Vine Ripened

THIS

2010-05-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

is what NY's Upper West Side looks like on a PERFECT - and I do mean PERFECT - spring day. That gelato is from GROM, several locations in the city, much loved and reminiscent of Venice where I first had it.

So far behind...

2010-05-10T11:45:00.001-07:00

...there's probably no catching up. I'm going to post a bunch of captioned photos and just say NYC was perfect, I'm enjoying Portland and looking forward to Seattle tomorrow.

First up...several NY museums have lovely new restaurants owned and operated by some of the city's best restaurateurs. "Robert" is on the 9th floor of the Museum of Arts & Design. Ultra-modern design, delicious food, fabulous views. Two photos of the interior, one of my cousin Heidi perusing the menu, one of the view down to a little seating area in Columbus Circle - Mayor Bloomberg intent on converting some heavy traffic areas into outdoor cafes! - and our server Leonard bringing our Venetian Sparklers (aka Spritz). What do you mean 12:30 is too early for cocktails??

This pretty much sums it up

2010-05-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

Thursday, April 29

2010-05-03T11:24:00.001-07:00

My beautiful cousin Heidi - she came early Thursday morning to have breakfast with our auntie and me and then she and I headed into the city - two museums, two great restaurants. Comin' up..

Presiding over dinner

2010-05-03T11:17:00.001-07:00

Did I say Thursday? I meant Wednesday. And that's my cousin Michael at the head of the table hanging on to a very good bottle of bourbon. The rest of us drank wine. My auntie's delicious food, lots of reminiscing, LOTS of laughs, the cousins seem to get closer the older we get. Family is a good thing.

Pupu

2010-05-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Dinner at auntie's last Thursday - we started with a little pupu of Caprese Salad - Sheepshead Bay Style - with tomatoes, smoked mozzarella and basil, served with various crackers and a lovely Pinot Grigio

Guess who's coming to dinner?

2010-04-28T15:32:00.001-07:00

My auntie's world-famous "Crummy Chicken." She's been making it since my cousin Michael and I were little children. We both love it. Actually, everyone in the family loves it. And the best part is picking the leftover crumbs off the foil that lines the pans. There are several of us who fight over those yummy, crunchy bits. Tonight, there'll be enough for everyone.

I know, it's always all about the food

2010-04-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

Aloha all...good, easy flights, I even slept much of the way. After all these years I've discovered the secret - good ear plugs.

I was so happy to arrive - the concrete, the grit, the energy - I love it all. No traffic from the airport to Brooklyn (which, by the way is the new Manhattan), arrived at my auntie's house in less than 20 minutes and fell into "home" mode.

First thing I saw in the kitchen was the apple pie(s) pictured above. "I had a little extra dough," my auntie said, "and a few extra apples, so I made a LITTLE pie." She's so cute! Dinner was a tableful of my favorites - including her melt-in-your-mouth brisket - and the pie is so good. I realized it's "difference" right away - instead of traditional pie dough, she uses cookie dough. I am so making it when I get home! It won't be AS good as my auntie's but...

Breakfast this morning was what Brooklyn breakfast is all about (also pictured above) - pumpernickel, onion rolls, lox, cream cheese, whitefish salad (my FAVORITE!), herring in cream sauce - so 'ono!

Cousins coming for dinner tonight - "crummy" chicken - not crumby chicken, crispy chicken with a delicious crunchy coating - lots of wine, vodka, laughter, I'm sure.

It was outrageously cold today - but supposed to warm up tomorrow and get into the 80s - the 80s! - for the weekend. Into Manhattan tomorrow for two museums and probably a lot more than two restaurants.

Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday…

2010-02-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Whatever you call it where you are, here in Hawai‘i it is Malasadas Day and it is tasty. Mine, this year, was particularly delicious thanks to a (relatively early) morning call from friend/client Cathy Nobriga Kim. She’s Roselani Ice Cream’s third generation ice cream maker so she knows a thing or two about sweets! And her timing was perfect. I was a couple of minutes away from her office when she called to say, “Stop by for Fat Tuesday, the real kine.”

The Portuguese began immigrating to these Islands in 1878 – to work the plantations and also to teach the ali‘i (royalty) about ranching. Cathy’s family – the Nobrigas – are well known on Maui for their Kahakuloa ranch and the excellent beef cattle they have been raising since the 1920s. Her father, Uncle Buddy Nobriga, is mentor to the next generation of Maui cattle ranchers. But I digress…

Like all immigrants, the Portuguese brought their culinary traditions to Hawai‘i with them. The sweetest of these is the malasada, a delicious donut-like confection. During the plantation days in anticipation of the beginning of Lent, Portuguese women would fry up big batches of malasadas which their husbands would share with other workers in the fields. It didn’t take long for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino immigrants and the local Hawaiians to embrace them as their own. Today, malasadas are ubiquitous throughout Hawai‘i and each Island has its “malasadas palace.” On Maui, it’s Home Maid Bakery which sells them hot – the only way to enjoy them, really – for a few hours in the morning and a few more in the evening.

But the ones I had this morning – two different kinds – were both truly amazing and truly HOMEMADE. The first, made from Uncle Buddy Nobriga’s grandma’s recipe, are egg malasadas (that’s them in the first photo). Light, airy and meant to be eaten with maple syrup. I had never even heard of egg malasadas before. The second , yeast malasadas made from Auntie Barbara Nobriga’s own recipe, are the kind more familiar to me but these were far beyond any others I’ve ever had (that’s them in the second photo). Dense, with a really yeast-y, almost malty taste sprinkled with not just sugar but a sugar-cinnamon mix that adds yet another layer of flavor. Unreal. Proving once again there is nothing as good – for the emotional self as well as the tummy – as a recipe handed down through a family. Auntie Barbara says you’re supposed to eat at least six to really get the full force of Malasada Day. Believe me, I could have EASILY eaten six. But I stopped at four.

Potential new client update

2010-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

That would be a "no." Which is perfectly fine.
moving on...

car repair update

2010-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

all fixed
running like a charm
shit happens
moving on

Roller coaster ride update

2010-01-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

3 - it's past 3:00 p.m. on my second carless day - I hope it's done soon...and the bill isn't bigger than expected

At first, it was nice working from home yesterday. Then, when I realized I couldn't hop in the car and go, it turned to be not quite so nice. It's not like I live in Siberia or don't have friends around who are always happy to help. Sweet D.E. took me grocery shopping yesterday and I took him to Market St. Bistro for lunch. And although the car repairs weren't done yet, Jane drove me down to Kahului in time to meet Cathy and Hillary for a fantastic lunch at Dragon Dragon - it was our belated holiday lunch and well worth waiting for. And then they, in turn, drove me to my office.

So I've now missed two days at the gym, one-and-a-half days at the office, and one morning at Punana Leo. Un-routine. I am NOT complaining, merely stating the facts. And observing how disoriented I get when I stray from my routine. Probably be a good idea to work on that...

4 - potential new client meeting now set for next Tuesday.

oh - 2 - no, I'm not going to NYC to read my Six Words. When I woke this morning, I found that I'd come back from the edge of the temporary insanity that enveloped me yesterday. I love my cousin Michael's response when I e-mailed him this morning - "It's good that you put yourself at the edge for a bit, the view is much better." Oh, yes...

I would have to use up all my miles to fly uncomfortably for about 20 hours - with four or so more on the ground - to attend a one-hour event and stand on a stage to read six words. Yes, it would be totally fun and I might meet some highly interesting people, even make some great contacts. But in my actual real life, I have a huge project due next Friday, and a business to run every day. I often think I'd LIKE to be that other person, but I'm not.

So, as my friend Geri said this morning, it was a fun ride and there's nothing wrong with taking one of those rides every so often. And recognizing when it's time to get off and go back to reality. I learned a bit more about myself and, most important, the acknowledgement of my writing - yes, even just Six Words - is a good thing. So, thanks to Rita and Lali for the encouragement and help.

By the way, the Six Word NYC Memoir of mine that was chosen is:

Sunday Times, bagel, schmear, regular coffee.

Results...so far

2010-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

1 - Mammo results - A.O.K.

2 - Car - freak "accident", needs new water pump, new timing belt - A.O.K. (after writing a check for $1200 - it's only money)

3 - I've booked a flight using miles - FREE to NYC for the Six Word Memoir reading - haven't decided for sure - ticket being held 'til 4:00 p.m. tomorrow - Kathy Takushi at Travel Network in Wailuku (244-1414) is a miracle worker.

4 - No new client meeting set yet.

Stay tuned...

This, for me, is the definition of an emotional roller coaster

2010-01-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Let me say right off the bat that, given what's going on in the world, my own personal little emotional roller coaster is less than a speck, less than a nanospeck really, in the great scheme. But this is my little life and we all carry on with our own little lives in the face of all the big things going on around us because that's all we really can do, right?

Yesterday I had my annual mammogram. I used to get completely nuts leading up to, day of, waiting for results. So much so that for the last number of years my doc writes on the test req that they are to give me the results immediately following the mammo...'cause I get completely nuts. There's always a reason why they can't do that and yesterday the reason was that only one radiologist is "assigned" to read mammos and she'd left for the day. The older I get, the less nuts I get about this - what will be will be. I'm waiting on results. Let's hope for the best.

