Roasted Pork Butt with Rhubarb Compote

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In high school there was a group of us, four of us. We did everything together and oftentimes everything meant breaking the rules. Of course, I went to convent school where the rules were so strict and pretty silly that breaking them, though highly offensive to the administration, was mostly innocent. There's the time I ripped my coat in half while scaling the walls to escape. For a split second or two I just hung there with my coat still attached on one side of the fence and my body on the other. My alma mater, Georgetown Visitation is connected to Georgetown University so the older, cooler students just walked by and poked fun of the poor little Catholic school escapee. Other hijinks include but are not limited to the weekly skirt exchanges where the dean called us to her office, ripped off our short skirts that we'd fringed and decorated in studio art and gave us new to-our-knees version, the day I smuggled my best friend out of school in the trunk my car because I had a note to leave early and she didn't, and the time a couple of us, after months of hiding out in the parking lot to avoid chapel were finally found out by a nine months pregnant dean who gave birth the next day.

Breakfast: Poached Eggs over Polenta

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Until ohhh six months ago I thought poaching an egg was the most difficult thing in the world. Every time I'd tried, the egg always burst apart and was an inedible mess. Turns out, poaching a delicate egg on a rapid boil isn't a good idea. Too bad it took me twenty years to figure out that a gentle simmer will yield perfectly poached eggs time and time and time again. Seriously, it's now my go-to method for eggs - easier than scrambling, I sah-wear!

Easy Dinner: Panko Flounder

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I didn't grow up eating fish. My mother had been traumatized by my grandmother's cod cakes which were forced upon her each and every Friday 'cause that's what us Catholics had to do until Vatican 2. My father, on the other hand, loved it and always grilled a swordfish steak when my mother was out. Dad would offer my brother and I a taste, but remembering my mother's severe hatred of it, we'd refuse. Such a shame it took me until I was 14 to finally try it and realize it was pretty good. That first taste lead to deep experimentation with all sorts of fish and the many many ways to cook them. 

Tasty Side: Asparagus with Chives and Lemon Zest

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We had a few weeks of summery weather and now the tides have changed. I'm wrapped in a blanket shivering at my computer and sipping hot tea because, understandably, our building turned off the heat in April. So I will do my best to evoke the essence of Spring even though I'm feeling like winter today.

Tasty Side: Avocado & Artichoke Salad

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I always thought artichokes were best left to the pros what with their prickly leaves and intimidating choke. However, I was recently at the grocery store and spied a pile of baby artichokes from California and thought I'd better give it a go. While California isn't really local, artichokes are in peak season there and they don't grow well on the East Coast. So, like lemons and oranges, some times you just have to get as close as you can and Cali is it for artichokes.

Classic Meals: Pastitsio

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When baby girl was born, I was lonely. None of my local friends were pregnant so while everyone wanted to meet baby girl and play with her occassionally, no one was interested in the nitty gritty of being with a baby all day long... and I was with her all day long. Did I mention that for her first six weeks baby girl screamed her head off day and night unless she was nursing or being walked?

Easy Dinner: Gnocchi with Creme Fraiche and Lemon Zest

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Wondering what to cook tonight? So was I the other day when I decided to take everything out of my fridge and see what's what. Turns out, I had the fixin's for a delicious meal. On friday, I'd bought fish for dinner, but then the hubby called up and said he had to work late. I hate putting a lot of effort into dinner for me and baby girl largely because she doesn't eat with the incredible gusto she use to. She's still good, but much of the time, she'll eat a few bites and then start desperately crying out, I wanna get down!