Mignardise

À Bientôt

2011-12-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

À bientôt is a French expression that means "so long" or "see you later." Everything sounds better in French, n'est-ce pas? It's also a fancy way of saying that Mignardise is taking much-needed vacation. I hope to be back at some point, but for now I just want to say an enormous... to all my readers and friends. If you want to stay in touch, you can become a Mignardise fan on Facebook. I'll

Speaking of Turkey...

2011-11-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

My mind (and yours, I'll bet) is now on turkey. I ordered my free-range, Maine-bred, well-educated, organic grain-eating, happy-living bird from Rosemont Market. I have folded down corners and ripped out recipes from every food magazine I could get my hands on. Cider-brine or dry brine? Breast up or down? Butter-soaked cheesecloth or baste? There's a lot to think about. I wish I could remember

Dean's Sweets: Candy for Grown-ups

2011-11-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

Halloween has come and gone. The Bonus Baby is still hoarding Reeses cups, Milky Ways and other candy of the grocery store-variety. (Snickers and Starburst are strictly forbidden this year, due to our recent orthodontic investment in her future smile.) There's no denying the allure of a peanut butter cup or a fun-size bar of whatever the neighbors hand out. But as we grow older mature, we

'Tis the Season: Pumpkin Blondies

2011-10-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

No, not that season. Not yet at least. It's pumpkin season, of course! Aren't they photogenic? And so delicious. But they're not all right for cooking and baking. What's the best kind to use? That's right. The kind in a can. If you want to spend upwards of an hour baking a sugar pumpkin, don't let me stop you. The best thing about doing it yourself is the seeds. The pumpkin flesh is no

Peanut Butter and Jam Tart Plus the Keurig Winner

2011-10-04T15:36:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Kira!You're the winner of a Keurig Elite coffeemaker and Dunkin' Donuts K-cups! Thank you all so much for the comments. It's fun to see how different everyone is when it comes to coffee. ClumberKim, you and I are the closest in our taste. I take it with milk, preferably 1%, but simply cannot drink it with cream or half-and-half. I too would rather have it black. So just for that,

Win a Keurig Coffee Maker and Dunkin' Donuts K-Cups! You'll Never Have to Leave the House Again

2011-09-24T13:34:00.000-04:00

When did you start drinking coffee? If you're European, you might have started as a small child with a milky cappucino or cafe au lait. Americans take to it a little later, usually when they get to college and realize the benefits of caffeine. If you went to school in New England, chances are pretty good your first experience with coffee was at Dunkin' Donuts. Maybe it was an

Roasted Ratatouille

2011-08-29T14:19:00.000-04:00

These lovely tomatoes... plus this plus these and a few of these plus a couple of them equals... this bowl of luscious goodness. All it takes is some high oven heat to turn zucchini, eggplant, peppers, onions and tomatoes into ratatouille (say ra-ta-twee), a Provencal dish that's the epitome of summer. I've been making it for years, in lots of different ways. The "most authentic"

Best Summer Recipes and Cookbook Winner

2011-08-21T21:54:00.000-04:00

Wow...great comments! Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win The Maine Summers Cookbook. Here's my high tech choosing method - the Bonus Baby picks names from a basket! The winner is Janet! Janet, please send me an email with your home address and I will send the cookbook right out to you. My readers have a lot to get done before summer ends and most of it involves eating. I

Corn for Dinner and The Maine Summers Cookbook Giveaway

2011-08-14T21:02:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted much this summer. That's partly because I haven't cooked much this summer. The big kids both have jobs that take them through the dinner hour most nights. Bob works until dinner time then wants to go for a bike ride. That leaves me and the Bonus Baby. I hate to say it, but I don't really feel like firing up the grill for the two of us. We might graze leftovers. (Leftovers from

My New Favorite Appetizer: Tuna Tapenade

2011-08-03T09:29:00.000-04:00

Truth be told, I hate making appetizers. Too many little things. Sometimes a nice dip works fine. And you can always fall back on gaucamole. But the day always comes when someone asks you to bring an appetizer to a last minute get-together that includes several Italian guests who are used to something a bit more sophisticated. Once again, thank you Barefoot Contessa, from the bottom of my

Ten Things to Love About Yarmouth Clam Festival

2011-07-17T10:06:00.000-04:00

10. Chairs set out on the parade route a full week before the parade. And nobody thinks that's strange. 9. A 7' tall friendly clam named Steamer. 8. Lime rickeys! Nothing's better on a hot day. 7. Seeing your own kids in the parade. 6. Dancin' in the street! 5. Friendly servers! 4. Volunteer cleaner-uppers! 3. Bike valet service! 2. Lobster rolls for lunch and dinner. 1. Clams

Berry Poppyseed Vinaigrette

2011-07-08T07:40:00.000-04:00

Of all the patriotic, red-white-and-blue novelty foods I could have cooked up last weekend, my favorite thing turned out to be salad dressing. How unglamorous. Not even fun, really. But quite delicious. And I would do it again. Later this summer, with raspberries instead of the strawberries. Or maybe I'll go out on a limb and use blueberries in August, daredevil that I am. I happily served

Summer Solstice: Karmic Payback

2011-06-23T22:20:00.000-04:00

There's a reason we tolerate Maine winters. Maine summers. The solstice on Tuesday was absolute perfection. At 6 pm we thought, "How we can best take advantage of this?" We hopped in the car and headed to... It's in Georgetown. You go through Bath, where they build the wicked big ships, and take a right. Go all the way to end. You can enjoy the view. And you can eat. The lobster roll

Blueberry Crumb Cake and Excuses

2011-06-15T18:28:00.000-04:00

My poor neglected blog. Just lying there, so eager to please, so hungry for some attention. Its mother author has been so, so busy. We had a graduation. That's the Bonus Baby over his shoulder How that sweet little boy grew to become this big lovable going-to-college guy overnight, I'll never understand. We had graduation parties. And company. We had senior awards and convocation.

