eG Foodblog: FabulousFoodBabe - Of Queens and Former Presidents

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Eek! Quick pre-dinner disclaimer:

Fresser is NOT a freak in a bad way, a good way! He's an eGullet institution! How cool is a guy who asks you within a half-hour if your husband knows how lucky he is? How cool is a guy who gets you kicked out of Starbucks at Nieman-Marcus for making you (and himself) laugh too hard?? Or who reminds the cab driver to take good care of you ...

No pantyhose were purchase, btw. He's a pretty tall guy.

Anyway, I just wanted to add that bit.

[Smithy]

Eek!  Quick pre-dinner disclaimer: 

Fresser is NOT a freak in a bad way, a good way!  He's an eGullet institution! How cool is a guy who asks you within a half-hour if your husband knows how lucky he is?  How cool is a guy who gets you kicked out of Starbucks at Nieman-Marcus for making you (and himself) laugh too hard??  Or who reminds the cab driver to take good care of you ...

No pantyhose were purchase, btw.  He's a pretty tall guy.   

Anyway, I just wanted to add that bit.

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Fear not: those of us who've read Fresser here knew what you meant. I'd still like to hear the story! (Maybe himself will pipe up with his version?)

[alanamoana]

can i just say, ffb, that you're probably the only person who can make living in the suburbs look glamorous?!

that grilled cheese looked about as perfect as they come...beautiful golden crust and nice addition of the tomato.

an jean-luc is so cute! look at how huge is footsies are...i love basset hound ears, so soft and silky.

[Rebecca263]

Oh, Fabby, I'm having such a good time reading your blog! I'm really having an off day, my kiddle made a meal that I am regretting eating even before we eat it. I am forced to buy her every food magazine known to man and yet tonight I get an oven baked piece of chicken and some steamed FROZEN veggies, plain. Can you send me some of the scraps you've been saving since JeanLuc went on a diet, please?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Ciao Ms.Babe!! When I'm not here in the "Old Country", we live in Katonah. This will be fun for me to see the area thru your eyes!

Short story: if you plant the squash too close to the zucchini you get what you see above. I remember my mother staring in despair at bright yellow cucumbers that had 'copulated ' with the nearby yellow squash, and saying, "But this is a Catholic garden...you can't do that!" 

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Ciao to you too, Hathor! We're neigbors. Lots of our friends in NY have houses in Katonah. It's really the sticks, but don't tell Angela Alaimo !

I told my son your squash theory -- he found it very amusing. Here's what he wore to school today:

He's got his mamma's snark!

Well, we cut into the squashes:

This one has a sweeter smell and taste, and a spongier texture. The seeds darkened noticeably within a few minutes, too.

This one was firm and had almost no taste or smell.

There's another one just like this, growing bigger by the day. If the deer don't get it, who knows what we'll find! Seriously, these squash and some tomatoes just started growing from the Honeysuckle he was growing in the terraced part of the yard.

These eat as good as they look, and I haven't done anything to the color or shape. They're TV tomatoes!

Now that we might have some good weather, I can get some outdoor shots of his gardening efforts.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I'm breathless waiting for the Nana wall.  And I'm hoping you tell me it's wonderful for when we do the next house.  The paper is going to do some follow-up to the original story, yes?

Yeah! The contractor part was the challenging part, but I'm thrilled with who has agreed to do the work. Then, there are those cabinets ... It's going to be gorgeous. I am thinking about doing more nanawalls, too. I just love those.

Wish I could go to the market with you and Liz, but have to work <boo>.  Maybe the two of you could drive up here and bring some treats?  I'm awfully hungry right now.

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I can write you an excuse! Dear Mr. Peabody, Please excuse Angela from work today. She has a case of Fabbylizitis and needs to rest.

No, really. Glad to help.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

can i just say, ffb, that you're probably the only person who can make living in the suburbs look glamorous?! 

that grilled cheese looked about as perfect as they come...beautiful golden crust and nice addition of the tomato.

an jean-luc is so cute!  look at how huge is footsies are...i love basset hound ears, so soft and silky.

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I will never tire of hearing that my doggie is adorable. He's asleep under my desk right now, snoring softly.

Oh yeah, it's glamorama up here in the 'burbs. Who was it that sang of Westchester, "Private schools, and country club pools?" One of the Wainwrights?

-Fabby,

whose kids go to public.

Hey: here's a shot from the Chappaqua Village Market! Set in the back of the store near a wall loaded with fancy vinegars and olive oils ...

