We've been douped!

Was anyone else aware that Ben & Jerry's Ice cream is no longer allowed to pat themselves on the back with an 'All Natural' claim? You may remember that Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield no longer own the business which creates such sought after ice cream pints, they sold out to Unilever, a British-Dutch conglomerate in 2000. In 2010 though, a public advocacy group urged Unilever to remove the 'all natural' wording from its label, on the grounds that the Ben & Jerry's ice cream was no longer 'all natural' due to the appearance of corn syrup, alkalized cocoa power and other modified ingredients. Unilever did remove the wording from Ben & Jerry's labels, but even an avid consumer like myself did not physically notice the words' removal on a pint container (as is shown between the two different photos of labels) - I had to come across it in some literature.

I do feel slightly upset upon learning this, not because I am upset that the ice cream is no longer all natural, more because I did not notice when this change happened which was probably at least 12 months ago! To me this is much like how companies have been making containers smaller and charging the same price for the item - the change to the Ben & Jerry's label took quite some time for consumers to catch on. You might have realized the the label looked different but could not overtly describe why. I do think that now that Ben & Jerry's is no longer the same quality it started out as, they should drop the price or leave it the same and sell it in quart sized containers. Who wants to pay full price for a pho-natural ice cream anyway!

Pie time!

Well we have all heard the phrase "as American as apple pie" and hopefully I am not ruining to many lives when I remind people that apple pie is not an 'American' invented item, similar to how the French Fry is not actually French, anyway, I digress. I tasted my first apple pie of the season on Martha's vineyard, and it was buried in quality and flavor by the blueberry-peach pie that was also served. Disappointed, I thought that perhaps this was not going to be a good apple pie season, much like the weather this fall has drown us with rain and the summer failed to scorch us with heat (for those of you who don't know - I LOOOOOOVE the heat :) ). But Ivy came to visit from NYC two weekends ago and revived my spirits, alright I admit it, revived my faith in bakers that apple pie this fall will definitely be delicious.

Her homemade pie was, in fact, the best apple pie I can remember. It actually looked as though she has hand placed the layers of apple inside it (and if she did this I will take her to Butler Hospital on her next visit to have her head examined). The crust (which she thanked the infamous Martha Stewart for) was flaky, buttery, semi-sweet but yet a perfect compliment to its apple insides. She graciously has allowed me to post her recipe - and you ought to give this sucker a try, or, if you can find her, knock on her NYC door, and I bet she will bake one just for you!

Pie Crust- courtesy of Martha Stewart

Makes 1 double crust 9 inch pie (my apple pie recipe only uses one so you can make 2 pies)

2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt12 TB (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter
3 TB margarine or shortening3 TB sugar (can omit this if making a savory pie, this addition is not part of the Martha recipe)
1/4 Cup ice water

1. In a large bowl sift the flour and salt. cut the chilled butter and margarine/shortening add into the flour and shortening add sugar and with a pastry cutter or paddle attachment on mixer mix until the resembles coarse meal.
2. Add ice water little by little till it forms a ball. Don't over handle
3. wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hr. When ready to use again don’t over handle and keep the mixture as cool as possible

German Apple Pie (for 1 pie, so double if doing above pie crust recipe)

6-8 granny smith apples
1/2cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Peel, quarter and slice apples thin and set aside, sprinkle w lemon to keep from turning brown
3. Combine apples sugar and sour cream. Sprinkle 2tbsps bread crumbs or matzo meal on the bottom of the pie shell to prevent it from becoming mushy.
4. Place apple mixture into the shell. In another bowl combine brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon, first w/fork then with fingers until crumbly.
5. Sprinkle over pie. Put a strip of tinfoil around the fluted edge of the pie shell to prevent over browning. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20min at 425, then reduce heat to 375 and back for 30 min or longer.

