Certain Someone Highjacked This Months Daring Bakers Project Pizzas and Toppings

I never thought it would happen to me. There I was picking up a few items in the store for the weekend , planning to make a bare minimum pizza with ingredients we mostly had on hand before Certain Someone flew out for a few weeks . I came home and saw miracle of miracle , he had went to the store too! I mentioned we were having pizzas that weekend and the Inquisition began. What type. He sneered when I said basic with some odds and ends scraps from the fridge. He sacrificed his Bresola, and Prosciutto that he had just purchased( was going to be for breakfast) and insisted I buy another long list of expensive things. I protested my that wasn’t in my food budget, etc. and he said he would buy it. You see we just cant have plain pizzas in my house. He has to take over after I do the hard part( dough making, sauce making, prep, etc) and like the gourmand he is he takes over and dictates the assembly.This time he even took over the photos because he was trying out his new Nikon D90. Instant addiction to food photography. You see where this is going. Certain Someone is stealing my blog. At least for this post. So these are 3 the pizzas we created. I have three more dough balls in the freezer for later use.
1) Hawaiian Pizza( no foodie snob snickers). He loves this and while its not traditional, its damn good! Authenticity is nice, but so is experimentation and fusion.No hate comments please, its good and we like it.

2) Spinach, feta, bresola, prosciutto,sun dried tomatoes,Parmesan /reggiano, mozzarella.

3) Salami, green peppers, thinly shaved onions, sun dried tomatoes,parm/ reg, and mozzarella.

What a great recipe Rosa picked out for this months Daring Bakers Challenge in memory of her late co host Sher! Who wouldn’t like this one! The only difficulty I had was in the required dough toss. I tried, but resorted to stretching it out bu fists and then rolling it out. I kept getting tears .This was the thinnest crispiest dough ever! My best by far. The super hot oven temps and preheating helped. I found my best pizzas were the ones in my old cast iron skillet, not the pizza stone. I love my skillet that’s older than me and wouldn’t trade it for all the new shiny stuff out there.
Here is the recipe. The dough was taken from “The Bread Bakers Apprentice…Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart.Be sure to check out my fellow Daring Bakers too!

…Prior to her sudden death (9 days before), Sher had shared with me her recipe idea for the October challenge that she, Glenna and myself should have hosted together. When she died, it was clear for me that I would respect her choice and that I would still submit her recipe. This is my last ode to a very appreciated blogger, DB member, skilled baker and cook whom I miss a lot!~ Sherry “Sher” Cermak 1948-2008 ~
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Thanks to Sheltie Girl (Natalia) at http://www.glutenagogo.blogspot.com (USA) for her precious help and for giving me a glute-free version of this recipe!!!
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THE CHALLENGE:
You have to use the tossing method (as explained below) for at least 2 Pizza Crusts. If you are not comfortable with it, then you can switch to the rolling method, but you HAVE to try the traditional method and exercise it, using at least two dough pieces. You should also capture the moment by either filming or photographing yourself while tossing the dough.

THE RULES:
This month’s recipe leaves you with much freedom! You can either make the Pizza Dough gluten-free or the normal way. You may use the sauce (anything liquidy, saucy and spreadable like cream cheese, flavored oils, pesto, Nutella, Peanut Butter, pumpkin puree, etc…) and toppings of your choice, may they be savory or sweet, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian or non-vegan/vegetarian. You must use BOTH (sauce & toppings).JUST USE YOUR IMAGINATION!!! POSTING DATE: Wednesday, October the 29th 2008
EQUIPMENT:
Stand mixer with paddle and dough hook attachments (optional, see recipe), cooking thermometer, baking sheet, parchment paper, cooking oil, plastic wrap, pizza peel/scraper, pizza stone or pan.RECIPE SOURCE: “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.
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BASIC PIZZA DOUGH
~Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g)
Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled –
FOR GF: 4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour,
1 cup corn flour,
1 cup oat flour,
1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum1
3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
– FOR GF use 2 tsp1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)1 Tb sugar –
FOR GF use agave syrupSemolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting
DAY ONE
Method: 1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.Or2.
FOR GF: Add the oil, sugar or agave syrup and cold water, then mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.
3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.
DAY TWO
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
Or8. FOR GF: On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the number of desired dough balls from the refrigerator. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a gluten free flour. Delicately press the dough into disks about ½ inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil. Lightly cover the dough round with a sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest for 2 hours.
9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.
Or10. FOR GF: Press the dough into the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter – for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough).
NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter – for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
Or11. FOR GF: Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
Or12. FOR GF: Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.
Or13. FOR GF: Follow the notes for this step.NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

This Pie Made It To The Semi Finals at the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

I mentioned last week that I was working on my pie for the Bucktown Apple Pie Competition. I have been so busy, but unexpected time opened up and allowed me to devote all Saturday to this pie. I started the prep at 10:oopm so it would fresh for morning, but set. I had a last minute inspiration to dust cinnamon powder with my Chinese long life vegetable cutter.It worked! And notice the center with a full Star Anise pod. Here is my recipe. I based my crust on Dorie Greenspan’s Good for Almost Anything Crust, but changed the shortening aspect to my trusted Atora. This tasted way better than my previous attempts. But what a lot of butter and grease that seeped out while baking. But better it seep than stay in, but still give me a flakier crust.

