Comfort, Thy Name Is Sumo

I sink into a strange, giant blue marshmallow and sigh contentedly. I balked at this new furniture.  I balk at anything that I don’t actually pick out.  I didn’t pick this out, Casey acquired it on his own. Our home is small and I am very picky about what goes [...]

MaisonBisson Chocolate Martini

The holidays are past, but we still have a sweet tooth here.

chocolate shavings for rimming
1 part crème de cacao
2 parts vodka
dark chocolate garnish

Warm a martini glass over a small flame, then roll the rim in chocolate shavings. Put a square of dark chocolate in the glass, then prepare the liquor. Shake vodka and crème de [...]

Fish Tacos

Oh decadence! Veterans Day provided not only a chance for reflection but also a rare day free from the classroom. So what to do with this open period of time? The answer was easy, dinner party.
I have wanted to have my colleagues Roxanna and John over, but time is always an issue. I phoned them [...]

Cocktail Manifesto

We’re huge fans of The New Joy of Cooking by Marion Rombauer Becker, Irma S. Rombauer, and Ethan Becker. Hardly a meal goes through our kitchen that isn’t shaped in some part by the recipes and general information in its pages. A recent discovery was Joy’s description and defense of cocktail parties.
So, when a book [...]

Restaurant Review: Cotton

First Impressions
How much is too much for an entree at a place that plays the kind of anonymous Muzak that Kenny G calls jazz and is decorated like Applebee’s? Trust me, I like renovated mill buildings, but why confuse it with faux grecian columns and too many pictures of dead celebrities? I mean, the interior [...]

Playing With Food

Like all well bred women, my mother always told me not to play with my food. However, as we get older we realize that sometimes ignoring the rules is just as important as, generally, following them. Food is fun. It has wonderful tastes, smells, colors, and textures. Something with so many wonderful attributes is just [...]

Vicar’s Delight

Hot weather demands cool drinks. Lemonade is fine for the kids, but adults need a pitcher of something more entertaining.

2 parts Vodka
1 part Orange Juice
2 parts Lemonade
dash Lime Juice

Prepare in a pitcher with ice and share. Adjust quantities to taste.
Enjoy safely.
alcohol, drink, entertaining, hot weather, lime juice, orange juice, summer, vicar, vodka

Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookie and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Sandwiches

So once again, my husband called on my assistance with a Friday Food Fiesta challenge. This week’s theme was cookies and biscuits. I scoured my pantry, but alas, like Old Mother Hubbard, my cupboards were practically bare. The one interesting thing I did have was a bag of Hershey’s white chocolate chips. [...]

Sour Cream Berry Bread

My wonderful neighbor, Wendy, went berry picking and dropped me off a large container with luscious, fresh blueberries and raspberries. I decided to try a bit of an experiment and use the batter for one my favorite cakes with the berries. The result was this heavenly sour cream berry bread.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and [...]

Celebrate Independence Day With A Drink

Ok, the truth is that at MaisonBisson we celebrate all holidays with a drink. Since we take cocktails quite seriously, I wanted something very pretty for the little Fourth of July soiree we were having. I have found that the secret to a perfect strawberry daiquiri is using frozen strawberries. I also [...]