Good Dinner Mrs. Mellen

I love fish especially in a wonderful fish stew! Cioppino, Bouillabaisse, Portuguese fisherman stew, I love them all. Today I made an absolutely delicious Cioppino. What I love about fish stews is you can use a variety of fish depending what is fresh.  Living in the Boston area all our grocery stores have fantastic fish markets making getting fresh fish easy. Give this easy dish a try. I know that you'll be surprised at just how quick and easy you can make this fabulous meal. Serve with fresh baked crusty bread and a farm fresh salad, don't forget the wine! Cioppino 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and crushed 1/4 cup olive oil 2 shallots, finely chopped 1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic, crushed 3 bay leaves, crumbled 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly grown pepper 1 28-oz can ground tomatoes,  (I use kitchen ready Pastene) 1 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 8-oz bottle clam ...

A double chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese center,  a heavenly treat. I use this recipe often changing the frosting according to the occasion. I used the recipe for my falling leaves cupcakes with a orange tinted butter cream frosting. I promised I'd share the recipe so here it is! Cupcake 2 cups brown sugar 1 3/4 cups flour 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted ( I like Ghirardelli) 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup strong coffee, room temperature 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 large eggs Cheesecake Filling 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg 2 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips Butter cream Frosting 1 cup unsalted butter(2 sticks), softened.  I like Cabot butter from Vermont. 3-4 cups powdered sugar sifted ( I use closer to 4 cups) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, use real vanilla not imitation 2-4 tablespoons mil...

Nothing add zing to a dish that wonderful spices. Today I stopped by Penzeys Spices on Mass Avenue in Arlington Ma. You can find them on the net www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html. What I love about Penzeys is not only the freshness of the spices but the variety of spices and blends. You can find all different kinds of pepper, curry, cinnamon plus so many other spices. I especially love their blends like Tuscan Sunset, Mural of Flavors and for fish I just love Northwoods seasoning. And all the spices come in different quantities so you can buy a little or a lot. So convenient. Spices don't last forever be sure to clean out you spices regularly and buy spice quantities based on your usage. So live large, use interesting spices to "spice' up your meals. Enjoy

I made this cake from Southern Living Magazine for friends last night with wonderful results.  The cake tastes as delicious as it looks. A wonderful combination of apples, pecans, applesauce, cream cheese center  and spices with all the scents and taste of fall in one glorious bite. Your friends will enjoy this cake I promise!  www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-cream-cheese-bundt-cake-50400000115369/ Check out the recipe and Enjoy!

I made this arrangement of cupcakes for the GFWC JR's cup cake contest. I won most unique combination of flavors.   Recipe to follow!