Tag Archives: Elizabeth Webber Akre

Dining al Fresco Out of a Brown Box

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

Ok, I am not IN a brown box. But I am in love with a brown box. This past Saturday was my second delivery from Brown Box Veggies. I am their new biggest fan. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the “Veggie Girls” stock up a big box of fruits and veggies to deliver on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month. They reach out to as many local farms as possible to grab what’s fresh and what is being harvested right now. Then, they pack the box FULL of what they’ve found and sell it to people like us for only $22! I couldn’t duplicate what I received for $22 in a grocery store, and the produce was fresher and didn’t go bad on me before I could use it all.

Brown box #1

My first box was so beautiful, I almost cried when I opened it. Even my little one got excited helping me unpack. The box contained broccoli, parsley, tomatoes, spinach, kale, Carolina Sweet onions, squash, zucchini, pears, oranges, potatoes and asparagus. A true cornucopia. We used every bit of it with delight.

This past Saturday was my second go-round. Sorry that I didn’t take a photo of box #2- we dove in and never looked back! This time, we received Carolina Sweets, cabbage, collards, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, radishes, romaine, corn, strawberries, apples and dill. Lots and lots of dill. I’m talkin’ about two humongous bunches, each about 3″ around and 12″ long. My head is reeling trying to figure out what to do with all of it. This week might be the week I dive in and try to make my own pickles.

But, first, dinner. Of course, when you think of dill, one of the first ideas you have is salmon. Since my daughter is eating salmon (happily!), I’m cooking it every chance I get. I whipped up this dinner and we ate al Fresco on the patio. Now, my title makes some sense, huh? Salmon with dill sauce, sauteed pea pods, and yellow rice.

Salmon with dill sauce, sauteed pea pods, and yellow rice.

Salmon with dill sauce, sauteed pea pods, and yellow rice.

Here’s what I did: I salt and peppered two 6oz. (skinless) salmon fillets. I placed them on foil and topped each with some slices of Carolina Sweet onions and lemons and wrapped up the foil tightly to enclose them. I baked them for about 20 minutes or so at 350°. While that was happening, I mixed together these ingredients to make a sauce:

  • 2 Tbsp. light mayo
  • 2 Tbsp. sour cream
  • 1 Tbsp. white wine
  • 1 1/2 tsp capers
  • 1 tsp finely chopped Carolina Sweet onion
  • 1/4 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp horseradish
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt
  • pepper

Then, we just drizzled the sauce over our salmon and devoured it! I’m a sucker for anything pickled, so I think I’ll add a few more capers next time. I have actually eaten capers out of the jar with a spoon before. (The first step is admitting it, right?) Thank you Veggie Girls for my jam packed boxes of loveliness. And, you may be the reason that I finally embark on this pickle making project. The idea of canning is a little intimidating, but I can’t let all this dill go to waste! If any of you need some dill, I can hook you up.

Elizabeth also writes “Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef).” She loves all things food and wine and how they fit into our lives.

Brown Box Full of Green. And Red. And Yellow…

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I love Facebook.  I’m always amused to hear someone say “I don’t do the Facebook thing” because they have no idea what they’re missing!  Yes, it’s fun to reconnect with old college friends, play games (I was once addicted to the Mafia) and laugh at funny photos.  But what I really love about it is how much I’ve actually LEARNED from Facebook.  You may ask, “like what?”  Well, let me tell you.

I learned about Pinterest! Thank you FB people. I also learned about Zaycon Foods via Southern Savers’ posts.  Huge thank you there.  Just this past Friday I got my delivery and now have 20 pounds of beautiful boneless, skinless chicken breasts resting comfortably in my freezer.  Most recently, I learned about Brown Box Veggies from my blogger buddy April’s  Facebook  page.  I’ve been telling myself that I wanted to belong to one of these vegetable co-ops but haven’t come across one that I felt was really affordable for my family.  Some of them are just plain expensive and they send so much produce that I was really more afraid that we wouldn’t be able to make a dent into it before it started to spoil.  But, I’ve now found the answer…Brown Box Veggies.

