Scarlet Letters

I made this for my family while my mom was visiting, but I started it too late and so nobody had any. It is delightfully still in the freezer and all mineminemine. As soon as I crowed about this on Facebook, y'all were asking for the recipe. Always happy to oblige... CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE ICE CREAM 1 1/2 c. heavy cream 1/2 c. milk 3/4 c. sugar 2 tbsp. cocoa 1/8 tsp. salt 2 egg yolks 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 1 tsp. vanilla In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, cream, sugar, cocoa and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and cocoa is well-mixed. Whisk yolks in a small bowl. Stir in about 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the yolk and whisk to temper them. Return egg mixture to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook mixture on stovetop until it reaches 160 degrees or it coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate (chocolate chips are better than the one-ounce blocks for quick melting). Then add vanilla. Let cool, cover a...

I'm calling out everyone who bitches that we don't need Thanksgiving or the 30 days of thankfulness because "we should be thankful every day." That's true, of course. We should be thankful and remember our blessings every day of our lives. But human beings are what we are: imperfect. And anything we do every day, see every day, think every day becomes just that: everyday. Normal. Background. We no longer notice the beauty of daily blessings when they are our normal state of being. The menfolk left Wednesday night after Jimmy got off work, so he could deliver Ian to his father for Thanksgiving (it's his turn) and spend the weekend with the enormous Gillentine clan and with his kids. I have to work on Friday, so I could not go with them. In fifteen years, I have not traveled for Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's the job. I did bake a pie, however, and Jimmy is under strict orders to bring back my pie pan. I'm not really used to the house being comp...

Tis the season to cook until your family begs you to stop, the fridge is full already. I suppose I should be happy that the Boy snuck the green bean casserole out of the kitchen this morning, because nothing says "teenage boy breakfast" like vegetables. *shrug* So here's a few recipes folks have requested! With special thanks to Mom for her recent visit, which gave me an excuse to cook a lot! MIDNIGHT MASHED POTATOES 6 potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. butter + 1/2 stick 1/2 c. milk 1/2 c. sour cream 2 tbsp. parmesan 2 tbsp. chives 1 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp. onion salt 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. fines herbes Chop and boil potatoes until tender. I prefer my potatoes to still have some chunks to them, and I never peel them because I like the skins. So mine still have a little firmness to them when I'm done. If you like yours super-smooth, skin the potatoes before you chop them and boil them a little longer, until they break apart...

Every author does this, I don't care what they say. We compile playlists of music that we listen to while we write. Jimmy's currently on the Les Miserables soundtrack. I wrote one of my best books listening to the Schindler's List soundtrack on repeat. In honor of the official release party for Dreadmire, here's the playlist. I always save them, to play at room parties. Save your mockery - I have eclectic taste in music. That's the word for it. Shaddup. "Fields of Gold," Sting "As Long As You're Mine," Wicked soundtrack "Bad Moon Rising," Creedence Clearwater Revival "Bring Me to Life," Evanescence "That's All I've Got to Say," America "I'll Be There," Escape Club "The Unforgiven," Metallica "The Last Unicorn," America "Love Walks In," Van Halen "Somebody Help Me," Full Blown Rose "Whithin You," David Bowie "Iko Iko,...

... or, please don't. I think I'm going to end up running this every year, because ever since Alan Moore's damn graphic novel became a damn movie, we're going to see people running amok in V for Vendetta masks advocating freedom from some oppressive evil government force. Or something. It makes me historically cranky. So let's get this straight: • Guy Fawkes was not trying to overthrow a theocratic, repressive government; he was trying to create one. King James began his reign by offering religious freedom, at least the best that time period could envision. Only after constant threats of violence if he did not convert to the Catholic faith personally, and the Bye Plot, which was a failed plan to kidnap the king and hold him until he agreed to reinstate the Catholic Church as the sole faith of England, did James get cranky and begin persecuting Catholics. • The November Plot was to assassinate King James, to kidnap and install Princess Elizabeth, a...