Week in Review: Another pretty uneventful week here. The beagle won at Westminster, Everybody came home. Lindsey made it back from New York, Bob returned from Memphis where he was helping some guy celebrate his retirement by playing harmonica at a blues bar on Biel Street, and Stormy returned from her Portugal/New York vacation. She brought me a little dish, some Christian Dior paper dolls, and an evening bag. She stayed for Sunday night supper. Here I am stirring the spaghetti sauce on the second day. It makes our house smell like an Italian restaurant.

Do you wonder, sometimes, how you are perceived by others? I recently got a phone call from a woman (an acquaintance, not a close friend) who had spilled red wine on her blouse and wondered if I knew how to remove the stain. I didn't, but I ran downstairs, got on the computer and googled red wine stain removal. I relayed my findings to her and hung up the phone, feeling good about being able to help out another human being.

Then I started to wonder, "Why did she call me with this problem?"

Does she:

A. Think I look like I know my way around a stain?

B. Think I'm a clumsy person, who probably creates a lot of stains?

C. Think I drink a lot of red wine and therefore, am probably sloshing it about on clothing, furniture, and pets????

Hmmm

Recipe of the Week

Classic Vanilla Creme Brulee

1/2 vanilla bean

2 cups heavy cream

4 eggs yolks

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup plus 8 to 12 tsp. sugar

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Have a medium saucepan of boiling water ready. Line a shallow baking pan with a small kitchen towel.

Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise down the middle and scrape out the seeds into a 2-quart saucepan. Add the cream and the split vanilla bean, stir to mix and set the the pan over medium heat. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the surface. Remove from the heat and set aside to steep, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt and 1/4 cup sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick ribbons fall from the whisk, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the cream mixture, whisking until blended. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the mixture among four 6-oz ramekins and place the ramekins in the prepared baking pan. Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the side of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custards are just set around the edges, 3o to 35 minutes.

Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.

To serve, sprinkle 2 to 3 tsp. sugar over each custard. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar until evenly melted and golden.