Edited September 7, 2006 by FabulousFoodBabe (log)

[FabulousFoodBabe]

The paper is going to do some follow-up to the original story, yes?

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Yes! I was hoping we'd get more questions-and-answers on our forum, but that seems to have died off. (Posts with no responses get deleted after about a month.) Maybe if we revive the story we can start over.

Maybe the two of you could drive up here and bring some treats?

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OK it's a date. When's the fish market trip?

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Some of us have nothing to do but blog. But I was thinking, maybe tomorrow or Friday? You've still got my number? If not, I'll resend in a PM. They had some white salmon ... oh, crap. Externship backflash.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Oh, Fabby, I'm having such a good time reading your blog! I'm really having an off day, my kiddle made a meal that I am regretting eating even before we eat it. I am forced to buy her every food magazine known to man and yet tonight I get an oven baked piece of chicken and some steamed FROZEN veggies, plain. Can you send me some of the scraps you've been saving since JeanLuc went on a diet, please?

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Hey, at least your kid cooks! Jean-Luc got a stick of butter off the counter today and I had to wrest it from his (very slobbery) jaws. It was pretty nasty.

When I was on my Externship, I often wondered how many of my neighbor-ladies were standing on their feet for 14 hours on a Saturday night, up to their elbows in raw calves' liver or pulling meat from a pig's head.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Good golly, I'm yappy today! Even though I won't go on and on about much more, I did want to say:

Sandy: I did know that brownie story ... but you tell it really, really well. Yeah, I can see a book being squeezed from you, food or otherwise. Do you have a writing group? (I don't, but people always ask me if I do.)

Smithy et al: Thank you for being so nice about what I said about Freaky Fresser. He's quite a character.

My husband 'lost' his sherbet container today in the freezer, which is man-talk for "it's not in front of my face." I took a couple of shots for your viewing pleasure/

This is the top left of the freezer; see the little squares of fish food? Awwww. I'll show you the fishies tomorrow.

Here's the rest of the freezer

Note the chipwiches in the red box, and the bags of frozen chicken bones. I'm a little behind on stock production!

And so ends another day chez Foodbabe. Dinner was salad with garden tomatoes and spaghetti with meat sauce, at the boys' request, because it was easy to hold (mealtime was in three shifts this evening and my husband just got in). Dessert was, for me, nothing. Everyone else had cake and chipwiches.

I can't believe how fast this week is going! Good night, and have a good sleep. I'm going to re-watch "House" before I head to bed.

[mrbigjas]

can i just say, ffb, that you're probably the only person who can make living in the suburbs look glamorous?! 

heh. have you ever seen those suburbs? they're not exactly levittown.

[Megan Blocker]

I'm going to re-watch "House" before I head to bed.     

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Now that's a woman with EXCELLENT taste.

[racheld]

Here's today's list -- with a little something for you, Racheld.      We all thank you!

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AWWWWWWWW.

MAJOR Covet on the knives. And I don't use big ones that much. They just LOOK so pretty---like a big card of new barrettes or the EXPENSIVE box of Crayolas. Just to HAVE. (And I'm not REALLY seven).

And I also love Bassets---we have four Bassie-Boys a couple of doors down, who greet me every time I walk out the back fence. They have a big sign in their yard, with the word "Crossing" topped by that unmistakable droop-eared silhouette. I always wanted a Cleo. Waaa-OOOOOF!

Edited September 7, 2006 by racheld (log)

[bavila]

-Fabby,

whose kids go to public.

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Hmmm... Chappaqua public schools... I'm guessing they'd feel pretty "private" to much of the rest of the country...

BTW... on yesterday's list: buttock? Can I not read?

[FabulousFoodBabe]

BTW... on yesterday's list: buttock?  Can I not read?

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OMG, I'm loving this blog!

It's "buttah," our term for "butter." My handwriting is horrible!

It'll be "buttock" on our lists from now on.

[Liz Johnson]

The Mt. Kisco Farm market is commonly referred to, in our household,  as the "Sixty Dollar Store".  They have a great selection of vegetables...but, watch, no matter what you buy, or think you are running in there for, you spend $60.

Hilarious. That's like our favorite pub. No matter what you get to eat or drink, it's always $30 per person. We always used to joke about it when we'd go with a big group of people after work. Even if someone only had a beer, it'd be $30.

