Category Archives: food

Sardine rillettes: when things aren’t quite what you hoped

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I have to admit, when I saw this week’s French Fridays with Dorie, I wanted, more than anything to really like it, to be pleasantly surprised, to find a new gem to add to the menu.  I have never eaten … Continue reading →

Posted in food | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Asparagus and bits of bacon: a good friday treat

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Because I am a lapsed (fallen and baggage-hauling) Catholic, the fact that French Fridays with Dorie included bits of bacon on Good Friday must have been some cosmic coincidence.  I realize that many of us are posting this, and that … Continue reading →

Posted in food | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

Pizza rustica and love cakes

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This weekend, I baked Pizza Rustica in Baking with Julia, and loved it.  I mean loved, as in, I could eat this every day if the cheese and egg count alone wouldn’t kill me.  It was amazing — sweet dough … Continue reading →

Posted in cheese, family, family meals, food | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Crab(by) and grapefruit salad: it’s spring, so cheer up!

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This salad almost didn’t happen this week.  And had it not, life would have gone on, but perhaps it would have been crabbier, and not in the tasty way. The salad put a smile on our faces. I didn’t buy … Continue reading →

Posted in food | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Baking in the sun: cocoa sables

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

The recipe for French Fridays with Dorie this week was cocoa sables, and much as I enjoy a good chocolate cookie, I wasn’t sure if I’d get this one done, what with the heat in my kitchen already cranking up, … Continue reading →

Posted in carousel, family, food, spring | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Irish soda bread

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We’re still eating the soda bread — and despite the warning that it would harden like the Blarney Stone, it has remained fairly moist and certainly tasty. Maybe it’s the humidity here in Chicago during this global warming-induced heat wave. … Continue reading →

Posted in bread, family, food, holidays | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

A really hot cheese soufflé on a really hot day

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

It’s spring break, but it’s still winter.  It’s nearly 80 degrees in the yard, and the trees are all but bare, a few buds tentatively peeking through.  Daffodils are blooming, despite a shed perched right over the flower bed. Gorilla … Continue reading →

Posted in cheese, family, family meals, food | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Saint-germain-des-prés onion biscuits: baking the frantic way

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I missed the last FFwD — I actually cooked salmon and lentils, and we loved it.  I was damn near missing this FFwD, too.  I am out of sugar, so subbed in brown sugar.  I used a red onion instead … Continue reading →

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Rugelach: a budding pastry chef practices her trade

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

This week, the Doristas made Rugelach, from Baking with Julia, and though I’d never tasted Rugelach (nor do I think I can say it properly), I was more than willing to give it a go. The directions made me a … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, lessons, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Cheese-topped onion soup: lessons in patience

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Dorie’s recipe for cheese-topped onion soup says you have to be patient while waiting for the onions to brown.  Patience is one of those things that it is easy to have in abundance at the front end, but much harder … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, cheese, family, family meals, food, motherhood | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments