Nothing says romance like food porn in Milwaukee: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, by Amy Reichert

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

Amy E. Reichert

Gallery Books, 2015

9781501100710

Oh hey you guys. Sorry I disappeared for most of this year so far. Please allow me to introduce you to a book (and recipe) that I sometimes wish there were more like: a pseudo-realistic contemporary romance novel about food with plausible things happening to plausible people and just enough shenanigans to remain in the trope.  Did you get that?  A sort of realistic romance novel...about FOOD.  Not to be trite, but the publisher had me at hello.  It was no coincidence that this part time lover of smutty books and full time lover of food was  going to make a love match with this hot ticket, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake.

Here is my rough summary:

On the day she catches her cheating boyfriend at it, a down on her luck Milwaukee chef gets a bad review by a snarky Brit food critic (ten points to Gryffindor already), who then falls for her after a chance encounter over beers at a bar leads to Lou giving Al a tour of the city's best eateries and breweries.  Al pieces together who Lou is, but Lou has no idea that Al is the critic who single handedly caused her restaurant to fold, which gets increasingly more complicated when feelings start to develop...but what could go wrong in the land of milk, honey, beer, and cheese?  

Here is the publisher’s way better jacket flap:

The Pancakes of 2015

In ye olde 2014, after a group of friends and I made many somewhat earnest resolutions, I made perhaps the most backhanded, last minute, impulse resolution: to eat pancakes once a month.  Was there booze involved in my thought process? DUH.  Did this resolution make sense at the time? Nope, other than that I think it came from recognizing I always order savory things instead of sweet things when I go out for breakfast (aka my favorite meal).  I quickly settled on the following parameters: to eat one pancake or (do my worst to a) stack of pancakes, once a month, at different locations, with different pancake styles -- no recycling for official business.  Spoiler alert: I did it.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this has been the most delightful, fun, and probably best New Year’s Resolution I have made, or will ever make (though my 2016 one is pretty great…). The results were always good, and the experience a fun one, especially shared. Last year was a hard year for me, and one which made me place a lot more focus and appreciation on the people and things that bring me joy.  Most of my resolutions went down the porcelain throne as circumstances beyond my control took precedence; having this as a challenge I could always complete easily and enjoy (and share in the enjoyment of!) was always a light to anticipate.  I strongly recommend doing something fun like this yourself; it’s never too late!  Here is a brief recap of each pancake, along with winners in best individual pancake, best savory pancake, best sweet pancake, and yes, worst pancake (or really, the most anticlimactic). Yes, I took a picture of each one, and yes, I made a calendar of all my cakes of the pan.  And yes, because I am a classic overachiever, there are a lucky 13 pancakes. That’s how much I loved this resolution!

The Pancakes of 2015

Things I Ate: A Hershey's Dark Chocolate Mint Truffle Kiss

Hershey's is like eighteen times more excited about the holidays than you guys are.  I bought some super special Kisses for my candy drawer at work.  I am generally grossed out by white chocolate and have students with nut allergies, so I chose the Hershey's Mint Truffle Kiss.  I just ate one.  Let me paint you a word picture.

It tastes just like an Andes Mint candy, but less flat.  Those candies always remind me of retirement homes, but that's besides the point.  It even suspiciously has the exact same aftertaste (although the Googles tell me that Andes is owned by Tootsie ending my chocolate conspiracy) and mouthfeel. Yes, I just said mouthfeel about a Hershey's Kiss.  Minty, chocolately, but not waxy chocolately like your regular, un-super special Kisses can be, perhaps because of the use of dark chocolate.   It melts in your mouth, but also probably your pocket or hand.

The verdict:  

Ultimately, it is not bad for super special Hershey's Kiss, if you like Andes Mint candies that are shaped like what they are named for.  

Tidbits (of cheese and other literary goodness)

I'm sorry, two loyal readers, one of whom I'm pretty sure is a spambot! I've been super busy - ALA, work, other job, other things...but in good news, I do have some recipes and reviews forthcoming...errrr...as soon as I get the chance to write them.  I have, however, been hoarding up way, way, old news and things.  You've probably already seen them, but I don't care!  Enjoy them or not; as Captain Planet would say, the power is yours!