I'd been hearing a kinda funny noise coming out of the hood of my car for several days and thought about stopping at my mechanic but, of course, didn't. Yesterday afternoon when I got into my car after my workout, it started but it wouldn't go. So I called my mechanic, he sent a tow-truck, sweet D.E. came all the way down the hill to get me. I'm working from home for now. I'm waiting on results. Let's hope for the best.

I opened my e-mail this morning and in my spam folder there was a message from "smithstats" and in the subject line: Six Words on the New York Life. The first words of the message were:

Hello,One of your "Six Words on New York Life" has been chosen among the winners.

Yee-ha! I've been working on my writing skills and when I saw this contest - via Twitter, by the way - I decided to give it a shot. Here's the link to the contest info and my entries are below:

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwordbook/2010/01/03/contest-event-six-words-on-nyc-the-92nd-street-y/

Must stir egg cream with pretzel.

Concrete steps’ best use? Stoop ball.

Bright city lights awaken childhood memories.

Concrete canyon winter wind whistles whoosh.

City is black and white…cookies.

Potstickers, pierogi, Pad Thai, pickles, PIZZA!

Brooklyn sounds like Good Humor bells.

Buses splash melting snow…oh no!

Sunday Times, bagel, schmear, regular coffee.

Night is bright in neon light.

Chestnut carts warm the frosty air.

Scallops and Nesselrode Pie at Lundy’s.

Tabasco-French fries slip-up at Nathan’s.

Watching Tuesday fireworks from nana’s roof.

They didn't tell me which one they chose. Each of my writing coaches has different favorites. Anyway, I immediately e-mailed back to ask if a friend could read for me. And then, I called my cousin Heidi to see HOW crazy she thought it would be for me to come in, literally, for two days to read at the 92nd St. Y. This is not 15 minutes of fame, it's not even 15 SECONDS but I just think it's totally cool...if I do say so myself. So I called my dear travel agent who has been known to work miracles in the past to see if she could get me a ticket on miles - I'm trying to use up my United miles but that is another story that is going to have to wait for another post. I'm waiting on results. Let's hope for the best.

In the meantime, I've spoken to an old college friend/sorority sister in NYC and asked her to read for me if I can't get there. She has a scheduling conflict but she may be able to work it out in my favor. I'm waiting on results. Let's hope for the best.

After I'd written THE FIRST SENTENCE of this post, an e-mail popped up from a restaurateur I've known for more than two decades saying he wants to talk about hiring me to do PR for his new restaurant.

And all this, for me, is the definition of an emotional roller coaster. Will be back with results as they come in.

And here you have them

2010-01-18T19:56:00.001-08:00

Madeline Lanciani's Lemon Drop Sugar Cookies. Let me assure you, they would not pass her muster. Oh, she'd have her ruler out, measuring. They are not perfectly round or oval or all exactly the same height. They are DROP cookies - which means they are DROPPED onto the sheet pan by the heaping teaspoonful. Not all DROPS are created equal. And, as I'm sure you all know and, hopefully, will agree, we live in an imperfect world. As imperfect as these cookies are in appearance, let me assure you, they are LUSCIOUS!

A post script to the holiday baking posts

2010-01-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

I've spent a couple of hours each day this month organizing my "loose recipes" and putting them into binders. It's something I'd been meaning to do for a while, the new year seemed a good time to get to it and, while it's relatively mindless, it has required enough attention these last few days to take my mind off the disastrous earthquake in Haiti. I feel a bit guilty even writing this but sometimes after we've shed a million tears and sent money we need to accept there's not much else we can except maybe concentrate on being better to each other on a daily basis. If it's offensive to you that I'm being frivolous, I understand completely, apologize and, by all means, stop reading.

Back to the cookies. While deciding what to bake this past holiday season I read a lot of recipes that included lemon. After I chose one, I tossed the others aside. Today, I found them and gave them another look. One is Lemon Drop Sugar Cookies. Recipe Source: COOKING LIVE with Sara Moulton (TV FOOD NETWORK). Recipe courtesy of...yup, you guessed it - Madeline Lanciani, Duane Park Patisserie. I think I'll make them this weekend.

The Obamas' Hawai'i Vacation - Two Views

2010-01-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

And both of them are mine.

First, I understand that everyone deserves a vacation. EXCEPT, in my opinion, the President of the United States. I have this picture in my head of Sasha and Malia whining about going to Hawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Yes, they are lovely first children, "children" being the operative word.

I realize it's 2009/10 and the President was most assuredly in minute-by-minute touch with everyone in Washington with whom he needed to be in touch. I get it. Surely a few days in Kailua would have/should have/could have been sufficient. As soon as the crazy guy tried to blow up the plane over Detroit, Mr. Obama should have ordered the crew to fire up ole Air Force One and they should have hele-d on outta here. Or at least he should have. But there were work-outs and golf games and dinner at a fancy Honolulu restaurant (no offense, Alan), and outings to Sea Life Park and the Honolulu Zoo to be reckoned with. According to The New York Times today, the First Lady before departing last night took an unscientific poll of all those flying back with the POTUS saying something like "Who wants to stay? I want to stay. I think I'm plotting a coup." Not funny. Just kinda stupid.

Which brings me to my second view. Even though the First Family spent most of its 11 days within the confines of its beachfront compound, couldn't they have, during one of their sojourns in the outside world, done SOMETHING Hawaiian? And how'bout that press corps? Did anyone see ANYTHING in print or broadcast or blog about Hawaiian culture? They didn't have a lot to do, given the fact that the President's party was mostly confined to the compound. They had time to make fun of aloha shirts and spam musubi and 'ukulele (NEVER pronounced correctly) and to talk, of course, about the weather and spar with their anchors back on the freezing East Coast about the plum assignment they had and the anchors didn't. Everyone talks about how, thanks to President Obama, Hawai'i is finally on the national radar. Not so much. At least not in a dignified, cultural way that would be so maika'i.

It's a new dawn

2010-01-01T12:42:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year.

Holiday Cookies, Cookie Nostalgia, It’s a Small World After All, and In a Patisserie Long, Long Ago and Far, Far Away

2009-12-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

Grab a glass of wine (or a cup of coffee, okay, or a cup of tea), sit back, put your feet up, relax. This is going to take a while.

It never fails. It is a rule of nature. As soon as you throw away something, or put it in the garage sale pile, or in the Goodwill box, you are going to want or need it. For years – for decades – I had a pile of little slips of paper with the beginnings of what I thought would make someday for brilliant (okay, clever) “social essays,” observations about everyday things we all experience – you know, like Jerry Seinfeld’s old stand-up routines. Finally, a few months ago I decided that surely, all the subjects are now obsolete. So I tossed them. And, of course, last night I tore the house apart looking for them. Well, for one in particular. The one about Madeline Lanciani and her mocha truffle pyramids or her chocolate mocha triangles or whatever the hell they were called. See, I can’t even remember without that little slip of paper. Never mind. Let’s move on.

Cookies seemed to loom larger this holiday season than years past. I think when times are difficult, small things – like comfort food, like cookies – take on additional significance. I baked a lot of cookies this year, including five new varieties. My friend Jane, who has spent many hours during the past year converting old family slides to digital format, piled on the nostalgia by reminiscing with her sister Susan, and then Susan on her blog, about the royal icing-decorated gingerbread cookies that a neighbor named Mrs. Schweer used to make for them when they were children back in the Midwest. Without the recipe, which Mrs. Schweer has apparently taken with her to her grave, Jane searched on the internet for recipes she thought would approximate the original and attempted to recreate both the cookies and the icing. That is a daunting task, believe me, and I have a great deal of respect for the fact that she would even give it a shot. I got caught up in it all and searched through all my cookbooks for what looked to me like the most traditional gingerbread recipes. I’m hoping “when things calm down,” Jane will try at least a couple of the recipes she’s garnered so I can taste them. I don’t particularly love gingerbread but now it’s the principle.

I have a small, cozy gathering of friends at my house each Christmas Eve and Jane’s partner, Gill, always mixes up a big batch of Nanny’s Nog, a good, old-fashioned, liquor-laden concoction that is very delicious and lasts long into the new year. This year, he also made his famous artichoke and cheese dip and something yummy called Opulent Chicken that was loaded with sherry and thus, the opulence. He came up in the afternoon of Christmas Eve day (oh yeah, I haven’t mentioned my trip to the Kula San emergency room – long story short, I had a horrid allergic reaction to shrimp – first time in 30 YEARS! – endured the night, was taken up to the ER by friend Geri, got a shot, bought some Benadryl, made it through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Christmas Night, was forced to rest on Saturday and Sunday, saw my own doc on Monday, got another, much more powerful shot, took a few prescribed antihistamines and a.o.k.) to use the Kitchen Aid to whip the egg whites for the nog. I suggested that he take the bowl home with him instead of transferring the perfectly peaked whites to another bowl. No use tempting fallen egg white fate. Of course, he forgot to bring the bowl when he came for the party and, at the end of the night, he left a bunch of tea towels, pot holders, like that. Good thing we live only a gulch apart. Well, the weekend came and went (swollen and itchy). Monday there was no time to make the exchange. I knew I wouldn’t get home ‘til late in the evening Tuesday so I went over there Tuesday morning, figuring I’d also get a cappuccino out of the deal. Gill did realize “the onus was on him” to get the Kitchen Aid bowl back to me but what the heck, it’s the holidays. Jane had a tin of cookies Susan had sent her and, believing that I am something of a cookie expert, removed the top to reveal, truly, some of the most gorgeous Christmas cookies I have ever seen.

