We had so much fun last year and received such positive feedback from friends and family that we decided the recital should be an annual event. So, once again on December 4th our living room was transformed into a recital hall.
The new arm chairs were removed to the back rooms. The sofa placed in the dining room along with the coffee table left the living room a stark echo chamber in which the piano's magnificent sounds reverberated.
Definitely part of the recital's fun is the build up to the actual event. The journey being as fun as the destination itself. Last year the journey was all about the process and logistics. Where will all the people sit? How do we start the evening? What wine should we serve? How much food will people eat? how much beer should we buy?
With our professional commitments and hectic Thanksgiving week the build up was much shorter and more intense than last year. We were old hats at this now. I knew where to rent chairs and what glasses we wanted. The alcohol purchase wasn't fought with anxiety and groceries were delivered straight to our door by FreshDirect. The journey the second time around was more about anticipating the evening itself. Who was coming? Who we could chat and catch up with? How would the personal interaction play out between the wide group of friends that were invited?
Some 55 people arrived and were thrilled to hear Joe play the piano and Arun the violin. We thought an annual recital would benefit from an expanded repertoire. While Joe's playing is accomplished and beautiful, a solo program year after year may wear thin with the same guests. This year Arun added the violin to Joe's piano. Next year we are thinking of having some talented friends sing and hanging others' visual are on the walls -- a salon of sorts.
With the musical portion of the evening completed, everyone retreated to the dining room for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Follow the more link below for the evening's menu. Michael (Arun's boyfriend) and I created the menu. Perhaps our only mistake was not preparing enough food. Most of it vanished within 45 minutes! 10 servings per person simply weren’t enough. I will have to remember this when I cater next year's party.
Judging by the speed at which food was consumed, there were definitely favorites. The meat balls to start. Once they the on the table a tight group of 6 people hovered over the tray until there were no more. The close circle around the meat balls and other guests trying to get a taste resembled a rugby scrum. Something good was in the middle and people weren't stopping until they were rewarded with a small moist ball of pork and chicken seasoned with parmesan, salt and pepper and fried golden brown.
My savory tarts are big hits as well. Based on last year's success, I made the tarts larger and stuck with Swiss chard and parmesan to the crowd's intense pleasure. I also stuck with the cupcake dessert theme. This year coconut cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting had guests licking their lips and fingers as if I laced the cakes with crack. In their rush to go to another December holiday party, some guests stole a second cupcake for the subway ride.
There is something intensely rewarding about making food that pleases people. Nothing makes me happier than special requests for one of my dishes. I suspect next year people will demand we host another recital where Joe plays and where I get an opportunity to cook my mother's meatballs and present my addictive "crack" cupcakes.
Check out the recital photos and a short video of the last movement (Quicktime format).
Menu (number of servings)
- Savory tarts with swiss chard and freshly grated aged parmesan (80)
- Mama's meatballs with sweet chili sauce (80)
- Cheese platter with dried fruits and nuts (3 big cheeses, brie, blue, cheddar)
- Traditional crudite platter with celery stems, brocoli, asparagus, tomatoes, and mushrooms with a chunky blue cheese dip (25)
- Tomato, mushroom and basil risotto on endive leaves (60)
- Seaweed omelet (60)
- Mini coconut cupcakes (40)
Phileas Fogg may have done it in 80 days but with jet travel Joe and I managed it in 21. Our itinary reads like a fancy dress shop's window -- New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sydney, Los Angeles and then back home to New York.
It was nothing short of fabulous.
It doesn't seem like two days in each city is enough time to explore and poke around. But with a good concierge and the Internet we made the most of our short stays. Ruthless in some instances on what we would and wouldn't do. Another department store - negative. A new cuisine? Point us to it. Food almost always won out over any other activity.
