
Did you watch last night’s Top Chef? You know, the new one in Texas. I recorded it then watched it this afternoon. And while I usually love Top Chef, this episode left me feeling… well, a little annoyed.
I get that they wanted to make it bigger being in Texas and all that. But shouldn’t we be starting the real competition in episode 2? I mean, come on. Instead we get 2 hours of qualifying rounds. It feels like filler to me. Maybe I’m just annoyed because I didn’t get to see who all of the finalists will be.
Maybe I’m spoiled?
[Continue reading...]
Tagged as: autumn, cranberries, fall, pumpkin, quick bread, walnuts

Flipping through the last issue of Gourmet, I was on the hunt for pie recipes. While I did find a couple of pies, I was distracted by a few of the side dishes (the photos in Gourmet are always so lovely… and distracting). You see, I am a sucker for sweet potatoes. From the marshmallow topped Thanksgiving staple to simply roasted in the oven and everything in between (unless it comes from a can. If you are eating sweet potatoes, or yams for that matter, from a can… we need to talk). So when I saw the simple baked sweet potatoes with acorn squash, I stuck a bookmark on that page and went back to my pie search.
[Continue reading...]
Tagged as: acorn squash, brown sugar, fall, gourmet, holidays, nablopomo, sides, squash, sweet potatoes, thanksgiving

I made a batch of dulce de leche brownies last week for my humor writing class (it was my turn to bring snacks), but the recipe only calls for about half of the can. Which meant there was some leftover. Which meant I was left vulnerable. So I put the leftovers in a jar and locked it away into the refrigerator, hoping to forget about it for a while. But… Why would I want to forget about dulce de leche? How could I lock it away instead of celebrate it’s existence?… it’s rich, creamy, caramel-y existence?
[Continue reading...]
Tagged as: brown butter, cake, dulce de leche, fall, nablopomo, pumpkin

Seventy days. Ten weeks. Two months… no matter how I express how long I have been away from work, it does not match how long it feels. I left work about that long ago. I voluntarily, without coercion or drugs, bid adieu to my job as a software engineer and left my colleagues with dulce de leche brownies. Seventy days. That sounds like a lot of time, but to me it barely feels like two weeks.
[Continue reading...]
Tagged as: biscuits, breakfast, fall, pumpkin, writing class