Here’s how it works: you place your order and pay for it on their website.  They deliver on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month.  The BBV people work with local farmers to spotlight their produce in their boxes. So, each time you order, you’ll get an assortment of what’s in season.  Then, you choose one of the many distribution points they have around town for pick up.  In my case, I picked up at the Ole Timey Meat Market on Rosewood Drive, which is so close to my house I can walk there.  Chances are you’ll find a pick up location close to your neighborhood, too. Now, here’s the best part of all: this beautiful bunch of goodness is only $22.00.  It can’t get more affordable or more convenient than that.  And if you’re like me, any opportunity to support local farmers and merchants is golden.

Brown Box Veggies

I placed my first order a couple weeks ago, and I was eagerly waiting to get my veggies on April 6th. My daughter and I went to the market to pick them up and when the lady opened the box to show us what was inside, we both squealed with delight.  (Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but you get my drift!) Ours contained the following:  Carolina Sweets onions, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, spinach, parsley, apples, oranges, pears, asparagus and red potatoes.  I was absolutely thrilled.  I’ve been telling everyone I know about it ever since Saturday morning!  Brown Box Veggies also offers a salad box and an all-fruit box.  The BBV lady also showed me one of the salad boxes and it was equally beautiful…lettuces, tomatoes, avocadoes, just to name a few.

Spinach is one vegetable that I’ve always loved.  I cooked it last night by simply sautéing it with garlic and touched it off at the end with a little lemon juice.  It was perfect.  In fact, my husband has determined that this is how I should cook it from now on. I did some reading online about these Carolina Sweets.  I didn’t know anything about them until now, so I’m excited to experiment with them.  I am thinking something like an onion tart so I can showcase the onion itself.  Have you ever cooked this type of onion before?  Suggestions?

ElizabethIf you’re interested in fresh, healthy fruits and veggies from our home state, I suggest you check out Brown Box Veggies.  I am certain I could not have bought everything that came in my box for only $22.00 at the grocery store.  And, it can’t be any more easy and convenient.

Support local!

Elizabeth also writes “Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef).” She loves all things food and wine and how they fit into our lives. 

Simple, Sublime Key Lime

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I met Neil in 1997. He was born in Florida, but when I met him, he’d recently landed in South Carolina after 15 or so years in the Norse Land (you may know it as Minnesota). Over those years, he’d been back and forth to FL, since his parents had moved back down there. As we got to know each other, I learned a lot of interesting things about the places he has lived: practically everything in America was invented in Minnesota (’cause they spend half the year locked up in their snowed in houses just thinking up stuff?), when racing jet skis on TV, wear bathing trunks with a drawstring waist (MOOON over Miami), Ducatis are the only motorcycles worth owning, and most importantly, real key lime pie is NOT green.

Up until this point, key lime pie never really piqued my interest. At. All. But, turns out, it’s Neil’s most favorite dessert on Earth. As he was letting me know this, he also told me something I’d never heard before: real key lime pie isn’t green. Lime pie is green, perhaps. Food coloring helps, too. But a real key lime isn’t the same as the big limes we all see on a regular basis. No, key limes are tiny- like the size of a ping pong ball- and that’s considered a big one. And, key limes are way more tart than “regular” (Persian) limes. In fact, these little green orbs will turn your cheeks inside out…that’s how tart we’re talking about! So, Neil advised me of this: if you see a “key lime pie” in a restaurant that is green, know this: it’s not real key lime pie. Just say NO.

See the size of these little babies?

Soaking up some sun

Well, here we are all these years later, married and with a wonderful little girl. I’ve been making key lime pies for awhile now. The first time, I bought a bag of key limes from the grocery. Like I said, they are tiny. So, I cut them all in half, clutched them in my fingers and juiced them one by one. When it was over, I could hardly unclench my fists and was convinced that I’d just given myself incurable arthritis. I vowed that as much as I loved Neil, this was his one and only homemade key lime pie.

