Megan Blocker

...but things are still going on! Click here for a look at the crowd this Saturday, more than a week after opening day... As Gawker puts it: ETA: The "fatty" comment is classic Gawker snark...making fun of Manhattan's obsession with thinness. Certainly not directed at TJ's customers!

I don't know if this is helpful, but here's a link to a Google image search using "Mille Crepes" in Japanese. You should be able to identify the pro examples fairly easily. Incidentally, the search turns up 2,900 hits (vs. 21 in English), which gives you an idea of how popular this dessert is in Japan. http://images.google.ca/images?q=%E3%83%9F...100&sa=N&tab=wi Megan, your photos look great. I'm tempted to make a version with strawberry pastry cream as the season draws closer... ← Ooooh...and I love the one that makes it into a sort of strawberry shortcake. I love strawberry shortcake, and with crepes? SOLD!

Go Ling!!!! We want a full report.

Is Manero's in Greenwich still open, or has it closed? That's where we always got our dry-aged beef.

Thanks, Abra! The cake at Lady M has the ruffly edges, though I don't know if others trim theirs somehow...

Thanks, Ling! It was good...light, sugary and crumbly, just like fresh maple sugar. Little Ms. Foodie, I've been meaning to make that same recipe...looks gorgeous.

Oh, man...I'd forgotten about this. About four years ago, I made a rainbow layer cake (red cake, orange icing, yellow cake, green icing, etc.) for a friend's birthday (sort of a joke), and accidcentally made a green layer, which ended being baked off as cupcakes. My friend Caroline, who has the most insatiable sweet tooth this side of our Ling, ate every single cupcake. She called me the next morning at work, as I was slicing the cake for my colleague...she had come from the bathroom and was quite alarmed by what had happened to her.

That looks great - congratulations! Obviously you put a lot of work into that cake. ← Seriously...this cake is awesome. I love the bright colors...I would have killed for a cake like this at age five. It's like dessert re-imagined by Dr. Seuss. Heck, I'd kill for it now - who am I kidding?

Thanks, Rachel! The only other stacked cake I've ever made was an old Southern family recipe given to me by my friend Louisa and her mom, Jan. Jan is originally from Texas, I think, and has lived in Lynchburg, Virginia for almost thirty years now. The cake is so good...sponge (six layers, I think) layered with a creamy lemon curd, iced with a lemon-cream cheese frosting. Yum. Yes, it was difficult to pull Miles away from the whipped cream...it was good and boozy from the Grand Marnier, and since it was Saturday at 4:00, cocktail hour had begun!

And I love mine, because cream is one of my favorite colors...though, so is chocolate brown... I bet alternating colors would be cool...I've been thinking about making a coffee- or mocha-flavored one, with plain crepes and flavored cream. Yes, the crepes have to be really thin...most of ours were almost transparent when held up to the light, and that seemed to work well. ETA: I had a slice for breakfast this morning (I'm so ashamed ), and it was very firm. To be fair, the slices last night were also firm - the only issue was that the top layer or so of cream got oozy when we used the torch. The rest of the slice was solid (it had chilled for about three, three and a half hours at that point).

Does anyone else love how you can see Patrick's reflection in that perfect glaze? In the eclair on the lower-left...

Ask and ye shall receive, ludja! SweetSide started a thread...click! I've moved my step-by-step over there!

Did you chill the cake at all before serving? That seemed to help us...

I, too, made a mille crepes last night! My friends Hall and Miles came over to re-create the Lady M Mille Crepes cake. We had such a blast... The cake-making actually kicked off last night, as Amanda Hesser's adaptation called for the crepe batter and the pastry cream to be made a day ahead. When Miles and Hall arrived this afternoon, we went ahead and started out making the 20 (not a thousand) crepes...Miles manned the pan, and Hall and I made sure they cooled well. The batter was remarkably light yet elastic, and the browned butter in the batter gave the crepes a wonderfully nutty taste. Once we got near finishing on the crepes front, I started pushing the pastry cream through the sieve one last time, and then whipped up some heavy cream with a little sugar and some Grand Marnier (rather than the recommended Kirsch). We folded the whipped cream into the pastry cream, while Miles, um, licked the whipped cream mixing bowl... Finally, time for assembly. We selected the heartiest crepe (for the bottom) and the prettiest (for the top) and got to work with an off-set spatula. Finally, it was done and ready to go into the fridge to set up for a few hours. After a round of Trivial Pursuit and dinner out at Paola's, an Italian place around the corner, we came home and got down to the business of eating. But first, we had to brulee some sugar on the top crepe. Finally, the cake was ready... ...for slicing... ...and eating. We didn't find Hesser's recipe to be terribly user-friendly; for instance, you should probably chill the cake again after bruleeing the top, as the first layer of cream became oozy and gooey, which you don't want. But overall, oh my goodness. SO GOOD. And really close to the real thing. Here's a link to my version of Hesser's recipe: click!

Thanks, guys! The cake was way fun to make...I highly recommend having a couple of extra hands... Here's a link to my version of the recipe: click!

