Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

BLUEBERRY PIE ~ DOUBLE CRUSTED from Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                     
Tuesdays With Dorie
This weeks Tuesday With Dorie recipe comes from Amy of South in Your Mouth. You can find the Double Crusted Blueberry Pie recipe by clicking on Amy's blog. If you have your own copy of Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From My Home To Yours, it can be found on pages 361-363 and you can follow along!
                                                                       

Still Having Oven Troubles!
I've been making pies for many, many years and so I thought that one more would be a piece of cake...er...I mean pie! NOT! For those of you that follow my blog, you know that we bought a bigger boat and moved in 4 weeks ago. YAY! But, my oven doesn't work. BOO! But, I've had our old boat NIRVANA next to us and so I would make whatever I could in LADYHAWK, walk it over to NIRVANA and bake it in my Easy-Bake-Oven. YAY! But...we just sold NIRVANA to a great family that will love and cherish her and love her Easy-Bake-Oven as much as I did. YAY! Buuuuut....I can't use the oven anymore, cause it's THEIR oven now! BOO!

                                                                         

To make a long story short, I have no oven again and no chance of one in the near future unless God intervenes and smacks some sense into the snake-of-a-business-man that has been stringing us along for 4 weeks now. WHY is it so hard? All I ask for is an oven. One oven. Not too much to ask for, right? OK, now that I've whined long enough, I'll tell you all about the Blueberry Pie I made.

                                                                    

Blueberry Pie
I bought the blueberries. Nice big juicy ripe blueberries. They were oh, so sweet too. I bought extra so I could snack on them before I made the pie. Did you know blueberries are full of antioxidants? They are! #1 on the list to be exact! Click here for my Blueberry Crisp Recipe for another antioxidant rich dessert!
                                                                        
Antioxidant-Rich Blueberries

I got everything out of the lockers so I wouldn't have to be digging for anything once I got started. I made the pie dough, but I put less butter and more shortening in it. WHY does Dorie insist on using soooo much butter? I know it's delicious, but come on! Almost everything we've been making lately has gobs and gobs of butter in it!

                                                               
                                                                       
Balls. Balls, Balls!

Besides, I like my pie crust recipe much better. It handles better, doesn't have to be chilled and doesn't tear easy. BUT, TWD said we need to stick to the recipes a little more. After all, we are going through Dorie's book and should be using her recipes.

                                                                   

Rolling the Pie Crust
You would think because I baked commercially for years that I would have taken a rolling pin with me when we moved on board right? Well, it never occurred to me that I'd be making pies in a 30 foot boat! Four years ago it didn't seem feasible, but here I am making pie crust, albeit in a bigger boat. But I still never got a rolling pin! I've always been one to improvise, so what do you do when you have to roll out pie crust without a rolling pin? Check out my previous post "How to Roll a Pie Crust Without a Rolling Pin". I reached for the coldest bottle of White Truck white wine ~ vintage 2005 ~ and rolled away! I may never buy a rolling pin after this! And, I drank the wine while the pie was baking too!

                                                              

Rolling....

                                                                 

Rolling...

                                                               

Cutting...Trimming...

I rolled out the crust, put it in my Pampered Chef stoneware pie dish and filled it with blueberries...and stuff. I added some cinnamon, washed the top with a little cream and dusted it with sugar. I cut some hearts out of the crust scraps and glued them on top with the cream. It was a very pretty pie indeed!

                                                                           
Ready For The Oven
                                                                                                                              
It Was Good, But...
It was very delicious like I had expected, but very messy and not very visually appealing once it had been cut into. Here's another example where I think my recipe is better. Dorie only uses flour in her pie to bind the filling. I stuck with the recipe, but I should have tweaked it and added some cornstarch and/or tapioca. The pie was too soupy and when I cut into it the filling filled in the now empty space and made a puddle of blueberry soup.

                                                                 

Blueberry Soup!

                                                               

What a Mess!

