I just wanted to report a sighting of new Culinaria books. The Borders in Nashville on West End had Culinaria Germany, France and the one volume European Specialties. I was in a hurry and scanned to see if they had one I didn’t have, so I can’t say what the price was but I can [...]

Ah, a day for lovers and friends, or something mushy like that. I am a romantic at heart, anyone who knows me knows I can be a little silly about love though Valentine’s Day still tends to rub me the wrong way. It’s the greeting-card hype of it, the diamonds are the only way to [...]

Okay, that was a lousy Oliver Twist, but I did want to show off the new additions to my cooking library. I hear from my sister that I am a hard person to buy for in the kitchen department, though she did manage to find an adorable little sushi set for my birthday that I [...]

In perusing the other food oriented sites that abound on this here interweb, I gleaned a lovely piece of information. Nigella Lawson, one of the pantheon of culinary deities I honor, is slated to do a show for the Food Network premiering in September. They began filming/taping last month.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the working conditions in restaurants, how frequently people hook up, the whole mentor thing, my wild past and the concept of the “chef crush.”

The very first thing we did was head to the Islander on U Street for roti. They apparently don’t have roti on Sunday night. The boychick and I had stew chicken and Keifel and E.B. had oxtail and goat respectively. The pelau was quite good, but I have to confess that I think Keifel’s stew chicken is better.

I know that artisans and bread purists will be distressed by the whole bread machine thing. I do make bread by hand fairly often.

I know that artisans and bread purists will be distressed by the whole bread machine thing. I do make bread by hand fairly often.

I’ve decided to do some experimenting this week. I have two appliances in my kitchen that I have never used: a pizelle maker and a pasta maker (an extruder type not the rolling kind).

Keifel and I were discussing the feasibility of deep-fried marshmallows. I don’t think it’s possible as the marshmallows would expand making the coating crack and then all the marshmallow goo would leak out into the oil making a spectacular mess.