It's picnic time again!

Now that I have all those happy thoughts back ... let's talk picnics!  With all this sunny weather we've had as of late, we have been out picnicing a couple of times.  With the exception of last week which seemed more like an Indian Summer in the Carolinas. 

We snapped some photos of an impromptu picnic we packed up a couple of weeks ago on a road trip to deliver a wedding cake to Dunn, NC.  I wanted to share them with you because it was actually a pleasant little trip with some good and bad surprises. 

The wedding was at the Barrington House (www.barringtonhousenc.com/), a very charming bed and breakfast.  Talk about a southern gem.  It seemed to me to be this grand southern mansion very unique to its location.  It was like a sparkling diamond sitting there amongst buildings that could never shine nearly as brightly.  My eyes just ate up every intricate detail from the latch on the gate, to the walkway approaching the building to the beautiful architectural detail inside (which we all know how much I love).  All I did was deliver a cake but I loved every minute of the visual beauty around me.  I would love to stay there sometime just to enjoy every detail of this lovely old home and its surrounding grounds.

So after delivery of the cake and letting out a sigh of relief that it made it all the way there in one peice, we decided to enjoy the picnic lunch that we had packed to bring along.  I'm glad we did too because I was in need of decompression time.  I never truly feel stressed about a cake unless it is coming down to the wire on delivery time or if it is as intricate as this one was and we have to transport it a long distance ... every little bump and turn makes my heart stop, let me tell you.  Thank God for the GPS and smart phones ... if you ever need to find an great point of interest all you have to do is search on a "point of interest" near a given town name.  We popped in the name Dunn, NC and as if by magic we got the names of some interesting and not so interesting things.  But not too far out of town was the Cape Fear River Park and the images online looked beatiful ... off we went!

Driving up to the entrance was really lovely.  There were these beautiful tall trees shading the grounds and the parking area.  I had the impression initially that we were driving up to one of those historic plantation homes.  It was beautiful! Under one of those big trees is where we decided to spread our blanket and have our picnic.  Just Chris, Shannon, Sam and I having a quiet picnic under the shade tree ... okay maybe not so quiet with Sam and Shannon along given that the two of them can talk more than any two people I know.  It wasn't a fancy picnic but a "quickie" one with smoked turkey and cheese wraps filled with fresh local lettuce and tomatoes and a really zesty chipolte mayo inside.  We paired this with some pickled okra, sweet tea and some tasty Italian Pasta Salad with garden fresh veggies.  All in all it was a perfect day laying around on the blanket in the sun and chatting.

Then we decided to walk one of the trails down to the banks of the Cape Fear River.  It's definitely a steep descent and not for everyone.  Most of the shoreline is really not assessible unless you are prepared to climb through some over growth, but on a sunny day like this one, its sure hard to beat that beautiful view.

Now for the not so fun part of the day.  While we were sitting there along the shore watching people meander or fishing, a gentleman who had several fishing poles in the water started yelling out that he needed some help with his lines because he had something big on the line.  Chris and Sam decided to run down to help him out ... Chris made it there okay ... however, Sam who was right behind him hit a spot on the ground that was actually a sink hole filled with mud (sort of like quick sand) and he fell in to his chest.  He worked hard to pull himself out but lost his shoes down there in that mess and was covered literally from head to toe in nasty smelly muck.  Oh my word was he a mess and very upset, as you can imagine.  We had to hike back up the hill, poor Sam barefoot on the gravel, and spent over 20 minutes in the men's room washing him off and getting him out of his clothes and into our picnic blanket.  Needless to say, the day was drawn to a screeching halt and we headed home.

The only saving grace here was that on our way back through this interesting little town, we found some really interesting and beautiful architecture ... truly fascinating given that it was totally unexpected.  It was a really enjoyable adventure ... with loads of excitement and at one point uncertainty ... but a wonderful adventure nonetheless.

