Posted in Chicagoland, Cleo, Josie, cheese, winter on Feb 4th, 2010
At least once every winter, inspired by glittery snow that is not yet gray heaps, we break out a red enamel pot, sit in front of the fire and have ourselves a traditional Swiss fondue. We can trace this ritual to our shag-carpeted childhoods, when both our families – maybe every 70′s family – enjoyed [...]
Posted in Chicagoland, blogging, cake and cupcakes, chef days, family, pie, tarts, cobblers & crisps, soups on Jan 22nd, 2010
Here’s what they don’t tell you about blogging: it’s random. Crazy random. Unless you have a mission – you wish to share model railroad layouts, or describe one cloud shape per day – blogging is ebb and flow. What to say, what to cook – and why? One answer came from What Would Katharine Hepburn [...]
Posted in Chicagoland, family, soups on Nov 6th, 2009
Why does this post merit repeat viewing? First, we’re now fully immersed in fall, and all the red and gold and chilly, early nights send me straight to the soup pot. Next, it’s almost a year since my dad passed away. When a blog-world acquaintance’s father recently died, the generously shared details of her loss [...]
Posted in Chicagoland, books on Sep 25th, 2009
One breezy Chicago summer, my brother and I built a treehouse. Isn’t that nice? But before my mother objects, let’s rephrase: one sweaty Chicago summer, my brother and I nearly killed each other nailing two boards into a tree. We pounded rows of crooked nails into little boards for steps, and as high as we [...]
Posted in Chicagoland, culinary school, recipes, sauces on Jun 27th, 2009
Moments after finishing my first pot of caramel sauce – first melted sugar, first caramel anything – I pulled up an apron corner, wrapped the burning handle and carried it down twenty-seven steps, past an audience of snickering older students, past my teachers, not breathing until the pot finally reached the hands of a famous [...]
