[Sca-cooks] OT (?) Winter Favorites

[Chris Stanifer]

The 'beef per gallon' thread got me to thinking about my now-too-infrequent Autumn and Winter
walks along the riverbank, and the favorite foods I always seem to make (and crave) this time of
year.

As a seed for discussion, I'd like to open up with a few of my favorites, and invite anyone else
to saunter with me down Memory Lane, and add their favorites to the list...

1) The riverbank, a sharp snap of chill in the air, a light haze of fog rolling off the water, and
an audible silence which is so often lacking in the hustle and bustle of the city a few miles
away... my toes are cold through my shoes, my ears and nose are sharp with the river-chill, and
the soft sigh of my exhale is clearly visible as tendrils of smoke and mist.... I carry a thermos
of rich, piping hot homemade beef broth, and a crusty baguette in my knapsack.  Somewehere,
through the mist, a large bird lands on a nearby tree, and a snapping twig frightens a small
creature just out of view.

2)  A roaring fire, pushing the groping hands of Winter back towards the walls, back towards the
pale shadows dancing across the eggshell and artwork.... the air is thick with the warm,
comforting aromas of woodsmoke, freshly brewed coffee, and the salt-and-pepper scent of a large,
beefy roast in the oven.  I don't often roast anything in the Spring or Summer, but find myself
yearning for them when the air turns chilly.  They seem to take me back to my childhood days, when
I would come in from playing in the bitter cold, chilled to the bone, and be immediately embraced
by the comforting aroma of a perfectly seasoned roast in the oven, and the image of my mother
standing over a pot of freshly-mashed potatoes, as if she were guarding the secret to their
perfection.  To this day, I am unable to replicate her mashed potatoes...

3)  Huddled under the blanket, early winter morning, a fog delay or a weekend.... I can smell the
warm scent of freshly baked biscuits wafting into my room from the kitchen....followed hard upon
by the sweet, buttery, creamy aroma of my favorite southern biscuit topper....Chocolate Gravy !!! 
"Does anyone want breakfast?".... how could you not??

William de Grandfort

=====
Every heart to love will come... but like a refugee.


		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail