Ed was inspired to make Goan Pork Vindaloo with a sauce filled with warm spices (ginger, paprika, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic) but which also required side trips to MidEast Market (for Kashmiri chiles) and PanAsia Market (for coconut vinegar). Totally worth the extra effort.

Best Christmas leftovers ever: Ed’s lasagna alla bolognese, featuring the mandatory green (spinach) noodles, layered with pork ragù and béchamel (traditionslly used instead of mozzarella in Bologna). Note that the Parmesan scoop is my spoon from when I was a baby.

Red sky on BlueSky: An autumn evening —at Christmas— in St. Louis.

It kinda looks like, oh, I dunno, a ballroom.

Quiet romantic Christmas Eve for two, courtesy of @russanddaughters.bsky.social and @veuveclicquot4ever.bsky.social

Ed spent Christmas week making Tagliatelle with ragù alla bolognese (the extra ragù is for the traditional Christmas lasagna); Coquilles St Jacques; Chinese-American stir-fry; Chicken stew with biscuits; and Spinach and cheese soufflé. He’s a machine.

SO excited that amazing St. Louis homegirl Brittany Packnett Cunningham @mspackyetti.bsky.social is on our Nine PBS teevee this week! Be sure to tune in www.pbs.org/video/britta...

Final meal in Bologna, and since it was cold and rainy, Ed took me back to his favorite neighborhood spot for tortellini in brodo, the bolognese version of a healing chicken soup.

Our last date night in Bologna was at a cozy table at Angolo degli Orefice, where we shared more local specialties: a perfect bolognese lasagna, passatelli con crema di parmigiano e funghi porcini (which is NOT pasta per se) and regional meats and cheeses. All quite wonderful.

Al Sangiovese is a cozy restaurant with traditional Bolognese dishes and charming staff. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, though: gramigna with sausage cream sauce, the local lasagna that includes bechamel and the mandatory green pasta, polpette with stuffed zucchini, and beef carpaccio.

Ristorante da Cesari is a cozy place with a charming host and a hearty traditional Bolognese menu. After a shared starter of porky mortadella, a wonderfully chewy gramignone verde al ragù di salsiccia, and the Scaloppina alla Petroniana con Tartufo Bianco (because: white truffles!).

Excellent lunch at Corte De’Galuzzi featuring a couple traditional Bolognese favorites. First, a salad of mâche (lambs lettuce), bresaola, tomatoes, avocado, and walnuts. Then, my tortellini in brodo and Ed’s tagliatelle verdi. Then, time for a nap!

Ed took me to lunch at one of our favorite destinations in Bologna, the always excellent Drogheria della Rosa, where host Emanuele Addone makes sure we feel special and cared-for. Today’s traditional treat: tagliatella al ragù. Perfection.

A morning stroll off the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna took us past all the wonderful vendors of local prosciutto, mortadella, parmigiano, tortellini, and gorgeous vegetables.

Nothing like good pasta to make you forget a tough travel day. Ed took me to Trattoria Trebbi near his Bologna apartment: mortadella with mortadella mousse to start, then his tagliolini and my tortellini, both with that rare autumn treat, white Alba truffles.

It might have been wise to add a hyphen between the second and third words, but as is, I have questions: Are some ass toys bad? How would I know? And where should I drive them?

I swore off pasta until I join Ed in Bologna this weekend BUT I could NOT turn down the gnochetti (with Spanish octopus and ‘Nduja) at Vicia. Thanks to my buddy Alex Levine Clardy for being my Ed-free date (although she didn’t get near my duck-liver mousse with apricot and sweet-corn madeleines).

The autumnal butternut squash tortelloni at Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria (in deep brown butter with crispy sage) is a wonderful treat, made more so by dining with my amazing long-time friend David Toben. A perfect lunch experience.

My niece is staying with me this weekend while she attends and vends at SLICE (the St. Louis Independent Comics Expo), which means I need to look my best.

Another Ed-free date on The Hill: I had to have Anthonino’s Taverna’s t-ravs because (prove me wrong) they have the most flavorful marinara in town. Their traditional pizza (a little wet in the center “come i napoletani)” is mostly a take-home treat today.

I tried the new Bites Revolving Bar in Cape Girardeau, and it’s a hoot. Dishes wander past your table like an Automat on an airport people mover, and you grab what looks good. (I ordered the bibimbap off-menu.) It’s hypnotic: even when you’re chatting or not hungry, you can’t not watch.

Another Ed-free date night, another dinner on The Hill. Last evening’s treat was on the side patio of Lorenzos Trattoria: a gloriously messy pile of bright fresh bruschette followed by an Italian-American classic, tortellini with peas and prosciutto. A cocktail might have been involved.

This one is for my girlfriends. You know who you are. (And I repeat: Brenda Starr was a goddess.)

Another Ed-free week of dinner dates, and the first of three on The Hill. Charlie Gitto's has, for my money, the best t-ravs in town (they claim the title of OG): filled to bursting w/ meat and w/ all sharp edges trimmed off. Add their Fiore Boghese (in a pink cognac sauce) and it’s a great dinner.

I have an event (not a date) tonight, and that always poses an important question. (Side note: Brenda Starr was a goddess.)

I didn’t have a date for tonight, so I’ll just offer this appropriate bit of food humor.

