In the beginning...

I am starting this blog as an ode to my dear Great Aunt Mary. A woman, whose 93 years were filled with family, friends and of course cookies and cocktails. My aunt was one of the best cookie and bread makers this side of the North Shore. Most of my adolescence was spent in her kitchen watching and helping her bake up batches of molasses crinkles, shredded wheat bread, and chocolate chip cookies. Upon her passing a few years ago, I was given a draw full of her recipes. Some are hand written (and faded), while others are torn out of the food section of the Boston Globe from 1963-@1993. I recently came upon the drawer and began rifling through the hundreds of recipe cards and newspaper clippings. Reading through the recipes brought back so many wonderful memories of Mary, baking, and the feeling you get when you feed people good food! After arranging each one by course (the teacher in me), I made the decision to bake, cook, and drink my way through all of Mary's recipes. Yes...the ghetto version of Julie & Julia. There will be no beef bourgogne cooked in this kitchen however.

Disclaimers: Now, I will admit that there were a few recipes that I had to place to the side. Tomato Aspics...NO. There is something about gelatin and tomato that makes my stomach curdle. Mary loved jello molds and I will make sure to whip up a few of those recipes, but I had to pass on the aspics. Also, Mary didn't have a kitchen aid mixer. Everything was mixed by hand using a wooden spoon. As much as I love the muscle that you build from creaming butter, I love my kitchen aid mixer more. I believe, that if Mary were still around, she would use a mixer and approve my use as well. Cocktail consumption is a must in my family, but I will try to refrain from drinking while baking. My mother and her brother and sisters always tell stories about the many instances of Mary cooking her famous Sunday night suppers while consuming martinis and the roast turning out a little overdone (and by a little a mean a lot).

So here's to an adventure in baking, cooking, and cocktail-ing that I hope will make Mary proud.