Charlie Dean’s Blog

On Sunday, I talked about Thomas Aquinas’ six ways to commit gluttony.  I found them pretty amusing, so here they are!

⁃    Praepropere – eating too soon.
⁃    Laute – eating too expensively
⁃    Nimis – eating too much.
⁃    Ardenter – eating too eagerly
⁃    Studiose – eating too daintily
⁃    Forente - eating wildly

I’m not sure exactly what he had in mind in terms of “eating wildly,” but I’m sure I’ve done it, since I’ve most assuredly committed the other five!

I spent a lovely night last night with some lovely friends, eating an amazing meal at a great restaurant.  Here’s a note that the chef wrote, that appears on the menu:

chef’s philosophy

More and more, we as a culture don’t enjoy our food – we need it, and so we get it, as fast as we can, as cheap as we can and as boring as we can.  I believe that food is about an experience of flavors and texture, technique and creativity, friends and family.  It’s about enjoying life.  My menu is here for you to enjoy with all of that in mind, and i promise to continue to create, change and be inspired so that you can enjoy the experience.

If you know me at all, you know that this resonates deep with me.  I believe food, drink, laughter – everything – is spiritual.  I believe that we are whole beings – body & spirit – and that the two are intimately related to each other.  So good food, drink, laughter, meaningful relationships are a significant part of life.

(okay, this post sounds preachy or something… i can’t put my finger on it…)

So, we return to a cooking blog today…

On Sunday, Jennifer and I hosted a family Christmas celebration with her dad & step family.  It was not-s0-much gourmet as more of a traditional family dinner, served buffet-style.  But, here’s what I served up:

• Maple – Bourbon Turkey – I’ve made this turkey 3 times now and it’s AMAZING.  Here’s the master recipe, although I’ve been evolving it.  I simply won’t make a turkey without 8-10 hours of brining and using a thermo-probe.
• Apricot-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing w/ Andouille Sausage & dried cranberries — one of my favorite stuffings, although it was a little drier than I was hoping for because I didn’t stuff it — should have added more liquid.
• Garlic-Mashed Potatoes – about 50/50 Russets & Yukon Golds with several cloves of garlic thrown in.
• Maple-Ginger Sweet Potatoes – new (to me) recipe from Cook’s Illustrated — I was very pleased.  It wasn’t so cloyingly sweet as Sweet Potato Casseroles generally are.