We ate well, very well. In Paris we dined at the oldest restuarant in France, Tour D'Argent. A magnificant 2 star Michelin restaurant with views over the Siene and Notre-Dame. In Tokyo we found an adorable sake cum grill bar. The fact that no one spoke English didn't prevent us from trying several sublime sakes, excellent sashimi and wonderful tapas style dishes of grilled meats, foie gras and seafood. We toured the massive Tokyo fish market at 6 in the morning (no digital photos sorry). After which Joe ate noodles with the workers and I opted for sushi.
The concept of sushi at 7am in the morning is challenging. The only thing that enabled me to do it was the fact that the tiny tiny sushi bar we ate at was attached to the largest wholesale fresh fish market in the world. The place was packed solid and the fish literally melted in your mouth. We were even interviewed and photographed by a restaurant critic evaluating the scene.
Kyoto food only got better. Much more laid back than Tokyo and with an air of sophistication reminiscent of Aix-en-Provence. Breakfasts with Mrs Ishihara at her charming Ryokan were a sea of dishes containing grilled salmon, a rasher of bacon, a fried egg, bowl of rice, nori paper, miso soup and pickles. She would slide herself toward us over the tatami mat, pour our tea and instruct us how to eat the rice and nori together -- with chopstick in hand, you press the rice between a sheet of nori.
Perhaps the most intriuging meal was the Japanese-Chinese one. Not only was the dining room beautiful despite its austerity the bamboo garden added an essential Japanese ingredient, serentity. The food was delicious. The Chinese flavors definitely prominent in the dishes, but presented and served with typical Japanese flair.
Hong Kong was more casual for us. Fine dining was replaced with street food hawker style. Vietnamese noodles, grilled squid, and the like are quintessential HK experiences. Perhaps another reason for the light evening meals was the Mandarin Oriental's complimentary breakfast. A western buffet combined with Dim Sum served with perfect espresso! The Oriental was an amazing luxury and welcomed after only completing half our journey.
Back in my home town Melbourne, staying with my parents only meant good solid Italian fare. We cooked a few nights sharing our secret for perfect sauteed vegies and medium rare roast lamb. Joe also taught my mum how to make a cucumber salad and my mum taught Joe how to make an avocado salad.
Dinner at the Flower Drum was fun. Drinks at the Croft Institute an adventure. Regular visits to Jodi and Nick's Rathdowne Tavern made us favorites with the locals. Our meals at the Rathdowne Tavern were greater than the original restaurant reviews indicated. A re-interpreted steak and eggs made me very happy. The egg was gently poached and then quickly fried tempura style.
Meals continued. Sapore in Fitzroy with new friends was devine. Brunch in Albert Park with friend and their kids loads of fun. Tapas on Saturday night with old freinds wonderful. Home cooked dinners and discussion with more friends ever entertaining and of course the grand finale, an Italian BBQ bidding us farewell the night before our flight an extravaganza.
While the global economy can bring the world's products to your door, especially when you live in New York, there is yet no substitute for cuisine in its country of origin. And for that I love to travel.
The entire trip's photo album is posted here.
Check out the pictures of our vacation in France.
In all 5 couples (our friends Erik and Steven and some of their friends) spent a week frolicking along the Cote d'Azur during the day. In the evenings, tired and sun drenched, we retired to San Peyre, a beautiful mansion on the coast overlooking the Mediterranean. There we supped on local produce and sampled regional wines under the overhang of grape vines in the warmth of candle light. The evening breeze warm and gentle on our tanned skin only adding to our pleasure.
San Peyre, not simply a place, but a state of mind.
One of the few American cities I hadn't visited in my 7 years here had been Miami, or more specifically South Beach (SoBe). Joe had been several times and had been constantly telling me how wonderful it is. Talking up the culture, the art deco buildings, the beach, the weather and the wonderful eye candy!
So with a leg on our Global Explorer free, we booked a trip to SoBe over the Memorial Day long weekend. If we took Friday off we would get 4 full days in the sun, relaxing and drinking cocktails by the pool. To cap off the experience we splurged on a room at The Tides Hotel, a beautiful and decadent boutique hotel right in the heart of the "action".
