Have you even gotten all ready for an event, only to show up and realize that you’re a week early? With the number of times I’ve managed it, you would think I’d start paying closer attention to dates. Last week’s inattention wasn’t as bad as the time I actually showed up on my future sister-in-law’s […]
We spent the end of March in Scotland, enjoying our honeymoon, and when we weren’t tumbling around old castles and historical sites, we did a decent bit of shopping. I think we were both hoping to find some unique souvenirs to bring home. Unfortunately, either the objects in question weren’t particularly reminiscent of Scotland, or […]
Did you know that the advised method for cracking a coconut involves safety glasses, a screwdriver, and a hammer? Neither did I, until I was browsing through the hilarious Basic Skills Challenge videos that Epicurious produces. It was one of their few challenges that had me paying attention to the very end, where they reveal […]
I experienced a bit of a time crunch conundrum last week after writing my introduction post on Cookbook Roulette. We were due to head out of the house for our bi-weekly grocery shopping trip that evening and I still had a few odds and ends of work to tidy up, as well as the menu […]
When I was in my teens and early twenties, my parents allowed me to throw them a series of formal dinner parties. I mashed together my love of cooking, tidbits I had picked up from various out-of-date etiquette books, and my delight in the drama of a set stage piece to create several elaborate coursed […]
How much do your food habits change when you’re on vacation? We just arrived at the Oregon Coast to spend a week near the ocean, which has me thinking about food memories and cravings and habits and how they all build off of each other. After half a day of padding around the wood paneled […]
And so did my pantry. Or, rather, I moved out of the professional kitchen spaces that are filled to the brim with food. There’s nothing quite like having rooms full of produce, canned goods, and frozen items that you can just walk into and browse. But most homes don’t have the space (or electricity budget) […]
My very first class in culinary school was Foundations. And though I’ve mostly developed my skills to deeper levels than were required by that class, whenever I am asked cooking questions, it always comes to mind. There’s nothing like a truism – “gotta learn to walk before you learn to run” – and while prodigies […]
I know my college days are past and I’m supposed to be maturing in my habits, but this living alone isn’t terribly encouraging to that. My mother recently bemoaned not having made her bed for a day (possibly even two!) and began singing to herself to block me out when I sympathized by revealing how […]
This is where it begins. The path to zen, world peace, and shangri-la. Or at least, the journey of the peanut butter pancake. As far as life philosophies go, it may seem a bit unformed, but rest assured that it will develop detail over time. My first attempt to fulfill this spur-of-the-moment commitment (I have […]