Love at first sight

It was sitting on a high shelf in an antique store. A red metal cake carrier with painted flowers and handles. There is even a pie shelf inside. It makes me want to redecorate my whole kitchen to match. I'll have to come up with a worthy cake recipe instead.

How To Make A Tomato Sandwich

1. Grow a tomato. This can be done by someone you trust.
2. Do not refrigerate this tomato--or any tomato. Ever.
3. Lightly toast some bread.
4. Spread generously with mayonnaise. Set tomato slices into the mayo so it will oozsh together. Do not make the mistake of separating the tomato from the mayo with lettuce or cheese. Mayo and tomato oozsh is one of the top ten best sauces.
5. Sprinkle a good quality salt on the tomato. This is critical for bringing out the sweetness of the tomato.
6. Add a slice or two of cheese. Either American or fresh mozzarella. Stick with a mild cheese or it will over power the delicate flavors of the tomato.
7. Add some good lettuce or greens and coarse ground pepper.
8. Wrap the sandwich, deli-style, in wax or parchment paper. (Place sandwich on square of paper. Bring opposite sides of the paper together above the sandwich. Roll down toward top of sandwich. Fold in corners and then tuck under sandwich. Cut sandwich through paper.) This will keep even the most unwieldy sandwiches together.
9. Best paired with a tall glass of iced whole milk. Heaven.

Chanterelle, my belle

I adore mushrooms, champignon, xiang gu! Oh, my lovely little fungi. So woodsy and rich, yet so delicate of texture. Musk of the earth. I so rarely get to indulge because my husband can't stand them--can't be in the house with them. So tonight while he works late, I've sauteed up a whole plate for myself. Just a little butter, salt, pepper, and fresh sage from the garden. Divine.

Study for a wedding cake

The perfect solution for a groom who wants dark chocolate and a bride that wants a traditional cake is a dual filling layer. A tiny layer of rich bittersweet chocolate ganache under each fluffy layer of Meringue buttercream looks so elegant when it is sliced and served. The chocolate would be way to dark and rich on its own. Here we have a lovely contrast and balance. The perfect marriage.


I couldn't resist using the tasting as an opportunity to try out a few purple sugar orchids.

Real chess cookies

I admit that I was extremely disappointed when I realized that you can't actually play a game of chess with a package of Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies. Like most kids, I pondered the point of it all. Unlike most kids I calculated how many bags it would take to have enough pieces. Then, I needed to take into account the probability of getting the right pieces. Nevermind that the cookies are all white! Luckily, that nerd-child grew up and realized that it's far easier to bake your own. There is a real satisfaction in devouring your opponent's captured pieces. Just don't eat the Queen so fast, you never know when a pawn will make it all the way across to the other side and demand a promotion.