This is my LIFE. Day 5. and 6.
This really is my life. On any given afternoon there's a good possibility that there's a skateboard or three on my front walk. Three live at my house full-time, and there are often another three or four boards 'visiting'. This picture was taken yesterday afternoon while all of the skaters were busy taking a nacho break.
Apparently skating makes one not only very, very sweaty - but also quite hungry.
On another note:
When I looked at this stack of cookbooks in my kitchen, I realized that they said something not only about what I like to cook, but where I've lived and what's important to me.
The Tex-Mex cookbook may be the most authentic source for honest Texas mexican food recipes that I've ever seen. Coupled with the recipes are great stories of the people, the restaurants and the lore that make Tex-Mex not only a cuisine, but a integral part of the Texas mystique. The legends behind the margarita, the nacho and tejano music all contribute to this book. It's a winner.
Magnolias Southern Cuisine is from Magnolias restaurant in Charleston, SC. Both times that we lived in Charleston, Magnolias was one of our favorite destinations for a special night out. I've never been able to order anything other than their shrimp and grits - and I'm happy to report this recipe is in the book. In fact when I open this cookbook, it automatically falls to that stained, worn page.
The Barefoot Contessa is the go-to girl when cooking for a crowd or for the family. The pecan bars in the first BC cookbook may be the most wonderful sweet thing I've ever made. Shortbread cookies plus candied and carameled pecans plus chocolate equal heaven! Every thing I've made either of her books has been a wonderful success - and not due to any stellar effort on my part. Her recipes are just that good.
And the Stonewall Kitchen book reminds me of our time in Maine where I'd regularly visit the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters in York. The recipes in Harvest reflect the seasonal offerings of our part of Maine and were the first place I found a recipe to cook fiddleheads. The baked goat cheese salad is spectacular and worth every single calorie.
Our past and present come together in this stack of cookbooks - and they give me an opportunity every now and then, to cook a meal that's also a memory.
I had my first shrimp and grits this summer in TN.....YUM!!!
Posted by: Beth | October 07, 2007 at 09:20 AM