One of the things on my never-ending list of things I want to learn more about is wine. I really enjoy good wine, and I can usually find something reasonably decent if I read enough labels and reviews, but I feel truly clueless when it comes to anything much deeper than that. This glaring lack of knowledge is brought to mind today because I have to pick a bottle of wine for a special occasion later this week.
And not just any special event...
Continue reading "Whining about wine" »
The recipe for this is here: Berry Marshmallows with chocolate

First I have to admit something--I am not the hugest fan of marshmallows. Okay, so a campfire somehow just isn't complete without some to toast, and they are great as an (occasional) ingredient...but marshmallows for their own sake? Marshmallows to be eaten like candy just didn't grab my attention.
Until I ran across an eGullet thread discussing making marshmallows. Making them? You can make them? Oh gee, why didn't anyone tell me? This might be a different story entirely.
Continue reading "Neither marsh nor mallow, discuss..." »
As has been noted here—and as if you couldn’t tell by the
big picture of bread right up there at the top of my site—I love to bake bread.
There is something about taking a few basic ingredients (flour, water, yeast,
salt) and building it into one of the most fundamental foods on earth that is
deeply satisfying.
Bagels are one of my oldest “treat” breads—when I was a kid,
the nearest decent bagel place was miles away and I only got them once or twice
a month. And since bagels meant a schmear and lox—the luck of a kid whose family
includes NY deli owners and the people who loved them, the delis i mean—this was good stuff.
Continue reading "The short life, and tasty demise, of a bagel: A story in pictures." »