denise_jer

One of my art history professors always had a thing for fruit and sexuality, so in honor of her, here goes: Traditionally, fruit has been used as a symbol of sensuality. In the picture before you, you see the sensual and ripeness of the models echoed in the sensual and ripe fruit in the foreground: apples, plums, cherries. It is no coincidence that soft curves of the fruit are mimicked in the soft curves of the models - they play off each other to draw the view into the decadent world of the artist. Wow! It's like I'm back in that dark classroom, discussing slide after slide of fruit symbolism, except I'm not falling asleep after the second hour...

My father's girlfriend used to cook them every once in a while when I was in high school. The smell would be like this huge slap in the face when you walked in the door! My dad would take one look at my face and give me movie money and the car keys for the evening!

Or a Char-Anything from Weiner Circle! Yummmm - I miss Chicago! Also, the chili omelet with old english cheddar from Lou Mitchell's was pretty good too. I think the Clark/North Ave. location is open 24 hours on the weekends. One time when I was visiting some friends in NYC, after a night of clubbing, we went to a Puerto Rican/Chinese restaurant. I have no idea where it was, but the tostones tasted great with my kung pow chicken! Of course, I'm a sucker for the Chicken Rings at White Castle! Unnaturally formed chicken meat that you can wear on your pinky while dipping it in mustard sauce just tastes great after too many cocktails.

I love grilled cheese on Brownberry's Health Nut Bread! I know that makes it less healthy, but it gets really nice and crispy and the sunflower seeds get a little toasty....mmmm. Sometimes I use Velveeta, sometimes munster, sometimes a super sharp cheddar. The munster is really good if you also slip a slice of smoked turkey and some whole grain mustard in there too!

Being a former Chicagoan, I have to say the the Citysearch polls are not usually on the mark. For example, we went to one of the places here in the Twin Cities that according to the Citysearch poll was supposed to have the best margaritas. They didn't. In fact, they didn't even serve alcohol! There are plenty of excellent Italian restaurants in Chicago that are 10x better than Maggiano's. I don't think the people who usually participate in the Citysearch polls are the kind that would actually seek out the truly good Italian restaurants. In Chicago, at least. Can you tell I'm not a big fan of Citysearch?

I used to love Alphabits! Do they still make those?

We recently bought Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook, and I just love it! I've been cooking out of it 3-4 times a week for the last month. She encourages you to use seasonal ingredients, and the recipes are easy to follow. I haven't had a miss in there yet!

Cold, wet Wednesday night in Minnesota: Fish Stew made with grouper, sea bass, salmon and using Muir Glen tomatoes. They are pretty good tomatoes! I used some nice white wine, fish stock from the fish monger, onions, garlic and some saffron. Yum! Toasty warm sourdough French bread and some nice lemon wedges "Left over" wine from making stew. Yeah, right! I think part of the reason I cook with wine is so that we can drink the rest of the bottle! We call it "taking one for the team"! way, way too stuffed for dessert.

We have the Ikea one - it is really good for the price.

Last time we visited my grandma, she gave us all of her spinach and green beans to take home with us. I asked her why, and she told me because her doctor told her she had to lower her salt intake. So she "couldn't eat bacon anymore." Oh, Bacon Well you came and you gave without taking And I'll eat today Bacon Manilow

We would be game for either night. We're pretty flexible!

I've always enjoyed our meals at Zander's on Selby in St. Paul, and 128 Cafe as well. What do people think of Goodfellow's in Minneapolis? We were there a couple of weeks ago, and some of the dishes we had were pretty good, but then some of them just knocked our socks off! We went for the wine tasting they have on the first Friday of the month that same night. I was wondering what other people's experiences were.

I went to Williams, and I haven't been back to the area for a long time. But I remember that the Sunday brunch at the Williams Inn was pretty good. At least it was 10 years ago! My, how time flies! Is the Blue Benn still open in Bennington? I remember it fondly! Of course, I was also 20, so I could have just had lower standards back then!

It is my time, and I have a mouth full of dark chocolate Toblerone right now. And I would love it if there were some onion rings and a pattie melt on marble rye waiting for me when I get home! But I would definitely settle for a big bowl of butter mashed potatoes.

My grandmother used to make potato sandwiches for my grandfather. She said they didn't spoil when when he was out in the field working. Basically, it was homemade white bread and sliced fried potatoes left over from breakfast. She made us sandwiches when we were taking the train home from her house one time, and my sister and I were horrified! I think after we stopped laughing, we picked out the potatoes and headed on over to the dining car for some protein. I loved my grandmother's cooking, but I am not a big fan of the potato sandwich!

One of my absolute favorites! I bought it two at a time until it was gone! I used to love Chubby Hubby too. But I had a roommate that kept picking out the pretzel chunks. That was truly irritating. Has anyone tried the Uncanny Cashew flavor yet? I bought some, but have not had a chance to dive into it yet.

As someone who's breasts have caught more than their fair share of falling food, I have to admit that when I'm home, I've resorted to just tucking the napkin in my shirt. There's no shame in that! Of course, for stain removal, I use the stain stick from spray n' wash - you can put it on and not worry about it for a week. If that doesn't work, then I rub in a paste of Oxyclean and let it soak. I haven't had to demote to many clothes to "cleaning duty" with these two! : Sorry! I meant, Whose breasts! It was kind of meant as a joke, but the proofreading goes out the window when I'm in a hurry...

Ma Po Tofu is one of my absolute favorite Chinese dishes ! When I lived in Chicago, I found a wonderful resturant that made a wonderful version, but since moving to Minnesota, I've had to make my own. I found a great recipe for it in Pei Mei's Chinese Cookbook Volume I that we use all the time. Absolutely yummy!