How's about a little tweak for Valentine's Day? Polpettone, which sounds very glamorous indeed, is Italian for meatloaf and I have to say, in the light of the crazy blizzard around here, you may want to consider losing your plans to sally forth to some overcrowded, overpriced restaurant and instead, wire up this baby for tonight.
Read moreBoeuf Bourguignon
Whisper down the lane. At least that's what we used to call it in England. You know, that childhood game where you whisper a phrase to your friend who whispers it to the next person in line, and, at the end of the queue, the last person shouts out what they heard and it bears no resemblance to the initial phrase?
For some reason, I always found it endlessly amusing at slumber parties, which is perhaps why this recipe is both amusing to me and perfectly appropriate for today.
Read morePolenta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Kale
"Cold, Cold, Cold, Cold, Cold, Cold" - Lowell George, LIttle Feat
I guess I'm showing my advanced age by quoting lyrics from the 70's, but really, I can't get it out of my mind. And speaking of my youth, I don't ever remember it being this cold. I mean it must have been, surely, because however else were we seemingly constantly ice skating round and round the lake at the University of Richmond? I guess it must have been this cold, I just didn't feel it so much, bursting with the endless joie de vivre and hot internal furnace of youth.
That being said, let me let you in on a little secret. I know how to get it back. No, not ALL of the hot blooded enthusiasms perhaps, but at least the means for a happy, warm glow that will get you scooting through this polar vortex or storm Leon or whatever next week's version is going to be dubbed.
Read moreSpinach Salad
You know that hideous feeling where you've let something go so long, you're too mortified to know how to address it? Well, that's me, somehow finding the gumption to write this.
I've just had lunch with a beloved friend, in which we discussed this very quandary. Well, actually, not this very quandary, but yet another thing that I've let get hideously awry. Anyway, I'll attack the other thing in a minute after I've gotten this post taken care of, but I thought her solution was ingenious and I don't know why I didn't think of it before: just tell the truth.
Read more