Last Days of Gourmet

Photo documentary of the last days at Gourmet magazine.

I was part of a magazine shut down almost 4 years ago. Looking at these photos brought back some sad memories and some good memories. Even the end-of-the-line pizza lunch on the conference room table was familiar. Do all editorial offices look the same? Except, of course, Gourmet had a kitchen. Surprisingly, they still looked like pretty humble digs and the people in the photos seemed just like my former workmates. It sounds trite, but in the end it did feel like we were all a family. I think the Gourmet staffers are all really going to miss each other.

It’s Spring and that means CSA!

I received my first box of the year from Harmony Valley Farms last week. It’s always something I look forward to but also feel some trepidation. It can feel like a lot of pressure to use everything up before it goes bad. I’ve gotten a little better at it every year and I anticipate this will be the best year so far!

So what was in the box? More than you would think this time of year in Minnesota:

Asparagus / Ramps / Chives / Parsnips / Arugula / Spinach / Spring Greens / Black Radish / Sunchokes / Sorrel / Dogwood branches (for decorating)

I also receive the cheese share. The month’s box contained:

Castle Rock Organic Dairy’s Mild Cheddar
Cedar Grove’s Organic Mozzarella
Castle Rock’s Organic Blue Cheese

So far I’ve hit the ground running. I did give myself a head start by leaving the parsnips at the pick-up point for someone else. I’ve decided I have to accept the fact that I can’t like everything.

Here’s what I’ve made so far:

• Pan-fried asparargus in bacon fat
• Creamy ramp and sausage pasta
• Arugula and spinach cooked in cream
• Greek-Inspired sorrel rice soup
• Fried rice with ramps and homemade char siu
• Almond crusted chicken & tortilla strips on spring greens with buttermilk blue cheese dressing

Over the weekend I made 5 pounds of spicy garlic sausage from Michael Ruhlman’s new cookbook “Ratios”. It was great in the pasta recipe. No, I didn’t put 5 pounds of sausage in this recipe. I froze the rest. I also ground 3 pounds of plain pork and made 2 pounds of char siu, which I used in the fried rice.

I feel like I’ve made a good dent with about 10 days to go until the next box. One of the next things on my list is a Uzbekan beef stew with black radishes.

This season I’m going to try to keep a diary of how I use my vegetables and fruits so I can keep track of how I’m doing. When I can, I will link to the recipes I’ve used. Stay tuned . . .

Tuesday with Dorie: Goodbye & Remember to Have Fun!

I’ve decided to move on.  I’ve enjoyed my time with Tuesdays with Dorie and it was fun reading the encouraging comments every week.  I’m thinking of doing my own cook-through blog of my friend Marcy Goldman’s cookbook ”A Passion for Baking.”  I was a recipe tester for this cookbook and have always felt a little guilty passing it by in favor of Dorie every week.  I probably won’t post every week, but I am going to plug away at it.  I also have a pretty short attention span, so I skip around a lot.

So I hope some of you will remember me fondly and stop back once in a while to see what’s baking in my kitchen.

TWD: Calling in Late

After a particularly bad weekend, I didn’t feel like writing anything up last night.  Hopefully I will have something to post tomorrow.  I did make Snickery Bars and Madelines.

Welcome to ah-ha!

I’m Ann and I love cooking with gas and with glass. I have a studio in my garage where I design and handcraft glass beads. The glass beads need to be annealed in a kiln. But when the weather gets cold the action moves indoors for baking and cooking.