Catching Up

Catching up with a few things while wondering what could be better than the crispy wing tips off a just-roasted chicken...

The beautifully roasted chicken seen here came out perfectly - VERY juicy white meat, buttery dark meat, and yummy crispy skin. We are on the constant hunt for recipes that turn out the perfect roast chicken - as you can see from all our previous attempts. The latest recipe we tried - with much success - was this one from... Molecular Solutions? The recipe is from 1967 Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and it involved cooking the chicken on it's sides - which I still can't figure out. However, as they say on their site, if you follow the recipe "the chicken will, indeed, be perfect."

WE WON! WE WON! We won the Cool Beans contest over at Just Braise! We beat the 1-in-8 odds (a 12.5% chance!) and received our prize of a shipment of Cool Beans Dips at our doorstep this week! As you might expect, these were opened immediately and enjoyed with some chips and crackers. These blended, flavored Northern Beans-and-olive oil dips are delicious, they taste just like something we'd blend up in the food processor ourselves. The Hot and Spicy was just that - with a nice spicy kick. The Roasted Garlic had a great mellow roasted garlic and a little salt and lemon flavor - we had this spread on a ham sandwich with yummy results. The Carmelized Onion is the only one we've yet to crack - I don't think we'll hold out long. THANKS to Stacey at Just Braise and the Cool Beans Guys. We see that you can get them at our old grocery store - Foodie's Urban Market - in the South End of Boston on Washington, in addition to many other locations...

We received an email from old friend Jaye at Butta Buns letting us know that there is a Dessert Tasting Fundraiser being held on Saturday, March 29th at the Vietnamese American Community Center in Fields Corner, Dorchester. How can you go wrong when you're raising funds AND having dessert??? Check out her Attention Boston Area Bakers and Dessert Lovers post for more details - we may have to take the T over for some of those Bacon Peanut Butter Muffins she's making!

Finally, we were away for a while in Sunny Rochester, NY visiting with the Brother and Sister-in-Law of Boston Chef. While there, Brother Chef made a yummy Texas-style (no beans!) chili that had great smokey ancho flavor - which we ate over some cornbread. He ALSO made a very nice shrimp-and-chicken pad thai...

But the REAL reason we went was to hang out with our little nephews! Jack made a visit to Boston back in May of 2006, but - as you can see below - he's grown up a little since then. Here he is enjoying his 3rd Birthday Cake!


Plus, he's got a new little brother who ALSO enjoys cake - perhaps even moreso!!!


Happy Birthday, Jack!