Culinary Muse

TRULY DIVINE CHOCOLATE GIFT GIVING

The first in our series of chocolate holiday gift ideas comes from our friends at Holy Orders. They are the exclusive purveyors of this truly divine Italian chocolate made by the Camaldolese Monks. For $22.00 you will receive two 150 gram bars of chocolate, one light, one dark. You will love ordering from HOLY ORDERS the answer to your gift giving prayers. They sell hand made gifts from monasteries and cloisters around the world.  If you are looking for gifts with soul and meaning this is the place.

OTTO AND THE PIE or A TALE OF FEARLESSNESS IN THE KITCHEN

On the eve of Thanksgiving it seems appropriate to tell the tale of our friend Otto and his first pumpkin pie. Otto began baking just two months ago. Why? Because he had three ripe bananas sitting on his kitchen counter and he had a craving for banana bread. My phone rang late one afternoon. He was ready to make banana bread. He had a recipe. Now what? Talking someone through their first baking experience is a lot like talking a pilot through an instrument-less landing in the fog. There is so much you need to tell them. And because baking is really chemistry, an experienced baker knows that one wrong turn can result in a crash landing. But this was Otto. A cockeyed optimist. I had great faith in his ability to follow instructions. And I knew that if he did have a disaster he would be able to see it for what it was - a learning experience - and would always have Plan B ready to go. We talked through the basics of quick bread baking. He called four hours later. The bread was great. The neighbors loved it. They wanted to know what he would be baking next.

DUNGENESS CRAB, HOT

We have a couple holiday food rituals in our home. The best one is the Dungeness Crab Feast. This involves the kitchen table spread with newspaper, a loaf of sourdough bread, a jar of Best Food’s mayonnaise, a couple sliced lemons and a whole cracked crab at each person’s place. And a very cold bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

I was in my twenties before I realized that people ate crab any other way. Sure you could add mayonnaise to crab or even indulge in a crab sandwich at Fenton’s. But hot crab? Why? Here is the dish that introduced me to the pleasures of cooking with crab. It is an elegant dish served to me by one of the first real gourmets I ever knew. Once I get my fill of crab a la kitchen table this is where I turn for my Dungeness fix.

IS SHE READING MY MIND?

Well, either my phone is being tapped or Lynne Rossetto Kasper and I are channeling the great culinary unconscious. It is uncanny. Last month my friend Otto, a novice baker from LA, called to ask about what basic baking equipment he needs to get started. Within two days I receive the Baker’s Chronicle newsletter with suggestions for baking equipment. If I tell Otto he should really try a very simple chocolate torte recipe, Lynne sends out a recipe for Signora Bimbi’s Double Dark Chocolate Torta. Yesterday I was having a conversation with my friend N about what to feed her house full of relatives who will be descending upon her in December. I suggested Turkey Enchiladas. Today’s Weeknight Kitchen newsletter includes a recipe for Turkey Enchiladas.

A word about The Splendid Table Radio Series: This is a weekly radio show hosted by cookbook author Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It is produced by American Public Media (think Prairie Home Companion) and sponsored by our friends at Super Target. It was a fellow food writer, Christine Hill, who introduced me to this wonderful program. You can listen to shows on-line with your RealPlayer or download the podcast to your Apple iPod. Enjoy Lynne, her guest roster of great culinary talent and recipes. You will want to sign up for the weekly newsletter.  You can imagine how many newsletters arrive in my email daily.  This is the only one that I always read and save.

Now, back to tapping into the great culinary unconscious....

A THOUSAND CRANES, A THOUSAND WISHES

We interrupt your Thanksgiving preparations to bring you a special Christmas request. This will only take a few minutes to do, it costs nothing and you can get back to packing or menu planning or whatever else it was you were doing just now. Our friend, W, sent us an email this morning with a very simple request. To take a moment and make A WISH FOR THE WORLD. Each wish will be inscribed upon an origami crane which in turn will be used to decorate the Christmas tree in our City Hall this December. There will an opening celebration at City Hall on December 5. When was the last time that you made a wish? Probably around the time that you saw Pinocchio and heard Jimminy Cricket sing ‘Wish Upon a Star’. This is your wish for our planet not for a new pair of Manolo Blahniks. Take a few moments. Take a deep breath and think about how you feel when you see the headlines in the morning papers. What upsets you the most? Stories about war? Global warming? Hunger? Now imagine that you could make a simple wish, along with thousands of other like-minded folks, and that it would make a difference. Who knows, this could be the beginning of your involvement in something bigger than yourself...

Check out RAINBOW WORLD FUND for more information. About the Rainbow World Fund:

"Founded in 2000, Rainbow World Fund (RWF) is a humanitarian service agancy based in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and friends community. RWF’s mission is to promote LGBT philanthropy in the area of world humanitarian relief. RWF works to help people who suffer from hunger, poverty, disease, oppression and war by raising awareness and funds to support relief efforts around the world. RWF provides a united voice, a large visible presence, and a structure to deliver LGBT charitable assistance to the larger world community."

Okay, you can get back to your grocery list now....