The life saver

The life saver

Lucky for him, I was browsing around Williams-Sonoma one day and lo and behold! I discovered you can BUY key lime juice in a bottle! Now, this was a game changer indeed. I bought a couple bottles of (really) expensive juice and ran right home to bake up a pie. Months later, my sister was visiting and saw this primo juice in my fridge and said something like, “You know you can get this in the grocery store, right?” Bahh wuhhh? So, my little sister drove over to the Piggly Wiggly and returned with four bottles of key lime juice for the price of my two Williams-Sonoma bottles. But, no worries…now we’re in business! I can make Neil’s fave anytime I want. Easily, inexpensively and all year long. Good thing for him, because I was never juicing those little limes by hand ever again. Never, ever, ever, again. Period.

Fast forward to today. I now have the most awesome juicing tool ever invented. Good thing too, since this Christmas, my parents found a key lime bush that has been cross-bred with a loquat, so it can withstand colder temps than they have in Florida. So now we’re growing our own key limes on the patio! I wouldn’t be so excited about this if it were not for my juicer, especially since I’d vowed never to juice those things by hand again! Of course, you just can’t beat the bottled juice, but if you want to go old school and juice yourself, you must get one of these. Plain and simple.

You just need this for any kind of citrus juicing…go get one!

This weekend was St. Patrick’s Day, and we were having corned beef and cabbage at my inlaws’ house on Sunday. The only thing I had on hand that I could whip up quickly that was remotely “green” was key lime. I was able to harvest one of our tiny baby limes to garnish and the pie turned out terrific as usual. The crazy thing is how easy this recipe is. Most of the time, you use a graham cracker crust, which is quite delicious. But one day at the grocery, I came across a granola crust, which I’d never seen before. I used one for this latest pie and it was terrific. In fact, it was better than a plain ol’ graham cracker crust. I think this will be my new “go to” for these pies.

The low-down on key lime pie is this: don’t waste your time with “regular” lime juice, either juice your own little tiny key limes or buy the key lime juice…there IS a difference! All you need is 1/2 cup juice, 3 egg yolks and a can of condensed milk. Mix until smooth, pour into pie shell and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Another must-have: egg separator

Another must-have: egg separator

Good eggs are important

Good eggs are important

Look at that beautiful yellow!

Look at that beautiful yellow!

Freeze egg whites in individual packages for future recipes

Freeze egg whites in individual packages for future recipes

Then, cool for about 10 minutes before refrigerating. Garnish as you wish, but rest assured, it wil be happily consumed decorated or plain Jane!

Garnish or dive right in...your call!

Garnish or dive right in…your call!

Elizabeth writes Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef). For more thoughts, stories, musings, and opinions about food, please visit and subscribe.  Eat, drink and be merry!

Finally! Something New For The Lunch Box

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I struggle with the lunch box dilemma every week.  My child is a lot like me in that she must have variety.  I have friends who talk about how their kids eat the same lunch day after day, but I could never pull that off with the Vivver.  She can be really gung-ho about a certain food, but if you overdo it, she’ll turn off real quick.  So each week, I cruise the grocery store looking for inspiration, new ideas, something, anything. One thing we don’t do is the stuff I always wanted as a kid…Little Debbies, Doritos, cookies.  Yep, I’m one of those moms who tries to keep my baby away from processed food in a bag.

I was recently asked to do a cooking lesson for Vivi’s Girl Scout troop.  The group consists of Daisies (Kindergarten-1st grade), Brownies (2nd & 3rd) and Juniors. The Girl Scout guide suggests teaching healthy snacks, but I thought to myself “Snacks?  That’s not exactly cooking, now is it?”  So, I put some thought into what snacky ideas could actually teach some cooking skills and still be age appropriate.  I’ll be blogging more about this once I get the photos (yep, I asked a friend to be my photographer).  It was a great time with all those little girls in the kitchen! But one thing I wanted to go ahead and share now were the Mini-Cheeseburger Pies.

