MAD HAPPY TO BE HOME

I arrived home to the the incredible aroma of the crunchy sesame chicken wings, (MH p. 126) wafting thought the hallways before I even opened the apartment door.  It's so funny (especially to those of you who may have heard my tour talks) that my husband was so proud to say that he'd actually followed HIS own recipe in my book. I had to pin him down for the right formula when I wrote the book and even though its a perfect recipe he continues to ignore it and riffs (unsuccessfully, I might add) on it and it is never as good as the original. Guess what?? He finally admitted to the value of sticking to a tried and true plan. 

Already, I've done 2 long doggie walks (my aged brown dog stands at my side) as new puppy explores AND I will just say once how happy I am to be reunited with all the Quinn males I live with.

Thanks to everyone who purchased Mad Hungry at the Martha Stewart Craft Fair this weekend. Wish I could have been there too but I know my rocking colleague Lauren took good care of you. 

Am off to the Columbia farmers market because its 11:30 a.m. and I've already been asked that burning question, What's for dinner? Some things never change!

SALT LAKE CITY: MAD HUNGRY TOUR FINALE

Early morning flight to Salt Lake City--beautiful, dramatic descent over the Wasatch mountains. Morning TV and a tour of Park City before final signing at The Kings English book store: cozy and cool, another great vibe indie book store alive and well as a thriving community center. Dinner, champagne toast and reflections on the most amazing odyssey this book tour has been. Folks, we live in a diverse, dynamic FREE country. Let us never forget!

We're going home now.

Thanks to everyone. One Love. LSQ

MILE HIGH CITY

The first thing you realize AND everyone tells you when you arrive in Denver is to be mindful of the altitude. At 5,280 elevation above sea level you need to get acclimated, meaning beware of dehydration, lack of sleep, dizziness and shortness of breath. Lovely--on city 24 of this 25 city tour I'm already trying to stay one step ahead of such conditions. Still I was excited to party a little since yesterday was one of my rare light days, but I was scared into having only one measly margarita (and 3 glasses of water). Per usual we've crammed in a lot.

First real shopping led me to www.crybabyranch.com--the most awesome cool western store in Larimer Square owned by Roxanne who is one of the brightest lights in Denver. Her collection is so carefully curated--baby and kids stuff is amazing and for me--I zoned right in on the collection of small artisanal jewelry makers and also the homemade cowboy boots. Check it out if you can.

Lunch led us to a hip neighborhood called The Highlands and The Squeaky Bean--another little foodie gem where we ate delicious simple food. The soup was as good a rendition of autumn squash soup as I've ever had. Pictured above, Butternut Brodo poured over Kabocha puree inside roasted delicata squash garnished with sliced apple and a little celery. It was rendered so well! Every town we've been in has these emerging little gems of eateries: its a new style hard to explain. Young cooks with dreams just open up shop and start doing their thing in a sort of underground way. The day ended at the Colorado Museum of History. Denver is the western architecture of my imagination. Our hotel, Brown Palace is old school to the max, of another age but with all modern amenities--probably my favorite so far. Just getting ready to head over to The Tattered Cover for a signing and tasting at 7:30. Am really looking forward to being in this legendary store.

But, here is the what I'm happy about right now. My son, tour partner , basketball fan and all around really great person who has helped me deal so much said when we arrived in Denver--I wonder if the Nuggets are playing in town. Their star Carmelo Anthony is one of the most exciting players in the NBA. Low and behold--they are playing here tonight at 8:30 (even after my signing) against the Miami Heat and another of his favs the exciting Duane Wade. I called everyone I could and miraculously managed to snag 2 tickets. He is beyond the beyond psyched which is the best thank-you I could have ever give him. Now I'm mad thirsty and have to go drink more water .

P.S. If you leave a comment, especially a smarmy one--at least please leave your name anonymous.

