Wicked. Sinful. Decadent. Delicious. Proceed with caution...

Take a beautiful bunch of wonderful strawberries. Rinse them and let them dry thoroughly.

Get a bottle of Grand Marnier. It is a lovely orange cognac. We will be injecting the strawberries with a syringe and then dipping them in chocolate. Oh yes. (insert big sigh here.)

I use a sterile syringe with the sharp needle attached. I keep a box of sharps to vaccinate the puppies, but if you don't have one, you can ask your doctor or vet for one rather than buy a whole box. (Unless you plan on making these on a regular basis. In which case I may just show up at your door.) If you do an internet search for Grand Marnier chocolate covered strawberries, you will not find them made using the sharp needle. They tell you to use a pastry injector or a syringe without the needle, which I'm sure work fine too. I've never tried them that way. Doing it my way you can inject the liquor into the stem-top rather than through the red berry part and it helps keep it from oozing out.

The size of your berry will determine how much Grand Marnier you will draw up into your syringe. There are 5 cc's in a teaspoon. Start by drawing up 5 cc's and inject the needle into the top of the berry, right next to the stem at the top. Go slowly. The slower you go, the more you can get the berry to accept. When it starts bubbling at the top, you are probably done. Put the berry down and finish the rest. You are just going to have to taste one to know if you have enough Grand Marnier. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

Now for the chocolate part. I am partial to dark chocolate, but you can surely use your favorite. Basically, you want to get the very best chocolate you can like a Valrhona or Callebaut but you can use chocolate chips too. Melt the chopped up chocolate slowly in a double boiler with a scant teaspoon of vegetable shortening added in. You can add a tiny drop of heavy cream if you like, if you are using good chocolate but it is not necessary. Don't use the microwave. The chocolate can seize up. You want your strawberries to be dry as well. Any moisture will cause the chocolate to seize up and get dry and grainy. When the chocolate is nice and smooth, grab the berries by the leaves and dip into the warm chocolate. Let them dry on a wax paper covered tray. You can put them into the refrigerator to set. I leave them in the fridge because I like them cold, but you can leave them out for your guests unless it is too hot or humid in the room.

You can also buy packaged 'dipping chocolate' in the produce section. Bakers' chocolate even came out with one which you can find in the baking supplies section of the grocery store near the chocolate chips. These can be microwaved in the containers they come in and are pretty good too. Follow the instructions and resist the urge to heat them faster than 30 seconds at a time or it will seize up. Chocolate is timing, my friend.

While we are talking about sweets, a little known fact about The Mister: he loves marshmallows. I found a bag of gigantic marshmallows in the store the other day. They are the size of tennis balls. After working almost 12 hours in the heat and humidity outside, John thought he would finally get to take a little rest on the sofa and watch a little TV with his marshmallows. Little did he know that two impish Corgis were nearby, watching, waiting, ready to pounce....

Photos are blurry, I know. But too good not to share....

Bridget trying to French kiss John.. Again. ♥

Stella knows she has John wrapped around her little paw.


For who can resist a Corgi's charms? Not I.

♥ CS

My Little House On The Prairie Birthday Surprise Weekend

A very excited phone call came on my birthday over the Summer from my friend Tracy who lives on the Jersey shore. She said not to make any plans over a certain weekend in September because I was 'hers.' By chance, she had just seen a postcard advertisement for the upcoming musical and that she and Kathy were taking me there for my birthday. Knowing how much I have always loved Little House on the Prairie, and that Melissa Gilbert would be playing "Ma" in the show, she knew I would love it. If you are a regular reader of this blog you may recall this post about my Little House envy. So John and Laura held down the fort (a.k.a. took care of the dogs and the house) so I could drive down on that Friday.

Kathy and Tracy

Tracy is the best cook I know.

One of my favorite things she makes is her blackened tuna with her

fresh pesto. Doesn't the breaded asparagus look just fantastic? They were.

