Anyway, I’ve decided that it’s time to whip something up for the gang and show them what I can do. I’ve been thinking all week about what should I should make. I have to choose wisely because the first time should be special. The first time sets the tone for future offerings.

Co-workers will always remember the first food you bring in for them. If it’s good the first time, they’ll expect all your food to be good. Conversely, if it’s bad the first time, don’t be surprised if the next time they sniff and inspect it before eating it. Plus, I think that the outcome of the first experience psychologically sets them up to either like or dislike subsequent dishes. In other words, if they expect it to be good or bad, they will find it good or bad, despite what the reality might be.

So, what will it be? Cookies? Brownies? Chocolate chip muffins? It’s too soon for “real” food. That comes later, after I’ve established a food rapport with my co-workers, after I’ve planted it in their heads that it’s okay to try my dishes, to take a chance on something “new.”

I’d be interested in hearing stories about foods you’ve brought in to your co-workers and their reactions. Please feel free to leave a comment.

In the meantime, I’m going to look through my cookbooks for ideas. It’s been a while since I’ve fed a crowd. This might just be the thing I need to get myself back on track.

So, that’s it for me this week. Hope everyone has a great week.

peace

I’ve never experienced a time when I’ve had no time to cook, at least on the weekends. The circumstances of my life have changed in numerous ways over the past year or so, which has changed what I am able to do with my time. Most recently, about two months ago, I started a new job after being unemployed for a year and a half. And a direct result of that is that I have almost no time to cook. Over the past two months, I’ve relied almost exclusively on my mother’s leftovers. See, my brother and I usually go each Saturday to have lunch with my parents. Mom cooks for 28 people, even though it’s just the four of us. As you can imagine, we take home lots of leftovers. And it’s great. I love my mother’s cooking and all I have to do when I get home from work is pop some in the toaster oven, or into a pan, or in the microwave (notice I listed that last).

But it’s frustrating when one loves to cook but simply doesn’t have the time. It also impacts your diet (if you’re on one) because you lose control of what you’re eating. Fortunately, my mom’s leftovers are generally on the healthy side, but it’s still a challenge putting together a breakfast and lunch menu that I can easily take to work. A few times, I’ve had to go out and buy lunch, which is dangerous for me.

This past weekend (Memorial Day), I actually had time to cook and set myself up for the week. I cooked a big pot of vegetarian chile, some veggie burritos, a veggie frittata, and some millet to go with the chile. Now, I have some still in the fridge and some in the freezer for future desperate times. And now I plan on starting a diet next week. I mean, a real diet. So I have to do some real preparing.

I have to figure something out, figure out a way to get some more cooking in. Maybe I just need a little more time to settle back into a routine. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Have a great week, everyone.

Peace.

In my part of the country (New York), summer has been a fleeting thing the past several years. I remember the days when it was hot in May, and it would stay sunny and hot throughout June, July, August, and even September. Now, it’s cold and rainy through June, then we finally get some heat and sunshine in July. By September, it’s already cooling off. Just last week, New York experienced an unbelievable wind and rain storm that left hundreds of broken umbrellas lining the streets like blankets. And look what’s going on in the rest of the world: earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes. Global warming, people, is messing with us.

So, with the weather making us all crawl back inside and hibernate, my mind turns to the topic of comfort food. It’s funny how people consider many of the same things as comfort food.There are differences that have to do with the region or country you grew up in, the cultural make-up of your community, and your economic status growing up. (Of course, your heritage or nationality will play a huge role in this—someone who grew up in a Chinese household, for example, will have different ideas of comfort food than someone who grew up in an Indian household.)

