Happy Halloween

I have a number of updates for you today. I realized in reading back over some postings that I haven't been very good about updating.

But before I do that I have to relay what I made this week. I cooked up the motherload legume and veggie stew, which saw me through three lunches and three dinners. It had a medley of dried beans, fresh Romano beans, purple bok choy, Romanesco broccoli (these last three from the Dupont Circle market), garlic, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. I think that's it, though I feel like I'm forgetting some ingredients. Oh, aleppo pepper, which I've been looking for and finally found.

And I whipped up a pineapple upside-down cake in my cast iron skillet because I'm trying to get better at baking. Next I'm trying my hand at pie, probably the Cook's Illustrated method, then a layer cake. I should mention that we're not eating all these sweets by ourselves.Not that there's anything wrong with that ;). I've been good about sharing at the office.

Onto the updates:

• I never gave a report on the cooking classes I've taken thus far. Well, actually, I guess I did on the knife skills one, but I never mentioned that the other two I'd signed up for were cancelled. Boo hoo. And, of the two I recently registered for, only one has happened; the other (Pasta 101) is in a couple weeks. The Fall Beer Dinner was lots of fun. We made mussels in beer with bacon and cheddar breadsticks; grilled veal chops with a beery mushroom saute; beer-battered potatoes and onions; haricot vert; and apple and amber beer crisp with raspberry crème chantilly. Drooling?

• I'm still volunteering at DC Central Kitchen as often as I can. I try to do it every week, but it's so popular with big volunteer groups (think: office teambuilding activity) that it's hard to get in! I'm not complaining. I'm just happy that they're getting the help they need to prepare all the food - 4,000 meals every day!!

• Lastly, I guess you figured out that I didn't make the cut to be on Mad Men. Sigh. Big sigh. Tear. Many tears. Waaaaaaaaa. Oh well. I hope Roger waits for me (and that the show's on the air for another couple years) because I haven't given up on that drink.