Today my friends Hall and Miles came over to re-create the Lady M Mille Crepes cake. We had such a blast... ...slicing... ...and eating. We didn't find Hesser's recipe to be terribly user-friendly; for instance, you should probably chill the cake again after bruleeing the top, as the first layer of cream became oozy and gooey, which you don't want. But overall, oh my goodness. SO GOOD. And really close to the real thing. I'll post my adaptation of Hesser's recipe shortly!

Gateau aux Crepes Serves 6 as Dessert. This cake is based on a recipe by Amanda Hesser, which in turn was based on a dessert created by Lady M Confections, a bakery on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It's gorgeous and delicious, and though it takes time to put together, it takes relatively little skill. No crumb coat, no fussy buttercream...so go for it! The pastry cream described below is vanilla, but you could flavor it with coffee, chocolate...whatever strikes your fancy. The batter and the pastry cream will need to rest overnight, so be sure to plan ahead. For the crepe batter: 6 T unsalted butter 3 c milk 6 eggs 1-1/2 c flour Pinch salt 7 T sugar For the pastry cream: 2 c whole milk 1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped 6 egg yolks 1/2 c sugar 1/3 c cornstarch, sifted 3-1/2 T butter, softened To put it all together: Neutral oil, such as corn or canola 2 c heavy cream 1 T sugar, plus extra for the brulee 2 T Grand Marnier To make the batter: Brown the butter in a small pan until it darkens and turns nutty. Set aside to cool a bit, and heat the milk in another pan until steaming, but not boiling, and set that aside to cool for ten minutes. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt on medium speed. Once combined into a smooth, thick batter, slowly add the hot milk in a thin stream, with the mixer on low speed. Do the same with the browned butter. Cover the batter and refrigerate overnight. To make the pastry cream: In a small pan, bring the milk, the vanilla bean and the scraped seeds just to a boil, then set aside to cool for ten minutes. Build an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and nesting a medium bowl inside it - you'll use this to cool down the pastry cream. In a medium pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Remove the vanilla bean from the hot milk, and then add the milk gradually to the egg-cornstarch mixutre. Place the pan over medium heat and bring just to a boil, whisking the mixture all the while. It will start to come together into a loose paste when it reaches boiling. Remove the pan from the heat, and press the cream through a mesh sieve or chinois set over the smaller bowl nested in the ice bath. Once the cream has cooled for a few minutes, mix in the butter. Allow the pastry cream to cool to room temperature before covering and refrigerating it overnight. Putting it all together: Remove the crepe batter from the fridge an hour ahead of time and let it come to room temperature. You may need to mix it up a bit, as some of the flour may have gathered on the surface or settled to the bottom. Place a non-stick 9- or 10-inch crepe pan over medium heat, and swab it with a bit of the oil. Once the pan is hot, add enough batter to just cover the bottom of the pan and tilt the pan to coat. Cook until the edges become brown and lacy (just like making a pancake) and flip the crepe using a large, non-stick spatula. Cook on the other side until done, another 5-30 seconds, depending on your pan, your stove, and the batter. Transfer the crepe to a sheet of parchment paper and allow to cool, laid out flat. Repeat until the batter is gone - you should have enough batter for about 25 crepes. Press the pastry cream through the sieve one more time. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream, sugar and Grand Marnier on high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream until evenly and well-combined. Now you're ready to assemble. Put your heartiest crepe on a cake plate and top with enough cream to cover the crepe with a thin layer - you should need just under 1/4 cup or so. Spread the cream evenly using an off-set spatula, and repeat until you have stacked 20 or so crepes on top of one another, saving your prettiest crepe for your top layer (you will not cover this one with cream). Put the cake in the fridge for at least two hours. When you're ready to eat it, sprinkle the top crepe evenly with sugar and brulee it as you would a creme brulee - if you have a torch. If you don't, just dust the top with granulated or confectioner's sugar. If you brulee the top, return the cake to the fridge for ten minutes to allow the top layers of cream to set up again after their bout with the heat, and then serve. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Cake ( RG1679 )

This morning...a maple-wheat scone from Two Little Red Hens down the street. And, of course, a big ol' cup of coffee.

SO TRUE.

Oooooh, Snack! Good point! Here's a link to their MenuPages listing, which shows their entire menu.

After some thinking, one place that comes to mind is Il Corallo Trattoria, on Prince at Thompson, I think. It's a tiny little Italian place with pasta, an inexpensive wine list, and it's smack-dab in SoHo. You might be better off heading south to Chinatown...

Can you define affordable? People have very different definitions...

And all of my memories of Anthropolgy 101 just came roaring back...

Ina Garten may not be a mega-brand by any stretch of the imagination, but she's certainly popular. I would say that she has done an excellent job of branding her entertaining style as relaxed but sumptuous. Caviar on blini, but consumed around the kitchen island while the host puts the finishing touches on dinner. Fabulous guest lists, but everyone pitches in - the amazing floral designer does the table, Eli Zabar brings the bread, and so on. Her brand name, though borrowed from an Ava Gardner film and sold to her bundled with the first store she bought in Westhampton, says it all: the Barefoot Contessa.

Mike, try keeping a Microplane in the shower so those baby corns don't grow on you. ← Hee hee...but, ew.