at home with ann

I made this for our special Valentine's Day dessert.  Yesterday.  February 24th.  We don't go big into Valentine's Day around here, but I did bring out all the red and pink toned crayons and Colin helped me make a home made card.  He also tried to eat the crayons, so all the pink and reds have tiny tooth marks in them now.  I will, of course, take any excuse to make a special dessert, even if it is almost two weeks late. Cherry Pie 1 batch pate brisee  - the best pie crust 3-4 cups cherries (I used frozen, thawed, as it is the middle of the winter and cherries are about a million dollars a pound right now) 1/2 cup sugar 2-4 Tablespoons cornstarch, depending on how juicy your cherries are 1/2 lemon, juiced Make pate brisee.  Follow Martha Stewart's instructions .  They work for me every time. Form into two discs and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  I like to take them out about 15 minutes before rolling, so they are ...

I loved this recipe!  Every night we ate it, the leftovers tasted even better.  I must have said, "This is so good.  SO GOOD," to Jon about 200 times.  Most definitely a keeper. It takes a bit more prep work than I usually like to invest for a crock pot meal, but it's absolutely worth it.  Marinating the chicken in the yogurt mixture and searing it beforehand, and then cooking the vegetables and getting all the flavor from the pan give this dish an amazing depth.  Sometimes crock pot meals can sort of all taste like one thing because it's all been cooking together all day, but these additional steps really helped maintained the individual flavors.  As is often the case with Indian recipes, clear some room on your counter top, because you'll be taking out nearly the entire contents of your spice cabinet and pantry. Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala slightly modified from Tasty Kitchen  Serves 6 Ingredients: Chicken: 1 package (I think m...

I've told you before how much I love carrot cake.  I wouldn't say I'm a huge cake lover in general, unless it's the cheese variety, but I adore carrot cake.  Carrot cake cupcakes were a natural choice for Colin's C themed birthday party, and I justified it by telling myself he'd be at least get a vegetable mixed in with the butter, sugar and flour.  The original recipe is supposed to yield 12 cupcakes, but I filled mine a little low and had plenty for 12 regular cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes.  I doubled the original frosting recipe (my measurements below), because you never want to be stingy on frosting, and had a little leftover.  The birthday boy got a mini cupcake and thought it was the most amazing thing he'd ever eaten.  I held it for him to take bites, and at one point he grabbed my hand and shoved the entire thing into his mouth.  I'd say they were a success .  I'd also say that it appears he is biting my hand in this picture based on the...