A post about everything

This is a post about the most simple and delicious of things
a cupcake

I could leave it at that and enjoy the vanilla frosting, the multi-color jimmies and the soft chocolate cake but there is much more then just that.

For making these cupcakes was about everything in life that is important. Some sweetness, some delayed gratification (in the waiting for the cupcakes), some instant gratification (in the licking of the spoon), some silliness, a lot of laughing and spending time together putting cup cake mix on our noses.

For these were not just any cupcakes mind you, they were cupcakes that my 4 1/2 year old made with my wife and I. The cupcake baking kit was a present from one of our close friends who absolutely adores both of the girls. She also knows that every tooth in our 4 1/2 year olds mouth is a sweet tooth.

I have a lot of memories about my mother and most of then involve food and the kitchen. When I was sick, there was always a hot bowl of matzoth brei ready and when I could not keep that down a bowl of white rice. I remember the half a loaf of bread she used to make grilled cheese sandwiches after football practice freshman year and I remember that her matzoth balls were always soft and never rock hard.

I also remember my father making fresh apple sauce with my mom and my sister and I sneaking spoonfuls of the still hot sauces out of the pot. I also know that for the life of me I still manage to screw up omelets, while my father made such crazy ones as a banana and jelly omelet.

I cook because I enjoy it, I also cook because it keeps me connected to who I was as well as who I am. I get untold pleasure in being able to share that connection with our girls.

(setting the cups in just right)

(mom (as always) providing gentle guidance)

(one bit for the cupcake, one bit for me)

Some day years from now our children will be making cupcakes with their children. They will say, I used to make these with your grandparents when I was your age and that would be the sweetest thing of all.

For once, then, something

Summer has finally passed and with it we had the final harvest from our garden. As far as a first attempt at a garden the sou chef and I did a pretty good job. We lost the basil and the black eye peas to some sort of animal yet we saved the tomatoes and the cucumbers.

The garden was something that I really wanted to do and share with our daughter. You experience a lot of joys with children but introducing them to something like a garden where they can tend it, watch it grow and then enjoy the bounty is a treasure. Few things bring greater joy then hearing a 4 year old shout excitedly over the things they have achieved.

We decided to pick the tomatoes early rather then loose them to a frost. We decided to make
Salsa Verde with Green Tomatoes, Avocados, and Cilantro from the excellent blog Kalyn's Kitchen.

I have also been working on my photos and feel these are much improved.

looking good team!

Big, bigger , biggest

And since it is the end of summer (technically it is Fall but I am wearing shorts as I write this) who better then Robert Frost to escort us out-

For once, then Something
by Robert Frost
Others taunt me with having knelt at well-curbs
Always wrong to the light, so never seeing
Deeper down in the well than where the water
Gives me back in a shining surface picture
Me myself in the summer heaven godlike
Looking out of a wreath of fern and cloud puffs.
Once, when trying with chin against a well-curb,
I discerned, as I thought, beyond the picture,
Through the picture, a something white, uncertain,
Something more of the depths—and then I lost it.
Water came to rebuke the too clear water.
One drop fell from a fern, and lo, a ripple
Shook whatever it was lay there at bottom,
Blurred it, blotted it out. What was that whiteness?
Truth? A pebble of quartz? For once, then, something.

Scalloped

So wasn't I a lucky duck! For my birthday (which was several months ago) my wife made me dinner! Usually it is a team effort around the house but this time I got to hang with the kids and let her have a go in the kitchen. The dish was scallops in a butter cream sauce. The cream component being creme fraiche.

First the scallops dredged in a flour.



A little bit of butter into the pan.

The floured scallops go into their nice little butter bath!

Just about 45 seconds or so per side over medium heat.

Out come the scallops and into the pan goes the creme fraiche, some more butter and some lemon juice.


Let the whole thing come to a boil to reduce.

Then add some salt and pepper, top with parsley and it is done!


She served this with a side of fettuccine and some steamed asparagus. This was a hit and certainly a dish that we could serve for company.

A garden grows

If this was colonial times this garden would not sustain us through the day must less the winter. However, that was not the point. We wanted a way for the sou chef to understand the connection between the food she eats and where it comes from. She loves cucumber and tomato salads so planting cukes and tomatoes is an obvious choice. As an added bonus we planted some basil and black eyed peas. The basil we think got eaten by one of the many bunnies and animals that run around the yard here in the 'burbs.

black eye peas - still small but growing

the only cucumber that grew

a few good looking tomatoes

About two weeks later we went out and the sou chef picked the tomatoes and cucumber. The salad was rated as 'very yummy'. Based upon the success of the garden we are gonna to expand it next year.

