We've been looking for a corn chowder recipe to add to the "permanent" on-demand recipe collection but most are geared toward summer when fresh corn on the cob is abundant in the Midwest.  This allows you to use the rich pulp, corn juices, and kernels to create a delicious, thick chowder that can be eaten on summer nights with a French baguette, preferably on the porch with a glass of sweet tea as your family and friends sit and talk with kids running around in the background.  Unfortunately, … [Read more...]

We're working on dinner salad recipes tonight and my dish of choice was a spinach salad with blue cheese crumbles, whole almonds, fresh chicken, white onions, tomatoes, and drizzled with a cinnamon pear balsamic vinaigrette.  It's not perfect but it is a very good starting point.  One option is to take it more in a harvest salad direction, introducing freshly cut apples and pears instead of tomatoes and onions.  Another is to add a bit of lemon juice to the chicken to sharpen the flavor … [Read more...]

Back in June, I picked up one of those new Nespresso machines that Nestle was touting so heavily in their annual report.  With my schedule, the projects, work, and extra-curricular activities such as this blog, I hadn't gotten around to ordering the Nespresso pods or setting up an on-going subscription because I wanted to do taste tests of all the flavors.   Careful notes were taken that were subsequently lost.  So I gave in and just ordered a welcome package of everything.  I think they … [Read more...]

Williams-Sonoma and other retailers continue to plot against me by having more unbelievable sales during the six-month life renovation project.  After the Mauviel copper pots, the Ruffoni pots, the cut lead crystal, the barstools, the Edwardian sofa and reading chairs, the tea makers, the coffee machine, the espresso machine, et cetera, purchased mostly over the last month, another 25% off sale was announced on cookware and these beautiful $280 Staub Coq au Vin enamel Dutch Ovens went on sale … [Read more...]

This time of year, one of my favorite traditions comes from a Midwestern dairy called Anderson Erickson.  Released only around Christmas, the Classic Egg Nog is one of the most fattening, calorie intensive, overly rich, immoderate luxuries you can imagine - a single carton contains 2,000 calories, with each half cup counting as 250 calories.  But it's worth it.  It's as if someone liquified a shake, added spices, thickened it, and served it to you.   For me, it's almost an indulgence that … [Read more...]