Pen, Spoon & Dagger

Jessica Faust posted a blog the other day which caught my imagination. If you could have dinner with any 4 authors, who would you choose? She admitted the idea was stolen from her client Jennifer Stanley and her Cozy Chicks blog , and I admit to continuing the "theft." But what a great idea. So here's my question: What four authors dead or alive would you want to have dinner with? And what would you serve? Here are my picks: Jane Austen - not only did she write some of my favourite books, but her skill at characterization -- particularly considering the restrictions placed on women in her day -- is second to none. Julia Child - I'm a foodie, need I say more? Not only is she a female and a pioneer in the culinary world, but her life story is amazing. And maybe, while she's here, she can teach me to make the perfect omelet - a skill I cannot seen to master. JK Rowling - anyone with an imagination like hers has to be an entertaining dinner guest. A ra...

I should have known better.  I broke my own rule #5: never go to Williams Sonoma alone (we can discuss rules 1 through 4 another time).  Actually I broke #3, too : never take your credit card into a cooking store.   Williams Sonoma is, for me,   like chocolate chip cookies for others: irresistible and never enough. I went in looking for  a new Y-peeler.  That's all I needed.  Let's face it, W-S is not dumb; their merchandisers know about people like me, that's why they group all the gadgets together in enticing displays.  Reaching for a peeler, I realized I could, instead, get three for only a few dollars more:  a straight, a serrated and a julienne peeler in a set, and in bright colours.  And only $15.  Such a deal.  Why shouldn't I  treat myself?  After all it's a lousy, hot, humid day, a storm is threatening,  and I deserved something . No sooner had my hand closed on the peelers, than my eyes ze...