The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for February 18 - 22, 2008
Something different this week

I'm away again (it's a time of a lot of travel for me these days.) And this time I neglected to bring the little cable that connects my camera to my computer, enabling me to download pictures into this newsletter. SO, my choice is to wait until I get home - not until late on Sunday - or to send you a newsletter with no pictures. and my thinking is that there are still, sadly, some of you who tell me that you cannot even see the pictures I send but you keep reading so perhaps the rest of you will indulge me this week and accept words without pictures. I'll bring the camera cable from now on. Promise.

One big point I want to make before I share this past week's journeys is to say a huge huge thanks to the gang at 67 Biltmore. All this time while I have been traveling they have been cooking, greeting, writing, answering, responding, making it all work. This, working with these people, is a joy for me.


Kentucky

I'm here, writing to you and waiting until it is 10 so I can go to meet my sister for morning coffee. After that she is going riding (that's her big thing) and I am going to go meet the new baby, Bailey. Tye is here with me, sleeping in a pool of sun on the carpet near the dining room table in my sister's house. Lewis, my sister's Jack Russell is asleep in a pool of sun that is falling on the platform to the huge folk art dollhouse she has here. This dollhouse is gigantic, five feet tall - or more. It was hand-made, hand-carved, the result of the imagination of a true outsider in the world of art. My sister bought it a number of years ago and actually completely reconfigured her house to accommodate it. The house sits on an astro-turf platform and Lewis is happy asleep and, no doubt, warm.

Seattle

I just came from there. The weather was pretty lovely. We were able to walk on the rocky beach out in front of Chris's house one morning, tiptoeing across barnacle-covered stones down to the edge of the water. That day was sunny and warm. The water, flat and smooth, changed only when a huge ocean-going ship passed by out in the sound. The ship, loaded with things headed out to sea, too far away to hear, gliding, gliding, gliding north. But then, just when its passage had traveled beyond a short memory, the waves came, first slipping and then, if the ship was big enough, crashing against the stones, barnacles clacking, hissing, readjusting. It's not correct to say that it rains all the time in the winter. It doesn't.

Dinners to go

Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

As a reminder, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go.

Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!

Here is this week's menu:



Monday February 18 Lemon Chicken Florentine 9.95
Tuesday February 19 Lamb Kebabs with Couscous and Pine Nuts 12.25
Wednesday February 20 Hungarian Beef Goulash 10.25
Thursday February 21 Meatloaf with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes 10.75
Friday February 22 Shrimp and Basil Cakes with Aioli 11.95

Our website
Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week, usually on Wednesday. Order before noon and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. (Yes, you can order in advance too.) Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

Say, we'll happily make a salad and provide bread for you if you like, just let us know when you call and we'll get you all set up.

Wednesday, February 20
Chipotle BBQ Chicken and Tamale Pie
Full: 32.50
Half: 16.25

Weaverville


I came home briefly, dumped out the dirty clothes, filled up with clean things, and headed back out. Yesterday the sun poured onto my yard, warm and soft. I've been trying to decide where to put my bee hives. I don't have them yet but I have drawn them in my notebook and I have filled out the order form and I have reserved enough bees and I have talked with a friend who is going to give me her opinion. And I have thought and thought about where they could live best, realizing, mostly after talking with Chris, that right in the middle of my yard is probably not the best location for them. Something a bit more out of the way is probably better.

There is an enormous Beech tree on the property and yesterday I saw how sunny it was there. The spot I had been thinking of was in full shade. Now I know the light will change, but still, that sunny under-the-tree spot is probably going to be bee central.

But remarkably, as I was standing looking back there, I noticed bees! Bees in the Oregon Holly. Bees on the new crocus flowers. Bees on the rosemary. Bees. Everywhere. Tra la! These bees live somewhere else right now, but some will soon live with me.

