Hello!
Well, if you follow my blog you know that I work at my local high school and we all know it is that time of year again. I feel like one of the kids heading back for another school year! So going back to work means I don’t have as much time to blog, although I will do my best to keep up with the same number of posts, there may be a time now and then when it is just not possible! So hang in there with me I have not left you but my high school kids will be getting a lot of my attention starting next week!
A couple weeks ago I had the chance to go to Pickity Place in Mason N.H. IT was INCREDIBLE! It was fun to read and hear about the history of Pickity place. This little cottage was the inspiration for Elizabeth Orton Jones when she illustrated her version of Little Red Riding Hood. (Little Golden Books 1948). The little cottage was just adorable and just what you would expect when thinking about Little Red Riding Hood!
This little cottage is nestled deep in the woods on a dirt road, not a neighbor could be seen! The gardens are amazing. I have never seen such a large herb garden. Every herb imaginable could be found. As you walk through the gardens there are the cutest little sitting areas that you would not expect to see. They have a garden store with the most precious cat that makes his home there. There is also a “drying” shed where they dry all of their herbs, as well as their flowers. They also have this quaint little shop where they sell all of their dried herb dips, salts, oils, vinegar and lots of other specialty food and gift items. Needless to say I made a few purchases! After touring the grounds, we had lunch reservations for 11:30, so we waited patiently with several other visitors until they rang the lunch bell, then we are all seated with the first course on the table awaiting us!
When you are seated they already have crackers and dip waiting for you. Today the dip was Garden Patch Dunk. IT was very good… full of vegetable flavor. Then our waitress came over and gave us our drink choices as well as our entree choices. The menu is VERY limited but the best food I have eaten all summer! I had the raspberry orange ice tea to drink and my dear friend, Rosalie had the Lavender Lemonade. We both really enjoyed our beverages. Both drinks were very light and fresh.
The soup course arrived very quickly, and today the soup was a chilled melon soup with crispy prosciutto. The soup was very light with a crunchy texture of the prosciutto. My lunch companion did not like the crispy bits but I liked the change of texture.
Next was the Caprese salad over Farro with a sun dried tomato vinaigrette. This salad was like no other! I am not kidding it was to die for, it had the freshest lightest dressing with herbs, fresh greens and a marinated buffalo mozzarella cheese slice along with an edible flower to top it all off! We talked about how good that salad was all afternoon!
We also received a basket of potato chive focaccia with dipping oil. The bread was so fresh and the chive really came through, all of this before the main course! 
For my entree I chose the sweet and sour pork over a plum slaw, served with glazed carrots with ripe peaches.
Rosalie had the roasted vegetables on rosemary skewers served over a Parmesan polenta. Both dishes were very tasty. The rosemary really shined through on the vegetable dish and my pork dish was cooked perfectly with a crunchy coating on the outside!
We were both so full but there was no way we were passing up dessert. as everything we had so far was just delicious!
Dessert was a blueberry tart with pistachio Gelato! The dessert was just as you would expect …absolutely AMAZING! The fresh tart was filled with gorgeous blueberries in a homemade tart shell then the pistachio Gelato…oh my…that was so creamy and rich and oh did I mention there was a caramel drizzle on the plate ? ! YUP! OH SO GOOD!
Pickity Place is an amazing place to go for lunch. This would be a great place to take your daughter or maybe go with a book group or just with your favorite friend or significant other ! You really need reservations as this is a very small cottage and seating is tight! They have three lunch seating per day (11:30, 12;45, and 2:00). They also have a website. www.pickityplace.com Stay tuned for Monday, I will have a very special recipe for you!
Enjoy,
Today was one of those days where Mr. MCYM was not going to be home for dinner and it was just Robby and I along with A friend of his. I wanted something quick and easy! This sandwich was it.
INGREDIENTS
1 Italian bread loaf
Olive oil to drizzle
1/4 cup banana peppers
1/4 cup Italian mix, Giardiniera
8-10 slices Black Forest ham
8-10 slices Genoa salami
6 slices American cheese
Red pepper flakes (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice Italian loaf in half without cutting all the way through. Drizzle both sides with olive oil. On one half spread the banana peppers and on the other half spread the Giardineria. Layer the ham, salami and cheese. Sprinkle with red pepper if desired. Bake on a sheet pan for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and close the two sides together and slice!
Enjoy,
One of the things both Amanda and Robby love is when we have breakfast for dinner! We did that often when Jim was in Iraq and Afghanistan. I always knew the kids would go to bed with a full belly! I made this recipe for dinner and although Amanda is living away at college now, I know she would have enjoyed it as much as the rest of us. Robby had two helpings and I got a ” thanks for dinner Mom… that was great”. And Jim, well, he had three helpings! I think that says it all!
INGREDIENTS
1 pound hot sausage or your favorite sausage
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of milk (use what ever you have)
2 packages McCormick sausage gravy packets
6 slices of bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons melted butter
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat until brown, drain sausage and cover the bottom of an 11 x 8 prepared baking dish. Sprinkle both cheeses over the sausage. Beat eggs, water, milk and one packet of the gravy mix in a medium bowl. Whisk until well incorporated. Pour over the sausage and cheese. Spread all of your bread cubes over the egg mixture and drizzle with butter. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool 5-10 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of baking, mix the second packet of gravy mix according to package directions and serve on top of your sausage bake!
Enjoy,
I started making these last summer and they are so tasty and can be changed up millions of ways. We are purist when it comes to these hot dogs. We simply like to wrap the hot dog in bacon, grill and baste with our favorite BBQ sauce!
INGREDIENTS
Hot dogs (your favorite variety)
Bacon (don’t use thick cut)
BBQ sauce (we use Kraft Honey BBQ sauce)
Toothpicks
DIRECTIONS
Preheat grill. Wrap hot dogs with bacon spiraling the bacon all the way down the dog. Secure with toothpicks. Place on the grill and while grilling, baste with BBQ sauce! Remove toothpicks when cooked through.
VARIATIONS
Slice hot dog lengthwise, but not cutting all the way through. Add your favorite cheese slices into the pocket of the dog but not over filling. Wrap with bacon and cook as directed above. You can also add pickled jalapeños along with the cheese! Mix and match and make your own creation. Let me know what you made and how they turned out!
Enjoy,
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