Action it was! Unknown to us, every Memorial Day SoBe turns from a gay beach meca into a Hip Hop festival cramming the sidewalks with humanity. There was so much booty going on, none of the straight boys could work out where to look, or touch or call out obscene, supposedly flattering, comments. This wasn't the South Beach Joe had told me about.
Despite the change in atmosphere, we managed to have a good time. Our photos are here.
Since moving in just over a year ago we have been constantly saying we should get around to painting the apartment. One year later and only the foyer and two bathrooms have been painted.
The bathrooms had to be painted since the exposed plaster was being eaten away by the steam and running down the walls in rivulets. To date the foyer was the only room lucky enough to have us paint it voluntarily. We thought if first impressions last then the very first room guests would see should be finished.
It was only natural then to continue painting rooms that lead off the foyer. Since the dining room is smaller than the living room, it was logically next. Joe and I agreed that the room should be blood red (a very stimulating and flattering color). However, arguments ensued as to whether the ceiling should be white, red, speckled with glitter or some dark grey. In the end my demands of plain white prevailed, of which we are both satisfied with. To see the progression from exposed plaster to finished room click here.
Last night our apartment was transformed into a small concert hall accommodating 46 guests. It really was loads of fun in a grown up, sophisticated kind of way.
Joe played an impressive piano program that included Shubert, Mozart, Chopin, and Monpou. An hour later our guests were drinking and nibbling canapes in the dining room. Catering for this event had been my responsibility and one I took with my usual diligence for food.
Using the "Party Calculator" I stumbled across last week on the Appetizers To Go website I figured I needed roughly 315 appetizer servings or 7 a head. That meant a menu with 6 different dishes would require 50 servings of each, supplemented with a large cheese board.
Once I started, I got carried away and ended up with the following serving counts:
196 Meatballs (chicken & pork mixture)
210 vol-au-vents (bechamel with mushrooms, onions & gruyere)
110 mini onion tarts (vermouth sauted onions)
80 salmon blinis (smoked salmon slices, dill creme fraiche on buckwheat blinis)
80 cupcakes (filled with freshly whipped cream & dusted with powdered sugar)
2 lbs of cheese
It wasn't as much effort as it sounds since I found wholesale pastry cases and shells which made this menu and volume possible and literally reduced preparation time from 48 hours to 5. I can thoroughly recommend ordering wholesale.
Another measure of success is that by 1:30 am most of the food had been devoured. I don't think the salmon blinis made it out of the kitchen before the serving tray was returned and the meatballs were disappearing faster than those at an Ikea cafeteria.
Out of catering curiosity (and future reference) I "ran the numbers" this morning and found that every guest consumed at least 18 individual servings and 1/2 bottle of white wine during the party's 3 hours.
I have to thank Dervala, who is staying with us right now. Not only did she provide the excellent suggestion of stuffing vol-au-vents with mushroom, but she helped decorate the cupcakes to my instruction and more importantly inspired me to start writing in my blog again!
A couple of weeks ago Joe and I closed on an apartment in Brooklyn. Since then my entries here have been somewhat sporadic as we try to get the apartment in tip top shape to support our electricity hungry lifestyle. Apparently not something something the previous 98 year old tenant had.
So with the additional space, a brand spanking new GE Profile stove and the butler's pantry we should be good to go for entertaining this summer.
In only a few weeks it will be bye bye Soho, hello Brooklyn. I can't wait!
This was a Sunday morning activity for Joe. While I was fast asleep he was baking up a storm with his now perfected cinnamon rolls. Much better than store bought for sure.
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Lately I have been travelling a lot for work so I haven't had a chance to cook or even pay my blog the attention I want to give it. However, on the upside I have more time for reading and started a book I bought 6 months ago, The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman.
I am about half way through and thoroughly enjoying it. I think Mr Ruhlman does indeed capture and articlulate what the soul of a chef might actually look like. So in the absence of actually cooking, I can at least live vicariously through Mr Ruhlman.
