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Jillian Bedell

Jillian grew up in Connecticut, went to university in Boston, college in New Haven, did some post-grad soul searching in New York, exiled herself to Mexico, married her longtime sweetheart, and lived in a house on the ocean. She suspected Maine might be the perfect place to raise a family, so she came back home to New England two years ago. Now a mom to Violet Maeve and living in Rockland, where she hopes to settle for a good, long while, Jillian reads, writes, walks, and practices Nia, when not watching Malcolm photograph sandwiches.

Recent Posts by Jillian:
Thumbnail image for Folgers Morning Rituals (Plus Jingle Contest!)

Folgers Morning Rituals (Plus Jingle Contest!)

by Jillian Bedell May 22, 2013

The best part of waking up, on mornings when it’s Malcolm’s turn to greet the sunrise with one-year-old Violet, is hearing them chatting over breakfast, smelling coffee brewing, and raising the shade by our bed to let in the light. I love listening to the sounds of my family in the sleepy early part of [...]

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Thumbnail image for Regarding Fiddleheads

Regarding Fiddleheads

by Jillian Bedell May 16, 2013

It was a rainy May Saturday morning at the indoor farmer’s market within the State of Maine Cheese shop. After considering little jugs of honey, and sampling an especially terrific batch of Prix de Diane from Lakin’s Gorges Cheese, I bought a dozen brown eggs, a marigold plant, and a $2 bag of fiddlehead ferns. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Mexican Chocolate Cake

Mexican Chocolate Cake

by Jillian Bedell May 15, 2013

Once upon a time in Mexico I got married in front of a fountain and a defrocked priest and friends and family, under a cloudless blue sky in the open courtyard of a colonial mansion. There was no aisle, no mass, no pews, no flower girl. No programs, no rice, no chuppah. There were, however, [...]

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Thumbnail image for Curried Corn Cakes with Shrimp and Chives

Curried Corn Cakes with Shrimp and Chives

by Jillian Bedell May 13, 2013

What do you want to make for dinner on such a night as this? Our family left the house all together this morning before nine, and didn’t regroup until after five. We were standing around the kitchen, friends popping in, the baby eating eggs in her highchair, while I put together this easy weeknight meal. [...]

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Thumbnail image for Steak Frites with Roquefort Butter

Steak Frites with Roquefort Butter

by Jillian Bedell May 9, 2013

To get to work in New York you commute underground, emerge someplace sooty and windswept and walk briskly to your place of employment, stopping at a deli for a blue cup of coffee and a bagel, griddle-toasted, oozing butter. At the close of business you slip through the stile with one smooth Metrocard motion and [...]

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Thumbnail image for Cinnamon Ricotta Danish

Cinnamon Ricotta Danish

by Jillian Bedell May 7, 2013

When we have a houseful of company for the weekend, I love to get up early and bake something yummy for breakfast. This is the perfect next treat after presenting an impressive Beef Wellington the night before, as there were two sheets of puff pastry in the box. Seeing old friends after many months or [...]

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Thumbnail image for Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington

by Jillian Bedell May 2, 2013

This recipe is a classic. It is savory and ridiculous and rich. You need time, but no special skill or equipment to achieve an impressive, delicious dinner, for a holiday or special occasion, or an unremarkable Thursday in May. To gild the lily, we served ours with creamed spinach and a dry vodka martini. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for Fiesta Chicken Salad

Fiesta Chicken Salad

by Jillian Bedell April 30, 2013

Finally. Finally, Finally, Finally. You know how much I like living in Maine. How grateful I am for seasons, especially fall and winter. And what mixed feelings I have about spring; it kind of freaks me out. But, seriously. Thank God. Because FINALLY it is sunny. And warm. Well, warmish. In the low sixties. It’s [...]

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Thumbnail image for Fried Calamari with Marinara Sauce

Fried Calamari with Marinara Sauce

by Jillian Bedell April 29, 2013

To celebrate with my dad’s side of the family, we would sometimes meet for dinner on Wooster Street in New Haven. This is the fabled Italian neighborhood where you will find some of the best Neopolitan-style pizza in America. But we wouldn’t go to Sally’s or Pepe’s, the oldest, most celebrated pizza parlors on the [...]

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Thumbnail image for Today’s Sandwich: “The Antipasto” (Homemade)

Today’s Sandwich: “The Antipasto” (Homemade)

by Jillian Bedell April 25, 2013

Today’s sandwich is “The Antipasto.” It combines Genoa salami, spicy pepperoni, sliced provolone, pepperoncini peppers, sun dried tomatoes, an artichoke and olive tapenade, and anchovy mayonnaise on thick slices of Italian bread. Notes: On the holidays of my childhood, we would gather around bedsheet-covered card tables with my mothers aunts, uncles, cousins, their kids, my [...]

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