Rye Cooks

Lemon Meringue Pie

 

My oven was billowing smoke and everything went wrong with my pie this morning. Well, actually only my pie crust, but I spent much of yesterday afternoon on it.  

I have made pie crust before, but the problem is that I don't have one go-to recipe.  I search my cookbooks and the internet to find "the one I've used before" and hours go by.

I relied on my favorite blog and then I somehow did it all wrong.  The advice was to keep some of the butter in visible pieces, that butter was going to be my flaky friend.   Additionally, the dough should chill for at least an hour. That  made it a two day process because I'm just no good after Modern Family anyway. 

So, today, my friend, Clumpy Butter, made herself comfortable and relaxed all over the sides of the pie plate and dripped onto the oven floor.  See billowing smoke above.

I spent a ton of time reading all the comments on Epicurious as to the actual filling and meringue topping.  148 opinions, to which, which after the crust fiasco, I felt I should pay some mind.  Thankfully, the filling and the meringue went just fine, as written.  

Of course, the problem with pie is that it can't be tasted in advance.  It does look pretty good, though.  Just hoping for the best.  And, oh yeah, thank you Pillsbury, thank you for your pie crust.

True Believer

Today was an extraordinary day, the kind that made me rethink previously held beliefs on commercialism, retailing and whether or not things happen by accident. 

I have been collecting gently used backpacks for an organization called the Aspire.Inspire Foundation. This began when I went to hack my way through my basement for a little pre-season cleaning.  

We had many backpacks collecting dust down there.  Sure, some had sentimental value, there was the bright blue one that I took with us to Disney, big enough to fit my Unofficial Guide to Disney, my clipboard with each day's itinerary on it, my notations on the best places to eat in Epcot and maps highlighted with the restrooms in each "land".  My daughter's bright orange one personalized with her travel soccer number made me smile.  But really, they had to go.  

A few minutes of google-time revealed many organizations and I chose Aspire.Inspire after a couple of emails back and forth.  I put a plastic bin in the lobby of the local elementary school and sent a request through the school's newsletter.  There, that's done.

Today, I was in Nordstoms, exchanging a pair of Uggs when I checked out the sale table in the tween section. Three pink and purple Roxy backpacks sat regally, marked down from $32.00 to $19.99.  I asked the salesgirl if they could be marked down again and I would buy all three.

She price checked one first and her eyes widened. What?? They were not supposed to sell them now, they were meant for The Rack (discounted Nordstroms) but apparently they didn't get out in time.  They were a penny apiece.   

Looking this gift horse directly in the mouth, I went back over to the table and grabbed 10 adorable satchel type bags and asked her to price check. Same!!  I had tears in my eyes, I was so happy for this luck.  Those were not backpacks, but surely needy kids could use them similarly.  I felt that Suzy was going to jump out any minute with her video camera.

I spent 13 cents and did not even get mad when the evil machine used to pay for parking rejected my $5 bill three times and the third time I pulled it out in ripped in two.  

 

Just So Thrilled to Be Here!

Last night was the highlight of our adventure into broadcasting: Suzy and I won a Margie Award at the RyeTV's annual awards ceremony!   Our category was "Best New Show".

It was a terrific night, the ceremony was held in the Rye Free Reading Room (never free to me, as I always owe gigantic fees). A red carpet was rented, gold stars lined the floor, food was donated as well as made by participants, gold and black balloons decorated the tables.

Suzy and I went black tie and extra heavy on the hair and make up, just to glam it up. I had my make up done professionally at Benefit, a make up emporium in town.  Free, that one was free for the asking!  Since it was for a community event, and I promised to scatter their business cards around. Unfortunately I later found the cards still in my handbag...but thank you, thank you!! 

We had our new favorite intern shooting the event for us. Of course RyeTV was also filming, but we wanted material for our show.  

See the link below for an article about the awards. 

http://rye.patch.com/articles/margie-awards-honor-best-in-local-television

Back of the Box

 

One thing that stops people from cooking is the complexity of many recipes.  We salivate over the photos in the cooking magazines but turn to the actual recipe and the love is gone. I've seen many a SALAD recipe with 10 ingredients or more, then you have to slog through the homemade dressing part. 

