Megan Blocker

Can Connecticut get in on that, too? Those little dudes ruined so many picnics with their nasty...presents. That Sabich sounds really good, Michelle... Thanks so much for doing this blog - can't wait to see what else you'll be showing us this week.

I just made chocolate-hazelnut gelato using Nutella... Last night I had a scoop with some blackberries, and it was a fabulous combo. The recipe is from Giada (!)...click here for a copy.

Needed to fortify myself for a trip to the Greenmarket, so I had some pasta today. Also, since I had nothing in the house (and hence the trip), I had to get creative with leftovers. I ordered in steamed chicken and broccoli last night, so I used the broccoli to make penne with garlic, balsamic, and a little chicken. Also used a lot of hot pepper flakes... A little brown, but tasty!

That's how I felt about Julie and Julia. The blog felt spontaneous and real; the book felt forced and contrived. IMHO, of course.

I always assume it means below 14th... What does it mean for you, tippingvelvet?

You could do an early dinner at Lupa and then drinks at Pegu...and then perhaps a walk through SoHo and Tribeca to a late dinner at Landmarc? All of those spots are close by each other (well, relatively - Landmarc is a longer (but interesting) walk from the first two), and are in great areas for strolling around...you'll be in the village and SoHo, fabulous for shopping and people watching.

No. I think it'd really pale in comparison to Kitchen Confidential. ← Does the fact that it's written by someone with a front-of-house perspective make it any fresher?

I was perusing Gawker.com while eating my lunch, and saw this item: Here's a link to the blog itself...I've seen it referenced a few times in the forums, and will do a little reading now. Do we think this will make a good read?

I had this on Saturday afternoon at Java Girl on E. 66th Street...a homemade marshmallow stuffed with chocolate...a bit two sweet; I think oreos would do better.

Feeling a bit inferior today, since I didn't actually make my breakfast. I went to Andre's Cafe just downstairs for a chocolate croissant, coffee, and the paper. It was a beautiful morning, no humidity and breezy...

I made homemade pasta for the first time ever yesterday, and I think it was something of a success! I went to my friend Cristin's apartment to help her break in her pasta maker, which was a Christmas gift last year. We decided to make two pounds' worth so that we could see how it held up in the freezer. And, sauce-wise, we went with two - one based on a Babbo recipe we had back in February: turnips, carrots, pancetta and chives; and then just plain old pesto. First we mixed the egg with a bit of olive oil and some semolina and all-purpose flour. Then we kneaded the dough and let it rest for an hour. While it was resting, we prepped for the turnip sauce and made the pesto! We covered the pesto with a layer of olive oil and left it on the counter. Then we started rolling the pasta...this took a long while. It took us a few tries to get the rhythm down...I folded the sheets over and rolled them by hand, Cristin put them through the machine. 10 times on setting 1, then one time each on each setting up to setting 5. We cut the sheets into linguine and fettucine. Finally, time to make the sauce! We rendered the fat from the pancetta until it was quite crispy, which took about 10 minutes. I added some butter, which foamed right away, and then the turnips and carrots. Let those caramelize a bit till they were crispy around the edges, then added some chopped parsley and chives. Tossed with the fettucine, topped with more chives and parsley, and time to eat! The pesto and linguine was easy - just tossed them together and served. A really fun day...my arms and shoulders are a bin worn out, though! ETA: I forgot to tell you about how the pasta turned out! It came out extremely tender and just al dente enough - especially the fettucine. The flavor was good, but I think I'd add a bit of salt to the dough next time. One lesson learned is that nesting is good...we hung the linguine, and it dried out a lot. Which is fine, but it just made it hard to put into the pot without breaking it. Another lesson learned is that resting the dough is extremely important. We let it rest after every bit of handling, and it came out very good and not at all tough - definitely worth every bit of delayed gratification.

Wow, Alinka, this is awesome...I cannot wait to watch the week unfold. Do you have a favorite restaurant in Moscow? How does it compare to your favorite restaurant from your time in the States?

Mandoline! I don't own one, and have never used one. Should probably get around to that...

I disagree. I actually dislike the current trend of plain white dishes. Probably because I eat mostly ethnic food, many of which match better with non-white dishes. That second plate from the top looks really nice, and would look even better topped with a pile of Indian curry. ← Erm, dunno...I like some patterned plates (my mom has some rimmed in a little navy enamel and some gold leaf that are just beautiful, and that don't detract from or clash with the food), but those plates are just not attractive. IMHO, of course... Though I do think that plain white or off-white plates are the most versatile everyday ware, if only because they go with everything...

I really do have to try the squid next time...and bring a camera!

Made a chicken salad for lunch today...poached a chicken breast in some stock, then mixed with chopped yellow pepper, cucumber and red onion. Dressed it with some mayo, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. On the side, a tomato salad with basil from my freshly-pruned windowsill plant! Also dressed with some olive oil, a touch of balsamic, some kosher salt, and pepper.

