It’s 2010 now and my only resolution so far is to try and energize my writing habits. I’ve been a slacker blogger for months. Every time I sit down to write something, it either or sounds stupid or doesn’t come at all. I’m not sure what happened. I love writing this blog and want to keep it going. So my new plan right is to add some food related posts.

My friends all know how much I love to cook. They’ve come to rely on dinners on Sunday nights. I spend hours in the kitchen trying new recipes and improving on old ones. In addition to all of the book blogs I read, I’ve got an equally long list of food related ones. On top of that, I’m a bit of a cookbook whore too. So, writing about what I cook seems like a natural extension of this blog. On to last night’s dinner!

Last week, Mr. Bookdwarf brought home some Macomber turnips, which originate from Westport, Massachusetts funnily enough. I’m used to the ones with the purplish tops about the size of baseballs or smaller. These were huge! I decided to make a turnip gratin with them. I stuck to a basic gratin recipe substituting turnip for potato. I also used Ree Drummond’s (aka The Pioneer Woman) recipe as a guide for assembling and cooking times. I don’t have a mandoline, so I sliced them all by hand. Luckily I got fancy new Shun knives when I got married last Fall. Piece of cake…er, turnip! You add some garlic, some herbs, and lots of gruyère as you layer it up. I popped it into the oven and about 35 minutes later, I had this:

Of course after I had assembled four layers, I was left with almost a whole turnip sliced. What should I do? Turnip chips! But how best to make them? Fry or bake? I decided to try both. I threw some of the turnips in a bowl with olive oil, S&P, and thyme then spread them on a baking sheet. I put them in the oven with the gratin. I took them out when the edges started browning.

The rest I tried frying in a little canola oil.

The baked ones tasted best in my opinion. Mr. Bookdwarf seemed happy with them–hence all the empty spots on the pan! I served it all with an arugula and Parmesan salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette.

I’m realizing as I’m writing this post how poor my camera skills are. Hopefully I’ll get better as I practice. And that ladies and gentlemen is my first food post of 2010. Feel free to comment on whether you liked it or not, or if you like turnips, or if you want to see more of these posts, or simply to say hello.