Megan Blocker

So, last night after dinner I spent a while doing some actual work, and then decided to make myself a cup of hot chocolate. My best friend Louisa sent me a copy of Pierre Herme's "Classic Hot Chocolate" receipe a couple months back (copied from the book I gave her for her birthday), and I've been addicted ever since I first tried it in January. You melt bittersweet chocolate and add it to milk, water and sugar that's been brought to a boil. Stir and let cook over medium heat till one bubble pops on the surface, then turn off the flame and use your nifty immersion/stick blender for about a minute to get it thick and frothy. Ooooh, so good. A nice liquid dessert. ETA: Louisa and I both agree that this is the closest we've come to recapturing the chocolatey magic of Prague's hot chocolate, which is so dark and rich that it's served with sugar on the side.

Thanks, Ann! I've been meaning to mention this to all of you...if you are interested in dining at Daniel's place, it's actually relatively easy to do! While what we attended was just a dinner party, Daniel and Alicia have started this cool eating club called Bite Club...you can check out their website here! You join the club and then choose which dinners you'd like to attend. So, you see, you too can enjoy cuisine aux Daniel et Alicia!

Ugh, YES, I am at the office. I took the bus to the subway, and I'm wearing jeans, and it's really, really icy out there. The streets are just covered in a couple inches of slush and ice...living in a neighborhood of restaurants and bars has a major drawback on snowy mornings, which is that the proprietors haven't been out yet to shovel/salt/sand the sidewalks. It's just nasty. A lot of folks commute in from Jersey, and none of them are here, which is probably safest. I'm hoping this means I can go home early this afternoon, as the weather is supposed to get worse in Manhattan over the course of the day. :laugh: No way - dibs! The yellow stuff was more egg yolk, though I'm not sure what kind of egg...probably regular chicken egg, but who knows! I did go back to work...I really was ok till about 4:00, which makes me think it was a sugar issue and not a food coma. I LOVE that you've adopted the Diet Coke cure-all! Megan Blocker: Hangover Advice Since 2006.

I ran head-on into a wall of fatigue this afternoon...not sure if it was sugar coma from the beignets, or a reaction to my flu shot, but I was flat-out exhausted. I tried the best remedy I know, double Diet Cokes... For dinner tonight, something decidedly lighter...I whipped up a quick salad dressing with shallots, mustard, sherry vinegar and olive oil. Used it to dress a salad of romaine, red onion, cucumber, tomato, leftover roast chicken, and some frozen corn (I love frozen corn and peas - almost always have them on hand, especially in the winter).

This is Caroled's Mama speaking, and what have you got that CHILD up to? For sooth and for shame. She's sleeping now, to go out to work tonight in this SNOW---about a foot all over the yard and driveway---just got it "blown" and hope no more fills the gaps. I've already READ and seen---she'll be pea-green I saw it first, and most pleased when she wakes to this glorious little "week-night" dinner. We both love your wanderings, and all the lovely things you find. ← Thanks, Rachel! For sheer porn factor, I think the award has to go to the close-up shot of the foie gras...just oozing its goodness everywhere. Ahem. For lunch today, my friend Faith and I went to The Modern, where we ate in the Bar Room. This was my third trip to the Bar Room, and I enjoyed it just as much the third time around (which is a lot). I've branched out on each trip, trying new things on the menu (which is hard when you've enjoyed something so much once), but this time I did two repeats. We started with the lovely, warm bread, served with butter sprinkled with salt. For Faith's first course, she ordered the mushroom soup, which came with little fried ravioli filled with (I think) chorizo. Quite delicious - the soup was earthy and complex, and the ravioli were crispy and spicy - good for dipping! I had the steak tartare, which came with a little poached quail egg and some wheat toast. It was good - quite tangy, which is how I like it. The cooked egg was a different texture than I've been used to - I liked the soft with the slightly chewy meat. For her second course, Faith chose the duck confit, which I had the last time I was at the Bar Room - it's a very mustardy, tangy version offset by a frisee salad with a sweet, fruity dressing. Really good. I had the roasted garlic gnocchi (my second rerun of the meal). I love these...they're rich and buttery, but the crispy sweetbreads are a delightfully light contrast. The crispy sage leaves taste like fall...yum. Finally, dessert. We both ordered a cup of coffee, and decided to split the beignets (rerun #2). Oh. My. Goodness. These are so good...light and airy, coated with powdered sugar while still hot, served with caramel and a maple ice cream...and mango marmalade, which I didn't love - too sweet. I am now officially eating a salad tonight in front of Gilmore Girls. It seems slightly sacreligious, but my tummy needs a break!