Believe me, the photos do the cookies no justice whatsoever. Jane confessed she’d already finished all the gingerbread. I ate a Christmas tree (cookie) – it was an absolutely delicious, classic sugar cookie. “Is it good?” Jane asked. “I don’t know, I read on their website they use all good ingredients, nothing artificial.” Definitely good, better than good. We discussed the pros and cons of different consistencies of royal icing – the one that decorated these cookies seemed pretty perfect to me. I looked at the top of the tin – Duane Park Patisserie on Duane St. in lower Manhattan. I’d never heard of it but made a mental note to go there – definitely – the next time I’m in town.

By the time it gets to the week in between Christmas and New Year’s, I’m anxious for all the hoopla to be over. I spent a couple of days cleaning out the old, getting ready for the new in the office, enjoyed a couple of quiet, reflective dinners with friends, a movie. On Wednesday morning, I noticed a post-it note near the office computer that had the words “Duane Park Patisserie” written on it. I went to the website, looked at the luscious photo galleries, read a couple of press clips and then I saw it. Madeline Lanciani. Madeline Lanciani is the owner of Duane Park Patisserie. Yes, the same Madeline Lanciani.

Back in the early ‘80s I worked for Madeline Lanciani – and for her then-husband, Joe – when they owned Patisserie Lanciani around the corner from my West 12th St. apartment. It was a difficult time in my life. My mother had died not too long before, my financial situation was precarious, and…you get the idea. I loved walking over to that bakery in the wee hours of the cold morning, smelling the espresso the bakers were drinking and feeling the warmth of the ovens. And then, when the sun had been up for a couple of hours, Madeline would come swirling in and the most vivid recollection I have of her is waving around a ruler and screaming about how the mocha truffle pyramids (or whatever the hell they were called) had to be EXACTLY the same height “EVERY SINGLE TIME, EVERY SINGLE ONE. I INVENTED THEM,” she screamed. “THESE ARE MY MOCHA TRUFFLE PYRAMIDS (or whatever the hell they were called) AND I SAY HOW TALL THEY’RE GOING TO BE, EVERY SINGLE ONE, EVERY SINGLE TIME!” (Or something very much like that.)

In fairness, her then-husband had a not dissimilar demeanor. I remember him once flinging a sheet pan – filled with pastries – across the bakery. It was absolutely stunning! And in fairness, too, Ms. Lanciani has had an extremely successful culinary career – she was the first woman to work in the kitchen at the Plaza Hotel in NYC – and I’m absolutely sure she’s mellowed since those days way back more than two decades ago. She is an amazingly accomplished pastry chef/baker/businesswoman and, frankly, I wouldn’t mind running into her at Duane Park Patisserie when I go there next spring. As a matter of fact, I’m going to ask for her.

Okay, that’s it. That’s the end of the story.

You have, undoubtedly, had enough of end-of-the-year/end-of-the-decade lists and predictions – god knows I have – so I’m just going to send happy, healthy, prosperous, peaceful new year wishes across the waves (or across the gulch, as the case may be). And I predict it’s going to be a very, very good year for cookies.

and finally...

2009-12-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

...another perennial favorite, Gilded Chocolate Shortbread - full moons, crescent moons and stars. A little edible bling on each plate. Now, all that's left is the packing the tins that need to be mailing and plating the cookies for recipients here on Maui.

It's been fun...and, as my friend D.E. would say, tasty, too.

A nod to my own heritage

2009-12-19T12:26:00.001-08:00

Interestingly enough, these Chocolate Rugelach are the most requested baked good in the assortment every year. The recipe comes from the December 1990 issue of Food & Wine magazine. I always double the recipe so I bake 96 rugelach in all. The dough is made with butter, cream cheese AND sour cream and the filling is chunks of chocolate - from JoMart, of course - currants, walnuts, cinammon and sugar. The recipe calls for apricot glaze both on the dough before the rugelach are rolled and also to be brushed on them before baking. I changed that up this year and used peach preserves. I wonder if anyone will notice.

I fear I baked far too few

2009-12-18T15:55:00.001-08:00

These Pecan Shortbread Cookies look pretty gorgeous, don't they? Yield was less than recipe indicated and I baked one-and-a-half recipes. If I have all the ingredients, I may bake another batch-and-a-half. From a brand new book, by the way, The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco & Mindy Fox. A good choice if you're looking for a gift for the bakers on your list.

Gilded Chocolate Shortbread dough is in the fridge. Still have Chocolate Rugelach dough to make. But that's it - tomorrow should be easy.

You can never bake too many Truffle Cookies

2009-12-18T14:00:00.001-08:00

This is another new addition to the holiday cookie repertoire - Truffle Cookies from The Gourmet Cookbook. I think I may have made them once before. If I did, I don't remember them being as delicious as they are. The recipe says it makes six dozen which is certainly plenty but at the very last second, I decided to make one-and-a-half recipes instead. I'm glad I did. If I do say so myself, they're outrageously good.

Okay, I'm battin' 1000...so far. Onward...

La-la-la-la-la...

2009-12-18T12:27:00.001-08:00

So, the Truffle Cookie dough went into the fridge at 9:00 a.m. where it needs to stay for at least two hours and the Pecan Shortbread Cookie dough went into the fridge at 10:00 a.m. where it needs to stay for at least one hour. You do the math. I've got a bit of time on my hands and I was ALMOST talked into going to the one of the first three showings here of Avatar. Until I remembered that all the kids are out of school and it's going to be a TEENAGE MOB SCENE. So, I'm going to pay a couple of bills, preheat the oven, bake off the two in the fridge, make the other two doughs - that also need to be chilled - and I'm right on track to have the Holiday Baking '09 completed by tomorrow afternoon. Which means I can deliver downtown on Monday and Tuesday and enjoy the week. There's a lot to be said for organization.

A new favorite

2009-12-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes that incorporate lemon - juice, zest, even extract works. I think it's a flavor that just about everyone likes. Crisp, cool. These Lemon Thyme Olive Oil Cookies - courtesy George Duran of The Food Network - are amazing. So many layers of flavor - lemon, freshly chopped thyme leaves (I grew the thyme myself!), extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper. Crunchy at the edges and chewy in the center. I am SO glad I doubled this recipe!

That's it for today. Three down, four to go. Will get on it again early tomorrow morning.

Cookies - Take 2

2009-12-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

Did I say Pecan Shortbread was up next? Silly me! I meant to say Toffee Pecan Drop Cookies. This recipe is in More from Magnolia (yes, that Magnolia, the one in the West Village NYC with the cupcakes...) Instead of using toffee pieces, I chopped up Heath Bars. These are making their debut this year and they are yummy. Well, of course I tasted one. Do you think I'd give them as gifts without tasting them?! And anyway, you how there's always one (at least one) misshapen cookie on every pan? Well, that's the one I et.

There WILL be cookies

2009-12-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Baking cookies, as my friends know, are a big deal for me all year long, most especially at holiday time. For the last dozen years or more, I have given gifts from my kitchen. We are all fortunate folks in my little circle and have no need for more "stuff." I buy pretty/funky/kitschy plates throughout the year from garage sales and thrift stores - some friends are on the lookout, as well - and the plate on which the cookies are arranged is part of each gift.

There have been years when I've gone nuts and baked more than 1000 cookies in nine or ten or eleven varieties, years when I thought I just didn't have it in me go do it all again and then enjoyed it when I got into the kitchen. This year, I've been looking forward for weeks to these next few days I'll spend in my kitchen.

Four or five varieties have become "must-bake" over the year - friends demand them. This year, all but two of them are gone. The Gilded Chocolate Shortbread and the Chocolate Rugelach are all that remain from holidays past. Five brand new cookies will make their debut this year. I think - I hope - they're going to be delicious. Most important, we'll enjoy them gathered together.

I'm going to "blog" the Baking Days this year. First up (see above) sugar cookies. I use the wonderfully easy recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook. I've tried at least half a dozen different sugar cookie recipes and to me, this one is by far the best.

Time for coffee while the butter softens for Pecan Shortbread Cookies.

Happiness is...

2009-11-29T14:17:00.001-08:00

...opening the oven to bake pistachio biscotti and finding a whole pan of thick-cut white meat turkey slices left over from Thanksgiving dinner! Still delicious, yippee. Especially for those of us who got only dark meat leftovers that night - not that there's anything wrong with dark meat.

Thanksgiving is my favorite day/meal of the year. And while I do miss my family's Thanksgivings back in Brooklyn (now Long Island), my little "upcountry family" gathers at my house every year and every year, the day seems to get 1) easier to put together, 2) more pleasant, and 3) more delicious. I shopped on Monday. I made fresh cranberries with Mandarin oranges and walnuts on Monday night. I worked and went to the movies on Tuesday/Tuesday night. And on Wednesday, I made Spiced Pecans, Candied Espresso Walnuts, baked Pecan Pie Squares, prepped Spicy Crispy Garbanzo Beans with Pistachios and Fresh Thyme (I grew the thyme - can you believe that??!), did mise en place for Apple Pie (with 5 different varieties of apples - Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Pacific Rose, and gorgeous little tart green apples from a tree on Irene's property that she and Henry picked especially for this pie), and Apple-Onion-Almond Stuffing. I cleaned out the fridge, cleared off all the counters, took down the glassware and plates, re-arranged the furniture to make room for the long table and set it.

