Soooooo my sister is coming to town. With my natural hospitality tinged by a pinch of sibling rivalry, it means that I need to bring my A-game … without it seeming like I’m bringing my A-game. I have to pull off flavorful and different, while exuding simplicity and ease. Spain may be the key. I’ve … Read more
lucky boozers… Am I becoming disenchanted with my favorite show? I’m ok with cross-marketing when it highlights chefs and their restaurants, or maybe a high quality name brand ingredient or sweet blender or something. But I’m a little worried when Cold Stone asks the kids to come up with a Mix-In for ice cream as … Read more
your boss made this, so icksnay on the retching noises. While doing some research for next month’s recipe, I stumbled upon The Company Cookbook … a very James Lileks homage to the wonderful food people are willing to share with their co-workers. Potluck anyone?
ssssssssssssssassy First of all, does it seem that Rocco has had some work done? Or was that just a really creepy makeup job? This last week, the Top Chef kids had to compete in a food test for the quick-fire challenge. What was with the gimme ingredients? Oatmeal? Bow-tie pasta? Come on, Casey should have … Read more
how i feel, courtesy of Voodoo Donut. I feel like I’ve been offered a jelly donut, only to find a puff of stale air in place of promised jelliness. There in the pages of the glossy Lake Minnetonks Magazine, ran a snippet that proclaimed the existence of a new Good Day Cafe, right in Wayzata! … Read more
Archaeologists have all the fun. Mere historians spend their summers sweating over hot computers while those on expeditions get fresh air and exercise, often in agreeable places. I have just heard from a student who is spending great swaths of his summer making a new map of the Boundary Waters. There are less pleasant ways … Read more
There are no gifts to buy, no feasts to plan, no national reason for gathering your relatives. Thankfully, the sultry days of August hold only one sort of holiday: the kind fashioned with an afternoon, a hammock, and a popsicle. Cool and sweet simplicity, delivering reward for very little effort, this frozen treat pays homage … Read more
When it’s as hot as it’s been, those of us with pools must be resigned to the impromptu gathering. And so it goes that last Wednesday we had a few families over for some swimming and noshing with a little late-birthday celebration thrown into the mix. But I’ve been hungry, despite the heat (shock) and … Read more
I finally made it to the Sur La Table that opened on 50th and France in Edina, mere steps down from Cooks of Crocus Hill. Of course I did a little comparative secret shopping. I’ve enjoyed Sur La Table in many places before, the Seattle Pike’s Place market location being my favorite. The store has … Read more
FRIDAY Are you one of the obsessed? Will you be waiting in line at the stroke of midnight when the final Harry Potter is released? My geekish clan will be decked out and hotly debating our picks for the dead pool while we wait in line. Before we don our capes (yes, we have three), … Read more