bloviatrix

Actually, the appropriate definition for this look is "Relaxed Professional." (About 4 years ago I created a dress code policy for a client and this term made the most sense to everyone)

We are hosting lunch for 6 adults and one young'un on Thursday. My menu is: White Gazpacho (ok, so it's really a lovely pale shade of green) Rainbow Trout coated in charmoula, pan roasted and served at room temp. Tomato-Mozzerella Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust Corn, Pepper and Dill Salad Cheesecake -- I decided to be traditional and make a plain cheesecake. This is a first. Cocoa Nib Ice Cream Fruit We'll be drinking a White from Macon-Perrone (Burgundy) and Mint Iced Tea. Lunch, tomorrow, is our other meal at home. For that meal I'm serving tuna tartare and and spinach noodle pudding. Then some poached apricots with mascarpone.

Is Adriana's Caravan near you? I used to love that place when they were on the UWS.

Thank you for giving me a very good laugh. What imagery. I can just imagine the look on his face. My darling husband did call. Turns out he was trying to be considerate since he knew I went to sleep after three. BTW, the fish store is New Teaneck Fish Market on Cedar Lane. It's right near Pizza Crave.

Houston, we have a problem. Blovie has gone to NJ to pick up the fish (we don't have a dedicated kosher fish market in Manhattan). The problem is he left before I woke up and I'm not sure he knows what to pick up. And his cellphone is turned off.

And this is why I have no business posting at 2 in the morning after having 5 hours sleep the night before.

Have any of you ever tried Cocoa Nibs? I picked some up in order to make Alice Medrich's Cocoa Nib Ice Cream. We are hosting lunch for 6 adults plus one 2.5 year old on Thursday and I was requested to make "normal flavored" ice cream. The Blackberry-Lime Curd Ice Cream didn't go over too well. Anyway, the nibs are really good. They're the shells of cocoa beans. You can eat them straight. But for the ice cream I steeped them in a milk-heavy cream combo (I know, how low-fat ). Then I strained liquid. Since I don't believe in waste I decided to munch on the remaining nibs. They're even better after a soak in milk/cream and sugar.

Since we're among friends, let me share my Shavuot disaster story...... About 8 years ago, Blovie and I decided to host a luncheon on Shavuot for friends. I decided to make gazpacho. I'm tossing all the ingredients into the cuisinart, including the red pepper flakes. Unfortunately, there was no shaker top on the jar so the entire thing flew into the bowl. I scooped out as many of the flakes as I could and figured it would be ok. Fat chance. That morning as I'm setting up I decide to sample the gazpacho and it was en fuego. Eyes popping out of your head hot. So Blovie and I start squeezing tomatoes by hand hoping to dilute the concentration. Our guests arrive. First course was a "mexican" salad -- everyone decimates it. The comes the gazpacho. Everyone samples. And then the coughing begins. People are reaching for the water. With the exception of one person, our friend G who sits there with a big smile on his face as he inhales the content of his bowl. No one finishes their portion. G asks for seconds and then thirds. And he explains it's a about damn time that someone in this country knows how to season food. G is Israeli. His family hails from Tunisia. We sent G home with the leftovers.

That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard.

I would like to state for the record that I love Shavuot. I love being able to eat all the dairy foods. And it's not just cheesecake. It's blintzes and noodle kugel. And vegetable tarts oozing with cheese. Right now my fridge is overloaded with dairy products. There are two types of milk, a quart of heavy cream, ricotta, sour cream, mozzerella all awaiting transformation (and I'm only cooking two meals). As I type this my apartment is beginning to smell of nutmeg from the spinanch noodle pudding that's baking. Heaven.

Interesting idea. Alas, my turkey was kosher so I think brining would be overkill -- Turkey saltlick.

I have two different potato salads that I make according to my moods. One is potatoes, scallions, and a homemade garlic mayo that comes from the Silver Palate Cookbook and is meant for a bean salad. The other is a dilled potato salad. I like using a combination of white, red and purple potatoes. Dice up some dill pickles, chop up some dill and scallions, and add the dressing of ACV, oo, dry mustard, sugar, paprika, s & p. With coleslaw, again there are two I make. One comes from Cook's Illustrated. After shredding the cabbage and carrots (you can add jicama as well), place in a colander over a plate and sprinkle some sugar on it. This wilts the vegatables. Toss with a little canola and rice vinegar. Add some curry powder, diced granny smith and raisins. My other coleslaw is made with homemade lemon mayonnaise.

They look fantastic. Thank you for doing your part to counter this Atkins craze. I can be in Brooklyn in 30 minutes. Care to share some bread?

