Break out the champagne and the party whistles. Cue the birthday music. Blue Cayenne is five!
Who knew! I certainly didn’t.
When I clicked “post” that first time five years ago, it was with no small amount of trepidation. Would anyone read my posts? Would everyone snicker and nudge me not to give up my day job? Would my culinary support pup, Juliet, become an Internet sensation and forget her roots–the next Grumpy Cat?
But click I did. That was three hundred and eighty-seven posts ago.
My first Blue Cayenne recipe was a favorite comfort food that I’ve enjoyed forever–a cheesy and piquant Cream of Poblano Soup. You always lead with something you know and that soup recipe, I knew, was sterling. If you haven’t tried it yet, I hope you will give it a go. Here is the link: Cream of Poblano Soup.
Five years later, I am pretty happy with Blue Cayenne. Blue Cayenne has a loyal readership. The blog averages about four hundred human views each day–a modest number compared to the big blogs but an amazing number to me.
None of this would be possible, of course, without the help of friends. I am especially grateful to my talented (and supremely patient) photography teacher Al Nomura and to my neighbors Sarah and Gene Allen who give me honest reviews on many of Blue Cayenne’s recipes. I also owe a huge debt to Nami Aoyagi, my Digital Media Arts teacher at the Huntington Beach Adult School, who taught me so much about computers and digital media.
Today’s five-year birthday post is for a brilliant Roasted Sweet Potato and Fresh Fig dish adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook Jerusalem. The unexpected paring of flavors in this dish will knock your socks off. If you have never really understood all the fuss about balsamic reductions, the use of a reduction in this recipe will clear things up for you. I promise. As a bonus, this dish will light up your table; it is that beautiful.
Jerusalem, by the way, is an excellent cookbook far beyond this one glorious recipe. It is available in many libraries and can be purchased on Amazon (here) and at many bookstores.
Thank you thank you thank you for reading this blog. I’m learning a lot and I’m enjoying every minute of the experience. Sweet Juliet, on the other hand, is still hoping for her big break. Here is a glam shot.
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