bergerka

JennyUptown - ANYTIME. C'mon up and give me a call! The best part about it is this: if you spend $3.50 each on dinner, that's more $$$ left over for cocktails. Daniel, I didn't know you lived on the UWS! Tried Regional yet??? My chocolate craving hasn't struck yet, probably because I'm not at work. I'm quite sure that the first time I walk past the Silver Moon Bakery today and catch sight of their pain au chocolat, it'll hit with a vengeance. I'll be sure to document it if that happens. Purely for posterity's sake, you realize. Fortunately for all concerned, we're out of petit ecolier cookies. Bleu - omg, it does look like a swan. That was completely random and accidental - in truth, I was instant messaging at the same time as I poured the hot milk into the cup and wasn't even paying attention. At some point, I really will get off the computer and go shopping - I've been updating my regular blog (please PM me if you want to know about it - it's not food-related, or only occasionally, so I feel it would be inappropriate to list it in my sig line, plus it contains much adult language and content that might be offensive to some), which I've shamefully neglected this week, but am almost done. K

Or the other thing they say if you try to order something more unusual on the menu, which is "no. You won't like. You order dumpling." They were really, really nice about letting me take pictures, I must say. Wendy - I hadn't actually considered trying to make french fries, but now I'm going to have to ponder, as one really can't have moules sans frites, can one? The recipe I have is for steaming the guys in spiced beer, but one of my FAVORITE ways to have mussels is with cherry tomatoes and pesto, the way they make them at Landmarc restaurant. OMG, that's so good. K

Ok, you need to get out of my head, because I was just now emailing with a friend about putting some nutmeg in mine tomorrow morning. Maybe a little of both? K

Suzi - I am so amazed by how good that hot & sour soup is. I will get into moods where I crave the taste...fortunately, at $1 for a small, which is HUGE, it's cheap enough for even my most broke times! Ok, I am an idiot, I totally forgot about the dining and opera book, but I can see it right across from me in the bookshelf. Will dig through tonight. By the way, folks...mussels have made the cut. They're on the menu for Tuesday night. Since I'll have a houseguest (michaeldauphinais from this very forum!), that works out well. Klary - I may pm you this mussels recipe I found to see if you have suggestions, since your area of the world is the BEST for moules. K

Way. Seriously. Come join me there anytime and I'll prove it. That place tops my "bang for the buck" list in NYC, with Noche Mexicana's $2 tacos (one is PLENTY for me, they're huge) a close second. Good morning, all! It's barely still morning. I was totally unable to fall asleep last night - no idea why, as for once in my life I'm not stressed - decided life was too short, called in to work and spent the morning alternately dozing and cuddling ferrets. Now I'm up and finally having breakfast. I decided once again to go with a cappuccino and a slice of pumpkin cranberry bread. My plans for the day include buying the ingredients for tonight's black bean soup and tomorrow's dinner party, then heading for home and cooking like crazy. I may also see if I can't find a better mousetrap (we can't use the snap ones, as the ferrets like to sneak out of our room and run down the hall and would undoubtedly be curious about them, with tragic results), because MICKEY IS IN MY ROOM again this morning, the little bastard. Eric - the Irish Whiskey drink was a Dubliner with Redbreast and I think it WAS your second one. The third was a NY Sour.

Eric_Malson and I got to spend some quality time with Brian tonight at Pegu. . . another fabulous bartender there. Here is a "Last Word" he made for me: A great guy, too. I wish I'd taken a picture of the New York Sour he made for Eric, but let's just say my hands were none to steady by that time. It's nice to know that no matter who you're dealing with at Pegu, you're going to have a uniquely wonderful experience!