Good point...I did do kitchen and fridge pics in my last blog...I will take some more tonight to show you my new table/magnetic wall boards (great for putting recipes at eye-level). Here's a link to the old post!

Thanks, Annabel! I'm glad you're enjoying...it's always exciting to have new members come along for the foodblog ride...they're a really neat way of peeking into someone else's life for a little bit. Gastro888, thank you for the suggestions! I'm headed down on Friday, so hopefully I will be able to get a good meal without waiting too long in any one place. Chinatown is where I have to be, since I have appointments in SoHo that morning and afternoon, but hopefully I'll make it out to Flushing soon... The honor was all mine. As for the rest of the blog, I can't believe it, but I'm heading out in about an hour for lunch at The Modern...in the meantime, I think I'll help myself to a Diet Coke.

Someone needs to do a book-themed food blog...how has this never occurred to me before?

I KNEW you guys would get psyched about dinner at Daniel and Alicia's place...and with VERY good reason. First off, the crowd...present were Daniel and Alicia (the little one, having made an appearance, trotted off to bed - she sleeps like nothing I have ever seen before - she must have some incredible noise-blocking gene known only to children raised in Manhattan), Emma (luckylies) and her boyfriend, Emma's friend Silvania, and Alicia's friend Sam. When I walked in the door, Daniel was walking through the front hall with a leg of bayonne ham in both hands, cradled a bit like a baby. I knew it would be a good night. He and Alicia shuttled me through to the living room, where we guests relaxed with a glass of rose champagne while Alicia and Daniel put the finishing touches on dinner in the kitchen. How they managed to come up with this meal on a WEEKNIGHT boggles my mind, but then I've never been less than amazed by their creative, welcoming food. Here goes... First course: cromesquis with foie gras...Daniel described these in an early email as "foie gras nuggets," and indeed they were. Foie gras, gelatin and some port, dredged and fried...melty, rich goodness...(photos courtesy of Daniel himself, BTW) The inside... And we'd only just begun. Next up, a creamy oyster stew, velvety and studded with onions (or leeks? Daniel and Alicia - help!) and three tender oysters. And do they not have the coolest dishes? The salad course was based on one of their favorites from Ouest: a frisee and watercress salad with smoked chubb, a poached egg, and a mustardy vinaigrette. I really loved this dish - the meaty fish, the creamy egg, the crunchy croutons, the tangy vinaigrette. Next up, my favorite dish of the night, both in flavor and sheer creative joy. Fried quail (cornmeal batter) and waffles. The maple syrup was infused with rosemary, a sprig of which rested on the plate, the scent wafting upward. A palate cleanser followed in the form of a lemon, Campari and rosemary granita...sweet and fresh. For the final savory course, roasted baby lamb chops with potato puree, red wine butter, and green beans wrapped in bacon. Daniel was worried when we didn't all clean our plates - it was delicious, but we were so full (not that we didn't make room for dessert...separate compartments being not merely rumoured, but actual scientific fact). And, finally, dessert...burnt caramel pots de creme, chocolate sorbet, and buttermilk ice cream to cut the richness of the other two. Oh. My. God. SO GOOD. The course was accompanied by some maple whisky, which was delightfully light and just slightly smoky-sweet - really smooth, and paired perfectly with the pots de creme. And just when you thought you couldn't get more food out of these two, they bring you a gift-wrapped rocky road brownie for the next day. I'm saving mine for later... Thank you so much, Daniel and Alicia - what an amazing evening! You are the consummate host and hostess, and now I am completely terrified of ever having you over to dinner at my house. Give me some time, maybe I can work up the courage...

I'm running out the door for dinner, and I'm very excited...when he saw that I had nothing planned for tonight, Daniel (and the lovely Alicia) invited me over for dinner! I am headed to their place now...can't wait to report back on what I'm sure will be a fabulous meal. See you soon!

Cinnamon sugar...blueberry jam...peanut butter...nutella...but really, cinnamon sugar.

Oh my god - that's amazing!!! Yes, onion roll indeed. In fact, with the onion roll and the horseradish, it was quite a stinky sandwich. Not quite as stinky as the Breakup Burger, however. Yes, we have quite a few carts. Sixth Avenue in the 50's (and the 50's between 5th and 6th Avenues) are lunch cart hotspots...I know Alanamoana has some preferences. I have to admit I generally frequent the carts on Park, which are not as good, but are a wee bit closer and more convenient to my ATM (I am constantly low on cash, since I hate carrying a lot of money around).

