Emile Henry and Cherry's

Lets begin by saying, YES..I pitted 6 lbs of cherries with out a cherry pitter. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I went to the farmers market and they were selling wonderful cherries for 3lb for 2 dollars. Of course, I had to buy 6 lbs. I made a Cherry Pie and Cherry Vanilla Jam.

I have made three or four pies using my Emile Henry pie pan and I want to add it makes a fantastic pie. It cooks the pie crust evenly. Not to mention, the pie never sticks. You always get that perfect slice with Emile Henry.
Check them out at:http://www.emilehenry.com

Cherry Pie
found in Food Network Magazine

Pie Crust
3 sticks of unsalted butter, COLD
3 1/2 cp flour 1/4 cp sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 TB vinegar
1/3 cp. ice water

1. Add the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine in the food processor. Add one stick of the cold butter chopped in cubes. Pulse 3 times. Add the vinegar and another stick of butter. Pulse
3 times. Add the last stick of butter. Pulse three times. Add the ice


water and pulse until dough roll forms.
Refridge for one hour.

FILLING
6 cps. cherries
2 TB quick tapioca
3/4 cp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp of almond and vanilla extracts
2 TB water



4 TB butter

Mix all together and pour in pie shell. Dot with 4 TB butter



My Vanilla Cherry Jam

5 cps Cherries, purred
Juice of 2 lemons
1 package of Pectin
1 Vanilla Bean, scraped clean (I use Boston Vanilla Bean Company)
3 3/4 cps Vanilla Sugar

Boil the jars and have them ready to fill.

Bring the cherries to a boil. Add the lemons, paste, Pectin. Add sugar one cup at a time.

Let it boil rapidly for one minute and then stir. Shut off. Add jam to jars. Put the jars with jam in them in a boiling bath with lids tightly on. Let the jars sit in the bath for a few minutes. Remove.... You should hear the lids pop (lock)as they cool.

Jerk Chicken Kabobs and Sea World

To the right: This is my 4 yr old, ALexandra. She is the tiny one sitting in the middle with a HUGE grin.

This is my baby, Bailey Leland, she is 19 months. My lil read head.



The family and I went to Sea World this weekend and on our way home I was craving Bahama Breeze. Instead of dragging the sleepy little girls into a resturuant I decided to recreate our favorite dish at home.I love this spicy chicken dish. My husband wanted to eat right away. Which left no time for the chicken to marinade. I made the marinade and basted the chicken every few minutes and it turned out flavorful and wonderful.

To be honest, my husband asked for this dish once a week. We shall see........

Jerk Chicken Kabobs with Pineapple

adapted from Allrecipes.com (Jays Jerk Chicken)

2 lbs of chicken, butterflied and pounded pretty thin
1 meduim sized pineapple cut in bit sized pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper (I threw in the entire pepper minus the stem)
1 habenero (Seeded)
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
skewers, soaked in water



1. I added onions down to allspice into the food processor and processed until well combined and thick.
2. I added the chicken to the skewers by sticking it right threw the middle. I added the pineapple to each end. I brushed the chicken with the marinade every 5-10 minutes.
**For the kids I just salt and peppered a few skewers and did not baste them...They turned out perfect and they loved them.

We Have a Winner!!

Congratulations B.B.B. at Be Foodie! For winning the Vanilla Contest!!!

Remember Check out Boston Vanilla Bean Company and take some money off this wonderful product by typing "miranda" in the coupon code box.

Tyler Florence and His Toasted Coconut Bread ROCKS!

The kids and I were bored the other day and decided to trek on over to the Library. Boy! What a find! I picked up Tyler Florence Real Kitchens Cook Book! When I found the recipe for Toasted Coconut Bread I knew it was a must. My husband loves coconut and bread. I was so far from disappointed. It rocked! It was gone in a few hours. It is served with........

PINEAPPLE BUTTER!!!!!

Really, Can you get any better? I will answer for you...NO!

Trust me....This will not disappoint...

If you want to find more Tyler Florence Recipes check out http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com/.

Coconut Bread with Pineapple Butter

by Tyler Florence

3 cps. flour

1 TB Baking Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Stick of Butter, unsalted and melted
1 cp. Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs, beaten
1 tsp. Vanilla
Zest of one Lemon (I used Lime)
1 1/2 cp. Coconut Milk, Unsweetened
1 1/2 cp. Coconut, toasted (Bake on 350 until brown..He said 15 minutes, but it took only 10 for me)

GREASE THE BREAD PAN WITH BUTTER

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together and st aside.
2. Melt the butter and then add the brown sugar. Stir. Add one egg at a time. Stir.Add the Vanilla and Coconut Milk. Don't forget the zest. Last, Fold in the toasted coconut.
3. Bake on 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes
4. Cool
5. Devour

PINEAPPLE BUTTER

8 0z. can of pineapple

1 cp. butter
Drain the juice from the Pineapple and then use a potato masher with the stick of butter or you can use a food processor.

