It may be nostalgia. It may be January's chilly temperatures. Maybe the two go together. Regardless, I've been going into a retro food phase. Most recently I made quenelles, the classic pike or fish dumpling poached and blanketed with lobster sauce. I've also returned to baking madeleines, a treat from my early days as a commis, a time when they were a regular staple in my kitchen. Maybe it's time to pull out copies of Escoffier and Bocuse, dust off the books on the shelves, and just embrace winter. All to say till the springtime sunshine comes, I may well be looking to the past for cooking and baking treasures.