Restaurant Widow

2nd Giveaway::Fine Cooking Annual

This giveaway is now closed - please stay tuned for the next offering! For today's giveaway, I have for offer this year's Fine Cooking Annual: A Year of Great Recipes, Tips & Techniques .  This cookbook is great for new cooks.  Those who move effortless through the kitchen while never follow a recipe might find that it's a little below their level, but for a new foodie, college foodie, or someone who isn't completely comfortable cooking.  The cookbook features a wide range of recipes, many of them simple and ingredient-driven.

Even better, there a tons of pictures!  I love cookbooks with lots of pictures, so this is always a bonus for me. 

There are lots of great and practical tips for new cooks, and the recipes are written with precise instructions, even for cutting veggies.  Sometimes cookbooks - and, I admit, even myself - leave out information which might not be second nature to novice cooks.  This reminds me that I need to be more careful with that.  I need a glossary.  I'll get working on that sometime in February...

For today's comment, let me know the first thing you ever learned to cook!  I'm not ashamed to admit the first thing I learned to cook was sloppy joe.  I was really good at it.  Well, everyone was nice enough to tell me so.

First Giveaway! Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Entries are closed, please stay tuned for the next giveaway!

Today's giveaway is a hardcover, first edition of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life .  This book was THE book to read about local eating when it debuted in 2007.  The book is written by the entire familry - Barbara documents the family's migration from Arizona to her native West Virginia, husband Steven Hopp, an environmental professor whose stasticical analysis and imput is eye-opening and at times staggering, and daughter Camille, who gives recipes and meal plans for eating seasonally.

This is a great book which I always meant to review in-depth and never have, and now I am passing it along to you.  This would make a great gift for someone who is interested in getting into seasonal and local eating. 

The book is in excellent condition, and even comes complete with the flags I used to note pages of interest, so it comes pre-influenced.  I will, of course, remove the flags before shipping.

For this contest, how about everyone shares their favorite local product, farmer, source, etc.

The contest will Tuesday night at midnight; I will use Random integer to assign each commenter a number, and then again to draw the winner.

Good luck!!  

Thank You Google!

Dear Google, 

Thank you for taking me back!!  I promise to stay on top of my spammy trackbacks and always use premium forwarding.

Smooches!!

XOXOXOX,

Lisa the Waitress

Giveaways!

These days it seems you have to be a mommy blogger to get super cool giveaways for your website.  Last week, Twitter was all abuzz because so many blogs were giving away $500 KMart gift cards.  I suggested that I thought my readers were a little more Target shoppers, but still didn't get any love.  

At any rate, I sort of failed with my month of giveaways, but I still have lots of cookbooks and things to give away, so we're back to it this week.  

Of course, if you're reading this, Target, or anyone, and you'd love to spoil my readers, I think they'd love to be spoiled!

If you are from out of town and are going to enter, please be prepared to be patient waiting to receive your goods.  I am a lazy shipper.  Just being honest.

January's Dinner Update

I have 4 spots left for January's dinner; just wanted to let everyone know if you've been procrastinating!  January's dinner is sold out!  I'm hard at work on the menu!  See you then!

Winter Farm Markets this Weekend

Don't forget there are still opportunities to shop locally during the winter!  This Saturday, you will have two chances, in Worthing and in Clintonville:

The Worthington Winter Farmer's Market takes place this Saturday, and then continues after the New Year, when the doors will open every Saturday through April!  Hooray!  Even though it is winter, you can expect to find all sorts of things - apples, potatoes, squash, along with baked goods and the like - last year, there was even a farm with all sorts of greenhouse products such as lettuce and herbs.  The Worthington Winter Farmer's Market takes place at the Griswold Center, at the intersection of 23 and 161.

The Clintonville winter market is new this year, so let's all go and make sure it's a success!  You'll see many of your favorite Clintonville market farmers.  The Clintonville market will set up shop at the Universalist Unitarian Church at High & Weisheimer.

Things to do in Columbus::December 10th Edition

Last week, a reader asked if I went to all the events I write about.  I only wish!  The truth is, I rarely get to go to any of the events, because I am always working on the weekends.  I can't remember the last time I went to Gallery Hop as a "tourist," I never make it to the symphony or anything.  But I want everyone else to go to all of the events Columbus has to offer!  But don't feel bad for me, I don't mind.  One day, maybe people will pay me to go to all of these great events and write about them, who knows?

