Making Up For Lost Time

Being an official food-blogger is something that gives me great pride largely because it allows me to pretend to have some knowledge of current trends in culture and technology as well as domestic artistry. In fact, I have been known to share the fact that I am an official food-blogger with friends and colleagues whenever I can work it in. However, I know the sad truth is that I cook and play on the internet far less than I would like. The center of the Cackalacky Kitchen Blogosphere is without a doubt in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NOT to be deterred, I take every opportunity to go completely overboard when an opportunity to catch up on these activities arises. Thanksgiving, of course, is just such an opportunity. Especially when it follows a perfectly-timed visit to the CK motherland (Anna's kitchen). I spent a few days in Raleigh, where we did some practice rounds of cooking and had a wonderful time. Ollie helped me make some pumpkin chocolate chip mini-muffins that were so good even HE ate a few without being begged.

So I ventured back to the Big Apple on Thanksgiving, and started to make plans for our big feast. (Which my co-conspirator Adam and I planned for Saturday because of work/family schedules.) After a few emails, and a quick strategy session, we made a bunch of lists and schedules for the day and we managed to pull of a well-organized and over-the-top dinner for our friends and family.

This is me, whipping the cream that would later go with the desserts. Can you tell how excited I am? Long ago, Anna and I learned from our mom that there was nothing like fresh whipped cream with the smallest amount of sugar and a splash of cognac. It was all I could do not to dig my spoon into the serving bowl. (Before dinner. After dinner, all bets were off). Just as I went for the hand-mixer, I jumped at the chance to use my mezzaluna to chop the pecans and ginger-snaps that went into the pie crust. I find no better antidote to living a modern, busy, urban life than to make a huge mess chopping nuts in the most inefficient means imaginable while listening to NPR.

On Saturday morning, Adam and I headed to the Greenmarket - a Farmer's Market for the ages - and came back with piles of produce, fresh cream and butter, and warm bread to serve alongside the 15 pound turkey he had stuck in the fridge to brine the night before. (Have I mentioned yet that we were going to be seven for dinner?)
Here's our menu:
Roasted garlic and herb dip
Brussels sprouts sauteed with bacon
Green bean casserole (recipe straight from grandmothers in Michigan)
Smashed Red Bliss potatoes
The Bird
Cranberry Sauce
Ginger-Pecan pumpkin pie
Chocolate orange pots de creme




We may be eating leftovers for quite some time, which suits me just fine, because who knows when the next chance for such a feast will be! It's back to work for me.

Chocolate Florentine Cookies

We had a good friend from our Ithaca days come for a visit recently. He brought with him from Boston the most delicious little numbers from Mike's Pastry, a North End institution. I never saw what the big deal was about Mike's because what most people get there are their famous cannoli. YUCK. It's fried dough with fat in the middle. Again, YUCK. Cannolis are nasty.

On the other hand, these florentine cookies are great! They are crisp and chewy, buttery and light--a little oatmeal cookie sandwich with chocolate in the middle. We couldn't stop eating them and finished the whole box in about 2 days. So, what's a girl to do but try to recreate the magic on her own.

Tried...and failed. Ok, the recipe I tried (click here) was missing what I am guessing is the critical ingredient: cream. In its place is corn syrup and white sugar. I should have known. The cookies I made were good but not great. I will have to keep trying. If anyone knows a better recipe I would love to have it!

What handsome bald men! Thank you Aaron for introducing us to florentine cookies. All prospective guests to the Cackalacky Kitchen should take note that Aaron is the current holder of the "Best Guest" award* (he was gunning for it, claiming that he brought the cookies solely because he felt that he had to out-do the Sanders AND Dave Gardiner). But...he can be stripped of this award at any time. Indeed, this award CAN BE YOURS if you come stay with us and bribe us with sweet treats.

*Please note that relatives are not eligible for this award and are not expected to engage in competitive houseguest one-up-manship.

Family Values, or Anna's Views on Gay Marriage

A big fat gay wedding.

This was originally posted to my family blog, but since the ideas and opinions expressed below are MINE I am publishing it here.

In my last post I wrote that I have been preoccupied lately, and that's not exactly the word for it. The truth is my heart feels heavy. I have been following with great dismay the effort in California to overturn gay marriage (Proposition 8). Our church has come out strongly in opposition to gay marriage on the grounds that it threatens the institution marriage between a man and a woman, which we hold to be sacred. I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity of marriage, but I also believe that gay people should be allowed to marry. Not allowing gay people to marry doesn't end homosexuality, it just marginalizes gay people. I think that we will look back on this era and be ashamed of our intolerance.

I’m happily married to a wonderful man and embrace motherhood. I feel so blessed to be able to experience the JOY of creating a happy family. I think that gay people who love each other should have that opportunity, too. Nothing about gay marriage threatens my family’s happiness. I don’t think that it will confuse my boys that some families are made up differently than ours. Indeed, I think that explaining divorce (that people who once professed to love each other changed their minds) will prove far more disturbing than explaining gay marriage.

Why am I writing about this now??? Good question. The fight is over, for now, the proponents of Proposition 8 won the vote, but my heart is still heavy. I don’t live in California and frankly, was glad that I could stay above the fray, but now that it’s passed I feel like a coward for having done nothing. I reached out privately to loved ones who are gay to let them know that I supported them, but I mostly kept my head down and my feelings to myself. This ignoble lack of courage is NOT a value that I want to model in my family. I want to teach my boys to be tolerant and respectful of differences. I want them to be confident in who they are (children of God) and know that God loves ALL his children. I also don’t want them to ask me why I didn’t speak up for what I believe in, even when it was unpopular. I want them to be brave, and have the courage of their convictions.