Yet, despite these conditions, many things we consider comfort food in this country seem to be across the board: Mac ‘n’ cheese, anyone? What’s interesting is that restaurants are responding to this need for comfort food. One of the most prevalent crazes, in my opinion, of the past few years is the transformation of comfort foods into “gourmet cuisine.” Take that good ol’ mac ‘n’ cheese, for instance. Chefs are turning this favorite into a specialty by using different and/or multiple cheeses (sometimes expensive ones) or enhancing its depth by employing different cooking methods. And by adding new ingredients, chefs can change the flavor profile. Some green chiles will turn it into a Southwest dish; Indian spices will yield curried mac ‘c’ cheese; and use some shaved truffles for a decidedly French twist. In fact, you can add just about anything to macaroni and cheese to turn it into your own personal dish. I like the idea of veggies. If you’re a meat-eater, you can add ground beef, chicken, or turkey. How about shredded salmon or tuna? Mac ‘n’ cheese is pretty wide-open to interpretation. (I really wouldn’t add Reese’s Pieces or Skittles or anything like that, though.)

However, I must say at this point that because of my background—that is, my Old World Italian upbringing—mac ‘n’ cheese was not something I grew up with. So, while it has become the occasional comfort food for me, it’s really not the first thing I think of when I want something comforting . For me, it’s simple noodle soup or a grilled cheese sandwich.

How about you? I’d love to hear what you all consider comfort food. What do you turn to when you need a bit of warmth, comfort, and security? And if you can tell me why those particular foods, I’d absolutely love it. (I love finding out the origins of things, especially when it comes to eating habits.) So, please leave a comment. That would be awesome. In the meantime, here’s a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese with Proscuitto and Taleggio, from Bon Appetit, March 2002, and a recipe for Macaroni and Cheese with Garlic Bread Crumbs, Plain and Chipotle, originally appearing in Gourmet (R.I.P), December 1999. Enjoy!

Okay, everyone. Here’s hoping we’ve seen the last of winter nastiness, wherever you are, and that spring will arrive very soon. I think we all need it.

Ciao.

Compounding the problem of lost Christmas sales is the fact that they probably won’t be made up next Christmas. The publishing industry is a funny machine wherein timing is everything.  In order to make decent Christmas sales, you have to release a book a few months prior to Christmas (around September), but no earlier than that, to create the right “Hey, here’s a brand new book on the market” buzz. In other words, a book that comes out between January and August are already old by Christmas. That’s not to say that they won’t sell at all. After all, publishers and authors alike hope that a book will have a long shelf life and a nice cookbook can sell as gifts for years to come.

What I’m talking about is the BIG sales spike on a newly released book, which affects the rest of the life of the book. Within a year, a book—any book—is considered “backlist”; that is, books that are still in print and available but are no longer actively promoted or pushed by the publisher. It’s kind of like when you buy a new computer with the latest technology, but your old computer still works, so you put it in the basement or the guest room and every now and then you turn it on to do something. But for the most part, you’ve forgotten it. That old computer has been backlisted. Fortunately, unlike computers, which become completely obsolete after a few years, books can have a long, healthy life in Backlistland and continue to sell very well. But unless the author is famous or something occurs that draws unexpected attention to the book, chances are you’ll not get a sales spike quite like the one you got (hopefully) when the book was initially released.

At any rate, I’m going through the proof now and it’s taking a while. A cookbook is a complex thing with many different elements that have to come together a certain way. There are lots of little things that require correcting (I suppose that it doesn’t help that I’m extremely anal and a stickler for consistency). Cookbooks are very visual, which is why books with color photos sell better than others. But photos are very expensive to print and not all publishers can afford to do that. That’s where illustrations come in. They break up the text and help readers visualize the recipes and ingredients. But even illustrations are expensive. And because I originally self-published this book, cost was even more of a factor. I was also lucky to have a very good friend, Linda, who’s an artist and did my illustrations for free.

