I've been hearing all the type for years. Friend's would rent cars just to drive to Jersey and buy cases of their wine. I've been to parties & inquired about a dish only to be told it came already prepared from them. Well, they opened a NYC store a couple of months ago & I finally decided to check it out. I went around 7pm & did not have to wait in line just to enter the store (amazing feat, apparently). OK. I was very impressed. Their prices are excellent. They have a wide variety fresh foods, prepared, cheeses, cereals, frozen goods & treats. And their sales associate's are quite pleasant. Which is unbelieveable, considering that the place is mobbed all day long, & they can not keep the shelves stocked no matter how hard they try. I made out like a bandit! My paper bag was full & the total cost was $31. Everything I purchased was organic, including the cereal, salsa, tortilla chips, coffee, peanut butter, edaname, snap peas, & so on & so on.
I couldn't wait to show Tom all of my finds the minute he walked in the door from work. I do not reccommend this, because you probably will not get the enthusiastic response you are looking for. He came around an hour later while munching on soy & flax tortilla chips dipped in spicy pico de gallo. Now we are going to plan our own trip to Jersey. We'll go on a day trip to Trader Joe's & Costco. I have a feeling this is not exactly what my man had in mind when he mentioned little summer gataways in our grandma mobile.
I've been a cooking bee-ah-ch. The crust of the cheesecake finally worked. It did not stick to the pie plate or turn into a pile of crumbs. And the cheesecake itself was so fabulous that I licked the electric mixer arms clean... and the wooden spoon... and the spatula.
I also completed 2 more recipes. Baked scrod & broccoli & rice casserole. What does that mean? There is only one more recipe left for me to test. And it just so happens to be a sweet. That seems quite fitting, to end with a sweet treat. The recipe is ricotta egg biscuits. I have never made them myself or even witnessed my grandmother bake them. Usually these simple facts would stress me out, but, my Aunt Maria has perfected Momma's recipe. And so far, every recipe she's passed along to me has worked just beautifully. I'll be in RI next weekend, get a copy of the how to & bake them up right away. I want to be done with cooking as of June 1st. And to all of my recipe testers out there - I have more recipes to pass along. Give a holler if you are up for more cooking/baking.
The past week was filled with lots of busy recipe tester bees. Family & dear friends who have offered to cook, bake, find mistakes & offer feedback on dishes that will be featured in my cookbook. The results are in. Nine recipes were tested.
-3 were perfect, no typos, easy to follow & great tasting.
-5 tasted great, were easy to follow, but needed just a bit of tweaking in the directions.
-1....well, it just did not work (sorry Alex). Not to worry, I remade it last night, added the adjustments & it's ready to be tasted & tested again.
Things are truly moving along. Tonight I'll be making cheesecake, hopefully for the very last time, and will pass it along to one of my helpers.
Ode To Recipe Testers
O' they truly are brave souls
helping out a pal in need.
Willing to cook & bake for me to reach my goals
sorting through all the typos, they must have question my abilities in deed.
There were the pepper biscuits that made Eric sneeze
poor Alex was sent on a hunt for smelts to no avail.
Marinated mushrooms were so spicy Jenn & Paul were brought to their knees
the gravy recipe Kim made was so overloaded with onions, one taste & she was pale.
But, never did any of them complain
they reported back to me positively & with love.
It was because of them that I have been able to sustain
push aside feelings of self doubt & rise above.
Yes, there were some victories & moments of glee
Hope & Mike learned to bake magic bars & even make a pasta dish.
Kathleen easily conquered almond biscotti, amaretto was the key
KK's favorite peanut butter blossoms turned out delish!
I extend a huge THANK YOU to all
my recipe testers from both far & near.
With your helping hands it looks like the cookbook will be ready come this fall
and I look forward to sharing the joy of it's completion with all of you, whom I hold so dear.
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