Roasted, Smoked & Fried

November 24, 2010March 10, 2014Leave a comment

This is what's on the menu tomorrow. Last night I made my favorite cornbread, sausage & apple dressing from my all-time fave Silver Palate Cookbook and Cranberry Chutney ala Orangette.

I've been reading Orangette's book and realized that the brother David she talks about, used to be my boss when i was managing a restaurant in DC. Funny little world.

I have to confess I was having some anxiety about how rustic the turkey is. My friends raised it and slaughtered it and the too long neck needs to be lopped off (which I can handle) and I've been plucking quill tips out with tweezers. I am no farm girl… I know this now. Anyhoo, my friend Sarah (chef & cheese monger) responded to my distress signal this morning and assured me it would all be fine, that the remaining tips will pop out when roasting. I thought as much but feel much better hearing from someone with a lot of experience. Thankfully, we are not making gravy with that bird's drippings.

Off to the rockpile and to drop off Maisy at the vet… she's feeling puny again. It makes me sad.

Living Hand to Mouth in Paradise

November 23, 2010March 10, 2014Leave a comment

Yesterday a friend asked me if I had a vacation highlight…

Time with K and P was so great, and I really loved sharing that part of the country with my husband. He'd never been there and was blown away at how spectacular and rugged the redwood coast still is. You'd think that would be the highlight, right?

But as always it's the everyday mundane fly on the wall moments that always amaze me and are imprinted on my mind. I really fell in love with Trinidad, population 311. We were at the Beachcomber Cafe as parents were dropping of their kids at the elementary school across the street. They were all coming in with their reusable togo cups (mason jars that the coffee shop sold for a buck) and filling out their index card, the locals were running tabs at the coffee shop. We took our mugs down to the end of the street by the lighthouse to soak it all in. The best cappuccino of the trip. After returning our mugs and picking up some bagels for our hike, we head to our car parked at the school. All of a sudden, about 40 crows swarmed the parking lot, a woman in a blue minivan rolled down her window and yelled, "I'll feed you in a minute!". She circled the lot with the murder of crows (god I love that) flying behind her down the road as she drove along, tossing out food. It was a sweet slice of life we caught that morning. I know I visited Patrick's Point often when I went to school there, but forgot what living hand to mouth in paradise looked like. It's pretty damn sweet, really.

pic by my husband

The Redwood Coast

November 22, 2010March 10, 2014Leave a comment

My husband and I flew to the Bay Area to visit my sister and her boyfriend. After a couple days of sightseeing and constant eating we drove up to the Redwood Coast. I only went to school at Humboldt State University for one year, but the enchanted forests with its massive trees, the rugged coastline and the über crunchy locals (Austin… you have nothing on these people) living hand to mouth in paradise, have been imprinted upon me forever. It was a treat to be able to share this with my husband. We took many photos of the huge trees near Orick and of Bodega Bay, which we visited on the way back to my sister's. I'll post these to Flickr sometime soon.

Today is my first day back at the magazine since November 2nd. Though some of the time was for work in Kentucky, it's been a very restorative break from my daily routine. Now it's back to a short week, then Thanksgiving. My favorite.

My sister and lemongrass pork at the Slanted Door, San Francisco