If you count yourself to the species of people who have a hard time understanding the appeal of porridge and to see charisma in baked oats recipes, hey I’m with you, I completely understand what you are going through, I once was on the dark side your side. Once. Until now. Problem being, I can’t rationalize or even remotely have a logical explanation for what made me head back to the kitchen late last evening after stumbling upon Macheesmo’s recipe. Believe me, I’m not the type of girl who is easily impressed by the words oats or oatmeal, quite the contrary. Maybe reading the recipe has put a spell on me?
Last year, pretty much around the same time, we had a long meeting at my editor’s place. The sun was shining, all attendees were bursting of enthusiasm, and the location – a spacious shadowy balcony overlooking the neighborhood of Au-Haidhausen – was the ultimate place one could wish for on a hot summer day. It was the kick-off meeting for a new cookbook project.
I know. It’s been a while. But there are two major projects that keep me busy around the clock right now. Not that I’m complaining, far from it! And yet my days only have those ridiculous few 24 hours, no matter how hard I keep trying to squeeze in some extra minutes. What projects, you might ask? I’ll give you the scoop in a bit.
Some recipes need a second chance. Sometimes, all it takes is a different list of ingredients or change of environment. Both can act as a breath of fresh air to a food experience you hastily labeled unspectacular – or simply dull. Popovers are my prime example here, I had some rather unsatisfying samples more than ten years ago on a road-trip through Georgia and have done my best to not give them the time of day ever since. Until our recent stay in Carmel-by-the-sea, where we had booked a room at the Cypress Inn, co-owned by Hollywood icon Doris Day. (confession: I love Doris Day movies. Always have, always will!)