I have a couple of things to say about this.  Sometimes reading through the recipe can calm you down when you realize that they individually call for; oregano, thyme, garlic powder, bay leaf, etc.  What you are going to do now is take out that jar of "Italian seasoning" and use that. 

Also handy is Goya Adobo powder. It is salt, granulated garlic, oregano, turmeric and one (but just one) unpronouncable: tricalcium phosphate.  The label helpfully says it prevents caking, I am ok with that.  Also, anything in a Goya container is going to be a lot cheaper than any thing marked McCormick's.  Just sayin, so take a closer look at that ethnic aisle.

Some of the best recipes are the ones on the back of the boxes of common grocery items. Tonight we had chicken pot pie for dinner.  This recipe is on the back of the Pillsbury Pie Crust box.  It calls mainly for chicken, broth and milk.

Get in the habit of freezing extra chicken you have from another meal.  That last chicken breast no one wanted?  Shred it or cut into little pieces, use a ziplock and freeze.  Boo hoo, no one likes the dark meat on the bone that so inconveniently comes with the rotisserie chicken from Costco?  Freeze it, they will never recognize it again. Soon you will have a nice little stockpile.  The meat I used was left over from the cornish game hens we made for future use on our upcoming show.  The recipe calls for sauteing onions, but I substitute small carrot pieces and my family loves me a little bit more.

 

Rye Cooks: The Final Insult

Finally.  "Rye Cooks" is in the can, after more than four months of planning, shooting, accidentally losing, reshooting, editing, and rendering.  Not exactly high-def, but not low-def, either.  Right there in the meaty part of the definition curve. 

We had so much fun making this one, we think we'll make another.

Excuse: Thursday Morning Meeting

Another excuse for a morning meeting:  the carrot cake fingers from the Cornerstone Bakery, on Milton Road.

Like eating a slice of fabulously moist and flavourful, not-too-dense cake, only teeny-tiny.

That's also the theme of Rye Cooks, Episode 2: Very small.  The tiniest kitchen in Rye?  It's probably on a boat, so we'll be breaking into one.  We also have a bunny wedding (honestly), and our new favorite segment, Guy Cooks, in which our cameraman uses any excuse to get away from two women to go cooking on his own -- as IF! -- and this time, he's using the engine of his car as a hotplate.

And our slide show of pictures from the new On the Way Cafe is coming tomorrow -- they just don't know it yet.

Ten Things

 

Everything and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, with cream cheese, from Hand Rolled Bagels on Purdy Street

Almost every weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, I drive into town early in the morning for a bag of bagels.  This morning I went to Hand Rolled, on Purdy Street.  Sometimes it's hard to find a place to park closer than a block away from the shop, even at 8:30 in the morning -- an annoying reminder to start riding my bike to town -- because Hand Rolled is popular.

I was thinking about how different my life looks now, from three months ago, when Paula and I first talked about making a show about cooking and eating in our home town.

I am still shooting sports and food for The New York Times and other clients.  But I give you: Ten Things We've Done in the Last Three Months That Four Months Ago We Had No Earthly Reason To Do:

1. Bought a Canon G-1 video camera, with mini boom mic and extra batteries;
2. Trespassed on the historic but crumbling Bird House on Milton Road, in an attempt to see the crumbling time-capsule kitchen through the crumbling back window-frame;
3. Thrown a pizza-crust into the air and got it hung up on the boom mic;
4. Learned what a boom mic is;
5. Edited hours of tape down to one half-hour show, with layered sound, music, text, and credits;
6. Discovered what Rye TV media consultant Vincent Baione's favorite word is -- it's versatile, and it starts with F!;
7. Discovered that horizontal stripes have no place in the on-camera wardrobe;
8. Eaten more Wild Mushroom omelets and Organic Oatmeals at Le Pain Quotidien than we thought possible;
9. Seen our husbands make the beds and vacuum -- sometimes on the same day!
10. Put together a show we are genuinely proud of.