Project Melissa & Martha: 1 year and 1,100 recipes

To Continue or Not to Continue, That's the Question...

2009-10-17T22:15:00.001-04:00

I'm going to be real right now, some real talk. I'm having more than a difficult time continuing on with this project. It's always on my mind, but when I finally have the time to cook, I feel too tired to do so or life gets in the way. I made a commitment to do this project and to complete it, but it's not looking so hot right now. I have a huge social studies unit plan (5-8 lessons within the unit) to complete, and I haven't even selected a topic yet. My garage (aka the laundry room) still looks like a topographic map with mountains of clothing screaming to be washed. Every room in my house (no joke) is in need of some serious cleaning. My kitchen is still a disaster from last night's cooking. I'm not going to lie; I feel more than a little overwhelmed. It's humbling and humiliating to admit that I "may" have taken on a project that I'm not capable of completing at this time in my life with all of the other stuff my family and I have going on. I got the word out about my project to help motivate me to complete it, and now public humiliation isn't even enough to keep me on track. I'm only human, blah, blah, blah....

I'm a big believer in signs, and I'm looking for one right now. One that will tell me it's worth it to keep my life in this constant state of chaos for a project that I created myself and am pressuring myself with every second of the day. I don't want to be a failure or a loser; that's the last thing in this world that I want. Maybe I should have chosen a cookbook with less recipes? Maybe I still can? The Barefoot Contessa cookbooks look wonderful and have 200 or so recipes, down to earth, real recipes for real people. Maybe I should continue with one of Ina's cookbooks? I could still keep my September 1, 2010 deadline and not be so stressed. A few hundred recipes is way more realistic in one year than over a thousand. What do you think?

By the way, here are my gingerbread cookie pumpkins...

Gingerbread cookies

MELISSA

Recipe Failed!

2009-10-15T21:36:00.000-04:00

Last night I was in such a horrible mood that I went to bed at 9:00 pm, and obviously, I didn't cook a single thing. I'm having a little bit of trouble getting back into the swing of things. It turns out that cooking new recipes every night is not so easy. Imagine that.

I went grocery shopping today, bought tons of butter, lots of molasses, some corn syrup, and more flour, but I somehow forgot to buy brown sugar, dark brown sugar and buttermilk, the three ingredients I really needed. I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, I attempted to make butter crescents, a VERY buttery roll, but I failed miserably. The yeast did not interact correctly with the milk and sugar, and I did not have another packet of yeast. I must also report that I sadly wasted 2 sticks of butter in the process. Not a good night for me. Better luck tomorrow....

MELISSA

I'm Back!!!!

2009-10-13T23:32:00.000-04:00

Hey, guess who's back? Yup, Project Melissa & Martha is back on! I have to admit that last week was glorious, not having to worry about cooking and buying pounds of butter on a daily basis was a relief. However, I can't let myself down, and I am bound and determined to finish what I've started. Let the cooking begin once again...

Tonight I made fruit crumb bars with granny smith apples. It's like apple crisp but in bar form. It called for (no shock here) almost an entire pound of butter. The apple filling smelled so good while it was sauteeing; the smell of butter, brown sugar, apples and cinnamon should be bottled into perfume form. I did have a little problem with sauteeing the apples and had to put a portion of the filling down the garbage disposal because it burnt just a tad. I'll report back as to how it tastes tomorrow.

Fruit crumb bars

Off to fold clothes before bedtime...Goodnight!

MELISSA

My Apologies...

2009-10-02T21:39:00.000-04:00

Hello! Just got home after a very long day, and the last thing I feel like doing is baking or cooking something at 9:40 pm. Sorry! I always feel like a failure when I can't cook, but hey, at least I'm being honest! Tomorrow is another day! Carpe diem!

MELISSA

Pancakes & Syrup

2009-10-01T22:59:00.000-04:00

It was one of those days when everything I tried to use was almost gone. All of the sudden we were low on everything: dish detergent, laundry detergent, butter, milk, bread, you name it. I hate that. Don't you? You go to the grocery store, and the next day it becomes more than obvious that you clearly didn't check things out closely enough to get the things you really needed. Blah, blah, blah - I'll stop venting now.

Tonight I made one recipe, yeast-raised pancakes. These bad boys took almost 2 hours to rise once the batter was completed, and they didn't smell very good. By themselves, they didn't taste very good, but amazingly they were quite delicious when paired with tons of syrup and whipped cream. I even put chocolate chips on top of the whipped cream for the kiddos. It was more like dessert than dinner.

Yeast-raised pancakes

Anna & the pancakes

Shamus & the pancakes

I'm realizing more and more as this project continues how much easier my life would be with a KitchenAid mixer and that Williams-Sonoma shopping spree I keep fantasizing about. Anyone have one they would like to sell to me for a reasonable price? Know of anyone else who may have one to sell? I'm totally serious because I can barely mix things with my hand-held, circa 1999, mixer. Send me an email at projectmelissamartha@yahoo.com. Goodnight!

MELISSA

One Month Down!!!!

2009-10-01T00:38:00.000-04:00

It's official; Project Melissa & Martha celebrates one month of recipes today! Well, actually yesterday, since it's now 12:25 am and 31 days, but those are just minor details. It's been quite the month, and although at times it felt like there was no way I could continue, here I am. I didn't cook everyday, but I did end up making around 70 recipes which is nothing to be ashamed of. Here's to 11 more months!!!!

Tonight I made almond crescent cookies and baked potatoes with roasted garlic. The almond crescents were delicious, and as my friend Susan pointed out, they are the perfect cookies to make at Christmas and hand out as gifts. Martha's baked potatoes are baked in the oven for over an hour, and Melissa's baked potatoes are nuked in the microwave for about 8 minutes. In keeping with the spirit of the cookbook, I made them Martha's way. The roasted garlic was actually kind of sweet and buttery. I baked 2 heads of garlic in the oven for around 45 minutes with a little olive oil drizzled over the tops that I cut off just so the cloves were exposed. I added the garlic to the baked potato, and it was very tasty. I forgot to take pictures of the baked potatoes, but I think you have an idea what they look like anyway. Here are some pics...