Behemoth: what Sam said about the Rancilio. I have no idea what its components are, so I'm very glad he answered. Oh man, it's turned out to be a much later evening than it was supposed to be... So! Eric_Malson and I headed down to Chinatown for dumplings. We like to go to Dumpling House, on Eldridge just south of Broome Street. Here's the sign. Here's the nice lady who takes the order and makes the dumplings. I had a picture of the menu in front of her on the counter, but it came out um...kind of blurry...I don't have this picture taking thing down yet. I ordered fried dumplings (duh!), a small hot & sour soup (best I have ever had, bar none. no idea how they do it, don't want to know. Some things should remain a mystery), and a sesame pancake filled with carrots, cilantro and beef. Eric ordered the same. Total for two people: $7.00 (10 dumplings, $2, 2 sesame pancakes with beef, $3, and two small hot & sour soups, $2). Here's what dinner looked like. That's a lot of food for one person! We then made our way to Pegu Club. Audrey was there, looking beautiful (um, duh) and so were Toby, Phil, and the wonderful Brian, whose drinks I had never had before. These pictures will be even more blurry, dark and lame than the ones I usually take, as I didn't use flash out of courtesy to the other patrons (the guy next to me had no such inhibitions. ). First, Brian made me a Last Word (please, please, I beg you, don't ask me what the heck was in these. Gin, something and green chartreuse. It was delicious and refreshing). Then, he put together a beautiful applejack tombstone (applejack, a touch of demerara syrup, a dash of bitters). This also had a twist, but the only non-blurry pic I took was before he put it in. Then Phil stopped over to our end of the bar and made this, which he called "A Drink," when I asked him what it was. It's gin, something, and fruit cup (ask someone else what that is, please...I have no clue), with a grapefruit twist. oog, that one's really dark. Hope you can see it. Phil also came by and made me a NONalcoholic drink after I cut myself off (it's a work night, after all. Three is plenty) that had ginger beer, muddled cucumber and muddled strawberry (I think) and lime juice. Very refreshing and tasted good, with a nice sour bite at the end. I can't for the life of me remember all of the drinks Eric had, but I know he finished up with a New York Sour, which was delish. Pegu is, in my opinion, the epitome of what a bar should be - I'm just never afraid to sit down and say "oh, hell, what do you feel like making? I like everything." I really, really need to go see the ferrets and collapse into bed now. More thoughts on the opera version of The Cook, etc., tomorrow ("try the cock..."). Good night, everyone!

HEE. We did the $95 prix fixe. I had, as I recall, the Kumamoto oysters, then the poached lobster, then the monkfish - it was prepared differently when I had it than the way they are showing it on the website now - and I think the chocolate praline for dessert. I am unfortunately blanking on the wine - it was a French white that I'd had in France, just lovely. Went with everything, too. One of our group had the skate, which I also remember as being just amazing. K

They usually jump up on my side of the bed. . . ← Ah, but seeing that you are out of town, if the cute ferret critters are anything like my cute kitty critter, a substitute is in order when the primary sleeping target is not available. (Hope it is a good trip!) ← Yes, exactly - when Sam is there, he grabs them and gently boots them off the bed before they ever get to me. Most of the time I don't even know they've done it. NOW, though, I'm wondering how it is HE ever sleeps. jsolomon: now you're catching on to my eeeeevil plan. It's almost DUMPLING AND COCKTAIL TIME. I may actually have time to go home and upload the lunch pix first, too. Operas about food...hmmm...perhaps someone ought to write the opera of "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover?" Never mind. Forget I brought it up.

I think you'll enjoy it - I went for the first time a couple of months back. Haven't posted about it because, for the first time, I had a had time finding words to express how very much I enjoyed it. Let's just say this: from the time I entered the restaurant to the time I left, everything - food, wine, service, atmosphere, EVERYTHING - was absolutely as good as it possibly could have been, the top of the mountain, can't climb any higher. I left there thinking "now I understand the difference between three stars and four stars - that was definitely four stars."

oh yum, just got a plate of grapes (red and green), canteloupe, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and um...two little cookies, a palmier and an oatmeal/raisin. There's some kiwi on here too, but it tastes bizarrely...fishy. Not what I expected or wanted from kiwi. My pretty fruit plate: Fried potatoes and cabbage, while delicious, do not fall under the category of sexy foods. Hi, little ms. foodie! I love your screen name. Rugelach are pastries made with, I believe, a cream cheese dough, and filled with various things - walnuts and cinnamon are common, so are raisins, raspberry filling is delicious. The dough has a crunch similar to puff pastry, I find. They're cut into little bite-size pieces, and are completely addictive if made correctly. My screen name is my last name followed by part of my first (Kathleen Berger). Sam likes it because it sounds like "berserk," as in "I've gone stark raving bergerka!" When I got my first email account ever, on AOL (no longer there, thank goodness), every other permutation of my name - including kathleenberger, kberger, kaberger, kathberg, and bergerk - was already taken, bergerka it was and bergerka I have remained. ALERT ALERT ALERT - plan change for this evening! By popular demand (which is to say that scheduling for me and a couple of other people is getting tricky and I'm going to have to do some serious prep work for Saturday tomorrow evening), I'm switching tonight's and tomorrow' night's plans. Therefore, the beans will have to languish in the fridge one more day - tonight, it's fried dumplings and a trip to Pegu! Maybe I'll see you there? K P.S. Eric, yeah, we all know you're more of a rehearsal pianist... *ducks and runs* (inside joke, don't panic if you don't get it)