OK, lunch! As mentioned above, I decided on soup and sandwich at Dean and Deluca...the soup (pasta fagiole) was thick and rich, with lots and lots of beans, and just a little pasta. The sandwich was tasty - the roast beef was nice and rare, and didn't have that cold cut, plasticky flavor to it. For dessert, I treated myself to an apple galette from Balthazar...I mean, it's fruit, right? It was wonderful...the crust was light and flaky, and the apples were tender and sweet. Hard to mess up, I suppose. Now I'm on Diet Coke #1 and headed to a 3:00 meeting...

You know the story behind the mural in the lobby of 30 Rock, right? It's a replacement for what was to have been the original work. ← Yes, it was originally conceived and worked on by Diego Rivera, who painted in Communist figures and themes (those of you who have seen Cradle Will Rock will recognize the story), thereby angering Nelson Rockefeller, who had the mural painted over. Here's some info from Wikipedia:

There are egulleteers in London, you know... ← I know it! I'll be posting for advice once things calm down (read: blog is over)...not even sure yet where we're staying!

Hey, all! Well, I managed to survive my "travel consultation" - five shots and one anti-malaria prescription later, I headed out to find sustenance (before those vaccination side effects like low-grade fever and fatigue set in). I took a short walk back through Rockefeller Center, shaking off the soreness in my arm and generally enjoying the above-freezing temperatures. I really love Rock Center...it's mobbed during the holidays, but it's pretty ok the rest of the year, foot-traffic-wise, and it's such a gorgeous, majestic group of buildings. I love Art Deco, and the murals and sculpture in and around the buildings are breathtaking and, in many cases, awe-inspiring. I also really like how the elaborate artwork contrasts with the very reserved design of the buildings themselves, so tall and straight and clean. In summer, the rink turns into an outdoor bar. (Named, oh-so-cleverly, RinkBar.) Since I was in Rockefeller Center, and since I wanted soup, I decided to head for Dean & Deluca - they always have a good selection, and I rarely eat there, because it's usually so crowded. It was nice and quiet today! You may recognize its windows...they figure heavily in crowd shots on the Today Show, since the store is right across the path from Studio 1A... They've managed to cram a lot into a small space...a big candy rack, a salad bar...everything is pre-prepared (not made to order), but the sandwiches are still pretty good. I thought about the salad bar... But decided to go for a cup of soup and half a sandwich. I wound up with a vegetarian pasta fagiole soup and half a roast beef sandwich, topped with horesradish mayo, lettuce and tomato. (Pics of these soon!) Then it was on to the desserts...they always have a very tempting assortment, brought in from bakeries around the city, including Sage and Balthazar. How pretty are these tarts? I did get a dessert...but more on that later!

Usually at least one...though, to be fair, the menu shown for Etats-Unis is the restaurant menu, which is a fair bit pricier than the smaller-plate menu at their wine bar (which is across the street - they run the plates over 81st Street, and wine goes the other direction when ordered in the restaurant), which is where I'm planning on eating this week. You can get the full restaurant menu or the bar menu, which is fantastic. I actually get to visit The Modern a fair bit, since it's so close to my office. It's a great, moderately-priced place to suggest to vendors (I get taken out a lot for my work), and, even better, it's somewhere I actually want to eat.

Am now off to get a cup of coffee with my colleague...no, not from anywhere exciting, just trotting down to the kitchen. I feel guilty that there aren't any culinary delights to savor right now, but my workdays are pretty mundane, food-wise. For your perusal, to keep you amused until I do something worth reading about (!) here are a few of the places I'll be visiting later in the week... - The Modern (Bar Room) - Degustation - Etats-Unis

Ouch! I didn't know that scarfs helped sore throats, although I always do it out of comfort. I think most of the Northeast has some type of illness now, thanks to the temperature drop. A good lunch for a sore arm (and throat?)-- probably soup and a glass of wine! ← When I wrap it around my throat and then a bit over the mouth, it helps keep the whole system warm...don't know if it really does anything toward fending off sickness, but it does keep things a bit more limber, and it definitely helps me feel better.