Almond crescents

Roasted garlic

I want to thank Lou for gifting me with a huge bottle of beautiful EVOO and a jar of pesto. It was very thoughtful of him, and I really appreciate the gesture. I definitely use tons of olive oil! So, thanks, Lou!

MELISSA

Class Nights = No Cook Nights

2009-09-29T22:26:00.000-04:00

We're a day away from the completion of the first month of Project Melissa & Martha! I'll dedicate tomorrow's blog to the highlights so far, but tonight I must disappoint yet again. I didn't cook, bake, mix at all today. I had to get school stuff done so that I can begin student teaching in January. I've decided that I'm going to give myself Mondays and Tuesdays off from cooking because it has become more than clear that I can't cook on the days I have classes. It's too difficult, and I have to cut myself a break so that I don't go insane. Sanity is important, people! I'll try to cook Wednesday-Sunday, and I'm still determined to cook all of these recipes by September 1, 2010. With that said, goodnight and sweet dreams!

MELISSA

Day 28

2009-09-28T23:28:00.000-04:00

Day 28 - nothing to report. It's another one of those days when I had class and no time to make even 1 recipe. Hope to make some more delicious recipes tomorrow. Please send me some good cooking vibes....

MELISSA

The Perfect Day to Cook

2009-09-27T19:24:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day despite the rainy, gray weather. I cooked most of the day, but I did take a break to go see "The Hangover" in Seekonk. As expected, it was a crazy movie; the pictures at the end were the most hilarious part of the movie. It makes me smile that we took a "family" vacation to Las Vegas last March with the kiddos and in-laws. We had an awesome time on that trip and did do lots of family activities there (like magic shows, aquariums, etc.), but watching this movie reminded me how much Vegas is NOT a family-friendly town. It's a funny movie; you should see it if you haven't yet.

Ok, onto the cooking portion of the blog... It's hard to believe that the first month of this project is almost completed. I made 3 recipes today: living large chocolate chunk cookies, macaroni & cheese 101 and pecan sandies. The chocolate chunk cookies are delish, and I think my Tollhouse recipe has been replaced. The mac & cheese is very tasty, but if and when I make it again, I think I'll omit the homemade bread crumbs. The pecan sandies were a BIG disappointment because they looked good but had very little flavor. Here are the pics from today's cooking extravaganza...

Living large chocolate chunk cookies

Macaroni & cheese 101

Pecan sandies

While I was cooking today, I was thinking that I should be keeping track of how much butter, sugar, eggs, flour, etc. I'm using. It would be kind of cool to see the amount of ingredients I use by the end of this project. I can always tally them up so far and keep track going forward. Might be worth it. I know the amount of butter I've used so far would blow people's minds so I can only imagine what the final tally will look like....

MELISSA

Restaurants and No Recipes

2009-09-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

Soccer games, in-laws in town and eating out for every meal = no recipes completed. Hope to do better tomorrow. I think I'm going to have to cook for an entire weekend straight just to catch up with my goal. It's been a little more difficult than expected to keep up with the 3-a-day plan. It's all good, though. I WILL complete this entire cookbook by September 1, 2010.

MELISSA

Coconut Cream Deliciousness

2009-09-25T23:40:00.000-04:00

Coconut cream pie

Behold the most beautiful coconut cream pie ever baked! Out of all of the things I have made so far, I am most proud of this pie. It almost hurt me to cut into it because it was so pretty, and it was a labor of love, taking me almost 2 hours to make. My friend Afiya was here to witness the pie's beauty and its deliciousness.

I completed 3 recipes by making this pie: coconut cream pie filling, Martha's perfect pate brisee and swiss meringue for pies. The pate brisee recipe (aka "pie crust") made the best crust ever, and from now on, it'll be my go-to pie crust. The swiss meringue was my first attempt at making meringue, and although it took a while for the meringue to form, it came out really well. The recipe called for 7 egg whites so that's why it took so long for it to form. I think I could win a contest with this pie, for real!

Happy Friday!

MELISSA

AFH and Vanilla Tea Cake

2009-09-24T22:01:00.000-04:00

Nothing to report - just a pic to post. Here is AFH enjoying the vanilla tea cake I made last night. In all seriousness, it was the most delicious thing I have made yet. She agreed.

AFH and Vanilla tea cake

MELISSA

Vanilla Tea Cake and Marathon Runners

2009-09-23T23:41:00.000-04:00

Whoa! Today was another day of craziness. Like I wrote on Facebook, September can go away now. It's been one thing after another this month, and seriously, enough is enough. I've been going to bed around 1:00 am every night (or morning, I guess), and it's taking its toll because tonight I almost fell asleep while making the vanilla tea cake. True story.

As I just mentioned, I made vanilla tea cake tonight. I have to tell you that the batter for this vanilla tea cake tasted, in the words of Will Ferrell, "glorious." The cake is still baking in the oven as I type this, but if the actual cake tastes as good as the batter, we're in for treat here at the Hunt house. Here's a pic of the baking cake.

Vanilla tea cake

Update, according to Dan, the cake is oozing down the sides of the bread pan. I didn't have a big enough pan, but I thought it would be ok. Nope. It smells really good, but it would be better if the cake stayed in the pan and not all over the oven. I'll let you know how it turns out.

On a random note, I want to support a few of my friends who are literally working hard to raise money for great causes. My friends Matt Allen, a fellow alum of St. Michael's College, and Deanna Cruz, the afternoon dj on HOT 106.3 in Providence, are running marathons to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They're both members of the LLS Team in Training. To sponsor their marathon-runs (Matt at Disney World and Deanna in San Fran), go to their training pages and make a tax-deductible donation: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/wdw10/mattallen and http://pages.teamintraining.org/ri/nikesf09/dcruz.

Have a great night!

MELISSA

One Heck of a Day

2009-09-23T00:29:00.000-04:00

Man, what a crazy day! We spent 6 hours at the DMV because the computers there swore that our new car was a commercial vehicle instead of a passenger vehicle. It's a mini-van, and I have no idea why the DMV thinks that we need commercial licenses to operate it. Plus, Shamus still has some skin reaction to some unidentifiable source. A trip to the doctor's office ended with a hive diagnosis. He doesn't look good, and there is nothing worse than when your kiddos aren't feeling well.

