Emily, Mr. Franklin and Andrew at Quincy Market

Boston Baked Beans (The Real Thing)and Baked Indian Corn Pudding (Both from Durgin-Park, Boston, MA)

Boston Baked Beans

Recipe By : Durgin-Park Restaurant, Boston, MA

  1   2 1/2-quart bean pot or covered casserole

  1 pound beans*

  1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 pound salt pork

  1/2 medium onion -- peeled and uncut

  4 tablespoons sugar

  1/3 cup molasses

  1 teaspoon dry mustard

  1 teaspoon salt

  1/4 teaspoon pepper

 
 *Use California pea beans, York State beans or small white beans.
 
 Soak beans overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 325° F. Place the
 baking soda in a Dutch oven and fill half way with water. Bring to a boil
 and add the beans. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain beans in a colander and run
 cold water through them. Set aside.
 
 Dice the salt pork (available in the bacon section of the grocery store)
 into 1-inch squares. Put half of the salt pork on the bottom of the bean
 pot, along with the onion. Put beans in the pot. Put the remaining salt
 pork on top of the beans.
 
 Mix the sugar, molasses, mustard, salt and pepper with 3 cups of hot water
 and pour over the beans. Cover pot with lid and place the pot into the
 preheated oven. Bake for 6 hours. Check pot periodically to check the
 amount of liquid. Add water to the beans slowly as needed to keep them
 moist; do not flood them. Remove the pot from the oven and serve. Makes
 about 7 cups.
 
 NOTE:  Durgin-Park, a Boston restaurant whose origins date back to the
 American Revolution, is famous for its Boston baked beans, baked Indian
 pudding and apple pan dowdy, Cod dinners and Roast Beef dinners.
 
 Durgin-Park serves 1,000 diners on an average Saturday evening. The
 waitresses have a reputation for their long memories: the second time you come in, you get the same thing you ordered the first time--unless you speak fast.

Baked Indian Pudding
Recipe from: The Durgin-Park Cookbook
by Jane Stern, Michael Stern
Cookbook Heaven at Recipelink.com 
(Taken from the aforementioned book:)

"Durgin-Park's Indian pudding is the best there is. Dark brown with substantial gravity, it smells like roasted corn and tastes like the first Thanksgiving. The long cooking time is necessary to soften the corn and for the flavors to meld. Although some restaurants add raisins or other flavorings, the only traditional way to doll it up is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting fast atop each hot serving. Tommy Ryan (Durgin-Parks Baker) loves telling the story about the time he was eating in a restaurant in New Hampshire-just a regular customer, unknown to the staff. He asked the waitress if they had Indian pudding for dessert. "Well, we do," she said reluctantly, but then she bent close and clued him in to a secret: "Sir, if you want really good Indian pudding, I suggest you go to Durgin-Park." Just to keep the record straight: this is not a Native American dish adapted by colonist cooks. Its name comes from the fact that early settlers considered virtually anything made with corn to be Indian in nature."

Servings: 6

1 1/2 plus 1 1/2 cups milk 

1/4 cup black molasses 

2 tablespoons sugar 

2 tablespoons butter 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon baking powder 

1 egg 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 


In a bowl mix 1 1/2 cups of the milk with the molasses, sugar, butter, salt, baking powder, egg, and cornmeal. Pour the mixture into a stone crock that has been well greased and bake until it boils. 


Heat and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. 


Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and bake for 5 to 7 hours. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

*personal note: Both recipes taste like warm rich history in a bowl, humble, sweet and good for the soul.

Lemon Pie

Lemon PieDear Daughter asked me to post this recipe as it is one of her favorites. Not really what I consider a "winter" dessert, but she loves it, and loves to make it herself. (Bless her 10 year-old-ness!) A note: to make this Gluten Free, substitute finely ground G.F. Pecan Shortbread cookies for the crust. Works perfect!

