The person who gave me the copy I have of the 1948 Joy of Cooking and a cast-iron skillet came to my house for lunch. It had to be one heck of a thank-you lunch. The 1948 freaking Joy of Cooking, for goodness sake! (I edited that sentence...) So we had soup, yes, one of my … [Read more...] about Canned and Pickled Everything
All Recipes
The Soup That Started It All: Spicy Sweet Potato
It's almost my one-year Midnight Poutine anniversary. I just remembered this the other day when I made this spicy sweet potato soup recipe. It was the first recipe I posted on the site and it's even been linked to from a site called Endless Simmer about the top 100 sweet potato … [Read more...] about The Soup That Started It All: Spicy Sweet Potato
Home-Made Caramel Frosting
I gave you the cake, now you get the icing. Kind of how at a Christmas party yesterday there was this 17 month old girl who was given half a raspberry square by her mother. The mother placed the child's half on a napkin in front of her and placed the other half on another napkin … [Read more...] about Home-Made Caramel Frosting
“Yes B’y, Mudder Cake” With Home-Made Caramel Frosting
I'm very much home. The words running through my head have turned to Newfanese. I'll be honest, I made this cake in Montreal about a week before leaving, but I can't write about it now like a Montrealer. I'm half a country away and so I'm going to write about it in the words … [Read more...] about “Yes B’y, Mudder Cake” With Home-Made Caramel Frosting
Turkey Pot Shepherd’s Pie
Take two wonderful things and stick them together. Things I like better about chicken pot pie than shepherd's pie: 1. It's made with chicken, not beef 2. There's a sweeter, lighter taste from the gravy, and you can even make it creamy if you want 3. It's made from leftovers, so … [Read more...] about Turkey Pot Shepherd’s Pie
Lemon Buttercream
I bought icing sugar in bulk about 4 months ago in expectation of my next cake. Maybe to you that's ridiculous, but to me that's prudent planning. I didn't know what the cake would be at the time, and there's no way I could have suspected it would be a 6 egg yolk cake from the … [Read more...] about Lemon Buttercream
Orange Custard from the 1948 Joy of Cooking (aka “6 Egg Yolks Later”)
Irma Rombauer's instructions for 'Orange Filling' (aka custard, but not really, since her actual orange custard recipe comes later and includes sectioning whole oranges) are as follows: Stir and cook in a double boiler until thick: 1/2 tsp grated orange rind 1 tbsp lemon juice 6 … [Read more...] about Orange Custard from the 1948 Joy of Cooking (aka “6 Egg Yolks Later”)
The 1948 Joy of Cooking and My 12-Egg Yolk Yellow Cake with Orange Custard Filling and Lemon Buttercream
This one takes the cake, so to speak... For my friend's birthday I made her an angel food cake. It took 12 egg whites. I was not about to throw out 12 egg yolks and there's no way I could eat enough mayonnaise, zabaglione, or bechamel to get through these things in the short … [Read more...] about The 1948 Joy of Cooking and My 12-Egg Yolk Yellow Cake with Orange Custard Filling and Lemon Buttercream
“Heavenly Hosts”: The 3rd Annual Christmas Party
When I first described the Christmas party I planned for my family two years ago and immediately called it the "First Annual Watson/Volk Christmas party" my parents laughed a little. Wasn't I getting a bit ahead of myself? Work on one before assuming there'd be more. But I never … [Read more...] about “Heavenly Hosts”: The 3rd Annual Christmas Party
Roti Chanai, Take 2, with Roasted Squash and Jalapeno Pickle
I'm all about eating locally, and Indian food is not exactly what immediately pops to mind. I'll tell you, though, everything in this dish was local, from the chili peppers to the squash, to the flour for the roti. Last time my roti turned out pretty ugly, but delicious. This … [Read more...] about Roti Chanai, Take 2, with Roasted Squash and Jalapeno Pickle