I'm back! Got a little work done this morning, thank goodness. For lunch, my friend Juli and I went to Bistro NY on Lexington Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets. Bistro NY is one of those ubiquitous sort-of-chains of sandwich/salad/soup places that crop up all over New York City, mostly clustered in places with a lot of office buildings. This particular one, however, is definitely a desired lunch spot, for me at least, because of the really good salad bar and especially Thomas and Itico, the soup gods. These guys make 10-12 different soups every day, and they are absolutely terrific, flavorful, fresh ingredients, creative, and only rarely do I need to spice mine up with extra salt or pepper. I spoke to Chester and Raiza, who are higher-ups at this particular location, and got permission to take some pictures of the very shy soup guys, which I'll post later along with the food pix. They also told me that this location will be doing the catering for the Rockefeller Center tree lighting party, because their catering offerings are so impressive. I believe it. I wish my day job would order from them more often. They have a nice burrito bar, too. You can get a small soup (plenty) and a small salad or half sandwich or half burrito plus a soft drink for $5.45 total, and they throw in a roll or - my choice - the bagel chips they make every day. Some pix: Today's soup choices Thomas and Itico, the soup gods Lunch, with reading material (in case Juli hadn't been able to make it) Juli had the tomato basil soup with cheese tortellini, which I have every time I crave comfort soup. I tried a new one - butternut squash and apple bisque. Wow! Terrific. I also got a small salad of spinach, roasted cauliflower, roasted red and green peppers, parmesan cheese and red wine vinegar, and drank an A&W diet root beer. I just got a call from another secretary on this floor - there's all kinds of food left over from a meeting over by her. I think I'll go grab some fruit and maybe just...ONE...cookie for a snack later. Genny, you guessed it, I'm making black bean soup, with jalapeno cheese biscuits and salsa fresca. And oh yeah, ferrets running around late at night can DEFINITELY impede one's sleeping, especialy when they decide to jump ON the bed and bite the toes of the nearest person (people toes, deliiiiicious). Last night they were pretty content to just run around in their tubes and paper bags, though, and the rustling was kind of relaxing. Must've been tiring, too, the baby (the golden one in the picture above) was absolutely conked out in the laundry basket all morning. Ok, jsolomon, what the heck is bubble-and-squeak? I've read about it for years, it even got a mention in one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy books ("The Folk of the Air," by Peter S. Beagle). It sounds vaguely scary.

Yum...cider (or WASSAIL) and figgy pudding... We have a list of companies and organizations that hire the carolers every year, and I'm also being aggressive and approaching some companies where I have connections. handmc, I'm sorry to hear you're sick. Chicken soup? Sex and violence, hmm, let's see. Cutting up a chicken is violent. No sex, though, although some think cooking is inherently sexy (Nigella much?). It is only 11:00 am. I DO. NOT. NEED. CHOCOLATE. (you sensing a pattern here?)

