Cooking
November 15, 2009
- Michael and I belong to a club, a cooking club, made up mostly of our really good friends. So it doesn't have that element of "clubness" to it, members only folks seen on club nights. Really, it's more of just a monthly party to which we bring food or cook food. Last night, we were to bring a Persian dish, already prepared When we got the call for the food of choice (the host ...
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November 10, 2009
- I'm going to make ravioli a metaphor, a task I have never attempted. Maybe spaghetti or fettuccine, but not ravioli, and certainly not a roasted butternut squash ravioli. When Michael and I started dating, within the first month, he invited some friends over for dinner, but the purpose of the meal, really, was to have us all meet. Michael was intent on us cooking together, so we planned a ...
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October 28, 2009
- Every day throngs of tourists scramble to the Rialto, Venice's second most photographed bridge (after the Bridge of Sighs). But in their mad photographic dash, most of those tourists miss the best photo -- and culinary -- opportunity in Venice's San Polo area. There, just along the Canal Grande Venice's markets buzz as the restaurateurs and home cooks alike jostle for the best seafood, ...
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October 4, 2009
- In my house books are sacred. Even mass-market paperbacks. ALL books. No exceptions. (Well, there was that errant copy of Valley Of The Dolls, but I digress.) In any place I have ever lived, hung my hat, squatted, moved in on, or just plain been, the protection of printed matter is a foregone conclusion. All my previous dogs have been most respectful. Socks, shoes, ...
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September 22, 2009
- The writing, or at least the depth we are able to dive to, depends on our ability to be engaged in our lives and experience the variety of people that exist outside our front door. I say this as someone who really enjoys living a private existance and selected, in part, writing in order to try and find some path where I could create in anonymity and quiet. However, as I look at the stories I have ...
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September 12, 2009
- My husband Kenneth and I recently celebrated our sixteenth anniversary. We flew to Seattle and spent four days exploring the city and doing what we do so well: eating great food. Kenneth started cooking when he was four years old, following his grandmother around the kitchen. He never uses the word "chef." He's the real thing, a cook.A few Sundays ago, we had friends over for a ...
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August 31, 2009
- The Right Tools department for baking day: parchment paper. It enabled me to bake multiple batches of scones without having to clean the baking sheets each time. Also made it easy to move the scones to a rack for cooling and a tray for final cooling. Baking took about three hours, at 16 minutes per batch of 30. Quite a few of the scones flopped over, probably because they were cut a ...
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August 27, 2009
- Music: Vivaldi's Four SeasonsWell, I think I've been doing this long enough. This morning as I was about to cut in the butter I realized I hadn't looked at the recipe. I've got it memorized. Still, I had a sense of melancholy as I put things away. This has been fun. Today's batch of 32 brings us up over 300 scones. The really fun part will be baking them all on Sunday morning, and ...
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August 26, 2009
- Music: Handel's Water Music The freezer's getting full. I removed some green chile cheese tamales which I'll have to do something with. Maybe I'll take them to the pre-con party. I solved the problem of being out of jam. I happen to love currants, and I happened to have some in the cupboard, so I mixed some into the scraps and baked them up for breakfast. Great with just butter. ...
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August 25, 2009
- Music: Soundtrack from Gosford ParkWe've had lovely rain the last couple of days, so it's a nice cool morning, perfect for hot tea and baking. Killed the second 5-pound bag of flour on this batch. As I was rolling out the scones, the local gang of ravens—a dozen or so—were dancing on the roof. These are massive birds, and make quite a startling thump overhead. They all perched in a ...
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