On Sunday Morning I arose at dawn and popped the pies back into the oven at a low 200 to warm up for an hour . I was the Contestant #2 and had my photo taken. I got some compliments on the appearance and left. All the contestants were to return at 2pm . At 2:30pm the finalists were announced. While waiting and listening to some band called Tangleweed that played bluegrass/ country, I saw my name on the ribbon board on a list of Semi Finalists!

I made it that far. Maybe there was hope for finalist?92 contestants, 27 Semi Finalists, 5 Winners.

All this year in particular of obsessing, blogging, learning, Daring Bakers, reading, etc was starting to pay off in improvement.But that’s as far as I got. The finalist seemed like familiar names in the competition.Neighborhood locals, repeat contestants,etc. This was my second year and I think I’m miles ahead from last years entry.The celebrity judges including Gale Gand , and Stephanie Izard( Top Chef Chicago winner) went to work on the finalists table and the mob was directed to the Pie Room to ‘buy’ a taste.

We were packed liked sardines , but I found my pie and waited patiently for a clear view. One of them was practically gone and people in line were asking for a slice. Now was the time to really taste and see how it measures up. I was pleased. The crust was not soggy , but flaky even on the bottom. The fruit gelled nice. A lot of pies looked like they had bigger chunks of fruit, but not that gel like sauce. The only thing I would change is bigger chunks of fruit and more fruit, as the winning pies seemed to be high in fruit. One of the finalist told me she only uses 4 ingredients in her crust, one of them being milk! Hmmm, I have to try that one day.I didn’t stick around to 4:45 for the winners. The place was packed and a line went through to outside. I heard a volunteer turning non contestants or people who hadn’t already been inside away because they running out of pie. The contestants pies were being sold off in slices and the winners auctioned. Sounds like it was a succes. I will be back next year, God willing.
Coco’s Asian Apple Pie

Makes 1 9inch double crust pie

INGREDIENTS:

Filling
1 12 fl oz can of Frozen Apple Juice concentrate
1 cinnamon stick 2-3 Star Anise ground to make 2 teaspoons of powder
1/4 teaspoon mace
pinch of black pepper
5-6 Golden Delicious apples peeled ,cored, and chopped
1/2 cup King Arthur’s Pie Enhancer ( for thickening)
1/2 cup sugar
Pastry Crust
3 cups all -purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 sticks frozen unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3 cup Atora ( cold) a shredded dehydrated suet available in the the UK or online
1/2 cup ice water
Egg Wash
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon cream
INSTRUCTIONS:

Take a heavy bottom sauce pan and heat the frozen concentrate with the ground star anise, cinnamon stick( intact) , and mace until mixture is reduced by half. It will form a dark syrup. Set aside. Discard cinnamon stick when cool.
Make Crust. mix flour , sugar, and salt in your Stand Mixer. Gradually in stages add the butter and Atora until mixed into the flour. Do not over mix! Chunks of butter and Atora are fine. Gradually add water by tablespoon until all is combined . Just enough until it holds together. Take the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface . I use wax paper for easier clean up. Divide into 2 balls. Take a ball and between two sheets of wax paper roll out to fit into pie pans.Place rolled discs in refrigerator until ready to use.
Peel, core , and chop apples. Toss into a bowl with syrup/ concentrate mixture( discarding cinnamon stick). Add the sugar and pie enhancer. Toss until evenly mixed.
Preheat oven to 350 .
Line pie tin with crust. Pour in fruit filling. Cover and seal edges with second layer of dough.Slash dough to vent.Brush with egg wash mix( egg beaten with cream).
Bake at 350 for 30 -5 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil, and reduce heat to 200. Bake an additional 1 hour.* Place pie pans on a baking pan with lips to catch the excess butter, etc. that bakes out of the pie. Take out and allow to cool on wire rack with foil cover for a few hours to set. Serve at a cool room temperature.

I’m sending this over to Ivy, for her Sweet Pies Event.

Black Pudding, Pig Roasts, and Keeping My Hat On All Day.