Lemon Pie

Crust: 1/2 cup (chopped fine) oven toasted Pecans

2/3 cup (about 5 whole) graham crackers (well crushed to fine crumbs)*may substitute Gluten Free shortbread cookies for the graham crackers.

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons melted butter

Combine all together and press into a pie plate to make the crust, covering the bottom and sides. Bake until lightly browned (watch closely!) Approx. 8 min. in a 350* oven. let sit and cool a bit on counter while preparing the filling.

Filling: 2 yolks from large eggs (no whites)

1/2 cup fresh squeezed Lemon Juice (yep, use a real fresh lemon!)

1 can (14oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk (Not Evaporated!)

Whisk the yolks with the milk until well blended, then add lemon juice, whisk again. Pour into prepared crust and bake until filling is set- approx. 15 minutes at 350* Let cool on the counter and then refrigerate at least 2 hours. If you are using the large Pyrex glass pie plates, double this recipe! You can serve this with homemade whipped cream, you can cover the top of the pie just before serving, making gorgeous swirls and peaks. A hit at every function I've brought it too and it couldn't be easier to make!

Since it is school vacation week, Dear Husband has decided it is time to beat feet and get out of town for a few days. So I have been assigned the task of planning a trip to...yep, you guessed it, Boston. He was stunned when I gave him the cost of the hotel rooms, tickets for the Museum of Science, dinner reservations at Legal Seafood, etc. He said we could fly to Paris for lunch and it would be cheaper! I agreed quickly and said "let's do that instead!" a long pause with a raised eyebrow (his) "Nice try honey" said Dear husband.

If we could go someplace without SNOW would be nice, but it is not to be. We all love Boston, and Andrew (dear son) is studying early American history, so this can be very beneficial for him. I just hope it's not howling wind and 10 below 0 while we're walking around town. I lived in Boston briefly in my (way back) past and knew the city pretty much inside and out. It has been under construction (The Big Dig) and I am so confused now! Some streets are gone, you can't get there from here (but you can darn well see it!) and traffic is as bad as ever. We are taking the subway as much as possible. Maybe I can convince Dear Husband to take us to France next year- the south of France, where it's warm and sunny and all beautiful oldness, the croissants are buttery lightness and melty and the cafe au lait is just potent enough and the, oh I could go on and on, but I will spare you! ......I can dream at least! I will provide an update when we return from our trip to Boston. Maybe even pictures!

Meat Loaf (Great Grandmother's)

Tonight we're having an easy old fashioned dinner...Meatloaf and mashed sweet potatoes, side of corn niblets. Here's the recipe for my Great Grandmother's fail safe delicious meatloaf:

MEATLOAF

2 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 1/4 lb. ground pork
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup oatmeal (uncooked and not instant, "quick cook" is OK)
4 eggs
1 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1/2 c. ketchup 
1  package lipton onion soup mix (she used to add minced onions before the soup mixes became available-back in the day- but quickly adapted to using the soup mix and preferred it)
5 oz. evaporated milk (you can use regular milk, but the flavor just isn't the same!)
few hearty dashes of black pepper
few hearty dashes of Worchestershire sauce
Mix together. Pat into loaf. Brush top of loaf thickly with ketchup mixed w/ a dash of worchestershire sauce. Bake 1 hour at 400 degrees. You can make a brown gravy or tomato sauce style gravy to go with this, but we like to eat this with mashed sweet potatoes, no gray.

The above pic? Yep, of course that's me cooking, not my great grandmother. She wouldn't have approved. (she was raised in the Victorian Era) My mother would, but she hates to cook. (And no Mom, I promise I won't blog about your past attempts at cooking- although now that I think about it, it could be a fun blog entry! xo)

Mission Statement

My personal mission statement,  it suits me to a "T" and I just had to share.

"Dust if you must"  By Rose Milligan 

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better To paint a picture or write a letter, Bake a cake or plant a seed. Ponder the difference between want and need. Dust if you must, but there's not much time, With rivers to swim and mountains to climb, Music to hear and books to read, Friends to cherish and life to lead. Dust if you must, but the world's out there With the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, A flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again. Dust if you must, but bear in mind, Old age will come and it's not kind. And when you go and go you must, You, yourself, will make more dust.

