Thankful Thursday

Josalyn Mary-Rose

My great niece, sleeping with her favorite dolly!  She smashes that dolly right up against her face, and hangs on to her with her little hand to sleep!

Pure Love . . .

The Ying & Yang of dogs!

In this picture, sound asleep is Hazel the boxer, my brother's dog and my four-legged niece, snuggling with Chance the puggle, my niece's dog and my four-legged great nephew!  They each have their own doggy beds, but for some reason choose to snuggle on the small bed.  Hazel loves the small bed and Chance usually stretches out on the large bed . . . go figure!

Lobster Ruben anyone?

Here’s how I make my lobster ruben, it’s a copy of a sandwich I had this summer on one of my stops to Stonewall Kitchen.  I used nice sweet chunks of fresh lobster meat tossed with finely chopped celery and my homemade Russian dressing.  You could also use Stonewall Kitchen’s Thousand Island dressing.  This delicious sandwich is then topped with coleslaw and melted Swiss cheese on fresh rye bread.  I served a side of potato salad . . . don't forget the pickle!  

I grilled it on my grill pan with the press to keep it all together!  You could also use a skillet.  This sandwich is a party in your mouth!  Enjoy!

Our local super market was having a special on lobsters.  Delicious Maine lobsters for $3.99 a lb., limit 4 per person.  So my husband and I went to the market and each ordered 4. Somehow 4 have already disappeared!  The other 4 are in the freezer - for later! 

Sheer Domination 45 to 10 . . . just sayin

Cheers to Tom Brady and our New England Patriot's for a great game.  They defeated the Denver Bronco's and have advanced to the next level in the playoffs!  Go Pats!

Greek Mac & Cheese

There was supposed to be a beautiful photo before anyone dug in!  However my niece worked until 7:30 p.m. and stopped by STARVING.  When I went to get something she had already started eating!  She's so cute, how could I mind!  LOL!!!

Would you believe this beautiful girl is a drug and alcohol counselor!
She's also studying for her Masters degree in Forensic Psychology!

This dish does come with a warning - it is EXTREMELY rich! Also, I drove 30 miles to a little fruit market in Arlington, MA to buy the Greek cheese, I could not find it anywhere!  Additionally, the other ingredients were also purchased from a local farm.


SERVES 8–10

INGREDIENTS

3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces

9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Kosher salt, to taste

8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni 

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

4 cups grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese (about 12 oz.)

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

8 large shallots, finely chopped

16 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped

8 scallions cut into 1/4"-thick rounds

1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh dill

1 3/4 cups crumbled feta (about 8 oz.)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tbsp. butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and set aside. 

2. Heat remaining butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in milk and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 10–15 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in graviera, cinnamon, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper; set béchamel sauce aside. 

3. Heat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, 3–4 minutes. Add spinach and scallions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved béchamel sauce, the dill, and the reserved pasta and transfer mixture to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs and the feta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Wordless Wednesday - Duke

1st Lobster Dip of 2012

The air temp was 43F degrees , the water temp was 45F degrees!

bikini's & mittens, only in Maine

OOB Pier

Notice the frogmen in the water!

The 1st Dippers - 24th year!

Fools Rush In . . . for a good cause!

Ha, ha, I'll bet you were expecting a recipe!  Maybe something that had cream cheese, sherry, shallots and chunks of sweet Maine lobster . . . sorry to disappoint you my friends!  This Lobster Dip is for charity!  Every year in Old Orchard Beach, Maine lots of crazy, wacky, insane, nutty people line the beach to run into the FREEZING North Atlantic.  Yesterday was no different.  Hundreds of people took the plunge, and all for a good cause, to raise money for the Special Olympics.

Yes, that's the No. Atlantic (this photo from Portland Press Herald)
I didn't want to go in the water and get frost bite etc.

Notice the 3 "bikini girls" on the left, well my husband did!  LOL!!!

Catching their breath . . .

Now if you're asking if I was one of those people who jumped in the North Atlantic, the answer is NO!  I very quietly stood on the beach and took photos!  I will admit, the thought did cross my mind to put my toe in, but I lost my husband in the crowd and didn't have anyone to hold my camera bag . . . oh well, maybe next year!

Yesterday's event raised $87,000.00 dollars, with money still coming in!

Over the years this event has become VERY organized.  There is now a portable tent hospital, and lots of  emergency medical staff as well as police and fire in the event of a problem.  When we 1st started going to these dips it was simply a small group of people who gathered on the beach with friends who ran in the water and raised some money!

Some of OOB's finest!

Finally, I'll leave you with a little video clip from the beach.  It's the first time I've recorded using my camera, so you'll have to excuse me!  Happy 2012!