bloviatrix

...is sitting on the butter

Like Kim, I'm a luddite. I keep recipes in binders with plastic sleeves. So I bring the needed page in and hang it off the side of the refrigerator with a magnet. If I use a cookbook, I leave the book on the counter. We went 2 years without hooking up our printer and I just found out it doesn't work, so when I want to use something that's online, I handwrite it on a piece of paper - there are slips of paper with recipes all over.

I laughed so hard at this because I saw myself in this. Growing up, mom only used mayo with milchig (dairy). It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I realized that it was parve. I make a duck at least once year just so I can dender off the fat. I love keeping a stash in my freezer. My feeling is that since I can't use pancetta or bacon due to kashrut, duck fat is my substitute. My epitaph is going to be "everything tastes better with duck fat."

New York Magazine has an article about Bill Harris, the guy responsible for orchestrating the convention. Nowhere is there mention of the boat.

I think the problem is that UWSiders had to travel out of their neighborhood for so long for quality food, that when it's available locally, they treat it as they would any other neighbor place. They don't associate quality and fine dining with their neighborhood. So, they behave at SCQ in a way they never would if they had to travel to a similar place. The other thing, and Steve, this is directed to your experiece last night, is that people never think their kid annoys other diners -- that's why they perpetuate in taking them out. It's the "my shit doesn't smell" school of thought. This isn't unique to the UWS. It's a problem everywhere.

We went shopping in the freezer tonight: black bean chili over rice

We're having chili for dinner tonight. It's got ground beef, diced onion, green peppers, garlic, chipotles, diced tomatoes (muir glen has a charred tomato), cumin and chili powder. Oh, and black beans. How could I forget that?

If I were a restaurant owner or hotel GM, I would be annoyed at this plan as the whole purpose of bringing the convention to NYC was to bring additional revenues to the city. But as a Manhattan resident, my philosophy is "stick 'em all on boats. I don't want those extra crowds making it more difficult for me to go out." I hate when dignitaries come to the city as they turn the whole place into gridlock central.

I haven't touched gin in about 15 years. I leave it to Blovie to drink. Vodka is definitely my preference (mostly in a Greyhound). And I can't stand bourbon. But love a good single-malt.

Chef, best of luck on the venture. It sounds great. I've been wanting to re-visit Vancouver for awhile. Hmmm, maybe this is the kick in the pants I need.

As my dad took a taste of his butternut squash soup, he commented "this is interesting." This prompted my heart to jump into my throat. And then I hear my fil tell my dad that "interesting" is a forbidden word (I finally got him trained). I though the wild rice salad turned out well, and the cranberry-dried cherry compote was out of this world. The pumpkin pie was a little soggy. And I don't think I blanched the brussel sprouts for long enough. My mil loved them, commenting that she found them to taste like meat -- maybe it was the duck fat. The concord grape sorbet and the banana sorbet were really good.

I bought the Pomegranate Mango which tastes very good. I also used it when making cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.

My automatic reaction upon seeing that this thread was active today was "oh my god, they used it to create dishes for Thanksgiving." Damn, I was hoping to learn something new and unusual.

After you mentioned this compote on the Thanksgiving menu thread, I went searching for recipes calling for dried cherries (I had a lot in my pantry). Anyway, this is the recipe I ended up making. I couldn't find cherry cider, so I used a mixture of apple cider and pomagranate-mango juice. It was out of this world. Thanks for the inspiration.

Can't figure how to copy pictures, but I love the shot of the kitten eyeing that milk. I frequently run into friends when I go out shopping. Most people think of Manhattan as a cold, impersonal place, but there are actual neighborhoods, where you get to know the people around you.

The apple-pear crumble is in the oven. The apartment is starting to smell of baking cinnamon and fruits. I love this smell. Banana sorbet mixture is chilling in fridge. I plan on churning before I leave for the theater.

I assume margerine. But I don't really want to know. It tasted really good.