Blueberry Pie & Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
All in all, my company loved it, especially when I severed it with a scoop of Ben & Jerry's French Vanilla ice cream! Once I get my oven fixed, I'll make more Blueberry Pies, but I'll go back to making my own recipe. Check out the blogroll on Tuesdays With Dorie and all the other Blueberry Pie masterpieces. Chances are, you'll see some very interesting versions!

                                                                         

And This Is What Happens When It Takes Too Long To Take Pictures! Poor Ben & Jerry!

HOW TO ROLL A PIE CRUST WITHOUT A ROLLING PIN

                                               
Pie Crust Without A Rolling Pin? Is it possible?
The other day I was making pie crust for Tuesdays With Dorie's Double Crusted Blueberry Pie (I'll be posting that tomorrow) when I realized that I didn't have a rolling pin! I left my good one with my son when we left Vermont. I figured "What would I need a rolling pin for in the boat?" This isn't the first time I needed a rolling pin and it probably won't be my last either. I really confiscate the one in Vermont next time we go back to visit.

Exercise Those Muscles~ Reach for That Bottle!
Everyone that knows me, knows I have at least a case of wine hanging around at any given time. Yeah...I couldn't fit a rolling pin on the boat, but I can always seem to find room for a case of wine! I made my pie crust and then I remembered using a bottle of wine as a stand-in rolling pin for a previous project. Ta-Da! Instant rolling pin! I always have a bottle of white wine chilling in the fridge, so I had a nice COLD rolling pin to roll out the pastry.

                                                                   

Pie Crust Recipe
It worked like a charm. The pie crust never stuck to the bottle and it rolled out nice and even. You can use your favorite pie crust recipe or you can try mine. I've been making it since 1989 and it's never let me down! The directions aren't hard, just substitute a bottle of wine for the rolling pin! So, if you ever find yourself without a rolling pin, reach for that bottle of wine on your shelf. It may just be the best pie you ever make!

Bon Appétit!
And you know what the best part was? I opened the bottle when I was done and had a glass of chilled 2005 White Truck white wine! As I stood there sipping my wine and patting myself on the back, I marveled at just how easy pie crusts could be. Julia Child often had an open bottle of wine on her cooking shows and drank while she was cooking. What? And you thought the wine was just for her recipes? If it was good enough for Julia, it's good enough for me! Ahhh...now that's what I call a hard day of baking!

                                                                        

FARMER'S MARKET FINDS

                                                                                                                
Fourth Of July and the Farmer's Market
Yesterday was the 4th of July and the 4th time I've been to my local Farmer's Market. Coincidence? Every week there's something new and fresh. As the summer wears on, the produce and plants change colors, textures and price. It's a great way to mingle with the farmers, bakers and fishermen that produce what we eat.
                                                                                                                                       

Buy Local ~ Support Your Farmers
I'm a firm supporter of buying local and trying to keep my money fueling the neighborhood economy. These Farmer's Market vendors work long and hard to bring us the best and freshest eggs, seafood, baked goods and produce they can. I know, I was one of them. We had a stand at our local Farmer's Market in Vergennes, Vermont for almost 10 years. I know what it's like to stand in the rain, our shoes soaked through, trying to keep our bread dry and in the sweltering heat, fighting to stay cool and keep the lettuce from wilting. Staying up late to get that last bag of greens bagged and cooled overnight and up early to make the cinnamon rolls. Kudos to these men and women of Farmer's Markets all over the country. You Rock!
                                                                   

Farmer's Market Booty
This week I was looking for a nice loaf of bread. I'm WAY too picky, trying to find an exact duplicate of the breads we used to make. The "bread guys" back their truck up into the circle, pop out a table and sell good things like danish, bagels, 4-5 different varieties of gorgeous breads, pizza strips, and spinach pies. They speak a different language and it's not always easy to figure out what they're saying or what they mean. I get something from them every week, but every week their prices change. Last week the bagels were .50 cents, yesterday they were $1.00. They don't have signs on anything to say what it is or how much it cost. It's always a guessing game for me - the customer - on the other side of the table. Maybe it's Rhode Island, but in Vermont we didn't do business like that. I want to know before I buy. It shouldn't be a painful shopping experience. I know of some market stands in other parts of the country, including Boston, that operate like this. It's all part of the show - the bantering, bickering and bargaining. The rest of the stands here all have prices and labels. I like that.
                                                                     

