Peckerwood Manor

Ina Garten is hands down my favorite chef. She is who I count on when I want delicious, cozy meals, when I am entertaining, or when I want to nurture someone I love. Her food is comfort food, never extra fancy or full of incongruent flavors; hers is for when you want to eat restaurant quality without too much fuss or labor. Do I love her versions of dishes, best of all, 100 percent of the time? No, but I am never disappointed, rarely have to adjust, and always feel satisfied. Joan's on 3rd in LA reminds me of a place Ina would like, and everyone who knows me, including Joan, knows I have to eat there as much as possible when I am in LA.  Ina Rosenberg Garten was born on February 2, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, in a household that valued academic excellence above all else. Her father, Charles H. Rosenberg, was a surgeon, and her mother, Florence, was a dietitian. Despite her natural inclination towards science, Ina's love for cooking was stro...

Nigella's show, Nigella Bites, was a comfort show for me for a few years. It was on BBC America, and I would make sure my godfather programmed his nifty DVR to catch it weekly. I turned others onto it, and we would watch Nigella and the OG Iron Chef. I thought she was sexy and gorgeous, so it wasn't all about the food. I crushed on her for a bit, but then I became very interested in her textures and British combinations. Brits aren't known for cuisine or culinary genius, but here was Nigella putting together things that looked tasty and inviting. I decided to highlight her because she became an international star and embraced her homey recipes and love of cozy homemade meals. Also, she was slightly plump, which means she ate what she made, which I liked.  Brief biography: Nigella Lawson is a respected English food writer and television cook. I call her a cook, not a chef, and I use that term as a compliment. Many people have the title chef and cook uninspired food in restau...

WELCOME BACK! Have a seat, and let's talk about my favorite subject.  As I was thinking about what we needed for our food post coming off of the holidays, I thought about Slow Cooker Winter dishes. So many of us are toiling away in the cold, dreary days of winter without a lot of desire to put together nightly meals. A good option is to pull out that slow cooker and put it to good use. I do eat plenty of labor-intensive meals, but lately, that slow cooker has been getting worked out doing some a bit complicated meals and some easy ones. The two below have make-ahead options, which I like because they break it up and give me time to plan.  Slow Cooker will be a regular feature from time to time because I think it is a helpful subject. Also, Air Fryer Recipes in the future. If you have some ideas of what you would like me to address for recipes and subjects let me know in the comments.  This Pot Roast is a pleaser and makes for a cozy, satisfying meal that elevates the flav...

It would be great if we shared some sites with each other to help your fellow hors eat some good stuff. I have a list and a James Beard recipe to share. His book is like The Joy of Cooking, kicked up 3 levels for American Recipes-mine had to be replaced from being splattered and worn. I still use cookbooks offline because some of my titles aren't online. I have an old Greek cookbook written in Greek; my friend in California's mother's writing can be seen in between the lines as she translated for me and added her own two cents. I have my binder of recipes from people that I love, and I bullied many cooks into giving me their recipes. Several are from my Vietnamese BFF's mom, loads from Mexico, South America, and African American, and some ripped out of magazines. You might never leave my house if I ever make you matzoh ball soup. It is that good. These are laminated, and they move wherever I move. I collect vintage cookbooks and have old books from Julia Child and the G...

  Yes, you read that right. We are opening the cafe for business. We will meet here 2 or 3 nights a week and discuss food, what we ate that day, what we love to eat, diets, recipes for food and drinks, restaurants, tips, and food stories. If it has to do with food, bring it here. I have yet to iron out which days for this post would be best but feel free to add some suggestions you would love to see on these posts. If we post recipes from sites please post a photo to keep the thread colorful and appetizing. If you have a recipe you like but want to ask our opinions, that is great. We love and talk about the food here a lot, so why not get together and eat! So the questions I have for our Inaugural Post are these: Do you like to cook? What topics would you love to have on the days this is posted? Would you like to become a better cook? Top Three Ethnic Foods you love? How old were you when you started cooking? What type of diet are you on?  What would you like to see on these p...