Megan Blocker

I know I'm a little late in coming to the party, but my places are... Hearth I just love it. The atmosphere, the food, the service, the wine list...all worth the trek down to the East Village (from the East 80's). Kasadela Another East Village place...this is an izakaya, or sake house, where the plates are small and meant to be shared, sort of like tapas. Their rock shrimp tempura is out of this world, and their salmon tartar is something I crave on a regular basis. Eel donburi? Delicious. The best part is that, with sake flowing freely, I've never spent more than $45/head on dinner there, and it's usually more like $30-35. SWEET.

Marble rye, anyone? No soup for you!

Drool...

My mother and I made a gorgeous crown roast last year for Christmas from a fabulous recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook. It came out just a bit pink the center, crispy and crusty on the outside, and soooo flavorful. My mother's husband proceeded to cut himself a two-rib portion and MICROWAVE it until it was gray and mealy. I have so little respect for people who claim to like meat and then dessicate it like that. That said, I have not experienced anything similar to weinoo's time at Schiller's...could this be the next crack-down, post sous-vide?

Gilmore Girls and anything take-out or junky.

Well, this American loves marrow, however it's prepared. Oddly, my mom, usually a pretty adventurous eater, does not like it. I think that's a residual effect...apparently, my dad's family used to sit around the table cracking open chicken bones and sucking the inside out. Guess that turned her off... But she certainly ate the little bit of it on her plate next to the sirloin and short rib at Hearth! I didn't have the heart to tell her what it had been. And, yes, it appears on menus pretty frequently in these parts. In fact, I just had some a few weeks ago at Cafe D'Alsace on 2nd Avenue.

Yup! It's the groom's cake at Shelby's wedding (says the self-proclaimed Steel Magnolias addict - nothing better for a good cry).

Red velvet cupcakes were part of the big cupcake trend here about five years ago, and are still big sellers at the American-style bakeries (Buttercup Bakeshop, Magnolia, etc.).

I don't know if the "bleedin' armadillo" cake was such a huge trend-starter. That is one of my all-time favorite movie moments, when Shirley MacLaine hacks off the armadillo's butt and hands it to Tom Skeritt, who replies, "Thanks, Ouiser. Nothin' like a nice piece of ass."

Hmmm...I need wine. I suppose I could endure hardship and check it out this weekend! Good excuse to get my lazy butt down the Farmer's Market, too...

You have to stop yourself from making a catty remark every time a friend orders a Cosmo. Which, in Manhattan, is not infrequently.

Mayor Lori! I had no idea you held such civic powers within your grasp. Those muffins look divine.

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, we both used non-stick, but I still think you shouldn't be having the issues you're having...maybe try the batter minus the sugar, and see what happens? That cream looks gorgeous, by the way...

Abra, did you grease the pan at all? That's so weird...my friend Miles used the recipe yesterday, too, with lots of success. He used Fra Angelico to flavor the whipped cream, and it was mighty good when I had a slice this afternoon...

Thanks for the ideas, guys...these are all excellent. It's amazing how cute a toque becomes when it's miniature. Maggie, I don't embroider (though I sew a mean patch and a secure button), but that's a really good idea. One of the friends involved is quite creative and crafty, and he might be able to pull something off.

Risotto is made from a short-grain rice called aborrio. The traditional method invloves sauteing some garlic and little onion in olive oil, then sauting the rice like you would for a pilaf. The liquid is added a little bit at a time, stirring constantly until it's absorbed, then adding more liquid, repeat ad infinitum until rice is aldente. Cheese, cream, etc is added for flavor. The result is creamy and thick, more like a pudding than regular rice. It's popular because it's good! Although labor intensive, it is not difficult to make yourself. ← I'll second that! I just made risotto for myself for lunch today, and it looked something like this... That's a picture from a few weeks ago, from dinner, but I just made the same thing...took me about a half hour, and only a 1/4 cup of rice...

I made AnnT's delectable scones today. They came out flaky, buttery and just sweet enough. I used fresh blueberries and will be taking the leftovers to work.

Two of my friends have just taken over the management of a small inn, and their chef and his wife recently had a baby boy. They'd like to buy the baby some cooking-themed clothes. I've already pointed them toward our fabulous eG apparel, but am wondering if anyone knows of some other sources? I think they'd love a shirt that says "Charlie Trotter, Jr." - or something of that variety. Any ideas?

hmmm...they used to use guanciale not pancetta for the carbonara... ← It was definitely pancetta, I think. And I think I got that off the menu, rather than by taste...because I remember thinking it was odd.

You know what, my friend Miles said the same thing. He's not usually a big cake eater, but he loves the mille crepes. It's like a cake for people who hate cake! Same thing happened to me the first time I made pastry cream.

Those look super good, Lori. Is the recipe in RecipeGullet? I didn't see it when I did a quick search, but I simply must have it!

Yeah, it can be like that. We had three people in the kitchen when I made mine, and we made a whole job of just cleaning the boozy whipped cream out of the bowl... Looks awesome, Bryan!

Had kind of an odd lunch...I was craving potato salad, and needed to eat some green veggies. So...lunch was a warm potato salad and a tossed salad.