The Bread Guys
Case in point..."What kind of bread is that?" The other guy, clearly not in charge says, "Not sure?" Like it was a question. I asked, "Is it rye or whole grain?" Again, he shrugs his shoulders because either he really doesn't know, or he doesn't understand a thing I'm saying. I stood for a few seconds thinking I need to move on, but I really like his stuff. He asks his buddy something I can't understand. Then he tells me "I think it is rye bread." Why couldn't the guy in charge tell me that himself? I said, "I'd like a loaf of rye bread please, how much is it?" Again, he shrugs his shoulders. Would it be easier if there were a price tag on it??? He asks his boss how much. And with a wave of his hand he says "$4.00 for these, but for this one you want, is $5.00."  Of course it would be! And the pretty blond lady behind me would get a special deal of only $3.50, especially if she bent over to get some change out of her purse!  I said very politely, "I'll take the rye, and a spinach pie. How much are those?"  Again with the questions. He comes back and says, "$3.50"  I told him I want one with cheese. He asks his buddy which one had cheese. He puts it in a bag and I quickly ran away $8.50 poorer for the experience.
The kicker to the story? I get home and bite into this luscious spinach pie to find only spinach. That's right...no cheese! After all that, no cheese! AND, John and I ate the thing before I remembered I had a camera. Duh!
                                                                        

Purple Basil, Cilantro and Apple Mint
Not all vendors are vague and difficult. The herbs I bought from another stand were clearly marked and priced. The lady was helpful and friendly. You could tell she does this as a labor of love. The basil and mint are beautiful and healthy, but the cilantro looks a little sad. I'll have to re-pot them quick to get them jump-started again. It cost me $8.00 for all three. My boat is beginning to look like The Love Boat with a garden off the deck! I love it! They'll look great next to my tomato and green basil that I have.
                                                                      

Garlic Scapes
What the heck are garlic scapes? Have you ever heard of them before? It looks like a cross between garlic and scallions with a little bulb at the end of all the twisty, turney, loopy tendrils...if that's what you call them! I wasn't sure what to do with them. I just bought them because they were weird looking in a sci-fi alien sort of way! Maybe they'll make it to our Sunday night grilled pizzas. mmmm...pizza! Garlic Scapes: $2.00
                                                                        

Red Juicy Ripe Strawberries
Look at these photos. Don't they just make you drool? They were beautiful and tasted as good as they looked! I used them last night in Mixed Berry Shortcakes. Buttermilk biscuits, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries all topped with fresh homemade whipped cream! We ate them way too fast after supper, and I forgot to take pictures! You'll just have to trust me on that one! Strawberries: $4.00

So, that's my trip to the Farmer's Market this week. There weren't many vendors being the 4th of July and all. I'm sure next week will be busier and maybe the bread guys will be selling their bread and bagels for more or less...again! I think I'll dye my hair blond and wear a low-cut blouse ;-)

Total damages: $22.00  I love the Farmer's Market!
                                                                      

FEATURED BLOG ~ A TYPEPAD AWARD

                                        
TypePad Featured Blog Award!
About a month ago, I received an email from a real nice guy named Jonathan. It started off, "Dear Kitty Cruiser, We are so excited to inform you that your TypePad Blog has been selected to be featured on TypePad’s homepage.  We chose your blog because of its unique subject matter, thoughtful posts, and engaging design – everything we look for in a Featured TypePad blog." It ended with "On behalf of all of us at Six Apart and TypePad, congratulations on being chosen as a Featured blogger!"