Pizza Spectacular

For my birthday I was the happy recipient of a VillaWare Stainless-Steel Pizza Grill. For some time I have been making pizza on the grill as well as in the oven without the benefit of any pizza stone. Overall, I was quite happy with the results but the pizza monster inside of me always wanted to try a pizza stone.

The challenge was trying a pizza stone on a grill. Technically speaking, one can not use a baking stone directly on an open flame. Not sure if this is folk lore or the actual truth but I read it on the internet and as we all know if it is on the internet, it must be true.

A combo pizza stone and rack seemed to be the way to go and the reviews have always been positive for the VillaWare product. Amazon has it for a great price and with my Amazon Prime membership I got it in two days for free shipping. Hard to shake a pizza crust at that!

We decided to make two pizzas, a cheese pizza for the sou chef and a sort of margarita pizza for us.

The sou chef did her usual great job of assembling the pizza-

a little bit of sauce

a little bit of cheese

even more cheese

then onto the Pizza Grill

for some tasty results

Our pizza was equally as tasty

Fresh tomatoes from Volante Farms, mozzarella from Maplebrook Farm (you can buy it at Roche Brothers, Sudbury Farms and Whole Foods and basil from our 'garden'

So how were the results? The sou chef has proclaimed that it was the best pizza ever and she now only wants to eat daddy's bar-b-que pizza. I liked the crust that the pizza stone created. The built in thermometer was very handy as my Weber one has died a slow death some time ago.

What are my complaints? For starters the thing needs to heat up for about 20 minutes, this combined with any additional grilling sucks a lot of LP out of the gas tank. The other two 'issues' is that the Pizza grill takes up a lot of space on my Weber. Not the grills fault but of course now I need a bigger grill and finally, if you make pizza as an appetizer the questions of where one puts a wicked hot pizza grill and frame is a bit of an issue.

For less then seventy five dollars with free shipping this was a great deal in my mind.

Site Update

Lately the updates have been coming slower and slower here at Sauces and Stuff.

The reason is pretty straight forward.

On June -12th, the sou chef got an assistant in the kitchen as she welcomed her new baby sister into the world. I now have two sou chefs in the kitchens it is pretty exciting though sleep is at a premium these days.

When sleep returns so will the posts so bear with me!

I did make two subtle changes to the blog role. I dropped a blog that while I did read, I never felt that they actually ever made the food they wrote about. Something about the posts just never seemed authentic and it bothered me.

On a positive note, I added two new bbq blogs. The Hampton Smoker and White Trash BBQ. Please stop by them and check them out.

Rainy Days

What to do when it rains in Boston for four days?

Make banana vanilla milkshakes of course

one ripe banana



a few scoops of vanilla ice cream

add some milk to cover the mixture and then use an immersion blender

serve to your favorite four year old and see the sun come out again
(Sebastien straw optional)

Pizza Pizza

It is a toss up between popcorn and pizza for which food I could eat everyday. As any good parent should I am trying to pass my food cravings along so I have a partner in crime. Several weeks ago we decided to make some pizza at home.

My usual method is to make the pizza on the grill outside. One does not need a pizza stone or anything fancy like that and the pizza is fantastic. I was reluctant to try it inside since the results have usually been so so , but I also wanted something we could do together.

We bought ready made pizza dough. As you can see below my able bodied assistant was able to get right into rolling out the dough. Most grocery stores have bags of pizza dough in the bakery section. The downside is that ready made dough is usually harder to work with since it has been worked over a bit. The upside is you can get to work right away which with kids is the key.

I put some flour on the counter top and she was able to start rolling out the pizza. Once we got the shape we wanted the next step was to bake one side of the pizza.

To do this I had my sous chef dust a cookie tray with some corn meal,



then we put the pizza dough on the cookie sheet on the top rack under the broiler.


and we broiled it until one side was nice and brown and cooked.



This will become the bottom or no-topping side of the pizza. From here on out it is a matter of what toppings you would like on your pizza. We went with half cheese and half meatball for the pizza.


A little bit of sauce-

A little bit of cheese-


A few meatballs and some more cheese-



Back under the broiler right on the rack until the toppings were melted.

Yummy!

The whole thing took about 30 minutes and it was really something that the whole family could do. I would do and have done it again several times.