bloviatrix

Yesterday I finished reading The Venetian Affair by Andrea di Robilant (it's excerpted in the new issue of The New Yorker). Using letters and other sources, di Robilant re-created the passionate love affair of his great x 5-grandfather in early 18th c. Venice. Pretty interesting. Although the primary focus is the love affair between Andrea Memmo and Giustiniana Wynne and you get a sense of upper class life in 18th c Europe as well as all that led to the decline of the Venetian Republic. Since I can't go long without a book in a progress, I promptly started Mary McCarthy's The Group. I've seen in referenced so often, I figured I should read it.

The Times finally caught on. Here's Amanda Hesser's article in today's paper: A Race to Master the Art of French Cooking

Russ, Grimes picked up you're comments as well. Hmm, maybe he read this thread before writing the review?

Prices at the US Open are rediculously high. They're in their own stratosphere. I think Restaurant Assoc. does the food for the Open, rather than Harry M. Stevens or Aramark. This might be part of the reason for the high prices.

Mango and mint go well together.

I saw this review of the show last night on NY1. Thought I'd share. NY1 review of The Restaurant

They sell garlic fries at Pac-Bell and the smell wafts through the entire ballpark. It's quite intoxicating. Before you know it, you're being lured to the stand to purchase some.

My stomach hurts from laughing so hard. I will never again.... ...reach for something in the cabinet about the stove while the front burner is on, setting myself on fire. ...shake cayenne pepper into gazpacho whithout verifying that the shaker is firmly attached to the jar. ...place a shallow casserole into the oven bare handed, only to brush the side of my hand against the oven rack, thereby dumping all contents of a noodle kugel over the hot oven. And then there's my husband, who while making hard boiled eggs, fell asleep and proceeded to let all the water boil out. I returned to an apartment that stunk like burnt rubber, plus the loss of a brand new Calphalon pot.

In 1999, Yankee Stadium started selling kosher hotdogs and knishes. After years of being of bringing sandwiches with me to games, I could finally eat a 'dog at a ballgame like everyone else. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing better than a hotdog and beer.

My kitchen is 10 x 8. For a Manhattan apartment kitchen, it's pretty big. Plus I have 2 windows (one looks out onto the fire escape,so there isn't much of a view). The layout is pretty good, although I wish I had more counter space and a double wall oven. Considering I have 3 sets of dishes and 3 sets of pots (the perils of kashrut) I 'm in pretty good shape. Plus, we converted a closet into a pantry.

In regard to "brand Rocco," does anyone have the new issue of The New Yorker (the family issue)? Between pages 76 and 77 there's an ad insert for Ruffino and I swear, Rocco is in the ad. I handed the ad to my husband and said "what do you see?" and his response was "that's Rocco." Is Ruffino another one of his sponsors? Or is it just another guy, with artfully mussed hair, that's his "double"? And if it is his "double," maybe that will be the twist NBC throws in for the final week - the guy walking around on the floor, flirting with all the women isn't Rocco, but his evil twin brother.

I think this quote really says it all:

Since you don't know NJ yet, to get to Cedar Lane - take Rte 4, west. Get off at Queen Anne Road and you'll want to go under Rte 4 (bare to your left when you get off ). Drive straight, approx three-quarters of a mile and you'll reach Cedar Lane -- I think it's the second light. Make a right. The strip of restaurants starts after you drive over the train tracks.

I have so many stories, I don't know where to start. The spouse of one of my close friends is completely lacking in social graces. Whenever they attend events, such as black-tie dinners or weddings, he always brings a magazine with him to read. Secondly, he refuses to dress for these occassions. I can understand not wearing a tux, but you should at least wear a dark suit and a clean, pressed shirt . Then, there are his table manners. Some years ago we had them over on Rosh Hashanna. I cooked an elaborate meal, and as I began to serve he made a crack that he doesn't eat anything that's healthy. This meant he bypassed the salad course and the appetizer. For the main course, I made a chicken dish. After helping himself to some chicken, he proceeded to start eating, right away -- not waiting for the other dishes to come out, or for other people to finish serving themselves --with his fingers. Once he finished eating, he got up from the table, walked over to the couch and began reading a newspaper. Then, there's my B-I-L, who felt a need to report to my in-laws that I "ordered an expensive dish and didn't clean my plate. And then had the nerve to order dessert" I still can't figure out why it bothered him, particularly since he wasn't paying the bill.

You just brought back another long repressed food memory. Growing up, we only ate cheesecake once a year - during the holiday of Shavous. I love cheesecake and would look forward to the holiday so I could get my "fix." But my mom also embraced the Weight Watcher credo and one year decided to make cheesecake using cottage cheese instead of creamcheese. Once bite and I spit it out. I think that's how they get you to lose weight -- if it tastes awful, you won't eat -- the pounds will just melt away. Et voila!!

Garbage disposals only became legal within the last 5 years. And even then, if I understand the law correctly, only certain buildings are eligible. I assume new construction has them, but the pre-war buildings definitely don't.

Someone must be reading my mind, because I need help getting wayward blackerry seeds out of my double mesh strainer. I don't have a spray attachment on my sink and the dishwasher isn't an option. I've tried a toothpick, but it's not working. Any thoughts?

Has anyone noticed the that Rocco's and Coors has the same letters (ok, so Rocco's has the extra "c")?

Friday I bought: Zukes Nectarines Musk Melon Assorted Plums Apricots A loaf of Pain Rustica

That's sounds absolutely wonderful. Great writing - I found my mouth watering as I read about your meal. It sounds like you had a fabulous evening.

I assume she only eats store-bought mayo. Why not start by introducing her to various types of homemade mayonnaise - basil, lemon, garlic, etc and move on from there?

I just made them for the first time last week. I did a beer batter and deep-fried them. Then sprinkled them with some sea salt. Very simple. Delicious. Nice and crunchy. We loved them.

A slice of Pain Rustica schmeared with butter, some red-jacket apricots. I'm a happy girl.

I shop at Fairway uptown and I've noticed that the bags they use at that location aren't nearly as good as the ones available at 73rd st. The plastic is lighter. I've also notice the bags that Gourmet Garage use aren't as sturdy as they used to be. The Shop-Rite bags are the worst. They tear very easily, plus they pack the bags very inefficiently. My current favorite plastic bag comes from the Kosher Marketplace. It's heavy duty and they line it with paper, without asking! Paper bags get folded and stored in the space between the wall and the dishwasher. The plastic bags get crumpled up and go into, what else but, a plastic bag sitting on the washing machine. My preference is for the paper/plastic combination. This is perfect for when I'm working in the kitchen and I want to keep a bag near my feet to dump chicken skin or vegetable peels in (we don't have garbage disposals in Manhattan). I also like having paper bags around for when I need to ripen some fruit. My husband likes the paper bags for paper garbage and recyclables. We put our newpapers in plastic bag - the paper is just too precious. But I find plastic is important as well. I use the plastic bags (always doubled) to line the garbage pails in the kitchen,bathrooms and bedrooms. I dump the kitchen bags a minimum of once a day, and I'm still inundated with plastic bags. I think they multiply on their own. edited because I can't spell.

OMG! I had forgotten all about that. I remember covering my books with the brown paper the evening I would get home from the first day back at school. It was sort of a ritual. That was in the 50s, elementary school. I don't remember doing that when I got to high school. My mom used wallpaper samples to cover my books, although I preferred the brown paper - you could doodle on them.