History of holiday treats

I should have been a food historian.

I find myself fascinated by how many variations of holiday treats there are from different countries around the world.   Working in a European style bakery means I see and get to taste a lot of these!

Stollen, Panettone, Light English Fruitcake, Florentines, Traditional American Fruitcake.....

So many ways to bind together dried fruit in a sweet - with or without rum, nuts, marzipan or actual cake.
And they have interesting histories to explore while you eat them!

Happy Haloween!

I know the pet photos are a cliche but this was just too good not to share!

The devil costume didn't really fit because it was a gift from a bigger dog.  But he was such an angel for putting up with it and them with me walking him around the neighborhood in it.

He doesn't usually let me put his vest on when it is really cold outside. And I am not particularly a pet clothing kind of person either.  However, he was fine with his little devil costume!

How many have you tried?

Continuing my restaurant wish list, I took a look at the Top 100 Places to Eat article on Southern Living magazine's website.  So far I have been to 10 of the 100 with many of the other being already on my regional wish list.   Oh yes - I have a local list, a regional one, a USA one and an internaional list too!

Take a look at the SL Top 100 and see how many you have been to or even heard of before!     www.southernliving.com/restaurants

Restaurant Wish List - Fall- Atlanta

So I have my lists of places I want to go.  Some of them are exotic locales all over the world.  Others are as simple as the many great restaurants in Atlanta that I want to try out.

Here is my fall 2013 Atlanta list:

Cardamom Hill

Empire State South

Abattoir

Imperial Fez

Restaurant Eugene

King + Duke

Pinewood Tippling Room

Anyone have more suggestions?  What is on your list?

Seriously People !?!

When you are indoors, you take off the shades!!!

Let me rant a little bit here...

I do not understand what people are thinking when they enter a store and do not take off their sunglasses.  Unless you have a medical condition, I doubt that your eyes are sooo sensitive to the light inside the building. And no- recovery from an eye lift does not count. 

Furthermore, do not proceed to point vaguely at what you want on the shelf or counter as though the person working can see you are looking at in the case.  Hello- eye contact is important!

Indecision Paralysis... or Inspiration?

At a crossroads, I do not know what direction to take next in my personal and in my professional life.    I know I want to do something more than just a day-to-day job, but I am terrified of trying and failing.   Same goes for my dating life too.  It is so much easier to stay in the casual mode.   But not all that satisfying either.


I am posting some travel pictures that turned out rather well.  They are from past trips and they remind me that what I love is talking about travel and food.

Summer Herb Spagetti

Genius!   A dinner that is simple, fast, healthy and delicious!

I grabbed some of the fresh herbs from my patio garden.   Basil, Oregano, Parsley.   And mixed them with some buttered spaghetti.   Topped it with a little shaved pecorino romano for that bit of cheese and salt to counter the butter and the clean taste of the herbs....   and I got something fabulous.

I know it is a bit lazy to just put herbs and cheese on top of pasta, but the simple recipe allows the fresh and great quality ingredients to shine.     Now if I could just find some of those "natural" wines I keep reading about to go with this meal....