11/19

Today is Friday, which is unanimously agreed to be the best day of the week by far. Many people see Friday as the "day of relaxation" because, at the end of the long week, all one wants to do is take a nap. Although I do see the strong point this expression makes that the week is hard to bear without much free time, I simply make the public's opinion stronger by saying that not only is Friday a day of free time and rest, but it is also a day of culinary adventure to be explored in the time slot usually designated for work. Even admitting this fact alone produces some satisfaction.

Today I satisfied my craving for cooking and baking by assigning myself the duty of creating, according to some, the most important part of a meal: dessert. Since it is fall, I searched "ginger cookies" in epicurious.com, a recipe search engine, and came up with a recipe for "ginger spice cookies," which had maybe one negative review out of hundreds of positive ones. I decided to try it because it was seasonal, popular, and was a light finish to the main course: garlic and tomato braised chuck roast. Later I realized this wasn't enough for a night's magnificent close. I decided to make individual pumpkin pots de creme, which would be creamy and delightful along with the ginger cookies. The results: fantastic! The ginger spice cookies were fluffy, moist and heavenly straight out of the oven. They were even better later when their edges crisped, and the bold flavor of the crystallized ginger came through. The pumpkin pot de creme was delicious too, and surprisingly refreshing, while its mixture of spices made it taste exactly like pumpkin pie. I'm so glad I made some extras for snacking later...