I baked the ginger cookies today; I made the dough last night. They came out well. I also made sauteed broccoli rabe and soda biscuits. I didn't know that broccoli rabe was so bitter, and I have to tell you that I am not a fan. The soda biscuits were easy to make because the dough was made in the food processor, and although butter was needed, they were tasty and hearty.

Ginger cookies

Broccoli rabe

Soda biscuits

I had a nice surprise this evening when my friend Susan stopped by. Not only did she bring encouragement on a day that was rough, she also came bearing gifts. She bought me plates, bowls and placemats to display my completed recipes on. It was such a nice thing to do, and it made my day.

My new display plates

My new placemats

Thank you, Giordano!

MELISSA

Hives and Ginger Cookies

2009-09-21T23:14:00.001-04:00

Day 21 was a CRAZY day! Honestly, there aren't many days that aren't crazy. Having the 3-recipes-a-day goal looming over my head is tough. When I'm not able to make any recipes on certain days, I feel like a failure. I have made 55 recipes so far, and all I can think about is that I'm 8 recipes behind my goal of 3-recipes-a-day. I know I'll make them up somehow, though.

I got home from class at 8:50 pm, and as soon as I walked through the door, I was greeted by my son covered in raised rashes that were hot to the touch, all over his lower body. I made frantic phone calls to my next door neighbor who is a nurse practitioner and then finally to the doctor on-call. We figured out that he had hives, probably a virus of some sort. After Benadryl, he was better, and he's now sleeping soundly. Anyway, I managed to make ginger cookies and didn't finish the dough until 10:38 pm. They have to be refrigerated for 2 hours so I won't have pictures of the finished cookies until tomorrow. Here is a pic of the rolled dough, though.

Ginger cookie dough

I'm hoping that tomorrow Shamus will be hive-free and back to normal. I have to end the blog here tonight so that I can tackle the mountains (plural) of laundry; otherwise none of us will have clothes to wear or towels to use tomorrow morning. Just another day in the life of the Hunt family....

MELISSA

Day 20 and Nothing to Report

2009-09-21T00:07:00.000-04:00

Day 20 and the day went by way too fast. I just finished my homework for class tomorrow, and after all that we did today and falling asleep this afternoon, I didn't have enough time to make any new recipes. I did make a recipe for dinner that I already made last week (spaghetti and tomato sauce) because we had all of the ingredients, but I failed to make any new recipes today. I apologize for my lack of cooking, for my culinary failures. At least I'm being honest, right? Tomorrow I'll be back on point.

MELISSA

Smells Like a Bakery in Here!

2009-09-19T23:28:00.000-04:00

Day 19 and 4 more recipes checked off the list! A total of 54 recipes so far completed and 1046 left to make. The hardest part of this project is making things at night, after the kiddos are in bed. I just want to sit on the couch and channel surf, but it ends up being my baking time. The "Martha Diet" (aka - eating cakes and cookies after 10 pm) is not good for the figure, y'all! A run/walk routine is in the works for this woman just so I don't weigh 500 pounds by the time this project is finished.

Our house became "Casa de Hunt" tonight when I made some Hispanic dishes for dinner: arroz con pollo and Cuban black beans. The chicken dish was sp-i-c-e-y but delicious, and the black beans were yummy, especially loved the cilantro. Dan came up with the brilliant idea of making burritos out of the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Consider it done, mi esposo!

Arroz con pollo and Cuban black beans

The darn sweet-tooth in me usually wins out every night. I also made honey cake and honey cream-cheese frosting to go with it. Since the cake is still baking in the oven and the frosting is in the fridge, I'll post a picture of the completed cake in tomorrow's blog. Once again, the house smells like a bakery.

I just cleaned up the kitchen for the second time tonight; the numerous clean-ups and dishwashings are a bummer. My kitchen seems to always be in a state of disaster (although it's fairly clean right now). Here is a picture of what it looked like earlier.

The mess during the making of the Cuban black beans.

Goodnight!

MELISSA

18 Days and Counting

2009-09-18T22:16:00.001-04:00

I'm 18 days into Project Melissa & Martha, and as of tonight, I have made 50 recipes. That leaves 1,050 recipes left to complete by September 1, 2010. We didn't have a guest over for dinner as planned, but she's coming over next Friday so I hope to make 6 or so recipes that night.

Tonight I made blondies and cornmeal pastry. Blondies are essentially chocolate chip cookies in bar form, and it smells really good in the Hunt house tonight. The cornmeal pastry recipe made 2 crusts that have to be refrigerated overnight, and tomorrow I plan on using them in pies. I haven't decided which pies I'm going to make yet, but at least the crusts are done.

Blondie

(aka "going to go great with vanilla ice cream later")

Cornmeal pastry

I have this recurring daydream about Williams-Sonoma. In my daydream, Williams-Sonoma finds out about my project and blog, and the Providence store wants to do a promotion with me to advertise my blog and the Williams-Sonoma brand. Williams-Sonoma offers to give me 5 minutes to grab whatever I can grab in the store; I can grab ANYTHING. That would be sooo awesome! I could grab culinary tools that I didn't even know that I needed. Anyway, people, it's just a daydream, and these are the types of daydreams I've been having lately. Martha has every kind of culinary equipment conceivable; it must be nice to be Martha.

MELISSA

Don't Hate, Congratulate!

2009-09-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

Ok, I knew once I started this project that it wasn't going to be easy to cook every single day; life is busy and making 3 recipes daily isn't always realistic. Having made these statements, I have to let you know that I am not cooking tonight. I can't. I know I took Tuesday off too, but hey, that's just how it goes. I'm just keeping it real, yo. Dan is working tonight because the New Boyz are in town (their song is "You're a Jerk" and their new CD is "Skinny Jeanz and a Mic"). (By the way, you can check out the New Boyz at http://www.thenewboyz.com/.) One of my kiddos has a cold and keeps getting out of bed. My eyes just want to go to sleep, and my throat is sore. Plus, my kitchen is still a disaster from cooking the 4 recipes last night. If you don't believe me, check these pics out...