Good morning! I'm much more perky today than yesterday - amazing what almost eight hours of sleep will do. These occasional long days at work are kicking my ass. Breakfast this morning was a cappuccino, of course (I had taken to calling them Sammaccinos...are they still that if he's out of town? Are they now Kathaccinos? Too many complicated questions for this hour), a honeycrisp apple, and some Smuckers Natural Chunky Peanut Butter. The beans have come out of the soaking water and gone into the fridge for use later tonight. The lazy, lazy ferrets are still sound asleep - they had a much later night than I, I think, they were still chasing each other around the room when I dropped off. I'm off to dry my hair and get to the office by 9:30. One of the nice things about being a floater is the occasional desk where there's just no work to do - I'm hoping for one today, as I have some - ahem - singing business stuff to get done; for example, I need to send off a couple of resume/photo packages with letters saying "give me an audition...you know you want to." I'm also in charge of coordinating several holiday caroling quartets and trios - it's dorky, but caroling is one of the things I really love about this time of year. It's also extremely lucrative. Not that I'm trying to make a living at this or anything. K

What do you do if you only have 45 minutes between the time you leave work, one block from Grand Central Station, and the time you need to arrive at Lincoln Center? Well, if you're completely insane, which is to say...if you're me, you decide to haul ass onto the downtown 6 train to 23rd street and have Shake Shack for dinner. ...I only arrived eight minutes after I was supposed to, I'll have you know, and it was WORTH it. At lunchtime, this would've been completely impossible, but I know that at 6:45 on a weekday evening, the Shack is nearly deserted. I was in & out of there in ten minutes flat, from ordering to chowing down to heading to the subway. In fact, the only reason I was late AT ALL was that the stupid 1 train took 25 minutes to go three stops. Here's the Shack, see how pretty it looks at night? Here's my Shack Burger and Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half iced tea - just what I need to sit through 2.5 hours of an opera written in the 1960's ): The opera wasn't bad. It had nothing to do with food, although it did have to do with ghosts that travel around giving people the Black Plague. That's it for me for the day, folks...I am wiped out. I'm going to put some black beans on to soak (you'll just have to wait and see what that's for!). Before I do, though, here's your obligatory FERRET PORN! The guys are chowing down on some deliiiiiiicious raw chicken that their daddy ground up for them and very kindly froze in individual portions before he left. The pink stuff you see is crinkly paper from a recent Victoria's Secret purchase - the ferrets like it when I fill a huge paper sack with it and dump them all in, it makes COOL NIFTY NOISE! And yes, that black thing is the toe of my boot. Get over it, I'm a soprano, not a photographer. See you all way too early in the morning!

Braising: definitely in the works. The Caesar salad (also one of my favorites) is a possibility too - and yeah, I think one night will have to go to mussels. It may be early next week, though, the way things are shaping up. If I do it and mistake a bad mussel for a good one and die, though, will you all come clean my kitchen? Speaking of which, after we made the arroz al frango, Charlie the coolest roommate cleaned the kitchen. I'm actually such a fan of "clean as you go," though, that by the time I'm done cooking all that's left to do, usually, is the main pots, the serving pieces, and the dishes and glassware. And silverware. That's EASY. I THINK I've decided what to eat tonight, but it involves my running like mad to get there and get to the opera in time...we'll see if I make it. you know what's funny? One of the best ways to eat stinky cheese? Um...on your bagel, Sunday morning, brunch...the really stinky stuff goes GREAT with a bagel. I'll be here for another 30 minutes or so, then I'll be offline till later tonight, when I'll post pictures and tell you what I ended up doing for dinner. Tomorrow's workday is not NEARLY as long as this. K

Some of my favorite things to eat...hmmm. Well, in truth, I've discovered I like almost anything fresh and well prepared, with the exception of things like eggplant, ew...it's easiest, I think, to tell you what I DON'T like. Fruits and Vegetables: I really, really, really don't like eggplant or okra (no, not even deep fried). I don't like pickles, except for cornichons and the super-crunchy half-sours one can find in the best delicatessens. I can think of no fruit I dislike, although I have not tried durian and don't intend to. I adore brussels sprouts and intend to make some on Saturday, as I recently saw them being prepared in a way that intrigued me (and tasted REALLY GOOD). I don't generally like salmon (although recently I DID sort of overcome my aversion to lox), or crab, although I like most other kinds of fish (I am most fond of the white-fleshed, mild-flavored ones like arctic char, but I also enjoy tuna and Sam and I had a swordfish dish not long ago that I liked a lot) and shellfish (especially mussels - I have just found a recipe for them steamed in beer that I'm seriously considering doing this week. Think I can do it without killing myself? I've never cooked them before). In terms of regular cuts of meat, I like damn near anything...in the realm of organ meats, I would prefer to avoid tripe, brains, tongue (I just can't get past its being tongue, although it tastes rather good, and duck tongues make me gag), intestines or kidneys. I WILL eat liver, sweetbreads and chicken hearts (yes, chicken hearts. Probably at Churrascaria Tropical). I will NOT eat chicken feet, I don't care how good they are. And oh my god, I love cheese in any form. The stinkier the better. The more it smells like feet, the more I want it. I love spicy food, no matter where it's from. does that help? If you pm me, I'll fill you in on some of the things I'm considering cooking this week. K

oh, my god, I have to make these right now. right now. :wub: those look INCREDIBLE.