All the prep made Thursday a breeze - I even got to watch some of the Macy's Parade sitting down. And by the time 3:00 rolled around, T-Harry arrived to do his floral magic with the tropicals and foliage he gathered in his own yard. By 4:00, he and I were drinking the first of the white wine, waiting for the friends who began to arrive very shortly thereafter.

Gill with his magnificently browned, crispy-skinned, 20#-organic, fresh turkey, dry-brined and stuffed with citrus, Jane with her perfect (really) Green Bean Casserole - yes, the one with the cream of mushroom soup and onion crunchies on top that you gotta have in order for it to be a REAL Thanksgiving dinner. David with his famous mashed potatoes and Geri with her always luscious roasted red peppers and mushrooms and an extra treat, herbed, oven-roasted grape tomatoes - so good. Henry with his world-renowned sweet potatoes and a new addition this year, rice and sausage casserole - a family recipe from his native New Orleans - hot, spicy and oh, so delicious. He also brought the Roselani Hawaiian Vanilla Bean and Classic Mac Nut ice cream to top the pies. And finally, new members of the tribe, Rick with a platter of perfect asparagus with shaved fennel and Parmesan and Franscisco with the most stunning-looking and best-tasting pumpkin pie any of us had ever seen/tasted. He GREW the pumpkins and grated his own cinnamon from sticks. Now that's a serious baker.

We all commented during dinner how wonderful it is to gather with friends old and new and how interesting it was that every single person at the table is an excellent cook and/or baker. I hope things were as glorious at your house as they were at mine. And I hope you didn't forget the less fortunate in your community. We all brought donations for the Maui Food Bank which I'll deliver tomorrow morning on the way to work.

One last light note, the desserts were set on a table in the guest room awaiting their fate. Someone wandered in - I think it was T-Harry - and yelled "You two should have been on the TODAY show!" No greater compliment have two bakers ever received.

I know...

2009-11-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

...the season of being especially thoughtful and thankful begins - officially and regardless of what the retail sector tries to make us believe - on Thursday. Which is not to say that we shouldn't be that way throughout the year. We just tend to be more conscious of being better human beings at this time of year. Human nature.

So there are a few, brief comments I need to make about some of the "news" of the last little while so that I can cook and bake and gather with good friends with a clean mind/heart slate, so to speak.

Oprah giving up her show almost TWO YEARS hence - buh-bye.
Sarah Palin and her magical mystery book tour - go away...NOW.
Adam Lambert (and ABC) trying to shock the world - not news, just trashy and boring.
The White House Exec Chef appearing on Iron Chef America in January - the line continues to blur.

What I hope for most as this bright season begins is that what is so obviously and truly important will actually become important in the hearts and minds of "important" people and that the rest of us do what we can to make that happen.

Enjoy your families, your friends, your lovingly prepared food. Happy Thanksgiving.

Best meal of the year

2009-11-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

Periodically, a group of friends - sometimes eight, sometimes 10 or 12 - gathers at one of the Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar locations on Maui for a custom dinner prepared by Executive Chef Ivan Pahk.
Last Saturday night was one of those occasions. Our friend Gill Brooks is the official documentarian.
http://gillbrooks.com/ivan-pahk/11-09/
Guaranteed to make your mouth water.

Autumn in New York

2009-11-11T15:11:00.001-08:00

This is it. The last post about/from my trip. It is fall foliage photos. And what is there to say after you say "fall foliage?" Is there anything in nature more sublime? I think not. The first three were taken in Central Park on October 21st. The other seven were taken in Brooklyn on October 25th. The first two are from Park Slope. And the last five were taken along Ocean Parkway. It's a wide boulevard that runs almost from one end of Brooklyn to the other. I've heard it called the Champs Elysee of Brooklyn. I wouldn't go that far but it is gorgeous. Enjoy...and happy what's-left-of-fall.

More from NYC

2009-11-05T19:20:00.001-08:00

I have two final posts from my NYC trip and I fear that if I don't just sit down and write them, they will disappear into the ozone. Okay then, get on with it.

Baked Goods. (one of my favorite subjects, okay, my favorite subject)
The photos are from Chinatown and I will get to them near the end of this post.

This is a subject about which I could go on for days. I'll be as brief as possible - I will not be THAT brief - about a tiny slice of what is available in this food category in NY. We start with bagels, bialys, onion rolls, challah and...pizza. These are all related. Because the dough is the thing with all of them. Therefore, the water used to make the dough is critical. In the case of the bagels, the water used to boil the bagels is also important. Oh, you didn't know bagels are boiled? Yes they are. The best ones. NYC has the best tap water in the world - look it up - and that's one of the reasons all the aforementioned "breads" are so good there. Also because New Yorkers are aficionados of these particular baked goods and they would never accept inferior product. What you put on these doughs is strictly a matter of taste. Whipped cream cheese -maybe a little lox and/or a slice of tomato - on the bagel, good, sweet butter on the bialy and/or the onion roll, farmer cheese - or cream cheese - on the challah or, of course, you could use a nice thick slice of challah to wipe up the brisket gravy. The pizza dough? Well, just go to Di Fara's or Totonno's or Keste or even Ray's or wherever and then please try to restrain yourself. Tomato sauce, mozzarrella, fresh basil, plenty of Parm. A little sausage or green bell pepper if you must but really, try to stick to the basics and let the dough speak for itself.

Cookies.

A pound of assorted Italian cookies - you know the ones, with lots of butter, some have jam on top or sandwiched in between two cookies, some are chocolate-dipped at one end, some are chocolate-dipped AND have sprinkles. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go to an Italian bakery and there will be a glass showcase or shelves full of them.

A pound of assorted William J. Greenberg cookies. And a BIG black & white. And that is all you need to know. This NYC institution makes the best cookies in the city. Better to just go get some than to argue. I think you can order them online. They will be good but they will not be perfect as they are when you get them at the bakery.

Chinatown. There are a gazillion bakeries in Chinatown - okay, dozens. The photo of the cakes is from QQ Bakery. It has one of the biggest selections of all sorts of baked goods. I bought delicious nut-encrusted cookies there but couldn't really get a good photo because all the cookies are pre-packed in plastic containers.

The other photo is what we call manapua and they call steamed pork bun. It was huge and tasted amazing - the bun and the char siu were both melt-in-your-mouth light and sweet. I can't remember the name of the place where I got it. I do remember that it was 80 cents. I had a fabulous egg custard tart from yet another bakery - called, oddly enough, Natalie. It was warm, the custard consistency was perfect, the dough was flaky. And it was 90 cents.

I'm ending this here and now. I have got to get the Autumn in New York post and the foliage photos up...before the snow flies.

Halloween at Tom's Mini-Mart

2009-10-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

As if the amazing shave ice and 'ono local food weren't reasons enough to go to the shiny little store on Waiehu Beach Rd. on Maui, Tom's Halloween decorations are fantastic and cram every nook and cranny of the store. There's still time.........boo!

The Cousins' Dinner

2009-10-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

My auntie is a GREAT home cook and since my uncle died three years ago, she doesn't really need to cook as often as she'd like. She LOVES to be in the kitchen. So when I come to visit, I am the grateful benficiary of her labor of love.

She and I have breakfast together every morning - the table is laden with a veritable buffet of foods including but not limited to orange juice, challah or bialys or bagels or onion rolls or ALL of those, farmer cheese, whipped cream cheese, whipped butter, a selection of hard cheeses, whitefish salad, herring, good, strong coffee (see a previous post for photos). We talk, we laugh, we eat, we have a second cup of coffee and we are ready to attack our respective days.

We always have at least one dinner - just the two of us. She has taken to enjoying a glass of wine and a pupu or two before dinner. She cooks my favorite things - meatballs, chicken cutlets, lots of salads and fresh vegetables. It is a joy for me to share meals with her.

And then, at least once during my visit, she invites The Cousins to dinner. And she spends the day in the kitchen making "crumby chicken" - her version of fried chicken only better - her famous meatballs, salads, a starch - in this case my kid cousin made the amazing potato knishes - an apple pie for dessert. This was the scene before - and after - The Cousins assembled at the table. That's auntie second from the left.

I am extraordinarily lucky to be able to travel to my hometown, sometimes two or three times a year, and indulge in meals in all manner of restaurants - from holes-in-the-wall in Chinatown to the domains of celebrity chefs in the neighborhood of the month. But the best meals I have are at my auntie's dining room table in Brooklyn. We have only a few members of our family left. We all love each other very much. And we look forward to The Cousins dinner because we reminisce, we talk, we yell, we LAUGH very hard, and we eat....my auntie's delicious food.

Celeb sightings

2009-10-27T15:56:00.001-07:00

Whenever I'm in NYC, I always make believe I'm my friend Wayne Harada the recently retired, LONG-TIME FABULOUS Entertainment Editor at The Honolulu Advertiser. So I keep my "eagle eyes" (his words) on the lookout for celebrities. Here's the results of the celeb watch from this trip:

-Tilda Swinton looking eccentric/lovely, gallery hopping in Chelsea
-Joan Rivers still able to stop traffic on Broadway - she's TINY and was wearing a fabulous black coat with white piping
-Mary Tyler Moore - wearing jeans and a sweater and sans make-up - having breakfast with her doc husband at E.A.T., Eli Zabar's gourmet food shop/cafe on the Upper East Side

and BEST OF ALL...

-Philip Seymour Hoffman looking, well, exactly like Philip Seymour Hoffman, at The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park

chefs are celebrities, too, right?

