At the store today they were promoting probably mulled wine. The guy left for a moment so I got to try a small bite of the chocolate-covered lebkuchen, like we got stale from Uncle Ernest every year and had to write thank-you notes before opening.
I’m thinking of my own trifle. I actually have madeleine pans, imagine that. But I bought some ladyfingers and I’m thinking of ladyfingers brushed with Framboise, layered with a light (fattening) chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries. Perhaps for Christmas. I love chocolate and raspberries together, reminds me of a mousse cake I used to make and, heaven forbid, decorate at Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino CA for owner Margaret Fox. Decorating desserts was the bane of my existence.
Margaret taught me a lot about honesty, quality, hard work and determination. She is a fixture in my pantheon of Women I Admire. Don’t laugh. Look who men admired and half of them are criminals who stole our childrens’ futures, bankers, insurance tycoons, and auto magnates. But the Bernie Madoffs of the world certainly made themselves money in the process. That is not my sole criteria for the Pantheon. It is not a criteria at all, if you’d like to know.
Honesty, integrity, a sense of purpose, love thy neighbor… I’ll get you the list once I crystallize it in my mind. Right now I have to turn on the heat, feed the dog and work on dinner. To all a good night, Dee
Cooking with Dee 
Hi Dee, I am so touched at your mention of me and the kind words therein. I’m happy to say those qualities still propel me and I’ve learned about kindness and respect along the way too. All in all, not bad for a lifetime. Hope your holidays are superb. Best, Margaret
Kindness and respect are way up there on my list, too. But I never mentally compiled a list, just know quality when I see it. Thanks and happy holidays to you as well. Cheers, Dee
Years ago a potential employer who was going to pay me $5 per hour, require me to purchase and launder my uniform, put me on garde manger and force me to learn Espanol within six months called Cafe B for a reference. They used my given name and were told no-one had ever heard of me. Then Cafe B said “Do you mean Dee? We loved her! I turned down the job and broke my finger and ended up working on Audrey Hepburn’s “From The Diary Of Anne Frank” US tour to raise funds for UNICEF. From then on I cooked in my own kitchen for my own guests. No ruby chard outside the window here, but the quality control is all mine and it’s exacting. D