Well, I gotta tell you, I was pretty darned excited about that one! When I got done patting myself on the back a little harder than I should ~ calm down Donna, calm down ~ I was over-the-top freaked out and almost had to take another Xanax! This is a BIG deal. They only give out 5 per week out of trillions of blogs...well, all right...not trillions. I'm exaggerating a bit. But still! Now I can put my "TypePad Featured Weblog" badge on my blog and flaunt it a little, OK, a lot! I had to wait until today to see it online and it came out real nice, if I do say so myself. Go take a peek, it's awesome! (I didn't write all those cool things, Jonathan did. What a great guy, huh?) And then he said they'd be sending me a T-shirt as well! 

Anyway...Now that I'm done blushing, I'm gonna go take a pill, do the dishes and try to figure out how in the world to get this stinkin' badge to be a fixture on my blog. I have to confess, I know nothing about computers. I'm a baker, chef and wine-o. My daughter Erika, from Stampin' Mama can take the credit for setting up my blog. (pssst! I just noticed she has a Give-Away going on until 7/7!) She talked me into it and took care of all the details. Even now, I have to call her to put badges on my blog! Ahhhh, what a life!
                                                                       
(This is the photo they chose for their homepage)

MIXED BERRY COBBLER ~ Tuesdays With Dorie Style!

                                                      
Tuesdays With Dorie ~ Mixed Berry Cobbler
Fresh Cherries, blueberries and raspberries found their way into a deep dish stoneware pie pan, sprinkled with some cinnamon and a bit of freshly grated lemon zest all topped with a buttery sweet cobbler dough and a dollop of whipped cream. WOW! That was a mouthful. And indeed, it was!
                                                                         
 
Baking: From My Home To Yoursis Dorie Greenspan's Bible. The book all 211 Tuesdays With Dorie members have sitting in a prominent position of importance on their kitchen counters. It's the book that gets the most used, splattered and dog-eared out of all the books in their collections. It Is THE One and Only all-purpose baking cookbook that I keep on my boat! I have a few other cookbooks here as well, but none that gets patted and stroked and reverenced like Dorie's.
                                                               

Thanks to Beth of Our Sweet Life for choosing the Mixed Berry Cobbler a few weeks ago. Yes, I'm playing catch up with a few recipes I missed. And yes, I know this isn't Tuesday, but who cares? It's a Berry Cobbler with blueberries, raspberries and fresh cherries and that's all that matters. You can find the recipe on pages 416-417 in Dorie's book, or you can go straight to Beth's blog for the recipe in all its glory!
                                                                          

It was very, very easy and oh, so refreshing for a summer dessert! If you don't have the berries that are in the recipe, use what you have on hand. It's a very flexible recipe. Just don't use too many strawberries, as they are full of water and will make your cobbler a soupy mess.
                                                                        

We all loved this dessert and it was still good the next day after being refrigerated. I served it with whipped cream one day and vanilla ice cream the next. I used a 10" stoneware pie pan from Pampered Chef, but I would like to try making it in individual ramekins the next time. You can even use a square Pyrex dish too. I would definitely make the Mixed Berry Cobbler again. Maybe with fresh peaches when they're in season! Oh, and maybe plums too. Maybe even some apples, and maybe....
                                                                         

BASIL PESTO ~ Fresh From the Garden

                                                     
GARDEN FRESH BASIL PESTO
I was missing my gardens real bad a few days ago, when it dawned on me, that I could still make homemade pesto whether I had a garden or not! I don't have to grow the basil myself. I can buy the basil from the Farmer's Market in town or from the local farm stand. DUH! It's just starting to flower here in Rhode Island, and I'd rather have it before it flowers. I think it tastes better!

I bought this great big bunch for $1.99 right out of the garden. I went to Morris Farms and asked if they were picking basil yet. The lady said, "Wait just a moment, I'll go right out and pick you some!" Before I could argue the logistics and my time constraints, she hopped on her old Schwinn bicycle and headed off into the field to pick me some basil! I didn't wait too long when I saw her peddling back to the stand.  The basket hanging off her handle bars was full of the most fragrant and lush dark green basil that you could imagine! She asked, "Is this OK?" Uh, yeah!