Cheeseburger Pies

This is a recipe by Betty Crocker…I did not make it up.  I made it with the Girl Scouts and all of them loved it- including my little one.  Then, I had a light bulb moment and realized this would taste just as good at room temperature, so it’s a lunch box candidate!  So, last night I made another batch. As usual with me, I tweaked it a tad.  For instance, I used a little less than 1 lb of meat, used a little bit more cheddar, a little more Worchestershire (this gives it a great little kick of flavor), and I sauteed a pretty good portion of onion.  The result was a 10.  I ate two of them right out of the oven!  This morning, I heated a couple in the microwave then wrapped in foil, hoping that would keep them a bit warm for Vivi’s lunch.  I can’t wait to get her review after school today.  Now, I will admit that this isn’t the most low fat recipe, but since my child is extremely active and burns it up with karate, ballet, basketball, I don’t worry so much about that.  Of course, using turkey will be just fine, I’m sure, so that’s one way to lighten the fat.  I think this recipe also lends itself to sneaking in other vegetables that won’t really interfere with the “cheeseburger” nature of the pies. If you want to try it out on your kids, here is the recipe. If you try a new twist to the recipe, I’d love to hear about it below!

Chicken Salad: The Food With 1000 Faces

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

You know how certain regions have specialties like barbeque, chili or crab cakes? Each version of a dish is different. It all depends on where you are and who’s in the kitchen.  Chicken salad is one of these foods.  The first time I went out to Colorado, my sister’s friend asked me what I’d like to do for lunch.  I casually said something like “Oh, you know, something simple like where we can get a sandwich or some chicken salad or something.”

<<crickets and tumbleweeds>>

I was quickly informed by my sister that “out there” nobody knew what chicken salad was. I found that so curious, but it caused me to start observing where, when and how I saw chicken salad prepared and served.  And, like barbeque, chicken salad is as varied as the people who make it.  Here in the South, it appears on almost every menu that serves lunch or casual dining.  We make it for our picnics, church gatherings, bridal showers and a quick weeknight supper.  You’ll find it on crackers, in a half of a cantaloupe, stuffed into a tomato, on a croissant, on lettuce, on bread or in a phyllo shell.  But the real diversity involves the ingredients.

Here’s something you may not know about my sister and me.  We hate celery.  We have a seething loathing for celery.  Unfortunately for us, the rest of the world seems to think these heinous stalks are a requirement in many dishes, chicken salad included.  I was in a nice restaurant in the Vista for lunch one day.  They had a chicken salad croissant on the day’s menu, and I asked my waiter if it had celery in it.  He didn’t know, so he went to the kitchen to ask.  He came back and very excitedly said “Yes!  It does!.”  Oh great, I’ll have the turkey reuben.  But, I get it, most of you like the stuff, and I’ve learned that I just have to ask and see if it’s in there.  Another common ingredient is onion.  I’m not a fan of this one either.  Raw onion just seems too “in your face” for chicken salad. There are some, like my mom, who will take one bite of raw onion and not finish the sandwich.  So, she’s learned to ask.

One of my favorite preparations includes tarragon mayo, pecans, green grapes and, occasionally, some pineapple.  Other times I like a simple chicken salad with mayo, salt & pepper.  But over the years, I’ve had some really creative ones, as well.  For instance, curry, apple and raisins are nice complements to chicken.  Or, slivered almonds added to the simple salt and pepper variety.  Or the old fashioned kind with pickle relish and hard-boiled egg mixed in.

The point of all this is that to me, chicken salad has always been a mainstay “around here.”  I love the fact that no matter what restaurant you choose or whose house you might be visiting, it’s going to be different every time you have it.  It’s the perfect salad for a light lunch, an elegant finger sandwich, a dip for crackers, or to roll up in puff pastry and serve as an hors d’oeuvres. I hope this simple little dish has finally made its way out West.  Those Coloradans would gobble it right up.  They’d probably dig some Southern mustard-based barbeque, too!

Elizabeth writes Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef). For more thoughts, stories, musings, and opinions about food, please visit and subscribe.  Eat, drink and be merry!