There are many reasons I like living in Soho. One of them is definitely living around the corner from the Broadway Panhandler, a store with a thousand excuses to part with your money. I swear that I was in the store almost every weekend last year. I was always in need of something, be it a small lemon juicer or a more significant All Clad saute pan. So by December I had every essential tool I needed and no space in my tiny kitchen for one more thing.
So now my visits to Broadway Panhandler are merely to whittle away time looking at shiny new objects, dream of having more space, plan my dream kitchen or nibble on demonstrating chefs' dishes. As it happened I was walking past the store yesterday and noticed the blackboard advertising Sara Moulton was doing a demonstration in the store.
At this point I have to admit a dirty secret -- I am addicted to the food channel. It's an addiction supported by the fact that we don't get cable and the only other channels I can surf are FOX, NBC, Telemundo or PBS. It doesn't really matter what's showing on FoodTV, I will still watch it. That's not to say I don't have my favorite programs, one of which is hosted by Sara Moulton, a native New Yorker.
Seeing her demonstration at the Broadway Panhandler was a treat and confirmed that she really is charming and friendly. We stayed for a bit, but given the crowd decided to return later to get an autographed copy of her new cook book. We chatted for a few mnutes and before signing the book she asked "Is this for both of you?" Don't you just love her now? Five minutes later with a backpack over her shoulder, she walked outside, down the street and into a cab.
I cooked at the James Beard House again last Saturday night and am only now getting to write about it. The last couple of weeks at work have been extremely busy, and while rewarding they have taken a toll on my writing and cooking.
Initially I approached last Saturday night's volunteering effect reluctantly. Saturday was on the verge of being warm, and with my shift starting at around 4pm I felt that my day would be totally wasted. Any regrets I had for volunteering vanished as soon as I stepped into the kicthen and started helping out. Cooking is definitely my passion.
I introduced myself to the guest chef, A.J. Voytko, his 22 year old sous chef Anthony, Rory (a friend of theirs and chef from Alain Ducasse) and Susie, another volunteer. With introductions out of the way we were off. 95 people were coming in less than 3 hours and there was much to do.
AJ described his menu as good food prepared simply. The menu itself was simple but AJ's attention was certainly in the details. For example, a dash of wasabi in the oysters, the shredded apple on the tuna, the dates under the lamb. While all of it was solid, there were some shining examples of his style.
I was blown away by the foie gras sandwich. Luscious foie gras mixed with stewed strawberries served on toasted challah. The three way sunflower salad was lifted out of ordinary by adding truffle oil to the vinaigrette. The three way reference made because the salad had sunflower root (sunchoke thinly sliced on a mandolin), sunflower shoots and sunflower seeds. The spicy lamb was aided by the jus and the star of the dessert medley was the goat cheese mousse topped with a stewed blood orange.
AJ definitely knows what he is doing and the title of rising star bestowed by the James Beard House is appropriate. But I am quickly realizing that the executive chef is nothing without his second in command, the sous chef. Anthony was amazing. He held the night together by finishing most of the dishes and passing them off to us for plating. At which point he moved on to the next course. His demi-glace for the spiced lamb was outstanding. It was rich red with an intensely complex structure attainable by only expert sauciers.
Hor'dourves
Oysters with Wasabi and Yuzu
Marinated Ahi with "Mint Family" and Green Apple
Foie Gras Sandwich
- Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 1998
Simply Cured Salmon with Salad of Sunflower Three-Way, Lemon-Truffle Vinaigrette, and Crème Fraîche
- Foxen Viognier 2001
California Halibut with Five Onion Purée, Caramelized Parsnip, and Brussels Sprouts
- Honig Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2001
Duck Two Ways with Fava Bean—Pistachio Baklava, Morels, and Red Wine Reduction
- Presidio Szasz Pinot Noir 1998
Four-Spice Crusted Lamb Loin with Harissa Gnocchi, Celery Root, Medjool Date, and Lamb Jus
- Gregory Graham Syrah 2000
One Phenomenal Study of Caramel
- Ferrand 10-Year-Old Ambre Cognac
It wasn't too hard to believe that tonight was the first night Joe and I ate a meal we cooked in over two weeks. It was good to stay inside and spend some time together, watch the rain fall outside and feel conflicted about the war. After last night going out seemed a weird thing to do tonight after the "shock and awe" campaign released today.