                                                                       

I took my coveted basil home. It smelled up the whole car. It was full of sand from the hard rain and hail we got earlier that week. I put it in a sink full of cold water and rinsed it about 4 times, then let it air dry on a clean towel. The boat smelled heavenly, like an Italian restaurant! It made my mouth water. I wanted to make every recipe I could think of that used basil as an ingredient! BUT, I bought it for pesto. Darn! I wished I'd bought 5 bunches.

I took out my mini food processor and had to make it in three batches. Normally, it would have taken only one trip around the inside of the bowl. No matter, it was quick and easy and I was done in no time. I started out with a huge bunch and all I got out of it was about 6 ounces! But it was fresh and concentrated and yummy and cheap!

                                                                   

That night, I made a fantastic Grilled Pesto Pizza, no red sauce, just pesto and cheese. It was mouthwatering and we salivated as it was grilling. I opened a bottle of 2004 Australian Mad Fish Shiraz. We drank it as we waited at the head of the dock for that tempting pizza to come off the grill. It was everything I hoped for and then some! We ate the whole thing, then we ate another one!

BASIL PESTO is very easy to make, easier to freeze and even easier to use in all sorts of recipes. When I had my gardens back in Vermont, I used to grow around 25 plants each year. That yielded me soooo much basil that I had pesto for the entire year until I harvested it again! I started out by freezing it in ice cube trays and if you have a little Betty Crocker kitchen, that's good enough for you. But we used it for catering as well as for ourselves. I packed the finished basil in plastic pint containers, stacked them in rows and froze the whole lot. The night before I needed pesto, I took it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge. Presto, Chango, I had pesto!

                                                                          

I used pesto for pasta salad, pizza, bruschetta, soups, salad dressings, appetizers, spaghetti sauce and anything else I could dream up!   When you see basil at the Farmer's Market or at your local farm stand, buy a bunch of bunches and make your own pesto. You'll be glad you did and will never spend ridiculous money on store-bought pesto again!

GARDEN FRESH BASIL PESTO RECIPE

• 1 large bunch fresh basil (about 4 cups loosely packed leaves, stems and branches removed)
• 2-4 garlic cloves to taste
• 2-4 Tablespoons really good olive oil
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

This recipe can be varied according to taste. Use a different cheese, more cheese, nuts, whatever you have on hand. It's your pesto, make it the way you like it!

I know, it looks like a HUGE bowl of pesto, but it's only 6 ounces because I had to make it in my mini prep processor! This recipe will make double that!

DIRECTIONS:

• Rinse the basil as many times as necessary to remove all sand. Pat it dry with paper towel or let it air dry.
• Place the leaves in the bowl of a large food processor. (You may have to do this twice depending on the size of the FP.)
• Pulse until the leaves have been chopped quite a bit.
• Add garlic and pulse again.
• With the FP running, add the olive oil one Tablespoon at a time through the opening. Turn the machine off and scrape down.
• Add the parmesan cheese and pine nuts and pulse again until you get the consistency you want. Some people like their pesto coarse, others like it pureed. You decide.
• Remove to a container with a lid on it and cover lightly with a piece of plastic. As soon as the air hits the pesto, it starts to turn brown. It doesn't look very appetizing, but there's nothing wrong with it. You can stir it back in or scrape it off...but what a waste that would be!
• Freeze tightly covered for many months or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• Make something good and invite me over!

