Friday, December 17, 2010

Whew--My month in food...

Last time I posted, I'd made Dorie's pumpkin flans and chicken...that seems so long ago...I've been cooking, but I'm sorry to say I haven't been writing about my cooking...or even thinking about writing about my cooking. Bummer, that. I still want to make that semolina cake, and I will certainly be catching up on December's recipes...please, it's a win-win situation.

So a recap of the past month.
I actually did keep up with Dorie one more week and put together the most awesome potato gratin. This dish is proof that simplicity is sublime. Or, as my neighbor Lauren put it: potato crack. (See how others fared here. You'll see links to other recipes, too.)















I bought a grinder attachment and played with sausage recipes, something I'd always wanted to do...and now maybe I'll be one of those people who grind their own beef for burgers.

I finally hung these fabulous little framed ....fun-ness that I bought when I had my weekend with the girls in Delaware...I love these little pieces of art. They make me smile:



That definitely sums up time with college friends. We dance. We have fun...well, the pork one? That just made me smile, because you KNOW I always say bacon makes everything better. And I should do all of the above far more often.

Before I knew it, Thanksgiving was here and I had a lot of family come into town, which I loved. But if you can believe it, I barely took any photos. (Yes, of course the Thanksgiving dinner was lovely. Best gravy EVER. A Trader Joe's Brined Turkey: FABULOUS. Cranberry sauce made with port wine, the bottle I've been lugging around for...a few years. That was certainly a good use of port wine.)The one thing I did get a shot of was the day after's Turkey and Wild Rice Soup. I'd come home from my Minnesota trip with a pound of wild rice. After eating it so many places, I wanted to eat some at home, too. So Turkey and Wild Rice Soup it would be...I will write the recipe (ahem. as I recall it) in the next post, but this was so good.

I made a bunch, but it was like we couldn't get enough of it. I savored THOSE leftovers for days. Sammy did justice to the turkey sandwich as often as he could. We made good use of that turkey.

The days since then have been filled mostly with work. I had a ton of it and my goal was to be done with it ALL so I could really enjoy the weeks around the holidays. Then in the middle of it all, I committed to heading into the Dunhill Hotel here in Charlotte to make fresh mozzarella in the new Harvest Moon Grille restaurant there. So twice now, I've shown up at 7.15 a.m., banged out 6 pounds of mozzarella and headed home. It is definitely fun being in the restaurant kitchen. It really feels like home, but at the same time, 10 hours a day might not look so appealing. One good thing coming from that is that I'll likely be teaching a kids class at the hotel in mid-January. I think the theme will be "Eat Your Science Experiment" and we'll make some mozzarella cheese, pizza dough and end with pizza. Cool, right? 2011 is the year I do more teaching, which I love to do.

For now, the tree is up, some presents are wrapped, Ian is home, Bryn will be off soon. I want to bake, to cook (our dinner will be Beef Wellington. Tenderloin already in the fridge ready to be broken down. What? It was the least expensive option. Who knows what goodness will come of it all?). Some friends will make it for dinner on Christmas Day and maybe we'll revive the tradition of Boxing Day Steak Pie Open House...that would make me happy. Then I could eat pork, have more fun and dance, baby dance. Sweet.

2 comments:

Merut said...

I can sympathize. This time of year leaves little motivation for blogging (or sometimes cooking or photographing). Pie looks good.

Babette said...

Thanks, Merut. I am determined to have my own little blogathon over the next few months so I just get back into the flow of it. It's fun, and I loves seeing the comments I get--seeing how what I write jogs a food memory for someone else.