I only met Matt a couple of times, but even in those few hours in his company, his passion and zest for food and drink came through as clearly as they do in his posts and work left behind here on eGullet. He had an open and warm spirit, something you could tell the instant you met him. The world has lost an incredible talent and a wonderful soul. Every time I go to Pegu for a cocktail, I'll be tipping my glass to Matt.

That was my guess, too! I hope it is - her photos are sooooo beautiful.

Awesome.

That's awesome. Will be great for mid-afternoon lunching in preparation for late dinners or early movies...sweet.

But that could just be the waiter, and not because you looked a certain way. I used to think staff were rude or nasty to me because I am young and therefore look like I'm not going to spend. I used to be really touchy about it. Then I started paying attention when shopping and eating out with my mom, who is older, successful, and looks it, and realized that it has nothing to do with it. Some people are just obnoxious. That said: I have no problem with a restaurant having a (spoken or unspoken) dress code. I like dressing up to go out. I also like living in a city where the vast majority of restaurants will consider you dressed up in nice jeans, heels, and a nice top. That said, I certainly don't mind wearing a skirt or dress when appropriate, and almost always err on the side of dressier when going to a fancier place for the first time.

That's what I do, too! I usually add some extra pepper flakes to the top of the dish before serving, too, for color and HEAT! Ooooh, and the golden garlic...yum.

In my last job, I worked as a recruiter for a major investment bank here in New York. I recruited for the back office of the bank, at all levels from entry to managing directors. With fifty open roles at any given time (that's just on my plate, not bank-wide), we sometimes had to use recruitment vendors/agencies to fill the jobs. Cue lots and lots of lunches. There were a few vendors I loved working with and enjoyed - surprisingly, those tended to be the ones who didn't take me out much. The pushier ones were always begging for a lunch, so I would usually have to go out with them once or twice a year to keep them quiet. Our offices were in the Flatiron district, so restaurant options were always really good - I was taken to Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Union Pacific, Union Square Cafe...so it's not like the food or the service were bad. Mostly, the lunches were just tedious. But there was one time when I went out with one recruiter who was particularly sketchy (all sorts of issues with H1-B visas and falsified resumes, if memory serves) to Gramercy Tavern, right around Christmas time. It was the first time I'd been to a lunch without my manager, and I had brought two of my slightly-more-junior colleagues with me. I was the oldest (at 23), and I guess the vendor thought that meant we all spent our time drinking and puking, because all he talked about for the entire meal was "hugging the bowl," "worshipping the porcelain gods," and so on. For TWO HOURS. I was so ill, I couldn't even eat my delicious meal. Sigh. Such a waste. Now I work in offshoring and vendor relationship management, which translates to a lot of mediocre midtown Indian. Blah.

Rice fettucine with corn and peas (from the freezer, baby - this is pantry cookin'), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha, lotsa garlic, onions, tomato paste, basil, lime zest and sesame seeds. I am now lighting a candle to dispel a bit of the garlic smell...so good while cooking, so hungry-making even when full, and therefore inconvenient.

My mom is in town right now, and, since she lives in Fresno these days, I try to show her a good culinary time of it when she's here. Last night, we met a couple of my friends for drinks at Pegu around 7:00, and when we walked out at 8:30, had no idea what we were doing to do for dinner. I remembered that she's never been to Babbo, and decided that it might be worth a shot to walk over and see if we might be able to get a seat at the bar for a little dinner. And we did! About five minutes after walking in, we were seated at the bar, where Ken helped us pick a couple of great wines. We started with a quartino of the Barbera and Armadino's salumi. The salumi were great - a lamb coppa, I think, and a spicy sausage of some kind, served with grilled bread. We didn't stuff ourselves (which, maybe, means we didn't do the done thing ), but just got a primo each. I had the orechiette with lamb sausage and rapini, which was delicious - hot and spicy and rejuvenating. My mom had the linguine with clams, which was, of course, wonderful. With our pastas, we enjoyed two quartinos of the Fiano di Avellino, which Ken said was the only thing he would drink in this weather - light, crisp, refreshing, and a good foil to Mom's pasta in particular. I went to the back to use the ladies' room, and peeked into the kitchen - it has a special allure for me now that I've read Heat, and I have to say that the linguine with clams did make me think of Buford's description of his time on the pasta station and the almost alchemical relationship between the briny clams and the long linguine. For dessert, we had the zeppolini (my mom knew right away that I would want them...what can I say, I love a doughnut), and I enjoyed a glass of Moscato d'Asti while Mom had a Sambuca and a decaf espresso. Hmmm...only now do I realize how much we drank last night. We must have sweated it off in the heat. I'm just so glad I finally got her to Babbo...it was a great night, and she really enjoyed it. One of the better ideas I've had in recent days...