I realized this week that I’ve been making apple picking trips to the Nashoba Valley Winery for the last 3 years. My first trip took place in late fall of 2005.  On a whim, Chris and I decided that we wanted to pick apples  and simply followed red “apple” signs until we ended up in Bolton. Of course I was over the moon when I realized that the particular orchard we’d happened upon also doubled as a winery. Unfortunately since we’d gone so late in the season we essentially picked whatever leftover apples were still on the trees and not rolling around at our feet, but it was still a great experience in a beautiful setting with gorgeous foliage as far as the eye could see. We used the apples we picked to make a pie. Now neither one of us had ever made a pie before. We had to buy everything to make this happen — even the pie plate. It turned out a gooey mess, but we ate it happily anyway.

The following Fall we made a point to pick apples before Halloween and honestly I count the brief time that we spent there that morning as one of my top 5 absolute favorite memories. We arrived early and the air was crisp and cold; a perfect New England day. Once in the orchard we proceeded to take a million silly staged photos of trees and apples and one another. I also made a pie from the fruit we picked that day — fake Pillsbury crust and all.

Fast forward to this year when Chris and I were joined on our traditional excursion by our friend Anna. It was a bit of a mob scene with dozens and dozens of families milling about and even a wedding taking place on the grounds, but all in all it was a controlled chaos. We ended up picking a gigantic bag of apples and guess what?! I made another pie. But you’ll have to wait until Monday to hear all about it…

So if you’re in the neighborhood or looking for a chance to get out of Boston for the day, I’d definitely recommend taking the short trip to Bolton and the Nashoba Valley Winery. The gift shop is fully stocked with a huge selection of wines, hand crafted beers, and distilled spirits in addition to a large number of unique gifts and tasting opportunities. It’s a little more difficult now since I live in the city, but in the past I’ve frequently purchased their wines and given them away at various holidays and birthdays. Everyone loves locally made wine! In addition to the great shopping opportunities the winery also offers tours of their wine making facilities and have an onsite restaurant called J’s that I’ve yet to try, but the menu always sounds mouth watering so If you’ve had the pleasure of dining there please let me know how your experience was.

Controversy abounds on who exactly invented the Whoopie Pie, but having grown up in Maine I’m going to take a local stance and declare that they were invented in my home state. Of course if you’re from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, or any other New England region you’re also welcome to proudly make this claim because Mr. Wizard probably couldn’t unravel this culinary mystery.

What I do know is that I grew up on chocolate Whoopie Pies with fluffy white filling and to this day my mother will honestly call me in order to specifically discuss a delicious dessert that she happened to pick up at a grocery store, bake sale, or farm stand. The absolute best Whoopie Pie that I ever tasted came from the Maine company, Wicked Whoopies. Wicked Whoopies was actually featured on Oprah’s “Great Gift” show back in November of 2003. My heart still resides with their blueberry Whoopie Pie, and I’ve yet to taste its equal. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear as though they make that flavor anymore, but trust me — it was to die for.

My second favorite flavor is pumpkin anything so when I came across the recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies in Rachael Ray’s October issue I promptly added the ingredients I needed to my grocery list. Of course my mother called me to make sure I’d seen it too. She was just as excited as me to try it! Fortunately, this recipe is ridiculously easy. I suggest you make a batch for everyone that you know, or at least your office mates. These pumpkin treats will win anyone over and than they’ll owe you favors forever.

Making Whoopie	Scoop & Bake
Collectively Cool	Mmm…Cream Cheese Frosting
Edible Bribes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (Originally Published in the October 2007 Issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

If Amazon is correct than It looks like Ellie Krieger has a cover for her new cookbook, The Food You Crave. I think Ellie is probably the only person who can pull off that bright orange cashmere, but it does blend well with the artfully arranged plate of spaghetti and meatballs she’s tempting us with. I wonder if those meatballs are the same ones I made back in January? If so, they’re pretty fabulous in a sandwich.

I’m a new fan of Anthony Bourdain, only having begun watching his show on The Travel Network this past summer. However, I’ve quickly become hooked and he’s rightfully earned a place of glory in the TiVo season pass hall of fame right next to Ugly Betty and The Office. Tonight, Anthony will be featuring Tuscany as his destination of the hour and you can’t imagine how excited I am to watch. I’ve had an obsession with all things Tuscan since watching Bertolucci’s film Stealing Beauty when I was 16. I’m definitely interested to see how Anthony Bourdain attacks the Italian country side, most likely one bottle of wine at a time.

Sometimes people bake and cook the most delicious creations and it just makes me wish that there were more hours in the day and more calories to spare:

The Kitchen Wench whipped up some savoury scones that even her picky sister raved about.

Nicole at Pinch My Salt made biscuits that might possibly put my grandmother out of business.

The Newlyweds in Dubai were able to pick up some much loved American grocery items and decided to create the infamous Planet Hollywood Captain Crunch Chicken.

And Anne, The Good American Housewife, made me infinitely jealous with her tasty Ricotta Gnocchi.

