Yes, we are back to brown food again! I promise this is the last one for a while. At least until next Winter. And besides, for those of you who watch “The Worst Cooks in America” (my not-so-guilty-pleasure), as Anne Burrell says, “Brown food tastes good.” This brown food comes from my daughter’s future Mother-in-law. Joe’s favorite dessert is his mom’s apple crisp. So much so that he asked for it to be served at the rehearsal dinner for their wedding. But the crisp the caterer gave us to taste was subpar so, good mother that she is, Donna has agreed to make it for the ...
Cooking with Friends
PINK PEPPERCORN AND CHOCOLATE POT DE CRÈME: A VEGAN VALENTINE
Those of you who follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook know that I just spent a week at Miraval, a Wellness Resort in the Sonora Desert outside Tucson. For those of you who don’t follow me, you should! Click Here for Instagram and Here for Facebook. (And for more on the Miraval experience, check my post under Adventures of an Asheville Cook) Anyway, it is a beautiful resort with food which manages to be mindful and delicious at the same time. They aren’t dictatorial about it. We weren’t prohibited from things we liked. You could get bacon and Diet Coke but the alternatives ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: BUFFALO CHICKEN MACARONI AND CHEESE
It’s hard to believe that I am sitting at my desk in the library of my new home! In front of me is a huge window which looks out on the front of my house. It’s 4PM and the sun is pouring in the other window to my left while Peat, my cat, sleeps on the sofa behind me. It is almost a year ago exactly that I started working on the design and layout of the renovation, nine months since we started the demolition and one week since I met the movers at my front door. Three days ago this room was piled high with boxes. My daughter, Abby, and I spent most of Saturday opening, shifting, sorting ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: BAKED GOAT CHEESE ROLLS WITH HONEY AND THYME
High on a mountainside about ten minutes from downtown Asheville is a stately Southern mansion, with sweeping porches, endless views and carefully tended grounds. It is a beautiful spot. But it wasn’t always this way. Ten years ago The Reynolds Mansion was falling apart. Time and neglect had brought this once beautiful house to its knees. And that is when my friend, Billy, saw it. Billy loved the house and the house needed love and that was what it took. Today, The Reynolds Mansion, once home to Senator Reynolds and the Hope Diamond, is considered to be one of the finest Bed & ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: WHISKEY SOUR, SHAKEN NOT STIRRED
Meet Tom, mild mannered computer programmer by day and impresario of the cocktail at night. I spent an evening with him and his wife, Emily, in Chicago recently where he showed me how easy it is to make a showstopper cocktail to impress your friends. ( Before I go any farther with this here is a disclaimer: Tom is my son-in-law and he is British. We forgive him for both.) I don’t know if Tom discovered whiskey (and specifically Bourbon) in the United States or not, but he has developed a love for it which endears him to friends and family as he uses his expertise to our advantage. I ...
