Monday, November 9, 2009



The joy of regifting

As you recall, I recently gave my Sis Pat my reamaining copy of "A man, a can, and a plan" cookbook. All accounts on her blog Subjective Soup have been very positive. I'm thrilled and delighted that she and Milt have gotten so much joy from the publication.

My own approach to gastronomy is slightly different. I have about 3 feet of bookshelf space devoted to cookbooks. Everything from The Great Book of French Cuisine to Cast Iron Skillet. I am single, so I only seriously cook when the mood strikes. This is fairly often. Most of my fare is simple. I make chili, spaghetti sauce, and the like twice a year in an 8 quart stock pot. That solves what to eat tonight easily.

I lived in Germany for 3 years, and have also visited Europe several times, so I have had the opportunity to dine in some serious shrines. In France, the thing to do is to order the Menu Degusation , which is 7 or 8 courses. You don't ask what is in them. You just eat em. Count on 2 to 3 hours of pleasure.

Sunday, my friend and sous chef Margaret was bound and determined to take a shot at spaghetti Carbonara, a wonderful Northern Italian pasta dish. I gathered the ingredients and turned her loose. The recipe called for 8 strips of bacon, but she used the whole half pound. Bravo! It also said to drain the bacon fat, which she didn't. DOUBLE BRAVO!! If you're going to pound down the calories,carbs, and fat, go for the gusto! I also grilled a couple fillets on the Weber.

The recipe is fairly standard, the this one is from Recipes.com called sphagetti carbonara II. I am still debating the next episode, but I am leaning towards chicken with leeks and cream, because is takes little prep and you eat it right away. Coq au vin has to sit in the oven for a couple hours.

Bon Appetit.

Kenabeck