Just want to give an update on the NY Kosher restaurant scene. Shallots closed several weeks ago. I read mention of this in Crains. We're not sure why. I assume the economy had a lot to do with it. Possibly, Box Tree was the final nail in the coffin. It's my understanding that Josh's Place closed as well (I haven't walked north on B'way in awhile). Supposedly, they're still doing catering. Mendy's is expanding at Grand Central Terminal. Currently, they offer only meat dishes - hotdogs, deli sandwiches, soups etc.. They plan on opening a second counter with dairy food. I'm not sure when they will open. Blovie and I had dinner at Talia's which is a steakhouse on the UWS, at Amsterdam btw 92 and 93. The place was packed when we got there. It's very noisy. We split the prime rib for 2, which came perfectly cooked - black and blue. Nice char on the the outside, the inside started pink and graduated to red in the center. As sides we had the fries and carmelized onions. Fries were good dipped in the bernaise. There were also some lightly dressed greens on the plate. The meat comes out on the bone and they cut it table-side. To drink, we had a Barolo which was a nice accompaniment. For dessert, we split a slice of chocolate-banana cake. I have 2 complaints. First, with the rolls, they served pats of margerine, which I think is gross. Why not have little bowls of excellent olive oil for dipping? Secondly, was that the meat could have been a little more flavorful. Despite my complaints, I will go back again (I never eat the bread anyway). The bill came to about $90, which I don't think is bad. I would like try some of the other cuts of meat. Finally, there was an interesting article in The Jewish Week about Alexandre Petard, the new chef at Box Tree. A frenchman, his previous position was at Jean-George. It was interesting to read about the challenges he faces working within the restrictions of kashrut, plus the additionally stringencies placed upon him by the mashgiach (kosher supervisor). As of now, they don't have the article on-line. If it shows up, I'll add a link.

I forgot to add that for dessert I also made a quart of Concord Grape sorbet.

Sunday night, Blovie and I came home to a message on our answering maching from my mom. Our Thanksgiving plans had been cancelled due to family emergency. Now, my apartment is currently a certified disaster area (we had some work done), so hosting was out of the question. My mom is retired from this type of entertaining, and my mil is injured (the in-laws were joining us), so I agreed to cook, so long as the meal took place somewhere else. The plan is to go to my in-laws in NJ. I will be doing all the cooking with the exception of the turkey. My parents will join us there. Now, I've never made Thanksgiving before. And as I started to devise a menu, Blovie made me promise to do a traditional meal complete with cranberries, pumpkin, etc. As it stands, here's the menu: I haven't figured out an appetizer yet Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Soup Assorted Greens with a Honey-Balsamic Vinegrette with toasted pecans and dried cranberries Turkey Cranberry-Dried Cherry Compote Pumpkin Pie (more savory than sweet) Wild Rice Salad Balsamic glazed Brussel Sprouts with Pine Nuts Apple-Pear Crisp Cake made by mom And something else, haven't decided what. Most of the food can be prepared in advance, and we'll load up the car on Thursday morning. The only thing is, we have theater tickets for Wednesday night, so I can't do any work. Yesterday I went grocery shopping. I have never seen uptown Fairway as crowded as it was yesterday. Bottlenecked carts in the aisles. Every register was open. And the parking lots were madhouses.

I had the same thing happen. I forgot that all but one of my spatulas are made of silicone. And of course I picked the wrong one to use on something hot. Melted, gooey rubber is not a pretty site.

I'm seconding the suggestion for aloe as it works great on burns. Tylenol will help deaden the pain. But vodka works wonders as well. Feel better.

Make sure to secure all sharp objects before they arrive. And open the wine early to make sure it tastes okay. edited: to clarify Actually, I'm very fortunate. The parents like each other and get along very well. As a matter of fact, my in-laws were supposed to join us with the rest of my family before the original plans got mangled. Nonetheless, I will still be drinking.

Last night I learned that our Thanksgiving plans have been cancelled due to family emergency. This means I'm cooking Thanksgiving, but we're doing it at my in-laws (our apartment is in no shape for company currently). I informed my mother-in-law she's responsible for the turkey, but I'm doing everything else. There will be six of us - my parents, my in-laws, and the two of us. This should be interesting.

Every year, the Goddard-Riverside Community Center holds a book sale to raise money. The books are donated by publishers and all of them are sold at a discount of 50% or more, depending on the time of day. Over the years, I've picked up some great books for very little money. So, today I got 2 books. Alice Medrich's Bittersweet Diane Forley's Anatomy of a Dish. The Medrich cost $17 and the Forley was $12. Plus, the money went to a good cause. Book buying without the guilt. YEAH!!