The Spice Rack(et)

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I’ve been grocery shopping since I was a teenager.  As my mom’s real estate career took off and she had to work late at times, my dad, my sister and I became very domestic. Dad learned to cook, I started reading cookbooks, and Katherine and I did all the shopping.  When my dad decided to teach himself to cook, he went all out.  He didn’t have any interest in making french toast for supper or making a killer spaghetti and meatballs. No, he decided to cook the dishes he likes to order in a restaurant, so it was Veal Oscar and Lamb Chops with Pesto Cream for us!  He also came up with some dishes, and my sister and I made the list for those meals and all the other stuff in between.  Armed with that list and a blank check, we’d hit the Irmo Winn Dixie and shop away.  Interestingly enough, even though we had a blank check with us, we became meticulous label readers and comparison shoppers.  Each week we would come home and unload all the bags onto the counter so we could visually survey just how much we’d been able to buy for “our” money. I can’t put into words how valuable and educational this experience was for us.  And it carried us into, and has remained with us through, our adulthood.  Just the other day, I saw just how much that experience had taught me.

Cayenne pepper I needed cayenne pepper. As I often do, I stood in front of the spice area in the store and started scanning the shelves from top to bottom.  I’ve known for a long time now that this is an area of HUGE profit in the grocery biz.  Most people arrive at the spices, spot what they need, conveniently right at eye level, pick it up, toss it in the basket and off they go.  NO!  BACK UP!  YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG! That’s exactly what “they” want you to do!

Packaged herbs and spices are one of the biggest rackets in the grocery industry.  If you’ve ever grown herbs yourself, you know how little it costs. Most major grocery chains have their own private label, which I truly believe, comes from the same place as the brand name spices. For the most part, they carry the usual suspects (basil, oregano, sage, garlic powder, etc.) and some of the more interesting and special herbs and spices.  Then, there are the pretty little glass jars that attract most people’s attention.  They look much prettier than the grocery store brand, and they are much more interesting than the old school ones that are still in the little metal canisters that we all remember from the 60′s & 70′s. I imagine it being like that scene in “Finding Nemo” when Marlin & Dory happen across the spooky, terrifying fish with the hypnotic light on the end of its antennae…it’s so pretty.  So, most folks see the pretty little bottles, grab that cayenne and continue on without a second thought.

Zatarains Cayenne Pepper If you continue scanning those shelves, like I did the other day, you may find some pleasant surprises.  In this case, I wanted cayenne pepper.  The little glass jar of pepper (at eye level) was $4.49.  Just one shelf down (about hip level) was Zatarain’s cayenne for $1.49.  Same number of ounces, same ingredient, different shelf, dramatically different price.  See, that’s what “they” are banking on. They have studied our nature and know that most people will spot what they seek, grab it and go.  But, seriously, a $3.00 difference?  It’s simple robbery on the spice route!

Look one shelf down and you’ll encounter the special blends such as Cajun spice, blackening spice, or Creole spice.  The price tag is offensive to me.  Read the label and you’ll probably find that you have all those spices at home in your cabinet right now.  You don’t need a sketch of Prudhomme on the label to make it authentic.  But, the advertising and marketing geniuses are betting that you either don’t know this or are too lazy to mix up your own stuff.

Ok, I have one concession to this rant.  Maybe you (I, we, they) are simply too busy or just not inclined to spend this time or attention to this matter.  No big deal.  Do your own thing, ride your own ride.  But, if you’re like me most of the time, you want to find the true value, the true deal and spend an honest buck. If that’s you, devote about 5-10 minutes to really check out your grocery store’s herb/spice aisle.  You may be surprised and enlightened by what you discover.

The King of the Crustaceans

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

LobsterI have appreciated lobster from an early age. As special occasions rolled around, my mom would present us with broiled lobster tails and drawn butter, which is just about the simplest yet most pristine preparation for this ultimate luxury food. By the time my sister and I reached middle school, we were completely hooked. But of course, lobster isn’t cheap, so it was reserved for special occasions. Back then, some friends of my parents owned a nice restaurant called the Stadium Steakhouse. As you can imagine, they made steaks, but they also had an entrée on their menu that to this day, I’ve never seen in any other restaurant: Danish lobster tails. So, when we celebrated our 11th, 12th, etc. birthdays or were celebrating a ballet recital or softball win, we always asked to go to Stadium Steakhouse, where we always ordered Danish lobster tails. Sadly, these little delicacies were the victims of over-fishing and I’m really not even sure if anyone in the world serves them at this point.

