Verjuice

I really dislike potlucks. That said, I have to bring a dessert a main dish. For sweet, I'm bringing caramel apples; local organic baby apples in a honey cream caramel. I'm doing individual desserts because I find the sight of a potluck dessert spread repulsive no more than five minutes after the first sloppy cut has been made into someone's poor pie. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea what to bring for a main that isn't in a casserole (blah), can be served lukewarm (hmph) and doesn't involve the usual seasonal cliches: cranberries, squash, turkey. Expecting about 60 ppl. The dish needs to feed approximately 8. Ideas?

I was at Pepe's a few weeks ago. It was great. Nothing beats the white clam pie...

That's probably a testament to how long you've been on the road, considering I seriously think that Santa Feans are about the most resistant to getting dressed up of any group of people anywhere. That's largely due to the size of the second home population here, and jeans and cowboy boots are allowed (and worn) everywhere. Not very cosmopolitan compared to NYC but compared to Tinyville, Utah, I'm sure people looked quite sharp. I had lunch with a good friend who works at an environmental non-profit alliance, and he showed up straight from the office in old sweatpants with his college name faded and flaking of the fabric... and confided he's thinking about leaving his job. I told him I'd think twice about leaving a job where I was allowed to wear pajamas to work. Only in Santa Fe...

This is making me fall in love with this region all over again, and reminding me why I came back... Thank you for this.

And I know the part right before the part that Rob knows, so I'm watching with anticipation as well.

Just spent a month in Orleans. Abba is always great. Chef/Owner Eric Pinhas is a Yemenite Jew who grew up in Israel and studied in Thailand. All of that-- and the amazing fresh seafood of the area-- is reflected in his food.

Vicarious living- can't go with it, can't go without it. On, the other hand, looks like you guys are having fun!

When I was growing up, Oreo cookies had animal shortening in the filling and Hydrox used vegetable shortening, so those were what we ate. I remember freaking out at a birthday party in the Emirates when I was eight or nine because I saw a bunch of Gulf Arab children eating Oreos. I took a grown-up aside and said, "Those have lard in them!". She checked the ingredients list and it turned out that Oreo had just switched over to vegetable shortening, thus making them viable imports in Muslim countries. When I got back to the U.S. that summer, Hydrox were almost nowhere to found.

Are you someone who doesn't mind hopping around for starters and a drink somewhere, then moving on to another venue for coffee and dessert? Some highlights from my trip included: -Monsoon (dinner or dim sum brunch) -Kingfish Cafe (brunch) -Lark (anything... just go. The plates are small so you can go as heavy as you want) -Veil (I loved the foie gras with pb & j and the salted peanut butter ice cream) At the Pike Place Market: -Matt’s in the Market for lunch-- a must. -The Crumpet Shop for tea and crumpets -DiLaurenti for Salumi meats if you have a craving and Salumi is closed -City Fish for smoked sturgeon, smoked sable and smoked Chilean sea bass to eat as a snack or on a picnic. -Uli’s for sausages. If you happen to pass by, grab a warm glazed cake doughnut at Top Pot Doughnuts, but make a special trip for one of the wonderful sticky buns from from Belle’s Buns. They're incredibly special. I have heard many times that the cubano at Paseo is amazing, so if you make it there you will have to report back with all the delicious details... If you like cocktails: -Early evening: Union. -Late evening: Palace Kitchen -Late-late: Zig Zag. Not to be missed. On your way back from Salumi, hit up Grand Central Bakery for coffee and a big slice of pear polenta pound cake. Finally, swing by Chefshop for the best olive oils, vinegars and some RJ’s licorice.

Phew- I'm just glad to know that you're human. I was starting to wonder... Rob is one of those amazing people who can fit 48 hours of life and work into 24. It's highly admirable and insanely inspiring and intimidating as heck- and it makes everyone around him look like a slacker by comparison. Rob is such a nice guy that he will deny that this is true-- but it is.

I write for a weekly alternative newspaper. I turn in my reviews on Thursdays and they are published the following Wednesday. Nothing ever gets filed away. Also, I always make a final visit to the restaurant I'm reviewing within a few days beforehand. Never thought this was exceptional but imo what you are describing is outrageous. I hope you get this sorted out to whatever degree that might be possible.

Thank you for the kind words and suggestions! I feel the same way. It makes my skin crawl.

