Bliss... (why don't I do this more often?)

[owned_by_a_cat]

Writing about food makes me hungry.  Cooking, on the other hand, just makes me happy. So, shouldn't I be doing this all the time?
Logic would suggest I do. Instead, I spent the morning writing about food - part fiction, part not - before I gave myself a treat and started on tomorrow night's Christmas dinner, ably assisted by a bottle of Pinot Noir and wishing Kensei was around to help.
Now the house smells lovely, I have concocted a red wine gravy that is to die for (and which I need to lock away so there's any left for tomorrow), red cabbage is simmering away and there's a large bowl of onion, mushroom and celery stuffing for the Wellington on the counter that I can't stop digging a spoon into every now and then. I've remembered to take stuff out of the freezer... and I'm feeling on top of the world, even though the next chore on the list is ironing.

Most of all, though, I've suddenly hit upon an advantage of writing m/m romance... I can blissfully drool over / crush on / be in love with BOTH my lead characters. What joy! (and that's not the red talking.)

Comments

Gravy boat [a.k.a. dream boat] bliss

[sardonicista.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself while building up the feast. I admit that I've been scrounging for vicarious cooking enthusiasm, and between your website and a few other cooking blogs I've stumbled onto, there may be hope of something other than Chinese take-out for the holiday.
Welcome to the duel-drool M/M sisterhood. =) Merry Christmas!
[and please keep posting food-related updates! It helps...]

Re: Gravy boat [a.k.a. dream boat] bliss

[owned-by-a-cat.livejournal.com]

For me, crispy aromatic duck and pancakes are forever connected with celebrations (and hangovers). I'd never had Chinese food before I moved to England and I was so impressed by it, we had it after both our PhD vivas. These days, I'm hunting out Japanese restaurants and Steve's been loving the food I've been subjecting him to.

Been spending the afternoon constructing attractive pastry decorations (not my thing) for the pie while leeks bubbled gently away on the stove. (Lovely scent, just add lemon rind and coriander seed.) Amused myself with plotting Prospects and trying to work out Byakuya's food preferences. Strange, but true.

[ichibanseiken.livejournal.com]

Leeks with lemon zest and coriander? Braised? I'll have to try that. We finished our traditional fried fish and potato salad Christmas Eve dinner, but it's not just Fish'n'chips. I made stock out of a half of a swordfish carcass. WHen I brought it home, I found it was very fresh and that it had a good bit of meat on it. Tylashke, my husband and I enjoyed an impromptu sashimi lunch. Mmmm! The girls opted to pan-fry theirs and eat it on a baguette. All by themselves, too :-) So the stock was for the soup... usually I get salmon heads, but this was an exotic opportunity hard to pass up. Now, sated and with gifts exchanged, we are sitting here with our gifts/books/laptops, hanging out with a tray of awesome christmas cookies within reach. Life is good.

As for the "dual drool", yeah. Guys are great, the more the merrier!

[owned-by-a-cat.livejournal.com]

Hope the rest of the holidays were good too. We survived (buried myself in knitting) and the last part of tylashke's Christmas story is kicking my butt. Know where I want to be, but seem unable to get there.

As for the leeks: Pick your very very best olive oil (something green and deep and peppery like fresh Kalamata) and add the lemon juice at the end. BTW, done properly, this is not a diet dish. You need really good bread to mop up the juices. And if you feel like it (I only do that in the summer for dinners in the garden) lots of fresh coriander - or cilantro - over the top.

Loved your description of the Christmas Eve dinner. It's traditional in some parts of Germany, too, and I have a distinct memory of a live carp swimming in the bathtub (and nobody having the heart to kill it come Christmas Eve) when my mum veered away from our traditional Christmas Eve meal. At least the memory was good for a drabble or two.

[writerx75.livejournal.com]

Mmmm...this sounds just lovely. I always love it when I manage to cook up something delicious, and somehow it's even more rewarding when it's complicated and turns out well regardless. I hope the rest of your holidays went well, and best wishes for a happy new year!

[owned-by-a-cat.livejournal.com]

A very lazy holiday with too much food and lots of fiction (reading and writing) by the fire. Bliss!
Tomorrow it's back to clients and projects, but tonight I made a slow roasted onion and garlic cream tart that worked really well given I made it up on the hoof and now I'm by the fire trying to get my Ken/Shuu Christmas story finished. (only Mashiro is ruining the works!)
Tomorrow it's back to clients and projects, but hey...

Have a wonderful evening and a Very Happy New Year!