Layout for easy reading is important, too. People should be able to bring their eyes back and forth to a page in a cookbook and easily find where they last left off. And the instructions should be easy to read. I dislike books with “run-on recipes”—recipes that just follow one another on the same page—because it makes it confusing sometimes. However, paper costs money and I myself had to do some run-on recipes when I self-published this book. But cookbook designers try to avoid that, if possible. The only cookbook I own that has run-on recipes and very little in the way of illustrations is Marcella Hazan’s The Essentials of Italian Cooking. But Hazan is an Italian cooking legend and she could write a cookbook on a roll of toilet paper and it would sell.

Moving on to the next project, I FINALLY finished the testing on my second cookbook. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. There are still a few recipes that I decided need one more run in the test kitchen. But the bulk of the testing is done and I’m not on this bullet train of daily testing anymore. I felt like I was doing nothing else, day after day. Alicia Silverstone came out with a vegetarian cookbook recently called The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet, and Vegetarian Times interviewed her about it. She said that she was basically on lockdown in her house for 12 days testing the recipes. Now, I don’t know how she did proper testing for an entire cookbook in just 12 days, but it illustrates my point just the same: Developing and testing recipes for a cookbook is a laborious, time-consuming task. I started this second book in 2002. Can you believe that? Eight years in the making, and who knows how many thousands of dollars for ingredients. Well, phase 1 is over. Now on to phase 2: Trying to sell it to a publisher. That’s going to be the hard part. I still have this whole “platform” problem. More on that another time.

For someone who doesn’t have a job, I seem to be awfully busy, which is a good thing but it makes me wonder how I got anything done when I was working. How does anyone get anything done when they’re working? I’m going to try really hard to get through a long list of things to do this weekend and, hopefully, get in some exercise. It’s going to be fairly nice before another winter storm moves in. Sigh.

By the way, did you check out the photo of that old cookbook above? It was printed in 1747 and written by Hannah Glasse, but is attributed to “A Lady.” I love old cookbooks. They really are an insight to what life was like for the common woman. And reading through some of the recipes in pre-Fannie Farmer cookbooks, it’s amazing they were able to follow any at all and get it right.

Anyway, that’s enough for me. Hope you all have a great week!

This year, it’s the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New Orleans Saints. And since this is the first time in the team’s history that the Saints are going to the Superbowl, I’m sure many New Orleanians and Louisianans are going to party hardy this weekend.

Now, I won’t claim to know much about football, but if you’re having a Superbowl or tailgate party, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s see what’s on the menu…

First, let’s take note on what food holidays coincide with the Superbowl. Tomorrow, February 6 is National Nutella Day. Nutella is an Italian chocolate-hazelnut spread. Hmmm, so many possibilities there. In France, a common snack food is crêpes stuffed with various ingredients, including Nutella. In fact, if you walk down the street of any city in France, you’ll likely encounter a street vendor selling an array of luscious crêpes made fresh right there in his or her cart. (I came across one of these carts in Aix-en-Provence and ordered a crêpe made with Gran Marnier, which is practically a national dish, but it really was hard passing up the Nutella version.) So, in honor of Nutella Day, buy some pre-made crêpes, spread a couple of tablespoons of Nutella over them, and roll them up. Or, do as the Italians do: spread Nutella on slices of bread and enjoy.

Sunday itself is National Fettuccini Alfredo Day. Okay, if you’re having a tailgate party, that may not be the best choice to pack in your cooler.  If you’re having a party at home, however, here’s a simple recipe for it at Epicurious.com. P.S.–It’s not a low-fat recipe. Nowhere even close. But, then, Superbowl Sunday never was about diets, was it?

So, what else can you serve at your party or pack for your tailgate fiesta? An excellent (and healthy) choice is Italian green bean, potato and tomato salad. So easy to put together, it’s just a few fresh ingredients tossed with a low-fat balsamic dressing. Click HERE for my recipe. Or, how about a fresh, delicious spinach and potato pie? It’s a little higher up in the fat and calorie content, but because it’s homemade, you’ll have something truly fresh and preservative-free. That recipe is HERE.