Zane Lamprey cracks me up. He’s like the frat boy big brother I always wished I’d had. Zane and I were first introduced last fall when my boyfriend and I finally purchased our first HDTV. As many of you are aware, once you have HDTV you’ll pretty much watch anything in high definition from The Secret Life of Garden Gnomes to Paint By Numbers with Bob Vila — as long as it’s in crystal clear HD you’ll tune in. MOJO is an HD only channel that our cable company offers. It airs a ton of extremely random programming including a hilarious drinking centric show called Three Sheets.

Three Sheets is essentially Zane Lamprey doing a boozed up travelogue. His job, as he likes to describe it, “Is to drink.” I love to giggle along to his shenanigans with a companionable glass of wine in hand. One of my favorite episodes aired recently and it involved a trip to Japan and the impressive consumption of what appeared to be gallons of Sake.

Not only is Zane a sure thing TiVo season pass on Mojo, but he’s also just premiered a brand new show on The Food Network called Have Fork Will Travel. The episode I caught involved Zane’s adventures in Marseilles, France. He chatted up the locals, tried some traditional bouillabaisse, ate six pounds of local cheese, and drank a lot of wine. I thoroughly enjoyed his slightly more sober commentary, even if I did miss seeing the traditional “Morning After: Zane’s Got a Hangover” scenes. I think I may have a bit of a crush on the dopey dude, but in between the debauchery and sarcasm are actual quality shows with intriguing locations and little known facts to wow your friends with.

(Originally posted on the Well Fed Network’s blog Edible TV)

For the most part I try to bring my lunch from home, but on Friday’s I like to go out and leave the office far far behind. After all, a girl can only handle so many Amy’s Frozen Dinners and Lean Cuisines in a week. I tend to take the T to The Pru and meet CK on these days. Lately we’ve been having a lot of lunch dates at PF Changs.

I’d describe PF Changs as the asian Olive Garden. It tastes good, the portions are large, and the wait staff tempts you mercilessly with sinful deserts. Just wait until they wave the Great Wall of Chocolate cake in front of your eyes (all 2200 calories of it). It’s painful to decline, but a necessity since the lunch portion of basic Beef and Broccoli packs a whopping 900 calories (without the rice). I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to consume that many empty calories they better be wine or cheesecake based.

So Asian take-out dishes are a “no no” and will cause much internal grief by forcing you to choose between rice or Happy Hour…not if you make Ellie Krieger’s Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu. You can eat a cup and a half of this dish (if made to exact specifications) and you’ll only consume 400 calories. Plus all of the tofu, brown rice, and vegetables are incredibly filling and I guarantee that you won’t experience post lunch hunger pains (damn you Lean Cuisines!)

Never cooked with, bought, or looked at Tofu before? Well neither had I! Yes, this was my first foray into cooking with Tofu. It honestly couldn’t have been easier, just drain it and slice. I actually used the whole 14 ounce block of Tofu in this recipe (as opposed to the 6 ounces called for). Mostly because I had no idea what I was going to do with half a block of leftover tofu and I hated the thought of it just going to waste; so into the rice it went. And for once I’m looking forward to a non-Friday lunch!

Dice & Slice	Make Rice
Slice the Tofu (Don’t Be Scared)	Heat Garlic, Ginger & Scallions
Add Rice, Veggies & Tofu	Scramble the Eggs
Stir in Soy Sauce	Actual Serving Size

Fried Rice with Scallions, Edamame and Tofu (Originally Published by Ellie Krieger)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
2 large cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, greens included, rinsed, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 cups leftover cooked brown rice
3/4 cup finely diced red pepper
3/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame
1/2 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, corn
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet until very hot. Add the garlic, scallions and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of canola oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.

I was happily flipping through my October Rachael Ray magazine when I came across a product that definitely made my eyebrows raise. Rachael was promoting BLT Candles. Yes, you read that correctly: bacon, lettuce, and tomato scented wax. For the “bargain price” of $33.95 your house can smell like a cheap diner. I could see purchasing this item as a gag gift or maybe for a crummy office Secret Santa, but I’d never buy it on purpose. What’s next? Will steak and eggs with a side of buttered toast be the November fragrance of the month at Yankee Candles?

We continue our foray into the the strange and bizarre world of foodie land with the news that Martha Stewart (or her gigantic team of advisors) has decided to break into the wine business. The wine will be known as Martha Stewart Vintage, and will retail for $15 a bottle. Now Martha & her minions will have official Stepford Wives chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot to down with their afternoon Xanax. I hope Gary Vaynerchuk reviews it. Now that would be an extremely entertaining podcast. The sad thing is that I’ll still totally buy it. Just like I bought Sophia Coppola Champagne in a can. No one can resist the lure of Martha, but unfortunately some of you will have to go without since she’s only releasing the wines initially in the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina, Denver, Phoenix and Portland, Oregon.

If you live in Boston or one of it’s surrounding cities, or even if you just visit on occasion for a Red Sox game than you’ve probably ridden on the “loveliness” that is the “T.” The “T” – as the subway is referred to in our abbreviated East Coast way has now been immortalized locally by Cold Stone Creamery. The (T)errific Charlie sundae (Charlie is the mascot for the MBTA) is now being served in Cold Stone locations all over the city. It consists of Cake Batter ice cream mixed with Snickers, M&Ms and Kit Kat bars. I figure the color of all that sugary junk swirled into a cup should just about equal the shade of grease that gets on the hem of any dry clean only pants I wear riding to work.