Birthday Thoughts!

53 years ago, my mom was having me. I was holding my new granddaughter last night, (Layla Rose, born 20 days ago!) thinking of how small we begin, and how we grow and change. The best part is how much we remember of our lives- kindergarten naps on the corner cot in our classroom; at age8 traveling to NYC by train with my mom and my brother Jimmy (dad was working) to see the AMAZING WORLD’s FAIR. We ate Belgian Waffles towering with whipped cream and fresh strawberries- and picnicked in Central Park on the huge rocks. A special memory was getting a copy of the front page of the NY TIMES on the day I was born, January 29, 1957. A few years later on a hot summer day, I fell off my bike and broke both wrists. Memories. They are all stored up and ready to burst!

Food Memories?
· Being a focused vegetarian in Europe during my year abroad in 78/79, then breaking down (in Germany over Christmas) to try the Viener Schnitzel…after that I ate everything!
· Eating mom’s homemade warm whole grain bread just out of the oven- we never had white bread in our home growing up.
· The first time I had a grapefruit avocado salad with red wine vinegar and olive oil- in the 60’s..I loved it.
· A 10 course dinner in Vienna selected and presented by our waiter-a wine with each course, we never saw a menu, and cared not what it cost!
· Every summer, cooking outdoors at the bluff of Lake Michigan over an open fire. My favorite? Campfire Burgers: Burger meat, potatoes, onion, carrots wrapped in foil with LOTS of S & P and thrown on the fire…and of course S’mores for dessert.
· Watching Julie/Julia eating the sole meuniere on her first visit to France, and remembering my many ‘first’s’ in France when I was 16 and living with my host family. Rabbit stewed in raisins and white wine, mussels steamed in the most amazing broth of provincial garlic, aromatic herbs and tomatoes both endless loaves for French bread for dipping, Pisalladiere..made on the market streets- and amazing flat bread with caramelized onions, Nicoise olives and anchovies.

Today Damian and I are off to celebrate my birthday weekend in Toronto, Canada with our dear friends Mary and Andrew..and I have a food memory from my last trip there. I ate a street hot dog..available in veggie or ‘regular’, steaming hot, and totally smothered in sauerkraut, onions, ketchup, mustard and peppers! I think I’ll treat myself to one this weekend!

January-post holiday flavors and fun

January has been a month of feasting despite the post holiday focus on health and well being! I’ve been cooking LOTS and attending some amazing home dinners- an authentic Turkish meal featuring stewed lamb and a pureed cheesy char roasted eggplant dish, lentil soup and a cinnamon spiked rice pudding…an Australian friend had us over the next night. He smoked turkey on the grill and served it with roasted peppers..along with a side of green beans with a sweet sour twist- dates and bacon! …a decadent stuffed twice baked potato with spinach and artichokes- and I have to mention the smoked fish plate that welcomed the evening, which he had flown in from the West coast, caviar and all. A cool Ann Arbor weekend- we are a melting pot.

The cookbook took my breath away last week, when I cooked for the Hawaiian Laua chapter and decided I was ambitious to think I could prepare all of the dishes I had written into the chapter in a morning session. Fourteen hours later, I was still cleaning up! Finishing the volcano cake was the most fun- I invited my chef and sous chef to help decorate, and they creatively made candied flames that burst from top. My favorite flavor of the day? A lemon grass dipping sauce I made for the fresh spring rolls..which were filled with rice noodles, carrots, cucumber, Thai basil, scallion and mint. So fresh and so simple! Lemon grass is pungent and fragrant, and I peeled the stalk, cooked it with lime, raw sugar, chilies, and fish sauce. AMAZING!

Off to Toronto for my birthday weekend- so stay tuned for flavors from Canada!