Skatewing over Fennel Confit with Avacado Salsa I've really been enjoying a copy of Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook that a friend loaned me, which I really need to return.

Easter 2005 I've been experiencing Easter dinner for three days straight now through a slowly diminishing pyramid of leftovers, and I'm still really enjoying everything.Two Decadent Ice Cream Pies - Courtesy of my Aunt and some excellent Bruster's Ice Cream

Still Cooking... I'm still cooking something new every night, and even taking pictures with all intentions of blogging now and then. Hey, Vermont knocked SU out of the NCAA, so more unlikely things have happened.

Mussels With Saffron Mustard Broth I've made some respectable strides in the last few years in eliminating all food phobias. But I'm going to keep believing that it's a consequence of the maturation of my senses rather than a consequence of drenching something in butter and wine.

Expensive Rustic Country Loaf To my great relief, I got laid off from my job a few days ago. Ok, perhaps not my great relief, but I was expecting our project to be cancelled for a long time, and as nice as the paycheck was, sometimes you're just ready to move on. So, really no condolences are necessary, I've got some severance to work with, and really quite content to have

Corpse Reviver No. 2 (Yes, I do requests) A few days ago, Chuck of The Gumbo Pages left some kind words in my comments and a suggestion that I try a Corpse Reviver No. 2 cocktail. Corpse Reviver No. 2 3/4 ounce gin. 3/4 ounce Cointreau. 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc. 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice. 2 drops Pernod, Herbsaint, other pastis or Absinth! Combine

Salmon With Lemongrass-Yogurt Sauce This sauce was a bit of an experiment in the sense that I looked in the fridge and said "hmm lemon grass...hmm yogurt...what the hell." That much down, getting the flavor of the lemon grass into the yogurt became the trick. The strategy was to create a paste from the lemongrass, saute it, and then infuse it into some plain yogurt. I set the yogurt on some

Braised Short Ribs ...with a horseradish gremolata over butternut squash orzo. This recipe was straight out of the Babbo Cookbook (which I just bought myself as a reward for restarting the blog!) The short rib cooking method was a straightforward traditional braising liquid. Red wine, stock, herbs, mirepoix. What's not to like there? But what really appealed to me was the touch of a nice

Overwhelmed It has been nearly a year since my last post to this neglected food blog. That's nearly a year, not a full year. I consider that a small victory against sloth. The title of this entry refers not to the fact that I've been overwhelmed with other things in my life to the point where I couldn't put together a journal entry for a year, that's simply not true. It refers to my

Butternut Squash Soup Butternut squash soup with star anise: This was good, but I think it needs a little more richness. Maybe a touch of maple syrup? Shrimp and Spinach Dumplings: Needs no alteration whatsoever.