When I was cooking away at a restaurant in the underbelly of Provence not too long ago, I didn’t have many people to talk to. In a way, it was like a silent retreat. My French was pretty flimsy and not many people spoke English. And the ones that did, well… they didn’t. I lived in a run-down house in the middle of nowhere on the estate of an old […]
Say that 20 times fast. I made a soufflé. I was determined. I had a 102 degree fever and I made a souffle nonetheless. That should tell you how determined I was. So although this may seem like a strange journey with strange pictures taken by a semi-delirious girl, I can guarantee you will see a soufflé at the end. It all began with a golden onion. And a pink […]
This is a sampling of what comes out of the chicken coop at Tulipwood. Very strange indeed. On the left is a “pullet egg,” in between are some version of medium and large eggs that you would find in the grocery store, and on the right is a “double yolk” egg. Pullets are chickens that have just started to lay, which happens in about 6 months. They start out by […]
Tenderloin. Is there anything better? Please name it. Go ahead… I’ll wait… …. …. …. That’s what I thought. Tenderloin…the stuff of Gods. There were dozens of deer aging in Paul Michael’s snazzy cement hanging room at deer camp. And he let me go in and pull the tenderloins from as many as I wanted. Christmas come early, I say! I took 6. There were a lot of mouths to […]
One of the great and glorious things about squash from the garden is that it lasts until long after the garden is dormant for the winter. Right now in fact, there are 12 squash lined up along the windowsill. Grandma P. needed something tasty to bring to the church potluck a few weeks ago and since I was awfully curious about the flavor of these winter squash, I suggested we […]
I found my version of gold tucked away in an old drawer. It was a tiny black book. And when I read the cover, I had to know more. So I investigated, and guess what I discovered… this was my great-great grandmother’s recipe book! Her name was Evelyn Day Bruner. She lived in Brooklyn but was born in the mid-west. It’s tattered in a charming kind of way. “Well-used” shall […]
When you have eighteen chickens and thirteen Guinea hens in your life, there are a lot of eggs to contend with. It is definitely a nice problem to have. I went on a quest recently to find eggs in the store with yolks as bright as the ones my chickens produce, and I have yet to find any. I know their diet in the Winter means a paler yolk, but […]
My grandmother and great-aunt had an apartment together on the top floor of 34 Morton Street in New York City in 1941. It was a nice walk-up apartment building, and they paid $80 for it. They were very frugal, and so had various dishes they cooked together that they considered their specialties. One was called “Slum Gulligan,” made from corn, and green pepper, and baked like a custard. Another they […]
It ain’t pretty, but it’s gooood. Just remember as we go on this journey together that we believe in certain principles around here. That animal protein or vegetable protein, if you’re going to eat, something has to die. And if I’m going to kill something in order to eat, then I want to use every part of it. So as you shimmy your way down the page keep reciting the […]
Black-eyed peas are one of those things I only think about on December 31st when I superstitiously rush around looking for them. You see, it was ingrained in me from the time I was a small plump infant, that this is the thing you’re supposed to eat on New Year’s Day for good luck. I’ve never really loved them. But then again, I’ve never really cooked them. So, armed with […]