A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

"Screw Flowers--You Need Cheesecake!"

 

A few months ago, I told you about when my friend Carol's husband, Paul, died. It was so unexpected, such a shock that we were all stunned. What do you do?  Flowers seemed so little and we all stood by, helpless to help Carol.  In a fit of being...well...me, I ordered a huge gourmet cheesecake and had it delivered with a note that read "F*** flowers, you need cheesecake!"  Carol's daughter called to tell me it was the first smile she'd seen on her mom's face in 24 hours.

That's become a tradition in our circle of friends and, unfortunately, now it's my turn.  My wonderful grandmother, who defies all description because there is nothing I could possibly write to express how much I loved, admired, and cherished this woman, passed away at Christmas. I'm not even going to try to eulogize her.   As cliched as this is, it truly was like taking away a piece of my heart, the piece that can talk about her. 

Generously, and completely unexpectedly, I received a box a couple of days later from my friend Cindy in Rhode Island. What did it contain?  She pulled the Carousel Cakes info from my blog and ordered--a cheesecake.

I'm smiling even as I write this.  It was such a lovely thing to do because at times like these, f*** flowers, I needed cheesecake!  Thank you Cindy.  I am moved by your kindness and it did make me smile too.

Recipes from NYE: Chicken Piccata, Roasted Vegetables, and Blini

 

Lemon Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite dishes so it appears fairly frequently on my table, especially when entertaining. It's one of those recipes that people always enjoy and seem to be impressed with but, in reality, the dish is super simple to make and quite a bit of it can be made ahead.

New Year's Eve: Caviar & Cards

 

We all know that you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a good time but I think the opposite of that which is also true is that sometimes it's fun to splurge a little and have a great time. That's what we chose for New Year's Eve. Because Thanksgiving and Christmas were all about the kids and big family parties, we chose to usher in the new year in relative quiet and with a few of our favorite adults.  We also chose to literally toast to the new year and wave goodbye to the old one with a bottle of Dom '92 we've been holding back, the caviar we enjoyed so much on our anniversary last year (Petrossian), and fois gras since this is a liver-lovin' bunch. 

Auntie Miranda added to the celebration by upgrading our glassware from my old dated stemware souvenirs from a hotel I worked at for a decade to drop dead beautiful Waterford flutes.  Waterford has always been my favorite crystal because I love the simplicity and elegance of their cuts. I appreciate that Auntie Miranda knows me well enough to know how beautiful I find that particular crystal maker.

Our friend Lynn added to the celebration by hauling back from Vegas IN HER SUITCASE, no less, a bottle of Barry Manilow pinot.  We loved that.  She'd gone to his show and stayed at the Hilton, so as her treat she managed to keep a bottle of his wine label "alive" inside her suitcase.  So the next time you want to bring wine home remember to plop it down inside a half dozen pairs of athletic socks and then nestle it inside a sturdy shoe--it works!

My Favorite(!) Banana Cake

 

Banana cake is probably the one food thing that encompasses most of my food memories as a kid. For one, my mother was a cake decorator so when it came to birthday time the cake sky was the limit and my choice was always banana, and for two, my Grandma who recently passed away, my Nannie, made my world's greatest banana bread and it always cured whatever ailed me.  Banana is also my husband's favorite flavor.

Banana cake is a big deal at our house.

I could tell you that this is a fourth generation banana cake recipe but it's not.  While I love my grandmother's bread and my mom's version of cake, this is my personal favorite.  As I've talked about before with pies, cobblers, and crumbles, when it comes to fruit desserts I like to keep the fruit the star flavor, adding as few spices and taste additions as possible.  I want to taste the banana, not the cinnamon that's in most recipes.  This version is very much banana and very much cake.