Trinkets

about me

I was born in the year of the Pig... what does that tell you? I love food!
I also love friends, reading, cooking, growing fresh herbs and
I like to make people smile. Since my joke telling skills sometime vanish before the punch line I rely on my cooking talent. I take great comfort in cooking and preparing delicious delicacies for my friends and family. We live in the country in South MS, 30 minutes from the coast and one hour North of New Orleans. Go Saints! (ok, so maybe NEXT year!)
I've been married for 26 years and we have an 11-year-old daughter, Lizzie, who is a comedian, a singer, an artist, a fashion diva, a social butterfly, and a future Zaar member! Basically keeps us young. We also have 2 dogs (Lady Bird, a Wire Haired Pointing Griffon, and Tinkerbell, a Weimerdor which is part choc lab and part Weimeranner), 2 kittens (George and Izzie), 10 laying hens and Ramon, the hen-pecked rooster. Gotta love those fresh eggs!
Pet peeves?
Children's menus: fried fingers, toes and nuggets, French fries, and sugared up sodas.
Everything Hollywood; and people who litter.

Favorite Foods:

I love:
the aroma of beef roasting in the oven
strong coffee
cheese, glorious cheese!
omelettes with mushrooms, tomatoes and cheddar
Putting together unique salads in our steamy summer months and soul warming soups in the winter
Cooking a masterpiece for friends
eating a fresh mango on Pancho's fishing boat in Belize
Sipping a nice red wine in front of the fire
drinking iced tea with fresh mint while sitting in the pergola smelling the jasmine
barbecued shrimp
artichokes with melted butter and fresh garlic
Napoleons
homemade bread hot out of the oven
ginger
French onion soup oozing with hot, melted Gruyere
tomatoes
fresh herbs
potato salad
Cyrus, Alexander Vineyards
days without humidity

My fave restaurants:
Bistro 110 in Chicago
Damarco's in Houston
Little Palm Island in the FL Keys
Chuy's in Austin
Mike Cusack's King Salmon Lodge, Alaska
Nobu for sushi and Norma's for breakfast in New York City
Abel's Lobster Pound in NorthEast Harbor, Maine
Blu in Vail
Gary Danko for dinner and Josephine's for breakfast in San Francisco
Lizard Island and The Silky Oaks Lodge in Australia
and always the big search for others!

Ratings:
I know the ingredients I like to cook with and can pretty much decipher whether or not I can make a recipe work for us before cooking it, thus my ratings tend to be high.
***** means we all loved it and I didn't HAVE to change anything. Although I usually always add my own personal touch.
**** means it was very good but needed something.
*** means the recipe has potential but is not there, yet.

God bless America!

http://www.magnoliahometeam.com