Yearly Archives: 2011

The gig is up. Or could be. It’s hard to say. After dinner, Doug calls out to me from where he is putting Benjamin to bed. I trudge upstairs begrudgingly (Why can’t he put the boy to bed by himself? Doesn’t he know I’m doing the dishes/checking Facebook/playing a round of Angry Birds: Seasons?) until […]

I almost entered into a baker’s hell this weekend; you know, that particular lower circle where you’re asked to make a birthday cake for a 40th birthday party and you spend hours on a new recipe and then find that it’s becoming an utter catastrophe and you might have to start over from scratch and […]

It’s official: I’ve become a Top Chef whore.I watch all the incarnations: “Top Chef,” “Top Chef: Just Desserts” and “Top Chef: Masters”; if there was a “Top Chef: Reheating Lean Cuisines” I’d probably program that into my DVR as well. But, I swear, I’ve gleaned many useful directives from these shows. Contrast salty and sweet. […]

First of all, Doug is not carrying around a little joey in his gut. That’s just silly. You look just fine, darling.  Just fine. Now grab another piece of pumpkin pecan pie and come to bed. Don’t forget the whipped cream. The day began with military precision. Counters cleared, dishes put away, utensils at the […]

What, how can this be? 12 am and already done for the night, and this with going out to dinner AND watching “Top Chef”? It’s a Thanksgiving miracle. Usually I’d be working on my second pie right about now, with stock simmering and miles to go before I slept. Ah, but this year I have […]

Doug is the devil. Today he casually mentioned to me that “brining turkeys is out. Dry brining with salt is what they’re doing now. Didn’t you see it in the New York Times?” Doug, who wouldn’t know a dry brine from a dry brisket, telling me this three days before Thanksgiving? Diabolo. 2 AM. What […]

For me, there are two culinary High Holy Days: Thanksgiving and Lunar New Year’s Eve. These are the pedal-to-the-metal, grueling, marathon cooking holidays that truly test your skill and endurance in the kitchen. I love the challenge. This year we’ll be hosting Doug’s entire family, plus a couple of friends, and I’ve already begun preparing, […]

This has got to be my favorite day of the year— the annual Death of Daylight Savings Time. It’s the glorious retreat of an hour. Fall back! Fall back! The one day of the year where I can get up to find the Time Fairies have miraculously given me another sixty minutes to rest. It helps […]

Yes, I confess, I did it! I did it! I don’t know what came over me, but I couldn’t help myself until… it was too late. Yes, I used a box mix to make my child’s Halloween cupcakes. Not just a box mix like Duncan Hines or something comfortably good-tasting. No, I was beguiled by […]