Nov 01 2008
Here Comes The Off-Season
Well, November is here and so it’s time for things to get into winter mode. The Essex Shipbuilding Museum will now be open on weekends for the public - but groups can still be scheduled during the week. We’ve even been toying with the idea of closing down during the coldest months to 1) save money and 2) allow us to do some organizing and re-arranging. Besides, January is not the best time to be walking around a boatyard. In the meantime we are still getting some glorious fall days down on the Essex marsh and the foliage, although past peak, is still aglow in crisp autumn color.
For me, Fall begins with the first dish of risotto - a Northern Italian classic that I fell in love with during a dinner in Venice on cold October evening. Danielle and I still vividly remember just how intense the mushroom flavor of the rice was. And so each fall I do my best to replicate that risotto al funghi to varying degrees of success. This week I think I made my all-time best with some excellent dried porcini and fresh crimini and shitake. The whole house smelled of mushrooms that night.
Of course, with each winter night that goes by, our big trip to Holland gets closer. With that comes the realization that I need to buy a whole new winter wardrobe if I plan to walk the frozen canals in comfort…