For some other ideas, the Food Network has it all laid out for you. They offer different menus for different game plans. So, they have quick-and-easy, make-ahead, budget-friendly, and several other menus HERE.  Maybe you’re looking for a different Buffalo wings recipe or a different take on chili. It’s there, too. Guy Fieri has a particularly interesting menu (he always does) HERE. His menu intrigues me so much, in fact, that I’m tempted to have an impromptu Superbowl party just to try out his recipes. I mean, he’s got a Jambalaya Sandwich, Tailgate Sangria, and Waka Waka Salad Appetizer, which consists of  ramen noodles, three kinds of cabbage, wonton skins, and Spanish peanuts. Hmm.

(Speaking of the Food Network, I’m glad to report that those of us who subscribe to Cablevision cable service have gotten back the Food Network. I have no idea what deal Cablevision and Scripps Network hammered out, but I hope it doesn’t result in customers getting charged more. Now, Cablevision has sent me a letter saying I need a digital cable box—a separate issue from last year’s federal cable service mandate. It seems that it’s costing me more and more to watch TV, something that used to be FREE. Ugh.)

Over at Nola.com, read “New Orleans Saints players’ personal chefs offer up Super Bowl recipes” for some “home style” dishes.

How about these sure-to-please options:

Tomato-Avocado Salsa with Tortilla Chips

Garam Masala Deviled Eggs

Jalapeno Popper Spread

Pan-Fried Veggie Wontons with Sesame Dip

Cat Cora’s Keftdedes (Greek Meatballs)

Two Sisters’ Chicken Salad

North Carolina Style Pulled Pork

Alton Brown’s Coleslaw

To go with your fabulous menus, have different beverages available—a few different beers and wine (maybe a non-alcoholic choice for your teetotaling friends), some soda, and maybe some iced tea and lemonade. With all these tasty options, you’ll have the hottest Superbowl party in town.

What’s for dessert? Leave that to your guests.

Have a great week, everyone. Enjoy Superbowl Sunday!! And if you’re driving anywhere, be safe—if you’re drinking, have a designated driver.

Peace

Anyway, on with the show.

This week,  I want to talk about appetizers. It’s a pretty broad subject, I know, but they’ve been a part of my daily existence for the past year. Allow me to explain.

My next cookbook is going to focus on appetizers, so almost every day I have been testing at least one appetizer. The thing is, when you’re testing a recipe, you have to test it exactly as it’s going to appear in the final recipe, including ingredients and quantities. In other words, if you’re developing a recipe for turkey chili with red beans and zucchini (yeah, zucchini.  so?), you can’t substitute pork and chick peas in the testing and then use cauliflower because they were out of zucchini at the market. Everything cooks up differently, at different times, with different results. You won’t know what your end product will be and that could cause dissatisfaction in your readers. Your recipes must work as written. Where quantities are concerned, again, you need to use the same quantities as stated in the ingredients list of the recipe, otherwise, you may end up with a different yield. So, your readers might be expecting 4 servings and end up with only 3, or 10. And not all recipes are amenable to being doubled or halved.

Why is this a problem for me? Because if I’m developing a recipe for appetizers, it’s going to be for at least 6 people. Appetizers can be fun and delicious, but I must say, one can only eat so many appetizers. It’s gotten so that I’m sick of my own food. I give away a lot of food. A lot. The other night, I asked a friend if he’d like to go get Chinese food. I couldn’t stand the thought of eating my own food again. I was already cooking a couple of things that night, mind you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat them. I finished cooking, packed it all up, and went out.

Don’t get me wrong. My food isn’t bad. In fact, if my family and friends are to be believed (not to mention my personal chef clients), I’m pretty good at this cooking thing. But sometimes I just need someone else’s food.