*SIGH* We are due for yet MORE snow today. 6-10 inches of the stuff. I have been decorating for spring around the house to try to lift everyone's spirits a bit. Yes, I know. We live in New England. It's February. Usually it's not a big deal, we've had snow storms in April and haven't gotten mopey about it, but this winter seems to be wearing on everyone's nerves here in New Hampshire. Even the skiers! So, aside from decorating (pots of fake but believable hyacinths and tulips and other spring-y flowers as well as chickens, eggs and bunnies- and of course my vintage Easter postcards) I have been literally drooling over the seed catalogs that have recently arrived. I love Burpee's catalog, and have always had great luck with their veggie seeds. http://www.burpee.com/  I have taken a hiatus these last few years from a big veggie garden, but this year I've convinced Dear Husband to build me raised bed gardens (like he made for us at our old house many years ago, I had 10 4'x8' beds. Divine!) . Although I will be the first to confess I am domestically challenged, it is mainly in the housework department. To me, it is pure drudgery. I have tried to make joyful work of dusting, vacumming, washing dishes and  endless laundry, to no avail. (Although I love to hang freshly laundered clothes out on the line during the warmer months -using my Great Grandmothers clothes pins- as nothing beats the smell of fresh air and sunshine on your clothes and sheets! I used to help my Me'mere' Yvonne hang clothes out- I was the official clothes pin hander-upper (I was around 4 or 5 years old ) every time I hang clothes out I feel especially close to her. I wish I had inherited her knack for whipping through housework- in a happy state of mind!  I do love a clean, neat and tidy house, just don't (can't!) appreciate the process. However, I love to cook and I love to garden (veggie gardening- I love flowers, but the perennial kind, low maintainence and all that) and I love to can, freeze, preserve, and dry all the fruits of my labor. For me, there is great satisfaction in nurturing vegetables from seed to dinner plate! Gazing upon gleaming rows of glass jars of preserves, colorful veggies and even homemade fruit cordials on our basement shelves. Ah, such smug satisfaction in all of that!

During this economicaly stressful time in America and the outrageous prices at the grocery stores, it is awesome to have the luxury of one's own vegetable garden! (Alright, yes it is hard work, but good for the soul- unlike housework!) I wish the government would bring back the Victory Garden campaign of WWII. Encourage people to know what goes into their food, and the satisfaction of knowing your family is not only saving money with a little hard work, but eating healthy.

I made a rather large (and very ambitious) wish list from the Burpee Catalog.  Have to trim it down to a "workable" garden size. I stopped by our local discount store days later, (Ocean State Job Lot) to graze for Girl Scout Troop useable items (project ingredients- like yarn- so cheap there for Lion and Moda brand yarn- less than 1/2 regular price! I am teaching "my" girls to knit during the next few meetings.) and I saw a big BURPEE SEED display- all 2009 seeds, including organic seeds and Heirlooms (YAY!Be still my heart!) at a whopping 40% off! I actually found 2/3 of my wish list, which is perfect as I had to trim it down anyways. (I really don't need 3 varieties of carrots, do I?!)  I LOVE when things like that happen- it's a sign from the Universe (the Powers That Be) that yes indeed, I am meant to garden this year and it will be bodascious! I will share favorite tried and true canning recipes later this spring. Pumpkin Butter, Dilly Garlic Green beans, Atomic Pickles, Corn Relish (ok, so I'm not actually planting corn, but I love corn relish!) Stewed Tomatoes, etc. And some cordial recipes as well- Fresh Blueberry, Autumn Spice, Cranberry Raspberry and Peach, okay and Chocolate Covered Cherry as well!  And it will be Spring soon, I'm hoping!  

Cranberry Dip (Sweet, Hot and Spicy!)

Sweet, Hot and Spicy!  Another stunning pin up by Al Buell. (And yes, of course that's me!)