I THOUGHT I recognized our BBQ-joint destination (remember The Bungalow?). The Stellar Hog has retained that excellent South City hoosier vibe. More important, they deliver stellar pork, as advertised. I snagged a whole rack + creamy mac’n’cheese + THE best pork’n’beans I’ve had since I was little.

My buddy Kevin took me to Basil India and HOW was I unaware?!? I treated myself to the Bombay Chicken Curry, and it’s everything you’d want: generous tender chicken, warm spices, and that touch of heat just short of eye-watering. I’ll be back when my usual date comes home from Italy!

Date night at El Molino del Sureste, where dishes are both authentic and exacting in their determination to source ingredients within 100 miles. We shared the kaaxil sikil snd the todtada de tzik de jaiba, after which i snarked the taco de cochinita pibil and the taco de pic chuc.

Seems legit. Randomly, St. Louis used to be called the westernmost Eastern city, while Kansas City was called the easternmost Western city.

For those who think that my sole diet is Ed’s gourmet dinners and exotic STL restaurants. (Note that the chocolate shake is the original and THE only acceptable flavor.)

Well, to be fair, he’s not lying.

Trump is a visual learner. He’s said he likes maps. He sees the territory Putin controls. He sees that if he absorbs Canada and Greenland, he’ll have as much land as Russia. As with his electoral maps, he doesn’t understand that more square miles don’t equal more supporters.

Personal review of Nuts.com: Cashews / pistachios are great — fresh and flavorful. The “corn nuts” are NOT what you’re expecting — practically corn dust instead of the traditional giant kernels. Virginia Peanuts are just … peanuts. VPs are very specific: extra large and whole. These were neither.

Going to Costco for gas is really just an excuse for lunch at Soup Dumplings STL. It’s both at-table entertainment (grab dumpling, tear a small hole, empty soup onto spoon, drink soup, dunk dumpling and eat) but it’s also a way to slow down at mealtime.

While Ed is in Bologna, I’m taking the opportunity to catch up with friends at favorite restaurants. My first stop was Esca with my longtime girlfriend. Great cocktails, delicious artichoke starter, Jeri’s grilled Spanish octopus, and my grilled Sicilian salsiccia. Fantastic evening all around.

@cristela.bsky.social So moved by your @nicollewallace.bsky.social chat about moving from a “cozy” (all Latino) neighborhood to being “the Latina” later. It’s important. My partner and I could move to an all-gay enclave in Palm Springs or Wilton Manors, but it’s important to represent in St. Louis.

Good morning, St. Louis!

Ed’s month in Italy starts Friday, but mentally he’s almost there. So, a steaming pot of ribollita — Tuscan veg and bean soup with day-old-bread croutons and a sprinkling of Parmesan plus good olive oil.

Quick lunch amidst errands, and Sando Shack was fast and delicious: Deep-fried thin chicken or pork katsu on toasty bread with bright slaw and savory-sweet sauce. (In Japan, it’s served on milk bread, but [1] no one makes it here because it’s too hard and [2] when toasted, it doesn’t matter.)

I’m embarrassed that we need @marcelias.bsky.social to defend our state for us. But needs must.

… and if you are a very VERY good boy, Ed makes you Coquilles Saint Jacques, loaded with scallops, Gruyère, cremini mushrooms, and cream, flavored with curry, cognac, and a bit of parsley. (No, we did NOT poach the gratin dishes from Café de Flore - 25 years ago they had a tiny shop out back.)

So sad that we’ve lost Claudia Cardinale, who was a much better actress than she was given credit for and (like most European beauties) was deeply misused in American films. Check out her appearances in The Leopard, 8 1/2, and (especially) Once Upon a Time in the West. #ClaudiaCardinale

And if you are a VERY good boy, you get Ed’s tender, spicy polpette over Italian spaghetti. (Yes, we know that large meatballs with pasta is strictly an American thing, but it’s SO good.)

St. Louis peeps: If you feel that, as an adult, you have the capability to decide whether to watch Jimmy Kimmel, watch another channel, or just go to bed, call the ABC30 general manager at 414-259-5727, (Note the lack of a 314 or even a 573 area code.)

At last I’ve made my re-entry into the world (see last post) so of COURSE it had to be at Crown Candy Kitchen and of COURSE I had to order the BLT. (Note that there’s just enough L and T to qualify.) Thanks to our dear friends Andy and Sherri Karandzieff for making us so welcome. #eatlocalstl

STL peeps: Tough 7 weeks (surgery, infection, recovery, worse infection, ER, hospital, longer recovery) BUT ready for prime time. Here’s where YOU come in: Ed will be in Italy for October and I would love to meet you for lunch/dinner in STL. Dutch treat. DM to set up a meet (don’t reply here)

@ksdknews.bsky.social SHAME on you for kowtowing and using phrases like “The Deartment of War”. I expected better from you. Apparently not.

@miafarrow.bsky.social I thought you could use some good news, so please note that @tcmtv.bsky.social is running an entire night (Monday) of the Tarzan movies starring your mom. I hope you can take some time out to enjoy with your grandchildren.

@mollyjongfast.bsky.social I have this theory that the White House keeps a “recipe box” like my mom’s: some little tin or plastic concern with 3x5 cards — but instead of recipes, the cards say things like “raid Bolton’s house” or “arrange Putin meeting” — things to be used when the news cycle turns.