She always makes everything look as good as it tastes. She

made the most of the last of the basil in the garden. Fresh mozzarella

salad with a touch more pesto. Mmmm.....

We also had some very delicious 20 year old port after dinner.

Our tickets were for the Saturday matinee. Kathy's friend, Dana, also came with us. She met us at the theater. She is really nice. It was so exciting to see Melissa Gilbert take the stage. The audience cheered. In our hearts she will always be Laura Ingalls, but after a few moments in character on the stage, she transformed into 'Ma.' At the curtain call when the young girl who played Laura came out with Melissa Gilbert side by side, we all got a little teary eyed.

We are such a sappy bunch. No, really, we are.

I adore little buttons so I had to buy these tiny pins after the show. And a hooded LHOP sweatshirt for my daughter. She loves it.

After the show we went to a really good Martini bar restaurant near the Paper Mill Playhouse.

These were our Martinis. Mine was a Flirtini (yum) and I had to taste Kathy's just because it was blue (I liked mine better) but I don't recall what the others were. But they must have been good because we had a few. The Martini menu was huge.

This is Tracy on the phone with my Mom at the restaurant, telling her all about the show.

Best friends do that.

Our very nice waiter took this photo of us. Toasting before dessert

with glasses of 30 year old port. I honestly don't recall ever having

port before but after all the port over that weekend,

I can tell you that I like it.

A lot.

Dana, Me, Tracy and Kathy

Everything we ordered was beautifully presented, fresh and delicious.

Like this shrimp with pea risotto....

and this delightful creme brulee....

After the perfect afternoon, we went back home and played Mexican Train Dominos (so fun) until the wee hours of the morning. And we laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Thank you to my Tracy & Kathy for the most wonderful made-for-me weekend.

I love you both. xo xo xo -CS ^..^

P.S. The Little House On the Prairie Musical has a nice web page with a free downloadable PDF study guide if you click on 'learning center.' Great for homeschoolers, teachers or anyone who just loves pioneer days and Little House. Enjoy!

Be Careful What You Wish For, and a Quick and Delicious Soup.

Every day I would go outside, hoping that one of the chickens would lay an egg. Now they are laying consistently and I find myself with a plethora of eggs! I'm not complaining, though :) Does anybody have a few good egg recipes? I have a bread recipe that uses a dozen eggs (truly, it does) so I may have to dig that one out.

I have to say I am amazed at what lovely eggs they are blessing us with. This is a rather large stoneware bowl. It is the old Mayflower Corgi Club pottery pasta bowl. I'd say the eggs would be sized as 'large.' It seems like it took such a long, long time for them to start laying. Has anyone else ever had hens that didn't lay until they were almost a year old? I understand they should have started when they were about 6 mos. old for this breed, the Silver Laced Wyandottes. Oh well, late bloomers I guess. Maybe just the long dark Winter.

I love a good home made soup, especially chicken soup. Some people call chicken soup with little meatballs Italian Wedding Soup. We just call it chicken soup around here since the little meatballs are a given. There is mutiny amongst the ranks when I don't include them. There are nights when I feel like having soup but just don't want to spend hours cooking stock and taking chicken off of the bones. I still want something healthy, delicious and nutritious to feed my family, however. Here is my quick and lighter chicken soup recipe. It needs a name. Since it is quick and easy and usually made on the spur of the moment, How about Cathy's Italian Elopement Soup or maybe Cathy's Shotgun Wedding Soup? :) It is quick because I use store bought stock or your own stock you have in the freezer, boneless chicken breasts, dried herbs and spices from the pantry and you don't cook the pasta separately. The most time consuming part is making the little meatballs.