Anyway, back to appetizers. Appetizers have existed since ancient times. Here’s what I wrote about appetizers—or antipasti in Italian—in my cookbook, What, No Meat?:

One of the trademarks of an Italian meal is the antipasto (appetizers or hors d’oeuvres). Contrary to popular belief, antipasto does not mean “before the pasta.” It means “before the meal.” Pasto (meal) comes from the Latin word pastus, meaning “food.” The ancient Athenians actually invented the concept of appetizers; unfortunately for their guests, it was the only course they would serve. Other Greeks felt that this was a sign of cheapness because, as Lynceus put it, “such a layout as that may seem to offer variety, but is nothing at all to satisfy the belly.”

The ancient Romans began having true antipasto in the 3rd century B.C. and continued having this premeal course through the 4th century A.D. It included items that are still considered appetizers today, such as olives and a primitive pizza (think of the focaccia on the table at your favorite Italian restaurant).

During the Dark Ages, meals were more for sustenance than enjoyment, so antipasto had no place in it. During the Plague of the 14th century, one was lucky to get a meal at all, let alone appetizers. With the onset of the Renaissance, admiration for beauty and art was reborn and appreciation of food for its own sake reemerged. Appetizers came back in style and have remained with us to this day.

After I finish all this testing, I’m going on a diet. Maybe even a fast. Parties are fun, but parties every day become a bore (how does Paris Hilton do it, poor thing?). But I don’t want anyone to lose interest in the subject. Appetizers are creative little dishes that guests remember the next day and for days to come.

As Saki (writer H.H. Munro) wrote in “Reginald at the Carlton”:

Hors d’oeuvres…remind me of one’s childhood that one goes through considering what the next course is going to be like—and during the rest of the menu one wishes one had eaten more of the hors d’oeuvres.

Have a great week, everyone! And stay away from those viruses.

The two recipes I concentrated on developing were Indonesian urap and Nigerian yam salad. Urap is a vegetable salad that contains shredded coconut and is flavored with a spicy dressing of garlic, galangal or ginger, tamarind, and sambal ulek (a spicy chile paste).

Detour to Yams

The yam salad is very much like a potato salad, except that it’s made with yams and a coconut-based dressing. Yams should not be confused with sweet potoatoes. Americans have mistakenly come to know sweet potatoes as yams(especially, for some reason, around the holidays). But the red-fleshed tubers are not yams. Yams are white-fleshed with rough dark brown skin and are starchier and less sweet than sweet potatoes But they are a crucial crop in Africa. They’re not easy to find in the U.S., but where you might find them is in Latin markets, or a market that has a Latin produce section. In these cases, you will find yams under the name namé (nah-MAY). (They also go by the names tropical yam or true yam). Throughout Africa, Yams are a symbol of fertility and renewal and are honored with festivals. There are many myths and legends surrounding yams. One such legend, from Mali, says that criminals were beheaded in a ritualistic fashion in the yam fields so that their blood could fertilize the crops.

Anyway, Back to Coconuts

So, it was back to the produce aisle for a “regular” coconut. (I’ll be honest, though, I’ve never tried frozen coconut. Although I hear that it is very similar to fresh.) The trick to opening a coconut is to poke holes in the coconut’s “eyes” with a hammer and screwdriver or—my preferred implement—an awl. Drain the water out, then pound away where you’ve made the holes with a hammer until it cracks. Pry it open and crack it into two pieces. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Pry the meat out in pieces with a knife—CAREFULLY. Then peel the dark skin off the pieces. If you need the coconut shredded, do it either on a box grater or in a food processor with the shredder blade on. And there you have it.

What I’ve learned about coconuts is that nothing really compares with fresh coconut right from the shell. I’ve picked up canned coconut from my local Asian market and…well…BLEECCCHHH!!!! Can you tell I didn’t like it? The texture was weird and the flavor was weird. Dessicated coconut can be rehydrated but it’s not quite as fresh tasting.

Also at the Asian market, I purchased a “young coconut.” This is a coconut that has had the outermost layer removed but not the fibrous layer surrounding the hard, brown shell we usually see. The hard, brown shell (in a young coconut) is thin and not as difficult to break. But once you get inside, there’s very little meat. What there is is quite tender and creamy but it really can’t be used in many recipes. (Often, you’ll see people drinking straight from a young coconut that’s had its top sliced off or poked.)