Chicago

I'm doing some consulting out there at the end of the week next week. As I flew over the country on the 14th I shivered, seeing the thick snow. My colleague there tells me about all the snows they have had or are expecting. I don't know how she manages to run an event-planning business in this weather. Every time we speak she is getting ready for the next blizzard. Makes me happy for sunny, more temperate places.

Washington, DC

And then, as soon as I get back from Chicago, I am going to Washington (I know, WHO was the organizer of this silly schedule?)

But this trip, if you like, could include you. Here's how it looks:

On Sunday the 24th I will be doing a reading and book signing at Woodberry Forest school (Actually I'm not sure I can invite you to this one...)

And on Monday, the 25th I'll be doing a cooking demonstration, reading, and book signing at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Oops - this one is just for their students.

On Tuesday I will be a guest at a big event for Ovarian Cancer in Washington, DC. Some of my colleagues will be cooking. It seems like a good event for a good cause (I am an ovarian cancer survivor so this hits close to my heart) so I'm sure you could go if you wanted to.

And then, the next night, I will be reading and doing book signings at Willow, a lovely restaurant in Arlington, Virginia owned by Tracy O'Grady and Kate Jansen. That event is a "local exchange" event for Women Chefs and Restaurateurs but you could attend if you'd like to. I would be delighted to see you. Either call Willow or e-mail me for more information. The event starts at 7:30 and Tracy and Kate will be cooking. YUM!

Willow restaurant
A Note From Laurey

Well, this whole newsletter is like a note this time. Sorry I forgot my camera cable. I do have some cute pictures this time, not that I can show them to you. But maybe, if a picture is worth a thousand words, some words will suffice for no pictures.

There's the one of Spike, the Seattle Jack Russell Terrier who lives with Chris. He's living out his Jack Russell Terrorist name a bit more these days. One morning he ripped up the bathroom rug. Later that day he shredded a paper shopping bag, spitting little bits of it all over the stairs and the carpeting. But this picture, of him in his festive red sweater, gives a completely different impression. He's dapper, collegiate almost. The sweater covers his front legs and his back but is cut so that his belly and back legs are exposed. And Chris is a gal with a sense of style, so this is a stylish sweater, modern white circles decorate the red wool. Spike struts around in it. "I'm sharp. I'm sharp" he seems to say.

I have another picture of him sporting his new Hawaiian shirt. (The dog clothing folks do well with we who have no children of our own.) Chris found it for him on her recent jaunt to the islands. It is flowery, as you would expect, but is brown and gold and white, subtle and sophisticated. The little sleeves are full, like on a person's shirt, and it is an entertaining sight to see, his little (albeit incredibly strong) legs, poking out. He cocks his head, quizzically inquiring - "Is there something funny about me?" Yes, there is.

I did not get the picture of him racing around the house with my socks. He's a good packing helper, but his idea of it is not quite the same as mine. I put the socks into the suitcase. He takes them out, roars down the stairs, tiptoes back up, sock in mouth, flees as soon as i make a lunge toward him, up and down, up and down. Only by offering Chris's slipper do I get my, by now soggy, footwear back.

Oh well. Next time.

Thanks for listening to my little tales. I like it when you tell me about liking them. Here I sit, wondering where these words will go after I send them. Thanks for reading and telling me to send more.

I'll be in touch next week.

The new baby

Nope - I haven't seen her yet but I will leave soon, right after writing to you, and will bring my camera and then, when I am home I'll put the pictures on my computer and so NEXT week you can see her too. My sister says she looks just like my niece did where she was born, head full of dark hair, sweet round rosy cheeks.

Having this new baby fills me with joy, the comfort that new life lends. I wish her well, send softness to her parents, her brother, the dogs, and everyone else. Taking on a family is a big deal. It is not something I ever did, though to be sure, my business is a family in many respects - it certainly is a responsibility. But little Bailey, in my thoughts, fills me with hope. Can't wait to see her. Soon. Soon.

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