25,000...

Holy Moley! 

 Mac and Fitz Speaks just reached twenty five thousand page views!  

Yes, Pioneer Woman's blog probably has that many views daily, 

and yes, it has taken me over three years 

of relentless blogging to reach this point

 and yes, I am aware that I have only nine followers, 

but hey, twenty five thousand feels pretty good! 

 To celebrate my mini milestone,
and because you're awesome,

I am going to give away something... 

Yep, call me crazy, but here it is....

Lucinda Scala Quinn's newest cookbook,

Mad Hungry Cravings!

Nope, I am not sponsored by the Mad Hungry folks,
I just love this cookbook...

I bought my copy soon after it hit the shelves

 and I have been poring over 

all the amazing, tempting recipes...

I can't wait to make the Loaded Potato Skins,

Sicilian Style Deep Dish Pizza





and the Lemon Iceys...

 Anyway, to enter the contest, 

all you need to do is 

 comment at the bottom of this blog 

and tell me what you plan

 to do for fun this summer...  

One entry per person, please...

The lucky winner will be announced on December 15. 

 Haha...just kidding!

I will announce one
randomly selected winner this Friday...

Woo hoo... 

I am doing the 25,000 dance.  

Be happy you can't see this....

Bring on the HEAT!

When I say that, I don't mean the Miami Heat....  

Boo...  

They are crushing our poor Chicago Bulls in the playoffs... 

HEAT is our acronym for Herlihy Engineering and Armor Technology, 

so I guess the blog title is always our mantra... 

But this cheer is really a rally cry 

for the eighty-plus degree forecast for today's weather...  

Chicago has had a ridiculously cool and wet spring...  

We have been tortured 

with a bone-chilling dampness 

that is making Midwesterners downright cranky...  

It's mid May, for Pete's sake!  

Where is the dang warm weather?!  

So, today we are blessed with heat 

that might even require some AC....  

Wow... the city is going to explode... 

 Every bar, outdoor cafe and park 

will be jammed with happy revelers...  

The kids and I will be hanging out at the park after school, for sure... 

 It might even be too hot to use the oven...  

Imagine that! 

 So, in celebration, below are some salad ideas 

for those of you who don't want 

to overheat the old kitchen...  

Yahoo!!!

Healthy Chicken and Chickpea Chopped Salad,
thanks to Ambitious Kitchen

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

A healthy, delicious salad that’s super easy to whip up.

Author: Monique of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 large romaine hearts, washed and chopped
• 1 cup pulled cooked chicken breast
• 1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 3/4 cup sweet corn (I grilled mine)
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/3 cup cilantro, washed and chopped
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup BBQ dressing, if desired

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add lettuce, top with all ingredients except for avocado and BBQ dressing. Toss salad gently.
2. Place into cold salad bowls. Garnish with diced avocado and drizzle with BBQ dressing if desired. Serve with low-fat corn tortilla strips.

Notes

To make vegan omit chicken and goat cheese. Add in roasted diced red peppers for more flavor. You may you any dressing you like. Sometimes I like adding 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice and find that I don’t need any dressing at all. 

Mad Hungry's Greek Salad

thanks to Martha Stewart

• 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 leek, white and pale green parts only, cut into 3-inch julienne
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 English cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced crosswise 1/3 inch thick
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1 Romaine heart, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 6 ounces store-bought stuffed grape leaves, halved
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 ounces Greek feta cheese

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in an 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Fry leeks in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch, and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
   
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil. Add cucumber, tomatoes, and kalamata olives and toss to combine.
   
3. Spread out Romaine on a large platter and cover with dressed vegetables. Top with grape leaves, chickpeas, leeks, and feta and serve.
   
   
   
   Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Marcona Almonds and Pecorino Cheese
   Thanks to The Daily Meal
   
   
   
   
   

   For the whole-citrus vinaigrette:

   2 lemons, preferaby Meyer lemons
   1/2 orange, preferably Navel
   1 large shallot
   1 1/2 cups olive oil
   1 teaspoon sea salt, preferably gray salt
   1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
   

   For the salad:

   1 dozen large eggs, hard-boiled
   6 dozen Brussels sprouts (about 9 cups grated)
   3 dozen Marcona almonds, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
   1/4 cup grated Pecorino-Romano
   For the vinaigrette:
   With a juice extractor, juice the lemons, orange, and shallots, using the entire fruit with the peel, and pour into a small bowl. If you don't have a juicer, you can juice the citrus by hand, and then finely chop the shallot and add to the bowl with the juices, letting the mixture sit for about 30 minutes.
   Gradually whisk in the olive oil in a thin stream to form an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk again, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.
   