For your next Cocktail Party, might I suggest this fabulous, hot and easy (I'm talking about food here people!) Appetizer. My 10 year old Emily picked out the recipe and made it. It was great! A tad on the spicy side, so adjust to suit your taste.

Cranberry Dip (easy, hot and spicy)

1 16 ounce can jellied Cranberry Sauce

3 Tablespoons prepared Horseradish (you may want a little less, but I like it HOT!)

2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon Lemon juice

1 Garlic clove, minced

a few splashes of Red Hot sauce

For Dipping:

Fresh pineapple chunks, baked ham chunks, or baked lil' smokies (those cute little cocktail dogs from the deli or bacon section not the ones from the can!), or cocktail sized meatballs.

In a medium saucepan, combine the first seven ingredients and heat to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. We put this in a mini crockpot to keep it hot during the party. Serve dipping items on the side w/ cute picks. You can place is a bit larger crockpot and put your dippers in the sauce, that works too.

So easy and quick, it gives you much more time for personal primping prior to guests arriving!

Chianti Braised Short Ribs

Better than a T.V. Dinner from the freezer, and almost as easy! Here is a favorite recipe, swiped from (of all places) Olive Garden. It's wicked delish. Very budget friendly and just swell! I served it to company and all of them asked for the recipe. 

Chianti Braised Short Ribs

30 minutes prep- simmer for 3-4 hours (perfect for the crock pot, or a dutch oven if you're home)

4 lbs Boneless beef short ribs (have butcher leave a little fat on them)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper  

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

2 sweet onions, chopped (I use Vidalia whenever available)

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups Chianti wine (plus a bit more for sampling during cooking...for quality control purposes of course!)

1 (32 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3 cups beef broth/stock (do NOT use boullion cubes- that's just....wrong..and very salty yuck!)

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, off the stem and chopped

a bit of flour for dusting the ribs with prior to cooking.

Season with salt and pepper, then dredge lightly in flour, saute in a hot pan with olive oil until lightly browned on all sides. Takes only a few minutes. Place on a plate until sauce mixture is ready. Add onions to pan, saute until translucent, scraping up the bits from the pan, then add the garlic briefly. Deglaze the pan with the beef broth, then transfer to a dutch oven or crock pot. Add the can of tomatoes, rosemary, and Chianti wine, stir. Add short ribs and any juices that may have accumulated on the plate. Cover and let simmer gently on low heat for approx. 3 hours. Before serving, carefully remove the beef to a warm covered dish. Turn up the heat and bring sauce to a boil, reduce by half and remove from heat. Put the beef back into the now thickened sauce give it a bit to warm back up and serve with a lovely risotto, or garlic parmesean mashed potatoes. Easy, inexpensive and fabulous! 

A very Happy Valentine's Day to all of you Dear Friends! Love, Miss Pixie Pants

Classic Pin Up Art by Al Buell

Hi Everyone! If you were at my house for post holiday dinner Jan.3rd, you saw my beautiful new refrigerator, and also that my husband tore apart half the kitchen so it would fit. Down to the horsehair plaster and lathes. With the promise of a kitchen redo of course. Our old (and I mean old and not in a nice retro/vintage way) refrigerator died during the 10 days of ice storm madness we dealt with (see what it takes to get a new major appliance around here?! LOL!) It's great- french door front, freezer on the bottom. Love it. Stainless but with a fingerprint repelling finish (thank goodness). And the new dishwasher (also stainless) is still in it's crate out in the garage. I look at it longingly whenever I'm out there. Sometimes I even give it a pat. It's been out there a while.  I've been dishwasher-less for nine years now, what's a few more months right? *sigh* Now it's left to me to design and pick out cabinets and flooring (finally! A new kitchen floor!) The above picture is a dream kitchen to me- soooo 40's- and I love the linoleum! Of course my financier/husband gives final approval, so I may not get to go with my Armstrong Real Linoleum flooring I want (yep, they still make it, and it's retrolicious! And expensive. Might not get budget approval.But it's so perfect!).