The good news is that I have to cook around 6 recipes tomorrow because we have a dinner guest coming over. Appetizers, salad, entree and dessert were promised so I have to follow through no matter how much I don't feel up to it. Plus, I figure I'll make up for occasional days off with all of the extra recipes I'll be making at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have a year to accomplish this so I have to cut myself a break from time to time to keep my sanity in tact. I feel the need to explain myself because my guilt factor is way too high.

Holla back!!!!

MELISSA

Angel Food Cake and Lots of Garlic

2009-09-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

I'm back! I managed to make 4 recipes tonight, but I wanted to make 10, then 5 when 10 was too out of control. I was all set to make recipe #5, and I realized I didn't have chicken broth so recipe #5 was out. I'll make it tomorrow. Although 4 recipes clearly isn't 10, it's still a big undertaking, trust me.

This afternoon I made angel food swirl cake. This was my first ever angel food cake, and I'm thankful that Mom bought me a tube pan so that I was able to make it. The "swirl" part was mushed up raspberries, and it was delicious. I also made roast chicken with potatoes and garlic, slow-roasted tomatoes served on toasted rustic bread (didn't make that, by the way) and sauteed zucchini and yellow squash with mint. It was quite a sophisticated meal....so sophisticated the kiddos didn't really want anything to do with it. The chicken was moist and tender, and the slow-roasted tomatoes on the rustic toast was light and flavorful. The sauteed zucchini recipe was a little anti-climatic, not much flavor for a lot of work.

Angel food swirl cake

Roast chicken with potatoes and garlic

Slow-roasted tomatoes (with basil and garlic)

Zucchini and yellow squash with mint

Despite not reaching my goal of 10 recipes for the day, I still feel accomplished in making 4 recipes. The house smells fantastic, and our bellies are full. My goal is to keep on keeping on, and I'm going to try to put off the veal dishes for a very long time. I saw a documentary about veal that I won't soon forget. Anyway, have a great night and watch "GLEE" tonight on FOX. Sweet dreams!

MELISSA

A Night Off

2009-09-15T22:25:00.001-04:00

If you read my status on Facebook tonight, then you already know that I'm taking the night off. I'm not going to make tons of excuses for myself, but after 15 days, I do need a night to just drink a chai tea latte and watch Bravo-tv. I have a marathon-day of cooking planned for tomorrow. I have to get the kiddos to and from school, but besides that, I am free to cook, cook and cook some more. Check back tomorrow to see what I end up making....

MELISSA

Two Weeks of Project Melissa & Martha Done

2009-09-14T22:08:00.001-04:00

Day 14 and week 2 of this project is complete! Woo-hoo! I should have had some crazy recipes lined up to celebrate this momentous occasion, but nope, no such luck. Tonight is a class night for me, and I got home around 8:50 pm without a single recipe done for the day (in true Melissa-style). In the interest of full disclosure, I want to let you know that I went through the cookbook purposely looking for 1) easy recipes and 2) recipes that I had the ingredients for. It's grocery day tomorrow, and the fridge and cupboards are looking pretty darn bare, my friends. I don't even have any butter.....gasp.....the horror!!!!

Tonight I made cinnamon-thyme tea, sauteed banana filling and Martha's soft-boiled eggs. I certainly didn't have to be a culinary genius to pull off tonight's recipes, but I'm not ashamed. Hey, I got the three recipes taken care of, didn't I? I didn't even want to try the tea because it smelled so bad. The sauteed banana filling had an overwhelming Bourbon flavor, and the soft-boiled eggs were a little too soft for my liking. I'm more of a hard-boiled egg kind of girl. Anyhoo, here are the photos:

Cinnamon-thyme tea

Sauteed banana filling

Martha's soft-boiled eggs

So, another night of recipes is done. I have made 38 recipes so far and have been cooking recipes every day for the past 14 days. That's worth something. I'm proud of myself, and even though it's been kind of tough to make recipes at times, I'm still managing to get it done. Week 3, here I come!

MELISSA

Steak and Veggies

2009-09-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, let's be real with each other for a second, shall we? No, I didn't cook 7 recipes today. I thought about it, A LOT, but I only made 3 recipes. It's more like I forced myself to make 3 recipes because, honestly, I didn't feel like cooking at all today. I feel a great sense of accomplishment from just completing the 3. I'll have to squeeze in 4 extra recipes next week to get back on track.

Tonight I made steak with chimichurri sauce, buttered carrots with parsley and corn on the cob. Apparently chimichurri is a common sauce in South America, and it has an interesting flavor. The other 2 recipes are fairly self-explanatory but delicious nonetheless.

Steak with chimichurri sauce

Buttered carrots with parsley

Corn on the cob

With today's completed recipes, I've made 35 recipes, and tomorrow is week 2 of the project. Time flies when you're having fun, right? Oh, and here's a picture of my constant cooking companion, Gretchen the Beagle. She lays beneath my feet while I'm cooking every recipe, hoping to get a taste of whatever I'm making. Goodnight!

MELISSA

Day 12 was a Good Day!!!!

2009-09-12T22:19:00.000-04:00

To quote Ice Cube, "Today was a good day." Between a new car (new to us!), the kiddos' first soccer games, hanging with the family and making some good food, I would put this Saturday in the "great" category. Plus, my mom bought me a tube pan (very exciting since I need one of those to make angel food cakes), and I discovered that the Christmas Tree Shop sells spices and extracts at a hugely reduced price. These are the types of things that make me beyond happy these days...

The first recipe I made tonight was spaghetti and tomato sauce 101. It was a great pasta dish using thin spaghetti and very light, homemade tomato sauce. The fresh basil leaves in the sauce gave it a little "something, something," and I think that cooking the pasta and sauce together in a skillet really blended the flavors together well. Just saying...

Spaghetti and tomato sauce 101

The next recipe I made was a gingerbread snacking cake, and let me tell you, it is glorious being in our house tonight because the cake smells sooooo good!!!! When I was mixing together the batter, the smell brought me back to my great-grandmother's house in Wilton, Maine. My Special Grammie Waugh used to make molasses cookies to die for, and this batter smelled just like those. I'd like to give a shout-out to the Rapoza Family for letting me use ground cloves so that I could finish this recipe! Thank you! Dan is bringing home real whipped-cream to go along with this cake...the gingerbread cake will get yummier, ladies and gentlemen!

