I’m a New Englander in almost every way. I love that I can drive an hour and a half in any direction from my house and either hit the ocean or another state. I know that there are 3 kinds of clam chowder, though Rhode Island and New England are my favorites (probably because they’re products of NE). In fact I’ll eat a clam any way it can be served–steamed, fried, baked, stuffed, and [my favorite] raw on the half shell with a little cider vinegar. I can say without hesitation that New England is hard to beat when it comes to fall foliage–nobody does leaves like us [especially VT--and can we talk about their maple syrup? heavens me. Mrs. Butterwho?] And it’s pretty nifty that when I turn on the television in any part of the country, the newscaster will speak like I do.

But, while I take immense pride in my region, pride is not all a New Englander makes! Continue reading →

[just some of my favorites]

As I sat down to write this post, I wanted to talk about the past year in a way that wouldn’t ignore the downfalls, but still highlighted all of the huge accomplishments and change that happened this year. And, next to that, I intended to talk about what a major role food had in shaping my year. After deleting a few really wordy attempts at the start of a post, it clicked in my head that food and ‘everything else’ weren’t mutually exclusive.

Continue reading →

So much for that NaNoWriMo thing. It’s been a crazy busy month over here in Kellyland. Between friends visiting, family birthdays, going home to CT, stuff at work, trying to maintain some fragment of a social life and all the other things I volunteer myself to do, I’ve been a little busy. Sadly, my commitment to writing a post every day has fallen to the wayside. It’s probably for the best, though. For once I’m actively trying not to say yes to everything so I won’t be tired all the time.

Does that mean I stop baking? Of course not! It seems as though the one thing I can’t shake is the baking muse who whispers ideas into my ear at all hours of the evening, leaving me elbows-deep in dough at 11:30 at night, as I try to perfect some baking technique I’ve never attempted before.

I can’t promise that life will get less crazy anytime soon, so I won’t tell you that you’ll see more frequent posts from me. For now, accept pictures of the pumpkin-bourbon cheesecake I made at 11 o’clock last night as an apology and a pathetic stand-in for a real post.

I’ve made this before, only this time I added (roughly) 2 tbs of bourbon (I finished off the very cheap bottom-of-the-barrel brand I had on hand for baking) and, in my sleep-deprived, stress-induced stupor, forgot to add the flour. Sans flour, it came out much fluffier than the last time I made it. The top was a failed attempt to make soft caramel sauce with bourbon and pecans. The texture resembled more of a pecan brittle than the languidly gooey layer of caramel I initially envisioned. If brittle’s your thing, great. If you’ve got an actual recipe for caramel topping and you follow the rules and don’t just play with sugar in the microwave at work, you’re a better baker than I. I applaud you. Get down with your baking self.