I did find some very affordable retro looking cabinets from (of all places!) IKEA. Inexpensive, and could be stunning. Especially with some retro sleek chrome drawer pulls/handles (already have!).  I like the glossy red finished ones, but hubby does not like color, especially bright colors. I'm working on him.  It takes much time, effort and careful tending to guide him to "my side" of things. (Sometimes that backfires. Then it's back to square one.Sometimes I have to go ahead and do something, face "the wrath" of doing something major w/out prior mutual consultation and then he'll say "actually that looks good, honey! Nice job" That's a total "See, I told you" moment for me that usually goes unspoken. That's ok, I like feeling smug!)

Those glossy cabinets remind me of my great grandmother's cool metal cabinets she had in her kitchen. Hers were white.  I think the bright red cabinets, with glass front upper cabinets (to show off my vintage cookie jars and vintage fruity plates and things) would go great with my fruit chalkware and beige walls. And the yellow ginham curtains with bright red cherries I already have up. And my drying rack with vintage dishtowels and aprons. I so love those. I spend entirely too much of my time in my kitchen, so I want to make it as "me" friendly as possible. My happy place. Full of color. Bold and fruity!

My kitchen table (and chairs) are bright yellow formica "cracked ice" pattern from the 40's (yep, naugahyde chairs to match) and lots-o-chrome. I know I have a picture somewhere, if I find it, I'll post it. I actually have a vintage fruity tablecloth on it with my jadeite salt and pepper shakers. Not piles of kid's school projects and stuff as usual. Anyways, it's  delightfully tacky retro 40's. I was shocked when hubby approved of that purchase (still. clinging. to. hope!) I feel I am channeling Lucille Ball herself sometimes. I love it! 

R.I.P. Lux Interior Founder and Frontman like no other of The Cramps- you'll be missed! Condolences to Poison Ivy, Lux's wife of many years. 96 tears from 96 eyes.

Lux passed on Feb. 4, 2009 of a congenital heart problem at age 62. I love The Cramps, even as a kid in 8th grade circa 1978. I was considered weird at school for liking Punk rock and Heavy Metal. Oh well! You love who you love, and I still love them! If you are among the unitiated and don't know who (or what) they are, you can check them out here:  http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/05/remembering-the-cramps-lux-interior-vintage-photos-and-classic-songs/  

My son loves the White Stripes but had never heard of The Cramps, now he loves them and also realizes a few of the current bands he likes (like: Southern Culture on The Skids and The Stray Cats) were most likely very much influenced by them and other early Punk bands. Here's a few quotesfrom one of many Cramps websites: 

In the spring of 1976, The CRAMPS began to fester in a NYC apartment. Without fresh air or natural light, the group developed its uniquely mutant strain of rock’n’roll aided only by the sickly blue rays of late night TV. While the jackhammer rhythms of punk were proliferating in NYC, The CRAMPS dove into the deepest recesses of the rock’n’roll psyche for the most primal of all rhythmic impulses — rockabilly — the sound of southern culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups. As late night sci-fi reruns colored the room, The CRAMPS also picked and chose amongst the psychotic debris of previous rock eras - instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia, and sixties punk. And then they added the junkiest element of all — themselves.

— J. H. Sasfy, Professor of Rockology
from the liner notes of The Cramps 1979 release Gravest Hits

It would be almost impossible to have never heard of The CRAMPS. Their career has been the stuff of legend. Dangerously bizarre but most of all cool, The CRAMPS represent everything that is truly reprehensible about rock’n’roll. Founding members Lux Interior (the psycho-sexual Elvis/Werewolf hybrid from hell) and guitar-slinging soul-mate Poison Ivy (the ultimate bad girl vixen) are the architects of a wicked sound that distills a cross of swamp water, moonshine and nitro down to a dangerous and unstable musical substance. Their cultural impact has spawned a legion of devil cults and dance-floor catfights, and created in its wake a cavalcade of cave-stomping imitators. As punk rock pioneers in the late seventies, they cut their teeth on the stages of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City and recorded their first record at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Studios, funded mainly by Ivy’s income as a dominatrix in NYC. They coined the now popular term “psychobilly” on their 1976 gig posters. Their hair-raising live performances are still a total, no-holds-barred rock’n’roll assault. After a quarter century of mayhem, they’re too far gone to even consider any other course.

