O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a coming..

Remember that song from the Music Man? Both the play/movie and music are at the top of Verne's favorite list. I think he knows the entire dialog and definitely all the words to every song. Well, today we had a Fed Ex delivery -- the second this week. How exciting! Verne met the driver at the door and said something about the "Wells Fargo wagon"...the guy didn't know what he was talking about. More and more our references to old music and movies are met with blank stares. Guess that's another side effect of getting old! :(

Back to the deliveries...today it was a huge box of cookies from DeLucious in Hollywood. A big thank you to Bashir for such a tasty gift. So far Chocolate White Chocolate Toffee is my favorite with Chocolate Decadence a close second. What a great gift for a couple of foodies!

Yesterday, the Wells Fargo wagon brought the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, a compilation of over 20 years and 2,000 recipes from the Cook's Illustrated magazines. Thank you, Sally! What an amazing book. Each recipe begins with reasons it was chosen to be included in the book and insight from the Cook's test kitchen. That's right! All Cook's recipes are tested, unlike many books, magazines, newspapers that often include untested recipes. I've started reading the section on appetizers and intend to work my way through the entire book (almost 1,000 pages). This book is definitely going to be my favorite of 2013! I might mention, though, that you should read this book on a full stomach as the recipes are mouth watering and leave you wanting!

One final note: it was Cook's Illustrated that taught me how to bake a potato and that has been in the last ten years. Imagine that, going 50+ years and not knowing the secret of something so basic. For your information, here's how it's done...scrub the potato, rub it with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, salt it heavily with both a fine and coarse salt. Do not pierce. Do not cover, but place in an open dish and bake at 425-450 degrees for an hour. Serve immediately. The skin will be crispy (and deliciously salty) and the inside will be fluffy.