i feel how mena trott feels lately:

“Do you know that sort of block you get when you haven’t posted in a while and you just can’t bring yourself to take the time and think about all the stuff you’ve processed in the time spent away? That’s how I am feeling right now; as I write this, it’s gradually subsiding.”

meg hourihan blogs about her one year anniversary of eating at the french laundry and credits the wonderful book The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman as inspiration. first though, you should read his book about the culinary institute of america called The Making of a Chef. i love both of these books. Michael also helped write the abundantly beautiful French Laundry cookbook. i found out about the french laundry (old site) after reading a good book on the history of american cuisine, called american appetite which singled out the restaurant as the best in america.

The Making of a Chef is wonderful and scary, raw in the way One L is to prospective law school students. right now matthew is reading One L, recommended to him by uncle david at katie’s high school graduation, and he now wants to be a lawyer. i listened to One L by Scott Turow on tape with my parents as we drove from austin, texas to chapel hill, north carolina on the way to college. and it scared me senseless. i practically had a panic attack thinking my first year of undergrad at carolina would be as emotionally wrenching as the first year at harvard law. it wasn’t.