Sally, I've heard of your survival of childhood leukemia from several angles, but this one literally takes the cake! And for people who haven't known you as long, can I kvell about you a bit? Sally has raised a lot of awareness and $ for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society over the years — what a beautiful way to pay the good fortune of beating the illness forward. Thank you for another fantastic newsletter.
Thank you Nava! You’ve been a supporter and friend for so many of these special years. At some point I’ll share more about my leukemia journey with substack readers. For now, cake. 💕
My eyes are dripping so much, I can't see what I'm typing or read email addresses of my dwindling pool of food pals from days-gone-by who will find your posting as significant -- and celebratory -- as it is to me. The frosting (icing) on your pink cake would be if you add a snapshot taken of the birthday girl with her cake. Please know so many of your mom/dad's culinary friends and clients from your childhood days were following your chemo updates and medical reports, cheering them "onward and upward" as they prioritized making sure they found the best and latest treatments for you while they were pioneering the evolution of their amazing business -- building the careers of culinary stars and culinary upstarts, such as a relatively unknown, young. shy N’awlins chef: Emeril Lagasse.
This means so much to me!! When my mom retired we found so many notes to her about not only her work but well wishes to my parents to while I was in treatment. I have no idea how she built the business she did with a newborn and a sick kiddo. Remarkable!! And a testimony to those who surrounded my family with love and support. 💕
Oh my goodness-I adore this book! My mom died in an accident when I was 8 and after that my dad and I connected through the kitchen. I began cooking furiously (leading to my career as a chef!) and this book was a staple through my entire teenage years. I POURED through the pages and still adore it. What a joy to see you post about it today!
Wow Kendra, thank you for sharing this with me. It often seems cliché when I say it but food really does offer some of the important healing and connection. I’m so sorry you faced an unimaginable loss. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Did you have a recipe that stood out from this book that you still turn to? Do you have the new edition yet?!
oh gosh, one of my "growth" moments. I think I mustve been 15 or 16 and was REALLY getting into food. (I would host pasta parties for my track team at my house but I was hand rolling the pasta!) Late at night, I'm sure after track practice and studying, I was putting the final touches on the Scarlett Empress. I went to unmold it to a platter and it just slide right off and fell all over the floor. I was devastated. I slinked myself onto the floor like melting whipped cream would and cried and cried! But it taught me failure and resilience! And I'll never make that cake again, haha!
How about you? Another cake that you've made yourself? And also, what a sweet story about your father. I am also so sorry you went through such a horrible time at such a young age. Glad you are here with us today and are a strong survivor!
So grateful to be here!! Your story reminded me of a change in my cooking mentality when I was in college. I was trying to make chicken parm gluten free because I just found out that I couldn’t tolerate gluten (also side note this was like a million years ago before there were Gf breadcrumbs and other absolutely delightful options for a GF life). I was stressing over how to make this and in that moment decided to let my fear of failure (around cooking) go. I knew that the worst outcome would be that I made something inedible. So I decided to just go for it and once I let go of “messing up” I became a MUCH better cook.
You know, now that I’m reliving this memory I think it’s time to make some chicken parm.
Sally, I've heard of your survival of childhood leukemia from several angles, but this one literally takes the cake! And for people who haven't known you as long, can I kvell about you a bit? Sally has raised a lot of awareness and $ for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society over the years — what a beautiful way to pay the good fortune of beating the illness forward. Thank you for another fantastic newsletter.
Thank you Nava! You’ve been a supporter and friend for so many of these special years. At some point I’ll share more about my leukemia journey with substack readers. For now, cake. 💕
What a special memory. Happy birthday! 🎊
Thank you!
Beautiful, touching post, Sally, and that Trellis Cake is truly spectacular.
My eyes are dripping so much, I can't see what I'm typing or read email addresses of my dwindling pool of food pals from days-gone-by who will find your posting as significant -- and celebratory -- as it is to me. The frosting (icing) on your pink cake would be if you add a snapshot taken of the birthday girl with her cake. Please know so many of your mom/dad's culinary friends and clients from your childhood days were following your chemo updates and medical reports, cheering them "onward and upward" as they prioritized making sure they found the best and latest treatments for you while they were pioneering the evolution of their amazing business -- building the careers of culinary stars and culinary upstarts, such as a relatively unknown, young. shy N’awlins chef: Emeril Lagasse.
This means so much to me!! When my mom retired we found so many notes to her about not only her work but well wishes to my parents to while I was in treatment. I have no idea how she built the business she did with a newborn and a sick kiddo. Remarkable!! And a testimony to those who surrounded my family with love and support. 💕
Oh my goodness-I adore this book! My mom died in an accident when I was 8 and after that my dad and I connected through the kitchen. I began cooking furiously (leading to my career as a chef!) and this book was a staple through my entire teenage years. I POURED through the pages and still adore it. What a joy to see you post about it today!
Wow Kendra, thank you for sharing this with me. It often seems cliché when I say it but food really does offer some of the important healing and connection. I’m so sorry you faced an unimaginable loss. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Did you have a recipe that stood out from this book that you still turn to? Do you have the new edition yet?!
oh gosh, one of my "growth" moments. I think I mustve been 15 or 16 and was REALLY getting into food. (I would host pasta parties for my track team at my house but I was hand rolling the pasta!) Late at night, I'm sure after track practice and studying, I was putting the final touches on the Scarlett Empress. I went to unmold it to a platter and it just slide right off and fell all over the floor. I was devastated. I slinked myself onto the floor like melting whipped cream would and cried and cried! But it taught me failure and resilience! And I'll never make that cake again, haha!
How about you? Another cake that you've made yourself? And also, what a sweet story about your father. I am also so sorry you went through such a horrible time at such a young age. Glad you are here with us today and are a strong survivor!
So grateful to be here!! Your story reminded me of a change in my cooking mentality when I was in college. I was trying to make chicken parm gluten free because I just found out that I couldn’t tolerate gluten (also side note this was like a million years ago before there were Gf breadcrumbs and other absolutely delightful options for a GF life). I was stressing over how to make this and in that moment decided to let my fear of failure (around cooking) go. I knew that the worst outcome would be that I made something inedible. So I decided to just go for it and once I let go of “messing up” I became a MUCH better cook.
You know, now that I’m reliving this memory I think it’s time to make some chicken parm.
As a well-documented project baker, I don't even think I would tackle this cake. What a touching, personal tale, Sally. Thank you for sharing.