I have found the perfect companion to CSP: Boccalone in San Francisco has a Salumi Society. What goes better with pie than salami??

Unfortunately, I cannot take the credit for thinking this up: Cynthia who owns Ornamentea and has been a dedicated pie fan since I started selling at the market approached me about it, and damn I thought it a great idea too. How does it work? For 60 bucks, you get 1 large or 3 small pies per week for 4 weeks. The only choice a subscriber has is large or small; sweet, savory, or mixed; or the vegetarian option. All flavors are seasonal and I use whatever local ingredients I can find.

January menu is (for now, at least):

*garlicky collard and apple smoked bacon *pear and toasted oat streusal crisp *vegetarian white bean and sage *mexican chocolate chess *brown butter sugar pie

The sugar pie is one I’m especially excited about, mainly because of it’s perfect simplicity. Sift some dry ingredients into a partially baked pie shell, pour cream over and bake…that’s it! It’s one of the frugal farmhouse pies that were popular when the cupboards were bare but you HAD to have something sweet…I love that. I substituted full fat buttermilk and added the browned butter, but you wouldn’t have to.

The first photo are the collards; the picture below is of the pear crisps.

i know i know…it’s been weeks since I’ve posted. and honestly, i don’t think anyone has noticed!

December has been filled with more eating and visiting and drinking and eating than i think i can write about…but i will try, once i catch my breath.

until then, have a wonderful holiday season, and i’ll post in the new year when i finally get some time!

Did anyone NOT stuff their hole these past few days? I think not, and damn what fun it was.

We spent the holiday in the Virginia mountains with some friends who are as nutty about eating as we are. Some highlights? I got some incredibly briny, glorious oysters from our friend Ryan.

Ryan and his cousin resurrected their great-grandfather’s 100 acre farm a few years back and have returned the Rappahannock River and estuary to all its Crassostrea Virginica-producing glory. They were kind enough to send a sample pack of all the varieties they grow; most we ate raw but then threw the last dozen on the grill, just butter and hot sauce: wow. We chased these beauties with a fab pork and veal terrine that our host threw together…and what better to wash it all down with? An icy Cremant de Loire. I think I could eat this every day of my life and be very happy.

No turkey for us, we went prime rib and glory-b was it tasty.

We finished with the sweet duo of coconut cake and sweet potato pie. No photos of the desserts, as it had gotten late and muchmuch more fantastic wine was wasted on my over-indulged palate.

The rest of the week end consisted of filling every available moment with eating, really. I don’t know if it’s possible, but my clothes are noticeably tighter today.

Last night we had C’s family over for a non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving meal, meaning no big production with the bird and it’s usual cohorts. Instead we made pizzas; as we wanted to involve all the kids as much as possible. Messy? of course. Slow? absolutely. Basically a big pain in the ass? no doubt. Fun? totally.

Do you love Mario?

Of course you do. Say what you will about the ego, the multi-million dollar restaurant and product empire, that damn outfit he is ALWAYS sporting (sorry, but shorts and a fleece vest year round, the crocs, the overly groomed ponytail and perpetual three day beard are so, so tired), the guy knows his shit in spades and I’ve always been more than a little pleased with the food he makes. I love him even more for the video series he’s got going on over at Serious Eats, especially about restaurant playlists. I’m not talking about what we listen to while we cook, but when we dine. One of the more memorable meals I’ve had recently was at Momofuku in NYC: some girl friends and I walked in for lunch and what was blasting through the speakers? Van Halen. And not the crap from that ding dong Sammy, the Real Deal . (The hottie server who didn’t charge us for our drinks didn’t hurt either.) Granted, Diamond Dave doesn’t always fit, but when he does….

PHEW!

Andrea Weigl and a photographer from the N&O came out this morning to do a multi-media piece on pie pastry making as a tie in for an article they will run in a few weeks. As C and I were giving the kitchen a good clean last night, he asked, ‘Have you thought about what you’re going to wear?’

No…I hadn’t.

I don’t have a lot of experience being photographed or being interviewed: I was nervous.

I was thinking it was going rather well, then Andrea said,

‘…and don’t worry, we can edit the umm’s.’

Yikes…I really had no idea how much I depended on that small, inconsequential filler. A lot evidently.

my hair i think looked okay, as did my outfit: you know…together enough that it’s good for the camera, but not SO together that i appeared to have really given a damn.

We’ll see.

i don’t think that’s right…what the hell is vinos anyway??

I just wanted to convey how nice it is to have a couple of glasses of wine during lunch mid-week; a pretty good indicator of your quality of life.

i’m catering a party tomorrow, and feel relatively prepared. nothing fancy: light hors d’oeuvres for 50, focusing on local ingredients and producers. this kind of thing isn’t terribly exciting, but i get a sense of accomplishment in being able to execute in two days…i’ve come a long way baby.

i love food, and maybe i think i can add one more relevant voice to a virtual sea of some fantastic and some not-so food blogs.

sometimes i have pretty good ideas.

i need a way to archive my thoughts, recipes, and my general planning for my future (fingers crossed) shop.

so whoever out there who might be reading: welcome!