Remember the Pasta, Pesto & Peas recipe I posted for Barefoot Bloggers a few weeks ago? You can make that with your homemade pesto too!
                                                                  

CHERRY ALMOND SCONES ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                       
TUESDAYS WITH DORIE
Here it is, July 1st already! Where has the time gone? Tuesdays with Dorie is now in its 7th month and 24th recipe, having started on January 1st, 2008 with just one obsessed baker (Laurie) and a few of her soulmates. TWD has now risen and puffed up like a hunk of bread dough to 213 baking fools. There were more, but they have come and gone over the months. We bake every Tuesday and if you miss a few weeks as I have, you better have a darned good excuse otherwise you'll be asked to take your Kitchen Aid Mixer elsewhere. It's pretty strict, but it has to be. It's a commitment.
                                                                                                                                            
Speaking of Excuses....
I STILL don't have a working oven. Evidently, a 23 year old marine stove is hard to find parts for. I'll make a loooong story short, but suffice to say, I've been duped by a snake of a business man that sold me a bill of goods, knowingly gave me the wrong part for cash only, and now won't make good on it. (I even had the part number, serial number and model number AND a picture!) I'm upset beyond belief that someone in business can take advantage of a woman's need for her oven! I have a good mind to say "Screw the $75.00! Keep it and I'll order it from someone who cares!"  The other alternative is to buy a new stove for $1000.00-$1200.00! YES, You read that right! $1200.00 for a marine grade stove! I could go to Best Buy and get a stove for $350.00, but it won't fit in the space or stand up to marine life and the salt air.

                                                       
I WANT MY OVEN BACK!
Anyway...I've been three weeks without an oven in LADYHAWK. Our old boat, NIRVANA, was put back in the water last week. It's only 2 slips down the dock, so I've been baking like a mad woman trying to get caught up with my TWD posts. I never did get to my Daring Bakers project. However, NIRVANA will sadly be going out to the mooring with a FOR SALE sign on it in a day or two. So, that means I'll be without an oven AGAIN! It has been so very frustrating for me, a woman that used to have a 10 burner restaurant stove in her kitchen, to be reduced to tears over my easy-bake-oven. Is it too much to ask? I just want my oven back! Please, pity me, sympathize with me...I need to know someone feels my pain!

                                                          
                                                   
SCONES, SCONES & MORE SCONES!
Karina of The Floured Apron chose Apple Cheddar Scones for her recipe. It comes from the book Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. For those of you that own Dorie's book already, you can find the recipe on page 32. For those that don't have the book, I'm sorry, but I can't reprint it here on my blog because of copyright policies. BUT, Karina can, sooooo, if you'll click over to her blog, you'll find the recipe APPLE CHEDDAR SCONES in all its glory!

                                                   
CHERRY ALMOND SCONES
I'm not sure where Karina lives, but I had no luck finding apple cider in Rhode Island at the end of June! It's just NOT apple season right now! I couldn't find dried apples either, but I did find dried and fresh cherries! As any obsessed baker would do when the right ingredients are not available, I improvised...again! Cherries are out now and they looked gorgeous! I followed the recipe for the most part, substituting frozen concentrated apple juice straight from the can and undiluted for the cider and dried and fresh cherries for the apples. I left the cheddar cheese in, added a touch of almond extract and sugared and sliced toasted almonds. They were yum-my!

                                                    
HEART-SHAPED SCONES & SHORTCAKES
I was going to pat them out and cut them into wedges and then I remembered my heart-shaped pan. Perfect! They came out nice and fluffy and smelled oh, so good!  The best part? I made up a fresh fruit compote of blueberries, raspberries and fresh chopped cherries and served the scones shortcake-style with fruit and a HUGE dollop of sweetened whipped cream. I have all the pictures to prove it, except the shortcake. We had company that night and we ate them so fast. I remembered the camera AFTER they were in our bellies and by then it was way too late!

They were quick and easy even on a boat. I'll definitely make them again. Maybe in the fall when the apples and cider are in season. I'll through some cinnamon into the batter too. Ooooo, I have so many ideas running around in my head!
                                                                  

PARMESAN CHICKEN ~ BAREFOOT BLOGGERS

                                                   
CHICKEN PARMESAN or PARMESAN CHICKEN?
Today is Thursday, really, it is! The days and weeks are just flying by. Time flies when you're having fun...or not! Every other Thursday, I participate in a group called BAREFOOT BLOGGERS. It's in honor of Ina Garten known worldwide for her marvelous and creative books in the Barefoot Contessa line. Ina IS the Barefoot Contessa!