If you’re not quite grasping the layers-of-a-coconut thing, here’s an explanation from Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress: “The coconut we buy in the store does not resemble the coconut you find growing on a coconut palm. An untouched coconut has three layers. The outermost layer, which is typically smooth with a greenish color, is called the exocarp. The next layer is the fibrous husk, or mesocarp, which ultimately surrounds the hard woody layer called the endocarp. The endocarp surrounds the seed. Generally speaking, when you buy a coconut at the supermarket the exocarp and the mesocarp are removed and what you see is the endocarp.”

One more thing. Don’t confuse these various coconut products: coconut water, coconut juice, coconut milk, coconut cream, and cream of coconut.

Coconut water: This is the liquid that is inside a coconut. It can be consumed right from the coconut or used in drinks and food.

Coconut juice: Another name for coconut water. However, you will sometimes find cans of “coconut juice” that are actually flavored drinks. They start with coconut water and sometimes add things like sugar and other ingredients. Always check the ingredients.

Coconut milk: Coconut milk is made by taking grated coconut meat and squeezing the liquid out of it. Handmade milk is made using cheesecloth; commercial milk is machine-pressed.

Coconut cream: This is coconut milk that has a lower water content and is, therefore, thicker.

Cream of coconut: This is sweetened coconut cream. This product is used in desserts and drinks. Think Coco Lopez and those yummy piña coladas.

More Fascinating Coconut Facts

Here are some more interesting bits about coconuts from Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress:

* Every bit of the coconut is used. As a result, coconuts are called the “Tree of Life” and can produce drink, fiber, food, fuel, utensils, musical instruments, and much more.

* When intra-venous (IV) solution was in short supply, doctors during World War II and Vietnam used coconut water in substitution of IV solutions.

* Botanically, the coconut palm is not a tree since there is no bark, no branches, or secondary growth. A coconut palm is a woody perennial monocotyledon with the trunk being the stem.

* Possibly the oldest reference is from Cosmas, a 5th century AD Egyptian traveler. He wrote about the “Indian nut” or “nut of India” after visiting India and Ceylon, Some scholars believe Cosmas was describing a coconut.

* Soleyman, an Arab merchant, visited China in the 9th century and describes the use of coir fiber and toddy made from coconuts.

* In 16th century, Sir Francis Drake called coconut “nargils”, which was the common term used until the 1700’s when the word coconut was established.

* It takes 11 -12 months for the coconut to mature.

* At one time scientists identified over 60 species of Cocos palm. Today, the coconut is a monotypic with one species, nucifera. However, there are over 80 varieties of coconut palms, which are defined by characteristics such as dwarf and tall.

* Coconut growing regions are as far north as Hawaii and as far south as Madagascar.

So, think about that the next time you’re biting into that coconut macaroon or drinking a piña colada. Food has a history all its own and someone somewhere had to discover it and figure out what to do with it. It didn’t just show up on the menu one day.

Okay, thanks for popping in and I’ll see you next time. Have a great week, everyone.

Photo credits: Yam: www.foodsubs.com; www.alibaba.com; awl: www.homedepot.com; pina colada: www.faeriesfinest.com.

Traditionally, for me, the day after Thanksgiving has been a day of rest. I don’t do anything, I don’t go anywhere, I don’t see anyone. I’ve been cooking all week and I want is to be left alone. Just me and my leftovers and my holiday movies. That’s it. This year, my parents cooked Thanksgiving dinner and I worked at Macy’s this Friday as a Santaland elf. Yes, I worked at Macy’s on Black Friday. I thought I was going to need tranquilizers. But I’ll talk about that experience another time.