As I became an adult, lobster remained one of my ultimate special treats. One time, Food & Wine magazine published a “lobster primer” to teach those of us who are not Down Lobster At HomeEasterners how to properly cook, dismantle and enjoy a live lobster. We all gathered at mom and dad’s and indulged together. Later, when my cookbook addiction really got rolling, I couldn’t resist Jasper White’s Lobster at Home. I have read that book cover to cover and have stared at the photos forever.

Before I got married, my mom, sister, my aunt and I started taking Mother’s Day trips together. We went to Chicago, where we shopped at Michigan Avenue, ate pizza, and saw Fiddler on the Roof at the Chinese Theatre. We went to Amelia Island and stayed in the coolest B&B, took a boat out to see the wild horses at Cumberland Island, and found a shrimp shack right on the dock. So, when my turn to plan the trip rolled around, I knew exactly what we were going to do. We were going to go to Maine and eat lobster like there was no tomorrow. Long story short, we stayed in Boothbay Harbor and my mom and I managed to have lobster in some form for every meal except two.

Now, I’m married and have a delightful 6 year old. She’s always been a good little eater with an adventurous spirit. She’s a shrimp fan, loves steak, thinks green beans are for everyday use, while she hates chicken nuggets and won’t even think about eating cereal in the morning ☺. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but lately, wild-caught Canadian lobster tails have been on sale at almost all of our grocery stores. When Publix advertised lobster tails B1G1, I almost fell out of my chair. Once I regained my composure, I headed to Publix and swooped in. My head was spinning with ideas but I realized that there was one recipe and its picture that I’ve turned to over and over again in that cookbook. That was the one; it was the obvious choice. I knew I had to make Jasper White’s “Pan-Roasted Lobster with Chervil and Chives.” As you can probably imagine, I had no luck finding chervil around here…not even Whole Foods carries it. Luckily, Jasper clued me in that I could mix fresh parsley & fresh tarragon and get pretty close.

It’s a fast paced recipe and timing is everything, but oh man!, it is worth it. My husband and I were in heaven with the lingering aroma of flambéed cognac in the air, while my daughter just dug in and discovered at this young age, like myself, that lobster is indeed nectar from the gods. She loved this dish so much that the next day when I asked her opinion about dinner, she said “I’d like lobster.” Yeah, me too. Since then, we’ve taken advantage of these awesome sale prices a couple more times. For Christmas Eve supper at my parents’ house, we had corn chowder with shrimp, crab casserole and pan-roasted lobster. It was heavenly and a perfect meal for one of the most festive nights of the year. And, I realized something. If you keep your eyes open and watch the prices you can serve lobster for as little as $5.00 a person. Jasper White’s title Lobster at Home is perfect. You can have it at home and it can be just as special and marvelous as a restaurant on fancy date-night!

If you like this, you can subscribe to Elizabeth’s blog Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef) or simply like it on Facebook.

Our 2012 Blogging Year in Review!

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As we move into 2013, we thought it only appropriate to take a look back at 2012 and share with you some of the data from our year in blogging.  (If you click on any of the images below, you will get an enlarged view.)  Thanks to all of our readers for helping to make the Every Woman Blog a success!  And a special thanks to our amazing bloggers who truly bring this blog to life and share their lives with us!

We hope you enjoy taking a look back at 2012 with us :)

Your 2012 year in bloggingYour 2012 year in blogging-1Your 2012 year in blogging-2Your 2012 year in blogging-3Your 2012 year in blogging-4

The New Year Is Soon Upon Us

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I hope this post finds everyone fat, happy and still experiencing the spirit of this holiday season. The ornaments and lights have twinkled and lit up our homes. The stockings were hung and delightfully filled. Church services have been attended and filled up our hearts. And then of course, there’s the food…

All of the baking is done, given to friends and probably all eaten. The hams and turkeys have been baked, feasted on and made into sandwiches yesterday. Many sweet potatoes, green beans, biscuits, butter beans, various casseroles, cakes and pies have been happily consumed. Families gathered around tables to share a meal, share their time, and make memories with each other.

