by Brian | Oct 6, 2014 | Cookbook Review, Cookbook Reviews, Dedicated Drinker's Diary
I enjoy a good cocktail. I do. The intensity of flavor, the splash of color, the relaxing effects — it’s no wonder that the cocktail hour prevails, whether at home or in the happy hour activities at every bar in town. Growing up in the 1950s, my parents...
by Brian | Oct 6, 2014 | News
Two weeks ago I had hopes that summer might continue. This weekend in Olive, Suzen and I used the fireplace and enjoyed the leaves along every byway. Fall is here. The deer in our front yard all have their dark winter coats. And they are nibbling away at the parts of...
by Brian | Oct 5, 2014 | Recipes
Yesterday I posted a recipe for cream cheese pastry, the perfect cover for an empanada. Today, here is a classic empanada filling: beef accented with onion, spices, raisons, olives, and — yes — just a little honey. Empanadas are a treat because they...
by Brian | Oct 4, 2014 | Cookbook Review, Cookbook Reviews
There is a hotel near us upstate — the Emerson — with a gift store that Suzen and I often visit. There is an exceptional blend of good things here: clothing, jams, dinnerware, coffee, and cookbooks. Suzen looks at her things and I look at mine. We do share...
by Brian | Oct 4, 2014 | Recipes
I am a fan of empanadas. I remember my first one and I remember making them decades ago. I had, then, a lovely little paperback with a pastry recipe that was part cream cheese and part butter. I moved, lots of times, and the book was lost and I just stopped making...