                                                  
COOKBOOKS
Once upon a time, when I lived in a 2000 square foot house, I had shelves and shelves of cookbooks. The Barefoot Contessa books were part of my collection then. I had to give away or sell most of my cookbooks off because they wouldn't fit in the boat! That was a very sad time...selling off all my kids...I mean cookbooks. So when this group started, I thought "WOW! I missed Ina's cookbooks. Now that's something I could get into!" Don't get me wrong, I love baking with Tuesdays With Dorie, but we can only eat so much dessert! And we bake once a week which is a lot! John takes the rest of it to work or he hawks it up and down the dock to unsuspecting boaters. They don't mind though. They love the goodies. But, it does seem like kind of a waste to go through all that work and the expense (Dorie loves butter) just to give it all away. You know what I mean?

                                                
FOOD vs DESSERT
So far, the recipes chosen for Barefoot Bloggers have all been "FOOD" as opposed to "DESSERT".  Not that dessert isn't food, but food isn't always dessert. I figured we need to eat lunch and dinner anyway, and I really NEEDED to join yet another group because as you all know, I'm sitting around all day doing absolutely nothing enjoying the good life on a yacht! (Yeah, right!)

                                                     
CHICKEN!
Ina's recipe this week is PARMESAN CHICKEN not neccesarily Chicken Parmesan! Speaking of which, because of copyright laws, I won't post her recipe here. BUT, she has graciously left it for us on The Food Network site to use! AND, the recipe is printer-friendly, so you can have it forever and always amen! Soooo, It was an easy recipe if you don't mind slicing through chicken and pounding it with a mallet to make it paper thin - scallopini style. Some people have an aversion to handling raw chicken. I don't. I've pounded my share of 20 pound lots of chicken at a time, for years on end, so this was nothing new to me. PLUS, I have a new boat now with tons of counter space. So having an assembly line of pans and then the frying pan on the stove was a breeze compared to doing it on poor little NIRVANA. One thing I normally do i to brine my chicken first in a solution of salt, sugar and water, but this recipe didn't call for it. The chicken was tender, but I think I'll go with my own technique of brining the next time.

                                                       
PARMESAN CHICKEN?
Ina's recipe calls for breaded and fried chicken topped with salad greens and a Lemon Vinaigrette. I know! Sounds odd doesn't it? Did to me too. John was gonna come home and say "Where's the pasta and spaghetti sauce?" He such a guy! So, I prepared it Ina's way. I had the salad greens ready, the chicken was done and when I went to make the lemon vinaigrette, I found that the lemon I forgot to refrigerate had gone fuzzy! Dang! Now what am I gonna do? I did what any good little food blogger would do...I improvised! I set up my plates just like it said, took pictures for my blog, then went down in the galley and hunted around real quick for spaghetti sauce and pasta!
                                                                        

CHICKEN PARMESAN!
When John came home, he knew we were having something tasty for supper. He can always smell it down the dock! Funny how he can't smell things I ask him about, like, "Smell this, does this smell bad to you?" Nope! Then he asks, "Is this another meal where we have to take pictures first and then eat it cold?" I said, "Yeah, but it's already cold!"  After I was done with the improvisations, we got to sit down to a HOT meal of CHICKEN PARMESAN, and boy was it tasty!

                                                    
TOTAL DAMAGES?
I got the boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.99 pound, for a total of $3.74. There were three breast halves and when I sliced them horizontally though the center, and pounded the heck out of them, I ended up with six huge pieces of very thin and tender chicken fillets! The breading, flour, two eggs, etc, was negligable. I figured the entire meal cost me $7.00 with the spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese and pasta. It would have easily served 6 people. We have leftovers for tonight's supper!    Not bad, huh?

