Megan Blocker

What a great question, Zuke! In the interest of prepping for next week's eG Spotlight, I'm in the midst of re-reading Comfort Me With Apples, Tender at the Bone and Garlic and Sapphires, and I'm thinking that my current ideal lunch group would be: Ruth Reichl, Marion Cunningham, Cecilia Chiang and M.F.K. Fisher. Assuming, of course, that we can include, fantasy-style, those who have passed on. I'm not sure how I would get a word in edgewise, but that would be A-OK with me. Not sure yet on the locale, but I think it will have to involve Chinatown or Little Korea...

Yes, yes, yes, please! I know I'm not Pontormo, but I say do it! Gorgeous terrine-making photos, Lucy.

Thanks, Ling! YOU couldn't finish something? It must have been truly massive!

Sadly, the little Greek coffee cups are going away...they were never made in the larger size I favor (need my CAFFEINE!!!), and now a lot of coffee carts have cups with ads on the side - last year, there were tons of TNT cups, this year, a lot for Bliss, the spa. And, no, not all coffee carts are created equal. Some make coffee that tastes like filtered dirt, but some are pretty good. For instance, there is a cart near my house that I won't go to, but one near my office that I like. I still haven't found one I like as much as the one by my old office, though.

Omigod. I am not worthy. Daniel, that looks amazing - fantastic job! I think I might actually try the bacon-brioche bread pudding. After all, Ling is a dessert genius! Well done.

Oh my god. It is SO chicken. I need more sleep. I second the question on the pig's whereabouts.

Looks pretty freakin' good, Daniel. Great first Dinner post, Karen - the beef with broccoli and baby corn is right up my alley, and that stew sounds great, too!

Dark chocolate filled with raspberry jam from Chocolate Bar. Yummmmm...

It's clean out the fridge night here! Dinner was penne with a quick sauce of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, onions, garlic, crushed red pepper, fresh basil and fresh chives. On the side, a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and basil, with a champagne-shallot vinaigrette.

I had a gyro from the Halal cart around the corner - extra hot sauce! For dessert, a very yummy Gala apple from the fruit cart. And, of course, a Diet Coke (nectar of the gods, that stuff).

Yum. Beautiful picture, Lucy...can't wait to see the terrine! I love the contrast between the domesticated and wild rabbit.

I was thinking something along these lines...either try to treat yourself to a dinner at your favorite place (if they're serving), or make your favorite dinner at home. Don't try to make it like Thanksgiving - unless that's your favorite meal! I would probably do rack of lamb or something like that... Wrangling an invite could also be good!

That pie is beautiful Klary, and well-timed! Hopefully someone will be able to add it to their Thanksgiving menu and report back...alas, my family will be eating at a restaurant this year (since we have lots of people and a wedding over the weekend), so I'll have to wait a little while to try this out. ETA: For those of you who don't read the Dinner! thread, I made the butter-braised chicken for my little bro on Sunday, and it was a big hit. Delicious - Klary was right on about the gravy. Wowza.

Nan Kempner. WHY do I know these things? ← Usually attributed to the Duchess of Windsor. ← Hmmmm...I'm almost positive I saw this attributed to Nan Kempner in one of her obits recently, which is why it stuck with me. Ah, well. ETA: Aha! I see! It seems an article about Nan was in the same issue of Vanity Fair as an article about the Duke and Duchess (not shocking, I suppose). My brain must have scrambled them like eggs.

Tonight my little baby brother (ok, he's 23 and a good 9 inches taller, but whatever) came over for dinner. We had Klary's chicken braised in butter (DELICIOUS!!!), a leek, turnip and potato mash (good, not great - should have stuck with the parsnips!), and peas with butter. Pure comfort food. I didn't get any pics of dinner (Jer likes to dig right in), but here's a photo of the potatoes I used in the mash...made a very successful visit to the farmer's market this afternoon! For dessert, I made the same apple tart I made for the puff pastry party a few weeks ago - Jer was feeling left out, because I made it when he was in Scotland, so I did it again (with some of the pastry I had frozen) and sent him home with the leftovers. Again, no pics, but here are the apples I used!

So, I went back to Greenflea today to look at more apples...here are some of the things I saw! Macoun... Winesap... Mutsu...

I had a Ling-like breakfast this morning... Leftover Destrooper waffle cookies with raspberry preserves.

Wow, Susan - those dinners look amazing. The salad made me salivate! Klary, hope you feel better soon - that meal did sound really good, and there's nothing worse than your food tasting off.

I can't remember exactly when in elementary school it happened, but at some point we had to write a story about how our favorite meal was made. I wrote about lamb chops, salad and blueberry pie. ETA: No kids here, but I should be spending time with loads this week - I'll do some research and report back!

What a beautiful home, Abra - and a gorgeous setting. Thanks so much for inviting us all into your life this week!!!

Yes, yes, yes!!!! I cannot wait to see the delights that come out of that kitchen o' yours, Daniel. Will you be washing all the pork down with your keg of Bud, or is that for a different gathering?

Er, shouldn't that be going ? *runs away, giggling* ← Niiiice...I definitely think we're upping the level of discussion with this thread. Great altar of coffee you have there in your kitchen, Owen - and the machine from your workplace is so beautiful and gleaming...it looks like the Vespa I've been eyeing for years.

I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time at the Harvard Club here in NYC (my brother and grandfather both attended Harvard as undergrads, and are both members). I've really only ever been at night, at which point the crowd is pretty evenly divided between men and women, and, more and more, between age groups. I've met high school friends there for drinks, spent time at the bar or in the lounge with my brother, and met my grandparents for dinner. My brother, due to an unusual work schedule, got to spend a lot of time there during the day when he first moved to the city. He said there are all sorts of clubs (History, Latin, Backgammon...) that meet before, during and after lunch, and that most are exclusively made up of retired men. When my mom used to go to the club with her parents, women were not allowed in the main dining room. Times are changing* - I think as the female members of the club begin to retire in larger numbers, you may see more and more of them spend their days at the Harvard Club (or the Princeton Club, Yale Club, and so on), and those lunch clubs will become co-ed, or maybe even dominated by women. For those who are curious, the menu is very WASPy/northeastern - prime rib, surf and turf, popovers, lamb chops, and so on. Good, solid and filling, but nothing too daring. *ETA: Times may be changing, but they still won't let you use your cell phone anywhere but in the phone booth or coat rooms, which I love!

My friend had a keg delivered to her UWS apartment a while back...I'll check with her and report back.