The Call of the Wild

Halloween is on Monday, but it looks a lot like Christmas around here and more snow is on its way for the weekend. I'm planning on making a big pot of chili, some popcorn, and a (scary) chocolate cake, but what I really want to do is start singing carols. And this guy here - he refuses to come in the house. This is his first New Hampshire snowfall and he is truly in his element. After getting into a fight with a porcupine on Monday (and losing) he deserves to bound through the snow to his heart's delight.

These Are Just Two of My Favorite Things

Reading and eating... or reading about food... or reading about food, a far off place, and escaping into a world of sumptuous feasts, all work for me. No matter how you slice it, I love to combine two of my favorite things - my love of food and a good book. Although there are myriad cookbooks that have been revered over the years (James Beard - Beard on Food, Julia Child - The Way to Cook, Thomas Keller - French Laundry Cookbook), there are some cookbooks that read like a book, (and good books that include recipes), making them the ultimate late night fare.

In her book, Libation - A Bitter Alchemy, author Deirdre Heekin has written a series of essays that explore how she connects food with wines and spirits as she travels throughout Italy. In the book, In Late Winter We Ate Pears, she and her chef husband, Caleb Barber, share not only recipes, but their love affair with a culture that knows lingering at the table is one of life's greatest pleasures. (Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber are the proprietors of the Woodstock, VT restaurant Osteria Pane e Salute.)

And if you savor the idea of combining your fondness of travel, food, and lyrical prose, you must read Frances Mayes books all about Tuscany. Her newest (The Tuscan Sun Cookbook) is due out in May, 2012.

In her beautiful and delicious books, Falling Cloudberries and Apples for Jam, author Tessa Kiros combines her love of food with delectable photographs, heartwarming family memories, anecdotes, and whimsical drawings. 

Add these books to your holiday gift list.

Top photo: housebeautiful.com

Country Living

When we moved up to the New Hampshire woods, it took me a while to adapt. Now that I've lived here nearly 18 years (!), I've come to love everything about living in my quiet little hamlet, including connecting with nature. But lately, things have become a little too wild for my taste.

Last year, we were inundated with an abundance of animals. It seemed every week I was looking into the backyard and finding not just one turkey, but 20, not just a few blackbirds, but 100. Years ago, our dog Smokey chased a Fisher Cat up a tree (he was very lucky if you know anything about Fisher Cats), we’ve been told about area moose sightings, and we hear coyotes off in the distance. The animal list goes on and on. I know they’re out there, but I want them to stay in the woods and out of my yard. Birds, chipmunks, rabbits, even the occasional deer are fine with me, but when we met Mr. Bear last spring, I started to get a little uneasy. After all, I have two furry sons to worry about and they like to "play" with just about anything that appears in our yard. We've even gone to the extent of installing an electric fence so the dogs can only play in the grassed in area of our property. They can't go beyond the tree line unless they want a little reminder that the woods are forbidden territory.

But, last week, Mr. Bear made another appearance and this time it was personal. The feeder was back up a bit earlier than it should have been (I know, I know. My warm-weather bird watching days are definitely over.), and this time he took the feeder - and the post that holds up the pergola with it. And just this morning, Dante snuck up on a porcupine and got a mouthful of quills. Poor baby. Hubby and I rushed him to the animal hospital to have the quills removed and he is sleeping soundly beside me. We will now leash and walk the dogs in the yard when the sun goes down and before it comes up just to be on the safe side.

Country living may be for the birds after all. It will certainly have me running to and from my car carrying a big flashlight and singing at the top of my lungs for a while. Hubby didn’t care of my 10’ fence idea. I’m still thinking he may crack.

Don't Put the Grill Away

Make this easy steak salad instead. I'm always looking for new ways to stretch old recipes, so when I had to come up with a fairly quick lunch for company last weekend, I defrosted some steak tips, threw together some vegetables, and fired up the grill one last time.

Steak Salad

2-3 lbs. steak tips

1/2 cup A-1 Bold and Spicy steak sauce

1/2 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar dressing

Spring mix greens

1-2 large sweet onions

1-2 large tomatoes or 1/2 lb. cherry tomatoes

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Favorite vinaigrette

Mix together steak sauce and salad dressing, coat steak tips, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I like to marinate the steak tips for a least a few hours if possible. Cut onions into large chunks and coat with a little olive oil and salt. Do the same for the tomatoes.

Add steak tips and vegetables to grilling baskets or use scewers. Grill over hot coals 3-5 minutes per side. In the meantime, assemble greens onto a plate. Once the meat is done, top greens with the meat and vegetables and your favorite vinaigrette.