So last night, after working late we went with some friends to Jean-Georges' new restaurant 66 located in Tribeca. This was close by, and perhaps not so surprisingly given the war and the heavy rain, we were able to get a table for 5 at 9:30. In fact while we were waiting, Jean George himself greeted us in his chef whites as he thumbed through the reservation book.
66 is definitely highly stylized. The interior design is beautifully white with cloudy resin tabletops and wall dividers. Salt water aquatic tanks (fish tanks would be to ordinary a descrition) separate the large open kitchen from the buzzing dining room. Waiters are excessively attentive in their soviet block uniforms, whisking away dirty plates and replacing them with clean ones between mouthfuls of food.
With 5 of us we sampled a large variety of dishes and concluded that a few menu items were worth noting. The scallion pancakes were perfectly fried triangles of delicate onion with a tempura like coating. The Lobster Hargow dim sum were excellent with large plump peices of lobster and 4 types of colored roe as jewels in its crown.
The impressive entree was the chilli prawn with lilly bulb. Sweet firm prawns with a spicy chilli sauce tempered with the cool crunch of the lilly bulb. From the choice of desserts, the Ovaltine pudding was interesting, but the winner was clearly the complex vietnamese chocolate ice-cream served in a Chinese soup spoon. If you can afford a $12 cocktail you shouldn't pass up the opportunity to have the cumquat mojito.
Doesn't it sound good? Well it was, until the point in the night when we caught ourselves having fun and immediately felt awkward and guilty. A response we all recognized as one we had months after September 11 whenever we went out for dinner, to a bar or were simply enjoying ourselves. "They" tell us our lives must go on. I suppose this is yet another internal conflict we need to resolve.
There are two grocey stores I like in Manhattan, one real (Wholefoods in Chelsea) and one virtual, (FreshDirect.com). The Wholefoods in Chelsea is quite amazing, albeit slightly pricey. For an organic focused store, their range and variety is outstanding and the quality of produce better than anyone else in the city. I realize that this is quite a statement but one I feel qualified to make. I have had done a lot of cooking and sourced both plain and exotic ingredients uptown, downtown, east and west and nothing comes consistently close. Dean & Deluca, Fairway, Eli's, China Town, Little Italy, Union Square farmers' market, Balducci's and Healthy Pleasures -- I have tried them all.
The only problem with Wholefoods, apart from getting cruised in the aisles, are the long lines. No matter how much effort Joe and I place in planning our weekend trip to Wholefoods we always manage to get there at exactly the same time every visit. The "Crazy but fast" timeslot marked in red on the cashier's handy little time planner.
I was there on the Sunday before the huge snow storm a few weeks back and the line wound back past its usual starting point beside the bakery, around the prepared food section, past the frozen food section, along side the beer bottles, past the OJ and dairy cases and stopped in the corner shelving bottled water! Somehow the line managed to move quickly and with the shoping experience so good, standing in line doesn't seem so bad.
Now FreshDirect is my utopia. It merges my day job as an Internet professional with my passion for food. It would also allow me to simplify yet another part of my New York life. As much as I love grocery shopping at Wholefoods, it's a pain in the ass doing it without a car. Trying to hail a cab, arms loaded with heavy bags is ridiculous, even worse is lugging it all on the subway and then up three flights of stairs. Unfortunately, FreshDirect for me right now is merely a dream since they don't deliver to my area. I have begged and pleaded to no avail.
While I am unable to use FreshDirect's services right now, the planets controlling my work aligned and I was able to visit their processing center this week. Can you tell I was excited just to see this place?
The center is huge and that's no exageration. 300,000 square feet of climate controlled space broken into mini climates that we as consumers would never consider necessary for our produce. For example, bananas and tomotoes are stored separately to prevent the gases from one being absorbed by the other. Groupings of produce have their own micro climates since one temparture zone isn't satisfactory for all produce and would increase spoilage rates.
