow I don’t think they understand as I just came back in from a rather unsuccessful attempt at picking. I might have enough in my little pail for a 2-inch turnover and that’s about it. The jays are looking well fed and happy, though. I guess I will resort to a visit to the neighborhood farm stand a little later in the week. My mouth is watering in anticipation of a slice of warm blueberry pie.
Continue reading “Blueberry Battle” »
August 14, 2009
Penne with Lobster
How does that song lyric go? “Summertime…and the living is easy.” Hmmmmm, summertime in my world means daily battle with weeds, tourists, traffic, and oh yeah, lots of house guests – HUNGRY house guests who arrive lusting for Maine lobster. The Anderson Bed and Breakfast (and Lunch and Dinner) is in full seasonal operation (by invitation only) and the washing machine, ice maker, stove, grill, microwave, ice cream maker, oven, and vacuum cleaner have all been going full tilt.
July 16, 2009
National Hot Dog Day
Hot diggity – Monday, July 20th, is National Hot Dog Day! It should never be said (and to my knowledge it hasn’t been…yet anyway), that I am a food snob. Sure, I have been known to request foie gras, lobster, and champagne for my birthday dinner, but there are also times when an ice cold beer and a good old fashioned steamed ‘dog with lots of onions, relish, and mustard on a New England style roll (top slit, not side slit) is the perfect meal. And the top slit roll is definitely a New England tradition. Just ask my husband who spent way too much time in search of a “real” hot dog roll, roaming the aisles of Winn Dixie, Murray’s Market, Publix, Albertson’s, and Waterfront Market down in the Keys this past winter. The poor guy came up empty handed each and every time, and this purist man of mine refuses to eat one of those “foreign” rolls. My Mom came to the rescue and mailed him a box full. Talk about a happy guy.
June 25, 2009
June 4, 2009
April 7, 2009
Inside Out Whoopie Pie Recipe
And what could be wrong with vanilla cakes smooshed together with a healthy dollop of chocolate filling? Just another alternative cure for the W-P jones.
That being said, I have to say that I’ll still vote my Mom’s original recipe that I recently posted as the BEST. But this one is a nice change of pace.
April 5, 2009
Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
From all the whoopie postings I am reading, it appears that there must be W-P fever in the state of Maine. Here is an alternative “cure” in case you have the whoopie-fever. Now chocolate and peanut butter are most assuredly the perfect marriage of flavors (think Reese’s Peanut Butter cups…yum!)
March 25, 2009
Gratin of Yukon Gold and Sweet Potatoes
"Only two things in this world are too serious to be jested on–potatoes and matrimony."
This Irish quote totally resonates with me! We've been having some "chilly" days here in the Florida Keys (everything is relative, but chilly here on our island means 62°) so I've been hankering for comfort food. This gratin most definitely satisfied my longing.
Continue reading “Gratin of Yukon Gold and Sweet Potatoes” »
February 25, 2009
Table Manners in a Graceless Age
I am stepping up on my soapbox to discuss a social grace that seems to have gone by the board: table manners.
February 22, 2009
Chocolate Caramel Pretzels with Pecans: “Snapping Turtles”
You can make a fabulous candy treat I call “Snapping Turtles” in jig time.
"Snapping Turtles"
Snyder's brand Butter Snap pretzels
Rollo chocolate caramel candies
Pecan halves
Top a Snyder’s brand Butter Snap (a square pretzel that resembles a small grid) with an unwrapped Rollo chocolate caramel candy. Top the Rollo with a pecan half. Place on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and cook in a 300° oven for 3 minutes or just until chocolate begins to look shiny. Immediately remove pan from oven and gently press pecan down to squish the Rollo. Chill in freezer until firm. Sweet, salty, and caramel-y. Nothing better.
(Credit is due to my friend Nancy Hupp, who is my across-the-canal neighbor in Florida.)
Paula Anderson is a contributing writer to Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine, as well as a columnist for 3 Maine Newspapers with a focus on food, nutrition, and entertaining.
February 14, 2009
Mom’s Whoopie Pies
These are the Whoopie Pies that were an integral part of my life as a child growing up in Kittery in the ‘50s. I remember that in 3rd grade I figured out I had immense trading power at lunch time if Mom had packed a Whoopie or two in my Shirley Temple lunch box.
January 28, 2009
Portobello Mushroom & Garlic Mashed Potato Dish
Paula Anderson's Portobello Mushroom & Garlic Mashed Potato Dish
4 Portobello mushrooms
2 teaspoons fruity olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh thyme
Cooked, warm garlic mashed potatoes
Grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
Saucer- sized Portobello mushrooms are a wonderful “dish” for mashed potatoes. Remove the gills and stems from 4 ‘shrooms and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle tops with fruity olive oil and season generously with salt, pepper, and a bit of fresh thyme. Turn over and repeat with olive oil and seasoning.
Bake (stem side up) in a preheated 375° oven for about 15 minutes or until tender. Mound caps with warm garlic mashed potatoes, sprinkle with a bit of grated Parmesan-Reggiano and run under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Yummy!
