It's a Party!

Friday we had Ella's Birthday Party! She turned 9 in June but a crazy summer made a slumber party for 9 girls a little difficult so the festivities were delayed until now. I found the invitations on the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby. The envelopes were polka dotted manilla envelope "style". Super cute. She filled them out herself and hand delivered them to friends.


The girls arrived to pretty table set for dinner. A dear friend crafted napkins for each placesetting that were taken home to be packed into future garbage-free lunches. Yaaayy! Vintage linen cloth, cake stands and milk glass surrounded the cupcake centerpiece.

I didn't want to serve pizza again, homemade or not, but did want to serve something the girls would like. Ella and I decided upon homemade macaroni and cheese, garlic bread and Izze sodas. All amongst Ella's favorites that the average 4th grader will eat. Typically, kids love or hate my homemade, whole food. I am happy to say the majority of the crowd loved the mac and cheese - even though it didn't come from a box. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the raspberry coffeecake I made for breakfast. Beggars can't be choosers, right?


Vanilla cupcakes with rich chocolate frosting. Love the big candy dot sprinkles and pink, green and white sparkle sugar. Thank you Wilton!

The fastest way to a 4th grader's list of "cool moms"? - individual cartons of ice crem. Who knew it was so easy? They were a surprise offered from a basket lined with more of Carol's cool napkins. See the cute cupcake pattern? (damn, I wish I could sew)

I wish I had gotten better pictures and that all of the girls were able to spend the night. In the end though, the girls had a great time, the boys survived Hannah Montana reverberating through the house and I got to plan another birthday party for my Ella. She loved it, which means a lot - especially from a 4th grade girl.

The Best Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from Cooks Illustrated February 1997

2 large eggs
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 t. red hot pepper sauce
2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper
1 t. dry mustard, dissolved in 1 t. water
1/2# elbow macaroni
4 T. unsalted butter
12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Mix eggs, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, pepper sauce, 1/2 t. salt, pepper and mustard mixture in a small bowl; set aside.

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 2 qt. saucepan or similiar. Add 1 1/2 t. salt and macaroni, cooking until almost tender,about 7 minutes. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butter and toss to melt.

Pour egg mixture over buttered noodles along with 3/4 of the cheese; stir until combined and cheese starts to melt. Gradually add remaining milk and cheese, stirring constantly until creamy. It will appear as though the remaining cheese will never be incorporated but be patient, it will take about 5 minutes.

Serve topped with buttered bread crumbs or stir in pieces of baked ham.

Serves 4 as a main dish or 6/8 as a side

Piece Out

When in Chicago last weekend, we finally had the opportunity to eat at Piece on North Avenue. I had been told the pizza was great and the micro brew worth the trip. I couldn't wait to experience it myself.

As we waited for a table we had excellent beer. Excellent beer. The Golden Arm, a German-style Kolsch, was refreshing and light. The Top Heavy Hefeweizen was my favorite, great body and complex flavor. Comparable to a Blue Moon but less sweet and no need for citrus. In hindsight, I wish I had grabbed a growler to enjoy later.


We had the always classic goat cheese appetizer, topped with red sauce and served with garlic toast. I thought it was a bit too hot and the goat cheese was melted into the sauce and overwhelmed. Chalk it up to a crazy busy Saturday night. Not a deal breaker.

The pizza - I love that it's oddly shaped, a sure sign of really rustic pizza in my book. Basic pizza, extra sauce and pepperoni is Doug's carb load of choice pre-run. The thin crust was just a bit chewy, just the way we like it.

Our hosts chose mushroom and black olive. I love the earthy flavor of mushrooms and olives (of any type) are a bonus on pizza. Lots of topping. I love lots of topping.

Not being one to discriminate, I chose to sample both. There wasn't a clear cut winner.

I think I need to go back for further research and a really good beer.

He Did It...Again!

Sunday was the 32nd running of the Chicago Marathon and Doug was among the 33,000 finishers. Yaaaay, Doug! The race starts and I run (I mean fast walk) off to see him at various points throughout the course. Usually, I search for him among thousands of runners and never see him. This year we were lucky and we saw each other twice. The first time at mile 2 and again between miles 12 and 13. See him in the blue Make-A-Wish shirt?


The way this day works is that Doug runs and runs and runs and runs and in between looking for him, I wait and wait and wait and wait.

It was certainly much easier to be me, sipping tea on a cold, cold Chicago day.

After 26.2 very long miles Doug finished only a bit worse for the wear. Once again, I am so proud of his commitment to this challenge and his amazing mental willpower. He ran on behalf of kids that maybe can't run. Hopefully his efforts will enable a special boy or girl to experience something wonderful, too.

Isn't he the greatest?

Local Raspberry Treats

The last time I posted I was plum crazy. This is another example of similar behavior only in raspberry. We are lucky enough to have a U-Pick Raspberry farm within 15 minutes of our house. I was out in early September with plans to return many times again. Factor in new schedules, work, weather and illness and it took weeks. Monday I finally returned and spent over an hour in the midst of raspberry brambles. It was a gorgeous bright, fall day full of warm sun, chirping crickets and birds, distant train whistles and the occasional "thunk" as a black walnut fell to the ground. So pleasant it was, I almost forget the pain in my back from hunching over in search of berries. The pain was worth it. My freezer is stocked and we've enjoyed many treats since the raspberries hit the yellow house.

After my first trip, I immediately made raspberry liqueur as I had with strawberries. A few cups of raspberries, sugar and vodka shaken and allowed to sit. I haven't checked on it lately, it's in a dark cabinet. I am sure it's ready to strain and sip with friends gathering next week.