Cornbread and Green Tomatoes...pure magic

I just had to post this and maybe its just my adventurous taste buds that make me like these so much, but I wanted to share one of my favorite things ... yep, you got it "Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes". 

Okay, so I will admit that I love sweet cornbread ... I adore it!  It's like cheese grits ... just one of those things that make my mouth salivate in anticipation.   Just love it and then you add some caramelized green tomatoes to them and let me tell you ... its a rare, rare treat.  Combine them with some fun salad or with a beautiful bowl of soup and you have a real treat.  Plus the fact that they are simple to make and what more could you ask for. 

My inspiration for this one was the big bag of green tomatoes that I picked up from my friend Screech from Screech Owl Tomatoes.  I use green tomatoes in tarts, cupcakes, biscuits and whatever else I can put them in, but I was craving the wonderful flavor of cornbread too and so these lovely corn muffins were born.  I think they would be good for many occasions ... breakfast or brunch with a light and fluffy quiche, lunch with a yummy farmer's market salad or warm toasty soup or with a hearty dinner of grilled chicken with a variety of salads.  Really they would just be delicious all by themselves with a nice cup of coffee or tea. 

Alright, no more rambling on about how much I absolutely, positively adore these muffins ... here it is my most treasured recipe ... (drum roll please) ... Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes!  Bake up a batch and share them with someone special.  Enjoy!

Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes

2 cups of chopped green tomatoes, seeded
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, melted and divided
2 cups self-rising yellow cornmeal mix
Zest of one lemon
5 large eggs
16 ounces of vanilla or plain yogurt (I prefer low fat or non-fat)
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Sauté tomatoes and 2 Tbsp. sugar in 2 Tbsp. melted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to caramelize and turn light brown.
2. Stir together cornmeal mix, lemon zest, and remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together eggs, yogurt, and remaining 6 Tbsp. butter; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in tomatoes.
3. Generously coat 2 standard 12 cup muffin pans or 2 jumbo muffin pans with vegetable cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake at 450° for 15 to 17 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Adapted from a recipe in Southern Living June 2011

It's been awhile ... lost my happy thought

Hey there ... It's been a while since my last post.  With winter and then the loss of my dad in January, I guess you could say that I was speechless for a while.  I associated it with a loss of my happy thoughts ... it was a tragic loss for me, loosing my dad to leukemia.  Just less than a week ago, it would have been his 69th birthday and, of course, he was ever in my thoughts but more so on that day and I realized that I hadn't lost my happy thoughts ... they had been just hiding for a while and they were there with me the whole time.  They were the memories ... memories of times with my dad, with my sister and my mom, with my children and husband and friends.  All those beautiful moments captured forever in my mind were just clouded temporarily by the pain I have been feeling. 

Buck Calaway, my dad, just before I was born.

So as I was sitting alone last Tuesday thinking about my dad on his special day and sifting back through all those memories, two memories stuck out more than any others.  Wouldn't you know ... it was like a lightening strike and I found them ... the things that make me the most creative ... my happy thoughts.  And I thought it would be good to share them.  Probably one of the main reasons for my love of picnicing is that it is nostalgic ... it reminds me of happy times during my childhood.  I've already shared how my sister and I would picnic under a big oak tree on the hill so my mom could have some time to get things done.  But another memory that I had buried came to light the other day and its another reason I love packing up a meal and finding someplace interesting to eat.  When we were little, we would take vacations or road trips to see family or to just have family time together ... it was always by car ... in our station wagon much like the Griswalds but less comical.  We would pack that car up so tight with suitcases and things that we needed and just set out for our destinations with unknown stops along the way to see interesting things (probably also why I love to find kitchy and unusual places in my travels).  And  for lunch, my dad, a great lover of the ever popular bologne sandwich, would find a grocer deli.  He would order up a pound of lunch meat and a pound of cheese ... grab a loaf of bread and stroll proudly back to our station wagon and declare a picnic.  Or maybe not offically a picnic but rather a lunch stop at picnic tables in a park or rest area.  And I thought that was the greatest meal in the world. 