Now, I’ve cooked multi-course Thanksgiving meals for up to 20 people without a hitch. The menu usually consisted of (with variations): Antipasto platters (I am Italian, after all), for which I roasted my own peppers and sometimes marinated my own olives, and which included things like stuffed mushrooms, cheeses, salami, etc.; the turkey (of course); cranberry sauce (homemade); stuffing; green beans almandine; corn; mashed (or other) potatoes; baked squash rings; broccoli raab; salad; and desserts. Sometimes I added side dishes, and my mother always made something(s). And even though I knew full well that everyone would bring a dessert, I still chose to make one or two myself because I enjoy it and I don’t get many opportunities throughout the year to make desserts.

This year, I was in charge of stuffing. That’s it. I did choose, however, to also make fresh cranberry sauce, cipolline (more on that), and a raspberry cheese pie. With only those few items to make, you’d think it would have been a snap. Well, just as the rest of my year has gone, things decided to go their own way. Some things chose not to cooperate. On the upside, I did learn a few things (when you cook for Thankgiving, it gives you the opportunity to really experience cooking for a crowd).

So, without further ado, here are the 5 Things I Learned This Thanksgiving.

1. When making homemade cranberry sauce, don’t skimp on the sugar. Cranberry sauce requires a lot of sugar. Otherwise, it can be so tart as to be unpalatable (for some, anyway). This year, I decided to cut back on the sugar. I used a combination of white and brown sugar, hoping that the brown sugar would increase the sweetness. Didn’t work. The resulting sauce left a bitter aftertaste. I knew I had to add sugar before I brought it to dinner, but I was afraid of grittiness. So, I added brown sugar and stirred it in very well. It was fine.

2. If you’re roasting chestnuts for chestnut stuffing, buy more than you have to because some of them will be rotten.

3. Cipolline. There is no substitute. These are small Italian onions that are available only in fall. They are a delicacy. They have a strong flavor, somewhat bitter, but Italians seem to be fond of that. It’s an acquired taste but one that is prized. I make them agrodolce—sweet and sour—and when done properly, they are addicting. This photo shows what the end product looks like. Anyway, they can be hard to find and I substituted pearl onions. Well, it just isn’t the same. They don’t cook up the same and they certainly don’t taste the same. So, if you’re going to give cipolline a try, don’t bother if you can’t find the real thing. Here’s a recipe.

4. Chocolate just doesn’t melt as well in a microwave as it does the traditional way on the stovetop. I had to melt white chocolate for the raspberry cheese pie and it came out lumpy. Is it because it was white chocolate rather than regular chocolate? I don’t know.

5. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! I brought my stuffing to my parents’ house. It was assembled and ready to go in the oven just for reheating. It was just right—the texture, the flavor, the dispersal of ingredients. But I thought, “Hmm, I don’t want it to dry out in the oven, so I’ll just add the rest of this vegetable broth.” I had to heat it for close to an hour at 400 degrees just to dry it all out. In the end, it still tasted good, but the texture was somewhat gummy. So, like I said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I hope everyone had a great day on Thursday. And so begins the new Christmas season. What will you be making this holiday?

Until next week, peace.

But, like most people I know, these are things that will have to live in my fanstasies until that lotto number hits. In the meantime, I do quite well in my average-sized kitchen with my average counter space, and average everything. When you get a feel for a kitchen (your own or someone else’s), it’s amazing how good your food can be (assuming you can cook ).

BUT…it’s when you’re thrown into a new environment that your skills are tested and can really shine. This past month, I’ve been visiting friends in Colorado. Now, I’ve been there before and it’s a beautiful property, sitting right on the Arkansas River with a view of the the Rocky Mountains. It’s so serene, peaceful, and pure looking that I once described it as “fake.” That is, it’s the kind of view that if you see it in a movie, you’re SURE that it’s a set because no place could possibly look that beautiful or untouched.

