It’s pouring here, yet another day. The streets are flooded, I just saw a truck go through a major dip, no way our Honda could do it. Emergency vehicles everywhere.
So I’m doing what Julie Andrews did in The Sound of Music. Do re mi fa so la ti do! Thinking of my favorite things.
Cheese: parmigiano reggiano; bel paese; Black Diamond and Cabot sharp cheddar; any aged cheddar from the UK; Romano; Maytag Blue; Gorgonzola dolce; freshly made buffalo mozzarella.
Fruit: fresh Concord grapes picked from the vine; cherries; satsuma tangerines. A perfect pear (only had one, and that was in Italy).
Veg: fresh corn on the cob; homemade ratatouille with a bounty of fresh eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic and onion.
Meat: Lamb Robert (boned and butterflied leg of lamb marinated and then grilled to perfection); a perfect ribeye, NY Strip or filet; pork loin au vin blanc. But most of all Mom’s Prime Rib of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding. Got the shivers on that one. Basic roast chicken with sausage/apple stuffing.
Fish: Salmon with lemon grass seasoning paste from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables (see my cookbook list); grilled salmon with grainy mustard; coquilles St. Jacques; moules mariniere; real sole “bonne femme.” Grilled shrimp with lime and cilantro and jalapeno marinade.
Cassoulet. Beef Carbonnade. Roasted root vegetables with olive oil and herbs. Roasted rosemary potatoes. Spaghetti alla Carbonara (No, Calvin Trillin, I will not join the campaign to substitute this for traditional Thanksgiving turkey!)
Ask me tomorrow and I’ll come up with a different list! That’s how varied the choices are in our abundant land! This particular storm may be over so I should feed and take out dogma. Even dog Zoe is Greek, for Life.
But during this intense storm I find my choices interesting. Savoring summer’s bounty while aching for cooler weather so I can make stews. Enjoy cooking your meal tonight. Dee
p.s. It’s thundering again and raining so Zoe won’t want to get her precious fur wet. Look at my sous-chef – she’s no pampered purebred, just a runty mutt!
Cooking with Dee 
Margie (Jim’s mom) says they had a lot of good cheddar on the dairy. Funny thing is that Jim really only liked tasteless cheeses when we met all those years ago. His place was littered with individual string cheese wrappers (from the frig to his mega-computer). Only recently has he taken a liking to aged cheddar, probably due to our trip to Vermont with his parents.
I forgot one of my all-time favorite cheeses, Italian Fontina. I use it in Chicken Saltimbocca and leftovers make for killer grilled cheese sandwiches. D
Sorry – I tend to rely heavily on those Laughing Cow triangles as a “see-me-through-till-dinner” snack!!!
I love those processed cheese triangles! If only because they were a treat when I was a kid. Like ginger ale (our only soda).
Mom used to get American cheese, but I liked it individually wrapped and she wouldn’t pay for the ostentatious packaging. About ten years ago I bought some individually wrapped American cheese and that’s a processed cheese memory that will last a lifetime.
Dee also likes this nasty orange medicinal tasting cheese spread stuff.
Another taste memory, hon. A cheese crock thing. Hey, you were chugging 72-oz. Big Gulp Dr. Peppers, eating dozens of individually wrapped string cheese, and utilizing the clean pile/dirty pile laundry “system” when you met me! Living in a cave! Honestly, can you say you’re better off seven years later?