Let’s have a history lesson.

I was always a good student. I was one of those kids that did well in almost every subject (notice I said almost…numbers still elude me).

But numbers aside, history was/is particularly delicious to me.

Cooking has an interesting history of course. You don’t have to go all the way back to medieval times to find a fascinating tale.

In fact I have a fun story for you. In the 1960s & 70s, in this country at least, the foodie-world was abuzz with the suddenly “discovered” truth behind “classical French cuisine”. It was brought to our attention by the commendable talents of Julia Child. Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking changed the way American home cooks like my mother began to look at gourmet food.

As I have said before. I was raised on this kind of fare. I was a nine year old who liked chicken liver pâté. I knew crêpe was not pronounced crape, and sauces always started with bones.

But things can never stay just as they are, now can they? In fact changes were afoot in the culinary world. Because just as Ms. Child was introducing Americans to classical French cooking; classical French cooking was being challenged or perhaps re-interpretted in of all places– France!

Do you ever have great ideas? Are you ever sure you are going to just WOW them?

Do you ever lay awake thinking: "this one is THE one; now my life feels right?" Well, this recipe started out something like that. But then it went someplace else entirely. As you'll soon see.

I'll let you in on a secret though. Everyone has thoughts like these. They have them in consideration of their jobs. They have them in consideration of sports (GO SAINTS). They especially have them in consideration of love.

Sometimes I even have these thoughts in consideration of SippitySup!

But really... SippitySup is a website. A blog. SippitySup is something I do that is outside my real life. Something that I do to express myself. Because in my real life I do not always get to express myself.

I have so many little people to thank for this recipe!

I never could have done it were it not for the bold pioneers who went before me. Although the inspiration for this recipe may come from many, I have decided to take all the credit myself! And if I cry and sniffle a little whilst taking all the credit, people will cheer me on as an underdog. The little guy who beat "the man".

That's me– The Little Engine That Could!  I believe this is the way you get ahead in the world, n'est-ce pas?

Because truthfully I did have many an inspiration when I sat down and started putting this recipe together. One of the primary "little people" involved in this dish is a quaint cook named Daniel Boulud. Perhaps you've heard if him? He runs a charming little self-named cafe on an island somewhere. It's a bit off the beaten track on East 76th Street, I believe. If you ever find yourself in that part of the world you must pop in. Tell him Sup! sez Hi...

As I was preparing to leave on my Panamanian adventure a cold shock of panic coursed through my veins. "How can I leave SippitySup dark for a week whilst I galavant around Central America with the beautiful people of Boquete Gourmet?" I mean I love this little blog, and won't it (and you) get lonely while I'm gone?

What to do... what to do? Well, whenever I am stuck chewing on the phrase "what to do?", I usually turn to Twitter! TWEET...

I immediately TWEETED an SOS:

• HELP!! FOOD BLOGGER IN NEED (stop)
• SIPPITYSUP IN DIRE STRAITS (stop)
• GUEST BLOGGER PLEASE APPLY (stop)
• ALL YOU NEED IS TALENT AND CHUTZSPAH (stop)
• AS WELL 500 WORDS WITH PICS AND RECIPE (stop)

Well my non-denominational prayers were answered (or rather tweeted) by Jennifer at Unplanned Cooking! Within moments she tweeted in and reassured me and put all my fears to rest. She would be my guest blogger. She would fill my shoes while I was out traipsing in my boots through the jungles of Panama. And she'd do it with a classic Scandinavian (non-Panamanian) dish called Lefse!

So welcome Madame Unplanned Cooking! Tah Dah...

Can you stand it? I mean look at these eggs.

It is not Easter and I did not dye these eggs. This case of chromatic craziness was all the hens doing. I know I have told you that the Hollywood Farmers Market has so many wonderful products and not all of them are vegetal.

So for this week's Market Matters I decided to set my sights on something different. There are several vendors of super fresh eggs at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I got this colorful collection from a couple of different stalls. I chose these eggs for their visual appeal, and I must admit I felt pretty special carrying these eggs home! But once home I was unsure what to do next.

I mean, I typically buy most of my eggs at the grocery store and do not give it much thought beyond making sure to choose free-range eggs. I believe there is a noticeable difference in taste and quality between free-range and the eggs from the poor birds that are confined to cages.