Going Coconuts

(I apologize if you are receiving this for the second time. Some weird Blogger glitch...)

This time of year always makes me feel a little crazy.

I don't need to tell you how long the to-do list is. I'm sure yours is a lot like mine.

Shop for family gifts.

Bake.

Drink.

Eat.

Order stuff online for husband's family.

Bake some more.

Visit Santa.

Buy and set up tree.

Make teacher and bus driver gifts.

Struggle to fit into last year's black skirt.

Bake.

Plan and execute birthday party for youngest daughter.

Care for husband having hip replacement surgery.

Design, order, sign, address, mail 100+ holiday cards.

Create and sustain unique and wonderful holiday memories for children.

Decorate home for Christmas.

Decorate home for Hanukkah.

Make latkes.

Bake.

Take deep breaths.

Bake.

Eat. Drink.

In honor of all this nuttiness, I have been on a coconut cookie baking spree.

I know that coconut is not universally loved. But people who love it as I do, really LOVE it.

Plus it fits right in with my preference for all things chewy and chunky.

And, because sometimes it matters, these cookies are gluten-free.

First there was the almond-coconut macaroons. This recipe came from Cooking Light. I added the chocolate dip and drizzle.

Then, the macaroon mountains, aka chocolate coconut macaroons dipped in white chocolate.

I made them for our annual neighborhood cookie swap.

Don't they look like little snow-capped mountain peaks? I thought so.

And they're that perfect combination of a slightly crispy outside and chewy inside.

The recipe is pretty simple. So that's one less thing to drive you nuts.

One thing to think about before you start - the cookie dough needs to freeze before it's baked, so leave yourself enough time for that.

Also, instead of melting the chocolate over a pan of water, you could microwave it in 30 second intervals, being very careful to stir it in between so it doesn't burn.

Chocolate Macaroon Mountains

adapted from The Boston Globe and Clear Flour Bakery

9 1/4 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

4 1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

5 egg whites

8 oz. sugar (about 1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsps.)

1 Tbsp. vanilla

14 oz. pkg. sweetened, shredded coconut

8 oz. white chocolate (optional)

Combine the semisweet and unsweetened chocolates in a large metal or glass bowl, or top of a double boiler. Place the bowl over a saucepan of about 1" of barely simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water).

Melt the chocolate, stirring frequently. Remove bowl from over the water and set aside.

In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar and keep beating until the mixture has the consistency of melted marshmallow. Using a firm rubber spatula, mix in the vanilla, melted chocolate and coconut until well combined. The dough will be thick.

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper (or Silpat). Make sure the sheet will fit in your freezer. Using wet hands, form dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. Place on prepared cookie sheet, and repeat until all the dough has been used.*

Freeze the cookies on the sheet.**

Heat the oven to 350. Bake the frozen macaroons for 16-20 minutes, until the outsides have developed a delicate crust and the tops are set. Slide the parchment paper, with macaroons on it, off the cookie sheet and onto a wire rack to cool.

When cookies have cooled completely, they can be dipped, if you'd like.

Melt 8 oz. white chocolate in a shallow bowl. Dip the top of each cookie into the white chocolate, letting excess drip off. Place back on rack, and allow chocolate to dry completely.

* I couldn't possibly fit all those cookie sheets in my freezer, so I ended up placing balls of cookies on plates, and putting those in the freezer. When it was time to bake them, I just transferred them to cookie sheets.

** Once the cookies are frozen, you can store them on the freezer for up to 3 months, in a plastic freezer bag or container.

Thanksgiving Class of 2009 Superlatives

Most Popular

Brussels sprouts! This may come as a surprise to some, but really not a shocker for my family.

When you do brussels sprouts right, and by right I mean with bacon, there's not much that's better.

Last year I cooked them with proscuitto. This year, they were roasted with bacon and maple syrup.

You can find the recipe here.

Most Likely to Succeed

I tried a new green bean semi-casserole dish, supposed to be an update on the classic. I got the recipe here.

Love the concept - fresh green beans and crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions, goat cheese and more. But it just didn't come together quite as I hoped.

So I think with a few tweaks, it could be a big success next year.

Most Improved

I have no tried and true method for turkey. I pick a recipe from the big stack of Thanksgiving magazines. The criteria for my choice is 1. uncomplicated 2. tasty and 3. uncomplicated.

This year, I chose a recipe/method from Fine Cooking, that starts with cooking the bird breast side down for the first hour.

It was a huge improvement over previous years. Definitely easy, moist and very flavorful (for a turkey). And it cooked more quickly than I thought. Would do this again next year for sure.

Most Versatile

Mashed potatoes. Like a 16 year old boy, mashed potatoes can take on many personalities. That's why we assign them to my son. He whips them up in a classic style, with lots of butter, cream, salt and pepper. Thanks Jack!

Most Old School Spirit

My mother's Ritz cracker stuffing. I could make the most gourmet, fabulous stuffing ever and it would still not taste as good as this at Thanksgiving dinner.

Sounds kind of ridiculous, I know, but buttery Ritz crackers really make an awesome stuffing. Plus it's the stuffing I grew up with, so extra points for that.