We would have these impromptu lunches often with him ... even while working along side him on the farm.  We would just stop what we were doing and he would pull out a bag (the bread bag) filled with lunchmeat sandwiches and we would sit in a hay field or along the creek and eat our lunch.  I look back now and wonder if I could do that today given the absolute mess that we were after doing so much work and getting so dirty.  But as a kid, you never mind any of that ... you just enjoy the time with your parents.

Anyway, I was also looking through some photos and that's when I discovered the memory that reminded me of the first memory I mentioned.  There was a photo of my dad and my daughter, Lauren, sitting on the floor surrounded with toys and both barefoot that I had snapped while watching them when I was making a "carpet picnic" for them to share.  Lauren was just a little over a year old and was just absolutely in love with her grandpa and was so proud to share her toys with him.  It was on that visit that she coined the name "Pappy" for him and would squeal it out everytime she hugged him ... which was quite often.  It was that photo and the memory of that moment that triggered the memories from my girlhood days of sitting in the grass with my dad and enjoying a picnic together.  Of the immense love that I felt for him.  My dad may not be here physically but he is here with me in my heart and in my memories.  And he left me with the most wonderful gift I could ever ask for ... the memory of his unconditional love, of his lightheartedness, of his strength and devotion to his family.  Memories of playfulness ... running through the tall grasses or walking for what seemed like hours with us ... marveling over every small discovery that we made and teaching us through his wisdom and kindness of things that someday we might need.  He shaped me without knowing it into the person that I am today with his love, kindness and open heart.  I love you dad ... you are my happy thought and I thank you for that always.

A Spooktactular Halloween ...

I love this time of year.  The fall, with the chilliness in the air and colorful leaves falling to the ground, signals the start to the holiday season.  Halloween just happens to be one of my favorite holidays...simply because I get to decorate the house with orange and black (the best color combination and certainly one of my very, very favorites) and I can make some very special and artistic treats and I get to give them to friends and family.  I smile to think of the excitement the kids feel as they anxiously await All Hallows Eve and the candy they will accumulate while trick-or-treating.  And who doesn't love wearing a costume ... a chance to be a superhero or beautiful princess or cartoon character for one night ... so much fun.

With October about half over, I wanted to share some pictures of our decorating this year.  Our house is filled with lots of little creatures spooky in their own right ... spiders and bats ... mice and crows.  There are pumpkins and skeletons and Maurice the spooky butler.  There are tasty candies and cleverly decorated baked goods that make the kids eyes wide with excitement.  There are caramel apples filling a plate and jars of orange, yellow and red candies filling the buffet table in the dining room.   The table is home to a creepy skull covered in a cloche.  All placed with a purpose to create a perfectly spooky setting. 

Chris jokes every few days when I add just another little piece here and there that maybe we need just one more thing.  And I just giggle because there is so much more that I would love to add.  Each day though I hang just a few more strings of spider web or place another small spider on a lampshade or table runner ... just for fun and see him smile when he discovers my latest addition. I still have a bit of kid in my heart and feel the same excitment that our children do when the house comes alive with all the the scary props.

At nights when the lights are turned down low, the pumpkins shine eerily up the staircase and Maurice lets out a very spooky laugh and nearly scares us all out of our minds,  A crow sits with his wings spread in the bird cage on the porch watching over the house for visitors, lit underneath with a scary green light.  A black light shines on a skeleton breaking from the ground in a little well-placed cemetary in our front yard.  But its all in good fun and the house feels so playful ... because its all in the spirit of this fun-filled holiday where we can for one night pretend to be someone else and roam from house to house in the chilly evening air begging for treats.   And I have to admit that I love to dress up too, as a witch, and stand by the door greeting each little costumed trick or treater who is brave enough to venture past all the spooky things to our front door.  Happy Halloween...enjoy the season!