I'm lazy so I buy my pugliese coated with sesame seeds. Although you should follow the recipe exactly the first time round, if you like sesame, go that route the second time. They add an excellent nutty flavor. The only problem is they make a mess and find their way into everything.

I want to hear more about your Pugliese. Do you coat it in sesame seeds?

This cannot be emphasized enough.

I love that photo of Rebel examining dinner. What a cutie. Did he get a slice?

The golden borscht was a success (it's nice to know that all my experiments aren't utter failures. ) Anyway, I've added it to recipegullet. Here it is.

This was a 3.41 pound turkey breast. I took it out of the oven when it hit 162 and the internal reached 165. We didn't eat dinner until shortly after eight, so I threw it in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes closer to dinner time. And it turned out perfectly. I'm now sold on using the thermometer. I didn't open the oven door half a dozen times to check the turkey. The meat was nice and moist. Thanks for asking Winesonoma. We even have left overs for another meal.

Golden Borscht Serves 6 as Soup. A quick look at the flavor buddy list in Culinary Artistry inspired this recipe. 1 bunch golden beets (usually 4) 1 T olive oil 1 onion, medium chop 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped 1 medium potato, 1/2 inch dice 3 c vegetable broth, chicken stock or water. Can use a combination salt and pepper to taste lemon juice, optional creme fraiche, optional 1. Rinse beets and wrap each in piece of foil. Roast in 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. When beets are cool, slip off skins and cut into 1/2 inch dice. 2. In pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and ginger and sweat until onion is translucent. Add potato, broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. 3. If using a blender, place diced beets in canister along with broth mixture and puree. If using an immersion blender, add beets to pot and then puree. When using an immersion blender, it's better to use a smaller dice. 4. Taste and adjust seasonings. You might want to add more water to thin out. This can be served hot or chilled. Keywords: Soup, Vegetables, Kosher, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG1040 )

Golden Borscht Serves 6 as Soup. A quick look at the flavor buddy list in Culinary Artistry inspired this recipe. 1 bunch golden beets (usually 4) 1 T olive oil 1 onion, medium chop 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped 1 medium potato, 1/2 inch dice 3 c vegetable broth, chicken stock or water. Can use a combination salt and pepper to taste lemon juice, optional creme fraiche, optional 1. Rinse beets and wrap each in piece of foil. Roast in 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. When beets are cool, slip off skins and cut into 1/2 inch dice. 2. In pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and ginger and sweat until onion is translucent. Add potato, broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. 3. If using a blender, place diced beets in canister along with broth mixture and puree. If using an immersion blender, add beets to pot and then puree. When using an immersion blender, it's better to use a smaller dice. 4. Taste and adjust seasonings. You might want to add more water to thin out. This can be served hot or chilled. Keywords: Soup, Vegetables, Kosher, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG1040 )

I decided it was time to invest in a meat thermometer (I already own 3 candy ones). The reason is I'm making a turkey breast and I'm sick of always guessing how long to keep it in the oven. Anyway, Madeline Kammen says that turkey is to be cooked to 170. So here's what I need to know -- since there's residual cooking when something is removed from the oven, should I take the turkey out at 160 and let it rest? Or do I take it all the way up to 170? The thing is in the oven now and registering in at 145, so some quick answers are appreciated.

Assuming I wake up at a decent hour - Coco Pebbles w/milk over the sports section of The Times. (my usual breakfast of champions ) If I wake up late (which has been happening a lot recently), breakfast will be a shot of single malt and a piece of cake at the kiddush following services. (In case you're interested, here's a linguistic lesson: In hebrew, the word for shabbat is spelled as follows: שבת . The ת is pronounced as a “s” by Ashkenaz Jews and as a “t” by Sephardim. Therefore, shabbos is the ashkenaz pronunciation and shabbat is sephard. Shabbos is also the pronunciation in Yiddish. ) Edit: I thought I should spell correctly in my linguistic lesson.

They taste very similar to the red ones. Maybe a little sweeter. But they're a pretty orange-gold color. The borscht is chilling. It's quite yellow in color. The taste was beet-y with a slight ginger undertone. It might taste different cold.

It's my experiment of the week. I was in the mood for a chilled soup. I picked up some golden beets at Fairway rather than red ones. Then I added some chopped ginger (a flavor buddy according to Culinary Artistry) along with the onions during sweating and (skipped dill this time). Right now the broth mixture is simmering. Then I'll add the roasted beets and puree. It should have a golden orange color. I have a feeling this would work nicely with creme fraiche, but alas I'm using fleishig equipment.