Internet recipes are convenient but there’s something about a cookbook

My entire collection of cookbooks range drastically in age, style, and subject.  I have books from the Victorian era and one written by a freed slave.  I have a couple of Julia Child First Editions and I also have an original 1961 Amy Vanderbilt (cookbook, not etiquette book.) 

Which chickens are best for roasting, frying, and stewing?

Roasters and fryers generally have more muscle, flavor and fat. The fat is favorable for roasting & frying because it adds flavor and moisture to the meat as it is cooking and will eventually melt off through the cooking process.

The secret to making perfect omelettes is all in the digging

“Eggcellent” advice: How do you make a perfect omelet? How about fluffy scrambled eggs?  You’ve probably heard you’re supposed to add water to them, although Martha Stewart says not to.  I never add any water to mine, either.  I mean, Martha Stewart says no, so… The truth is, putting water in eggs can make them… Continue reading The secret to making perfect omelettes is all in the digging

Manners were spread by the King, but they are definitely not just for royalty!

Manners are the outward expression of what is on the inside of you- what is in your heart and mind.  You manners show others what kind of character you have.

Calling me Mrs. Fleming doesn’t mean I am old!

Until someone has given you permission to use his or her first name, you should always go with the last name unless you are in a casual situation such as a party.

Ships go out to sea, Soupspoons go away from me

You should dip soup away from yourself, while gently scraping the spoon against the back of the bowl to catch any drips.

How to stop being interrupted

Listen and you will not interrupt

Most interrupters don’t really realize what they are doing when they cut you off.

A graceful invasion

The Emerald Coast and dolphin ballet

Uneasiness crept in as it became obvious that the water was very, very deep. I looked around to see that we were quite far out from the shore; the anchored boats around Crab Island were no longer visible to us. The only thing that was perfectly up close was the famous Emerald green water of… Continue reading The Emerald Coast and dolphin ballet

Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette

Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette

Is having patience just a waste of time?

  A virtue, she is called.  Patience, whom I have (resentfully) obliged for many years (albeit on provisional terms) and I have a sometimes-helpful, symbiotic association.  It is a friendship, of sorts:  the kind that is long, tumultuous, curious, tedious, and in many ways, unwilling and unlikely.  She is something I need, but do not… Continue reading Is having patience just a waste of time?