Bon Appetit

Was reading through the September Bon Appetit and trying to relax before heading out to work today and came across a couple of things I loved in the magazine.

First off in the travel section which is about the Bahamas it gave reference and pictures to Tippy's which is on the Island of Eluethera and right next door to Betty's house. Betty is our neighbor, well she is more than that, but let's just leave it at that for today's blog post. In the aerial photo you can see Betty's house to the left of Tippy's. She also owns the property that is vacant in the upper left of the photo. I believe it is two acres and it is for sale if there are any interested buyers out there. Scott and I spent a lovely 2 weeks there this past March. It is paradise.

Another shout out in Bon Appetit was for Hungry Mother's which is in Cambridge, Massachusetts and whose pastry chef is a Norfolkian and school-mate friend of my daughter Molly's. Her name is Heather Tirrell and here is a link to her new blog. I also love that their logo is a Cardinal, which is a very significant bird in my life.

I was inspired by the magazine and with only a few minutes left before heading to work, I pulled up the Bon Appetit website to have a look around and there before me was an article stating that Portland, Maine is this year's Foodiest Small Town in America. Wow again. Molly lives in Portland and we are heading for a visit toward the end of the month.

Food is such a big part of my life. I love everything about it.
It made my day seeing places I know and love highlighted in a national cooking magazine. Thanks Bon Appetit for the many years of enjoyment and recipes I have garnered from your pages.

Well that was fun!!

Patti and I had a wonderful time doing another segment for Connecticut Style yesterday morning. I arrived at her house to pick her up at 7:15 and we managed to get on the road by 7:30 with food in tow and ready to go. Oh dear, now I am a poet!

When you arrive at the station you need to call them so they can let you into the locked doors, however Patti forgot Connie's phone number so we just hoped an angel would help us out and we were not disappointed. Within less than a minute there was someone to help us into the station, coolers, plates, cookbooks and aprons in hand.

We were then able to set up completely for the shoot in a very quite studio. Quiet except for Big Daddy, Moody and a few camera robots lurking around. We love all of them!

With everything set and ready to go we went to the "ladies room" to polish our unkempt hair and put on a "dab" Huh! more makeup! As we opened the door out of the studio who was standing there ready to walk into the studio but none other than the star of the show, Miss Sonia. Lots of hugs and kisses.

Hair and makeup fixed we went back to the studio to get ready to shoot.
I wore the apron I highlighted in the previous blog post and Miss Patricia wore a VERY SPECIAL apron signed by the grand dame of cooking herself, Julia Child.

5..4..3..2 "we're ready to shoot?", I exclaim.

Yup..1...and off we went. No time to fret or prepare thoughts, just off and taping...and then it was over.

Patti and I are preparing our next segment so stay tuned.

Vintage Aprons

Last spring when we were first asked to do a segment on Connecticut Style, Patti and I thought of bringing back a time when life was slower paced and food was home cooked (not packaged in a cardboard box ready for the microwave). We wanted to hear stories and memories of yesteryear and the food that brought families together. We still would love to hear those stories and hope through this blog, more stories and recipes will be shared.

I have been known to go a bit over the top when I get "into" something. I research it and want to be true and accurate. It can be a little annoying to some. Sorry. This was my approach a few months ago when Patti and I started Meals~Memories and Messages. I started searching out at tag sales, thrift shops and eBay, items and cookbooks that were from eras gone by. I love reading the pamphlets that came with refrigerators and other appliances and I will share them with you in the days ahead. Some of them are true gems.

The other item I started collecting was vintage aprons. How glorious it feels to wear one and bake a pie. I had rarely worn one in the past while cooking, instead ruining a fair amount of clothes over the years with stains and even burns. But now I have seen the light.

I have hostess aprons (not REALLY meant for serious cooking) and aprons that wrap all around by body and even have pockets. I have a few workhorse aprons that I know were tenderly used by a women I will never know to make delicious meals. They are hand-sewn and smell like Crisco and all things wonderful even after some washings.

This beauty above was given to me recently by my daughter for my 50th birthday.

I love these aprons and will share more of them in future posts. Do you have a favorite apron? Share it with me here.

Connecticut Style. Hope you will watch.

Yesterday, I received a phone call from the producer of Connecticut Style asking Patti and me to be on the show this coming Friday. Sure I said, completely unsure as to how we could pull off a segment with just a couple of days notice.

Patti and I brainstormed and thought of doing a segment on school lunches that were prepared with love my mothers and fathers of days gone by. But we could find little inspiration or recipes, for that matter. PB &J, bologna and american cheese or tuna sandwiches did little to inspire a segment worth watching. ( If you have a favorite school lunch meal, memory or recipe please do share).

Hmmmmmmmmm.

Having just blogged about Julia Child as an inspiration for my passion for cooking, I gave Patti a call and left her a message suggesting some of Julia’s recipes. She called back loving the idea and so that is where we will go with the segment.

This morning I pulled out my cookbook The Way to Cook to look for inspiration and a recipe or recipes that we could do in a matter of minutes on a television segment. I think I have found them, but I need to check with Miss Patti and see what she thinks. You my friends will have to watch the segment to see. See you there.