The Holiday Season has a hooker worn out. My kids are off from school, and with my son home, I needed to spend all my extra time with each of them. I didn't write much, but I have an article for next week on Caturday as usual. I will work on one for the Pups. My next Cafe article will be about budget fast meals and what to stock in your pantry. I hope for the celebrity news to get juicy again. So much Taylor Swift/koven/reality stars news is everywhere. I will be back with my article, some serious and some light. Don't worry, we will keep this place going. We are here to stay. You all are a treasure in my life. Love to each one of you, and I mean everyone. 

I have not had the chance to cook much during our holiday since the ranch we were staying at has a chef. Usually, we joined a few other guests for dinner at the owner's house. The food was great but now that we're returning home, we had to settle for a tasteless and overpriced airport breakfast. Unfortunately, we headed to New York instead of California because my husband has to work tomorrow and be holed up in my aunt's office. Oh well, back to the grind. So, instead of cooking for my family tonight, we'll get takeout and relax at my aunt's house in Manhattan with some company. My cousin and his wife, who are big foodies, will join us, and we're looking forward to trying out some new cuisine. I've decided on a Burmese. I'll let you know how it goes. @Captain Peacock likes off the beaten path ethnic cuisine, so she is the inspiration.  I'm not one to brag, but I've become quite skilled in the kitchen. Cooking with my Brother-in-Law, who has worke...

  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...

Is there anything more straightforward than a sandwich? Why are some sandwiches better than others, even if it is the same type. A ham and Swiss is just a ham and Swiss, right? Wrong. Sandwiches live or die by the quality of the ingredients inside. If you love sandwiches and eat them regularly, there are ways to jazz them up, improve the taste, and make your sandwiches more enjoyable than just something slapped together because you aren't in the mood to do much else. You can still feel that way but don't have to suffer for it.  I learned some tricks from a chef boyfriend I had. RIP. It gives the sandwich the illusion of having more meat in it than it does if you get it shaved and bunch it up on the bread, so when you cut it in half, it looks meaty. That only matters if you like your sandwiches that way; other people like meat as a flavoring, and one slice is enough. It depends. I like it that way when I mostly do a vegetable sandwich and want some smokey undertones to the flavo...

Are you happy? You should be! Today Is National Gumbo Day, and honestly, I'm happy for any eatin' holiday and ready to celebrate at a moment's notice. No one knows where the hell gumbo first came from, but basically, it's a happy collision of Spanish, African, French and Caribbean influences - though for our purposes, let's just say that a Spanish person banged an African person who banged a French person, and so forth, with a lot of cooking and experimenting and flip-flopping and spooning in-between. You doubt this theory? Name me a professional chef who's not a complete hor. You can't, can't you? I rest my fanny. Food is usually Madame Fleurette's game - Peckerwood Cafe is her beat! -  and I don't want to bump up against that, but I don't think she'll mind if I share this dee-licious New York Times Seafood Gumbo recipe, which yours truly has tried and had much success with. And, yes, I've varied the ingredients each time I've ...

Finances should not stop anyone from feeding themselves or nurturing themselves with something tasty. There are various reasons someone needs to cut costs as inflation rises and food costs have become outrageous. It should not be an obstacle to making something to eat that you love and tastes like you spent more than you actually did. Good food can be quick garlic and chili pasta tossed with olive oil or trading chicken breasts for chicken thighs. Buying a chuck steak in the place of ribeye. Chuck roast one night and use the leftover meat for a quick stroganoff. Boneless turkey breasts are usually very reasonable; you substitute them for chicken breasts and save a little money. You know that restaurant that seems a bit pricey, but you are dying to go? Go for lunch, and you still treat yourself. If things are even tighter, choose a place with a bar menu, and have some appetizers and a drink. With those savings, you can get a massage or splurge for a lovely holiday somewhere for the week...

It has been a sweltering summer, and very few of us want to spend time in a hot kitchen, so let's devise ways to eat and stay as cool as possible. What are your plans for dinner, and did you eat anything tasty today? Is there anything you want to make but need a little help with techniques or ingredients? Post your recipes, tips, questions, and whatever food related is on your mind.  I am still hobbling, so I can't cook much. I had a nice juicy blue cheeseburger with pickled onions, nice size salad, and some melon. I have no shame. I ate half a second one. That was lunch. By the time this posts, I will have had my dinner. We decided to grill marinated brined lemon chicken, summer slaw, grilled vegetables with crumbled goat cheese, french bread, and probably some chilled fresh fruit.  My first recipe is Gazpacho. I make a giant pitcher of it, and we eat it as a nice soup for lunches or even a beginner for dinner.  Gazpacho  To make a tasty Gazpacho, use 3 parts ripe t...

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 is the end of the summer, and I was thinking about what to discuss; you gave me some ideas; I want to discuss so many things and help us broaden our menus and try something new. We tend to eat the same small food grouping, and I assert it is because we don't know what to do with some stuff we see, but it doesn't mean we aren't curious. It took me a moment to find something I liked with celery root. Breakfast is one of those meals we usually slap something together because we are in a rush or the choices seem limited. I am as guilty of this as anyone and save up taking time to cook for weekends. Breakfast is my least favorite meal, but I like brunch, and it is only because mornings are not my best time of the day, and I am usually rushing. We deserve something tastier for breakfast. I put my husband up to it too much, and the kids end up with cold cereal or toast with eggs or something from the bakery on the way to school. During their breaks, we eat better, and they are ...

Be advised, patrons are required to don formal festive wear at the Manor's Ladysnake Cafe, so please dress to impress ( and later undress, as the case may be). As always, contact Mr. Tristan Spratt, your Peckerwood major duomo, to reserve a table. This evening's specials include  Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Crispy Sage, Tarragon Chickpea Salad with Riced Broccolini and Cauliflower, and Raspberry Crème Fraîche Tart with Lavender Honey. 

Welcome, sloots, to another edition of The Peckerwood Book Club, today with a vital question: do you judge a book by its page count? I'll admit that I do on occasion, much as I might judge a book by its cover art. For instance, I wouldn't be caught dead at a cafe reading this , since the cartoony cover makes it look like a twee book for halfwitted knobs (I haven't read it and likely won't, but that's besides the point). Similarly, if I find out that a novel is over 350 pages, I pause, just like I do when I learn that it's under 200.   Of course, this makes no sense at all. A novel shouldn't be judged as if you're ordering up piles of lumber or piping or bolts of fabric. The length is irrelevant, as I've learned from some terrific long-ish books, such as "Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler," which is over 500 pages, and  "Of Mice and Men," which clocks in at a supermodel-slender 107 pages.  Do you ever think twice about reading ...

I don't believe I have ever met someone who doesn't like at least one pasta dish. At least. I eat it so many different ways I have lost count. I like twists and new versions of old favorites when someone does something unexpected. But I always go back to the pasta my godfather used to make, and when his mom came from Italy to visit, she would make so many lovely things, but they were always comforting and homey. That she refused to acknowledge my godfather's sexuality made for a strange tension, I didn't understand, and I think she cooked so much to avoid what was in front of her. A four-bedroom townhouse-one was mine; one room was an office, one was my cousin's, and the other had a king-sized bed. But OK, lady.  There are a few things I retained passed on by him to me. If you love pasta, quality olive oil is one thing to invest in. It elevates pasta dishes and makes the flavors richer and closer to how Italians eat their food. Ironically, some of the best olive oil...