I did not add the tomatoes to the grill this time. I simply sauteed them quickly in a pan with olive oil and salt just until they were warm and added them to the grilled steak, onions and greens.

My Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup olive oil

Combine the first five ingredients in a blender and slowly add olive oil.

Simple, easy, and delicious. Enjoy!

Scenes From Around New England: Boston

I spent Saturday with my favorite people in my favorite city. We stopped to watch the street performers for a while after eating lunch out in the sun. Then it was off to chase down bagpipe music that seemed to permeate every neighborhood. Pipers were led from one landmark to the next ending their song at the Green Dragon Tavern. We stopped to grab some fruits and vegetables from America's original farmers' market in Haymarket Square. Soon, we found ourselves in the North End for a caffe and some dinner. More bagpipe music led us to gather outside St. Leonard Parish to wish a happy couple good fortune, health, and happiness.



Cider House Rules

You must always dunk your doughnuts. These Batter Drop Cider Donuts make the perfect little bite to dunk into hot cider, hot coffee, or hot tea. Not to mention an adorable way to greet your guests this Thanksgiving.

Cider Donuts

1 cup of apple cider, boiled down to 1/4 cup. Let cool.

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh, ground nutmeg

1/2 cup half and half

1 egg, slightly beaten

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1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups of oil (Enough to fill a pan up to 3".

In a deep fryer or heavy 3-quart pan, heat 3-4 inches of oil to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg, blend well. Add half and half, the concentrated apple cider, vanilla and egg. Stir with a fork until thoroughly mixed but don't over-mix.

Scoop mixture into a teaspoon and drop into hot oil, 5 or 6 at a time keeping the temperature at 375 degrees. Fry each donut hole between 1 and 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm donut holes in the mixture. Coat evenly. (You can also use a plastic bag.)

Recipe source unknown. Image via libbyjamesblog.com

The Lace Reader

Visit the Witch City (Salem, Massachusetts) in this eerie tale of three generations of women. Time Magazine said, "A richly, imagined saga of passion, suspense, and magic." This was Massachusetts author, Brunonia Barry's first novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Photo: Barnesandnoble.com

Halloween Tabletop

Last year, my youngest daughter decided she wanted a Halloween party. The house was already decorated, but I needed to come up with a slightly more formal table display so she and her guests could enjoy their snacks in style. As with all last minute decorating dilemmas, I pulled out what I already had and made a list of items I could find in town for very little money.

To decorate the table, I bought three packages of cheesecloth from the grocery store and a few yards of burlap from the garden center. I didn't cut or iron a thing, but simply layered one material over the other creating the burlap table runner by folding it into thirds.

I'm not a big fan of store-bought treat bags, so I pulled out my ancient stash of paper lunch sacks and some twine. After filling each bag with treats, I rolled the tops of each bag and cinched them with the twine.

Although I did have a few goodies on hand, it wouldn't be very expensive to duplicate this look. Instead of the faux grasses I used in the vase, gather a good handful of branches - with or without leaves - and wrap the stems together. I used addtional cheescloth around the vase, tucking and gathering as I wrapped, and added more twine to the bottom of the vase.

Here's the breakdown:

Cheesecloth - $8

Burlap - $6

Bowls - $1.99 each from Target. Total - $8

Jack-be-little pumpkins - $1 each. Total - $5

Mini skeletons - $1.99 each from Target. Total - $8

Twine - $4 for large roll

Paper bags - $2 per 100

See similar crows here and here.

The Magic of Childhood

This will be the first Halloween in 23 years that I will not make costumes for my children. I will not cajole them into wearing crazy hats, scary make-up, or yards of sparkly fabric. I will not walk with them through the neighborhood dressed in witches black as the dried leaves swirl around our feet. I will not hear my little one knock on a door and cry “trick or treat” when it opens. It is the end of an era.

Of course I knew that one day they would be too old for tricks and treats. But somehow I thought it would go on forever, like Christmas, our annual apple picking trip, and family dinners around the table. That Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, and the Berenstein Bears would remain close friends that would visit from time to time. And silly string and knock-knock jokes would still make them giggle. Clearly, I am in denial.

As they, and I, move from one phase of childhood into the next, it's hard to leave it all behind. So although I will mourn the loss of this particular family tradition, I will open my mind and my heart to embrace something new. But I will continue to teach them not to rush the days and weeks ahead, to slow down and take it all in. To listen for fireflies carrying fairies on their backs through the forest, to always make a wish when they blow out the candles, to eat dessert first every now and again, and to splash in the puddles as they walk down the street.

This Halloween, I will still decorate the house, more to please the child in me than anything else, and because, like the pages of a good book you can read again and again, childhood magic should go on forever.

P.S. I will always believe in Santa Claus, too.

(A walk down memory lane.)