When I was a little girl my father would work diligently all year long as well as to save to take the family on a yearly trip. We traveled everywhere. At each destination we would be trundled into a restaurant to eat. After each excursion the flavors from each place would stick in my mind and tongue throughout the year. At eight years old I began to experiment when I made my own lunch at home. It was not enough to go to these places, I wanted to repeat the flavors at home. My way of wanting to enjoy each vacation all year long. Of course my parents had no idea this was happening. It was not until I was old enough in my mother’s mind to assign me the chore of cooking dinner when they were both working, that a future chef would blossom.
Through cooking chores I began to experiment. When the food was eaten and the looks on my families face were not discouraging it cemented the desire to cook as well as write recipes.
Life happened, I did grow up to be a chef for some time and thousands of handwritten recipes fill boxes tucked throughout my home.
It was not until a rather prodigious happenstance that they began to fill cookbooks. I also love to write, I was in the midst of writing Light Within Cobblestones, my first attempt at a manuscript that I met William, the co-author of Dinner With Cecile and William. A chance conversation that lasted hours lead him to mentor me through the process of writing. At the end of that process, I offered to cook a special nine course meal for him and several others. Ha, ha! The look on everyone’s faces as they ate. William said, “You should write a cookbook with me.” I had no idea writing a cookbook is actually just as hard as writing a manuscript. Just taking them from handwritten notes to digital files takes copious amounts of time.
The recipes throughout “Dinner With Cecile and William” are flavors that passed through my lips in my journey through life. When I sat down wherever I have traveled and consumed a meal, I always say to myself, how can I interpret that and make a new recipe? Not only are they that, but the recipes evolved through some of my more interesting personality traits. I am known to be humorous and events that stick in my mind sometimes become recipes. My way of revisiting the event, and sometimes so I can make note or light of the situation. As you are inspired by a specific recipe, if you imagine where I might have been you can fill in the blanks yourself and travel with me. If only everyone could learn that great food can fix a lot of things in life.
As I sorted, cooked and sampled each recipe with William, then typed out the recipes we eventually chose for “Dinner With Cecile and William”, we talked about the places by which they were inspired. It was like revisiting each place.
“Dinner With Cecile and William, a cookbook” is a cooks way of travelling the globe by walking from the refrigerator to the stove, for flavors from all over the world.
Get out the cookbook, get a little flour or butter on your hands, elbows and nose, reach for a glass of wine and experience fun, unique and humorous flavors. Don’t forget to invite your friends, for an unusual meal sparks great conversation. Let your tongue travel the world and your stomach thank you.
My absolute favorite recipe is in “Dinner With Cecile and William, a cookbook”. Called Bluette Persil, it is a blend of fruit, vegetable greens and homemade broth. It is minutely chunky and takes two days for the ingredients to blend together. Follow the recipe exactly, or it will taste terrible. I am not a nutritionist but many of my recipes are specifically put together to actually enhance the digestion value. This I learned by life lessons.
I do like unique flavors and some of the recipes are designed around that uniqueness. The first time you eat something you should always take a very small taste and let it lay on your tongue. Let it simmer there so your body and mind adapt to the flavor. If you gobble it down you miss the overall effect of something different. Diversity in taste can bring a wider ability to enjoy new foods. Plus, the body prefers these differences verses eating the same old thing. Our body’s metabolism fires much better if it is not bored.
That could be said about life.
You can find Dinner With Cecile and William online.