Last night’s Halloween was one for the record books. Five hundred ninety-six trick-or-treaters came calling, descending upon our neighborhood in hordes of super heroes, princesses, and pirates. We had just enough candy to go around. After days of endless rain, the weather turned autumnally perfect — crisp and cool, stars speckling the damp night sky…
Whistling past the graveyard.
All that talk on the news yesterday about how eating beef and processed meats is bad for us made me hungry for a steak. My husband makes the best, grilled over charcoal, which happens to be the method most reviled in the report released by an adjunct of the World Health Organization. In deference to…
Grilled Pineapple Upside Down Cake
I would have missed out on a great cake had I junked this month’s mailer from my electric co-op along with the Blair catalogs and offers from Mutual of Omaha. There’s little in the communiqué on rural electrical matters that interests me, but I’m a sucker for a page of recipes, so I always read…
Snapshot: Alice Signed My Cookbooks, 33 Years Apart
I bought a cookbook last month for the author’s signature inside. My Pantry, by Alice Waters, arrived yesterday in a box on my doorstep. Food52.com offered the signed copies through their online shop, so there were several degrees of separation between me and Alice in this transaction. That was not the case the first time…
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Cheesecake might’ve been a more appropriate, if ironic, choice for dessert to enjoy while watching the Miss America pageant on TV last week. Instead, people at my house had warm and delicious flourless chocolate cake. I would have made enough for everyone, contestants included, if that were possible. Those women looked like they hadn’t had…
Housekeeping
Time to tidy up around here. I’ve got some disparate thoughts, photos, and experiences to collate and/or discard. Thank you to The Minimalists. Your philosophies are slowly affecting every aspect of my life. ♦ ♦ ♦ Happy birthday, little blog. Cookbook Wall turned three years old last week. If you’re a regular reader, thanks for…
Skillet Burgers
You do know how much better homemade burgers taste if you wrap them in squares of waxed paper and let them sit for a few minutes before serving, right? Cook the seasoned beef (I like ground bison) patties in a skillet filmed with vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Turn to brown both sides. Cover with…
Raves and Faves 27
My daughters and I went on a wedding dress safari in Chicago last week, and UPS is delivering the lacy trophy in the next few days. The process couldn’t have been more pleasant at BHLDN‘s shop on East Walton Street. Last born and I settled on a velvet settee in a large fitting room, sipping…
Food Bribes
One bag contains pasta salad, some broccoli cole slaw, & 2 chicken cutlets. The other bag contains beef tracheas, salmon skin bones, 3 tripe twists, a beef snout, & kangaroo jerky. Guess which bag got their attention? I was standing in the check-out line at a pet store yesterday, holding a case of canned dog…
Two-fer: Fig Bruschetta & Fig Bites
Until he gave them up for good a few years ago, my husband loved Fig Newtons with an intensity people usually reserve for their favorite sports teams. I would buy five or six packages at a time and store them on a certain shelf in the pantry, so he’d always have a ready supply. He…