-Todd English (Olives, etc.) having a late afternoon repast - and talking business it looked like at an outdoor cafe in Chelsea
-Brad Farmerie - one of the Next Iron Chef contestants - incognito at Double Crown (kinda funny 'cause it's one of HIS OWN restaurants!) - update - he was booted off NIC - too bad, Brad

-Michael Lomonaco at his gorgeous Porter House New York in the Time Warner Center - food is absolutely fabulous and he is a very gracious man

Back in the saddle again

2009-10-27T15:54:00.001-07:00

Back on Maui, safe and sound, easy flights, everything at home in order, unpacked, laundry done, at my desk in the office before 7:30 a.m. - think there's a crash coming soon??

Okay, out of chronological order yet again but there are a few more NYC posts to post. Next...

Read My Pins (then have a steak)

2009-10-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

In the days long, long, long before the Time Warner Center and the rest of the glitz, I loved the old "lollipop" building at Columbus Circle. I remember going to a Salvador Dali exhibit there several times during the course of its run - I was awestruck by it. The building had fallen into disrepair and, I believe, stood abandoned for quite a number of years. It was finally renovated and recently re-opened as The Museum of Arts and Design. The permanent collection - glassware, textiles, three-dimensional objects useful and decorative, jewelry - is a good one. Two current exhibitions are fantastic. Slash - paper under the knife shows what can be done with paper of every variety and cardboard in the hands of extreme creative types. Reason enough to go, though, is Read My Pins, a masterfully installed exhibit of dozens and dozens of Madeleine Albright's pins. They became her trademark accessory when she was Ambassador to the UN and then Secretary of State. There are photos of her wearing many of them with statements about what they mean to her. The stories range from the hysterical to the heart-breaking. http://www.madmuseum.org/
and here are a couple of good articles about the building
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2008/08/25/080825crsk_skyline_goldberger
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2008/09/lollipop-buildi.html

A dear, old friend from NJ came into town to go to the exhibit with me and to have lunch. I was hoping to finally try Five Napkin Burger but we opted for Porter House New York in the Time Warner Center. When I saw Chef Michael Lomonaco's name, I knew it would be good but it was FAR BEYOND good and although a beautifully appointed steak house where you would expect the menu to be very pricey, the folks in charge are obviously aware that there's a recession out there. We each had a three-course $24 prix fixe. I assumed the portions would be tasting-sized. Wrong. Full-sized portions of absolutely perfectly prepared and perfectly served steak house classics were what we got. My charcoal-grilled steak was the best steak I've had in years. The chef was in the dining room and he could not have been more gracious and attentive when we gave him our compliments. So refreshing for a very, very well-known NY chef. Classy, classy guy.

I'll post something about last night's dinner and show and also a wrap-up of Manhattan celebrity sightings later or tomorrow. I'm packin' up the laptop and heading back out to the wilds of Brooklyn. My auntie is having all the cousins over for dinner tonight. And she's serving her own classics. Arriverderci Manhattan...

Highlights

2009-10-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

The last two days - both of which were absolutely spectacular with temperatures reaching almost SEVENTY degrees today! - have been crazy fun from morning 'til night.

Tuesday (yesterday) - breakfast with a friend from Maui/points East at City Bakery home of NY's best hot chocolate and delicious baked goods. (A post dedicated entirely to Baked Goods to follow...at some point.) A little shopping in Union Square which yielded some fun/funky/extremely cheapo earrings and a pair of black cashmere gloves, all on sale, of course. A long and winding walk through Chinatown and a bunch of stops for $1 or less snacks. Fried-to-order pork and chive-filled dumplings - FIVE for ONE DOLLAR - at Prosperity Dumpling. Definitely the best I've ever tasted. Unbelievable steamed pork bun (yes, what we call manapua) for EIGHTY CENTS at Lucky King. Light-as-air egg custard in flaky pastry at Natalie Bakery - NINETY CENTS. Cookies of every description at QQ Bakery and a splurge (seven bucks) for amazing Hong Kong-style snacks - similar to our crackseed only more exotic and many more varieties - at Aji Ichiban. A stop at a restaurant supply store, of course, for a new silicon pastry brush, squeeze bottles, spatula, like that. Just enough time to go back to the apt., clean up, and meet Linda Cabasin, my editor at Fodor's for a glass of wine at Serafina, then on to meet Marcia at Kaskaval for wine, small plates of delicious goodies like roasted cauliflower, beets, spicy walnut dip, turkey meatballs. And n to the Jacobs Theater for "God of Carnage." Good - not as incredible as I thought/expected/hoped - but Marcia Gay Harden stole the show as far as I'm concerned and I love, love, love James Gandolfini. A nightcap at Gaby and home. Whew!

Wednesday (today) - Breakfast with Marcia and her friend Michael Gilbert at E.A.T. They cut the bagels into FOUR even slices, toast them slightly and serve the cream cheese on the side. So smart, so how it should be. On to The Met for the Robert Frank photography show - all his photos from "The Americans" in the same order as the book, plus "Black/White/Things" also in the same order as that book plus "Looking In" plus letters, contact sheets, a home video, and more. Absolutely thrilling! Plus a nice long, close look at Vermeer's masterpiece, "The Milkmaid." Mind-blowing color and detail. A walk across Central Park. Lunch at Fatty Crab (go to their website for a treat!) and gelato at Grom, the same Grom we frequented this summer in Venice. A walk on The Highline - a fantastic public park where an old elevated train used to be that shows what can be done when the government of the people and for the people works as it should. A cappuccino in Chelsea. A trip downtown for a cocktail with cousins David & Heidi at Von (I LOVE that bar!) and then dinner at Double Crown - creative, delicious food. Chef is Brad Farmerie of Public, also a competitor on the current "The Next Iron Chef" series on The Food Network. He was there - not working, not cooking, not talking to customers.

Are you as tired reading this as I am having lived it for two days??

Another big day tomorrow...starting with (ta-da) an exhibit of Madeline Albright's pins at the new Museum of Arts & Design - yippee!

Dinner tonight?

2009-10-19T18:44:00.001-07:00

Chinese takeout - delivered, of course - waddyat'ink??!!
Good-night New York and from New York.

Okay, back to today

2009-10-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

I had lunch today with a friend/college roommate/sorority sister I haven't seen in more than THIRTY-FIVE years. Come to think of it, we just got back in touch via e-mail and phone less than a year ago. What a trip! She looks great, has done great things with both her professional and personal "lives," and there wasn't a moment's lull in the conversation during a 2+-hour lunch at Tabla. Just goes to show that when you're REALLY friends and you have history, it doesn't matter how long you haven't been in touch.

The day, as I've already mentioned, was a Perfect 10 in terms of weather and general city vibe. I spent some time in Madison Square Park, just across the street from the restaurant. First time I've ever seen the Shake Shack with NO line! Amazing...

I got some good photos today which will make lovely gallery when I get home. Okay, here's one...

A few Sunday photos

2009-10-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, out of chronological order, I know but I thought you'd enjoy these photos from the Guggenheim - photos allowed ONLY from the ground floor. And where else but New York would people stand in line in the rain to get into a museum (okay, maybe Paris...)

A Perfect 10

2009-10-19T17:57:00.002-07:00

This is the color of the sky on a PERFECT 10 fall day in NYC.

(It's a photo, folks. Seriously!)

Food and Art Sunday

2009-10-19T17:41:00.002-07:00

Sunday in NYC is Brunchday. The Sears-Smiths and I indulged at Penelope Cafe. (Our friend Bill, alas, was already back in the wilds of New Jersey prepping for a very busy work week.) Timing WAS everything - we arrived early (by NY standards 10:00 a.m. is the crack of dawn) and by the time we left, the wait was ONE HOUR. Can you imagine waiting in line in the rain for ONE HOUR for waffles. Granted, the pumpkin waffles WERE delicious - as were the scrambled eggs with Feta and asparagus and Mabel's homemade granola - but really...

Sufficiently fueled against the cold and and the wet we made our way uptown to the Guggenheim for what is certainly one of the most spectacular shows of the year - Kandinksy. The first retrospective of his work in almost 30 years and, I believe, the first one ever in NY, the venue couldn't be more appropriate. Solomon Guggenheim was one of Kandinsky's first collectors and the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building has been seriously buffed out for its 50th Anniversary this year. There are more than one hundred works in this show and it is truly astonishing to watch the way the work evolved over Kandinsky's long career. From an almost primitive style when he first started painting in his native Moscow to the extreme precision of his Bauhaus years and, finally, the soft side of him in his twilight years in France. See it if you can, it's on view at Guggenheim here through the middle of January 2010. And if you go, be sure to get the audio tour.

On our way downtown, we stopped at E.A.T. for a light repast before the Sears-Smiths had to pack up and get back to DC. Always so great to see them. We'll do it again soon, my friends.

Food and Art Saturday

2009-10-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

NJNN Reunion Weekend - many of you know that I get together with friends I worked with at PBS whenever I come to NYC. Three of the five made it this year.

The Sears-Smiths arrived from DC before noon and we were off and running, in spite of the cold and threat of rain (it never did rain on Saturday OR Saturday night, by the way). Lunch at Trestle on Tenth recommended by Nation's Restaurant News editor Bret Thorn - delicious food, lovely civilized atmosphere. The perfect start to our Chelsea adventure. The renovated spaces along 24th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues are now fabulous galleries. They're huge and can house the most massive contemporary works. Will post photos in a web gallery when I get home (thanks, Gill!).