For the last couple of months, I've been the food writer/restaurant critic for the Santa Fe Reporter, an alternative weekly newspaper. The time has come to name the column, and I'm having trouble coming up with anything original. The previous columnist had called it "Total Pig", a tribute to her love of pork among other things, but thankfully she took the name of the column with her when she left. The column runs about 850 words, and I like to mix it up, so in addition to restaurant reviews, I have written about cocktails, Santa Fe's evolution as a culinary destination, a local cooking school, being gluten-free for 30 days in a town obsessed with being gluten-free, and last week's eG-inpired story on things that restaurant patrons do that drive staff nuts, for which I interviewed two dozen local servers, managers and restaurateurs. The first name I write under is simply the initial "A", so I'm not going to use my name or any other personal details, as it's a small town and I'm trying to keep a low profile. Ideas greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Two big ice cream cones from Tara's Organic Ice Cream, three scoops apiece. The first (pictured above) had Lavender, Strawberry Balsamic and Blueberry Mint. The second (eaten while walking back to the car) had Plum Ginger, Cinnamon and Orange Cashew. I can't get enough...

Thanks. It got extra props for being the easiest dessert I've ever served to guests.

Lemon curd napoleons with berries.

What she said. Thank you for everything, good Susan.

Those are stunning! Bravo.

Well, you can come visit anytime, if only so that the tidal wave of pretension and expensive pastry inspires you to return to your neck of the woods with a renewed appreciation for it. Now is not a good time to be a baker or pastry chef here anyway. We recently lost our beloved Cloud Cliff Bakery to the double whammy of wheat costs and the living wage ordinance. A good friend experimented with lime bars recently. While I was trying to snap a photo, her cat hopped up on the table. As you can see, I carried the goods out of reach just in time:

Rob, You could sell those for four times the price in a certain little mountain hamlet a couple hundred miles north. So, when are you moving?

I was just about to chime in with exactly what lemniscate just wrote. YES to the North Rim- and Chufi, I am totally phobic about tourism and its gimmicks so I completely understand of your desire to circumnavigate the throngs and just get down to the good stuff. You also must hit Monument Valley- Ahh. And how did the settlers ever make it west of Utah? I am so excited that you're coming to Santa Fe! The ideas are swirling and crashing through my mind like a summer storm in the Sangre de Cristos...

Two days ago, huevos motuleños at Pasqual's in Santa Fe. I finally got around to trying them, but they didn't do much for me. I ended up eating most of my friend's barbacoa of beef cheeks and about seven cannelés: Matt Romero's amazing eggs, on the other hand, hit the spot every time. In case anyone's interested, Matt is President of the Santa Fe Farmers' Market Institute and used to be Mark Miller's sous chef at Coyote Cafe back in its heyday. His chickens love the red chile he feeds them, and it's a great way for him to recycle whatever he can't sell or turn into ristras. Percyn, if you know anyone who keeps chickens, I'll send you some of what Matt is feeding his! I cannot adequately describe how extraordinary these eggs are. The yolks are like a delicious spicy hollandaise that sauces the rest of the eggs! Today, a friend made orange-scented brioche French toast and an egg, cheese and chile casserole from the red chile eggs:

Flying saucers- those pastel elliptical wafers filled with tiny colored sugar pellets. They melted in your mouth and left a rice-flavored glue pasted to your hard palate. Candy necklaces and Smarties. I loved them despite (or because of) the fact that they tasted like baby aspirin. Sour Patch Kids and Warheads, which we ate until they gave us ulcers. Circus Peanuts. I was obsessed with their alien texture, the weird, nail varnish and moth-ball flavor, the chalky monotones. Bonkers... whatever happened to Bonkers? Now & Laters; so vile and yet so ubiquitous. They smell like rancid wax and are invariably stale, so that they crack into sharp shards as you chew, and slowly soften. And then, there was the burning question that kept me awake at night: Why did anyone eat Now & Later when there was Laffy Taffy? Pixie Sticks. What were we thinking? There are more, of course, as they span across my mind like the hardened caramel of youth. Intractable sugar.

My description of them in my blog went as follows: "The yolks are rich and buttery, with an earthy, haunting depth and mellow sweetness reminiscent of mild red chile." I guess that's a yes.

Matt Romero of Romero Farms here in NM feeds red chile to his free-ranging chickens to achieve these amazingly vibrant spicy yolks: Best eggs ever.