Perfect for a picnic or dinner around a fire....

I have to say that this is one of my favorite things to eat and its considerably healthy and best of all, its portable.  And we all know that I love portable food!  A couple of months ago, I decided to indulge and buy myself a little something ... not shoes or clothes .... but a Breville Pie Maker from Williams Sonoma.  Oh my gosh do I love this thing.  How could I not ... its makes my favorite treat in the world ... a pie (or an individual pie I should say) in about 4 minutes.  Yes, you read that correctly ... 4 minutes.  Now you have to keep in mind that doesn't include the time it takes to make the filling or the crust but it is very simple and I absolutely love it. 

Anyway, I have been experimenting with it alot lately and not only have I been whipping out fruit pies but I also made some really exceptional pot pies that are fun to wrap in some wax paper and slip into a picnic basket and eat just about anywhere you want.  And they are beautiful, as well as, tasty!  Go figure!

The ones you see in the image to the right happen to be chicken pies but you can do just about anything from veggie pies, beef pies, enchilada pies to chicken pesto.  Basically, all you have to do is start with a base ingredient like chicken and add all the yummy complimentary veggies and then make a thickened sauce that will tie it all together.  Cheese and other things are optional.  Below, I decided to pass on a basic recipe for a chicken pie that you might like to try.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Favorite pie Crust (rolled out into two rounds)
2 chicken breasts (chicken chopped into bite sized pieces)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chopped thyme
1/2 tsp chopped sage
2 carrots cut into bite size pieces
2  potatoes cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of green beans
1/4 cup sour cream
1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup

Cook chicken breast in a large sauce pan with 1 cup of water.  Bring to boil.  Add salt, pepper and chopped sage and thyme.  Add carrots, potatoes and celery.  Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.  Add corn, peas and green beans.  Continue to cook for 4 more minutes.  Remove from heat and sour cream and soup.  Stir until well combined. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a pie tin with 1/2 of the pie dough rolled into a circle.  Pour the chicken and veggie mixture into the crust.  Top with the remaining pie round and seal the edges.  Cut a couple of slits in the top of the crust for venting. 

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned. 

Chicken Mac and Cheese ... a new take on an old classic

I just had to share this with y'all!  Chris and I were having a quiet dinner the other night together.  Given our recent cold spell and the stress of the  past few weeks, the ultimate comfort food sounded perfect.

So after the kids were all settled doing there things for the evening, I decided to whip up a really tasty favorite of mine ... a gourmet macaroni and cheese that is made with chicken, bacon (of course), and gorgonzola, muenster and monterey jack cheeses.  Its really not all the difficult and pairs well with a salad of fresh baby greens with herbs, tomatoes, red peppers and a zippy vinegarette (I usually prefer a balsamic or a greek myself).  I also love baking it up in individual baking dishes or ramekins depending on how hungry you are or if it is going to be a side dish. 

Also, you can use any type of pasta that you prefer ... I used ziti in this one because I love the way it looks; however shells or elbows or bowties work fine.  You can also subtract the meat and make it vegetarian by replacing the chicken and bacon with roasted red peppers and sauted mushrooms ... or add them to this recipe if you want some excitement.  You can also increase the amount of cheese in the recipe depending on how cheesy you like it but the gorgonzola should remain the same as suggested in the recipe.

Chicken and Bacon Three Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

4 tbls unsalted butter

4 tbls all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups of whole milk
2 ounces of gorgonzola cheese
1 cup of shredded muenster cheese
1 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 box of pasta (ziti, elbow, bowtie, or other)
2 chicken breasts cubed
olive oil
4 strips of bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare pasta according to the package instructions in a 6 quart pan.  Once boiled al dente, drain and return to the pan.  While the pasta is cooking, place the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the cubed chicken breast meat and pan fry until the chicken cubes are browned and cooked through.  Add this to the drained pasta in the 6 quart pan.  Using the same skillet, fry the bacon.  Once crisp, remove the bacon to drain and once cool, crumble into the pasta and chicken. 