At any rate, you know the rigamarole - if you have an event you'd like to add, please let me know!

• Okay, first up, it's Thurber's birthday this week.  If you don't know who Thurber is, then you weren't an English major.  You can celebrate Thurber's birthday tonight at the annual Thurber House Birthday Gala at the Westin!
• This weekend is the C Note Art Show!  I am going to try my hardest to make it to this event.  Junctionview Studio hosts lots of artists who will be selling works for $100 a pop.  Which is really, really nice if, like me, you are trying to get more art into your life and house.  There are loads of terrific artists, so go! support local artists!!  
• This Saturday, the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus continues to bring you JOY! at the King Avenue Methodist Church. 
• There are two opportunities to enjoy Handel's Messiah this holiday season - first of all, you can head to the Josephinum Pontifical college (is it bad that I used to drink with some of the students once upon a time when I worked across the street? those boys can put it away, I'll tell you! And they love to buy!  Good kids, those soon-to-be-priests) to hear ProMusica perform the best of the Messiah in an hour (I would have loved that as a child - we always went to see the Messiah and I always fell asleep). You can also sing along with them at the Southern Theatre!
• Of course, it's Nutcracker time in Columbus again.  When I was little, my best friend Megan was a sugar plum fairy.  And I was jealous.  And the Nutcracker was yet another thing my parents took me to that I fell asleep during (I wasn't narcoleptic, just easily bored. Some things never change). 
• I love Rivet Gallery.  At least, I like it when I walk past and put my nose on the window and look at all the super cool things they have inside - I've never actually been in.  But, they always have these crazy things I wish I had in my house.  This month, the them is "Stuff This," and features tons of plushies and other cool toys.  You should totally go check it out.  The very nice thing about the plushes is they are affordable.  Of course, these aren't things you buy for your niece to slobber on, they're art.  I'm particularly fond of the pink octopus.  
• Yet another thing I've always wanted to do and haven't: go to Glass Axis and make my very own blown glass ornament.  *sigh* one of these days.  BUT. You can do it this weekend.   

Okay, I hate to make the events listing short, but, well, I have 3 doubles ahead of me and I have to get moving.  Have a great weekend!  I hope you find lots of fun things to do!

Why?

Why aren't there more late-night food carts in Columbus, particularly in the Short North?  More specifically, why isn't there a taco cart late night in the Short North?

Please, discuss.

Charleston Scotch Cake

In the winter time, I always go though a lull in cooking.  Especially when transitioning from the bounty of the summertime to the dearth of fresh things in winter.  It's dark early, I never want to go shopping, whine whine whine.  At any rate, in the winter time, I like to start baking.  I was putting an order together on Anson Mills recently and, looking through their recipes, I found something which sounded really nice. Charleston Scotch Cake.  This cake - really more of a shortbread, seemed really easy.  Indeed, it came together in under 10 minutes.  After the agonizing hour-long wait, the shortbread was finally ready.

This simple shortbread is really tasty.  The use of rice flour gives it an interesting, crispy crumb.  Hardly even sweet, I think it is well-served when made with brown sugar.  I was surprised to discover that we had no white sugar in the house, and so used all brown.  I think this made the flavor a little more complex.  I added a good bit of salt, probably a little more than the recipe calls for, because I'm very fond of salt in my sweets.  It's personal.

Anson Mills tells an interesting story that tea time in the Charleston was used for the tasting of wines, and suggested pairing these cookies with Madiera.  I didn't have any Madiera in the house, but I can attest to their deliciousness when served with bourbon!

Anson Mills seems to be very protective of their recipes, so I am only going to link to it.  While you are on their site, you might consider buying some of their amazing products - I am sad that I no longer work with a chef who makes use of them.  Anson Mills specializes in the preservation of nearly-extinct varieties of rice and beans.  The Carolina Gold rice is particularly tasty, and makes great risotto.

Open Letter to Google

Dear Google,

I love you.  I am not sure I could live without you.  I use you at least once every single day.  I have Gmail, and I have Google search on my website.  We've always been friends.

What happened?  You don't love me anymore.  

I hope we can work it out, because there are lots of people who Google places to eat and things to do in Columbus, and because you are the best search engine out there, they won't be able to find me.

Can we work it out, please?  Maybe you can just tell me what you don't like about me and I'll fix it, I promise. 

Yours truly, always and forever,  

Lisa the Waitress

(just for the record, my website is no longer included in Google searches, in case you wondered)