On this visit, however, there was the added problem of house renovations. My hosts are doing construction on their house, which means less room, a lot of commotion, and open spaces, where unwelcome critters have made their entrances and left calling cards behind. So, every scrap of food has to go in jars, plastic containers with lids, and metal cans. Bags of food have to go in the refrigerator (whether they should be there or not) or the microwave. We had a close call when someone started the microwave by mistake (intending only to start the timer), not realizing that the toaster was in there (the toaster harbors crumbs, which invites mice). It’s a good thing she realized that the microwave was on or we would have had a very serious situation on our hands.

Anyway, so here I am, a personal chef from Brooklyn, New York, cooking on a gas stove all her life, suddenly finding herself cooking at 7,000 feet above sea level, with electric appliances, no stove, in a house under construction that’s being beseiged with tiny, uninvited guests. Lord have mercy!

I haven’t been able to cook as much as I’d like on this visit, but I have managed a few things. The other night, I made Salade Niçoise, a Provençal specialty salad, consisting of numerous ingredients and usually containing tuna or anchovies, but mine was completely vegetarian. It had hard-boiled eggs, pototoes, green beans, tomatoes, olives, lettuce, red onion, and cubed Swiss cheese. These are all then beautifully arranged on a platter. On the surface, it sounds pretty quick and easy to throw together. But keep in mind that eggs and potatoes have to be boiled, peeled, and sliced; green beans have to be trimmed and boiled or steamed; lettuce has to be washed; and tomatoes and onions must be cut. It’s not complicated but it does take a little time. And try doing all that with electric pots in a tiny kitchen under contruction!

Plus, I also made a Dutch dish called frikandel, a sausage-and-potato log. I made mine with vegetarian sausage and, yup, cooked it up in an electric frying pan. Last night, I made pasta primavera, and I realized that I can adapt quickly to my circumstances.

But, then, I’ve had to adapt to different kitchen configurations many times. As a personal chef, I’ve had the pleasure of cooking in swank, Upper West Side kitchens, but those were rarities. More common were the tiny, little kitchens that Manhattan is known for. We’re talking kitchens the size of closets, with barely enough space for me to stand in, let alone cook a week’s worth of meals for a family. Believe me, it’s not easy. But I had to do what I had to do and I made it work.

In the meatime, I’ll keep my fantasy kitchen alive in my head. Maybe someday…

Photo credits: Viking range and outdoor bbq set: www.vikingrange.com; Sub-zero refrigerator: www.subzero.com; Rocky Mountains: www.parbeszed.com; salade nicoise: www.foodtv.ca; Spanish kitchen: www.yossawat.com.

On a different note, if you read my little theory on pink pastry boxes and perhaps began wondering about these mysterious boxes yourselves, you might be interested to know that one has been spotted in the wild. Yes, one of these elusive cardboard containers has been seen in real time, from a real bakery, transporting a real cake! And not in California, either!

Fellow writer, Andi Marquette, just celebrated her birthday recently and her boss treated her to a birthday cake at her place of business. Don’t you know, she called me up and said, “My cake came in a pink pastry box!” My reaction: “Shut up.” She took a picture of it and sent it to me (it’s collapsed).

It was kind of like spotting Sasquatch. You’ve heard of it, seen “pictures” of it, but have never actually seen it yourself or known anyone who has seen it with their own eyes. Well, folks. There ya go. Pink pastry boxes do exist. In my mind, that just raised the level of possibility for Sasquatch.

Fall is in the air (I had to throw a comforter on my bed last night) and that means great autumn food. One of my favorites is pumpkin. I love making fresh pumpkin pie, fritters, and soup, and incorporating it into things that don’t traditionally call for pumpkin, like chili. YUM! For Italians, the best thing about pumpkins and other squashes is their flowers. These are edible flowers that are used in a variety of ways. They are considered a delicacy. One of the most common ways of using them is in a Squash Blossom Frittata. Try my recipe HERE and let me know what you think.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. This was so much fun for me, that I think I’ll do it again. Hmmm. Check in with me again.