Awesome.. those are fantastic pictures. Do you buy your flour in bulk? I found a bakery-supply warehouse around here that sells 50lb bags of KA unbleached and hi-gluten flour for less than $0.40/lb... less than half of what the grocery store... if you can get your flour like that, it will make up for the high energy bill ;o)

Good Morning Danielle and Merry Christmas . I wish we had such a place here . I can get flour from our local natural foods store but it is very expensive. I used to run a food coop. Did it for 8 yrs back in the 80's. The food was ordered in bulk and we divided it up. It was delivered to my home in an 18 wheeler. I long for those days. Noone in this area does that now. Lo carb diets and all that:)

Thank you for looking. We had a great time. You have a wonderful holiday . c

I dont post much here anymore but I still look and read everyday on kitchens/decorating. I have to tell you that you truly amaze me trailrunner. You take the time to snap pics and post all of your wonderful homemade foods for us to enjoy. I wish I had half of your energy! You give off such a warm vibe and your food is prepared with love, it shows. When I grow up I wanna be just like you ; ).

Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday and keep up the delicious cooking!

Excellent slide show! Is that a new kitchen in use in the pics?

We enjoyed Christmas cooking in your new kitchen, and even thought of putting a big red bow on it somewhere for Christmas morning. (After all, we spent all the Christmas present money on the kitchen this past year)

Mike & Beth

that's too bad you don't have a big warehouse near you-- we live in a pretty busy area and this particular place supplies King Arthur flour to much of the east coast. They also have Plugra butter at 2.35/lb (vs nearly 9.50/lb at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods).

Anyway, I really enjoyed your slideshow-- I used to do a blog where I put pictures of everything I cooked and ate-- not much time for that now, but food is certainly fun to photograph.

dd: you are sweet to take the time to look and to post a note. I love what I do and invest a lot of myself in my baking and cooking. It is therapy, of a sort, to help with other things in my life. The running and biking that I do also helps.

If I can bring the joy of cooking and sharing to others then that makes me very happy. I like to see others get involved with their families and sharing the gift of food is a wonderful way to do that. There is some very good Phd research out there on "mealing" as it is called. You might be interested in looking it up.

Mike and Beth the kitchen was finished in time for Thanksgiving 2006. So this is our 3rd holiday celebration in it. I love the idea of a big red bow around the whole room !! Have a joyfilled holiday too.

Danielle: I can get anything I need from DS1 who is a chef locally. His restaurant is very fine dining and he purchases things that I then buy from him . I also cook some things for him and grow things for him...edible flowers etc. Here is a link to where he cooks. click on the wine dinner , special events to see all of the ones he has done for the 4 yrs we have been open. DH and I both work there.

THANK YOU ALL> c

Here is a link that might be useful: son is chef here .

This is the first year in a long time that we didn't make pizza for Christmas Eve. We usually shape the crust like a Christmas tree and decorate it with garlands of red, green, and yellow peppers and rounds of pepperoni! I enjoyed your slide show. Pizza is so festive.

trailrunner, those are fabulous, and I'm shocked how reasonably prices! Wish I was there dining right now! May I ask, what is Plugra butter? My personal favorite is www.strausmilk.com Organic sweet butter. Bet you are the person to ask, I have been hooked by White Anchovies, not packed in salt, but in lemon oil. Do you know where they are sold? Does your son know of Sean Sheridan in Pasadena CA? Wine pairing dinners are fabulous!

Trailrunner, is your crust partly whole wheat? It seems like it might be from the pictures.

OT aside about food coops: I belonged to a natural food buying club for the 16 years I've lived here, and finally stopped ordering a couple of months ago. The prices weren't any better anymore, and it wasn't worth it. In the 70s -80s I was a staffer at a nat'l foods coop storefront, before the days of grain bins. Everything was in bulk in big barrels on the floor. My husband and I met there the day he moved to town to start grad school! I heard the coop was closed down last year, by the IRS! It started as a kind of anti-war bastion during the Vietnam war and lasted exactly 40 years. I loved those old food coops, they were more than just a place to buy food. You don't see many of them around anymore....

Sorry to go OT! Your pizza party looks like a lot of fun!

bodica: My son is lying here on the sofa and wants to know it you or your friends need a personal chef ?? LOL.

He does not know Sean. My son and DIL graduated from the NECI in Vermont.I looked up Sean's restuarants, they look great.

He said the anchovies are Spanish and you should be able to get them at La Tienda. Boquerones. He said the oil and vinegar ones are the best. I hope you will get to this part of the country some day. Please let me know.

hey egg ! You are right about the food coops we really miss the one we had. They are not the same at all anymore. There is not ww in the crust. I will post tomorrow. I don't have the cookbook out. THANK YOU !!! c

Yes, lol, and a maid, LOL!
After the Bistro and then Papashon, he returned to being his own boss catering.
Half Moon Bay "Red Ginger" (exceptionally beautiful space still available if you're interested) chef was a favorite and last I heard, he is now a private chef for a movie mogul traveling the world. Devils Slide closing Hwy 1 destroyed the perfection they had created, Huge loss for us, I still cry, but hope he's happier than ever. Crab Landing just opened with a two story view of Pillar Point Princeton in the Harbor Village Mall. I'm most eager to dine there, I'm hearing good reports so far. www.Oceanohalfmoonbay.com have a delightful chef in their lounge. Nothing quite like upscale room service, lol. Most people have no idea how hard the work is behind the scenes.
Thank you so much for La Tienda, one taste of the white anchovies and I was addicted. Do you serve them? I first tried them showcased as a salad and I'm so glad I did!
Haven't been in your neck of the woods for a long time and would love to stop down to explore next trip to Indiana.

Will pass along to DS1. He has gone home now. He lived and cooked in McMinnville OR at Nick's and also at Rosario on Orcas and then in Bellingham WA at The Fino Cafe. They can't take the dark weather out there. We are glad to have then here now. Since 2002. He loves to look at what other chefs are doing. A lot of restaurants are closing....will be tough for a lot of places. If you ever get down this way would love to have a chat and meal. c

Caroline, wishing you all a wonderful Christmas weekend and a happy, healthy, creative New Year. Look forward to seeing you again.
hugs,
R.

Bodica,
Plugra is European butter w/ higher fat content than regular American butter. It's especially good for pastry, croissants, etc since stays relatively pliable even at cold temperatures.

After all the food I ate on Christmas Eve and Christmas day I didn't think I would want to eat for a long time. I even passed on breakfast this AM; - at the moment I am dying for one of those pizza's!!!!!!!!

Sorry bodica I didn't answer about the Plugra. DS1 uses it for his desserts. They have a nice website with recipes .

Ah Holly ...I love pizza for breakfast :) Have a Happy Holiday !! c

it is really nice.