Once, a colleague had a bit too much to drink and got into a huge argument with some of the other patrons. He ended up getting a drink thrown in his face. When he went to grab his coat to storm out the door, he threw $20 on the table. My husband turned to him and said, uh, you're a little light. That'll be $30, please. (Maybe you had to be there.)

But I was thinking, maybe tomorrow or Friday?  You've still got my number?

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I think I have your number. Either works for me. Around mid afternoon?

[MarketStEl]

Eek!  Quick pre-dinner disclaimer: 

Fresser is NOT a freak in a bad way, a good way!  He's an eGullet institution! How cool is a guy who asks you within a half-hour if your husband knows how lucky he is?  How cool is a guy who gets you kicked out of Starbucks at Nieman-Marcus for making you (and himself) laugh too hard??  Or who reminds the cab driver to take good care of you ...

No pantyhose were purchase, btw.  He's a pretty tall guy.   

Anyway, I just wanted to add that bit.

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Oh, I harbored no such ill notions about the Fressman. Having spoken with him over the phone, I know he is a very funny guy, and I can see both of you laughing so hard that the coffee is coming out your nostrils.

I haven't come up with anything yet that I consider worthy of his Borscht Belt blog. Worse still, I haven't come up with anything lately that I consider worthy of my own blog, "Sandy's Spew Stew."

[MarketStEl]

Sandy:  I did know that brownie story ... but you tell it really, really well. Yeah, I can see a book being squeezed from you, food or otherwise.  Do you have a writing group?  (I don't, but people always ask me if I do.)

No, I don't. I haven't even made it yet to any of the social events sponsored by the local chapter of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, of which I am an associate member (public relations being journalism's hired-gun cousin, they let us flacks join too).

My husband 'lost' his sherbet container today in the freezer, which is man-talk for "it's not in front of my face."  I took a couple of shots for your viewing pleasure/

This is the top left of the freezer; see the little squares of fish food?  Awwww.  I'll show you the fishies tomorrow.

Here's the rest of the freezer

Note the chipwiches in the red box, and the bags of frozen chicken bones. I'm a little behind on stock production!

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1) A special Nobel Prize will no doubt be awarded to the person who invents a shelving or storage system that keeps everything right up front where you can see it, and no, shallow shelves don't count--though the lazy Susan comes awfully close.

2) What pleases me even more about these photos is that your freezer is about as neatly organized as mine is. I've been collecting shrimp shells for the same reason you've been stockpiling chicken bones. Hmmmm...maybe a reason for me to buy breasts and thighs bone-in and debone them myself....

can i just say, ffb, that you're probably the only person who can make living in the suburbs look glamorous?! 

heh. have you ever seen those suburbs? they're not exactly levittown.

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Besides similar names, Westchester and West Chester--which is a good way to distinguish locals from aliens in Philadelphia; the locals know that West Chester is nowhere near Chester--share something else in common: they're fabulously affluent.

Whoa. Let me backtrack a minute. The counties--Westchester in New York and Chester in Pennsylvania--are fabulously affluent. The county seats--West Chester in Pennsylvania and White Plains in New York--are not quite as wealthy, but both are stable communities with healthy town centers.

(You will all have to wait for my next blog to find out why West Chester is nowhere near Chester.)

[chezcherie]

If anyone has any comments about these or has worked with them, let me know.

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[FabulousFoodBabe]

The Mt. Kisco Farm market is commonly referred to, in our household,  as the "Sixty Dollar Store".  They have a great selection of vegetables...but, watch, no matter what you buy, or think you are running in there for, you spend $60.

Mt. Kisco Seafood is a great place....the new store doesn't have that challenging parking lot. I always felt like I was playing a game of Tetris (does anyone still remember Tetris??) trying to get in and out of there.  These are good people who work hard, its nice to see them expanding.

Have you been to La Tulipe, the patisserie down the street? It is by far one of the best places around.  Those cheesy-cracker things should be listed as a controlled substance!

Is corn season over? How was it?? Its been 2 years since I've had corn. That's a sad story, isn't it??

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hathor, I feel so bad for you! I can always tell the Ohioans at the grocery stores here; we're the ones standing around the corn, griping about it.

La Tulipe, oh my. It's on my list with the fish shop and the smokehouse. I could eat those little opera cakes all day long.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

1) A special Nobel Prize will no doubt be awarded to the person who invents a shelving or storage system that keeps everything right up front where you can see it, and no, shallow shelves don't count--though the lazy Susan comes awfully close.