Paula Anderson is a contributing writer to Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine, as well as a columnist for 3 Maine Newspapers with a focus on food, nutrition, and entertaining.
January 14, 2009
January 13, 2009
Snowbird Wisdoms: Part 2
Here is the next installment of my Snowbird Wisdoms, continued from yesterday:
- Basil that I grow here in Florida tastes totally different than the basil I grow in Maine. (Maine is better—of course.)
- An onion soup recipe that took me nearly half a day didn’t taste as good as my old tried and true recipe that I can whip up in an hour.
- There’s a wonderful thin, rubbery mat doohickey that you slip under your cutting boards and it prevents them from doing the hokey-pokey across your countertop. (Especially helpful with reckless abandon type chopping.)
- There is an entire cookbook (over 200 recipes) dedicated to cornbread—“The Cornbread Gospels” by Crescent Dragonwagon, Workman Press, 2007. I was fortunate to meet this fascinating James Beard award winning chef/author and participate in her Culinary Memoirs workshop in Key West.
- Parrots are picky eaters. Shirley, my across the street neighbor, was bird-sitting “Fred” and was amazed at his antics at feeding time. “CAAAW” he’d scream (translation: YUCK, don’t like this chow) and Fred would fling the proffered parrot chow across the room. (Izzy the dog would duck as these missiles whizzed over her head.) I let Shirley know that Crescent (see above) has a recipe for picky parrots in The Cornbread Gospels. (There wasn’t a move toward a mixing bowl and no request for the recipe.)
- I really like biscuits and sausage gravy, especially when my friend Kay makes it and invites us over for breakfast.
And I'm still not finished! Stay tuned for Part 3, coming your way tomorrow!
Paula Anderson is a contributing writer to Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine, as well as a columnist for 3 Maine Newspapers with a focus on food, nutrition, and entertaining.
January 12, 2009
Snowbird Wisdoms: Part 1
I confess. I am known as a Snowbird. Six years ago Peter and I joined the ranks of the “Q-Tip Heads” (that is the latest term for folks of a certain age who may have lost a tad of pigment in their hair) that take flight (actually we drive the 1860 mile trek in the shiny red Silverado) and migrate after the holidays. We’ve landed at the winter palace on the tiny island of Big Pine Key, Florida, and have been busy feathering our nest.
December 19, 2008
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Onion au Gratin
Prime rib is always on the menu for one of the holiday meals in our house, and the half a beast (grass fed, organic) that I'll be roasting for a New Year's Eve dinner party is on order with Jeremy, our butcher extraordinaire, at Radley's Market in Old Orchard Beach.
Sweet, creamy onions have a definite affinity with hearty, robust beef and this melt-in-your-mouth gratin will be on the menu for our last feast in 2008.
October 26, 2008
Garlic: Love it or Hate it!
Garlic. Either you love it or you hate it; I happen to be in the former category for sure. The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, has conducted two separate studies and their advice is "eat your garlic." The Institute has uncovered a molecular mechanism that may be the basis for some of the therapeutic effects long thought to be associated with garlic.
September 14, 2008
Keeping the Doctor at Bay
My husband Peter and I recently sprung for an extra tank of gas and ventured out (picnic basket in hand) in search of a pick-your-own apple orchard. We landed at Randall's Apple Orchard at Route #25 near the Gorham-Cornish town line. What a glorious time we had checking out the working cider mill and the bounty of the Fall harvest: peaches, pumpkins, squash, and oodles of different varieties of apples. We were the only early-birds picking in the entire orchard and within a few seconds of hitting the first row, we simultaneously snagged an apple from the closest branch and with a quick shine on our shirtsleeves, we chomped away, juices running down our chins, feeling like kids again. (Not always an easy task at this stage of life.)
Within minutes, we had picked a bushel of “Macs” for eating out of hand, for making a batch of rosy-pink applesauce, and for a favorite entree of pork with apples, bacon and cabbage. We picked a second bushel of Cortland apples in jig time and those will find their way in pies, turnovers, and my favorite apple crisp recipe handed down to me from my maternal Grandmother, Genevieve Dodge Tucker. Keeping the doctor away is an easy task with one of these delicious apple-inspired recipes.
August 14, 2008
Sweet and Sexy
"Sex is good, but not as good as fresh sweet corn."
- Garrison Keillor, author.
One of my favorite musicals is “OKLAHOMA” and it always comes to mind when the time is ripe for the sweet corn harvest. When we drive by the cornfields I am absolutely compelled to break into song. My poor husband puts up with my less than melodious rendition of “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” and when I get to the line “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, and it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky,” I really hit those notes with great gusto. (Such a patient man, is he.)
Once a summer we sit out on the deck with the soundtrack from “Oklahoma” blasting (poor neighbors) and the dinner menu is icy cold white wine and corn on the cob. That’s it. Full stop. CORN for dinner, with lots of butter, salt and pepper.
For those who feel the need for something more than just the corn itself, here are some delicious recipes that are just begging to include Maine's sweet and sexy corn.
