Christine | August 19, 2010
Way back when I threw a South American themed birthday party for a dear friend of mine in her brownstone basement apartment in Boston’s South End. She loved flank steak and I’d decided to fit that cut of beef into the theme with the addition of the Argentinean-inspired Chimichurri Sauce I’d seen in a then [...]
Christine | July 31, 2010
There are some meals during which you realize just how wonderful it is to be sitting towards the top of the food chain.
I had one of those dining experiences two nights ago at an eclectic deli/bistro called 103 (the restaurant’s street number on Unthank Road in Norwich, England). At this place the chefs, all veterans [...]
Christine | July 24, 2010
One of the major drawbacks to finishing culinary school is a sharp drop in the number of dinner party invitations one receives. Chef Hunt, the culinary dean in Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh, warned us about this phenomenon, advising us not to take it personally. Prowess in the kitchen is intimidating.
But my English friends, Danny [...]
Christine | July 21, 2010
This morning, I had the first English scone of this particular trip to the UK. It wasn’t one of Delia’s, I am afraid. It was pulled from a friend’s freezer, put in a recycled butter container with about six of its siblings, and brought to my place by said friend when she popped round for [...]
Christine | July 19, 2010
Would you think I was a freak if I copped to, upon landing in any new place, making a beeline for the nearest grocery store? Well, I do. I find it fascinating to see what people take for granted as staples and what they deem luxuries, distinctions that are quite evident to me based on [...]
Christine | July 17, 2010
In my last post I whined about transitioning from culinary school to whatever comes next. Today, the golden opportunity for procrastination on dealing with that situation fell into my lap in the form of a house swap.
Friends from the UK wanted to understand what life is like in middle-America is all about. On Tuesday they [...]
Christine | July 1, 2010
I was nonplussed by the last day of my formal culinary school adventure. There was no ticker-tape parade in my honor. No fireworks. No three-tiered graduation cake. Heck, having to produce said cake as a practical application of my new skills would have rendered more excitement.
There was really only the matter of me passing my [...]
Christine | June 21, 2010
Last Friday I had lemon soufflé with Chambord crème Anglaise for breakfast. And I make no apologies. Not even to my sister-in-law to whom I’ve pledged undying Weight Watchers solidarity so that we might don bathing suits without embarrassment by Labor Day. Yes, it was so good there was no guilt involved.
I’d switched my normally [...]
Christine | June 17, 2010
I know there was likely a note of sarcasm in her voice when Mary Antoinette suggested that everyone should eat cake. But it seems that we have certainly taken her advice to heart.
In addition to the completely obvious one – birthdays, that is, it’s fair to say that celebrate just about every major life event [...]
Christine | May 28, 2010
On Wednesday I was personally off pastries, their sweet garnishes and their inherent fat. I needed to get some vegetables into my body for a variety of health maintenance reasons. Luckily, the stars aligned for me that day as I drove back to Carlisle for a mid-week family fix. The CSA box (well, it’s a bunch of bags, really) had arrived, the Farmers [...]