This is such an old side-by-side that parts don't even exist. I'm hoping it holds out until the new one comes in. The downstairs freezer is tiny, and is full of bagged ice.

2) What pleases me even more about these photos is that your freezer is about as neatly organized as mine is.  I've been collecting shrimp shells for the same reason you've been stockpiling chicken bones.  Hmmmm...maybe a reason for me to buy breasts and thighs bone-in and debone them myself....

It's one of those, "if I'm crazy, I'm not alone" moments, isn't it? I always buy whole birds and bone-in beef (fish when I can, too,), and practice breaking them down. Bones are for stock and fumet.

Whoa.  Let me backtrack a minute.  The counties--Westchester in New York and Chester in Pennsylvania--are fabulously affluent.  The county seats--West Chester in Pennsylvania and White Plains in New York--are not quite as wealthy, but both are stable communities with healthy town centers.

(You will all have to wait for my next blog to find out why West Chester is nowhere near Chester.)

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with bated breath, dontchaknow.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

Hokay. This morning was just a bundle of fun: the usual breakfast of waffle with additive-free peanut butter, and a nice long workout while watching my Tivo'd shows (can't wait for Gilmore Girls to start again!). I have a rule: all the junk TV I want, as long as I'm on the treadmill or elliptical (purchased to rehab a badly broken ankle). So if anyone needs to know what's up with L&O (any of them), The Closer, Prison Break, Rescue Me, etc. etc., do let me know.

President Clinton is out campaigning, "they" tell me, so I went to a couple of his favorite Chappaqua haunts.

It's a little deli that focuses more on food than "etc." and has a seating area to the right. Remember Rocky's? This place is twice as big, and the kitchen here is in the back.

Besides all the sandwiches you can imagine (including a Cuban that looks pretty good), Lange's does some hot foods as well.

Broasted chicken!!

Although our former President gets egg whites, I got the real deal.

The yolks were juuuuust firm, the way I like it. Good bacon, too.

Rumor is, that one day a stretch limo pulls up in front of Lange's, and a bespectacled man got out (without a guard) and ordered a tuna melt. He sat down and enjoyed it (didn't want to eat in the car) while people tried to figure out who he was. Apparently, when the former leader of the free world entertains billionaires, he makes them get their own lunch! At least he directed Mr. Gates to a cool little place around the corner.

(story has been passed around many times, but neither confirmed nor denied by the Gates or Clinton camp.)

Here's where most of the Clinton-sightings occur: The Starbucks in the center of our bustling town.

You can tell when he's around; his dog is always with him, and the big black Suburban with DC plates is idling nearby. And, of course, there are about 100 women around him and they all have that glazed look in their eyes when they speak of the encounter.

I've never, EVER seen him in person; I've always missed him by a few minutes. Honestly, I'm more interested in where he gets his dogs trained!

To the right of Starbucks, down the alley, is the Chappaqua Village Market I showed you earlier. To the left is the Chappaqua Restaurant, a little diner that makes killer pancakes and eggs.

We also have a restaurant row of sorts, behind where I'm standing to take this photo. Can't get a good shot of it; it goes up a hill and around a bend, but there is a good sushi restaurant, a bagel shop, a French restaurant with outside seating, and a little Italian place with outside seating, so we can have drinks in nice weather, watching the strollers go by.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

ooooh, they are all sherbet-y and pretty!who makes them, please? i tried to focus my caffeine-deprived eyes on the brand, but failed.....thanks!

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Hi, chezcherie! They're Pure Komachi knives; I got some on Amazon.com, one at a store here, and a couple of them at Cooking.com or Chef's.com, on sale. They cost about $20-$25 when they're not on sale.

[Toliver]

Note the chipwiches in the red box....

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Chipwiches

Be still my beating heart...

You can buy them in boxes?

They were one of our favorite treats when we'd visit the San Diego Zoo.

Thanks for blogging! It's been entertaining and enlightening.

[Kim Shook]

I heart Fresser. Where is he lately, by the way?? I haven't 'run into him' lately here.

What Racheld said about the knives. Not that I necessarily want to use them, but I want to have them.

I thought it said buttocks, too.

Fabby, I want to live next door to you. I want to cook with you, meet your cool boys, share a bottle with you and your funny husband and my pug, Otis, wants to chill with the incomparable Jean-Luc! I also love the freezer - mine looks just like that (minus the fish cubes). I also have little bags of butt ends of french bread that I am going to make into bread crumbs one day ! I am enjoying your blog so much!