Parmesan Salsa and Cookie Book Winner

2011-05-25T15:52:00.000-04:00

Parmesan salsa. Kind of sounds like an oxymoron. Like Asian bistro (yes, I'm looking at you Kon) or Mexican sushi. But guess what? The word for sauce in Italian is salsa. So you'd think then that this makes perfect sense. But Parmesan salsa is not really a sauce; it's more of a dip or a scoopable snack. But frankly, once you taste this, you won't care what it's called or whether it even

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie and Giveaway

2011-05-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

I've written before about perfection and the subjectivity of it. For example, if you like gray skies and rainy days, today is perfect for you. If you don't, you (and I) are out of luck, today and the rest of the week. How about chocolate chip cookies?Which is the perfect one?For some people, that might be Chips Ahoy.For others, Mrs. Fields is the ultimate.When you do much of your own baking,

Derby Pie Bars

2011-05-07T21:45:00.000-04:00

I don't really care which horse wins the Kentucky Derby. They're all beautiful, graceful and strong. Photo by Sam English I like the colors of the silks that the jockeys wear. And of course the ladies' hats are.. so... interesting. As with many sporting events (except state championship football), I am mostly interested in the food. I heard they eat pimento cheese in the south. (

Dreamy Creamy Scones and Tea

2011-04-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

I wish tea time was a tradition that endured from the days of British rule here in the colonies. Wouldn't it be lovely to stop whatever tragically dull thing you're working on at 4 pm to enjoy a cuppa along with a biscuit, a tiny cucumber sandwich or scone? A moment to reconnect with yourself and whoever else happens to be around? And since we're fantasizing, how about if the tea was served

Judy's on Cherry

2011-04-22T13:27:00.000-04:00

If circumstances ever find you in the Reading, Pennsylvania area (where we recently spent spring break because of some of our own circumstances), take yourself to Judy's on Cherry for dinner. It took us four nights to get there, which was a tragic mistake. In order to save you from wasting time at many of the other mediocre restaurants in the area, I will tell you this: go the first night you're

Pasta Fit for the Easter Bunny

2011-04-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

The calendar might say spring, but the cool weather will not let go here in Maine. There still piles of snow at the end of my driveway and a cold breeze coming of the water. Go ahead. Feel sorry for me. I feel sorry for little Maine girls at Easter time. Every where else girls are dressed in sweet little outfits with shiny white shoes and a pastel cardigan. More often than not, little girls

Guest Post by Me, the Bonus Baby

2011-04-05T18:13:00.000-04:00

My Mom asked me to do this for her, because she's been quite busy lately. So, last week I asked her to bring the drinks to my math team practice. Well, she forgot. We ended up going to the water fountain. She said she would make us a delicious snack to make up for forgetting. Last time she made pumpkin bread and everybody loved it. Because of that, I asked her to make pumpkin cupcakes with

Turkey Pot Pie - Easy, Easier and Easiest

2011-03-20T17:20:00.000-04:00

Last Monday was Pi Day. Pi as in 3.14 etc. etc. etc. I am afraid of pi because I'm not mathy. Unlike my husband and one of my children (you know who you are), who think it's fun to do math problems as a way to pass time. I'd rather read every book in the library (twice) than face an algebraic equation. The worst grade I ever got in high school was a D in algebra. It was devastating and

Garlic Oven Fries

2011-03-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

I know you think of me as a chocolate person (if you think of me at all). But I am hereby on the record as saying: I cannot resist a french fry. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone with this weakness. You might be like me and hardly ever order them for yourself. But let's see a show of hands from those of you have never stolen a few fries off your kids' plates. See. I knew it. Not one of you. Because

Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'? Mardi Gras Jambalaya

2011-03-06T21:35:00.001-05:00

When my kids were little we had a Buckwheat Zydeco cd that we played over and over and in the car. How a family in New England became enamored of a Lousiana zydeco band, I don't know. I have no recollection of how that cd came to be in our possession. All I know is, I never minded listening to it umpteen times in a row because the music is so infectiously happy. Wikipedia says zydeco, a form

The World's Best Chocolate Cookies for a Friend

2011-03-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

What can you do for a friend when she's having what is most assuredly the worst day of her life? Anything she wants. And after that, you can make her a big pile of something chocolate. She may not feel like eating it today, but I bet she will soon. When a friend is hurting, it's sometimes hard to know what to do. A lot of us turn to food. We're not always sure if that's the right thing but