There's more than one kind of pumpkin? Who knew? Seriously...I had no idea. The green market guys will know what I'm talking about if I ask for one of those, right? The ferrets would probably sniff the muffins and turn away disdainfully (mom...there's no chicken in these muffins...what the hell...).

Wow, guys - seriously, I'm overwhelmed by the response (especially from bleudauvergne, whom I cyberstalk, or perhaps that's gulletstalk, to make sure I miss NONE of her postings). I re-read my first foodblog in preparation for this one (and to make sure I didn't repeat myself much) and thought "geeez, I talk/type too much!" Jake: I had thought of planning out things I specifically wanted to learn to make, but every time I tried to think of one, my mind went blank (not an uncommon occurrence in any case). So I just thought I'd ask people for their favorite recipes and surf around RecipeGullet, Epicurious and my cookbooks at home and see what grabbed me. Glad I did. Spicy pumpkin soup would never have occurred to me, and oh man is it good. Bleu: the cake IS gorgeous, but it isn't mine (unless you meant the blurry picture of the pumpkin bread further up!). I think it was made by whoever the next foodblogger is. On to lunch! SarahD and I went to the green market at Dag Hammarskjold plaza. I got two things from "Not just rugelach," one magically delicious potato/cheddar/broccoli knish, which I'm currently noshing on, and 1/2 pound of the most incredible chocolate hazelnut rugelach ever (NO, I didn't eat the entire half pound for lunch, only one). I also bought several Honeycrisp apples (my favorite), an apple cider donut, and hot mulled cider from Samascott Orchards' stand. I'll post pictures into THIS post later of everything except for the donut, which didn't make it back to the office - but it will be MUCH later tonight, as I am in fact going to see "The Mines of Sulfur" at NYC Opera with ewindels. This changes my plans a little bit - I have to work till 6:30, curtain is at 7:30. What the heck can I have for dinner on the run? Pictures! Not just rugelach: Honeycrisps from Samascott Orchards: Jeremy, from Samascott, who sold us that evil, evil donut and the cider: Lunch! The knish, an apple, the cider and that rugelach:

Can we just call it the "lady who's gained more than 10 pounds in the last year?" ...although, funnily enough, since slk's been gone I've lost three pounds.

Oh, hell, I'll just TELL you what happened to the muffins. I had never used fresh pumpkin before and didn't drain it enough; hence, the middle of the muffins never quite got solid, even when the tops, um, burned. I still ate them. Destroying the evidence, you know. Lunchtime will be a trip to the green market at Dag Hammerskjold Plaza!

You're fond of rodents? I'll drop Mickey in the mail, if I can catch him. Ferrets are supposed to EAT rodents, but all that domestication has apparently fried their little brains. Mickey actually got INTO my room one day, raced across the floor right past the guys' noses, and they completely ignored him. It is only 10 am. I do NOT need chocolate.

You're going to be a VERY hard act to follow. I loved this blog.