Stoner Food

On my first excursion ever to an island so close to the coastline of my beantown home front, I discovered a fabulously enticing treat at a local farmers' market. The treat? Stoner Food. A delectable, crave-worthy treat made of - our you ready for this? - a pretzel rod dipped in caramel, then dipped in dark chocolate, then sprinkled with crushed heath bar and a few granules of sea salt. Whoa nelle! You can find this treat on Martha's Vineyard from the local maker, New Moon Magick Enchanted Chocolates, at 4 Chapman Ave in Oak Bluffs or you can go to the website and order all their treats online! New Moon makes all their chocolates from high-high (no pun intended) quality 70% cacao. Hooray! Home-made treats made from high quality ingredients in small batches so that everything is fresh and fabulous. If it was a requirement that to eat Stoner food you had to be a pot head, I can't lie - I just might take up smoking - it was that fanfreakintastic!

I might just attempt to make it myself :)

Tailgating season is upon us! Try a new twist on a dip for veggies or pita chips :)

Spicy White bean dip (6 – ¼ cup servings)
•2 cloves garlic
•15 oz can cannelloni beans (liquid reserved)
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•salt & ground black pepper
•1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika
•¼ teaspoon dried thyme
•1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

OpenTable Spotlight of the Day

$25 for $50 worth of food at Brazilian Steakhouse in Woburn, MA (920 Main street). You can buy it until Friday morning. For reviews of Brazilian Steakhouse visit Opentable Spotlight.

I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY!!!

New Restaurant's to Opentable - Boston

Newly added restaurants at opentable - so if you were looking for a reservation or a deal on a meal check out opentable for these exciting places!

Smith & Wollensky - Steak and Seafood on Atlantic Wharf
Mystery Cafe - Contemporary American in the Financial District + you get a dinner theatre show!!
Catalyst - Contemporary American in Cambridge
Pasta e Pomodoro - Italian in the North End
Range Indian Bistro - Stoneham

Grandma's Pot Roast

Grandma's pot roast was a Sunday dinner staple when I was growing up. We would venture the 75 miles from our home to hers every Sunday during the summer to spend the day playing cards, throwing poker chips, and building sand castles. Sunday dinner did not vary much, it was either roast chicken with pilaf, some kind of Armenian specialty, or pot roast. I remember loving the roast chicken, but I remember LOVING the pot roast. She always cooked hers with carrots, potatoes and onions. My brother would eat only the potatoes, my grandmother would always say, "I just LOVEEE cooked carrots, I don't know why - Gregory - why won't you try a carrot?", and the roasted onions were always my favorite. I would eat two or three whole roasted onions at the age of 7, what 7 year old does that!!

Last week, I ventured down to the Cape to visit grandma, and while it wasn't Sunday (Friday actually), she made a pot roast, and there it was laid out just like I remember. We sat down and started serving ourselves, she pierces a carrot with her fork, takes a bit and mutters the exact same phrase I would hear once a month, "I just LOVEEE cooked carrots, I don't know why!" Whoa nelle, deja vu! I promptly grabbed two roasted onions and tasted them before anything else. Heaven, just like I remember - and childhood memories that I had not thought about in years came flooding back, just from one bit of a roasted onion. I remembered the Cape cottage house with its lack of heat or AC, the cheap wood paneling, poop brown colored carpet, and leather furniture that squeaked so loud when you sat in it you could wake up someone in the bedrooms above. But alas, those were the days (and I have just successfully made myself sound 92 years old).

Grandma Sally cooks hers at 250 degrees for 4 hours. You could use other vegetables like turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash or even some dried beans or lentils. She puts some stock in the bottom of the pot so that there is some liquid to keep things moist and she always covers the entire thing tightly. Then put it in the oven and forget about it. 1.5 hours in, you will start to smell it throughout the whole house and this begins the torture of waiting for that fork tender (yes, don't even bother putting knives on the table) meat with roasted vegetables. That is the extent of the 'recipe' I could get from her.