Carl broke away to spend some time with a friend uptown. Sheila and I continued on to Chelsea Market. What a fantastic place! A big indoor space - ala Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Faneuil Hall in Boston, etc - filled with restaurants, cafes, shops, and it was decorated for fall/Halloween. Lots of big smiles all afternoon.

It wasn't really Highline weather but we did go up there to look around a bit. Even past its peak in terms of gardens, it's as fabulous as everyone told me. Will try to get back up there again now that the weather has turned warmer and sunnier. Oh, and if you don't know what The Highline is, check it out here...http://www.thehighline.org/

By the time we looked at our watches and called our friend Bill who was on his way in from New Jersey, we realized we had only minutes to shift gears and get downtown. Met at Art Bar - a funky, wunky, wonderful place for a drink and then on to HOME restaurant in our old stomping grounds of the West Village. It was also highly recommended and it did not disappoint. Market to Table/Farm to Table is still happening here and more and more chefs are heeding the call. We even had a bottle of Long Island wine which was very nice, indeed.

Yes, I have at least a few photos from the day and will post them, too. Just not here.

Days behind...again - Brooklyn Day 3

2009-10-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

My auntie takes her French toast VERY seriously. The result is unbelievably delicious.

Man, I JUST LOVE NEW YORK!

2009-10-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Came into Manhattan this a.m., had some time with Michael before he left for the weekend, unpacked, went to a movie - "New York, I Love You," a series of vignettes by different directors with different incredible casts, love postcards to NYC, really - then to Tocaro for fresh baby mozzarrella, a hunk of Piave, dense sesame Italian bread, caponata, Genoa salami, fruit, fresh veggies, to the wine store for a bottle of Pinot Grigio, and to Clover Deli for bagels and cream cheese and yogurt for tomorrow morning and, of course, I couldn't leave without a little bag of their amazing Italian butter cookies. I'm all set for the Yankees playoff game! Have I mentioned that I LOVE NEW YORK!

Friends from DC get here tomorrow a.m. - museums? shopping? lunch? and from NJ tomorrow evening. Drinks and dinner in the Village.

By the way, I LOVE NEW YORK!

What the f*** is up with this WEATHER??!!

2009-10-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's been frickin' cold, rainy, gray, windy, cold, rainy, all day and night, all the leaves will probably blow off the frickin' trees before they even have a CHANCE to change color...ugh!

BUT, it was nice and warm and cozy and delicious at JoMart Chocolates today where my cousin Michael cooked caramel, made patties and, with staffer Rose, made pecan rolls. Yum, yum, and more yum.

I (do) did not like rice pudding

2009-10-14T20:10:00.001-07:00

My friend Cheryl Tsutsumi is writing a book of rice recipes. She assumed, because I have a pastry cook certification that I would have at least one great rice dessert recipe. Alas, I do not like rice desserts BUT my auntie has a fantastic rice pudding recipe which I did submit to Cheryl for the book. My auntie and I talked about it today and when I got home from dinner tonight, there it was on the kitchen counter and it looked so good, I had to taste it. It's absolutely delicious and much more like cake than pudding. Now I'm glad I have the recipe and I'll make it at home. Even though I know it won't be as good as hers.

Timing is everything

2009-10-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so 8:30 p.m. or thereabouts on a weeknight is, apparently, the best time to go to Di Fara's. We got our pie very, very quickly, at least by Di Fara standards - about 30 minutes or so. See 1/2 the leftovers above - the other 1/2 went to another house. Yes, THE best pizza...anywhere.

Brooklyn food 1 - photos

2009-10-14T11:45:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn food 1 - home cooking

2009-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, many of you know that eating my auntie's home-cooked food is one of the things I look forward to most when I come to NYC. She's a GREAT cook and she always makes all the things she knows I love.

It started last night at dinner - a delicious salad, brisket AND her outrageous meatballs, sweet potatoes, asparagus - and continued this morning with more favorites - Ruby red grapefruit, whitefish salad, Breakstone's Whipped TempTee cream cheese, bialys, good strong coffee. See next post for the photos and know they do NOT do justice to these Brooklyn delicacies.

Flying under the weather

2009-10-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, I've been very busy with work the last couple of months which for me means going full tilt, sometimes seven days a week. By the time last Friday night came around - three days before leaving for NYC - I felt a little scratchy in the throat. I started pounding Gan Mao Ling, Vitamin C, Zicam. And still I could feel the "sick" moving into my nose, sinuses, head. I tried "mind over matter" but by Monday morning I knew I'd be flying under the weather that night and the next morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I did manage to sleep much of the way on both flights.

Flight from LAX delayed about an hour and a half, pilot made up a few minutes and my cousin David was there to get me and transport me to my favorite Auntie's (Esther) in Brooklyn. Nothing like coming back into the family fold to make one feel much better. Here's what she served me for lunch today...

Potentially disastrous evening thwarted...

2009-10-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

...thanks to Sansei Kihei.

Two friends and I had reservations at Capische? (Why would a restaurant put a question mark at the end of its name??) We'd been looking forward to dinner there all week. I was leaving the next day for NYC. They showed us to a table jammed in a corner next to a large party. Unacceptable. After about ten minutes - maybe more - they turned a diagonal two-top 90 degrees, grabbed another chair and made it a three-top. I don't think so. After another ten minutes or so - staff rolling their eyes in front of us - they said they couldn't accommodate us at a four-top 'til 8:00 a.m. - our res was 6:30 - or they'd be happy to make a res for us on another night. Buh-bye... A reservation for three means a four-top. Obviously, these folks thought the revenue from a fourth seat was worth having three very dissatisfied, LOCAL customers. I sent an e-mail note to the manager the next day. I haven't heard back. What a surprise.

We thought about going to Tommy Bahama - I LOVE their food - and then looked at each other and said in unison - SANSEI. I called, apologized for being last minute (as I often am) and we were happily accommodated (in the interest of full disclosure, yes, Sansei is a PR client but I've seen them do the same for others). Everything was perfect, including the cocktails and the service. Here's Al enjoying the fois gras nigiri ordered JUST for him...

Formally speaking

2009-10-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

"I just saw your picture."

I ran into my friend Stephanie Ohigashi for the first time in months and those were her first words.

"Where?" I asked, trying to remember if I'd written something for a paper or a magazine, thinking that maybe she'd been to Sansei and seen my face on the backflap of the cookbook cover. That's usually where people see my picture these days.

"At Gilbert's."

"Gilbert's?"

She was still talking. "...when Susanne Hota and I were going through her old scrapbooks. There you were." "Oh my goodness! With my friend Beverly, both of us in tuxedoes. That was in 1985...or '86. you have GOT to be kidding me." To think that Susanne had kept that photo for almost 25 years was absolutely unbelievable. And then, a wave of regret. I'd known, as did our entire community, that Gilbert's Formal Wear was closing at the end of August after 60 - SIXTY - years in business. The landmark shop is steps from my office, I had meant to go in and wish her well, blah, blah, blah. No excuses. I screwed up, plain and simple.

"You can make up for it. She's being honored with a resolution by County Council on Friday, October 2 at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers."

"I'll be there."

And I was, along with Susanne Hota's three daughters, a granddaughter, and a great-granddaughter as, one by one, the council members spoke of how she'd dressed them in formal wear for their weddings, their sons for their proms and how she had done it graciously and lovingly for three generations of Maui men...and a couple of crazy young women.

I learned things I hadn't known. The shop was her husband's dream and, tragically, he died just six weeks after the shop opened. She continued on her own. In 1976, she lost her only son. And again she soldiered on with the support, of course, of her three daughters.

I know this. Susanne Hota has been the definition of a strong, independent small business owner, beloved by her community for six decades. I wish her years and years and years of healthy, joyous retirement.

Mahalo, Susanne, for making so many folks - even wacky Beverly and Bonnie - look good.

(Scroll down to see the photo - if you must. The occasion was my friend Madge Walls' first exhibition of her grandmother Madge Tennant's art work at the Stouffer Wailea Beach Resort where Madge was the PR director. I had just started a little company called Discriminating Taste that made chocolate-covered Maui potato chips - yes! - and did gourmet catering. This evening was the public debut for the chips. That's our chef, Joyce Little (now Joyce Solis)...in regular women's clothing!)

Go ahead, laugh. It was a LONG time ago!

2009-10-04T12:24:00.001-07:00

Epic

2009-09-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Picture the scene. One of those tidy bungalows tucked away on the lot of a major Hollywood studio. The screenwriter waits to be ushered in to the producer’s office. He is confident, anxious, but mostly confident. This story defines “cinematic,” he thinks to himself. And then, the door opens…

Imagine the pitch. On an extended journey, a strikingly beautiful, powerful woman falls in love with a man who lives many hundreds of miles away. Once she returns home, she simply cannot leave her enterprise. And she cannot get the man out of her mind. She sends her youngest sister – the most trustworthy of her siblings – to bring him to her. This young woman’s travels take her over mountains, through forests, across deserts and seas. Along the way she is confronted by every conceivable challenge and danger. Violent storms, monstrous beasts, conniving scoundrels, malefactors, ne’er-do-wells. But she has been equipped by her sister with supernatural powers that will enable her to successfully complete her mission, to outsmart and outmaneuver every evil force. The story has it all – love and lust, jealousy and justice, villains, heroes and, most prominently, heroines.