Most Thanksgiving Spirit

Mmmmmaple-y, buttery, bright orange-y squash. It would scream "Thanksgiving" but the flavor is too subtle and it's certainly too classic to shout out loud.

Yum - and many thanks to my brother-in-law for bringing it.

Cutest Couple

The pumpkin and apple pies made by my husband and daughter.

Most Glamorous

The pear pie with streusel topping made by me. I added some crystallized ginger to the streusel mix, giving it a sophisticated boost. I also changed the dried cherries to dried cranberries. A big hit, and a keeper.

The recipe is also from Fine Cooking.

And one more side dish...

Look for me on mainelovesfood.com!

I's a cool new website that has LOADS of info about all the amazing food and food-related events in the great state of Maine.

My feature is called Maine Loves Food Loves...

I get to research and write about new products and places. Lucky me!

Tablesetting: It's Not Rocket Science

Is there a holiday more centered around the table than Thanksgiving?
I don't think so.

It's the dining room that's center stage on Turkey Day.
Sure, the kitchen is where all the actual work takes place, but the dining room and table is where the audience gathers and the presentation is made.

It's easy to make your table shine in the spotlight.
First of all, the internet is positively loaded with table setting ideas.
Check out Hostess with the Mostess (warning! you could get lost for hours in this site), Country Living and of course Martha Stewart.

If you need even more inspiration, I highly recommend this blog.
Or just take a look at what I did last year.

But let me make this easy for you. Everything you need to make your table look outstanding is already in your home, or at least at your local supermarket.

A neutral colored tablecloth is a good place to start. White, beige, brown, even black makes a good backdrop. If you have a table square or runner to drape over the tablecloth, use it. No table square? I bet you have a large scarf, shawl, or simply a piece of fabric to layer on.

Look around. Do you have a pitcher? A glass vase? A bowl?
Of course you do.
Fill those vessels with nuts in the shells, fresh cranberries, apples, acorns, mini-gourds.
Nestle a candle down in there too.

Now e x p a n d outwards. Surround the centerpiece with other fruit and vegetables. Colorful squash, small pumpkins, Bosc pears, pomegranates, lady apples, clementines.
No need really to think about "matching" colors. It's nature. Everything goes together.

Anything you have that's remotely decorative, or sentimental, can be added. Ceramic or pottery figures, glass balls, artificial berries, you name it. I sometimes put in stuff my kids made in pottery class.

Next layer. Not essential, but does sort of bring it all together. Wind a strand of autumn leaves (mine are fake), a piece of grapevine or some small branches around your arrangement. This will give it more dimension and visual interest.
Add a few more small votives, tucked into any open spaces. Please be careful lighting them near your greenery!

How about place cards?
How about place cards made from mini-pumpkins? Or tiny pears?
No problem!
And remember, if you do the place cards you won't get stuck sitting next to Uncle Howard who makes weird noises when he eats.

There. Looks good, doesn't it?
And I bet it was kind of fun.

Now if your food doesn't all come out at the same time, no one will mind. They'll be busy admiring your table.

Banana Bread and Lots of Stuff

When it comes to food, which do you prefer - smooth or chunky?

I'm not just talking peanut butter.

Do you like chocolate pudding or Rocky Road ice cream better?

A cream-of-whatever soup, or minestrone?

A sugar cookie, or oatmeal chocolate chip?

Place me firmly in the chunky group (no weight jokes please).

I choose the Rockiest Road there is. Or Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk.
Or a cookie with just enough cookie dough to hold the the other stuff together.
Creme brulee? Only the top. NY Cheesecake? No thanks.

Smooth is for coffee, vodka and men.
Must. Have. Pieces.

And that's why, when I make banana bread, it has lots of STUFF in it.
If you're more of a smoothie, just leave the pieces out.
That's your right. It's still a very good recipe.
But all the stuff makes it a great one.

Banana Bread with Stuff
adapted from For The Love of Cooking


1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 all purpose)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla

5 Tbsps. plus 1 tsp. vanilla yogurt

1 1/2 cups of "stuff", any combination - walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, coconut, granola, fresh berries, dried fruit,  crystallized ginger, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a loaf pan or coat with cooking spray.
In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg, mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, a little at a time, alternating with the vanilla yogurt. Start with the flour and end with the flour.

Gently add the mashed banana and vanilla. Add all your "stuff" and combine well, but try not to over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle a little extra stuff on top if you'd like.

Bake 45-50 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan before removing.

The Best Thing I Ate All Week

Apple streusel cookie, from When Pigs Fly bakery. I'm not sure cookie is descriptive enough here. It's like a combination scone/ muffin top/ apple crisp. A thick round of apple, raisins, nuts, sugar-y topping held together with just enough buttery dough.
That's what I'm talking about!

What's the best thing you ate all week?

But wait, there's more...


For those of you who were asking, here's a picture of the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake.

And I am sad to report that it did not help our football team one bit this week.

Why I Am Not The Pioneer Woman

Have you heard about the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond?

Of course you have.

