Dinner May 27th – Brief Pause in Our Asparagus Consumption for a Birthday
Zucchini-Basil Soup
Grilled Cheese Two Ways
– The Italian Stallion (aka Tomato-Basil-Cheddar Grilled Cheese)
– The Hot Brit (aka Chutney-Cheddar Grilled Cheese)
Salad with Rhubarb Vinaigrette
(Pea)nut Chocolate Bourbon Pie
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Some people have Birthday Weeks in which they celebrate their birthday on the day of their actual birth + some celebration on a more convenient day of the week like a Friday or Saturday. Some people have Birthday Months in which there are multiple birthday celebrations (friends, family, Dinner . . .) spread out over the course of a month – and sometimes in different cities – to accommodate the vagaries of everyone’s schedule. I appear to have basically won at Birthdays by achieving the Birthday Year. Read the rest of this entry ?
Apparently we’ve just grown the first hamburger in a lab. And by this I mean, it’s the first hamburger that is technically meat, but has nothing to do with an actual animal. PETA must be plotzing.
It was shaped and fried up (with the addition of lots of butter – which, to me, somewhat defeats the purpose of a lab grown hamburger patty – because surely part of the reason to do this is to get away from the ethical concerns of animal husbandry and while dairy cows aren’t slaughtered for hamburgers, I don’t think their living conditions are any better than the average meat cow, so unless the butter was also lab grown I don’t think you’ve achieved independence from the commercial meat industry) earlier this week in London. Read the rest of this entry ?
BREAKING NEWS!
It is officially corn and tomato season. Let the gorging commence.
I stopped by the Stillman’s stand at the Wednesday farmer’s market on July 3rd and stared in blank astonishment at the pile of corn they had on display. Surprised, I asked how on earth they’d achieved corn in time for the 4th of July. The way that Kate Stillman muttered, ‘you have no idea what it took for us to achieve this’ left me wondering if small animals had been sacrificed on the edges of fields. Turns out it was a somewhat more prosaic method involving seeds from Germany, and hot houses, and constant constant vigilance – the guy at the stand looked exhausted just talking about it. It is possible virgin sacrifice would have been less time consuming all round, although you do then have to do something with the body. Read the rest of this entry ?
A couple of weeks ago I said I was feeling excessively negative and wanted to get happy, but that I’d do a grousing post some time soon. This is that time.
Firstly, the term ‘flavor forward’ needs to be taken out to the woodshed and put out of its misery. What does that even mean?
More seriously, can we talk about the most recent spate of idiotic diets that are being touted. Read the rest of this entry ?
End of Birthday Season 2012 – Dinner, November 27th
Pumpkin Chili
Creamed Corn Cornbread
Salad
Goat Cheesecake with Pistachio Crust Read the rest of this entry ?
I know I’ve said this before, but I believe that there are certain foods you have to have been introduced to at a tender age, and then grown up eating to really appreciate. Marmite/Vegemite is one of them – I was clearly too old by the time I was introduced to it in middle school because I continue to think it’s one of the most revolting things you can put on bread. Ambrosia Salad is another – which I cheerfully embrace in all its mini-marshmallow & canned mandarin orange glory, although I admit that I’d be hesitant to call it a salad per se. It’s possible that baked beans on toast are another thing that you have to have been introduced to at an impressionable age. Read the rest of this entry ?
I have a new entry on my list of ‘national foods which I have only had good examples of outside of the country of origin’. That list needs a snappier name.
Included on it, are: Read the rest of this entry ?
I have to preface this post by saying that custard is very much my culinary bête noir – everyone’s got one (or more), and nobody should be discouraged from making this ice cream based on how much I’m about to whine.
Or, let me put it another way, there’s a catch phrase in our house that nothing is serious until James Earl Jones says, ‘mother-of-god’*. When I tasted the ice cream base on Saturday afternoon I paused, stared down at the pot in awe, and did my very best James Earl Jones impression (which since I’m a 5’ nothing WASP is distinctly underwhelming, but the sentiment was heartfelt). This is seriously good ice cream, y’all. The Effort here is entirely commensurate with the payoff, my issues with custard notwithstanding. Read the rest of this entry ?
I have a very clear memory of walking down a street with my mother when I was quite young being given a crash course in Afternoon Tea etiquette as we made our way to the house of a British friend of hers. I don’t remember whether I successfully didn’t embarrass my mother (on that particular occasion, at any rate), but I was quite young (and American) so I probably got a pass from her friend (who, being that kind of English, would have been too polite to say anything anyway). Read the rest of this entry ?
Monday Night Dinner 