In 1994, our hālau read the Nathaniel B. Emerson (1915) version of this epic and spent a three-day retreat discussing it. I clearly remember being in the swimming pool with kumu Hōkūlani Holt and several hālau sisters talking about how easy it would be – and how obvious it seemed – to turn this story into a movie. We even did some of the casting right there in the water.
The story is the epic tale of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele, youngest sister of Pele, the goddess of fire, dweller of the caldera at Kīlauea on the Island of Hawai‘i. And until University of Hawai‘i Hawaiian language specialist Dr. Puakea Nogelmeier devoted several years of his life to a new Hawaiian version and English translation, the Emerson version – aka “the red book” – was the only one widely accessible. In 2007, Dr. Nogelmeier’s stunning 400+- page edition – with magnificent illustrations by young Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos – was released. Happily, in 2008 Hōkū generously devoted a year of HER life to a small study group intent on reading it from cover to cover, with a specific emphasis on places, place names, and traditional Hawaiian values as portrayed in the story and as they are still practiced today.

Now the story comes to life as portions are brilliantly interpreted by eleven artists in the current Schaefer Gallery exhibit at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Masterfully installed , Hi‘iakaikapoliopele: Visual Stories by Contemporary Native Hawaiian Artists will – should – blow you away.

And speaking of being blown away, Mark Chai’s “Hea aku i ka makani: Call to the winds,” is the show’s dominantly large work. Recycled white plastic attached to a plywood ring eight-feet in diameter hangs from the high gallery ceiling. Stand below it and it’s not difficult to imagine being caught in the vortex of raging gales ahead of a great storm brought by Pele to her lover’s home Island of Kaua‘i.

Maui’s Abigail Romanchak etched stylized maps to depict Hi‘iaka’s travels, the big picture, so to speak. “Wahine Po‘aimoku” (Island-Encircling Woman) is a perfect description of and appropriate alternative name for Pele’s youngest sister.

Nānā i ke kumu – look to the source. That is exactly what Pualani Lincoln Maielua did with her beautiful, and obviously heartfelt, kapa work. Using wild wauke gathered from Kalopā and traditional plant dyes, each of the brilliantly-colored panels depicts the phases of the night from sunset till dawn as portrayed in the Hi’iaka story.

Young Puni Kakahiko traveled to the summit of Maui’s Haleakalā and chanted the same words Hi‘iaka did before painting “E kau malie ’oe, o ka la.” That’s the artist in the picture feeling the place where, according to the story, Hi‘iaka’s bones now rest.

Perhaps none of these young artists is better combines a thoroughly modern sense of humor with the ancient and awesome spiritual nature of the story than Maika‘i Tubbs. Two of his three pieces are made from disposal materials. In fact, one is called “At Your Disposal.” It is an elaborate array of butterflies – made from plastic forks, spoons, and knives – projected out from the gallery wall, about to surround you…as the legion of spirits did when Hi‘iaka and her companions traveled through the forest of Mahiki.

If you are on Maui between now and October 24th, make time to see this show. Don’t wait for the movie.

http://www.mauiarts.org/schaefer.html

(scroll down, please, for photos)

A sampling of the show

2009-09-23T20:48:00.001-07:00

I have negelected the blog for far too long...

2009-09-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

...so now I'm playing catch up - AGAIN.

Oh my goodness. I just looked at the blog - last post on August 26th - are you kidding me? I better get writing.

Roselani Ice Cream site updated, all polished up, improved, delicious - http://www.roselani.com/ - have a visit when you can. And kudos once again to webmeister Gill Brooks.

Lots of tours in the last few weeks, each one more fun than the last. The most adorable honeymooners a little while ago - early 20s, from Chicago, first trip to Maui. Proclaimed everything they ate - and young AJ ate A LOT - "awesome." So cute I wanted to take them home and cook dinner for them. http://www.tourdafoodmaui.com/

Fabulous birthday dinner (9/5) for friend Geri at Sansei Kihei where Exec. Chef Ivan Pahk dazzled, as usual. Even the humble edamame was transformed to decidedly un-humble tossed with black bean butter sauce, chili flakes, shiitake mushrooms and pencil-thin asparagus. Seared scallops, risotto, quail, and on and on it went. A perfect and perfectly delicious evening.

Labor Day (9/7), Maui participated in Slow Food USA's "Time for Lunch" campaign. More than 350 community potlucks across the country to encourage legislators to update the Child Nutrition Act and provide Real Food in our schools. Colleague and friend Charlene Ka'uhane did a masterful organizing job and although the small turnout was a little disheartening for me, she always looks on the bright side. It was a start and at least a few more folks are aware of the challenge and the road to solution.

Gotta go. Coming soon (no, really, soon)...

Food, glorious food - courtesy Market Fresh Bistro
Art - courtesy some groundbreaking young Hawaiians

No one here gets out alive

2009-08-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Death is the great equalizer. Everyone dies. You can't sing, dance, paint, sculpt, write, negotiate, discover, you can't even buy your way out. Nope. The world has lost four giants in the last few weeks. The latest are two members of one of America's most important families - Eunice Kennedy Shriver and last night, Senator Edward Kennedy. Huge losses on a global scale.

CBS lost two of its own legends. Don Hewitt, the creator of 60 Minutes, and Walter Cronkite, arguably the best newsman of the 20th century.

I used to work for CBS News. Twice. First in 1971 and again in 1978. (Yeah, I'm THAT old.) In '71, I worked down the hall from 60 Minutes and often saw Don Hewitt, knew him only well enough to say, "hello." He was kinda scary. Small guy. But still, kinda scary. I think it was because he was so smart and so good at what he did.

I knew Walter Cronkite only slightly better. But he made a huge impression on me. He was a great newsman. He was also a prince. I would often see him walking down "Executive Row" (the long hallway that led from the 57th St. and Tenth Ave. entrance back to the newsroom and the Evening News studio) and he would peek his head into every office and greet every secretary, every mailroom guy, anyone he encountered along the way. In 1976, I was an Associate Director in the radio division. It was a pretty easy gig and an enjoyable one, too. One afternoon, I came in for my shift and noticed I was scheduled for Walter's (he insisted that everyone, including us plebes call him "Walter") radio show. I was kinda freaked out and figured well, he doesn't really need direction. I'll just show up in the control room and he'll do the rest. Wrong. We introduced ourselves, shook hands, he took his place in front of the microphone and I took mine in the control room. And there he sat. Finally, he turned on his mike and said to me, "Aren't you going to cue me?" I was frozen. And he, obviously, realized I was awestruck, too. He very kindly - and with a big smile on his face - said, "Bonnie, you have your job and I have mine. And until you do yours, I can't do mine." I did...and he did and although it's such a tiny thing, I will never forget it. Classy, classy, classy.

In my office, I have a big black and white framed poster of him from a 1985 seminar series. He's in profile, left hand to his chin, in a very pensive pose at his newsdesk. And although faded, the inscription reads, "For Bonnie, For that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite."

The Kodama Children and their respective cheeses (see previous post)

2009-08-25T11:49:00.001-07:00

Housewarming

2009-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

After eight long years, my friends (and client) D.K. and Lori Kodama finished building and moved into their GORGEOUS new Honolulu home. I had the pleasure of attending their housewarming this past weekend. I really wanted to 1)see them and their children, 2)see D.K.'s wonderful dad who I hadn't seen since D.K.'s mom died almost a year ago, 3)see the rest of the Kodama clan, 4)see the Honolulu Sansei/d.k Steak House contingent, and 5)because when the host of the party owns several of the best and most popular restaurants in Hawai'i, you know how good - and plentiful - the food and drink is going to be. Mission accomplished on all fronts.

One of the cutest and quirkiest things about this branch of the Kodama family is that they named all three of their children after cheese. Yes, you heard me. Cheese. So along with all the fruit, marinated vegetables, crackers, and miscellaneous other nibbles at the "station" near the bar were three cheese displays. There was Brie, Chevre, and Cashel Bleu...with a beautiful photo of the respectively-named child attached to a little dowel stuck into each one. Obviously, I'm trying to get a photo. But for now, picture it. It was THAT adorable.

And here's the most important thing about the house and the party. There were many, many people there - more than a hundred, I'm sure. There were dozens of children. All over the place. Running around. With crayons and markers and every kind of toy. (Lori and I were walking through one of the hallways and I felt something beneath my foot. "Oh, you just stepped on some broccoli," she said laughing as I picked up the molded rubber floret and tossed it back into one of the children's rooms.) The house is magnificent. But it is NOT a museum. It was designed with family and friends and children and fun and big gatherings in mind. And that is what makes it the very best kind of house there is. A house that is most definitely a home.

Congratulations D.K. and Lori. May you have many happy, healthy, prosperous years and lots of fantastic parties in your new home.

When Peers Pass Away

2009-08-23T14:18:00.001-07:00

I do not like that phrase - pass away. People die. Old, young, everybody. As we age and more and more of our contemporaries die, it gets us to thinking. Or it should. My friend Tom Olds died last month. He was 55. Younger than I. A few days earlier, Julie Holmes died. She was less than 90 days older than I. Late last week Lisa Josephson died. She was 60. Two years older than I.