She, who went from "spoiled city girl to domestic country wife".

She, who lives on a real ranch in Oklahoma, married to a stud she calls the Marlboro Man and does her own remodeling.

She, who takes fabulous pictures, cooks like a Cordon Bleu cowgirl, homeschools her four kids and blogs about it every single day.

She, who now has her very own cookbook and is currently on book tour for it.

Yeah, that Pioneer Woman.

You know, several years ago, I moved from a swish Massachusetts town to this suburban outpost on the rocky Maine coast.

I traded Bloomingdale's for LL Bean.

Manicures for manure.

Cashmere for polar fleece!

Well, not really.

But I suppose I could have parlayed this story into a successful blog/book/major motion picture.

But I didn't.

Because I could never homeschool my children. For one thing, they're smarter than me. Plus, it would interfere with my tennis time.

And my husband rides a bike wearing spandex, not a horse and chaps.

My dog mostly lies around hoping for peanut butter. She would not know how to herd cattle if her life depended on it.

And because I just don't have that kind of initiative, energy and drive.

Friends, that is what ultimately separates The Pioneer Woman from the rest of us.

As well as this recipe for The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

Pour 1/2 cup buttermilk into a measuring cup.

Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:

Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely (optional).
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.

Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb, minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Wait until cool, then cut into squares.

I made this cake for our kick-ass football team last week. I will make it again this week as they head into the Western Class C Championship game.
The boys ate it all before I could snap even one photo.
You'll just have to trust me when I say it really was The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake ever.

It's Not Over 'Til the Candy's All Gone

Halloween candy hangover?

Sick of Snickers and tired of Twix? Wallowing in Whoppers?

You could throw it out. That would be the responsible thing to do.

But here at Mignardise, we rarely (if ever) do the right thing when it comes to chocolate.

In fact, we boosted our Halloween haul in the best way possible.

We baked it into brownies.

Use the Katherine Hepburn Brownie recipe I posted last April. It's the easiest and best brownie recipe ever, if you like them fudgy.

Chop up as many different kinds of candy from your kid's bag as you like. I suggest staying away from things like Starburst or Sour Patch Kids. We used Reese's, a KitKat, M & Ms, a Hershey's bar and Whoppers. Mix them into the brownie batter before baking.

As you pour them into the pan, tell yourself that you'll give them away to a neighbor. What good intentions you have!

Then you remember your neighbor is gluten-free.

You could take them to the pre-football game dinner.

But is all that chocolate really good for finely-tuned athletes on the eve of a big game?

I guess you'll just have to eat them yourself...

The Best Thing I Ate All Week

Do you remember when I said this would be a new weekly feature?

I may be a little slow off the mark, but here's the first.

"Sesame Macadamia Caramel Nut Tart with Toasted Coconut Ice Cream, Housemade Hot Fudge and Rum Caramel Bananas" from Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Mass., "shared" with my friend Beth.

Yes, it was as amazing as it sounds.

I would love to show you a picture but I was too busy eating to take one.

What's the best thing you ate all week? Please comment!

A Weirdly Addictive Appetizer

I remember my first ever book group meeting, almost twenty years ago.

We were new to town and, appropriately, had joined the Newcomers Club. The notice came announcing that the Newcomers Book Group would be reading Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns.

It’s not a book I would have read on my own, but isn’t that the point of being in a book group?

I bought the book, read it and showed up at a stranger’s house, not quite sure what to expect.

What I got was a group of women who loved reading as much as I did. A glass of wine. Some good food.

Who could ask for more?

We stayed together long after we were kicked out of Newcomers (they figured we’d been town residents long enough). We enjoyed monthly meetings discussing everything from fiction to families, poetry to politics and more personal topics. There were babies born, houses built, illnesses and celebrations of recovery. There was also the occasional member who moved away.

After twelve years, that member was me.

I’m part of another book group now, and I look forward to meetings. Because now it’s not just snacks and drinks, but a full dinner. This sounds like a lot of work, and it can be.

Or not.

It’s a special treat just to go to dinner at someone else’s house. So whatever is offered is appreciated and feels like a warm welcome.

We had book group at my house this past week. We discussed What is the What by Dave Eggers.

I made a green salad with pears and spiced pecans, maple roasted salmon and a warm quinoa salad with roasted squash and onions.

I also made an appetizer that we used to enjoy often at my “other” book group (thanks Rosemary!). It’s a funny combination of flavors - something you taste and think “ hmmmm...what is that”.

So you take another taste. And then another. It’s weirdly addictive.

You can make this in a small (7”) springform pan, if you have one. If not, it will taste just as good piled into a small bowl.

Hot Pepper Jelly Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup hot pepper jelly, any flavor (I used blueberry/pepper)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 1/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Spray the bottom and sides of springform pan with cooking spray (unless of course you aren’t using one).

Put cream cheese, 1/2 cup pepper jelly, garlic, cilantro and cheddar in food processor. Blend until well combined.

Spread mixture in prepared pan. Top with remaining pepper jelly, then sprinkle with pine nuts.

Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

To serve, remove sides of springform pan and place cheesecake on serving dish.