December 2007 Archives

A few weeks ago, I wasn't sure if this was really a bad omen or what.

But with the help of Kevin, who insisted he was just having a bad day, things did indeed turn around for the better...

Hope you all have a terrific holiday, and thanks for sticking around and keeping me company.
You guys rock—much love to you all.

(I'm a little worried, though. His mood might change since he's gonna have to stub that butt out in just a few days around here...)

1. Dressing

It's not dressing, it's stuffing.
Get it? It gets stuffed in the bird. That why it's called stuff-ing. Even if you don't use it to stuff, you're not 'dressing' the bird. The mere mention of the word 'dressing' makes me wince down to my you-know-what. (It's even hard for me to type.)

If you want further proof, it's Stove-Top 'Stuffing' Mix, not 'Dressing' mix. I don't care what the dictionary says. Don't argue with me. Or Kraft.

Ok, you can call Kraft on it. But not me. I'm too thin-skinned.

2. Veggies

Perhaps the worst offender. They're vegetables, my friends. If you're too lazy to pronounce two extra, teeny-tiny syllables, all hope for humanity is lost. You deserve to read about the mindless antics of Britney and Paris for the next decade.

And I don't mean my mindless antics in Brittany, or Paris.

3. Combine

The jury's still in recess on this one.

When I posted a few weeks ago about going to Camp Cassoulet, there was a frenzy of messages and comments from people; "I must have one! Where can I get one of those gorgeous cassoulet bowls?"

Well, good things come to those who wait. And since you've waited, here's your big chance to get an authentic cassole shipped right to your front door, along with a sack of the famed Haricot Tarbais, the essential bean for making this Gascon specialty.

Go, check it out at Kate's site, then head over to First Giving to enter your bid for item EU25.

Just think—those could be your hands wrapped around that steaming casserole.

Read the latest Dispatch From Lesotho, and see the world of good you can do by bidding now...For just 10 bucks a pop!

Did you know that this Friday is the closing day for Menu For Hope IV?
So far, we've just about rounded passed the $30,000 mark!

I know many of you are angling for the deluxe KitchenAid Artisan Series Mixer, ice cream-making attachment, and copy of The Perfect Scoop that I will personally deface for you with my John Hancock (EU17), which I'll spell a little differently.

But did you know that over at Bon Appegeek, Annie's offering a spiffy Cuisinart Ice Cream maker along with a copy of my book as well?

And if that's not enough—and I know you know that it is...

Think it's easy to self-publish online?

Two new options from Heidi and Elise that do make it easy to create compilation cookbooks.

Paris' chic-est pipi palace.

Chocolat v.1.0 (beta)

Were these all the cutest moments of 2007—or what?
(I watched it twice in a row on the plane! Too cute...)

Just a quick note that I'll be a guest on The Daily Buzz Friday morning, December 14th. Click for showtimes and stations.

No one told me the show starts at...gulp...6am, so if I look a little bleary...c'est comme ça!

I'm not much of a morning person. In fact, I'm kinda mean at that hour. So it might be worth tuning in just for that.

(Speaking of buzzes, if you're ever in Orlando, Florida, they have great espresso there!)

As an avid baker, the one kitchen tool I rely on more than anything else is my KitchenAid mixer. And now you can have one in your kitchen too as part of Menu For Hope IV, raising money for the UN Food Programme in Lesotho.

Through the generosity of KitchenAid, here's your chance to win a brand-new KitchenAid Artisan® Series Stand Mixer. With the included beater, whip and dough hook, this powerful appliance can whip up anything, from a loaf of crusty bread, a buttery cake batter...or a batch of feather-light meringues in minutes.

If you've been dreaming about owning the world's best mixer—bid now!

I was fortunate enough to visit KitchenAid and you can see how these quality mixers are made, which was the thrill of a lifetime. And you'll be just as thrilled since you can customize your very own mixer by choosing from over a dozen colors.

And check this out: as a super-special bonus...

This is the post I never thought I'd write.

I never wanted to tackle madeleines. I thought they were something that...darn it...you just needed to eat in France. Like hamburgers and bagels, some things just don't translate cross-culturally. If you wanted a madeleine, darn it, you came to France to have one. I mean, did you ever have a bagel in Banff? Do you even know where Banff is?

Anticipating the avalanche of questions madeleines inspire, I urge you to simply follow the recipe. The question of baking powder is up to you. If you use it, there's a greater likelihood they'll be a hump and the cakes will be fuller and plump. But some say baking powder shouldn't even be in the same room with madeleines, so I'll leave that decision up to you.

If you do use baking powder, use an aluminum-free brand, like Rumford, which leaves no tinny aftertaste. If you can't get it, use what you can. But try to find a brand labeled double-acting.

A few factors make these madeleines humpy...

I don't care what everyone's saying about the decline of French culture.

Doesn't croustilles maïs soufflé fromage sound better than 'cheese doodles'?

That's okay.

I really didn't want to make a batch of ice cream tonight anyways.

(Although I really didn't want to spend the next forty-five minutes on my hands and knees with a sponge and a bucket either.)

One of the best restaurants in Paris is one that I have a hard time recommending.

It's not that the food isn't consistently very good-to-excellent. Nor is the service anything less than friendly and sincere.

One problem with L'Entredgeu is that it's way up in the 17th, pretty much away from everything else. That's relatively minor, though. The big problem for me is the name; it's almost impossible for me to pronounce—although my French friends have a bit of difficulty with it as well, so I don't feel quite so lame.

In spite of those two minor flaws, I've never not enjoyed myself, and the food, at L'Entredgeu.

This past weekend I went to the Marché des Producteurs de Pays, a lively little outdoor event where people come from across France to sell their edible wares here in Paris. Naturally there were lots of mountain cheeses, specialty honeys, and regional wines. But I was on a mission to stock up on les pruneaux d'Agen since I knew les producteurs would be there from Agen who cultivated and dried their own prunes.

Snickering aside, pruneaux d'Agen are like a little squishy bites of sweet-spicy candy with a chocolate-like richness. When they're mi-cuit, or partially-dried, they're ridiculously plump and meaty, and the skin has just a tiny bit of resistance when you bite down, yielding to the delectable pulp underneath.

Since I have some friends in town who graced me with some high-brow reading material, I'm busy spending most of my time worrying if Britney's friends really are deserting her, if Angelina really is too close to her brother for Brad, and if Pamela Anderson's latest marriage is really going to last this time.

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of new things to worry about now.

So to relax after the shock of seeing Mary-Kate in a get-up that must feel awfully uncomfortable yanking up on her girl parts like that, I'd thought I'd make one of my favorite dishes: Duck with Prunes in Red Wine since I had a hankering to see something with a bit of meat on its bones.