Monthly Archives: October 2008

A Slate review of Laura Claridge’s “Emily Post” has reminded me of a few childhood memories. When we were young, Mom gave my sister and me a copy of “Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teen-Agers.” It had fun illustrations and we learned proper placement of multiple forks and knives and spoons at table.

Oh, you can’t forget napkin folding. I could never fold a silk scarf to wear but know how to iron and fold a proper napkin, though I think this book assumed one had a servant to do that.

Emily Post’s book on etiquette was probably delivered to me on my 12th birthday. There was a lot of stuff about boys in there and not being out past a certain hour. Since I wasn’t allowed to date for several more years that was not useful information. Once I was allowed to date, no-one came calling!

But I did learn the difference between a business and personal letter, and how to address important people. I wish I had the book now, as it only wanted me to be a wife or a secretary/spinster.

Of course if I couldn’t make the perfect match at age 18, why learn to cook as it’ll only be you and you’ll be living with your parents for the rest of their lives. Hopefully those rules were relaxed.

Our parents had us attend ballet and piano (and for me, violin) and religion lessons to round out our education. We were raised with good manners if not to Mrs. Post’s standards. I thank our parents for making sure we got a good education in many ways, including working every weekend, hard work, to make our house a home.

Check out Ms. Claridge’s book. I plan on doing so. Wonder what she would have thought about the internet and blogging…. Dee

First, the why? Because you and your family will probably be eating three meals a day for the rest of your life. If you don’t want them to be all peanut butter sandwiches, make them interesting if only to make the time with your family and friends more fruitful.

The how is easy. Start with what you know and what you grew up with. If you didn’t like eating Spam three times a day, buy a cooking magazine or two and try out something easy. As with Amy, if you can make scrambled eggs, try to make a different kind of eggs and add bacon (if not veggie) and toast and some juice and coffee or tea and have a neighbor over for breakfast to practice.

See my cookbook section for James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking, that provides sound information on technique, not individual dishes. Or Julia Child’s The Way To Cook. Check out my pantry list as well as it’s quite extensive. It’s not showing up anymore on the main page and I have to check on that. Search for pantry contents on my site. There should be five ingredient entries and recipes, too.

Start easy and move on from there. I went to the nth degree with French cooking and came back to very simple food with good ingredients. Check out your local farmer’s market. Make friends with a fishmonger and butcher. If you’ve a grocery that you can ask the butcher “X is on sale, how would I cook that?” and they answer in a way that works out for you, bravo!

Use your taste buds as a guide. They may take you far from your childhood, which is OK. When you go out, what do you really like to eat? Indian? Italian? Take clues from what you really like. Ask friends who are good cooks to have you over in advance of a meal so you can help and learn.

I found my husband a home, three months after we met, about 1,000 feet from my place. Within a day I had enough kitchen stuff there that I could cook for us, because I had a cat and he was allergic. We were trying to save money so I cooked, otherwise he would have gone out three times a day to restaurants. A year later we married.

One day he came home and I was making grilled (aged cheddar) cheese sandwiches and he said “I always wondered how you made those.” Not kidding. Which is why I keep a photo of him at age four on the frig, making toast. It only took 30 years to get to the next step and he still says I make them better.

Food is powerful. It is interesting, exciting. It makes one think out the day/week/month. Go to a farmer’s market and buy the freshest produce you can, then figure out what to do with it. But don’t get a Hubbard squash unless you have an axe or chain saw. Been there, done that.

Happy cooking! Dee

We’re thinking about doing a 2nd class this Thanksgiving for my two teenage cousins, who are eager to learn how to cook.

I’ve thought about a tasting menu, as everyone will be full from Thanksgiving day. I’d like to teach a seafood appetizer, smoked salmon mousse, that will also teach how to wield a pastry bag. Also how to make a perfect roast chicken, so will bring my cone of linen twine (the one that when it’s gone, I’ll die).

We’ll work on some rosemary-scented roast potatoes, perhaps spinach with garlic, and seared radicchio. Or a salad with their own vinaigrette. And then perhaps a strawberry coulis to go with store-bought vanilla ice cream and fresh berries for dessert.

It is delightful that Katerina and Mykaela are eager to learn to cook and spend time with me to do so. Perhaps I can have them study The Essential Pantry (on this blog) in preparation!

With everything going on here and with my family, it’ll be great to be a part of a large group at Thankgsiving and meet the new babies and puppies who will be part of this family for years to come. Yes, I believe Fall is in the air. My favorite part of the year in Southeast Texas. Cheers, Dee

of things. Starting, anyway. We didn’t go anywhere today, except the grocery store. We invited a neighbor to breakfast and whiled away a couple of hours as I found I can eat scrambled eggs.

Apparently there’s an entire day of Band of Brothers on the History Channel. Jim’s watching right now, as I write and make sure the dog isn’t eating our dinner. I made lasagne with my homemade Bolognese sauce from earlier in the week, that boasts ground beef and sweet Italian sausage with lots of tomatoes and seasonings and reserved red wine from a recent dinner party.

Tomorrow we may check out the art festival downtown. It was nice to just chill out today, make breakfast, lunch and dinner and hang out with my love.

Lasagne is ready. Time to eat! Cheers, Dee

When in grade school, my parents came up with a job jar. Every week we had to shake it and take several jobs to do over the weekend. It was a coffee can, Chock full o’Nuts with a slit in the top. We shook the container and got our jobs.

This was in addition to the 2-3 hours my sister and I spent mowing pastures. Times for each pasture, switched each week.

Dust, fold diapers, vacuum, clean pool, then the worst. Ask Mom, and Ask Dad. I you got both asks in a weekend you were a goner until you learned to play it right. I spent six hours weeding per Ask Mom, so all sweaty I asked Dad what his chore was and he normally said, “could you hand me that wrench?” Done.

I’ll tell you more about our travails on the Hill, retaining walls, me learning to work a miter box at age eight and cutting all the window framings, snakes and crayfish and my favorite forest.

This time in my life from age 8-10 framed my foodie instincts. I had them before and after, but until I lived on/near a farm I didn’t know how important food is to all of us, every day. Cheers, Dee