After years of winding my way through the streets of lower Manhattan, I think I’ve finally figured my way around Chinatown. A little overwhelming and often confusing, a few blocks in any direction and you’re in Little Italy, Tribeca, Lower East Side. Still, I’d always been curious about the “other” Chinatown – the one they keep in Flushing where Jennifer 8. Lee said the “real” Chinese restaurants were. I had no good reason for not making it out there till now but when my teacher, Steven Shaw planned an excursion out there for his current food blogging class, I had to sign up. After all, he’d written the book. This weekend we all met up at the French Culinary Institute. On a gray day we made our way through cast iron Soho to Spring street where a 6 would get us to the 7 to Flushing then down the rabbit hole and over the rainbow. When we came up from the station, it was clear we were not in Manhattan anymore.
Archive for the 'General' Category
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve talked about what I was reading, but I didn’t want to let February go by without pointing to some really interesting articles. Of course, the El Bulli story has continued to develop with the announcement that it would close permanently in 2012 and re-open as a non-profit foundation 2014. There were two interesting pieces in the New York Times Diner’s Journal by Grant Achatz and Frank Bruni about the very different emotions the restaurant inspired. Continue reading ‘Catching Up in February’
El Bulli
Published 3 February 2010 General 1 CommentTags: El Bulli, Ferran Adria, Wall Street Journal
I saw the announcement that El Bulli was closing for two years beginning in 2012, but it didn’t seem real until I read this interview with Ferran Adria in the Wall Street Journal. Not only is it true, but there are reasons. Outside of vague if-only-but-maybe future, I had no immediate plans to attempt a reservation. While I look forward to whatever innovations this hiatus will bring, I can’t help but regret that even if I’m lucky enough to visit future incarnations, I’d have missed an opportunity. Not ready to give up, I visited their website and saw that while 2010 is no longer available, there’s always the final 2011 season which hasn’t even begun. Already a remote possibility, there’s no reason to give up on the daydream months in between just yet.
That Time
Published 29 January 2010 Argentina , General , Light Lunch , Main Course , Uruguay 2 CommentsTags: Ñoquis del 29, Gnocchis, Meyer Lemons
It had been a awhile since I’d posted a recipe for ñoquis del 29. A monthly tradition that promises prosperity in Argentina and Uruguay, I wanted to start the year off right. Looking for a new recipe, I remembered my first attempt at Meyer lemon gnocchis a couple of years ago. I wasn’t sure how to go about it then so I thought it would be a good time to make a fresh batch. Continue reading ‘That Time’
Apples and Oranges
Published 28 January 2010 Brooklyn , Fruits/Vegetables , General , Miami , New York Leave a CommentTags: Avocados, Bananas, CENYC, Coch Salad, Key Limes, Mangoes, Pinecrest Gardens, Purple Sugard Cane, Sour Oranges, Strawberries, String Beans
Every year I go to Miami for few days in December and return to find that my favorite farmer’s markets have all but vanished. Like Brigadoon in Brooklyn, the courthouse square is almost barren and there’s no trace of the small but convenient, last-chance Sunday market at Carrol Gardens. Of course Union Square and Grand Army Plaza are still active, but it’s not the same. For the next few months my only choices are apples or really cold apples from the few hold out vendors left at Boro Hall. It’s one more reason to burrow away till Spring. Continue reading ‘Apples and Oranges’
Class Break
Published 23 January 2010 General , Manhattan Leave a CommentTags: Food Blogging with Steven Shaw, French Culinary Institute, International Culinary Center
I’ve owed my teacher Steven Shaw a rave since I took the first food blogging course at the ICC this past year. He’ll be teaching the course again starting February 18 at the French Culinary Institute, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in new media, starting their own blog or food writing. I browse listings for writing courses and workshops all the time. While they sound interesting, the fear is always that you’re going to pay for a teacher to ignore you and your fellow students to analyze you, at best a writer’s group and at worst group therapy with deadlines. Absolutely, none of these fears materialized in Steven’s class. A founder of eGullet.org and James Beard award winning writer, he was beyond generous with his time both in and out of class, so that you saw real development in everyone’s blogs from week to week (plus the speakers were great and the class drew together a perfect mix of writers, chefs, and starters). Click here for more information and here for five more reasons you should take this class!
I took advantage of a rainy Sunday to catch up on some reading though, instead of newspaper stacks, I had bookmarked pages and Google alerts filling up my inbox. For the New York Times, Jonathan Miles visited Roneria Caracas, a new Brooklyn bar specializing in rum drinks, in “The Choices? Rum or Rum” and doesn’t miss the whisky while Paola Singer went to western Spain to sample the Dom Pérignon of Iberian ham for “In Spain, A Delicacy Rooted in Earth and Tradition.” Meanwhile, Continue reading ‘Catching Up’
The Imperfect Present
Published 10 January 2010 Desserts , General 6 CommentsTags: Chocolate Whisperer, Kir Rodriguez, Orange, Rum, Truffles
A little beginner’s luck is a dangerous thing. I made truffles for the first and only time a couple of years ago for a dinner party. They came out well and everyone raved. I was outwardly modest but secretly thrilled. Hoping I’d discovered a secret talent for handling chocolate, I could see the Brooklyn storefront in my future -warm chocolate shop, pretty apron, tiny smudge on my cheek. Though I hadn’t made them since then, a mixed bag of failures and moderate successes have shown me just how difficult it is to work with chocolate. It has a temper and when it turns on you, it is not cute. Continue reading ‘The Imperfect Present’
I took it as a good omen when I woke up on New Year’s Eve to snow falling. A blank slate arriving just in time. I hadn’t thought about it too much until a couple of weeks ago when I realized I’d been holding my breath for much of the last ten years. As decades go, it’s been a twister. Having spent the last year cooking, writing and building this site, I feel like I’ve finally found a place to land, due in no small part to friends comments, ideas and support. Before racing forward to another decade, I wanted thank you all for reading and wish everyone a happy and healthy new year! Salud, dinero, y amor…y tiempo para disfrutarlos!
Lucky Lentils
Published 29 December 2009 General , Spain Leave a CommentTags: Lentils, Martha Rose Shulman, New Year
I was surprised when I read Martha Rose Shulman’s “New Year’s Dishes for Prosperity and Longevity,” in the New York Times. Though she writes that Italians consider lentils good luck at the beginning of the New Year, she doesn’t mention that they’re also popular in Latin America and Spain. I know because I’ve been forcing them down New Year’s lentils for years. Not my favorite bean, I’m purely in it for the prosperity. So if you’re Italian, Hispanic, or need a little luck, here’s a recipe to start the New Year.