By the way, I used fresh Pineapple...I had it on hand. It turned out GREAT!

Top 3 for Vanilla Contest: NOW IT IS TIME TO VOTE.

Steve, the owner of Boston Vanilla Bean Company picked the top three ideas for the vanilla he enjoyed the most. Steves choices are:

1. Apple Tatin Tarte made with fresh vanilla beans topped with homemade vanilla bean ice cream by Chef Shari
2. The Vanilla Bean with Steamed Milk with Cinnamon Sticks and Bitter Chocolate by B.B.B.
Steve has informed me that this is an old use for Vanilla Beans and he truly enjoyed the fact that it was mentioned in the giveaway.
3. Vanilla Chai & Lavender infused Rice Pudding by Cate

NOW! It is time for you to vote on the top recipe! The winner will receive 5 Mexican Vanilla Beans, 4 0z. of Vanilla Paste, 4 oz. Vanilla Extracts, and 1 0z. Ground Vanilla

Let me just say, the ground vanilla is grounded up vanilla beans. I have added a tsp. to 8 -10 cps sugar and mixed in my food processor. It works wonders.

I HAVE VERY GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE WHO ENTERED THE CONTEST:

Everyone who commented gets $1 off their order until August 1st, minimum order is $20 for the coupon to work. Tell your followers to enter a coupon code of miranda on the view cart page of the shop.

PLUS for those who want Vanilla Paste email Steve: steve@bostonvanillabeans.com

LETS VOTE!!!!! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. JUST LEAVE A COMMENT FOR THE BEST IDEA BELOW IN THE COMMENTS!!!!I will announce the winner on Wednesday!!!

Thank you so much for those who entered. There was many many great ideas. Thank you.

O Olive Oil Products

Have you ever wanted to add a little more flavor to your dishes?
Is one of your favorite ingredients Olive Oil?

Hello O Olive Oil.

O Olive Oil began in 1995 providing spectacular organic citrus-crushed olive oils. Premium vinegars followed in 1997.

What a line-up. Unique flavors like; O Jalapeno Lime, O Clementine, O Blood Orange, O Meyer Lemon, O Tahitian Lime, O Ruby Grapefruit and of course O Extra Virgin.

Yes, the Orange and Cranberry Granola Bars - O Blood Orange. The Spanish/TexMex fare - O Jalapeno Lime. I have prepared salads such as my Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Pasta Salad with O Meyer Olive Oil.

As unbelievable and versatile as they are, go for sweet or savory, fruity or spicy, whether dinner/siesta/breakfast.

The O Team have created masterpiece barrel aged wine vinegar: O Champagne Vinegar, O Port Vinegar, O Zinfandel Vinegar, O Pomegranate Vinegar, O Lemon Champagne Vinegar, O White Balsamic Vinegar, O Balsamic Vinegar, O Cabernet Vinegar, O Cassis Vinegar, O Cuvee Vinegar, O Pinot Noir Vinegar, O Sherry Vinegar, O Port Balsamic Vinegar and the wonderful O Ginger Rice Vinegar.

Wow! Take a breath…

What a variety. I am in love with their White Balsamic. It is my personal favorite. I dribbled the O Ginger Rice Vinegar in my Stir Fry this week and am planning on using it for my sushi rice next week.

O Olive Oils products are used on Food Network and by many top chefs but are reasonable enough for the average housewife’s kitchen. O Olive Oil’s most expensive bottle runs $18 and $12 for the vinegars.

As Geoff says, “that’s only like a 12 pack..............Wait, what are you thinking?!”

You can find O Olive Oil products at many specialty stores such as Whole Foods or visit: http://www.ooliveoil.com/

Oatmeal Cereal for my Alexandra

My Alexandra would eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning. I finally decided to start making my own...Thank god.

It was so so GOOD! I never knew how amazing a bowl of oatmeal could be..

This is for my Ally!!



Vanilla, Cranberry and Apple Oatmeal for my Alexandra

2 cps. oatmeal
2 cps. milk
2 tsp. Vanilla Paste or Vanilla Extracts
1/2 cp. Vanilla Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 cp. Dried Cranberries
1 chopped apple

1. Add the milk, Vanilla, Vanilla Sugar, Cinnamon, Cranberries and Apples. Bring to a boil. Let Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the oatmeal. Stir a minute or two.

2. Put in bowl and top with a little more milk per serving.