I left off the last the post with my visit to Borough Market. If only I could have stayed longer but I had to meet my aunt and take the train to a old market village called Thame. The couple who were getting married generously put us up in the Spread Eagle Inn. No snickers at the name,it cracked me up too. But this Inn is very historic and has seen many a prominent visitor from Charles II to Evelyn Waugh. The groom to be’s handsome son and friend Toby picked us up from the train station. They offered to show us some neighboring sites. Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill), Oxford, and Waddesdon Manor (home of the Rothschild’s) were close by. Tempting as all that was , we wanted to freshen up after being up all day and exploring London. The boys warned us that unfortunately the yearly town fair was going on at that very moment on the High Street in front of the hotel. The roads were blocked off, and we entered from the back. The boys were called off to pick up some more people and take care of wedding stuff,so we were left to explore the village and maybe meet up later. I was thinking a quaint crafty fair like Chicago. What greeted us was a full blown carnival with warnings of the teenage hooligans who get rowdy. It was hard to see the shops and beauty of the town with all the carny nonsense. The Inn locked off the front doors to prevent entry from the crowds. It was too late to shop, so we went back to the Inn for dinner. No one was in the restaurant but we had a decent dinner from the new menu. I had a rustic pate with red onion marmalade, crispy prawns with crispy noodles . Auntie Mame had salmon and sorrel. You don’t come across sorrel often. We retired early to faint sounds of the fair and never made it for drinks.

The morning of the wedding we went down to the restaurant again. I ordered the full English breakfast of eggs, black pudding, grilled tomato, sausage, and beans! I liked blood sausage, so I felt I could do the black pudding. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste as tasty as blood sausage. It was a lot of food and I was praying the beans wouldn’t kick in at the wedding. We shared a taxi over to Nether Winchendon House, a medieval Tudor mansion the wedding was held at. The family it belongs to is related to the Spencer- Churchill family and still live there. However they rent it out for filming, corporate events, and weddings. The wedding was lovely and unstuffy. All the ladies wore hats, but we were asked to be creative with them and use existing hats and embellish. The couple took their vows under a mulberry tree with their ‘Vicar’ friend. This ceremony was symbolic as their real / legal wedding would be in Chicago. The couple had an enormous sense of humour and deep love for each other, their family, and friends. Endless champagne, wine, beer, etc as we walked the estate and took pictures. The wedding lunch was held in a hall on the grounds. Besides the catered lunch, they had a pig roast outside! In fact there had 2 pig roasts. One for the lunch, and one for the evening buffet. So much good food. At this point I didn’t care about being fancy and gobbled up the roast pig and cracklings. The best! We broke up the eating with outdoor activities . The couple hired acrobats who brought all sorts of equipment for the guests, I hula hooped, walked a tight rope with the guidance from the ground,walked on stilts, etc all in my big hat! My aunt has these hysterical photos so I haven’t got them yet. By 11:30 we were exhausted.I even got picked up by two 25 year olds. One actually proposed marriage and kept calling me Dorthy. They found it hard to believe I was almost 15 years older than them.Flattery! Back to the Inn, and we flew home the next day. I have to say that was the most joyous , humorous, real wedding I had ever been to. If my day ever comes I plan take a page from them.

I leave you with this recipe I adapted from BBC’s Olive Magazine. Over the next few weeks you see me use ideas or items I got from over there: The original recipe from Chef Valentine Warner was a baked Mushroom and Celeriac Tarte. I wanted to incorporate some slow cooked beef shank I had with leeks and mushrooms. The inspiration was using a thinly sliced celery root as my crust. It didn’t come out as caramelized and perfect as the magazine( to much liquids which I drained), but it was very good. Even Certain Someone who doesn’t like celery or the root liked this.

Glamah’s Celeriac Tarte with Beef , Leeks, and Mushrooms
2 beef shanks
1 large leek cleaned and sliced
1 small celery root
1 cup of mushrooms coarsley chopped
salt/ pepper to taste( I used a seasoned sea salt spiced with cumin and mint)
1/2 cup of Cooking Wine
3 cloves of Garlic
butter
Slow cook the beef shanks with with wine, garlic, and salt. Cover and cook in oven for 2 hours. Clean mushrooms and leeks. Add to beef. At this point you can remove the meat from the bone and chop up to cook with the vegetables.Cover and let roast on oven another 20-30 minutes.

Wash and peel celery root. Cut into manageable quarters. Take a mandolin and slice thinly.
Take a cast iron pan and melt butter to coat it on the stove. Arrange the celery root slices to cover. Add the meat and vegetables.Be sure to drain excess liquids . Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Take out and invert pan onto a plate( like making a tarte tatin). Slice and serve.

I am submitting this to Go Ahead Honey Its Gluten Free.The wonderful and English Naomi is hosting and shes picked Slow Food as this months theme.

