Three beauties

My friend Bridget sent me a picture of her three daughters, and they are just so adorable I had to post the picture.

Here's Caroline (baby), Ellie (in white) and Maddy (in pink). Caroline looks so peaceful, Ellie looks so lovingly mischievous and Maddy looks so nurturing. Someday I hope to get out to Iowa to meet them all in person and finally see Bridget after all these years.

Washington D.C. Cherry Blossoms

It was very cold during my four days in Washington, D.C. and there were few cherry blossoms that hadn't already died or blown away, but nonetheless I found a few photo opportunities. Most of the cherry blossoms were smooshed into the sidewalks or floating in the tidal basin near the Jefferson Memorial, but I did find some lovely blossoms that were blooming on trees near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

GO STARS!!!

My beloved Stars lost in 4 OTs the other night to the Vancouver Canucks, but Game 2 is tonight on Versus (a little-known channel I had to scroll through my TiVo guide to find), and I plan to watch every minute of it...even if it goes 4 OTs again.

Click here for the kick-butt Dallas Stars fight song from Pantera.

Please Note: Do not click on the above link if you have young kids, pets or co-workers around or if you hate loud, obnoxious killer guitar riffs and/or metal music. You've been warned.

Gastown Melvin (posing with his Stanley Cup from the Hockey Hall of Fame and his Vancouver Canucks hockey puck) is cheering on the opposition.

I'm back!!!

My trip to Washington D.C. and Chicago was so much fun, but since I arrived home last night with an unsettled stomach and a dry, hacking cough (as well as waking up with a headache this morning), a trip report and pictures will have to wait.

Also, I have a plethora of emails to respond to, so please be patient. I will respond to all of them by the end of the weekend.

Last post 'til Friday the 13th

Tomorrow, I have a chaotic day of errands (most important being highlights and a haircut) and packing for my trip(s) to Washington D.C. and Chicago. The weather is going to be cold in both cities, and quite frankly, I'm okay with that. I must be one of the few people who actually likes to go sightseeing when it's chilly outside. As if getting down to the airport and getting through security isn't bad enough here in Atlanta, I have to wake up at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday to catch my flight to D.C. I'm starting to wonder why I booked that criminally early flight now. Oh, well...nobody ever said an extra afternoon in D.C. was a bad thing. I have lots of things planned with my friend Kelly, and I've got my fingers-crossed that the cherry blossoms are actually blooming now, too (regardless of the pending colder weather).

As for Chicago, right now the high for opening day at Wrigley Field is 46. Maybe the Blackhawks will show up to play instead of the Cubs. (God, I hope not.) Mike and I have many other things planned in Chicago besides going to opening day, though. We have reservations at some great restaurants (or so I hope) and we're going to the Cezanne to Picasso exhibition at the Art Institute. No trip to Chicago would be complete without visiting Navy Pier and walking along Michigan Avenue, too. I won't be visiting Sears Tower this time, though. I never had a fear of heights until I went up to the top of the Sears Tower many years ago. I've been afraid of heights ever since.

I'll post a trip report when I get back.

Assume now that it's Sunday, April 8th. I have three things to say:

Happy Easter to you all!!!

Happy Birthday to Linda!!!

Set your TiVo because Season 3 of Entourage debuts on HBO at 10:00 p.m.

Lemon Nutmeg Meltaways

My parents went on a two-week cruise to the Caribbean back in February, and one of the ports of call was Grenada. Grenada is well-known as a spice island, and I was lucky enough to receive a big bottle of whole nutmeg as a gift from my mom and dad. This is no ordinary nutmeg. I had to pull out the hammer to break off the outer shell to get to the nutmeg in the middle. This is the darkest, most fragrant nutmeg I have ever seen or smelled. It really puts my previous (so-called high-end) whole nutmeg to shame.

This cookie has everything right going for it...a tart citrus taste from the lemon rind combined with the aromatic warmth of the nutmeg as well as a slightly crisp exterior and a tender interior thanks to the combination of cake flour and cornstarch. These really are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I like the simplicity of the cookie, too.

