Have you ever had one of those days: a day when you’re convinced that every power on earth has conspired to make everything go wrong? I had one of those days on Monday when I made these buns for our Secret Garden menu. My plan was to get up early to allow for the dough’s two long rising periods, so I started the day off right…by sleeping through my alarm. I also planned to make authentic British hot cross buns with golden syrup and flour paste crosses. Instead, the sugar for my syrup absolutely refused to caramelize (I tried 3 different ways), and the flour paste crosses spread into nothingness when baked. Long story short, I used an Americanized recipe instead. Add in the fact that I managed to lock myself out of my apartment halfway through taking pictures, and it’s really no surprise that 3 pm found me drinking a giant glass of wine.
Still, I have to admit, these guys are pretty darn delicious. 😉
In The Secret Garden, the cook at Misselthwaite Manor creates some darn tasty dishes, but she admits to pulling out all the stops when she makes this young fowl with bread sauce. We recreated the dish here by pairing thyme-seasoned roasted chicken with traditional English bread sauce (adapted from this recipe). An entree fit for a true English manor!
There are lots of culinary staples when it comes to the 4th of July (hot dogs, burgers, corn on the cob, etc.). But the whole point of the day is to celebrate freedom, right? So why not shake things up a little bit and make whatever you want? Make an elegant dessert that shines or awesome steaks instead of burgers. Go wild! We’ve got some recipes below to help you make whatever tickles your fancy this 4th. It’s Independence Day—let your foodie flag fly!
This time last year, we were just starting our Anne of Green Gables menu. In a way, we’ve come full circle. We’re greeting July with a the story of a displaced young orphan girl who breathes vibrancy and life into her new home: The Secret Garden! But this time the home (Misselthwaite Manor) is breathing life into the heroine too. While Anne Shirley was flighty and dreamy, Mary Lennox is serious and grim.
Howdy, folks! I just got back from ringing in July in the best way possible: 5 days of cabin camping with old college buddies! It’s a summer tradition that started 5 years ago. Now that we’re scattered across 3 different states, it’s the most important way we keep in touch. Despite the mosquitoes and lack of cell reception, it’s the highlight of my summer. There’s just something magical about age old inside jokes, ice cream cone s’mores, and late-night discussions about how The Lego Movie is basically The Matrix.
On our way to get groceries for the cabin, we stopped at a Mickey D’s for wi-fi so I could post our final Tom Sawyer recipe: Tom’s Whitewashed Jelly Doughnuts. I brought the leftover doughnuts with me to share at the cabin, and my oh my were they popular, especially with blackberry jam (possibly more so than the original raspberry jam I used). If you’re looking for a drink to go along with your own jelly doughnuts, we just released our Tom Sawyer tea from Adagio: Becky’s Peach Tea! Click here or the image below to visit our tea gallery!
Here in the Midwest, cornbread is a very serious business, and anyone who comes from a cornbread eating culture will tell you that regional recipe differences are important (i.e. in the south, cornbread is make with white cornmeal and no sugar). So when I set out to find a Missourian cornbread recipe for our Tom Sawyer menu, it had to be authentic. I rounded up a bunch of potential candidates and ran them past my native Missouri friends, who selected this honey cornbread recipe from a restaurant in Branson.
It seems like every year I struggle to find just the right Father’s Day gift for my dad. It’s not that I don’t love him. Far from it; he’s a great, old-fashioned man’s man—lover of wilderness, patriotism, and meat. Think Ron Swanson if he had four kids. Need proof? This is my Father’s Day card for him this year, and it couldn’t be more perfect.
The problem is that these interests don’t involve much STUFF, which makes gift buying difficult. You can only get a guy so many Longhorn Steakhouse and Gander Mountain gift cards. And that’s why I CAN’T WAIT for this Think Jerky Kickstarter I heard about to become a reality.
Imagine gourmet beef jerky. HEALTHY gourmet jerky, developed by professional chefs and a Baconfest champion. THAT’S what Think Jerky is. The CEO Ricky Hirsch contacted me about their Kickstarter last week and sent me their video. The flavor descriptions alone had me drooling. I mean, c’mon: Sweet Chipotle? HELLO, GORGEOUS.
It’s like they tapped directly into people’s brains and pinpointed what everybody wants in a snack. If you’re looking for unique flavors, you’ve found them…unless you know someone else who’s selling Sriracha Honey jerky, in which case STOP HOLDING OUT ON THE REST OF US. If sustainable farming is your thing, they’ve got a farm-to-table expert on the team. But for me, the beauty is the simplicity of the final product. I like the idea of actual spices instead of chemicals and no gluten (because what’s gluten doing in jerky anyway?).
They’ve actually got me thrilled about turkey jerky for the first time in my life, which on its own is some kind of miracle.
And guess what? They’re already over halfway to their goal. What do you say we show them some Wonderlander love and help them reach the finish line? Doooooo it. You know you want to. Do it for the Ron Swanson in your life.
BONUS REASON TO HELP BACK THIS: If the Kickstarter is successful, Ricky might actually send me some free samples and let me do a review for you guys! HUZZZAH! You can’t see it, but right now I’m giving you my very best please-back-this-I-want-delicious-free-jerky face. Also, backers get discounts on the jerky and free recipe videos from the chefs. DOUBLE HUZZAH!
In so many ways, Tom Sawyer reminds me of Peter Pan. He’s not just a child; he’s childhood. He’s all the good and bad of that stage of life, given shape. He’s Instinct, Whim, Innocence…and more than a little Mischief. Never is this more evident than when he convinces his friends Joe and Huck to run away with him to an island in the middle of the river to become pirates. Smitten with the adventure of such a life, they spend their days eating catfish and searching for buried treasure, thinking little of home.
I read Tom Sawyer for the first time this past year. I’m a huge Mark Twain fan, so I wasn’t really surprised when I loved it. I relished Tom’s innocent yet roguish nature and the endless trouble he and Huck always seem to make for themselves. As the quintessential chronicle of golden boyhood summer, I selected Tom Sawyer as our Book of the Month for June.
