I’m about to head down to New York for the weekend. I’m pretty excited to see friends and relatives, and to get together with the Best Book Club Ever for afternoon tea and discussion of Patti Smith’s Just Kids. Because I’m traveling by bus, I can’t bring this berry kuchen.
The deadline for Charcutepalooza’s Grinding Challenge feel right between my law school finals and graduation this month. Some people go nuts and subsist on burgers, fries, and Diet Coke for all of exam-time; my craziness takes the opposite form – I get very routine-driven, work out daily, and graze on nuts, protein bars, and turkey burgers with za’atar-spiced roasted fennel. After all of this I couldn’t quite face a big hunk of pork shoulder. So, I tried chicken sausage!
As we all know, thanks to endless media hype, at an ungodly hour (American time), England will get a new Princess. I admit, I tried to resist the hype as long as I could – I didn’t seek coverage out, and had to Google yesterday to figure out what one writer meant when referring to KM’s hats. I have, however, given up and decided to just let myself stop thinking deep things about class and monarchy and just enjoy it.
Well, maybe I’ll keep thinking a few deep things to alleviate some of the guiltiness of this pleasure. But you won’t see them here. Instead, you’ll be getting some brilliant mid-century hostessing wisdom from Mrs. Beeton, a paragon of British housewifery.
Nominee Number 3: “Increption” – 3 layers of crepes with any filling your subconscious desires!
So, I know I’ve been keeping everyone in suspense. Dilemma of the week: what on earth is Celia going to do with pickled grapes? Well, aside from noshing on them straight from the jar (in front of an open fridge, of course) I did this:
OK, this isn’t from an old cookbook, but it was inspired by one. One morning I was flipping through books and ogling cheesy grits recipes, when I thought, why can’t I have this every day? So, I took grits and substituted oatmeal and healthed everything up a little, adding lots of protein. I was inspired to share by this post from Recipe Girl: this breakfast is one of my diet secrets, since it’s got just enough carbs (in whole grain form!) to satisfy cravings, and a ton of protein to keep you going strong until lunch. I also took the idea of adding more water from some old porridge recipes: more volume keeps you full longer – always a key for diet foods!
Like many New York residents, I’m completely obsessed with brunch. There are so many amazing options in this city that I don’t usually make my own. Everything is closed on New Years Day, however, and I wanted something eggy – and a little hair of the dog – so I pulled out my roommate’s crepe maker (the big flat non-stick plug-in kind) and whipped up some batter and a Bloody Mary. Crepes are an amazing brunch option: you can easily make them ahead, and slip them between layers of wax paper for reheating later. Recipes for crepes pop up all over my cook book collection, but I chose to go with a trusted source: the Joy of Cooking. I had a few people over and we took a DIY approach to fillings, cobbling together various combinations of jam, cheese, and chutney. The crepes were tasty and the company was lovely: a great start to 2011!