Why the eggs? I used farm eggs to make raspberry lemon curd. This picture was irresistible to me and a shining example of the value of farm eggs. Check out that yolk!


I pureed a small amount of raspberries and then strained them - don't want any seeds in the curd. Rather than bust out the Cuisinart, I used the immersion blender with the cup attachment. Very effective and super easy to clean up.

I love these tall wide mouth jars - any thing you put into them looks fabulous. I do love the look of the Weck jars but the simplicity of a good old Ball jar is something special in its own right. The raspberry curd is delicious and has been enjoyed on countless English muffins and spoons. I see a pudding and maybe a few baby tartes in the future, too. If you'd like to try this recipe or an easy straight lemon version check Everyday Food.

I made a beautiful coffeecake dusted with powdered sugar and garnished with fresh raspberries on the stem, too. It was a donation and unfortunately was rushed out the door without photos. However, as good as it looked, I doubt it could have possibly been as good as these muffins. I make a lot of muffins for easy breakfasts and snacks but more often than not I am disappointed. Perhaps my expectations are too high for a humble muffin, but few do I make twice. These Lemon-Raspberry Muffins were amazing and I can't wait to make them again.

Lemon-Raspberry Muffins

1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup canola oil,
1 large egg
1 t. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) raspberries

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners

Use a vegetable peeler, carefully remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine zest and sugar in a food processor, pulse until the zest is finely chopped into the sugar. You could use a zester but I feel to best incorporate citrus flavor into the sugar it's helpful to start with large pieces of zest. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until well blended.

Combine flour, baking powder powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in raspberries. Divide batter equally among muffin cups.

Bake until the edges of the muffins and tops are golden, 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm if possible but they are yummy at room temperature, too.

Yield: 12 muffins

Plum Crazy!

I tend to be a bit compulsive about things in the kitchen. When I teach a pie class, I am all about pie. When it's pasta I am all about pasta. Happens with ingredients, too. June strawberries, July blueberries and peaches.....get the idea? In September I think of plums. They seem to be the oft overlooked fruit that deserves some more kitchen time. When was the last time you ate a plum?


At the Green City Market on a brilliant September these lovelies called me to take them home. Aren't they pretty?


I made this pretty Plum Croustade with them. It was delicious, sweet and tart.

I turned red plums purchased at local farmer's market into Martha's Plum Cake from the September Everyday Food. A basic butter cake with fruit - tasty for snacking or breakfast.

Finally, I morphed a few recipes into one, picking and choose ingredients that I had on hand and roasted them into.....

...this warm, garnet topping for good vanilla ice cream. Doug, not usually a fan of sweets, was very complimentary. Quite a testimonial from a man who could take or leave anything sweet.

One last late-season raspberry picking trip (if the rain stops) and it's all apple and pumpkin.....

Honey-Roasted Plums

4 plums, halved and pitted
1/4 cup dessert wine of choice, I used Vin Santo
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
Scant 1/3 cup honey
1 strip orange zest about 2 " long
Pinch of cinnamon
2 T. butter, cut into pieces

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Place plums face down in a shallow baking dish. Combine wine, juice, honey and cinnamon, stirring well. Pour over plums, add the orange zest strip and dot with butter.

Roast until tender but still intact, about 35-40 minutes.

After removing from the oven spoon liquid over plums to coat. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

Serves about 4

Chocolate + Zucchini Chicago-Style

No, it's still just us in the yellow house and yes, it's still in a suburb of Chicago. Just an obvious play on words. My work is not as successful (yet!) and geographically my location is not nearly as cool but the cupcakes are really good.


Always in search of interesting lunchbox treats and constantly striving to incorporate (or sneak) vegetables into everything. A collection of zucchini recipes in the September issue of (the soon to be defunct), Gourmet grabbed my attention - specifically the cupcake recipe. Go figure.


They came together very quickly and yet it was one of those recipes that kept me checking to be sure I didn't miss anything - in this case liquid. If you try these the batter is very, very, very thick. I used a hand mixer as suggested, but it would probably be easier in a stand mixer. That would make it really easy to double the recipe since they freeze beautifully.


Rich chocolate flavor and a dense but not heavy texture make these cupcakes certain to reappear in lunchboxes soon. Give them a try. Be sure to spend some time checking out the great blog chocolateandzucchini for some great inspiration, too.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes
Gourmet September 2009

1 1/2 cup a.p. flour
2 T. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup + 2 T. sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
1 6oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy, 2-3 minutes. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips. Divide among lined muffin cups and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes then turn out to cool completely.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Henry Is (almost) 6!

When Jake started kindergarten I had this great idea to invite his whole kindergarten class to a special birthday party in our backyard. It has, of course, become a tradition for ALL of the Downing kids. We've had many themes including, Harry Potter, Curious George and Princess, for our only girl. This year, I say with more than a bit of sadness, was our last kindergarten bash. We celebrated Henry's forthcoming 6th birthday with a Backyard Carnival!

As we know, the cake picture is the important one. For this special event I have always ordered a party cake from The Cakery. They made our wedding cake, all of our first birthday cakes and many cakes in between. Bob, the owner, is amazingly talented and bakes a great cake. His butter cream includes butter - need I say more? We gave them a napkin and the above is a perfect replica. Did I say he is amazing and his cakes are great?

In keeping with the theme Henry chose, there was popcorn, peanuts, face painting and tattoos. Inspired by Miss Kim, we had to have Bozo buckets, too. The highlight was the moon jump - a big investment but part of the deal for this extra special event.

Here they are - the class of 2023 (gulp) clowning for the camera. Special old friends, neighbors and lots and lots of new friends finding a special place in our lives were on hand to share in the festivities.

It's the beginning, and a bittersweet end, of an era.