Gingerbread snacking cake

So, I've made 32 recipes in 12 days. That means that I'll have to make "7" recipes tomorrow to catch up with my 3-recipes-a-day goal. Can I do it? I'm going to try! May the cooking angels hear my pleas (numerous pleas) for help!

MELISSA

No Pastries Tonight, Just Manicotti

2009-09-11T20:37:00.001-04:00

Day 11 is finished, and 30 recipes have been completed thus far. If you're on top of your mathematics, you can see that I'm 3 recipes behind, and I plan on cooking up a storm this weekend to make up those 3 recipes. Anyway, I'm not concerned, and I know I'll catch up. I'm amazingly calm about the whole thing...REALLY! :-)

Tonight I made tomato sauce and manicotti, and they were both delish! My mom and brother are here visiting for the weekend, and we attacked that pan of manicotti. Only when there was 1 manicotti left, I realized that I forgot to take pictures of my completed recipes. So, here is a picture of the 1 lonely manicotti and tomato sauce left behind...

Manicotti with Tomato sauce

Tomorrow and Sunday I'll have lots to blog about, and I'll be completing lots of recipes. Have a great weekend, and say a little cooking prayer for me if you remember to.

MELISSA

Three Simple Recipes

2009-09-10T21:49:00.005-04:00

It's Day 10. Since I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon when I could have been cooking and since my kiddos had their annual pizza picnic at school tonight, I decided to give myself a little break and make a few recipes that didn't require a whole lot of work. I whipped up these three recipes in about 30 minutes: simple syrup, glossy caramel icing and chocolate glaze for cupcakes.

Simple syrup simply put is sugar and water boiled together and then cooled in an ice-water bath. It serves as a sweet base for many drinks that I'll have to make from the cookbook (yes, there are drinks to make, too), and once made, it can be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 2 months. It's not too exciting to look at, but here's a picture.

Simple syrup in an ice-water bath

The next recipe was the glossy caramel icing. This recipe only called for 2 ingredients: sugar and heavy cream. I had never melted sugar before in a skilllet, but the process was kind of cool, like a science experiment. It also kind of looked like snow melting as the sugar turned into an amber-colored liquid. Plus, it brought back memories of our trips to Savannah, Georgia when my husband and I lived in South Carolina. One of my favorite places was the Savannah Candy Kitchen, and the smell of the sugar and heavy cream cooking together was the exact smell of the candy store.

Glossy caramel icing

The last recipe of the night was the chocolate glaze for cupcakes. It's true I didn't make any cupcakes to dip into the glaze, but I had the semi-sweet chocolate squares and the heavy cream so it was a go. It's amazing what just 2 ingredients will create when combined.

The final product - chocolate glaze

That's all for Day 10. The season premiere of "Supernatural" is on, and I've got to focus now. Sweet cooking dreams, y'all!

MELISSA

Culinary Confessions

2009-09-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today was the hardest day of Project Melissa & Martha so far. It's Day 9, and I just felt tired, overwhelmed and unmotivated. It kind of hit me that what I'm doing with this project, while it's cool, is tons o'work. Plus this contaminated water thing is getting pretty darn old. It makes me realize how much we take clean, running water for granted and how much easier our lives are with clean, running water.

I was supposed to make 4 recipes today, but I only made 2. While I'm confessing culinary sins, I have to let you know that I was forced to use imitation vanilla flavoring in my cookies tonight when I ran out of pure vanilla extract. I think Martha would forever shun me if she knew this dirty little secret. SHHHHHH!!!! I feel like I just went to confession...

Tonight I made French butter cookies and TRIED to make classic light rolls. The cookies came out fabulously, if I do say so myself. The classic light rolls never had a chance. I had to let the dough rise for 2 1/2 hours, but it never did. Still waiting for it to rise 4 1/2 hours later.

French butter cookies

Classic light rolls (AKA "The Dough Blob")

Here's to hoping that Day 10 goes a little better than Day 9. I know this project isn't going to be anything near easy, especially with a family, grad school and all the other things that make life so busy, but I will get it done. I definitely have to buy some more pure vanilla extract, though.

MELISSA

E.coli Breakout = Only 2 Recipes Made

2009-09-08T23:41:00.000-04:00

Due to a breakout of E.coli in our town water system, I only made 2 recipes tonight. Why does E.coli have anything to do with my cooking, you may ask? Well, not being able to use the tap water makes it kind of difficult to wash the 5,000 dishes, measuring spoons and cups that I need to make 3 recipes. I barely made it through 2 recipes. Plus, I'm tired, cranky and just want to go to sleep. Looks like tomorrow will be another 4-recipe day...

I made cookie crust and pastry cream tonight, and the combo is out of this world! The cookie crust tastes just like a sugar cookie, and the pastry cream is glorious. I added sliced bananas after I filled the crust with the pastry cream. Dan just cut us each a slice; we're on the "Martha Diet."

Pastry cream

Cookie crust

Pastry Cream with a Cookie Crust and Banana Slices

Here's to hoping that the water situation is all cleared up by tomorrow. That's all I've got tonight so I'm signing off now. Goodnight!

MELISSA

One Week Celebration

2009-09-07T20:05:00.002-04:00

I've made it through one whole week, people! Woo-hoo! As of right now, I have officially completed 21 recipes. While not all of them have turned out well, they've all benefitted me in my quest for culinary achievement. Or something like that....trying to sound professional. I know I've only finished one week of my project, but I still feel a sense of accomplishment for just making it this far. :-)

Anyhoo, today I made 4 recipes: buttermilk pancakes, cornmeal biscuits, oven baked frites and creamy vinaigrette. The buttermilk pancakes (called for 3 cups of buttermilk, by the way) were very good and made a nice lunch for the Hunt family on this fine Labor Day. The cornmeal biscuits were also delicious (this goes on my "to make again" list), and the oven baked frites were a hit. However, I'm sorry to report that the creamy vinaigrette had to be dumped down the garbage disposal. It tasted worse than it looked. I know that doesn't seem possible by the picture.