But that's only produce. Most things are prepared to order, including coffee, chicken, beef, pork, fish and deli items. For instance, long processing lines cut huge sides of beef into smaller and smaller segments, by the time it reaches the end of the line, the cut is exactly as you specified on the website. Its then placed into a "boat" barcoded and sent on its way via a complex system of conveyer belts, chutes, trolleys, pulleys and carousels that wind up, down and around the warehouse to join your other items picked or prepared somewhere else.
I haven't even mentioned bread yet. An item they can't make enough of despite the fact they bake 500 loaves an hour. The enormity of this undertaking astounded me. Not only are there logistical complexities that require understanding, but then you have to add employment, training, computer systems, deliveries and most importantly cleanliness. The place is super clean. They appear to have thought of everything, even then the special non-porous floor tiles that can be easily disinfected, something they do every day.
I should say that as a professional whose job it is to build websites, FreshDirect's is the best in the industry and sets the standard for design, branding, usability and most of all information architecture. I do love this site and am impatiently waiting to actually use it to purchase my daily groceries.
So until they deliver to my area, I need to spread the word. If you are lucky enough to be within a golden polygon (a delivery zone) buy your groceries from these guys. The produce is great and the customer service outstanding. You will never have to look at that carton of OJ and calculate how much extra weight it will add to your shopping bags and whether you have the strength to haul it up and down subway stairs. Best of all you can keep them in business and help them expand into my zipcode.
Last night was my first night in a professional kitchen. I mean a REAL kitchen, with REAL chefs and REAL equipment! Prior to last night, my only other kitchen experience was cooking in a pancake house next to a cinema complex in Melbourne's working class suburb of Maribrynong. This was definitely an improvement, not to mention, learning experience.
For a first timer, I managed to hold my own in the James Beard kitchen, even if I did burn myself within 5 minutes of firing up the oven. Which i figured is the stigmata of the rookie cook.
Standing beside the experienced (and nice guy) Tim Kelley from Zoe in Soho and his seriously talented staff we cooked and plated 4 different hor'dourves, 5 tasting meal courses and a dessert plate for 85 discerning diners in about 3 hours.
My responsiblilties for the night were fairly limited. I started with frying the polenta cakes. The sous chef pointed out that my first dozen were a little too brown and that I needn't prod them every second or so to prevent them sticking. This tip worked. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th batch were progressively better. Such is the skill of repetition.
Next I fried the bacon wrapped rabbit with much better results. After which I was put in charge of making 90 or so perfect triangles out of a wheel of crumbly blue cheese. Do you know how hard that is? Even though geometry was one of my better classes in college, my first 30 attempts were sorry excuses for triangles.
Another chef clued me in. Dipping the knife in hot water prevents the knife from sticking and voila I had perfect results. I arranged these ones nicely on top, hiding the malformed ones under several layers of parchment paper.
With triangles under my belt, I moved to plating. Chef Kelley had me saucing the squab. This time my success was inversely related to the number of tiny squab legs sauced. The first few were fine, then I started dripping sauce all over the plates. Oiy yoi yoi... Chef Kelley was livid and said "Ok. You're out of here. Matt take over on saucing."
I was fine and understood why. Actually, I was impressed that I lasted on the line as long as I did. But Chef Kelley was great and gave me another chance, this time saucing the lamb. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that I completed all 85 plates with narry a misplaced drip of lamb reduction. This my friends is what excites me, ladling sauce over tiny fowls without a runaway drip...
