THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

I'm a geek. I'm not a science genius, but I like knowing why and how things work--including cooking. What I really love is when amazing chefs and science geniuses team up and give FREE lectures. Check out the Science and Cooking Public Lectures at Harvard! Better yet, these lectures you can watch in your pjs, smoking jacket, muumuu, etc, from the comfort of your own home. Watch them...Monday nights at 7: http://video.isites. harvard .edu/liveVideo/liveView.do?name= Science Cooking Schedule Here: http://seas.harvard.edu/cooking Tonight's fantastic lecture featured Harold McGee and Dave Arnold . Any many thanks to the Hungry Musicologist over at Food, Wine & Song , for the heads up!

I wouldn't classify myself as a huge carnivore, but when I do eat meat, I like it to be good quality meat. I buy most of our meat at our local farmer's market which a) keeps us from eating too much meat due to the expense and b) makes me much more conscious of the meat's quality, how I cook it, etc. These pork chops come from Stillman's Farm , and they were, like everything I've ever purchased from Stillman's, absolutely amazing. So, when meat is fresh and of high quality, I tend to go for minimalist recipes that enhance the meat's own flavor (sometimes a challenge with pork). I had some fresh sage that I picked up at the Farmer's Market, and so a little googling brought me to Josh Friedland's wonderful blog, The Food Section . Friedland summarized the recipe for the pork chops from Suzanne Dunaway's Rome at Home . I followed his directions with one tiny addition: white wine in addition to the lemon juice. I did need more liquid after the fi...

At long last, I find myself back in the kitchen! For roughly a month, we have been dependent upon my husband's culinary talents, our local restaurants and take-out. It is amazing just how often a "granola bar" can actually constitute a "meal." So, tonight I cooked Jacqueline F.'s Pasta Carbonara ! I went to junior high with Jacqueline's sister (Monique) and through the wonders of Facebook, have been able to keep in touch with her. Knowing that I like to cook, Monique shared Jacqueline's blog with me and I'm VERY glad she did. I love how Jacqueline writes and the recipes strike me as pretty no-nonsense--major plusses for a food blog! I've been subjected to pasta carbonara in a heavy cream sauce before, so I was happy to hear that cream shouldn't even enter the picture (according to Jacqueline). I will admit that I felt a compulsion to add white wine--I didn't--but I wanted to. Perhaps it is some subconscious belief that wine will cu...