Frances Mayes's Blog, page 15
January 14, 2010
Planting Apple Trees
On the coldest days, out come the gardening books for a little dreaming. I'm also searching on line and in catalogues for apple trees. In Italy, we adore our twisted and leaning old fruit trees, and the upright orchard we planted five years ago. I'm especially fond of the pomegranates and plums. When I'm picking pears for my tart, apricots that look like sunrise, or crabapples to garnish a plate, I'm thrilled.
We have bought a farm here in North Carolina that has walnuts and pecans but not a...
Not My Season, Winter, But. . .
I love winter food. While the cold this year is just too much, it's warm in the kitchen with all the burners fired up at once and bread rising and the oven sending out aromas of cheese wafers and toasted pecans. This is a dinner we made this week for four friends. Six around the table, with a centerpiece basket of purple, yellow and pink primroses to remind us that spring may come.
Arista (accent on the Ar) is king of the pork roasts in Italy. The top photo shows Ed's favorite, pork...
January 10, 2010
Best Return on Investment
A good skillet is worth its weight in gold–and you almost can pay that much. I'm fond of my Le Cruset and All Clad ones. But by my lights, the best in my kitchen are cast iron. These instant heirlooms cost around $35 from Lodge Cast Iron, made here in the South in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee. See www.lodgemfg.com
I remember my mother wiping bacon grease out of hers (now mine) with a paper towel. Although she sometimes ran hot water on crusty remains, she never scrubbed it with dish soap ...
January 6, 2010
Mediterranean Chicken with Green Olives
Mediterranean Chicken with Green Olives
In my zeal to bring order at the beginning of the year, I'm sifting through folders of old recipes. I spotted one and thought I can do something with this. Where it came from I don't know. It might have been from Simone Beck's cooking school, which I attended in the south of France, back in the dim past when Julia Child had a house on Simca's property. From the old Selectric typeface, it has to be at least twenty-five years old. What a long delay in ...
January 5, 2010
Trip Advisor
Who doesn't go to Trip Advisor? I was flattered when they asked to interview me. Take a look:
Home Page Feature: www.tripadvisor.com
For the full interview: http://www.tripadvisor.wordpress.com/celebrity-archive/celebrity-survey-frances-mayes/