   For the salad:
   Using a mandoline, carefully shave each Brussels sprout, holding the stem end.
   To sieve the eggs, first separate the eggs yolks from the egg whites, as they do at Bottega. Push the eggs whites through the sieve, into a bowl, first, then follow with the egg yolks, pushing these into a separate bowl. This way you can add the eggs in layers to the salad. Alternatively, you can sieve the whole egg at once if it is easier.
   In a large bowl, add the sprouts, sieved eggs, and chopped almonds, and toss to combine. Pour on about 3/4 cups of the vinaigrette, and toss again. Spoon into chilled bowls and top with the pecorino, and a little bit more vinaigrette.
   2 cups of vinaigrette.
   Pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Rockin' Taco Salad
   thanks to Cherry on my Sundae
   
   
   Recipe from goodlifeeats.com
   Cooking time: 45 minutes 
   Yield: 4-6 servings
   
   
   Ingredients
   Homemade Spanish rice:
   1/2 cup diced yellow onion
   2 cloves garlic, minced
   1 tbsp olive oil
   3 tsp chili powder
   1 tsp cumin
   1/4 tsp smoked paprika
   1/2 tsp salt
   1/4 tsp black pepper
   dash of cayenne or chipotle powder, optional
   2/3 cup green, red, or combination diced bell pepper
   3/4 cup basmati rice
   2 14.5-oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes (undrained)
   1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
   1/2 cup water
   Toppings for taco salad bowls:
   black beans or refried black beans
   romaine lettuce
   sliced avocado
   sliced or chopped crunchy vegetables
   grilled or sauteed chicken
   grated cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
   sour cream
   salsa
   Directions
4. To prepare the rice, heat oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and all the spices, up to the cayenne, stirring well. Add the bell pepper, rice, tomatoes with the liquid, broth and the water. Bring the liquid to a boil. 
5. Cover the pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove from heat but keep covered for 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir the rice. 
6. To assemble, portion the rice in each bowl and top with beans, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, chicken, and whichever toppings you prefer.

Asian Rice Salad with Shrimp
thanks to Food Network

Prep Time:
30 min
Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
Easy
Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved lengthwise
1 large carrot, shredded
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup chow mein noodles and/or chopped peanuts

Directions

Whisk the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a large bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the dressing to a medium bowl, add the shrimp and toss. Add the carrot, celery and snow peas to the remaining dressing and toss.

Heat a large skillet over high heat and add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Add the shrimp and stir-fry until they turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the vegetables. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons water to the skillet and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, then add the liquid to the bowl with the shrimp. Let the skillet reheat, then add the remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and stir-fry the rice until toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Add the rice and scallions to the shrimp-vegetable mixture and toss. Divide among bowls and top with the lettuce, sprouts, chow mein noodles and/or peanuts.

Crawfish Boil...

Crawfish, Crawdads, Mud bugs.....  

Whatever you want to call 'em, 

they are strange little crustaceans...  

Ever eaten one?  

They taste like a slightly gamey cross 

between lobster and shrimp...  

Cooked up right, those red little critters are heavenly...  

My first experience with crawdads was in the mid 1990's 

when Mom and I decided to visit New Orleans 

for a weekend of antiquing and eating...  

It was late May and the humidity fell on the town 

like a hot, wet wool blanket...  

 

My mother enjoys intense humidity 

like she pines for root canals, 

so she was not thrilled with the moist heat....  

But we accepted the steamy air 

and had a fantastic time admiring  

the massive plantation era furniture pieces, 

the exquisite pearl and garnet jewelry 

and the beautiful glassware...  

Back then, I was just starting 

to become intrigued by good food 

and we feasted on beignets, 

shrimp bisque and po'boys...  

We ate at Commander's Palace, 

The Court of Two Sisters 

and Brennan's...  

Oh, we sampled some amazing dishes...  

On the last evening of our stay, 

we ventured into a no-name restaurant 

for some dinner...  

The place was lively, so we knew the food 

must be pretty good...  