And then there’s the New Year. I think New Year’s Eve kind of gets ripped off. I love wine as much as the next gourmand, but I feel sorry for New Year’s Eve. All anyone (in America, at least) seems to focus on in celebration of the New Year’s arrival is alcohol. Nobody plans a New Year’s Eve dinner party. There’s not an “official” New Year’s Eve food (Thanksgiving corners the market on turkey, Christmas and Easter get ham, Hanukkah is filled with challah and latkes, July 4th is busting at the seams with barbeque and Halloween has a monopoly on candy.) But, poor old New Year’s Eve has nothing (food-wise). Champagne, martinis, fine wine and craft beers are great, but without good food, well, you know what can happen.

Personally, I am not a New Year’s Eve fan. What I mean is that I have no desire to go out on this night. Being crammed into a bar with a zillion strangers pressed up against me, spilling stuff, yelling in my ears and then toasting with a plastic glass of Asti Spumante is not at all my idea of a good time. I’d much rather celebrate in my home with good friends, good drink and good food. In fact, what I’d like is a true, authentic reveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre.

I spent the fall semester of 1988 living with a French family in a suburb of Rennes, France. One of the coolest things I experienced was the reveillon. This is a New Year’s Eve festivity to welcome and celebrate the “reawakening,” a new year with a Midnight repast. This was one awesome party/celebration/meal. Probably the best one ever. My sister had flown over to spend Christmas with me and my French family. My host family’s friends down the street planned this reveillon, which was an event that my French teachers never really talked about.

Here’s how it went: We all got together around dusk. We gathered at the table and had aperitifs (kir, Pastis & water, wine) and cheese with fruit. Then, we got up, some of us worked in the kitchen preparing for the next course, drank, danced, listened to music, drank. Then, we all sat down again for the next course, which this night was raclette. I’m sure somewhere in America you can find this appliance, but I’ve never seen one. It’s basically like a table-top salamander. Each person has their own individual, shallow tray on which you place a slab of your favorite cheese.

You place it in the salamander (broiler) until the cheese melts and bubbles. Then, you pour this melty deliciousness over cold boiled potatoes, carrot sticks, bread, crackers, whatever you like. At this juncture, we opened the first bottle of champagne. The first of about 4 cases of champagne. After the raclette, we all got up, moved around, stretched, danced some more, etc. I was finally catching on. We drink, drink, toast, drink, toast, sit, eat, toast and drink, take a break and then we come back to the table and do it again. Now that all the champagne is flowing, I may mix up the order of some of the dishes, but you’ll get the idea.

Over the course of the evening, we had Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops), giant langoustines, filet mignon, a myriad of cheeses (which, in France, is truly a culinary journey). Then, midnight came. This is when it really got going. More champagne corks flew, and then we were on the move. That’s right…down the street we all went. We went to everyone’s house on the cul-de-sac and marched on in to wish everyone a Bonne Année. It was like a New Year’s Eve congo line. We literally filed through all these houses giving everyone the good ol’ French double cheek air kiss, wishing each other “bonne année.” After all of this, we returned to our homebase and popped more champagne. Now, at this point, I can’t even remember what we ate next, but we continued to snack, drink, snack, drink until the sun came up.

Eventually, my French family, my sister and I made our way back down the road to our home. It’s funny when you wake up in the morning, eat, drink and party all night and then don’t go to bed again until the next morning. Takes a couple days to get your circadian rhythms back in order. The reveillon is something that my sister and I have talked about every year since we experienced it. It was a fun, festive evening unlike any we’d had here at home and we both loved it. We’ve often discussed why people here don’t celebrate this way. And, we’ve talked about hosting our own, of course. What we learned is that if you stretch good food and good wine throughout the evening, everyone can maintain his/her composure, keep up the stamina and have one heck of a New Year’s Eve!

