Day Two Hundred Seventy-Nine: You Say Tomato...

Monday night I tried a new pasta dish with my kids in mind:  Martha's Shells with Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella.  I figured it would be a hit.  They like pasta.  They like chicken.  They like mozzarella.

They do not, however, like cherry tomatoes...a fact I wish I had known before making this dish.  Because once the pasta had been infected with the tomatoes, there was nothing I could do to make the rest of the dish palatable to them.  The tomatoes had to be removed.  Now.  And, even after they removed the offending tomatoes (with the speed and thoroughness of a Haz-Mat team), they still were suspicious.

I'm suddenly a shady character trying to push colorful vegetables on them.

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Eight: Blackberry Crumb Bars for Breakfast

As a hostess gift, I tried Martha's Blackberry Crumb Bars.  It's sort of like a blackberry crumble cake, that you can cut into little bars.   The cake is sweet and tender and the blackberries are tart.  It's all topped off with a crunchy, brown-sugar topping.  

Since it's filled with fruit, it seems almost healthy.  Wholesome.  Some people might even eat these for breakfast.

After a very late party.

:looking at you Ginnie:

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Seven: Caramel-Nut Bars

Last Saturday my husband and I took our kids to street festival in our neighborhood.  Our final destination is always a friend's house, where we partake in food and libations.  To add to the fun, I brought Martha's Caramel-Nut Bars.  These bars have a buttery crust with a caramel and nut layer on top.

I wish I could say that mine turned out perfectly. While a small part of the pan turned out quite nicely, the other 90% was something like the inside of a snicker bar:  all nuts and gooey caramel.

Not that nuts and gooey caramel is a bad thing, necessarily...it's just that I'm pretty sure these bars are not meant to ooze once they've been cut.

So I showed up to the party with about seven nut bars.  What a contribution.  Party on.

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Six: Pasta with Magic Sauce

Last Friday I tried Martha's Pasta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Asparagus.  It's like macaroni and cheese, but with goat cheese instead of cheddar.  Mac' and cheese for adults.

If you like goat cheese, you'll love this pasta.  It's feels quite decadent without being too rich.  The goat cheese sauce is super easy to make:  just whisk the goat cheese with hot water and you have a silky, tasty sauce.  Who knew?

I felt like some sort of Sauce Magician.

Abracadabra, people.

Day Two Hundred Seventy-Five: Chocolate Chip Redux

Contrary to what you may be thinking, I'm still here.  Please excuse my absence. I've been unbelievably busy.  Who do I petition to get another hour or two added to the day?

A few weeks ago I made Martha's favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe: Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Despite two pounds of chocolate chips, mine were dry.  I think I cooked them too long.  So last Thursday I decided to give the recipe a second chance.  Anything stuffed this full with chocolate chips really should be good.

On my second try I baked these cookies for only ten minutes. They looked a little uncooked, but by the time they cooled a little....

Oh my.

They are amazing.

And I don't italicize lightly.

Two Hundred Seventy-Four: Hush-a-Bye Bellini

I've made a few champagne cocktails in the past week and I'm rather enjoying them.  

Maybe a bit too much.  

I had some peaches and decided to make Martha's Hush-a-Bye Bellinis.  In case you were wondering, a Bellini is a mimosa made with peaches instead of orange juice.  It was invented at the famous Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy and named after a 15th-century artist.  

I'm not sure how Martha named this "Hush-a-Bye" Bellini.  Maybe it's inspired by the addition of elderflower liqueur.  

Maybe it's because if you add a little too much elderflower liqueur, you'll hush right up.

As in zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Whatever the reason, these Bellini's are delicious.  Nap-time or not.

Day Two Hundred Seventy Three: Cooked-in-a-Flash-Pan-Seared Steak

As my faithful readers know, my hubby loves a good steak.  He eats steak a lot.  In hopes of balancing out the health benefits, I often serve his steaks with a nice salad.  Tuesday night I decided to mix it up and serve Martha's Pan-Seared Steak with Spinach, Grapes and Almonds.  It's pretty simple and pretty good:  sear the steak, remove it from the pan, then wilt the spinach and grapes in the steak juices.  Toss in the almonds with some balsamic vinegar and you end up with a tasty twist on our usual salad and steak.

Give it a try.  It only took 15 minutes.

(Yes, it really did.)