A few words about Julie and Lisa (there's a post below about Tom). I didn't know Julie, I only knew of her. Many of my friends knew her, some knew her well. I know she was lovely and good and did good works for her life's work. Lisa was an acquaintance and professional colleague. She was a PR person, too. And a good one. More important, as my friend and her good friend Wayne Harada pointed out to me, she was Hawai'i's biggest booster of the performing arts. She fought an extraordinarily valiant two-and-a-half year battle with cancer. She will be greatly missed by Hawai'i's PR and arts communities, among others.

So since these "peer deaths" happened in rapid succession (bad things come in threes? do good things come in threes, too?), I've been thinking a lot about life...and death. What's it all about, Alfie? And all the other cliches (again). What does it take - and how much of it does it take - to make us humans realize that this is it. This is all we get and we had better make the most of it, whatever that is. Tom and Julie and Lisa all got some time and with some time, you can finish up. Or finish up some. I can count too many friends and relatives who didn't get any time at all. That's the thing. We don't have much - any? - control. So maybe we (I) better just do it (whatever your/my it is). Today.

Only in Hawai'i

2009-08-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Needed a house blessing gift and went directly to Native Intelligence, a beautiful shop that, happily, is around the corner from my office. Walking in the door is as calming as a short vacation. You find yourself naturally slowing down among the hula implements, clothing, handcrafted wood boxes and albums, photographs, fantastic selection of books, fresh lei...and owner Kapono'ai. Always smiling, filled with aloha, he somehow focuses in like a laser on a subject that will interest each individual customer. I'm sure he'd object to the term "customer." "Guest" is probably better and after a while, 'ohana (family). So, of course, I found the perfect gift. And I left with a gift of my own as did everyone else in the store. Hawai'i oranges which Kapono'ai recommended be combined with iced tea. "'Ono (delicious)" he said. Native Intellingence is 'ono, too.
http://www.native-intel.com/

Old Friends

2009-08-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

I was so happy and pleasantly surprised when my friend Connie Sutherland asked me to join her, her daughter Leslie and son-in-law Nelson for her birthday dinner last Friday night. She turned 72 - hard to believe when you see her and experience her energy.

Connie was, literally, the first person I met when I moved to Maui more than 27 years ago. I think she's probably getting tired of being introduced that way! She and her husband Chuck - a lovely man and wonderful artist who, sadly, died a number of years ago - owned and operated The Whaler, Ltd. a shop on Front St. specializing in all things nautical - no touristy kitsch here, beautiful and well-crafted work. For whatever reason, we took to each other right away. As the years went by - and I moved from the west side to the south side to upcountry hither and yon trying to find my place in this place - we simply didn't see each other as often as we did in the early days.

A few years ago, we got back into close touch - I can't even remember how that happened - and we now get together often. If more than a couple of weeks pass, we at least talk on the phone. Connie has had more than her share of tragedy over these last few years. But I've yet to see her without a smile on her face, moving forward.

When we picked up Leslie and Nelson last Friday night on our way to Sansei Kapalua, Leslie said she thought the last time she and I had seen each other was more than TWENTY years ago...in NEW YORK. I hoped she was wrong then and I still hope she's wrong now. I'm still wracking my brain trying to figure out how that could be possible. I reminded Nelson he sold me my first "Maui cruiser" - a white Datsun (not Nissan) station wagon that hauled tons and tons and tons of food when I had my catering company back in the mid-80s. Reminiscing often does and should lead to laughter.

We had a great dinner and then moved on to Roy's Kahana. Connie's gorgeous 24-year-old grandson Russell (if you think I'm kidding, see his photo above - he's on the far right) works there and was waiting with fabulous chocolate cocktails - that he had invented himself for the occasion - and pretty much every dessert in the place. I'm not sure I had ever even met him before. Maybe when he was a toddler.

The moral of the story is embrace old friends. And family. Make the time. What could be more important than the important people in your life?

Aloha to Tom

2009-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, a group of family and friends said "Aloha 'oe" to Tom Olds who died late last month at the age of 55. Far, far, far too young. He was very sick so there was a lot of "he's at peace now," "he's out of pain now," and all the other appropriate cliches. Cliches become such because they are true and every one of them was certainly true in this case. However, what is also true is that he isn't here anymore. For his friends, that will become easier to deal with over time; for his mother Beverly, his sister Cate, his wife Linda - with whom I have been friends for more than two decades - it will take much, much, much longer for it to become easier. But it will...

Having said that, Tom was a fantastic, quirky, eccentric artist and his work remains, not the least of which is the house he built with his own hands and all the fantastic, quirky, eccentric things in, on, and around it. At the gathering there after his memorial, some of his and Linda's friends - including me - got to meet other friends from other "circles of friends" who had never met or at least never spent any real time together or hadn't lately. That, I think, is what the cliche about the something good coming out of someone's death might have been about in this particular case. Everyone ate and drank and talked and laughed and reminisced and was grateful for the simple things, which when you take a good hard look, are the important things.

The movie

2009-08-10T12:30:00.001-07:00

Yes, "Julie & Julia" is as wonderful as all the pre-opening publicity promised. I'm sure all my "foodie" (I HATE that word) friends have already seen it. If you haven't seen it - and even if you're not food-obsessed - you should. It's a joy, perfect summer entertainment. Plan to have a meal afterwards; you will definitely be hungry. I live in a place without the wisp of a hope of finding Boeuf a La Bourguignon, which is what you will be hungry for...so Roy's Szechuan Ribs - and lots more of his good food - proved an excellent substitute.

Not to brag - okay, to brag a tiny bit - I did receive a note from Julia Child 15 years ago. I had invited her to "A Taste of Lahaina" back in the day that I was the event publicist. What a thrill to get this in the mail! It's framed now and defininitely a prized possession.

So, anyway I did pull out my old, battered copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking when I got home Friday night. It's an original 1961 edition and look what I found stuck in the front cover!

I did partake many years ago - I'm not a aficionado so I don't remember anything other than that it was very, very good. I do remember it was served by an old friend who'd been holding on to it for years and thought that a very casual gathering of friends over bowls of humble spaghetti and meatballs was occasion enough to open it.

Okay, so back to the book. I've been re-reading it and may attempt Julia's Tarte Tatin.

Maybe...

A Joyful Noise

2009-08-06T13:09:00.001-07:00

Punana Leo o Maui - our Hawaiian language immersion preschool - is back in session. And that means back to school for me, too. For a couple of hours a week, I help out by taking a bit of pressure off the dedicated kumu (teachers) who, like teachers everywhere are overworked and underpaid. With 30 pre-schoolers, there's always something for a willing volunteer to do. Mostly I help get the schoolroom set up for lunch, help serve, and clean up the kitchen afterwards. Some days there's time to interact with the keiki (children) during a ha'awina (lesson) or a hana no'eau (arts & craft) project. Since all communication is in Hawaiian and my Hawaiian language skills are at roughly the same level as these three, four, and five-year-olds, well...it works out just fine. My own skills do actually improve over the school year - if only slightly - since I have to talk to teachers and staff, too. It is thrilling to to watch as these babies absorb Hawaiian language - and Hawaiian ways - like little sponges. It is the way that this culture is perpetuated. And the biggest reward is doing something - a very small something though it may be - for my community. We are all busy, too busy. We are all dealing with our own personal, daily crises - economic and otherwise. And there is always someone or someones or something with greater needs than our own. There's a preschool - or a health clinic or a group home or a hospice or a food bank or a something - in your neighborhood that needs you. Please go find it and spend even ONE hour a week helping out. Yes you can.

http://www.naleopulama.org/

Sign of the Times

2009-08-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I thought more Maui restaurants would have succumbed to the recession than actually have. Good news for us. But one that I thought could surely weather the storm is closing at the end of the month - Roy's Kihei. It's a South Shore favorite of mine - such a pleasant and delicious restaurant and an especially fine place to sit at the bar, munch on pupu, and savor a couple of glasses of wine. So, in what we think is an especially appropriate way to bid the place "aloha 'oe," after "Julie & Julia" tomorrow friend Charlene and I will wend our way to Kihei, grab a couple of stools at the bar, and bid a fond farewell to one of Maui's best restaurants. Sigh...

Happy Medium

2009-08-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

One drawback of living on an island in the middle of the Pacific - especially if you're really a city girl - is having to wait for movies to "open wide" and sometimes even longer than that. My friend Charlene and I are positively giddy with anticipation about "Julie & Julia" which plenty of my friends have seen in previews. We have planned our whole week around playing hooky from work Friday afternoon and going to the first show. I don't know WHAT we'll do if it doesn't open this week.

There has been an extraordinary amount of publicity for this movie - food columnists in every city and town have written about it, there have been numerous interviews with everyone involved from Meryl Streep to Nora Ephron to the food stylist, restaurants are already offering "Julie & Julia" menus.

There is one article that uses the movie - really uses Julia Child's incredible influence on home cooks of her era - as its jumping off point and I suspect it might be the one Mrs. Child herself would have enjoyed most. It's by Michael Pollan - he of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," etc. - and it was the cover story in last Sunday's New York Times magazine - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?ref=magazine. If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

It made me think about happy mediums. Few people I know have the time, the desire, maybe even the skills to cook the way Mrs. Child did. But I bet everyone who loves to prepare and eat good food could probably cook more than he or she does now.

And here's one way to start that has really helped me. Read Mark Bittman's articles and blog posts. I adore his work! His blog is called Bitten - http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/?ref=dining and he regularly writes articles for the Times' Dining & Wine section. Check the archives for his 101 lists. If you love food, you will love his suggestions...and you WILL cook.