Project Food Blog, Part I.

The first week back from vacation always is the hardest. After almost two weeks in France and Britain – during which we cooked in brick ovens and over open fires, ate our way through London, and basically forgot about our professional and social responsibilities – we came back to Baltimore, with colds courtesy our fellow passengers, e-mail to read and answer, and rush hour traffic to DC and back every day. It was pretty good while it lasted.

What I did on my summer vacation.

Catching up on Facebook, I saw this post:

“FoodBuzz announced a couple months ago that they would be holding a competition called Project Food Blog. It is the first competition of it’s [sic] kind and the winner will win $10,000 dollars and will be featured on Foodbuzz.com for a year!”

Hello, what’s this? A blogging competition?

I’ve been working on a cookbook, and I started this blog on the advice of a publishing agent who welcomed me to the twenty-first century by telling me that no one short of Jessica Seinfeld or the Real Housewives of New Jersey can secure a cookbook publishing contract anymore without a blog, cooking skill or no. If you’ve been reading me during the past year, you know what I’m about. I’m the one you call when you’ve killed a feral water buffalo and have no idea what to do. You have problems with cream puffs, and I’m here for you. I’ll tell you how I got that perfect crispy skin on that slab of pork belly and made the most of raw vegetables in the middle of a heat wave, and when I show you how to make the pork sausage of your Sunday brunch dreams, I’ll also show you how to turn the leftovers into a quick weekday burger.

You don’t come to me to read amateur restaurant reviews. I can’t tell you which Trader Joe’s simmer sauce you should buy. I don’t cook from other peoples’ recipes and expect you to be impressed. You read these pages because whether your CSA has just sent you ten pounds of cauliflower or you want to learn how to make one of those crazy foams or gelées you’ve been hearing about, you don’t have to worry. You know I can help you out, because even though I’ve got a day job as a lawyer in DC, you also know that someone who keeps an induction burner and steel pan in her credenza at the office really cares about food and cooking.

Office cooking battery - induction stove, rice cooker, knives, cutting boards

Office condiment drawer - vinegars, mustards, two kinds of rice, olive oil, nori furikake, etc

So, I’m not going to tell you why you should vote for me. I’m going to show you, with my food. Please stop by every week and read my regular reports from the kitchen, and my contest entries. Send me your cooking questions by e-mail. And then – please vote! For me. Because I can’t win without your support. Thanks for reading!

Braised pork belly, apricot, fennel blossom

Ricotta, ravioli, white truffle beurre fondue, poached hen's egg

Spherified yoghurt and mint, waiting for the galia melon soup

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