While we were perusing the menu, 

Mom noticed a huge bowl, 

filled with something red and piping hot, 

at the next table...  

She asked the waiter what that was 

and he replied the guests next to us 

were sharing crawfish as an appetizer...  

We recoiled at the thought 

of shelling all those creepy looking crustaceans, 

but our sweet, patient waiter assured us 

crawdads were worth the effort...  

He promised to teach us the shell removal method, 

so we relented... 

Wow, what a delicious revelation!  

Once we learned how to get 

to the sweet, tender langostino meat 

and then to dunk it into melted butter, 

we were in a Creole happy place!  

 

We devoured that large bowl of crawfish, 

fighting for the last one...  

After returning home, my mother went on the quest

to find those diminutive morsels of joy 

to cook herself... 

It took some time to locate them, 

but once she introduced crawfish 

to my brother and father, 

they found their own gustatory salvation

in Mr. Crawdad...  

Not for the low-fat crowd, 

the guys would melt a couple pounds of butter, 

toss in lemon juice and quite a few slugs of hot sauce... 

Then, my brother and dad would shell all of the vermillion creatures

and let them soak in the melted bath of golden glory 

before diving in...  

Those fellas would consume multiple pounds of crawdads, 

until they patted their bellies with satisfaction...  

Nowadays, when my brother comes into town for a visit, 

he can be sure that Mom will have the crawfish

waiting in the freezer for him...  

This was the case this past weekend 

when Erik arrived for a visit...  

We got together to celebrate Mother's Day 

on Saturday... 

Kate and I drove to the 'burbs to see everyone...  

I had not enjoyed crawfish for many years, 

as T$ is not much of a shellfish/crustacean fan...  

Kate could care less for any edible fishy thing

from the sea... 

 

But once that steaming, red bowl of goodness 

was carried to the table, 

her curiosity got the best of her...  

Her cousin was peeling langostinos with gusto 

and Kate wanted in on the action...  

Uncle Erik gave a quick tutorial on crawdad shelling 

and Kate bravely gave it a try...  

First she twisted off its crimson head 

and tossed it into the communal bowl 

of cast offs...  

Next she crushed the exoskeleton tail 

with her little fingers 

and deftly pulled the crawfish meat out...  

Kate eyed the tiny tail meat with a cautious stare 

before popping it into her mouth...  

I waited, breathless, for the verdict... 

 "I love crawdads!" she exclaimed!  

After that, Katherine was all about shelling and eating, 

an unusual behavior for my picky non-seafood eater...  

Isn't it always like that?  

Your kids try new foods away from home, 

after refusing to touch the same dish

placed on your kitchen table...

Whatever... if they now proclaim the fabulousness

of the Cuban sandwich, 

which my son tried, for the first time, this past weekend, 

who cares?  

As long as they expand their palates, 

I am a happy camper...  

Today, after school, Kate asked me 

when I would make crawdads to eat at our house...  

That girl is after my own heart, she is...

  Here is a basic crawfish boil recipe, courtesy of Food Network...

 

 

 

Stove-Top Crawfish Boil

Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali

Prep Time:
5 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
35 min

Level:
--

Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients

2 bags crab boil (such as Old Bay seasoning)
1 tablespoon liquid crab boil (available from specialty food stores)
3 lemons, halved
1 pound small red bliss potatoes
4 garlic bulbs, halved horizontally
2 onions, quartered
3 pounds live crawfish (seasonally available in some places -- there is no substitute)
12 ounces link Andouille sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 ears corn, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 pound button mushrooms
Salt and cayenne

Directions

In a very large pot heat 3 gallons of water until nearly boiling. Add dry and liquid crab boil, squeeze in lemons, then throw in potatoes, garlic and onions. Boil 10 minutes. Add everything else. Cover and boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Uncover, sprinkle in 1/4 cup salt and 1 tablespoon cayenne, stir it up, cover again and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain off liquid. Line table with newspaper and dig in.

The Irrepressible Judith Mae...

She was a Yankee living in the South...  

Never mind that she was born
 in New Castle, Indiana, 

 where a woman was judged 

by her pie crusts and biscuits
 much like her Southerly sisters...  

No, she had spent too many years
growing up in Northerner places
like Waukegan, Rock Island 

and Evanston, Illinois...

She was a fish out of water
in that public building 

in Clearwater, Florida...