Hor'dourves
Geoduck Nuta with Seaweed Salad and Miso
Pacific Coast Oysters with Fresh Oregon Wasabi, Shiso, and Ponzu
Dungeness Crabcakes with Golden Raisin Compote
Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Loin of Frazier Valley Rabbit with Herbed Polenta Cakes and Trevisano
- Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Blancs NV
- Seven Hills Winery Pinot Gris 2000
Kohlrabi Soup with Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Medjool Dates,
Crispy Sage, and Parsnips
- Sineann Winery Celilo Vineyard Gewürztraminer 2001
Lightly Smoked Columbia River Sturgeon with Sterling Caviar,
Braised Salsify, and Lobster Nage
- Woodward Canyon Celilo Vineyard Chardonnay 2000
- DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 2000
Roasted Palmetto Farm Squab with Oyster Mushrooms,
Brussel Sprouts Leaves, and Sweet Potato-Apple Jus
- L'Ecole No. 41 Merlot 2000
- Tamarack Cellars Merlot 1999
Anderson Ranch Natural Lamb Chop and Osso Buco with
Butternut Squash Risotto and Black Trumpets
- Delille Cellars D-2 1999
- Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
Bingham Hill Blue Cheese with Living Watercress,
Five-Spice Walnuts, and Blood Orange Reduction
- Château Ste. Michelle Syrah Reserve 1999
Tasting of Contemporary American Desserts
- Sineann Winery Zinfandel 2000
It happened quickly. I heard about the James Beard volunteering program and 4 hours later I am scheduled to cook in their kitchen alongside James Oetting and Kim Heideman from Yia Yia's Eurocafe in Denver. Alain Ducasse it's not, but definitely a start.
Elliott and I were walking to Heathly Pleasures in Soho for lunch. It was cold, we needed warming up and soup would hit the spot perfectly. He started telling me that his partner Shaun loves cooking, so much so that he volunteers for the James Beard Foundation, a program that I had not heard about.
At that point I asked him if he knew that I had taken classes at the French Culinary Institute. The fact that he didn't, surprised me since most people at work are probably tired of hearing my French Culinary technique tidbits. Impressed by my credentials, Elliott put me in contact with Shaun, who directed me to the volunteer coordinator. Somehow the normally long application and scheduling process was truncated to about 5 minutes. The outcome? A shift with the chefs of Yia Yia's Eurocafe in Denver a few Fridays from now.
While not as noble a cause as volunteering at Gods Love We Deliver, I am excited about working in a professional kitchen again, hopefully doing more than dicing 30lbs of carrots.
My sister's Christmas present finally arrived on Friday. It wasn't her fault that it arrived 3 weeks late. She had asked me what I wanted for Christmas early in December last year and after a few denials of "I have everything", I hinted that it might be fun to add a pasta machine to my already extensive kitchen equipment stash.
Since she lives in Australia I suggested for her convenience she use Williams Sonoma's online to order my present. Pasta machines must have been the hotest gift this Christmas. There were no more in stock for Christmas delivery and my sister's order, my gift, was put on back order.
My last attempt at making pasta at home was a taste success but a total texture failure. Making the dough by hand without a machine was hard work, especially since I did not add enough liquid to the dough. I was pounding away at the hard, super elastic ball for ever. It resisted any shape I tried beating it into, returning immediately to the shape it was when it had been removed from the fridge. Hard work indeed. After an hour of "rolling" the only thing I was able to produce were beads of sweat, sore arms and a peice of rubber for pastry that I was determined would hold the beet and parmesan filling I had made earlier.
Having come this far I wasn't ready to give up. I proceeded to create the raviolis. I cut the rubber into strips, spooned beautiful mounds of alternating yellow and red beet fillings, washed the edges with egg, folded and sealed the parcels using a pastry wheel. The end result looked impressive - little yellow and red raviolis.
Lets just say that the beet fillings were tasty and worth the effort of roasting and mixing different colored beets separately. The pasta dough, on the other hand, was like eating the sole of my Campers. Joe politely ate a few with the much needed "mmm, this is tasty" but then couldn't finish and to be frank, neither could I. I feared that more than 3 of those puppies in my stomach would have me tossing and turning in pain in the middle of the night.
With the exception of the electic motor (and who really needs that?), the pasta machine came with all the attachments, spaghetti, linguini, fettucine, and of course the ravioli maker. In time I can't wait to try each variation out, but tonight I have some ricotta and spinach just begging to be wrapped inside fresh, soft pliable pasta and cooked until al dente.