Cooking & Food Comas

Roasted Stuffed Chicken

I have to confess, I rarely cook holiday dinners. My husband loves to cook so holidays are more of his thing. Recently, a Japanese mama friend said, "Please teach me American Christmas dinner." Flattered, I of course said, "Sure." Except I forgot to mention that I don't really cook it. Tonight was a practice run to insure I will be in shipshape for the event. My husband hawked my technique. I passed with flying colors for having crispy skin and juicy meat. He cautioned, "You might use less butter for the Japanese mamas." Maybe. The Moose said, "This is what we should have had for Thanksgiving dinner!" The Mule said, "I don't like the chicken," but she rarely eats more than a bite of meat and always says she doesn't like it. My husband entertained himself with all of the Julia Child commentary he could recall; he's great with accents.

This year I finally learned how to make bûche de noël at my cooking class. I will make it for Christmas dessert. However, for the Japanese Mama Party I feel compelled to make a cherry pie. It is more in keeping with my family tradition, and I was asked to teach about the American version. Stuffing, potatoes, and pie will surely put the mamas into a food coma they will long remember.

I am on my last hurrah with the cookbook. It will be available as an ebook for those interested in downloading a copy. It contains the photos and recipes from the cooking classes I attended with Nansai Sensei. This was from our last class and is the last recipe in the book. A few frosted cornflakes go a long way toward adding ambiance!

Bûche de Noël

Roasted Stuffed Chicken

I have to confess, I rarely cook holiday dinners. My husband loves to cook so holidays are more of his thing. Recently, a Japanese mama friend said, "Please teach me American Christmas dinner." Flattered, I of course said, "Sure." Except I forgot to mention that I don't really cook it. Tonight was a practice run to insure I will be in shipshape for the event. My husband hawked my technique. I passed with flying colors for having crispy skin and juicy meat. He cautioned, "You might use less butter for the Japanese mamas." Maybe. The Moose said, "This is what we should have had for Thanksgiving dinner!" The Mule said, "I don't like the chicken," but she rarely eats more than a bite of meat and always says she doesn't like it. My husband entertained himself with all of the Julia Child commentary he could recall; he's great with accents.

This year I finally learned how to make bûche de noël at my cooking class. I will make it for Christmas dessert. However, for the Japanese Mama Party I feel compelled to make a cherry pie. It is more in keeping with my family tradition, and I was asked to teach about the American version. Stuffing, potatoes, and pie will surely put the mamas into a food coma they will long remember.

I am on my last hurrah with the cookbook. It will be available as an ebook for those interested in downloading a copy. It contains the photos and recipes from the cooking classes I attended with Nansai Sensei. This was from our last class and is the last recipe in the book. A few frosted cornflakes go a long way toward adding ambiance!

Bûche de Noël