  It was 1986...

The morning was cool,
by Floridian standards...

She arrived, on time, to perform

 her civic jury duty... 

 The potential jurors were a sizable group, 

assembled for what looked to be an important case...  

As often happens, the jurors sat in the well worn waiting area

 for a goodly long time, re-reading their newspapers
and Family Circles 

or staring blankly at the dusty televisions
mounted on the wall...  

Sally Jesse Raphael was ranting about teenage pregnancy, 

but the volume was set too low
for anyone to pay much attention...  

Finally, around noon, a man strode in

and announced the folks could go get lunch... 

He sternly instructed them to return on time 

and to not speak with anyone about the case... 

 Judy knew when to follow the rules 

and when to break them...  

For example, she had a particular aptitude
for getting men to see her way about things

by generating tears faster

than you can say "feminine mystique"...  

She rarely used that trump card, 

but I witnessed her cry once,
when persuasion was sorely needed,
and damn,

 it was quite effective...

A gentleman can't stand
to see a woman weep...

Judy is an old soul
and if she declared horse pucky
on a questionable situation, 

she was always right...

She could see right through
to the real motivation
behind the B.S....



She had that special kind of natural intuition
of when to read the directions on the box
or when to just wing it,
if you know what I mean...

It was more than common sense,
it was like horse sense or something...

But this time, she obediently exited the waiting room, 

and walked to the coatroom to retrieve her jacket...  

The closet area was loud and busy with jurors and attorneys

 finding their fleeces and trench coats...  

She left to find a salad...

 In the cafeteria, Judy made friends with another juror
and ate lunch with her... 

As anyone who knows Judith would tell you,
she makes three friends
 in the time it takes to tie a shoe...

After lunch, the ladies returned to the coatroom
to deposit their outerwear...

Judy noticed two attorneys speaking with one of the jurors...

She got a funny feeling
like things were rotten in Denmark...

Promptly at one o'clock,
the potential jurors were escorted 

into the courtroom...  

One by one, each person answered
a battery of questions 

posed to them by the judge...  

Imagine, if you will, the judge from the movie,

 "My Cousin Vinny"...

If you remember, Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei 

were a couple of New Yorkers,

 defending a family member and

they had to deal with Fred Gwynne, 

the judge with a deep Southern accent...

One of my favorite lines, 

and there are many from this movie, is:

Vinny Gambini: It is possible that the two yutes...
Judge Chamberlain Haller: ...Ah, the two what? Uh... uh, what was that word?
Vinny Gambini: Uh... what word?
Judge Chamberlain Haller: Two what?
Vinny Gambini: What?
Judge Chamberlain Haller: Uh... did you say 'yutes'?
Vinny Gambini: Yeah, two yutes.
Judge Chamberlain Haller: What is a yute?
Vinny Gambini: [beat] Oh, excuse me, your honor...
[exaggerated]
Vinny Gambini: Two YOUTHS.

The scene was similar in the courtroom
my mother was attending...

 Soon it was Judy's turn to be questioned by the judge 

who had a deeeeep Southern accent...

Judge:  "Are you Mrs. Judith Benson?"
Judy:  "Yes."
Judge: "And, Ma'am, do you live at the stated address?"
Judy: "Yes."
Judge: "Do you happen to know the defendant?"
Judy: "No."
Judge: "Would you have any bias in relaishun to this case?"
Judy: "No."
Judge: "Mrs. Benson, did you ovahheah any discussions of this case in the coatroom prior to this hearing?"

Mother began to sweat...    

She had seen the lawyers talking with each other
and to that juror

when she walked into the coatroom to hang up her jacket...

Obviously, knowledge of some conversations was serious...

Didn't anyone else see what had transpired in the coatroom?? 

She couldn't lie... 

She was under oath, for God's sake...

Judy: "Yes, I mean, no, Sir, I did see people talking but I did not overhear what they were saying in the coatroom."

There erupted a roar of laughter...

At that moment, when Judy realized the judge meant "courtroom"
instead of "coatroom",
her face flushed bright red...

Judy:  "Judge, honestly, I am a graduate of Northwestern University..."

More uproarious laughter...

Needless to say, she was quickly dismissed from jury duty...

I should record her telling this story herself,
because when Judy tells the tale,
it is wipe-your-eyes, grab-your-gut hilarious...

The woman can spin a yarn...