Thanks

AZ PM BOOKS/PIZZA-CO AM SNOW

Changing Hands book store in Tempe AZ is one of the most amazing independent bookstores I've ever seen! The collection is extraordinary and the staff same too. Knowledgeable, kind, opinionated (in a good way)--a community place just vibing good literary vibes all around. Thanks to Rachel for her creative book pick for me which I'm loving, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larson-- a totally original book of fiction. Also, to all who came down to talk about MH--and buy books to, I'm very grateful.

Any food folk who go near Phoenix must eat at Pizzeria Bianco. Some say its the best pizza in the country. For sure the ingredients, crust, toppings, cured meats, cheeses, olive oil, local greens etc--all top of the line. And, masterminded by the unique force of nature Chris Bianco (profiled in Martha Stewart living may 2009)--it all comes together flawlessly. The pizza crust is crispy yet chewy--not to thick but not too thin either. Dates from a tree outside were wrapped in Prosciutto and wood fired to perfection. It's simple and straightforward food--just how I like it; carefully handled and simply executed. Next door is a little wine bar housed in an historic old building moved to the property. A great end to our AZ travels. Beautiful 60 degree evening.

And arrived this morning in snowy 20 degrees Denver: love this weather too! Check it out:

PHOENIX AZ

This is yet another American city I've never been to with its own flavor and style just like the others. And, it has the most amazing weather too (ok I get why people come here for the winter). Today high 69--chilly in the morning and no humidity. Glorious citrus trees are growing all over the place and yes, in true tourist fashion--found the first great looking cactus (which goes with the man theme lol) to photograph which lives in the front yard of where the radio show Culinary Confessions is broadcast.

This morning two TV shows and two radio shows filled up the morning. Midway through, son announced his intention to hike Camelback Mountain located right between Scottsdale and Phoenix. While it sounds fun, I was worried he'd drag me up there too (in my clogs-like in Cincinnati) but wisely he didn't. So, I was left with a few free hours to plan lunch (natch).

But, I'm so excited over dinner plans (more on that later) that I needed to keep it light. Low and behold--it turns out famed integrative Doctor Andrew Weil has a new restaurant near my hotel call True Food Kitchen, foxrc.com where, I was told, "they actually make health food taste good." Skeptical as I was (this is rarely the case in a restaurant), I ate my lunch there solo: an awesome Grapefruit, Uzu and Agave drink started things off and my meal, brown rice, tofu and mad green veggies was so damn good I couldn't believe it. He has a formula that works-- an excellent menu, great ingredients and cooks in the kitchen that can actually pull it off

Tonight we'll be at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, so come on down should this be your neck of the woods. Tomorrow off to Denver and Boulder. Btw, Cathy Erway at www.noteatingoutinnewyork.com is having a fun MH giveaway. Check it out.

THANKSGIVING LEFT-OVERS ROLLED UP

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I got the idea from my interview with The Washington Post (see clip on right side). I had fun up there making crepes for a stroy on MH which ran a week ago Weds and justifiably needed a Thanksgiving angle. The reporter Bonnie had a great idea to make the crepes and use them for Thanksgiving leftovers the next day which seemed great for the story. But, once I confronted the practical need in my home today--I realized it was a really good idea. I made a batch of crepes, stacked them on a plate and covered with plastic and left it on the counter along with Tupperwar containers of sliced turkey, cranberry, sauce, gravy and slies of cheese. Each awaking human rolled their crepes as preferred, placed them on a plate and microwaved for 1 minute. The cheese does the job of holding it all together once melted and creating a creamy texture. I loved it so much!

I went for a walk, did some shopping and returned and all the crepes were gone, gone, gone. It was a good plan--one I'll repeat and a good change from the expected sandwiches we usually have. One other thing I thought about during the meal this year is that I like my cranberry to taste cranberryee, my pumpkin to taste pumpkinee, my apple pie to taste apple-ee. Too many recipes have us mask these incredible natural flavors with a thoughtless jumble of spices. But, if you use restraint, they can just support instead of mask the original flavors.