Interior and his wife Poison Ivy founded The Cramps in the early '70s. Having emerged from CBGB's New York punk scene, Interior was known for his wild on-stage antics, thrashing about and stripping down, reminiscent of Iggy Pop. 

The Cramps have been credited with pioneering a unique sound that pairs rockabilly and surf guitar. 

"Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly," The Cramps' publicist said in an official statement.

The Cramps have remained active throughout the past three decades, with Interior and Poison Ivy anchoring the line-up while other members changed.

Check out www.youtube.com and type in The Cramps to see videos of them in action. Some of my personal favorite songs: "Human Fly", "Garbageman", "Goo-Goo Muck", of course "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns", ok, well actually, I pretty much groove to ALL of their music!

You are one of a kind Garbageman! Rock on in the hereafter Mad Daddy!

I feel like life has been passing me by! I have finally joined Facebook, and discovered a whole new cult of friendship! It is a crazy, interesting and fun place to be! However I am spending waaaay too much time on the computer! I...Must...Control....Internet.....Urges.....(My new mantra of the day). As I am home recuperating from my surgery (of a week ago), I have virtually no duties to perform giving me LOTS of free time to play on the 'net. Facebook is really quite amazing. I could spend hours, but I have to tear myself away to walk around and do SOMETHING other than sit at the 'puter! I used to be considered quite "cutting edge" back in the day, but now that I'm a parent (and over 40) I guess I am slowly slipping down that slippery slope of "uncoolness". Ah well, at least the girls in my Girl Scout Troop still think I'm "cool". They are all 4th graders, and I did hold my regularly scheduled meeting last night. In hindsite I should have cancelled it and stayed home to rest, but I wanted to get out and do something. I missed them, and I feel like a mother hen to them. Some of them have been in my Troop since, well, 5 years now. I figured how bad could it be with 10 4th grade girls for 2 hours? I was pale and utterly  exhausted after that meeting last night! They sucked the life right out of me! And they were actually well behaved. I guess I need a little more time to recover. 2 weeks until our next meeting. I should be good to go by then. Those girls do make me laugh though! (Yep, still hurts to laugh!) Love 'em to bits. They were dying to see my stitches, but I wouldn't show them. Not that I'm shy, but I didn't want any parental disapproval going on. Stitches are about a hand's width below my septum. I think the girls would have been disappointed anyways as it was nothing gory. You know how kids are, they are repulsed and fascinated by the gory stuff. I think that goes for a lot of adults too.  More later.

I received a postcard this weekend informing me that my favorite magazine Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion has ceased publication (even the website has been removed!) and the remainder of my subscription will be replaced with Martha Stewart's Living. AARRRGGGHHHH! I am distressed as I much prefer Home Companion to Martha any day. Martha's mag has great ideas, but who has the time? And I have been disappointed on more than one occasion with her recipes. I was a professional chef prior to marriage and children, so I do believe it was the recipe's fault, not mine! (How's that for attitude?! LOL!) Anyways, I loved the paperdolls that were in every issue of Home Companion. When I was little, my mom and I would sit for hours cutting out all kinds of paper dolls. We would go to Millane's Pharmacy downtown(Palmer, Mass and they even had a real soda fountain, until they moved across the street)  and she would let me pick out a booklet of paperdolls.  I had shoeboxes full of them. (Oh if I only had those now!) Emily and I have on the occasional rainy or snowy day sat and clipped and snipped our way through a bunch of paperdolls. I think I enjoy the "cutting out" part more than the actual "playing with" part.  I guess there is only one thing that is constant- change.