Buttermilk pancakes

Cornmeal biscuits

Oven baked frites

Creamy vinaigrette

Thanks to all of our friends and family who have become "fans" of Project Melissa & Martha on Facebook; there are now 77 fans! I'm like a kid on Christmas every time I see that a new person has become a fan. Also, my Twitter followers have now gone international; I have a travel writer from Moscow, Russia following me @1100recipes which is kind of cool. Technology is an amazing thing.

Week 2 begins tomorrow, and I still haven't figured out what to make. To keep my sanity in tact and to keep me from going to the grocery store on a daily basis, I'm trying to find recipes that call for ingredients I already have on hand. By the end of this thing I'll have quite a collection of oils, vinegars and spices. I wish my family owned a grocery store...

MELISSA

Disaster on Many Levels

2009-09-07T00:11:00.000-04:00

Day 6 was not a good one for Project Melissa & Martha. First of all, the molasses drop cookies burned. Secondly, I just got home from working a wedding at the country club and couldn't make the third recipe of the day - the baked oven frites. So, tomorrow I have to make 4 recipes; luckily it's Labor Day and a day off from grad school. Thirdly, I'm actually posting Sunday's blog on Monday because it's now 12:02 am. This is reality, folks!

Although the molasses drop cookies burned (I swear I followed Martha's directions word-for-word), the chocolate turnovers were truly delicious. They were easy to make, too. My daughter hasn't liked many of my recipes so far, but she gave the chocolate turnovers her stamp of approval by eating two of them.

Chocolate turnovers

Molasses drop cookies

Here's to hoping that tomorrow goes better than today. Four recipes in one day seem like a lot to me, but I'll get it done. Project Melissa & Martha will be back on track.

MELISSA

Breakfast and Bananas

2009-09-05T13:03:00.000-04:00

It's only 12:22 pm, and Day 5 of recipe making is already complete. Phew...huge relief to have it out of the way since I have to work tonight starting at 4 pm. I should aim for completing most of my recipes in the morning so I don't freak out at 10:00 at night with 2 recipes left to cook, with Dan and me still waiting to eat dinner.

Before I write about today's recipes, I want to talk "butter." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, "butter." Since I started this project 5 days ago, I have used almost 5 lbs. of it. In case you're a little slow with calculations this afternoon, that's one pound of butter a day. I now know that it is the secret ingredient to all truly delicious recipes. I'm only going to use Cabot Natural Creamery unsalted butter for this project solely for sentimental reasons; I used to drive thru Cabot, Vermont during my travels to and from Vermont and Maine when I attended Saint Michael's College. If anyone works for or knows someone who works for Cabot, holla at your girl!

I began the day by making campfired potatoes, which are homefries. It took almost an hour to cook them so it wasn't a quick recipe you could just whip up in the morning; I'm learning that Martha really loves to take the long way around making recipes. I also made a simple omelet with mozzarella cheese filling. I followed the recipe word-for-word, and it was the first time I made an omelet that was both beautiful to look at and delicious. Usually they're just delicious and look like something went very wrong in the cooking process.

Omelet and Campfired potatoes

My last recipe of the day was for banana pillows, and in the words of one of my fave Bravo-tv personalities, Rachel Zoe, "I die!" These bad-boys were scrumptious, and they're easy to make - a fabulous combo! Martha allowed me to use pre-made puff pastry sheets so that made it easy, and the filling was carmelized bananas which I made by melting together light-brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, butter (of course) and banana slices. It reminded me of when Dan and I lived in South Carolina, and we used to go to this restaurant just to get the Bananas Fosters Bread Pudding. Anyway, they were divine, for the lack of a better word.

Banana pillows

I'm still trying to decide what to make for tomorrow, and I think I'm getting less freaked out by the constant mess in the kitchen. I'll learn to keep up with it. Thank you, Mom, for the pots and pans that you bought me for my birthday because without those I would be in big trouble.

MELISSA

2009-09-04T21:10:00.000-04:00

Another day, another huge mess in the kitchen. I think I've just come to accept that for the next year, actually for the next 361 days, my kitchen is going to be a continuous disaster area. Right now my sinks are over-flowing, and the counters are covered, kind of like yesterday. I wash the bowls and pans and cookie sheets and baking supplies, and then I use them again a short time later - three times a day.

I'm also realizing that this project is going to be a little more costly than I first thought. I just assumed that I'd buy groceries as usual, but nope. Every recipe calls for some crazy ingredient that I don't have which requires yet another trip to the grocery store. Is selling an organ to finance this project going too far? Just kidding...kind of.

In addition to the cornmeal pancakes, I also made pizza dough and pizza sauce. It took the dough about an hour to rise, and the sauce had to simmer for almost an hour. So, it took a while to prepare before I could actually bake the pizza in the oven. It tasted really good, though.

Cornmeal pancakes

Pizza sauce

Pizza (made with homemade dough)

Day 4 is done, and tomorrow will be yet another day of cooking. I have an idea about the recipes I'm going to attempt tomorrow, but one of them is a pastry recipe so I'll be pushing myself out of the comfort zone just a little bit. Tune in tomorrow...

MELISSA

2009-09-03T22:01:00.000-04:00

Whoa! Where do I begin? Day 3 kicked my ass, to put it bluntly. I sat on the couch in the family room this morning, leisurely sipping my coffee, and looking through the cookbook, trying to choose my next 3 recipes. After looking at the ingredients and directions, I thought that the twice-baked butternut squash, mashed potaotes 101 and classic oatmeal cookies (with chocolate chunks) looked pretty harmless. I was sooo wrong.

My first mistake was trying to make all three recipes at the same time, starting at 5:00 pm. I should have made the cookies earlier in the day, and the two vegetable dishes at dinner time. With three different things going on at the same time, my kitchen was in a state of utter chaos. I felt like a mad scientist on the verge on insanity. Check out the pictures below.

The twice-baked squash took an hour and a half to make, and the whole time I was thinking that I could have whipped up some squash in the good ole' microwave in like 8 minutes. However, I must say that the squash turned out well; it was beautiful and impressive to look at it, and it tased delicious. The mashed potatoes 101 were a pleasant surprise. The recipe called for about a quarter of the butter I usually use and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (?!), and despite the limited amount of butter and the addition of nutmeg, the mashed potatoes were just as tasty as my own, if not tastier. As for the oatmeal cookies, they came out really well too, and I'm still baking batches as I type this.

