Mmmm...cookies!

Mmmm…Christmas cookies!

It’s a true labor of love, but there’s really nothing better than getting up early, rolling up your sleeves and beginning to bake.

The butter is getting soft, there’s enough flour and vanilla extract in the house. The eggs are in a bowl making their way to room temperature, the recipes are good to go.

And, if you’ve been really good, you already know where you’re going to set up all of your cooling racks.

If you’ve been even better, the baking sheets are out, covered with parchment paper. The second pot of coffee is on, and you’ve got a whole stack of CD’s to listen to.

Have another cup of coffee, put your favorite CD on, and just enjoy making things for your friends and family.

Will you be covered with flour, butter, nuts and other sorts of cookie detritus? Of course you will!

Will you need to power clean your kitchen afterwards? Absolutely!

I truly believe that if the kitchen isn’t entirely trashed, you’re simply not having a good time, but that’s just me.

And, after all of your beautiful holiday cookies have cooled and packed away for the holidays, I suggest three things:

1 – A hot shower, to get all of the cookie dough detritus off of yourself.
2 – A nice bottle of wine, so that you can forget all of that work, and cookie dough detritus.
3 – The number to your favorite Chinese restaurant…you know, the one that actually delivers.

EDIT: Pictures of cookies to come tomorrow...Blogger isn't loving these huge pix files of mine right about now!

Too Funny!

Well, let’s just say that she’s quite the cute cookie in the Philadelphia media market, but, really, who knew she had a devastating uppercut?


I still think Monica Malpass would certainly win a death match, but I’m just saying!

50% Chance Of French Toast Weather

So, it’s officially started.

Sure, it’s a couple of weeks earlier than any winter weather enthusiast would have wished for, but the official hype of “Winter 2007-2008” is already in snowplow, sanding, de-icing, de-slushing mode and for some of us who follow the weather with a passion that borders on obsession, it’s really the most wonderful time of the year.

But, really, it’s way, way too early to get excited about anything. We’re about four to five days out from what may (or may not!) be “The Storm Of The Century”, and to be entirely honest about it, even your local network weather person doesn’t know enough yet even though they may be talking or hyping (there’s that word again) a weekend storm here on the East Coast.

Now, if you’d like to keep track of the storm models, check this site out, and if you’d like to learn how to read and interpret the models, check out my friend John's site, and then post on Eastern.

Just mind the pinned rules and never, ever ask “How Much For Philly?” unless you really enjoy having your ego bashed into cinders. That's one tough crowd.

One word of caution, however…once you learn how to read the models (which I’m still learning how to do, so please don’t ask me), you will get hooked. Trust me on this; this hobby is more addictive than crack, and the next thing you know, you’ll be up at two in the morning, disturbing your partner’s REM sleep just to see if there’s any snow in your backyard.

Oh, wait a minute. I already do that.

So, for now, there’s no reason to go out and stock up on the bread, milk and eggs.

But, I’ve got to go…I’ve missed a few model runs, and I’m just dying to know if there will be an ice situation for the I-95 corridor…

Vineland Music Festival

As someone who’s born and bred a “Joisey Girl”, it’s expected that I should bow down and pray to all and everything that’s good about the northern and central part of my home state.

You know, the music scene in Hoboken, the arts in Montclair and New Brunswick. Jon Bon Jovi grew up ten minutes from my hometown, too.

And, of course, I should be expected to kneel down at the “Temple Of Bruce”, and kiss his feet because he’s from “Da Shore”.

So, let’s see…Hoboken is expensive and incredibly difficult to get to via public transportation, you can’t find parking during the weekends in Montclair or New Brunswick, and while Bruce and Jon are off doing great things, my musical tastes just aren’t geared towards them any longer.

I know there are a lot of people my age that will gladly spent $300 and up for a ticket to see Bruce and the gang, but I’m not one of them.

I’m well over the idea of spending that kind of money to see tired old bands again. I had a free ticket to see Bruce two years ago during his solo tour, and I wasn’t the only one that walked out.

It’s called being “older and cooler”. ;)

I’m one of those indie music fans who can’t wait to see the lineup for the first “Vineland Music Festival”!

But, having worked with both XPN and Appel Farm for the past six years, Vineland’s in for one huge challenge, since neither of these fests allow camping.

The site is in a remote location, and I’d love to know what the plan is for transporting festival campers.

I’ve heard that $225 may be the price for three days (including camping), but I’m going to throw this idea out to everyone…has anyone heard anything about individual day pricing yet?

Paul and I…well, we don’t camp. Not unless camping includes a king-sized bed with room service. ;)

A Cook's Weekend

For those of us who find the “Food Network” entirely unpalatable these days, there’s tons of love along with great appreciation for Anthony Bourdain, who did an amazing talk over the weekend at the “Free Library of Philadelphia”.

If you’ve ever attended culinary school, or ever worked in a three star restaurant as a cook, you “got it”, and you probably laughed your butt off, as I did!

If you have, you know as well as I do that it’s dirty, tough work.

Forget all about your nights, weekends and your holidays, you know.

Just remove the mouse from the flour; just don’t tell the pastry chef about it.

You will work your butt off with your fellow line cooks, know what it’s like to be “in the weeds” (meaning you can’t keep up with all of the dining room tickets coming in) at 9 PM on a Saturday night with a full dining room, and you’ll end up with a whole new understanding of what “teamwork” really means…along with a new slew of profanities in languages that you would never say in polite conversation.

Bourdain was brutally honest about his treatment from the “Food Network” as well as the “Travel Network”, profane, funny and intelligent. This was a free event, but Paul and I both agreed that we’d pay money to attend another speaking event with him again.

On the way back to the car, we stopped at a used bookstore called “Book Corner” and all of the proceeds benefit the nonprofit org called “The Friends Of The Free Library”.

I’d been searching the Web for ages trying to find a recipe from Jeff Smith (remember him? The “Frugal Gourmet”?) for his recipe for “Shrimp Etoufee”. It’s from his “Frugal Gourmet Cooks American”, and I had the paperback, but I lent it to someone, and it just disappeared into the atmosphere somewhere along the way.

I found it there! The hardback version, in wonderful shape, for 6 bucks!
Hmm…I wonder if Tony would like to join Paul and I for dinner next Friday?