Wow, Erik, thanks for that totally generous offer! I used to be into all the intricacies of higher level cooking and with the addition of kids and a much busier schedule now have descended to "down and dirty" cooking. However, I am now ascending from the muck a bit ... if I find myself inspired (and your cooking comments ARE inspirational) and stuck I will avail myself of that phone number. :-)

Julie,

Two things: first, you are correct that it is more a matter of time than work.

Second: you might find that my tendencies lean more towards that of a professional chef. I tend towards difficult recipes, complex preparations and so forth. I figure that if I cook this way for my friends and family I will get it out of my system and avoid the temptation to actually run a restaurant kitchen. However, I try to aim what I put in here towards the home cook who is looking to serve good food, so my recipes tend to emphasize using leftovers creatively and designating a cooking prep day to put together things like glace that makes cooking easy (and still good) for the next six days.

Once in awhile, though, I simply cannot resist the urge to post recipes like Tuna Tiramisu that require a lot of steps and techniques.

If you ever find yourself bogged down in one of these recipes, feel free to call me at (510) 261-9596 to scream "accck! I have three pots of pinkish goo on my stove and am totally lost!" I am not always at home, but if I am I will be happy to help any reader who needs an emergency assist in the kitchen.

I always have shied away from making glace de viande both because of the work involved (although I realize it probably is actually more the "time" involved) and the fact that I have never seen anyone except a professional chef recommend this. They don't always have reality on their side when talking about food so your comments are making me rethink it. thanks!