Lemon Nutmeg Meltaways

Source: Adapted from St. Petersburg Times newspaper

1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon rind
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Sift cake flour, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg onto wax paper.

Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sifted dry ingredients to butter mixture.

Beat on low speed until mixture is smooth. Roll dough by teaspoon into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Flatten slightly to 1 1/4-inch circles with bottom of glass dipped in confectioners' sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until cookies have turned pale brown on edges. Let cookies sit on sheet 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool. Sift with confectioners' sugar while still warm. Sift cookies again with confectioners' sugar when completely cooled, if desired.

Pack into airtight containers and store up to one week.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Notes: Use organic lemons since you are zesting the skin.

Sunday Brunch

Since I actually woke up early enough to eat brunch today, I thought I would try two new recipes from two cookbooks I've never used before. (To be fair, I just got one of them in the mail this week, so there's good reason for not using it sooner.)

The Best Bacon comes from the cookbook Celebrate the Rain. The salty flavor of the bacon along with both the bite of cayenne pepper and freshly ground black pepper and the sweetness of the brown sugar makes this bacon recipe a winner. The brown sugar mixture carmelizes the bacon strips with a heat and sweet flavor combination. Delicious!!!

The Best Bacon

Source: Celebrate the Rain - The Junior League of Seattle

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound thick-sliced bacon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set a wire cooling rack or other slotted rack on top of the foil-lined pan.

Stir together the brown sugar, cayenne, and black pepper in a small bowl until well blended. Lay the bacon strips in a single layer on the rack. (Use 2 pans if all the bacon will not fit in a single layer.) Sprinkle the bacon with the brown sugar mixture. Bake until the bacon is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the bacon immediately to individual plates and serve warm.

Makes 6 servings.

Notes: I halved this recipe. Make sure you use a rimmed baking sheet as there is a lot of fat that bakes off the bacon as it cooks. Use freshly cracked ground black pepper, too. The shaker kind would be too fine and too overpowering for this recipe.

Roasted Cornmeal Blueberry Muffins comes from the cookbook The Family Baker. The toasted (and beautifully fragrant) cornmeal adds a nice crunch, and the maple syrup adds a nice sweetness and flavor that regular sugar cannot. Make sure you use real maple syrup (not maple-flavored pancake syrup). I used No. 2 Amber and it was perfect. I also only used one cup of blueberries and the muffins were fine. Of course, you can use the 1 1/2 cups the recipe calls for, but if you only have one package of blueberries like I did, there's no need to run out to buy more. Also, I forgot to sprinkle sugar on top of the muffins before baking, but they were fine without it. Of course, I'm sure the sugar on top would add a nice crunchy sweetness and make them even better, but again, if you forget to sprinkle the muffin tops like I did, it's no big deal. The muffins are dense and just the right texture...not too moist, not too dry.

These two recipes were made to go together. Try them. You'll see. Enjoy!!!

Roasted Cornmeal Blueberry Muffins

Source: The Family Baker - Susan Purdy

Muffins
Butter-flavor no-stick vegetable spray
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over, rinsed and blotted dry on paper towels (or whole frozen unthawed berries with all ice particles removed)

Topping
Granulated sugar

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Roast the cornmeal. (To pan-roast cornmeal, place cornmeal in an ungreased frying pan over medium heat and stir the cornmeal on and off for 7-10 minutes, until it begins to turn a light tan color and smells aromatic. Or, roast the meal in a metal pan at 350 degrees F about 20 minutes, stirring often.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, maple syrup, melted butter, vanilla, milk, and sour cream (or yogurt). Directly on top of this wet mixture add--but don't stir in--the flour, baking powder, salt, and roasted cornmeal. Stir the dry ingredients all at once into the wet, mixing just to combine; do not overbeat. Add the berries and stir once or twice.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them generously three-quarters full. Sprinkle some sugar on top of each muffin. If you have any unfilled cups in your muffin pan, carefully ladle a little water into each empty cup.

Bake the muffins about 20 minutes, or until they rise, look golden brown on top, and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then coax them out of the pan with a fork and serve warm.

Notes: I used non-fat plain yogurt.