Funfetti Fun

Living on my own, Ive been trying to mix up my meals and search for new recipes. I was looking through Pinterest (new favorite website to find different recipes, craft ideas, and pretty much anything that sparks creativity), I typed in one word in the search box, "Funfetti".

Remembering my days of my childhood, I loved have sprinkles on my cupcakes, sprinkles on my brownies, sprinkles on my ice cream, heck I still do, but Funfetti brings it to a whole new level.

I think Funfetti is something that Pillsbury company invented it, incorporating the sprinkles into the cake mix. Woah mind blown.

So check this out: Funfetti Sandwich Cookies. From process to completion.

The batter

Laid out on the baking sheets

The hardest part: waiting.

Sprinkles

 

The finished product

Get the recipe here! http://www.bakedperfection.com/2011/04/funfetti-sandwich-cookies.html

Sweet, chewy, yummy, sprinkle-y. Once you bake these and have one, its hard not to have another one. Believe me, they are just THAT GOOD.

A Winter Return to Nantucket: Scallop Season

So last weekend, I returned to Nantucket for a brief visit to work on some business stuff with my former supervisor.

I have never been to Nantucket during the winter. Granted it has been a strange winter this year and I was expecting some snow on the ground; but it was absolute perfect: sunny, cold, the weather was gorgeous and without any tourists around, it was peaceful on the island.

One of the things that Nantucket is known for, in terms of food, are its Bay Scallops. I should know; I did research them on this past summer.

Nantucket Bay Scallops are one of the last wild and un-managed populations of scallops on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Elsewhere, scallops have succumbed to aquaculture and the actions of the fishery industry. The fact that almost any Nantucket dish of scallops you get are wild, meaning harvested straight from the water,  makes a huge difference in terms of taste.

They are just so much sweeter and darn delicious. Once you have Nantucket Bay Scallops, you will never want any other. They even say that President Obama favors scallops only from Nantucket and so do I.

When I was on Nantucket during the summer doing research on them, I just kept craving for them. But during the summer, the scallops were still small and growing. October to March is the prime season for harvesting them out in Nantucket harbor and boy, they are worth the wait.

While on island, a party of us went to Fusaro's, a fairly new Italian restaurant on the island, for dinner. They were serving lightly breaded Nantucket Bay scallops along with smelt, calamari, and shrimp served over a bed of arugula as an appetizer special. Oh mygosh I just wanted a big plate of this. 

After that, I just kept saying to my friend who was accompanying on this trip, "This is worth the wait. This is one of the reasons why I studied bay scallops this summer. MMMM Yummmm." and then I couldnt talk anymore.

I definitely want to try these scallops raw and straight from the harbor. 

I just want to add the research aspect of it all though. The commercial harvesting of bay scallops is an important source of income for Nantucket, MA, adding $1 - $3 million to the winter economy. Maintaining a healthy population of bay scallops around Nantucket has a significant practical impact on the island economy. However, since the 1980s, the harvest has declined significantly. 

One of the things I am working on is how to bring back this population to bring back the Nantucket bay scallops so that everyone can experience this great and delicious delicacy. However because of this damn economy it's been hard to get research funding so its been tough sometimes to continue on with the research. 

But I babble on about non-food related things. 

FACT: Nantucket Bay Scallops are the best. Nothing can compare. 

Life on the Rural Side: Burgers & Fries

I apologize for not up-keeping with this blog. A lot has happened actually.
> I moved from Nantucket, MA to Durham, NH. Yea, not really the city life.
>And because Im not in the city anymore, its harder to find ideal places to eat out.
>But Ive been cooking a lot more often. :) More to come with that.

So because Ive succumbed to the rural life, the most common option of eating out are burger and fries. Not my idea of fun eating but I did encounter a place that puts burgers and fries to a twist. Plus its close by!

Out in Newmarket, NH, this small little town in Southern NH where its "Main Street" is really the span of 4 street blocks, lies this little place (literally) called Rocky's Burgers. Everyone in town (and surrounding towns) knows about this place.

"At Rocky's, we proudly serve fresh, 100% certified Angus beef, delicious chicken breast, and all-natural, grain fed bison burgers, and now turkey burger. Not a meat lover? Not to worry. We also make delicious homemade black bean veggie burgers and serve veggie chili and veggie hot dogs." Their burgers are really good and really big!  They come in all different options and fixings. And they are certainly not considered fast food; they build your burger to order. So each order takes about a 15 minute wait but it is so worth it. Not only are their burgers good and big, their fries are plentiful. A small fries will keep you full. Ive also ordered chili-cheese fries alone and Ive always had left-overs. So good.

But instead of me hyping about it, here are some photos:

The California with a veggie burger

A custom burger with American Cheese, Fries, Mushrooms, and BBQ sauce.

Sweet Potato Fries shared amongst two people.

First try of a Fried Oreo. Can I just say, it wasn't like YUM DELICIOUS; it was merely okay. But I think the sad part is that I wouldnt mind have like 2 or 10 of these. Fat kid thought at its finest.

So if youre ever in the area: Rocky's Famous Burgers, 171 Main Street, Newmarket, NH. http://www.rockysfamousburgers.com/index.html is a must.