Twice-baked butternut squash

Mashed potatoes 101

Classic oatmeal cookies (with chocolate chunks)

So, despite the amount of time I spent prepping and cooking tonight, the recipes turned out well. My husband did the dishes, and I LOVE him for that! As you can see from the photos of our kitchen above, that was a pretty big deal. :-)

MELISSA

Muffins & Eggs

2009-09-02T20:46:00.001-04:00

Ah, much better! Day 2 was way less hectic than yesterday. I didn't have class tonight so it definitely made a difference; I'll have to plan ahead on Mondays and Tuesdays. Being proactive is key.

Blueberry corn muffin

Let me talk about the blueberry corn muffins for a second. According to my husband, they were "the bomb," and they were pretty good. I was mostly fascinated that they came out of the muffin tin in one piece, instead of in pieces. Also, call me crazy, but there is something oddly beautiful when butter, sugar and corn meal are mixed together. I truly haven't lost it YET, but I did think that as I was making the muffins this morning. Just wanted to share that deep thought with you....

We did the whole "breakfast for dinner" thing tonight in which I made Martha's scrambled eggs and fried eggs. Truthfully, the scrambled eggs tasted like I had poured an entire container of salt into the pan. My son wouldn't even eat them, and he loves eggs. Hell, the dogs wouldn't even eat them which is not a good sign considering they love to eat stuff in the backyard, if you know what I'm saying. So, I screwed up the scrambled eggs, but I'm proud to report that the fried eggs were delicious. It's pretty difficult to screw up something cooked in bacon fat.

Day 3 begins in a few hours, and I still don't know what I'm going to make. Today was kind of an easy one so maybe tomorrow I'll push my limits a little bit....or maybe not.

MELISSA

One Day Down, 364 to go...

2009-09-01T23:34:00.000-04:00

As expected, day one of this project was a crazy-ass day. Between dropping both kids off at school, picking them up, getting to and from grad school by way of a friend's borrowed vehicle (Thanks, Susan!) because mine decided not to run correctly and all of the other daily activities, I couldn't even make recipes 2 and 3 until 10:00 pm tonight. But, I did it! I almost cried a few times during the day, but I got it done. Yeah!

Funny story. I went to Shaw's today to get a few ingredients that I needed. For the French toast, Martha suggested white bread so I picked a homemade loaf of white bread that wasn't sliced. I asked the woman at the bakery if she could slice it for me, and I also asked if it could be cut 3/4" thick. She put her hand on her hip, rolled her eyes and said, "It comes in one size." I said, "That's fine then," but inside I was thinking, "Crap! Martha wouldn't like this; she said 3/4"!" If someone uttered those words to Martha, she would have jumped over the counter, ripped the bread out of the bakery lady's hands, calibrated the slicer to the desired thickness and gotten it done. Instead I watched the bakery lady slice my bread in that "one size" and squish the loaf back into the bag before she handed it to me. I now know a little what it's like to be Martha - a particular woman in a non-particular world. Tough times.

So, today I made French toast, tortilla casserole and pico de gallo. Here are a few pictures of the recipes:

French toast (didn't look good but tasted great)

Tortilla casserole

Pico de gallo

What delicious recipes will I make tomorrow? I certainly have quite a few to choose from...

MELISSA

2009-08-31T22:09:00.000-04:00

This is it, ladies and gentlemen! Tomorrow the big day arrives; the day my kitchen becomes the vessel through which I will cook 1,100+ recipes in one year's time. Big breath - inhale....and......exhale. I thought I had my first 3 recipes all picked out, but I was wrong. Before I go to sleep tonight, I must figure that out.

Mondays and Tuesdays will be a kind of crazy because I have grad school classes both days. I'll just have to cook while my kids are in school on those days. I have lots of cool ideas for this project to mix it up a little along the way so stay tuned...

I'm off to research cooking discussion boards (thanks for the idea, Beth!) so that I can get the news out there about my project and blog. The more people that follow, the more people I can't let down.

Until tomorrow...

MELISSA

Back to School...

2009-08-30T22:39:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is a big day at the Hunt house. The kids start school, and my fourth semester of grad school also begins. The whole school thing is going to make my recipe-making a little more challenging, but I welcome this under-taking. It'll be a nice diversion on the really crazy days.

Speaking of recipe-making, the first day of my project begins on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, just a little over 24 hours away. I'm well aware of how ambitious this project is, but I'm dedicated, focused and ready for the year-long journey.

Wish me luck!

MELISSA

Thank You!

2009-08-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

It's 11:48 pm - I almost missed a day of blogging - almost! I just got home from work at the country club so I thought I'd post something quick given the late hour and all. What I want to write about tonight is that Jill Zarin, THE Jill Zarin from the Bravo Channel's "The Real Housewives of New York City," is following ME on Twitter!!!! If she knew what a huge Bravo fan I am, she would know how cool I think this is! I almost passed out when I saw that she was following me when I checked my account this morning. Now, if only I could get her to follow my blog....

Thanks to the 16 people who have signed up to follow my blog! I truly appreciate your support, and you'll help me stick to my goal since I know that you're reading what I'm up to and care about my project. So, THANK YOU!

Have a great night!

MELISSA

Cooking 1,100 Recipes....on a Budget

2009-08-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

I have been getting lots of questions lately about how I'm going to afford to cook like Martha every single day for a year. It's true that we're an one-income family right now as I'm in my final year of grad school, and my husband works fulltime. However, I'm going to take it week by week, and buy groceries as usual. I chose The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics because it's full of recipes that are down to earth, down-home, "classic," without too many crazy ingredients. Of course there are a few "exotic" recipes which will require a trip to places like Whole Foods to buy special ingredients, but most of the recipes use stuff I already have in the pantry.

The other issue is the question about equipment. I don't have many kitchen gadgets, no KitchenAid mixer, just a regular ole' hand-held mixer that I bought 10 years ago when we built our first house. Thanks to my mom I have new pots and pans, great birthday presents. Martha lists pages of necessary equipment at the beginning of her cookbook, but due to budget issues and realism, I'll have to be creative and use what I've got to make these recipes come to life. I'm all about improvisation. I can always borrow equipment from my friends if I have to; I'll give them shout-outs on my blog as thanks! :-)

Hunt out....