Food

• Behold, the greatest post I have ever seen: author and cheese pairings.  I mean...does it get any more fantastic than that?  But I have to ask, why no cheddar cheese pic for Ernest?  
• Do you want to make a chocolate loving librarian very happy?  Give them a library of exotic chocolate bars.
• Enjoy this map of the United States of Burgers, just because it is summer, and you are thinking about BBQs, right? 

Art

•  This artists description says it all ("art inspired by and made from books"), but her method of delivery - finger prints - is really cool!  
• Just because I loved it so much when I came upon it, I'm going to share the best, loveliest watercolor prints that would be great in a kitchen.  Speaking of making a librarian very happy, I happen to know a librarian who loves the olive oil print...

Movies

• Stills from The Maze Runner!  I'm not even in a tither about how much the actors are not 13.  It looks great! 
• However, the kid who just got cast as Jonas in the Jeff Bridges adaptation of The Giver?  He does not look like a preteen.  Just sayin'...
• There's a run on Jane Austen on the interwebs this week!  First, check out the trailer for Austenland, which I'm really, really looking forward to, because OBVI.  Then, check out this gigantic waterlogged statue of Colin Firth's Darcy.  Wouldn't you love to know what he thinks? And more importantly, what happens when birds poo on that super white shirt?

Books

• This is olllld news at this point.  John Corey Whaley - he of the dipples who shared his woodpecker tattoo with us - is coming out with a new book! YAY! The cover art was released, and now haunts my dreams.  #creepydolls
• Best. Manicures. Ever. 
• Are you a demigod?  Do you want to be one?  Good thing we had this talk.  There's a Camp Half-Blood you can attend! Percy Jackson camp, y'all!  Is there one for grownups?  I want to go! (I think I may have posted about this a million years ago, but if I've forgotten, so have you!) 
• There was an EW issue about Divergent!  There were lots of pictures for your eyeballs to feast upon, and the trailer is being released at Comic-Con.  But I've posted the most important information below:

PAMUKED!

Case of the Terribles (for our waistlines): Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Pizza

While trying to get some work done and utterly failing, an Internet ad appeared on the side of my browser.  Creepy Big Brother moment...like they KNOW me.  I'm both totally grossed out, and totally want to try Papa Ginos new pizza, the Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Pizza.  I mean...check out the word picture they paint:

• Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
  Spicy buffalo chicken and macaroni in a creamy cheese sauce with a blend of American, asiago, and sharp cheddar cheese, topped with crispy breadcrumbs.

So gross, right?  And yet...how much do you want to try it?  I mean, I dare you to say no to this face:

Tidbits: I was not in the Netherlands on Tuesday...

• The real question in the art theft I did not commit in the Netherlands is Monet, Matisse, Gauguin...Picasso?  As our friends on Sesame would say, one of these things is not like the others!  (Also, I got $20 and a space on my wall for a Monet, art thieves...)

• The worlds largest floating bookstore (hint: not my bathtub). 

• One Direction fan fiction - face, meet palm.  

• Harry Potter textbook covers. 

• Things I want to eat: Totchos.  Exactly what they sound like.

• Author Crush Melina Marchetta's Quitana finally got a new dress:

 

And I like it.
Except I'm resoundingly convinced she wants to
shank me with that piece.

 

Dinner Train Book Club: Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

One book, two beers, two menus, and one hand model.

It's time for confessions! 
1)  I read this book in April.  I know I enjoyed it, I know it moved me, I know I thought it was a stunningly crafted book, and I know I honestly can't quite remember much of my other thoughts about it, a fact exacerbated by confession number two. 
2)  I read it in the midst of training for a half marathon, which meant I had no desire to stand and cook anything after running for two hours.  I also knew that this book was sufficiently depressing so as to not want to make any sort of cheeky, cute, or quirky German sounding dish.  SO I CHEATED.  I treated my fellow book clubber, aka, the one and only PopTart, to some good old fashioned German-style tidbits and brewskis at Jacob Wirth's, a Euro-pub that has been a Boston establishment since 1868.  Fun fact: my grandfather, who worked in a POW camp for German soldiers in New Hampshire somewhere, used to frequent Jacob Wirth's during his med school days.  But I digress.  I normally have pretty good recall for conversations and the interesting tidbits that surface.  However, someone mismapped her training run the morning of book club, which wound up being a full half instead of the scheduled training ten miles.  This mean that one beer became the equivalent of many, despite the brats and schnitzel.  Consequently, the conversation details are...fuzzy.  Self high-five. 
3)  While I'm baring my soul, I'll also take the opportunity to confess something truly naughty: I gave up on Moby Dick for July without even looking at it, and I don't even feel bad about it in the slightest.  I've read a ton of stuff I enjoyed, instead of slogging through one million pages of a crazy dude chasing a whale that obvi doesn't want to be caught because he's heard of the term blubber, and who can blame him?  In short, it was an informed decision to break my New Years Resolve!

