This is another collection of food blog posts which have really caught my attention and struck me as worth and saving and, in the case of the recipes, worth trying out. I highly recommend taking a look.

This particular set of posts had a certain shared quality to them, an emotional intensity and history. There were a few old family recipes and stories, long instructions on how to make some very comforting stock, an essay on the love of food, and even someone’s very favorite cookies. It fits very well with the theme for this month’s edition of The Spice is Right VII: Seasons of Love.

Melissa made a stunning fig and goat cheese clafoutis.

Eat on a door, an essay about how to eat and why, reads like a love poem. Do you recall Neil Gaiman’s introduction to that one edition of Lord Dunsany’s masterpiece, The King of Elfland’s Daughter? He said (and I am holding the book in my hands now and laughing still at the jam roll that saved the child from going to Elfland) that “[Dunsany's] words sing, like those of a poet who got drunk on the prose of the King James Bible, and who has still not yet become sober.” Patti writes like a woman drunk on the passion of Brillat-Severin, and I can think of no higher praise than this.

Stephen made charred tomato pesto after his oven-roasted tomatoes seemed to have gone horribly wrong, turning his trash into tasty, tasty treasure.

Barbara put together a detailed, illustrated, and utterly thorough explanation of how to make chicken stock. This knowledge is more precious than rubies. Chicken feet are also more precious than rubies.

Barbara also made red cooked beef with turnips a while back, though I only just noticed the post while searching through her archives. This is her take on a recipe which originally came from a cookbook I just purchased and am loving very much, Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking by Fuschia Dunlop.

Anita gave us the recipe for her favorite cookies ever, Korova cookies. That’s praise I can’t pass up. Looks like they have a very interesting, crumbly texture that I fully intend to try out.

Ivonne told us the tale of what it means when her family decides each year that it is time to do the tomatoes. I want to come visit some September and help out! Please, Ivonne, please can I? I’ll bring you loads of foodie gifts to make it worth your while.

Lisa very generously shared her grandmother’s recipe for pecan pie.

Molly has an exciting apricot recipe I can add to my collection! Oh, I do so love apricots. She made chocolate chip cookies with dried apricots and espresso. Bonnie and I made these with extra cocoa powder and extra espresso powder, and they turned out really well.

Helene made creme brulee in egg shells, a beautiful presentation of a classically delicious dessert.

I am fascinated by this recipe for sunnundalu over at Cooking Medley. I’ve never had sunnundalu, and I don’t really know what they are like. But they involve ghee and cardamom, so I would love to find out.

Saffron Hut made almond halva, another recipe involving plenty of sugar and ghee.

Meeta has an explanation of how to make gnocchi in sage garlic butter that I will have to make sometime when Dave isn’t home. (He doesn’t like potatoes. I have to sneak them around the edges, cook them in small portions, and hope to have potato-loving dinner guests.)

Ximena‘s drawing of the chef holding a knife and whisk fighting the lanky boxer is simply the most charming image ever.

Posted by Danielle in Roundups on October 7th, 2006 | 8 Comments » | Permalink