tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20487305.post-66420522164097968002008-07-22T08:55:00.000-07:002008-07-22T10:02:13.767-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">A Tribute To Home Cooking</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYMLp8PP4I/AAAAAAAADsA/wlaO3anYcdw/s1600-h/cherrypie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYMLp8PP4I/AAAAAAAADsA/wlaO3anYcdw/s320/cherrypie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225877811986644866" border="0" /></a>I don't know what other secrets our friend Sharon has up her sleeve but she is quietly the best sour cherry pie baker in the world. It was sweet enough but not too sweet so that the flavor of the cherries- as intense as fake cherry candy flavor- could be bright and loud. The crust was flaky and tender and had no dairy in it so I don't want to know what she used for fat, but whatever it was made the perfect crust. It was the best pie I have ever eaten. It also happened to be the prettiest. <br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYK7vxHQvI/AAAAAAAADr4/An0SNnHXzHk/s1600-h/bestgnocci.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYK7vxHQvI/AAAAAAAADr4/An0SNnHXzHk/s320/bestgnocci.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225876439161062130" border="0" /></a>This pesto <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">gnocchi</span> made by our friend Mark is the only <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">gnocchi</span> I have ever enjoyed. It was a great revelation to me- the dumplings (made from potatoes and flour, usually) were tender and melted in our mouths. The pesto was creamy and rich without being too rich. (One must bear in mind that there is no such thing as "too rich" in my food vocabulary.)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYKxEcUNOI/AAAAAAAADrw/FPRGAQ2H2WU/s1600-h/cheeseboard.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYKxEcUNOI/AAAAAAAADrw/FPRGAQ2H2WU/s320/cheeseboard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225876255732413666" border="0" /></a>I splurged on cheeses for our pot luck at my friend Chelsea's house. Seriously splurged. I fell for the colors and also for the tiny pert older French woman who was making me try every cheese she had that wasn't goat or sheep and it was amusing to watch her struggle with the fact that I could be such a difficult human being by not liking ALL her cheeses. She did make me taste a nasty olive. Chelsea liked it but I didn't. It was an olive that had little or not salt or vinegar in the curing so it was sweet. I don't eat olives for the sweet. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ick</span>. However, do observe the gorgeousness of this cheese board and note that we ate some of them spread with a small amount of grape musk jam, a pleasant first for both of us.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYKPPS_TEI/AAAAAAAADro/5KzytR2os8c/s1600-h/blueberrymuffins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_QkpwP24ZMec/SIYKPPS_TEI/AAAAAAAADro/5KzytR2os8c/s320/blueberrymuffins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225875674530532418" border="0" /></a>These blueberry muffins are the best in the entire world. I'm not kidding. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Nigella</span> couldn't make them better. Neither could Julia Child. NO ONE MAKES BETTER BLUEBERRY MUFFINS THAN CHELSEA. I will get the recipe for them but we must all be warned that even with the recipe they will not be as good because Chelsea is magic and so is her food. If you eat one of these you will be spoiled for life because afterwards the gluey dense oily things you can buy in bakeries and cafes that call themselves "blueberry muffins" are really just fat blimps that stick in your throat and clog your spirit. <br /><br />I think it's curious how we have only friends with food obsessions. I don't believe we have a single friend who are indifferent about what goes on their plates. Nearly all of them are excellent cooks or at the very least have one dish they make better than anyone else. We had better food at our friends' tables than we had out. Even when we went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">D'Angelos</span> in Mill Valley. <br /><br />One meal I didn't get a picture of (and wish I had) was the pasta dish made by our friends Sid and Dennis. They made a pasta with sage from their garden that was superb. I am reminded of this because the pasta we had at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">D'Angelos</span> (a winter squash ravioli with sage and butter sauce) pales in comparison to the pasta Sid and Dennis served which wasn't at all fancy or pretentious and was so good I can still taste it in my mouth now. It achieved, with half the ingredients, a purity and richness of flavor that was (I believe) the intention of the chefs at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">D'Angelos</span> who ought to be taking lessons from my friends.<br /><br />If I could open a restaurant (not a dream of mine, by the way) that served only food made from my friends' recipes it would be the best restaurant in the world. It pleases me that so many of the people I love take such great care and have such a passion for making food that goes beyond ordinary expectations. It is a constant inspiration to me in my own kitchen. <br /><br /><br /></div>Angelinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05216322840161752535noreply@blogger.com