Colorful and joyous are some of the descriptive words
I would use to illustrate my mother...

She finds funny and light
in most everything...  

She used to dress up in costumes for Mother's Day,
Halloween, of course,
to pick up my Dad at the airport
(that time she dressed as a hooker,
with my grandmother, I might add...)
or to pick me up at the airport
(clown masks...imagine the humiliation)...

She would decorate our home
for every little holiday
like any good elementary teacher would do... 

She was quite entrepreneurial
and had a successful wallpapering business
named, "Hang Tight"
with a friend for several years...  

Mama was courageous...

From birth, she battled many illnesses,
cancer among them,
and always won...  

She laughs that she only has about four organs
left in her body,
but she keeps bouncing back...  

Through countless emotional and financial hardships
that would crush the hardiest soul,
Judy has risen above them
with flying colors...  

My wise mother says things like,

"Those people are dead.  

Don't let them hurt you anymore,"

 "You can't soar with the eagles

 if you are gonna hoot with the owls!"

This is not a cafeteria!

You eat what I make!

or my favorite...
"Sometimes you have to take a chance
and say, "What the Fuck?!"

Being with my mother is a cross between
an "I Love Lucy" episode
and "Leave it To Beaver"
because although I always felt
safe and secure in our small town home,
there was always the potential
for a little crazy to come out...

My Mama,
Judith Mae Allen Benson,
will always be my beloved... 

She is that maternal blankie,
that wise ear,
that level of perspective,
that comic relief
and that unique bond

 no one can replace...

I love you, Mama...

Happy Mother's Day...

Mother's Day Guilt...

In a way, Mother's Day conjures up 

too much guilt for my liking...  

Men feel imposed upon, 

much like on Valentine's Day, 

to deliver some impossibly sweet, 

romantic, loving, heartfelt gesture 

on behalf of the kids...  

 

Invariably, they come up short 

and then Mom feels culpable

for the Mother's Day pressure...  

 

 We feel guilty because we don't want to make brunch 

for the whole family, 

or because maybe all we really want is

to stay under the covers 

and to read trashy magazines the whole day...

  

"What do you want to do for Mother's Day?"  

It's a loaded question, 

filled with guilt...  

Do I give the answer they want to hear 

or the awful truth?

Honestly, I can't even figure out 

what I want for Mother's Day, 

so how the hell can my non-ESP reading husband 

know what to do?

However, this is not the case 

with Father's Day...  

T$ knows what he wants to do...  

Sleep in, eat a carnivorous breakfast, 

slouch on the couch all day, hand in pants, 

and watch "Sports Center", 

eat a carnivorous dinner...  

No guilt, that's the deal...  

Some years I prepared the elaborate brunch 

and it was more work than I bargained for...  

I felt cheated out of a day of pampering

and it was my own fault...  

Other years, I escaped for some spa treatments 

and felt somewhat guilty 

for leaving my family to their own devices, 

Then I got over it 

about midway into my massage...    

So, this year, since my husband has informed me 

that he will be in town, 

here is what I want....  

No guilt...  

I want to sleep in until at least 8:30 am... 

I want to read the Sunday paper in bed, 

undisturbed by screaming 

or inquiries as to the whereabouts 

of certain hockey gear...

Breakfast in bed, please;

anything ending in "Benedict" 

sounds lovely...  

I do not plan to clean up, 

do laundry, break up squabbles, 

comb hair, find baseball cups, 

pack a snack bag 

or load the dishwasher on this day...

I would like to hang with the family, 

no commitments, obligations or plans...  

Dinner du Jour is not to be organized by me, 

whether cooked or at a restaurant...  

McDonald's or The Golden Apple would be considered 

 to be a Mother's Day FAIL...  

And that's it....  

I don't need gifts, 

I just need a little rest and relaxation....  

And no guilt!

Speaking of guilt, 

and by that I mean guilty pleasures, 

here is a treat I'll be taking

to the factory tomorrow... 

Thanks to the Pioneer Woman 

for this delicious scones recipe...

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Prep Time:

20 Minutes

Cook Time:

20 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Servings:

12

Ingredients

• SCONES
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 3/4 cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans
• GLAZE
• 5 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk, More If Needed For Thinning
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean
• Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla "caviar" inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.
Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.
Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.
Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
VANILLA GLAZE
To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.
One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.