Margaret Pilgrim

Then there was the dinner party when I went to the kitchen for a second bottle and had trouble opening it. I whispered to husband that I had shoved the cork into the bottle. He looked at me twice and said, "It's a screw top." Mmmm, I don't have much experience with those....

Asparagus, petrale, morels, vin jaune sauce

I don't remember which California vintner said that she always kept a bottle of bubbly in the fridge. Her logic, you never know when something wonderful will happen and call for a celebration; and you never know when a day will be so depressing that it demands some cheering. I have taken her advice to heart.

Today one for us, one for son. We cashed ours slightly before it was properly cooled. Wasn't really a problem. .

Beautiful soup! (No devices at table.)

By request, salmon loaf with egg sauce. A really ugly dish but well received and proclaimed delicious. Beauty is in the eye....

McConnels’ sweet cream is my go-to fresh fruit dessert base. Like a little sponge cake, McC, hibiscus syrup. Or lemon curd. Corner store has Straus’ on sale at $4.99, month of October.

Baked Alaska won't happen until after she/they are vaxed. But THANK YOU for this quintessential recipe. Will report back, probably after Thanksgiving.

Veal shank is freaking expensive here. This was from a dinner party frozen leftover that I carefully parcel out such as an inch or so for this soup. It is readily available but you have to call ahead to make sure they hold one intact and not cut into osso buco.

I still haven't figured out who/what Kim K is/was. At some point, I quit spending time pondering it. Back on topic, son and @1 grand-daughter dropped by this afternoon. She and I commiserated over how long it had been since she'd had a sleepover here. I told her of several kitchen projects I had in mind for her. She loudly responded that the project we had on hold from early 2020 was baked Alaska! I had totally forgotten.

Asparagus, baby beets, green goddess Rainy day veal shank, mushroom, barley soup.

Bought a lush lion's mane mushroom at Sunday's farmers market. Tonight -> bucatini with a simple sauce (LHM + shallot+ parsley + cream, s and P, parmesan. Light, clean, delicious.

Shrimp in cognac/tomato/shellfish broth sauce.

I will never forget my first attempt at making tapenade, probably in the '70s. I thought it was horrible, WAY too strong in both olive and anchovy. Worse, I finished it shortly before guests arrived and had no time to produce a substitute. To my surprise and later delight, they skarfed it up, raved and continued to scoop up portions. Tastes....

Smoothie with yogurt? Husband likes persimmon cookies so I freeze pulp in 2 cup containers for use out of season. (Like zucchini, you can give them to "friends".)

I still subscribe to Cuisine et Vin de France. Yes, it's in French, but the food is more to my taste and, moreover, I've found that reading a foreign language about a topic with which you are familiar is an easy way to expand your comprehension. I.e., pick your foreign country and check out a food magazine published there. Google offers up a slew for most countries.

Excellent. Maybe there IS content that I’m just not able to access due to the graphic novel style.

Husband did indeed put together a still when we harvested lavender to make essential oil. It was a lot of work that we didn’t repeat.

What has happened to Bon Appetit, and Food and Wine for that matter? Maybe 15 years ago I subscribed to both but let them lapse. I was recently gifted both and have been appalled at both content and presentation. Is it just that their readership is now so dumbed down? When my year ends, I certainly won't be renewing either.

That sounds like a CremeSicle...YUM!

Adding a splash of olive oil, this has essentially been my "go-to" sauce for 20 years.

Oeufs en meurette, a ragu of bacon, mushrooms, carrot, onion, garlic, veal broth, lots of red wine. Think beef stew with poached eggs instead of beef. Place a slice of country bread in bottom of plate. Sooooo good.

My "stay out of the kitchen unril you're awake" moment was pouring orange juice in my coffee instead of milk. Gross.

Wu's Special... ground pork, bok choy, egg, oyster sauce, srirachi drizzle

More print and frame art.