Dear Wigleaf,

Cooking and baking are my way of telling people I love them, sometimes my way of saying please like me. The best thing I make is vodka cream sauce, a terrible-for-you combination of crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, vodka, basil, and an unseemly amount of garlic. I've perfected it over the years, lengthening the cooking time, adding the basil in stages, playing with the amount of vodka. The real magic is in the garlic, though. The recipe I started from called for 3 cloves, which to me is the same as none at all. When people asked for the recipe, I'd give it as written. The garlic was my secret, so my sauce would always taste extra-special. It sounds so silly now. I'd like to think I've grown and also that maybe I have more to offer than sauce, dear Wigleaf. So let me tell you: 8 cloves, 10 if they're on the small side. It is a lot of chopping but it's worth it. You're worth it.

As ever,

Amy




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