Confession time over.  I will now attempt to briefly summarize the few things I remember about Slaughterhouse-Five, but will leave the actual summary to others, because hello, there are nothing BUT summaries of this book all over the internet (here is one, here is another, here is one for you high school and college cheaters out there).  Reflections, followed by food all the way at the bottom:

Chilly in Chile

Friends, countrymen, Russians who may or may not read this:

I laugh in your face, North American heatwave!

I have been MIA for a very good reason!  I am spending my summer in Chile, in winter (you know, opposite hemisphere and all) doing science, trying to figure out how cold the human body can get indoors without heating before said heating is justified for its life giving values. Or something like that.  Actually, I¨m leading a service and cultural exchange trip down here.  But the cold part is not an exaggeration.  There. is. no. heat. in. house.  Allegedly, it never gets cold enough for it to freeze, so there´s no need to keep the pipes warm.  But what about my pipes, ¿Chile? They´s soooo cold.  It´s like being trapped inside the crisper drawer of the refrigerator all the time.  It´s just warm enough to keep you alive, but cool enough to keep you from wilting.  Or if you are a gringo, ever really being warm. But other than the being cold all the time, and the testing out the Chilean medical system with my minor league accident prone kids (they´re all fine), it´s been pretty fantastic.  Allow me to take you on a tour of the places we´ve been so far:

The Andes

People like to make snowmen and put them on their cars.  Since it apparently only freezes here, most Chileans have never seen snow, and were way more excited than the Northern gringos, who were in turn way more excited about the cactuses.  Sadly, none of the cactus snow pictures came out.  So hard to be you!

The Ocean

Toolbox, of course I didn´t get in.  Didn´t you read the part about it being winter and cold and spending a lot of time in the Chilean hospital already?  

Chilean Baywatch

We are staying in Viña del Mar, and thusly have seen a fair bit of ocean.  Including lobos del mar.  Aka seawolves.  Aka, sealions.  So fat! So massive!  So cute!

Valparaiso: shipping capitol of South America.  Those boats are BIG.

What a terrible view.

Lobos del mar!  Gringo translation: sea lions.

Mmmmmariscos

Plus, this is the sea base for the Chilean navy.  Aka, the Armada.  An armada, you guys! 

The Fútbol


Um hello excuse to set things on fire, whip the opposing teams hooligans with belts, set off smoke bombs, tear up barbed wire fence, chant, froth at the mouth, assault police officers in riot gear, etc.  Totally an experience, totally worth it. 

The opposition.  They also had colored smoke cannons.  And drums.  Lots of drums.

Latin American sporting events are filled with pacifists.  

This is my coleader.  He narrowly avoided death when he tried to sit in the section seen behind him, aka the opposition, wearing that scarf.  Thankfully, the Chilean ticket people saved us a belt buckle whipping.  Also, this computer is in Spanish, and refuses to switch my pictures to the right direction.  You´ll survive.  

 Thankfully, nobody scored, so things kind of fizzled out.  If they had, I had plans to stick with this lady.  

The best little Santiago Wanderers fan of them all!

The Food

OMG.  So much of it.  Clementines are in season down here!  I´m going to need an extra plane ticket, partially because it is winter and I¨m eating to compensate.  While this winter theory explains why I put aji on everything, it doesn´t explain the massive ice cream intake.  But you try saying no to lucuma!  It´s also partially because I discovered Sahne-Nuss.  Partially because manjar is a staple.  Partially because all bread is white bread, most meals are starch based, and most other things are fried.  Or gigantic.  But generally for the following reasons, some of which will be inspirations for further adventures with in Le Creuset-land.  

Chorrillana, a Chilean midnight snack.  I prefer to think of it as Chilean Poutine.  With chunks of meat.

The best part?  The restaurant was called Mastadonte.  Gringo translation: Mastadon.

