2006

Ok, honey, mommy’s leaving tomorrow morning at 6:30 am for an early flight to Seattle. Oh stop your crying! You know Nanny Hitchens will take good care of you: that whip she carries around is just for show. She’s a lovely woman, though even I wonder sometimes why she wears a leather mask.

The numbers are on the fridge but they’re just a random assortment of numbers, they don’t correspond to anything. Nanny Hitchens requested we put a lock on the outside of your door, so we obliged while you were sleeping. But don’t worry, honey, mommy has three meals for you to cook while I’m gone! (Nanny Hitchens says you better have these ready by 6 pm sharp each night or she’ll cut off your oxygen! But she’s just teasing, she doesn’t know how to work your tank.)

Yum, I know you’re allergic to shellfish, sweetheart, but Nanny Hitchens loves clams! And this is one of the best clam dishes mommy’s ever made: it comes from Mario Batali’s “Simple Italian Food.” Mommy doesn’t have time to write out the recipe, but here’s the idea: you take garlic, minced red onion, and 4 oz of chopped pancetta and you cook on medium heat with olive oil for about ten minutes. Then you add white wine, red chile flakes, 4 Tbs butter, and two dozen clams. Cook until the clams open up and then add linguine which you’ve cooked in boiling water (duh!) Let the linguine finish cooking in the broth, but don’t worry if this is soupy–it’s supposed to be. Serve with lots of bread, because Nanny Hitchens likes to mop up the sauce. Delicioso!

Now baby, I know you’re a vegetarian but Nanny Hitchens LOVES chicken. So why not use Grant Achatz’s chicken from last month’s Food and Wine? Here’s the link. Mommy made the bold choice of roasting potatoes beneath the chicken to catch the chicken juices. This was a very good choice and mommy’s sorry she didn’t share but you are a vegetarian! Oh what do you mean I starve you, you’re such an exaggerator Ms. 2 inch waist!

Why don’t you wipe your tears on a pancake?

I know you’re allergic to gluten and borderline diabetic, but Nanny Hitchens isn’t. She loves pancakes and expects them every morning. (“Delivered to my bed promptly at 7,” she insists. “And bring a nail file so you can work on my corns.”)

The recipe’s right here at Epicurious. The trick is you separate the eggs and whip the egg whites until they’re stiff so the pancakes are light and fluffy. As you can see mommy made three small ones and one big one, just like the bruises I found on your back after my last trip away. What a strange pattern! Sort of like a paw-print. (Oh, Nanny Hitchens is bringing her Grizzly Bear again: prepare the cage, sweetheart.)

Hope you have a good week while I’m gone and mommy doesn’t necessarily love you, but she has strong feelings for you. Kisses!