Celebrating 1 Year of The Culinary Librarian!

Today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of The Culinary Librarian! 

First and foremost I would like to thank all of you! My readers! It is a complete pleasure to write knowing I have a great audience to read my work. I hope you have enjoyed 12 months of food and photos. May your mouth water for the next 365 days to come! 

In honor of the anniversary I have collected my favorite photos/stories from each month of 2010 for this celebratory post. Some come from blog posts, some from Facebook posts. Enjoy this look back at a year in the life of The Culinary Librarian! 

January

Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake

Last year around this time a few of my very good friends went off to my beloved Paris for a visit and since we like parties so much we had a little French-themed send off for them! I provided the dessert-- this decadent (yet very easy to execute!) soufflé cake. Making chocolate soufflés has been one of my favorite things to do since I fell in love with them at my old resto of employment, the now closed Carmine's Restaurant in Albany (replaced with the fantastic Grappa '72). Since I knew individual soufflés to be a breeze, I selected this cake  as the perfect start to a Parisian vacation. I also love the black & white tiles of my old apartment's kitchen and the butcher block that provide a very French background to the rich cake. 

The full post from January 2010: Les Joies du Chocolat-- sans peur!

February

For the Love of Duck

Culinary Destination: Portland, Maine

During my vacation in Albany I was fortunate enough to be able to accompany my dad on an overnight business trip to Portland, ME. I went to Maine as a child with my parents but they are not times I really remember. Recently my friend The Creative Culinarian moved from NYC to Portland so I also was able to see her briefly which was a real treat. 

                                           
 My day in downtown started at the Standard Baking Company, 75 Commercial Street. As per recommendation from Tiffany I enjoyed a ham & cheese croissant. Here they top these delightful French treats with sesame seeds adding a level of crunchy texture that pairs nicely with the pillowy texture of the croissant. The ham inside is meaty and hardly fatty as some sliced ham can be; the cheese is melted down to a sauce-like nature-- not hardened as some cheese croissants can get after sitting. All of this made for a warm delicious breakfast I paired with a fresh iced tea sweetened                                                                              with simple syrup.