The national Chilean delicacy: a giant completo.  Cross section below.

Guacamole, relish, onions, a giant hotdog, other things, and yes, mayo, Chile´s preferred condiment of choice.

Churrasco!

Lentil soup

One of my kids and I were feeling kind of under the weather while we were doing community service.  Naturally, the Chilean solution was for us to share my germs by helping prepare lunch for the soup kitchen!   

Una parrillada, a meat mountain over a charcoal grill.
Confession: I ate blood sausage and I liked it.

More later (possibly in America, considering my kids get back from homestays tonight, there are 15 of them, and Facebook is as much of a human right to them as oxygen), including fashion, street dog fashion, earthquakes, alpaca wool, and street art.  Until then, as we say in Chile, ¡Ciao pescado!

Valparaiso street art and my arty kids on the street.

Recipe 39: Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Balsamic Cobbler

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Balsamic Cobbler

Good luck not just going at this
with a spoon.

     How delicious does that look?  Peaches and blueberries are probably some of my favorite things about summer, so when I saw the recipe for a blueberry and peach cobbler in last July's Cooking Light, obviously I had to try.  It was memorably good.  The type of good where you find yourself standing in the refrigerator door with a spoon chanting "Just one more bite! Just one more bite!"

Older sisters always get
the last laugh, punk.

      Thusly, I knew exactly what I'd be making for my family barbecue, especially because my pissant little brother refuses to try new things unless they are a) covered in chocolate, or b) covered in ketchup, so there would be leftovers, mwahahaha.  But when I got to the grocery store, the plums also looked so tasty!  Thus began my rogue recipe spinoff, so rogue that I added BALSAMIC.  Next time, I may double it and halve the lime just to see if it'll be stronger tasting.  Even my very skeptical mother had two whole bowls!  I mean, if Romina liked it, you know it's a winner (and has a no garlic, no fish, no onion in this house guarantee!).

It's not mold
It's an extra shake of patriotism!

Sidebar: I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour for the batter; it was fine but probably  would be slightly tastier/less dense using just all-purpose.  Also, forgive the blue sugar sprinkles.  I thought it would look more 4th of July festive.  My sister told me it looked like mold.  She was right. Finally, you don't have to use a Dutch oven for this recipe; a regular old 9x13 pan would work fine.  The benefit of using a Le Creuset is that it won't cook over thanks to the tall sides.  If you go regular pan, put a baking sheet under to prevent stove drippings.  Finally, you can prepare this in steps and let your fruit marinade in the fridge for a while if you want; I had to and was fine!

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Balsamic Cobbler

Allegedly this serves 12.   It probably could, but really, it's more like me and 5 friends who like it as much.  

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry Balsamic Cobbler

Tidbits: Drew Barrymore gets Uncommon while I reveal a secret shame and a hankering for ancient beer

Vacations:

• Sparkling Witt: Becky and Jeff are super, and not just because they love to eat my Le Creuset experiments!  Becky is blogging about their current adventures (like learning to say baking soda) in Finland and it is faaantastic.  Bonus points: visit jeffreycwitt.com. 
  

Food Porn:

•  The Beer Archaeologist: this. is. so. cool.  Indiana Jones of BEER!  I read this while waiting to get a typhoid, yes, typhoid shot at 10am.  And wasn't disgusted by my craving for beer.  I dare you to read this and deem it not cool.  Or crave ancient beer!

Movies:

• Remember when I gushed about how I want to be an art thief ala Ally Carter's Heist Society?  Heist Society movie rights were optioned at like, the same time publishing houses were duking it out to win the hand contract of the fair Ally Carter.  And yesterday, I was pumped to see via the twitters that Drew Barrymore will be producing and directing it! SQUEE.  I am, as they say in France, le pumped.  Bring on the art thieves!
• Neil Gaiman has crazy hair and talks here about the adaption of American Gods, which I'm getting more excited for after thinking about the general code of crazy/awesome in Game of Thrones and True Blood, and really, HBO adaptations in general. 
• Gushed about Reviewed Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey yesterday.  And then immediately after posting read some other things and realized it's already been optioned down under.  Huzzah!  If it ever actually gets made, and gets made as fantastically, gothic, creepily, gorgeously as that book trailer, well, I'll just have to run away to Australia. 

Books:

• In case you missed it, this is a great article/interview with Jay Asher about Thirteen Reason's Why.