MELISSA

It's On Now!!!!

2009-08-27T22:45:00.001-04:00

Although I already posted a blog this evening, I had to post another one because I have a story to tell. We went to Borders tonight, and guess what, people? There was only ONE The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics on the shelf at the Borders at the Providence Place Mall. Yes, I repeat, ONE! It's fate, I tell you! I really almost passed out when I looked through the book and saw the pictures of the recipes I will be making (latkes(?!), rainbow sorbet cake(yum but ?!?!), cherry perserves(Christmas presents)), and I laughed really hard out loud sitting on that bench in the store because it seems almost ridiculous that I'll be making all of those crazy recipes. Bring it on; I'm not scared...well, maybe just a little.

MELISSA

Chez Hunt

2009-08-27T18:11:00.002-04:00

So, here's my kitchen - Chez Hunt. This is where I'll make all of the magic happen, and where I will make our gas bill skyrocket baking and boiling and sauteeing and whatever else Martha will have me doing. It's a nice kitchen, not the largest, but there is enough counter space for me to work with. Perhaps I should get a movable island...but then the fridge might not open. I'll just work with what I have. Afterall, Julie Powell cooked all of that fancy, French cuisine in a kitchen the size of a closet in her Queens, NY apartment.

It's our 10th wedding anniversary tonight so we're off to celebrate by eating at a restaurant; next year I'll be cooking the anniversary dinner....

If you're on twitter, follow my culinary tweets @ 1100recipes.

MELISSA

I'll Make 1,100+ Recipes...with a Little Help from my Friends Van, Otis and James

2009-08-26T11:34:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I haven't officially started my project yet (September 1st, just in case you forgot), but I've decided to blog before my start date because the "Before the Project" blogging is just as important. So, here I am typing about how I'm kind of freaking out about this project, sweating it a little bit and wondering if it was such a good idea to alert the World Wide Web that I'm an over-ambitious woman bent on proving to myself, and everyone else, that I can accomplish this.

I have to admit that I'm feeling a little bit nervous about this endeavour; Martha's cookbooks are no joke. They're meticulous, detailed, beautiful - serious stuff. I keep telling myself that if I just follow the recipes word-for-word and line-for-line that I can do it. I'm also kind of in denial, but man, it's a good place to be! :-)

I'll just listen to Van Morrison, a little Otis Redding and add in some James Taylor while I cook, bake, grill, slice and dice, and I'll make my kitchen into a zen den of cooking excellence and exploration. It could be like meditation or some free therapy, right? Here's to hoping! :-)

MELISSA

Who Ordered Dominos? Me!

2009-08-25T18:44:00.003-04:00

I have a week to go before the September 1st start date of my culinary quest, and we're having pizza for dinner tonight - good ole' Dominos! I'm just resting my hands and mind before I have to cook 3 recipes a day...

I know that I already posted a blog today, but I wanted to write about some of the reactions I'm getting. People are mostly supportive of the idea, and I have a feeling that everyone thinks I'm a little bit crazy for doing this and blogging about it. Thanks to the 7 people who signed up to follow this blog - Jennifer, Stanley, Kim, Jeanne, Katie, Mary Beth and Dan, my husband of 10 years. :-) I guarantee some interesting things will be written during this year. You have to admit that it's an intriguing project and brave, if nothing else. One of my close friends (I won't name names) seems to think I'm a little ridiculous and doesn't get why I'm even doing this. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything we do; I'm looking for a challenge and some fun and some writing on a daily basis. Plus, if the recipes turn out well, my family can expect at least one delicious, home-cooked meal every, single day. Hey, the family that eats together, stays together. Just saying...

Well, the man in blue just pulled into our driveway with the pizzas. Time for dinner. It's pizza for dinner this Tuesday night; who knows what will be for dinner NEXT Tuesday night (September 1st) - poached salmon, gingered flank steak sates, crab bisque? Who knows - there are a lot of possibilities in 1,100 recipes. I do know one thing; it won't be Dominos.

MELISSA

A Wicked Crazy Idea

2009-08-25T12:57:00.001-04:00

So, last night I saw the movie Julie & Julia, which I can only describe as delightful. Truthfully, it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Beyond enjoying the movie itself, I recognized a bit of myself in Julie Powell, and I felt a connection to her writing side. I have lots of creative ideas, but like Julie, I rarely follow through my creative ideas to completion - afraid of failure and mediocrity. I, too, am a wannabe writer (one of my lifetime dreams is to write a novel), and although she actually did write a novel before she even started blogging (which I haven't), I felt for her and her quest to define her voice in this world. People want to make their way in this world, carve out their own little niches where they feel in control and in charge of their own destinies, where their voices can be heard, or read. Simply said - everyone, whether they admit it or not, wants to accomplish something, be known for something, and try to make their own special, place in this big, crazy world.

After watching Julie & Julia and updating my facebook status when I got home last night, the idea of "Melissa & Martha" came to me. Julie had Julia Child as her cooking idol, and I have Martha Stewart as mine. Plus, the names Melissa and Martha go well together. With Julie Powell as my inspiration, I am going on an adventure of my own with the goal of making all 1,100 + recipes in The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics (the 2007 revised and updated edition) in ONE YEAR's time. If you do the math, that comes out to about 3 recipes a day.

Since I'm a stay-at-home mom to two children (ages 7 and 5) and two Beagles (ages 12 and 8), a wife, run a house, go to graduate school full-time and currently have a part-time job on weekends working banquet events at a country club, I have my work cut out for me. However, the driving force behind "Project Melissa & Martha: 1 year and 1,100 recipes," is to practice writing. What better way to find my writing-voice then to blog daily about making 1,100 plus recipes?

I AM NOT a culinary genius, but I don't have to be. To successfully complete this project, I just have to make each dish to the best of my ability. Some recipes may be delicious, others will be disastrous. However they may turn out, I'll write about them, including the good, the bad and the really, really ugly details.

The start date of this project will be September 1, 2009, and from that date, I'll have exactly 365 days to make all 1,100 + recipes. May the cooking angels smile down upon me because I'm going to need all of the help I can get.

MELISSA