Prologue: Our hero and master chef has gone off to the wilds of Elsewhere in America to slay dragons with his high notes. Left to her own devices, our heroine quickly realizes that ordering out every night will not only expand her waistline, but severely reduce her cash flow, and one can only eat baked potatoes for so long without getting bored. She has no other alternative but to do what she has successfully resisted for an obscene number of years. She must...learn...to...cook. Cast of characters: bergerka, your intrepid heroine slkinsey, the absent hero Charlie, their roommate, who was kind enough to lend your heroine his digital camera and who seems to have no objection to serving as a test subject for recipes ewindels, dessert maven and restaurant god Eric_Malson, frequent partner in crime for cooking and restaurant/bar trips SarahD, ditto Asher, Zebulun and Issachar, the ferrets, who turn their noses up at mice, preferring raw chicken. Mickey, the little bastard of a cute fuzzy brown mouse who has taken up residence in our apartment. Mickey pushes traps aside contemptuously with his nose and likes to poop on my stovetop. A few other characters will pop in and out from time to time. Act 1: First of all, thanks, everyone, for putting up with another foodblog from me. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm an opera singer who lives in New York City with slkinsey, our roommate Charlie, and three cute little ferrets. Somehow or other, I missed the day when we were all taught to cook, although I bake pretty decently. As mentioned above, slkinsey is out of town until just before Thanksgiving, and I am taking the opportunity to figure out the mysteries of the kitchen once and for all. So far, I've made the following: a spicy pumpkin soup, described here, which was really good, sopa alentejana, also delicious, which Eric_Malson taught me to make (and which was my first experience ever poaching an egg. Hint: do not poach eggs for 5-8 minutes, as The Joy of Cooking tells you to do. You end up with concrete eggs. Fat Guy's EGCI course, here, is much better and easier to follow, and combined with telephone advice from mom produced two perfectly cooked eggs), and arroz al frango (a Portuguese chicken and rice dish), which Eric and I made this past Monday night. No, you don't get to see pictures of my first attempt at cutting up a whole chicken - there's only so much laughter at my expense that I can take. There were also pumpkin cranberry muffins that didn't turn out quite right, and a pumpkin cranberry pecan bread that did, I'll post the recipe below. As mentioned above, Charlie the roommate has lent me his super-duper high tech digital camera, which does everything except push the button for you, so there will be pictures. I can't promise you the exquisite composition provided by, say, slkinsey and bleudauvergne, but they shouldn't be THAT blurry, and yes, there will be ferret porn, metaphorically speaking. I have planned the week to include a few evenings of cooking for myself, two evenings out (one at Churrascaria Tropical in Queens and one with fried dumplings in Chinatown followed by a trip to Pegu Club to overindulge - I mean, have one or two little...teeny...drinks), and - yes - one dinner party with friends at my apartment. If you have any (REASONABLE, remember I'm a beginner) requests, please express 'em and I'll do my best to accommodate. I may pick up opera tickets one or two nights, which will throw the whole schedule into turmoil. Let's get started with breakfast, shall we? Before he took off into the wild blue yonder, slkinsey taught me, once and for all, to use the damned espresso machine. We have a Rancilio Silvia, and I've always found it intimidating, but no more - after two weeks, I'm practically an expert. Plus I have the written instructions up on the refrigerator door. Slkinsey also roasted about a week's worth of coffee before he left, but I ran out of it and do NOT know how to work the roaster and have no desire to try. Fortunately, Eric_Malson introduced me to Cafe Caracolillo, which can be had for $8 a pound at La Rosita restaurant (where they make a delicious cafe con leche and cubano sandwich) and which makes a dark, thick, chocolatey shot of espresso. The bag is shown here: Here is the Rancilio, savior of my morning: Oooh, sorry, that picture is kind of dark - I thought I brightened it before I uploaded, but it was very early (I had to be at my day job at 8:30 today, a long story). Here is the finished product, with a slice of pumpkin pecan cranberry bread. Ack! I'll work on the pictures tonight, I promise. That one is really not very good. For my birthday, a couple of weeks ago (28 again!), I asked my brothers and sisters to send me their favorite recipes. My sister Carol sent this one, for the bread: Mix together in a bowl: 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 cup oil 2 cups pumpkin (cooked and mashed or canned - I used the leftover fresh pumpkin from the soup) Into a separate bowl, sift: 3 1/3 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon allspice Have ready: 2/3 cup milk 1 cup chopped nuts (I like pecans) 1 cup raisins, fresh or dried cranberries (if you use fresh, as I did - I like the tartness - cut them in half. I used about 1.5 cups), or mixed raisins/dates Cream the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin in a bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Beat well. Fold in the fruit and nuts. Bake in greased and floured loaf pan (this makes one very large loaf or two medium sized ones. Either way, fill pans a little more than 1/2 full with batter) at 350 degrees, for about one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.