Secret Shame:

• I don't like to talk about it (much).  BUT.  The Vampire Diaries is my secret favorite show that I get overly excited to watch. Don't judge me!  Or do, because according to this article, I have EXCELLENT taste.  It's delightfully crazytown, they're not afraid to kill people off, and Damon, oh Damon...trust me, you will never get bored of this crazy parade. 

Deluxe Luxor, Day the second

Hatshepsut's Temple

On my second and final day in Luxor, I opted to take a tour through my hotel to see the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut's Temple, and other things.  It was a wise choice, barring the fact that our guide, though lovely, kept trying to sell us things, like necklaces of our names in Ancient Egyptian script.  That whole area is HUGE!  You can spend all day there and not see it all; we just did the alleged highlights.  By us, I mean myself and the only other person on the tour, a truly lovely Nicaraguan woman from, get this, my mom's hometown: Coral Gables, FL!  Photography is not allowed at all in the Valley of the Kings, which is for the best.  All the tombs there still have the original, beautiful, full color paintings decorating the walls.  I assure you, they are gorgeous to behold.  Our guide didn't go into the tombs with us; I kind of wish I had done a little preparing on my own to refresh myself on Ancient Egyptian mythology and art.  I later discovered that there is a whole section in the Lonely Planet Guide...oops.  I encourage you to check out the super cool Theban Mapping Project website if you are curious about the Valley of the Kings.  Of course, we could not spend all day at the Valley of the Kings, so off we went to Hatshepsut's Temple, where photography is allowed!

Deluxe Luxor, Day the First

 

I arrived in the AM fresh off the overnight train, checked into my hotel, had a bite to eat that was not pure butter and sugar, and promptly started touring!  My photo essay begins now. 
Welcome to Luxor Temple, a fairly awesome and well preserved temple that is not by any estimation, small in size. 

Overnight Training

 Okay team, I'm going to power through the next few posts photo blog style, simply because I want to get the Egypt posts done and return to the fun land of regular blog life.  Thusly, I give you the photos for my overnight train ride experience to Luxor and back!  It was definitely an good experience, and I'm glad I tried it.  It's not the most quick, nor is it entirely 100% comfortable or restful, but it sure beats a regular 10 hour train ride!

Plus, it made me feel a little bit like a character in an Agatha Christie novel.  Except for the lack of murder mystery, of course.  And it was nowhere near as elegant as the Express Train of my wildest romantic dreams.  But is the hallway on the left not capable of inducing thoughts like that? (Of Agatha Christie, not murder.)

Alexandria Part Two

Photo essay, as I am on my way to catch an overnight train to Luxor.  I spent the day at the pyramids.  It was...overwhelming.  But I'll post on that later!  Enjoy some of my photos from Alexandra, the port city/former home of Cleopatria.  Maybe you've heard of her?  Sadly no pictures of her here. The only thing I did not take a picture of were the crypts.  I have never been claustrophobic or especially afraid of the dark.  But you know what?  I have always had an active imagination.  And when a place that is normally crawling with tourists featured just me and nobody else underground, wandering around in a crypt (the bodies were removed), where I had to walk around on planks of very unstable wood in places due to flooding, let me tell you: I gladly walked into a tourist trap and willingly followed around the "guard" who was the only other thing with a pulse two stories down.  I even tipped him.  Twas really cool, especially the mashup combo of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian funerary carvings in one area.  But I'm pretty sure it was responsible for my freaky dreams last night too! (I will devote a special post to the library because, hi, I am a librarian).

A pita maker in Alexandria

Election day in Egypt

It was election day in Egypt the last time I posted.  It was also my "I probably shouldn't have eaten that" date with destiny, we took it pretty easy and basically spent the day strolling through the fruit market and stalking the polling stations in Dokki, near Becky's apartment.  It was really very exciting!  Although the results (now published) don't seem like what the more liberal and/or educated Egyptians were hoping would happen, I still found it heartening to see so many people out and about, waving their fuscia dyed fingers in our general direction. 

This picture totally warmed the cockles of my heart.  Is that girl not the cutest thing ever, waving her little Egyptian flag, clutching her father and her pink stuffed bunny?  I love the expression on the soldiers face.  He's all, "Oh snap, what do I do with this cuteness? It is overwhelming me, play it cool.  Don't smile.  Seriously.  Stop it lips."  It was so much more adorable in person. 

