I was joined by another ladle for a winter wonderland adventure and boy oh boy did we do some adventuring. While we didn’t make it to the High Line, we did enjoy ogling some nice new and recycled fashions and housewares at the Brooklyn Flea, which is housed in the cavernous and gorgeous building that was once home to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.
Well, ladles, we do need ourselves a pick-me-up today and My Drunk Kitchen is just the thing. Little bro turned me on to Ms. Hannah Hart (thanks, Art!) over t-giving and she’s clearly on to a great way to cook. For more, check out her website. Enjoy.
Do you listen to Moth stories? If not, I highly recommend the podcast. Short, wonderful stories told live and without notes. I listened to Adam Gopnik’s piece on marriage this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it — see #3 on 10/24/11. If you don’t like Adam Gopnik, skip over this one and try another story. It might not be about food, but will surely entertain.
It’s officially fall in our nation’s capital! Gorgeous leaves! Cooler temps! And warm, delicious foods! After an amazing delivery of Soupergirl soups last month (thanks, ladles!), I’ve been in the soup spirit! So this long weekend, I dug up a recipe that truly combines warmth, color, and taste — sweet potatoes, ginger, peanuts, and a little heat to boot. YUM: Spicy African Peanut Soup. It took less than 30 minutes from start to finish and was just delicious. Enjoy!
Squash in the varietal forms of acorn, butternut and spaghetti had been making regular appearances in the bags I brought home from the market. I thought life couldn’t get much better than sitting down to a big bowl of roasted butternut squash risotto. But I was wrong. My foray in to the world of squash was incomplete.
Enter, delicata squash. Oblong and striped, unsuspectingly easy to prepare. Tasty as all get out.
My go-to preparation is simply to cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and then slice into 1/2 inch half moon shapes. Toss in a bit of olive oil, s + p, throw in a pan and roast in oven at 375 until fork tender (about 20-30 mins). That’s right, leave the skins on. Out of the oven, I toss in a little butter, chipotle powder and lime juice. Eat.
And just last night I experienced an AMAZING way to use the leftovers: Winter Squash Tacos.
Dining Out with Parents
My parents and I don’t really share the same culinary inclinations: they are less adventuresome, processed-foods enthusiasts whereas I am all about throwing down hard-earned cash for locally grown, well-made grub. Call me crazy but I’m a little sensitive about what goes all up in my body. Therefore, dining out in New York is one of the more difficult things I have to navigate when they’re in town.
Good manners prevail, they are the guests after all, and so I try my best to be a good host and go with the flow. Suffice it to say I ate a lot of junk, some good (Katz’s was actually alright) and some bad (those garlic fries at Yankee stadium?!?). By the time they left I was in desperate need of some cleansing. Good lord did that homemade breakfast of poached organic eggs, local heirloom tomatoes, and fresh local bread do the trick.
Some of you can probably relate.
Photo on left is but a small portion of our table at Katz’s. Photo on right is that amazing breakfast.
The Apricot Blossom
Oh hey gang, where you looking for some cocktail inspiration? Lucky for you, I’ve got fodder for your fire. You can find it over at Saveur.com and here’s a little tease:
I’m a whiskey drinker who, with the exception of an Old Fashioned, likes her cocktails simple and straightforward. Any drink with a long ingredient list evokes bad memories of loud clubs; in contrast, I’m of the mind that it takes a certain amount of bartending finesse to make a perfectly balanced cocktail using only a few ingredients, and I’m inclined to reward that. So I’m still a little mystified as to how one of my new favorite drinks is a rum cocktail comprised of a whopping six ingredients.
I am working on some rum recipes for a Friday cocktail and wanted to make sure I understood the concept of pressed ginger. Found this woman and her shirt in a how-to video.
HotLadles, this is a service message to remind ourselves that friends never let friends wear tie-dye.
I bought a little lemon balm starter at the beginning of the gardening season and the plant exploded! There’s lemon balm for everyone! I found this recipe after a quick google search and decided to try it out. I used Sure-Jell instead of liquid pectin and put the powder in before the sugar per the directions on the box rather than the recipe. Also, 6 1/2 cups of sugar is intimidating so beware. But after a quick boil to set the jelly, the little jars of lemon balm jelly look good! Fingers crossed they taste as good as they look and I can share some garden love with my fellow hotladles.
Dining Rooms: A Voce
Frolleague Sarah B. coordinated a lunch for three at the fabled and fancy A Voce Madison. God bless NYC Restaurant Week!
This was my secondi: grilled sea bass, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, salmoriglio.
The food was surprisingly good (dare I say great?) and inventive for Italian fare, but the restaurant was difficult to comprehend. A Voce is a mix between Don Draper’s office and some bad Asian-inspired theme. The chairs—Eames-type leather desk chairs—were so low to the ground that the tables met our chins. (Okay not really, but almost.) Basically, this is THE destination for business lunches. Between tall men.