Alanamoana is totally my Yorkville pinch-hitter...yes, the restaurant at 85th and 2nd is called Heidelberg, and it's still there. We also have a Hungarian place, Andre's Cafe, and, of course, Schaller and Weber. I believe there are some German bakeries on some of the side streets in the low 80's/high 70's between 1st and 2nd...

Tea with lemon has been consumed, throat is wrapped in a big scarf (a trick from my days as a singer back in high school and college), and I am off to bed for some healing/preventative slumber. See you in the morning! On tap tomorrow, I'm headed to Rockefeller Center for my India inoculations, so we'll probably grab lunch over that way. What's a good lunch for a sore arm (FIVE shots!!!!)?

Please tell me you tasted a lardon after the fat was rendered...cook's treat, in my book. And, were the brussels sprouts from the Green Market? ← I did! I threw them back into the pasta...not to worry, not a morsel was wasted. The Greenmarket, sadly, turned up no brussels sprouts. However, I just happened to have some in the fridge. My new addiction has its uses! Pan, I LOVE that place...just had a carrot cupcake from there last week... I_Call_the_Duck, I'm not sure about Miriam's affiliation...will have to find out. She is a recovering vegetarian (sorry, veggies ), but that doesn't preclude a love for Al's Pancake House, does it?

Oh my goodness! It really is a tiny little world. The pickles are quite delicious - I highly recommend them. So, I went to visit my brother and his new fiancee this afternoon. They were very kind and fed me a honeybun purchased on their weekend jaunt to Connecticut. It came from the Silvermine Tavern in Norwalk and was, as my mother would say, too-licious. Sticky and not overly sweet. I got home around 7:45 and decided to make a quick dinner using some of the leftovers from last night. I have about half a chicken's worth of meat, and I also had a decent amount of leftover roasted veggies. Taking insomniac's advice, I decided to add some garlic to the mix, and yesterday's bacon conversation meant its appearance was a foregone conclusion. I rendered the fat from some lardons, then added a touch of olive oil and the garlic to the pan. Once that had gone golden, I added the chopped leftover veggies (mainly brussels sprouts) and the chicken, and sauteed until warmed through. Added the bacon back in, some chopped parsley, and lots of black pepper. Then I tossed it all with some spaghetti and a bit of pasta cooking water, letting everything come together in the skillet. Topped off in the bowl with some aged balsamic, more parsley, and grated Parmesan. After the pasta, I had a salad (of course!) - tomatoes with sweet onion (Maya in this case) and toasted pine nuts. topped with a teeny bit of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. My throat's feeling a bit scratchy, so I think I'll have a cup of tea with some leftover tarte tatin for dessert...

Hey, Bruce! My life hasn't changed too much...I'm hosting more dinner parties these days, and staying at work longer. Which has meant less cooking on weeknights and many more dinners in the office. Hence my neglectful behavior toward the Dinner! topic. Hopefully, though, things will even out a bit over the next few months. I have been cooking from POVT, and I'd like to do more Vietnamese cooking, particularly since I have a HUGE bottle of fish sauce in the pantry. Back to the story of my day... I walked up to the laundromat and threw in two loads; while they dried, I walked over to Midnight Express, a diner on the corner of 89th and 2nd. I used to live in that block, so I've ordered many a hangover-cure burger from them, though now I mostly stop in when I'm hungry and doing laundry at the same time. I settled into a little booth near the front, ordered coffee and the Four Seasons egg white omelet (broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms), and opened up my current reading material, a biography of Queen Isabella of England. The omelet arrived a few minutes later, piping hot and accompanied by french fries and wheat toast. It was good, nice and moist, and the veggies - the spinach and broccoli in particular - were very fresh and tasty. On my way back to the laundromat, I passed Cafe d'Alsace, where I had dinner on Friday night...here's a shot of its exterior: I just saw that Dracula is on Masterpiece Theatre tonight...what's a good meal to go along with that?!?

Trans fat detective on the beat, eh? How do I figure out if trans fats have made an appearance, other than asking? I am relishing the idea of sneaking into various kitchens and checking their cupboards for contraband Crisco... Today's schedule is pretty open...I'll be doing laundry (why does this always seem to happen during my blog weeks?) and visiting Jeremy and Miriam over on the Upper West Side. I'll be bringing them the leftover tart tatin, and probably a bottle of champagne, so we'll have to go pick one out. Which I know is going to be fun! I have to do some work tonight, but hopefully I'll be able to bribe myself with some good food to keep the energy up. So stay tuned!