Oh yeah, I learned one other valuable little tidbit. If you have a bottle of champagne that you can’t finish (I know, this rarely happens!) there’s no way to recork it, as you know. However, there IS a way to keep it in the fridge without losing the bubbles. You probably think I’ve lost my mind, but I’ve been doing this since 1988 when Nicole and Agnes taught me this trick: place a spoon, stem end down into the bottle. The spoon part will keep it from falling into the bottle. Put it in the fridge and tomorrow, you will still have bubbles. I have no idea how or why it works. I only know that it works. Try it.

Elizabeth writes the blog, Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef). Please follow it and “like” it. And comment. She loves comments!

I Love My Keurig!

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By: Elizabeth Webber Akre

I’ve never been what you would call a coffee fanatic.  I have tons of friends who claim they can’t even speak to anyone before a cup.  Others post little coffee-craving cartoons on Facebook to further educate those around them not to approach them before that first cup.  Some just plain love the stuff all day long.

In college, I, like many other students, would drag my little coffee maker to various late night study sessions, sometimes consuming two or more pots in a night.  I think some of it was just college bravado (”Yeah, we stayed up ALL NIGHT studying for that exam- lots and lots of coffee”).  Of course, the true end result was doing as well on the exam as I would have anyway and a belly full of acid in the morning!  However, I had an epiphany my junior year when I spent a semester in France…home of the coffee drinker.

I’m not exactly sure what is different about coffee in France, but it’s definitely different.  You know how awful it is to take a cup of cold coffee and try to revive it by reheating it?  It doesn’t work. But guess what?  It works in France.  My “French family” made a giant pot of coffee every night before bed.  In the morning, each person would measure out a cup, place it in a pot on the gas range and heat it up.  And it was good. Really good.  What was in that coffee that would allow this to work?  Must be some ancient French secret!

After returning to America, my love of coffee waned again because I simply couldn’t find anything here that was good enough.  So, I went years without even bothering with it.  Diet Coke was my morning caffeine fix for ages. Now, don’t get me wrong, every now and then I’d stumble upon a good cup of java.  For instance, can you resist a basket of bread and butter with a bottomless cup of coffee at the Gourmet Shop?  And, no matter what anyone thinks, Starbucks makes good coffee.  Each winter, the lovely aroma of coffee would beckon, and I although I liked the idea of coffee, I just couldn’t find the right stuff.

** Then, I discovered the Keurig **

What a remarkable invention!  Rather than making a whole pot of coffee at home and wasting half of it, we can make one cup at a time!  There’s no waiting around for a pot to brew, no one standing there with their empty cup just staring at the machine, waiting, waiting.  And, there’s tea, hot chocolate, hot apple cider and a bazillion types of coffee to choose from.  This thing had my name written all over it.  Of course, I couldn’t buy one for myself.  So, I bought one, wrapped it up in Christmas paper and presented it to my husband.  Crafty like a fox, I am!  And, here’s the kicker…I found not one, but several coffees that are worthy!  French roasts galore, full test, decaf, half caf, flavored, bold, mild.  Finally, I could join the coffee nation and actually enjoy it again.  But, what about my husband Neil?  He kept turning his nose up at the coffee.  Oh, he’d enjoy a cup of Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea, but no coffee measured up for him.  So, while I was having my $0.41 cup of coffee, he was heading down to Starbuck for his $3.00 “red-eye.” Hmmmm…what was I to do?

As luck would have it, I popped into the Starbucks in the Vista while the little one was at ballet.  Being the coupon-addict-savings-hog that I am, I immediately zoned in on the quietly advertised sale.  Boxes of Starbucks K-cups were B1G1.  What????????  The boxes were already priced less than I’d seen in the regular stores.  I quickly did the math and realized this was a heckuva deal.  I loaded up on coffee, crossing my fingers that this would finally cross Neil over to the Keurig side of the world.  Guess what?  It worked.  He was skeptical at first, but alas, he found that this Starbucks-at-home was actually Starbucks-from-the-store worthy!  (He says the Starbucks bagged coffee at home just doesn’t stack up.)