Go to Ina Garten's recipe on The Food Network and make it for supper sometime this week. You won't be sorry!
                                                       

STARTCOOKING ~ ZUCCHINI HOW-TO

ZUCCHINI, ZUCCHINI & MORE ZUCCHINI!        
A new article of mine came out today on startcooking.com called HOW TO: ZUCCHINI! It's full of great tips on how to prepare zucchini, how to use zucchini and a whole lot of links to some great zucchini recipes.
                                                                             
(photo by Liliana Tommasini)

Two links that are special to me are courtesy of two of my blogging friends:
Liliana from My Cookbook Addiction submitted a recipe for Zucchini and Leek Oven-Baked Frittata. Very easy and delicious! Make it for dinner or have it for Sunday brunch!
Chuck from The Knead for Bread also known as Bread Blog) submitted a tasty Zucchini Bread recipe. It makes two, so freeze one or eat them both!

I'm not leaving the recipe links here because you "Knead" to go over to startcooking.com and check out the rest of their website. Kathy has put together an amazing site with podcasts, videos and blogs for the novice and experienced cook alike. Things you thought you always knew like; How To Cook Asparagus and How To Cook Corn on the Cob and much, much more!

So, go and check out startcooking.com and tell them I sent you for the zucchini!
                                           

(zucchini photo by rosevita,morguefile)

FRESH STRAWBERRY TART ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                            
TUESDAYS WITH DORIE
Well, here I am, a few weeks late, but I do have excuses! We moved into a new (old) boat and the thermocoupler on the oven was broken! You can read all about LADYHAWK here. I went to Newport to pick up a new part. John gave the guy the model, serial and part number of the thermocoupler. I even had a picture with me. The guy gave me the wrong part and when I got home, obviously it didn't work. Now, I have to go all the way back (50 miles round trip and bridge tolls) to return it, because he doesn't take credit cards! So, if I want my money back, I have to go get it! I'm not sure I trust him to give me the right part this time, so I may have to get it somewhere else. Bottom Line? I still don't have a working oven, at least not in this boat!
                                                                       
All that to say, TA-DA!  I WAS able to bake TWD La Palette's Strawberry Tart the other day. NIRVANA is back in the water all shiny and brand new looking. She's only 2 slips down and THAT OVEN WORKS! I made my crust here in LADYHAWK with my new mini food processor and walked it two slips down and put it in the oven and set the timer. I'm sure our dock mates were wondering "What the heck is she doing?"  About 40 minutes later I went back and emerged with a beautiful browned and smelling utterly sweet and delicious sweet dough crust! You could smell shortbread cookies all the way down the dock! HA HA! Who's laughing now?
                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                            BAKING: FROM MY HOME TO YOURS
Thanks to Marie from A Year in Oak Cottage for picking out a winner of a dessert! This was not only one of the easiest recipes in Baking: From My Home To Yours, but also one of the cheapest and most refreshing dessert for a hot summers day!

Like I said, I'm a few weeks behind, so all my TWD peeps are making Mixed Berry Cobblers this week. Go check them out and see what they're up to! I'll be trying to catch up ASAP or as long as I have use of NIRVANA'S oven!

LA PALETTE'S STRAWBERRY TART
Because of copyright licenses - and man, have I had my troubles with keeping my recipes safe lately - we can no longer republish Dorie's recipes on our blogs. Everyone that's part of the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group has Baking: From My Home To Yours already, and if you don't have your own book, I strongly suggest that you get one because it's the absolute best all-purpose baking book evah!!! If you DO happen to have your own book, you can find the recipe on pages 374-375. YIKES!!!I just checked out Amazon.com's price, and you can get a brand new book for only $12.99! That's less than half what I paid for mine! If you were procrastinating about this book, get it now while the price is only $12.99!

SERIOUS EATS
AND...Good news! Dorie has published both the Strawberry Tart & the Sweet Tart Crust online for you to use at Serious Eats! Go there, get the recipe and while you're there, poke around and see what's going on. Serious Eats is a great website/blog for all you serious and obsessed foodies! Lots of awesome recipes, articles, give-aways and food gossip!