Thursday, January 22, 2009

"BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE"

GREETINGS FROM CARMELA'S CUCINA,

Are you as tired of the cold and snow as I am? I heard this morning that the mercury is going to go way below zero again this week-end. I am looking forward to warm summer days. How about you? Well, I can't make it to Big Sand Lake this weekend the boats and grills are all in storage, but I can still bring a bit of summer to my cucina. I am going to host a picnic!

My sons and their girl friends and my husband are on board, so I am going to turn up the thermometer, dig out the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet C.D.s and for a few hours pretend that is summer and that we are not deep into winter. And for a few minutes I will be warm, happy and surrounded by loved ones and best of all my menu is going to bring back summer memories and help me to anticipate my favorite time of year.

My cucina is equipped with a built in grill. And even though we don't use it often, it is a lot of fun to grill burgers and brats on it when the snow is too deep in our back yard to use the gas grill. Bob will pile on the charcoal and get a great fire going to cook the meat and I will round out the meal with warm herbed potato salad, just the way Brian loves it and make a big bowl of coleslaw too. Teddy has promised me that he will make homemade baked beans and to finish out our picnic I am going to whip up some cupcakes in lemon, strawberry and chocolate. I can feel the warmth already can you?

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great idea to bring summer to your kitchen! Enjoy!

Paz

Contributing Author said...

What a fantastic idea. If summer won't come to you just bring the summer feeling into your life yourself. I think I'll follow your lead and go out to dinner at one of those island grils.