PASS the PORT, Please – SNAP OUT OF IT
Published February 29, 2012 | 
SNAP # 28, PASS the PORT, Please
This is not a Snap about Port. Perhaps, it should be. At a restaurant recently, I watched a woman swig down two goblets of this sweet red wine, served on the rocks, before receiving her entrée. Although I realize Port is “just not for dessert anymore”, she was clearly not needing to Snap-Out-0f-Anything by the time I finished my dinner and left.
PORT, THE PRIDE OF PORTUGAL, PHOTO BY IMAGE SOURCE PHOTOS
Nor is this a prompt about obtaining an American Passport for international travel. Not that it isn’t a good idea. According to the State Department, the number of Americans who have passports, as of January 2011, is 114,464,041. Since we’re a country of more than 300 million people, that translates to one out of every three… Continue reading
CHEESE-TOPPED ONION SOUP, FRENCH FRIDAY With DORIE
Published February 24, 2012 | Last night, while mid-way through a bowl of French Onion Soup, my favorite taster, critic and dinner companion remarked,
“I’ve eaten all kinds of French Onion Soup in my life but nothing has ever tasted this good.”
Wow, that’s some compliment, I thought. What a massage to my Ego.
Then, the next remark, “Dorie really hit it out of the ballpark this time!”
Ohhhhhh.
Little credit, please.
What could taste better on a February evening than French Onion Soup with Sancerre.
Délicieux. Merci, Dorie.
Many amateur chefs approach making French Onion Soup, this week’s choice for French Friday with Dorie, with trepidation. What’s so difficult about throwing a few onions in a pot, adding some broth, wine and cognac and topping it with bread and… Continue reading
I THINK I CAN, WE THINK WE CAN, OF COURSE WE CAN – SNAP OUT OF IT
Published February 22, 2012 | SNAP #27 – I THINK I CAN, WE THINK WE CAN, OF COURSE WE CAN
#31 ACROSS – Nancy Pelosi was the first person ever to have this title in Congress.
12-letters
Most of us know that, in 2007, Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. Twelve letters, S-P-E-A-K-E-R-H-O-U-S-E.
#26 DOWN – Leader of the House of Representatives , 1977-87.
3-letters
That’s T-I-P (O’Neill).
But, to make that work correctly in the Up/Down puzzle squares, I must flip #31 ACROSS, so “P” is the seventh letter in the word.
W-O-M-A-N-S-P-E-A-K-E-R. Those doesn’t mesh with future clues.
M-A-D-A-M-S-P-E-A-K-E-R. Bingo!
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Welcome to my new early-morning Coffee/Crossword morning-routine. While this might not seem strange to you – many folks begin each day by working through a crossword puzzle – it’s totally weird for me.… Continue reading
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TARTLETS – TUESDAYS with DORIE, BAKING with JULIA
Published February 20, 2012 | Finally, February, and the long-awaited premiere of Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking with Julia. If there was an Oscar for recipe books, Baking with Julia written by Dorie Greenspan, would win one of those glitzy golden guys. While my Euros for best picture is on “Hugo”, Martin Scorsese’s magical 1930′s tale set in a bustling Paris train station, my time has been spent in the kitchen, polishing up my basic baking techniques. Focus, Mary, Focus.
For the past 23 years of high-altitude living (Aspen, 8200’), my baking has had issues. “Home-made” turned to “store-bought”. My best cookies, Nabisco’s Oreos. Sara Lee does my pound cakes. The Pillsbury Dough Boy? He’s cute. Lately, older but not wiser, I decided to give-it-a-go-again and joined with 300-some other bloggers to mix, measure, whisk and stir my way through this book based on Julia’s… Continue reading
About Me
A former business journalist and editor, Mary is now writing about the lifestyle she's enjoying which revolves around food, friendship, travel, and creative endeavors. She lives in Aspen, Colorado.