Now for some some left-over apple-ee apple pie.

THE T-GIVING BIRD

I am having a blast preparing the turkey. Weber-grilling is the path I take in order to keep the ovens free for everything else. Above shows the grill prep and then--a 360 of the beauty while cooking. Recipe in Mad Hungry. Happy Thanksgiving all.

TAG TEAMING

For those that have at least one able bodied moderately semi-adult human in their house, it is good to cultivate the tag teaming approach (as I've been saying in my cross country raps). Case in point here. I took some ribs out of the freezer and suggested (asked) first born son who was home to season them and get them into the oven well before I got home from work. Then I said--I'd wrap the whole dinner up with a few other quick dishes once I got home at 7. I wasn't sure if he listened or heard me or was willing to comply therefore, I was really happy to come home with 30 minutes left on his clock. He made a rub, see MH p. 165 for guidelines: to his own specs (lots of fennel seed) AND when I got home, I added some water to the pan cause it was carmelizing and drying up BUT--it was smelling good and his other brother even said so too so I didn't want to complain. I made a quick rice pilaf, p. 180 ( always a fav) and oven roasted some cauliflower (just cause we had it in stock) and put the whole deal on the table and 3 of us sat down to eat. Hubs is traveling, middle child is at work so there you have it. Nothing fancy but, so good and satisfying and at the table we chatted too about seemingly nothing but everything--eventually.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Practically the first thing I did when I got home Saturday night was make dinner. Headed for a basic tomato sauce with spaghetti, I ended up with Amatraciana (just red onion, bacon, hot pepper and tomatoes). The recipe is in http://www.amazon.com/Lucindas-Rustic-Italian-Kitchen-Lucinda/dp/0471793817. And, thanks to hubs excellent shopping which he did before heading out on a business trip to Las Vegas, I also had some broccoli to steam. Along with wine; organic red from Pasanella & figlio, rosso wine (the flavor w/value incredible $10.99) www.pasanellaandson.com the meal was mad comforting. And, if spaghetti is the first thing to make upon a return home--lunch the next day was equally as simple; a tuna sandwhich. These are very small pleasures which add up to big and good feelings because cooking at home is the most normal, simple and essential thing you can do.

ONLY IN SEATTLE

Coffee happy hour is a good idea. Leave it to Seattle to have it. And, since it happens in the crumpet shop near Pike Place market it's impossible to pass up. Crumpets with tart gooseberry jam. One of the things you notice about Washington state immediately, food-wise is all the fruit; berries and apples and cherries. Plus the seafood: crab, salmon, shellfish--in such abundance. And, yes I ate it all. Including a potato and onion peroshky. Wondering how I've handled all the food pounds we're eating on this tour? The answer is--not entirely well. Without my daily walks with the 2 doggies--I am slightly expanding around the waste and need to deal immediately (nice timing heading into Thanksgiving lol). Our hotel, smack dab in the middle of Tom Douglas-land (he, the chef of great repute in Seattle) thank-you publisher Artisan. Tom and his crew are still on point after all these years. All of his restaurants are excellent www.tomdouglas.com: Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery, Lola, Etta's, Serious pizza. Food made with the best freshest ingredients executed in several different styles and we ate at 3 of them. Every meal was perfection.

Seattle TV was chill, one of which was near the Experience Music Project (crazy structure pictured above) which started out as a Jimmi Hendrix museum and morphed to include more--all owned by Microsoft's Paul Allen. On the way--the Needle, built for the 1962 Worlds Fair looms--still is an imposing scale even in the 2009 landscape. I liked visiting the University Bookstore at U of Washington to sign books and meet some really interesting people like Paulette who inspired. Thanks to Joy for helping with all. I like the vibe in Seattle. It feels very authentic, organic, statuesque and wild. And, like S.F., it is an incredible food city. Therefor, I am sucker and a dork with the fish at Pike Place market.