use real butter

Have you ever heard of degustation? a tasting menu? I had no idea what it was until I got an email from a stranger one day… she said she liked my web pages and had I ever dined at The Flagstaff House in Boulder? She lives in Sydney, but had been there the year prior and enjoyed the 9-course degustation. Needless to say, today Kell is one of my best pals and I even had the pleasure of visiting her in lovely Sydney earlier this year (and we had a great degustation at Restaurant Balzac).

So yes, a degustation is something to pace yourself through. Tiny plates. Many tiny courses that the chef has prepared for you to experience on your culinary journey. Seems that every time I am within 2 plates of the finish, I feel like I am going to burst, to die right there at the table (just one after dinner mint?). But if you ever get the opportunity – go for the degustation. It is so much fun.

And fun is what Kaweah is all about. Today it is her 9th birthday! I know what you’re thinking… “too much spare time?” Well yes. Doc’s instructions were to “take it easy” after surgery. Gawd – take it easy?! Not in my vocabulary, really. I’ve been chomping at the bit for a week, so grant me this diversion and I won’t make a rude gesture with my good arm…

Recipe: rice crispy treats

My left arm has been all jacked up since Friday, but I am slowly regaining the range of motion. It has been quite the pickle getting back to cooking and baking, but I can say with certainty that I am indeed back. It’s a good thing I am right-handed, no?

Every now and again I get a hankering to make something from my youth. Having grown up in southern Virginia, I am well-versed in the food classics made of cheese-food, sour cream, mayonnaise, instant onion soup mix, cream of *your choice* soup, and all manner of white-trash food. I don’t know if rice crispy treats should be classified under 1970s or white-trash or both?

Recipe: cranberry nut dessert

Just a reminder that Menu for Hope IV is underway as I type! Be sure to visit the full list of prizes being offered over at Chez Pim. If that’s too confusing for you, visit the various regional hosts at the end of Pim’s post – the prizes are being offered from all over the globe! Hurry up! Go! Bid! Do you really want someone else walking off with YOUR prize?!? Well then, get on it! [after you read the rest of my post] :)

Are you freaking out right about now? Maybe now? Maybe – NOW? It’s a big time of year for baking and cooking and feasting and festivities – no matter what the festivities may be. I typically find myself making all manner of sweets and baked goods to share with friends, neighbors, our slow but friendly small town post office, the Subaru dealer, Kaweah’s favorite kennel… When I add up the list though, there just isn’t the time to mass produce super fancy time-intensive confections for everyone. That’s why I love the goto recipes, the ones that are easy to make and delicious to boot.