Pear and Hazelnut Souffle


I have been toying with an idea in my head for a while. I love this pear cognac/liquor Certain Someone brings me back from his trips to Sweden, Xante.

So with some hazelnut flour and some Xante in the house I was forced to experiment and make this. Unfortunately my souffle fell before I could get some good picks. Rather than top with powdered sugar, I poured a smidgen of some Boiled Cider I just got from King Arthur’s. I liked the flavors of all and feel I can improve on this some more, especially to bring out the Xante flavor. A nice fall souffle. Remember I’m no souffle expert and I made this up. There may be better techniques out there. But it worked well enough for me.
Pear Hazelnut Souffle serves 5-6 mini souffles
1 tablespoon Xante
1 cup milk
1.5 tablespoons of butter plus butter for greasing ramekins
3 eggs separated into whites and yolks
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup hazelnut flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter your ramekins.In a small sauce pan heat milk until near boiling. Set aside.Put egg whites in a mixing bowl and set yolks in a separate small dish. Melt the 1.5 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Add the flour and whisk until incorporated ans smooth. Add the hot milk and whisk/blend until smooth.Add sugar. There will be lumps so try to work it out and stir constantly for approx 5 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water and add to milk flour mix. Stir in and remove from heat. Add hazelnut flour and egg yolks. Mix well. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add Xante to milk/flour/ hazelnut mixture. Take a bit of the peaked egg whites and add to this base. Fold in gently. Add the base to the bowl and whites and continue to fold in till all mix is Incorporated. Fill ramekins 2/3 full. Place ramekins. Bake for approx 20 minutes. on a baking sheet with edges. Fill bottom of pan with water.

Certain Someone is Back and A Weeks Worth of Food

My honey is back. Thank you guys for bearing with me as I got a little melancholy. It was a long time away , but the man has to do what he has to do in regards to his job. Certain Someone flew in last Monday and our first meal was his favorite . Harold’s fried Chicken. He was going through withdrawals and I couldn’t blame him. Plus I was to tired to cook. Tuesday he took me to the place where we met and fell and love. Le Sardine. This little gem of a restaurant has a prix fixe for $25 every Tuesday for 3 full size courses. I knew he was the man for me when I saw him order and devour a lamb shank 2 1/2 years ago. Last Tuesday I was more adventurous and started with blood sausage and caramelised apples. So good. Open your minds people. I then had Maigret of duck with lentils, and Grand Mariner souffle with Strawberry coulis. Certain Someone had a braised oxtails and gnocchi to start, steak,and the creme brulee. It was nice to unwind finally and relax over dinner.

With my man back I needed to get shopping. CS’s starter was so small , I got to thinking of the last time I made oxtails. Its was the first meal I made for him. Slow cooked while I was work. I took Thursday off to prepare for a house guest of ours this weekend and picked up some oxtails. I slow cooked them in my Le Creuset Dutch oven with some bay leaf, canned tomatoes, mushrooms, frozen beet greens, leeks, and leftover frozen cauliflower puree I had. Just throwing in tons of produce.The cauliflower puree soaked up the liquid and made a nice thickened low carb sauce. I served this with saffron rice. Homey and good.It doesnt look like much , but it was delish.
We still have some leftovers.

Fridays fare was more American leading up to the holiday weekend. Hot wings. I used Franks Hot sauce . I was rushed and they didn’t come out as crispy as I liked, but nevertheless good.

With our Swedish house guest we went out to dinner most of the time. Fogo De Chao ( I can never eat my share of meat there, its a mans place), deep dish Chicago Pizza at Lou Malnati’s, drinks at Sushi Samba.
And today this late lunch/ dinner waiting for him when returned form the golf course. A summer vegetable medley I whipped up with my mandolin of yellow squash, sliced Brussels sprouts, chopped tomatoes, herbs, and a splash of rice vinegar slowly sauteed. The ribs were slow cooked after a dry rub with Penzeys BBQ 3000( a gift from a friend) my own rub of pulverized bay leaf and cumin seeds( I remember Peter writing of ground Bay Leaf and decided to try it myself), pan wrapped and sealed in foil with a little water, and slow cooked for about 3-4 hours. Then I took the foil off when I judged the meat to be tender enough and brushed with the excellent Country Bobs sauce. Meaty and tender.

Writing this I realize we ate very good this week. But its a special week. The return of Certain Someone, a long holiday weekend, and showing our friend some of Chicago. I got my mojo back.

I have a winner for the The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry Book Giveaway. Using RANDOM. ORG I got Bellini Valli who is living her dream:
Dreams can come true. I started on my dream when I visited a cooking school/vacation on the island of Kea in Greece. There are so many wonderful cooking vacations in so many diverse countries it would be my dream to visit most of them and then wtite a guide book for others to enjoy.
Congrats!