A New Look

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The TJ Recipe site has been bugging me for a while. What started out as a simple recipe site for work has changed and grown over the past several years - and the underlying structure was getting a bit unwieldy. There are now over 600 pages of recipes! And still growing!

Static cookbooks, like The Family Reunion books, were commingling with actively changing recipe collections. The back-end of all of this was starting to drive my somewhat orderly mind crazy.

So..... A new organization and a new look! The change may not be overly evident to the user, but it shall be a far cry easier for me to maintain!

So take a gander at the new site. I'm still looking for fun recipes to add to the collection, so send off a few of those, too, while you're at it!


The Best Birthday Cake

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Okay. I know my way around a cake. I LOVE cake. It's one of the essential food groups, right up there with full fat ice cream and deep dark chocolate.

I don't think I could even remotely remember the number of cakes I've baked in my life or the number of cakes - wedding cakes, anniversary cakes, engagement cakes, birthday cakes, whatever cakes - I've decorated. But there comes a time when one just wants to EAT a piece of cake. And good cake - like an exceptional wine or an honest politician - is not always easy to find. Until today, that is...

We were invited to Victor's cousin Kristy's today for her 40th birthday party. A fun-filled afternoon of family and food - with emphasis on the food. One never worries about going hungry at one of these family events. No matter how many people are there, there's always enough food for twice again as many more. I just let the belt out another notch and dive in. After all... it's family, right?!? Uncle Rudy's chicken livers were the best, ever, and the table was bending under the weight of pastas, sausages, meatballs, baked ham, fried chicken, salads, breads and rolls. I ate some of everything. Okay. I ate a LOT of everything. But as I was eating, I was keeping my eye on the sideboard. There was one of the best-looking birthday cakes I'd ever seen calling my name.

The cake was the creation of Shannon (aged 9) and Kayla (aged 7) McDonald. Shannon and Kayla are the daughters of the aforementioned Birthday Girl.

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The truly impressive part is they made the cake themselves. And decorated it themselves. All of it. It was a visual masterpiece from two girls of such tender years. I looked at it in awe - recalling the first cake I ever made with my sister Judy when we were about their ages. THAT cake was a blue and green marble cake that had the look, feel (and weight!) of Carrera marble! Of course, our cake looked reasonably good, too, until we bent the knife trying to cut it...

Shannon and Kayla's cake lived up to its looks - and more. It was a rich, yet light and delicate chocolate with a barely perceptible layer of raspberry filling. The raspberry offered the perfect compliment to the chocolate and the rich and creamy vanilla icing. Nothing overpowered. Every bite was a perfect balance of flavors. It was like biting into heaven.

As I was searching my memory for that cake we had made lo these many years ago, it dawned on me that Shannon and Kayla added an extra ingredient to their cake that Judy and I had not added when we made that cake for ourselves.

They added a heaping tablespoon of love.

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Still Cooking

No, I haven't stopped cooking. I haven't stopped eating, either. I just haven't been making the time to write about it. Just busybusybusy.

That's the problem with doing something like this. One starts it when one has alllll the time in the world - and then the world decides to catch up.

Our friend Paige is in town right now - I'm doing a website for her - and we're spending an inordinate amount of time in front of the computer checking, rechecking, editing, tweaking... all of the things that one must do if the site is going to look right. (Just published! http://www.paigerpenland.com) We're all eating well, too! Man (or woman) does not live by website, alone. I do have my priorities slightly in order - at least when it comes to eating...

Wednesday night we started off with a Saga brie baked with Apple/Cranberry chutney and almonds. Yum. I roasted a chicken (picked up at the Lancaster Farmer's Market) stuffed with a fig and walnut dressing. Smashed potatoes, brussel's sprouts, a lovely mixed salad with cranberry stilton and pumpkin dressing - a take on a salad we've been making at work for the past few years...

We also had fresh apple dumplins - but were too full to eat them!

Thursday night was chicken soup. I had that lovely carcass from the night before... Handfuls of everything, from brown rice to wild rice, fresh lima beans, celery, carrots... all the fun stuff! Tres bueno! And those delicious apple dumplings were the perfect dessert!