Using a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the salt and pepper and flour to the pan and whisk together until thoroughly mixed.  Allow this to bubble for about a minute to cook out the flour taste.  Add the milk to the pan whisking while pouring to mix and prevent lumps from forming.  Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking occasionally to prevent sticking until the mixture begins to thicken (like a sauce or gravy consistency).  Now add the cheese to the milk mixture, stirring until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is thick.  Pour this mixture over the pasta and meat in the pan.  Divide among four individual ramekins or baking dishes or place in one large baking dish which has been sprayed with PAM.  Sprinkle the top with a little monterey jack cheese.  Place in oven and back for 25 minutes or until the top is browned and the mixture is bubbly. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Eat up and smile!

Honey almond cupcakes anyone ...

My friend Hallie from the Downtown Raleigh Farmer's Market asked me if I could whip up some cupcakes for an event that was planned this month for one of our Wednesday markets ... the Honey Buzzival which highlighted our local honey producers and some unique and creative ways to use honey.  She suggested bees given the honey theme and I was so, so, so very excited ... I love being creative ... its my middle name afterall :)

I wanted to make not only something cute but a cupcake that was made from honey too.  After much thought and consideration, I decided to make a very tasty and healthy cupcake .... a honey almond cupcake topped with a honey cream cheese buttercream.  Yum, yum, yum!!!!  You can find the recipe below. 

I do have a few pointers though that I wanted to pass on.  First, I love shortcuts ... especially when I am in a hurry ... so instead of the toasted and ground almond slices, I opted for the easier route ... ground almond meal.   Thanks to the folks at Trader Joe's ... this allowed me to save a bit of time and effort. 

Another pointer would be to drizzle the honey into the bowl as you are mixing the batter on low ... this will allow you to evenly incorporate the honey into the batter. 

For the cream cheese frosting, I also suggest that the cream cheese be cold when you add it to your mixer.  Plus, cream cheese frosting has the tendency to soften quite a bit during the mixing process or if left out of the refrigerator, so I would recommend refrigerating for at least an hour before decorating your cupcakes. 

My honey bees were made from layered strips of fondant cut and hand-molded and then you simply place two sliced almond wings on either side of the fonant body.  Simple!

Honey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Yields 12-15 cupcakes

Honey Almond Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups almonds slices (toasted and grounded)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (170g) honey
1/4 cup (110g) sugar
3 large eggs (separate the whites and the yolks)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line cupcake tin
2. Toast 1 1/2 cup of almond slices in the oven for about 6 mins.
3. Grind the almonds in a food processor with 1/2 cup of the flour until very fine. In a medium bowl, combine the grounded almonds, remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. Beat butter, honey, 1/2 of the sugar, almond extract and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the orange zest.  Add egg yolks one at the time at low speed... then switch to medium speed and continue beating for about 6-10 mins.

5. Add flour mixture in 3 equal parts to the yolk batter with a spatula, and then beat on low speed for 6 counts. Set aside.
6. Beat the egg whites with the remaining half of the sugar on low speed for 5 mins plus minutes.  Make sure the whites are not too stiff. When you lift up the paddle, the whites should drop to foam (a small hoop at the tip.)
7. Gently fold the whisked egg whites into the yolk batter in 3 parts. Fold with spatula lightly and quickly just until mixture is fully incorporated. Be careful not to over beat the mixture.
8. Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for about 20-25 mins

Cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

1 pkg cream cheese
2 ounces/4 tbls butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup confectioner sugar

Just beat everything in the mixer. Refrigerate.
You can make the frosting a day in advance.
Decorate the cupcakes with some toasted almonds and dusting of powdered sugar.

*Recipe can be used for a loaf or bundt cake