Finally, you food porn enthusiasts, this one is for you:  Enjoy my bounty from the fruit market (ie. fruit stalls and the bakery I obviously visited.  I got some pretzel wheel thing with dates inside, a honey croissant, and some Fig Newton-esque other snacks.  Yum!

Recipe 52: Spicy Peanut Soup

Like a bottle of Heinz Ketchup has 52 ingredients, my boy Blue will have 52 recipes. Thus begins the 52 Le Creuset Challenge! Recipe 52 (whatever, whatever, I do what I want, like count down!) was the recipe that started it all. And I'll have you know, it was delish. It comes to me from The Soup Bible, a gem published by Barnes & Noble and edited by Debra Mayhew (ISBN: 978-0-7607-9045-8), but was further edited por moi for reasons like "Oh shizer, I just walked to the grocery store in a blizzard* and forgot to get the corn I set out to get in the first place." This soup is bangtastic, all warm from both the warmth AND the spice, and filled with way more veggies than you originally think. Prep takes a while, but the soup itself cooks pretty quickly.

Spicy Peanut Soup

Allegedly serves six....but it's really more like eight.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large minced onion
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 large red bell peppers, minced (and obvi seeded)
1.5 cups minced carrots
1.5 cups finely chopped potatoes
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cups/32 oz vegetable stock
6-8 Tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter**
1 can whole corn kernels (or one cup frozen)***
salt & fresh pepper

1. Heat the oil over medium-high.
2. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes, until onions are soft.
3. Add the cayenne and stir for about a minute.
4. Add the vegetables through celery and stir. Cook for around 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the stock, peanut butter, and corn. Stir until the peanut butter incorporates.
6. Season the soup and bring it to a boil.
7. Lower the heat to a medium, bringing the soup to a simmer. Cover.
8. Cook for around 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Adjust spices as you see fit!
9. The soup bible recommends serving this dish with crushed, unsalted, roasted peanuts as a garnish. I recommend just eating it. It's a souper supper.

*I'm not making up a fake blizzard to garner your moste skeptical sympathy points. True story, there was a blizzard. True story, the snow was up to my knees. But true story, I did not walk uphill both ways, Old Timer.
**I wound up using closer to 8 because my original 5 were the remainder of my jar of Teddies. Being au-natural, the oils were mostly gone and it was a tad dry. Thusly, I added about 2-3 more heaping Tbsp's from my fresh jar.
***Being a toolbox, I forgot to get the corn (like I said earlier). I used a can of sweet corn I got at the drug store. I let it soak and rinsed it several times in the hopes that it would strip some of the sugars away. I'm pretty sure this did nothing, and it was really good regardless...so...moot point? Up to you.

52 Le Creuset (Un amour interdit!)

Several years ago, I entered a long term, committed relationship. My love is Dutch by way of France. Our love is hot, heavy, and durable. We first met online, but things got serious when we bumped into each other at the mall. "Oh heyyyy hot stuff," said I. Things escalated quickly thereafter. We took the plunge on Christmas morning 2008 in a frenzy of gift bows and wrapping paper, and we've never looked back.

I think you're ready to be introduced to my boy, Blue:

You're my boy, Blue!


Earlier this week, cooped up and feeling craftsy during my snow day, an idea of sheer genius struck me like the hammer of Thor. What if Blue and I were to take our love to new levels of heat and passion? What if we were to do it on the stovetop AND in the oven? What if we were to do it 52 times in one calendar year? Would our love grow? Would we try all new recipes for culinary and gastronomic love? Would food porn ensue?
Yes, to all of the above. I will use Blue 52 times to make 52 different recipes. IN ONE YEAR.** Bring it!

Thus begins the 52 Le Creuset challenge.*


*It sounds like a fancy restaurant, right? Except it is not! Tricked you! You have my guarantee that many of these recipes will, in fact, be totally less than classy (ie. lots o'cheese, and a strong chance of booze).
** Rules: Each recipe counts only once; there must be 52 total recipes, but they do not need to occur once a week; recipes may use both stovetop and oven; recipes will be both vegetarian and filled with meat and cheese; even failure recipes will count; both Blue and his little brother (kind of like Barbie and Scooter) count; year and challenge end at midnight 12/31/2011 (obvi) EST.