Ingredients:

• 1 large can (48 oz) of College Inn Light & Fat Free 50% less sodium Chicken Broth


• approximately 1 pound of boneless chicken breasts, either thin sliced or split are fine, cut into bite sized pieces. (*hint: do you have a kitchen scissors? After washing the chicken, you can use your scissors to cut it into small pieces quickly and right over the pot! These scissors should be washed thoroughly before and after use and only used for cooking)


• 1 pound of fresh carrots, peeled, rinsed and cut into bite-sized pieces


• 5 or 6 ribs of celery, washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Include some of the tender light green ones from the center, including the light tender leaves.


• 2 medium or 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 pound of the leanest ground beef
• 1/2 cup of flavored or seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese (better cheese makes better meatballs) and more for topping the soup later.
• 1 fresh egg
• milk (you can substitute water)
• one 8 oz. can tomato sauce

• Spices and seasonings: dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley flakes, garlic powder, sea salt and ground black pepper


• 12 oz. small egg bow-ties pasta


• fresh cold water

Put chopped carrots, celery, and onion in a large soup pot. Add enough water to cover veggies with about 4 inches extra. Cover the pot. Bring to a boil on high flame and then lower the flame to a low-medium boil. Keep the lid slightly ajar so you don't boil over. While the veggies are gently cooking, get started on your meatballs.

Miniature soup meatballs: You will need a medium saucepan and a colander. In a bowl, combine one fresh egg, breadcrumbs, grated cheese (I sometimes add more cheese than 1/2 cup, but do what you like!) about 1 tablespoon of dried parsley flakes, a pinch of dried basil, oregano, salt (if desired) and black pepper with about 1/8 cup of milk. Mix well and add the ground beef. Mix with a spoon and then continue mixing with very clean hands. Form the mixture into little bite sized meatballs. Put them into the medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until done, approximately 10 minutes. They will turn a dark greyish color. Check to make sure there is no pink left inside. Drain them in a colander and rinse with clear fresh water. Sounds crazy, but the rinsing really removes the fat. Drain.

After about 10 minutes (it will take longer than this to do your meatballs so keep an eye on the veggies.) Add your chicken broth, tomato sauce, chicken, about a tablespoon each of dried basil, oregano and parsley flakes, about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder and a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. We want to cook the chicken here. Check it in about 20 minutes or so. Keep the soup pot on a very low simmer while you are finishing up your meatballs. *Variation note: if you have it on hand, and if you like it, you can add a few handfuls of chopped fresh escarole here. Once the meatballs are cooked, rinsed and drained, add them to the soup. Continue simmering for about 10-15 minutes. The soup should look a bit 'watery' at this point but will come together after you add the pasta. If you think you've boiled out too much liquid, you can always add a bit more water and a chicken boullion cube or a small can of chicken broth if you have it, but as long as there is enough liquid to cook your pasta, I would leave it alone. This is a hearty soup.

Raise the flame to create a good medium boil and add the box of tiny egg bows. Cook for about 7 minutes and turn off the flame. The soup is ready! Serve with freshly grated cheese and some fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste.

Do ahead tip: You can chop all of your veggies and make your meatballs in the morning, and refrigerate them until you start your soup for dinner. As I said, the meatballs take the most time, but they are so worth it!

Give it a try. Bonus? It is even better the next day and freezes well. Let me know how it goes over at your house. -CS ^..^

I've got a sharp knife and I know how to use it...

Lord knows I don't need an excuse to go to a dog show. However, should you feel the need to justify how much time you spend at dog shows to family or friends, try multi-tasking :) Occasionally I will bring my good cooking knives with me to have the 'scissors man' sharpen them. On Saturday, I also brought a good scissors that my Grandmother had given to me. They were supposed to be used only for fabric, but somehow they ended up being used to cut paper at Christmastime and they became dull. The scissors man made them good as new. So, now with my freshly sharpened knives, making dinner tonight was a pleasure. Baby portabella mushrooms, elephant garlic and asparagus sauteed in olive oil and served over angel hair pasta with fresh grated romano cheese. Sharp knife + fresh veggies = good dinner! Whew! Dinner is saved, all thanks to the dog show and the Corgis...what would I DO without them? -CS ^..^