And nary a leftover.....


Dinner at Wegmans?!?

When our friends Ann and Julie invited us up to their Rochester, NY home for a long weekend, we knew it was going to be a fun food weekend. We all like to eat, we all like to have fun, and we all like to have fun while we eat. Perfect friends!

Friday afternoon was simple hor d'oeuvres while we chatted away and caught up on gossip. It's actually quite easy to talk with your mouth full - and I proved it! Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and cheese, and a huge wedge of Saint Andre started of the fun...

Ann prepared Thanksgiving Dinner for us all Friday night! Turkey and all the trimmings! It was tres fabu! Naturally, I had to be a proper guest and eat everything on my plate - and refill it several times, too. I mean, it is the polite thing to do, right?!? Mom would have been proud of me. Turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked squash, asparagus, cranberry relish... I think there should be a rule that we have to have Thanksgiving dinner at least every three months. It's a reasonable rule and one I would gladly follow - especially if they were all this good!

We rolled back into the living room, and soon it was time for dessert. Fresh apple pie, or homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream?!? I couldn't very well choose one over the other, could I?!? Of course not! I had both. They were delicious! We laughed and joked until the wee hours, and then crawled off to bed.

Saturday morning dawned and so did breakfast. Fresh-baked banana bread on the table, along with bacon, eggs, two types of delicious toast, fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, orange juice, and piping hot coffee. I was beginning to get used to this!

Barely able to move, we headed out to the car for Julie's Famous Tour of Rochester. Driving up and down streets, marveling at the homes - and prices - and generally having a great time. I hadn't been to Rochester since about 1984 when I was living in Buffalo after opening the Hyatt Regency there. A lot had changed!

Naturally, we had to stop for lunch!

Funny, but while I remember that I enjoyed it thoroughly, I can't recall exactly what it was I had! I was having much too much fun with fabulous company!

We returned home to rest and relax for a bit, because we had reservations for dinner at Wegmans.

Wegmans?!?

Yes. Wegmans.

It seems that the Wegmans Mother Ship in Rochester has a restaurant attached. A little place called "Tastings." What a surprise! What a delight! They have a prix fixe 5 course dinner we just had to have! Five courses, with a choice of two items for each one. Naturally, we all had to get different things so we could share. We tried everything on the menu!

I started off with heirloom tomatoes, micro greens, and cherry tomatoes rolled in goat cheese and pecans. Oh. My. Gawd. A simple balsamic dressing topped it off. The presentations were unbelievable. Fun Food, indeed!

Next was the fish course. I opted for a fresh Boston Cod on a bed of green and yellow beans. Victor had the Shrimp with a Sweet and Sour Slaw with hints of coconut. Both were knock-outs!

Julie opted for the Beef with spinach and waffled potatoes, while the rest of us went for the duck breast with purees of carrot and squash. Perfectly cooked, medium rare duck breast topped with fried orange rind. To die for!

Next came a Trio of Cheeses... Each was paired with its own sauce. I'll be damned if I can remember their names, but boy were they good. Simple, yet elegant. Perfect combinations. Perfectly complimentary.

Dessert arrived. A Valrhona Chocolate Gateau with Rum Raisin Ice Cream. I was in heaven. Ann chose the Creme Brulee with Biscotti. Creme Brulee is good and all, but... Chocolate was needed after this meal. Yep. Heaven.

After dinner, we strolled through the Wegmans Mother Ship. Big doesn't begin to describe it. We perused the aisles looking at the Waterford crystal and Italian platters and bowls. I had to keep reminding myself we were in a grocery store! I saw about a dozen things I loved. As we don't have room for the bowls and platters we currently own, I resisted buying more. It wasn't easy.

Another late night.

The following afternoon we headed home, laden with Turkey sandwiches with dressing and cranberry sauce Ann packed up for us. We pulled into a rest stop and devoured half of them.

A few hours later, we were home - with the rest of the turkey sandwiches for dinner.

Did I mention what a wonderful time we had?!?