Things are very progressive in Portland

So one of the great things about my trip to Portland (besides visiting my sister and mom) was seeing my Titi Esa! Titi Esa is my godmother, but because of various circumstances, I hadn't seen her since I was 14 years old. Her name is Teresa, but I couldn't say that as a child, so my mom had me call her "Titi Esa" (Titi means "aunt" in Spanish). We had all sorts of great trips in New York when I was younger, so it was great to see her again!

My mom had told her about my blog, so I think she'd been reading it a bit. She and her sister had the idea to have a "progressive" dinner party (which is not a liberal minded party, but one where you have each course at a different house!). It sounded like fun to me. Titi Esa and her sister live next door to each other and my mom and I were staying just a few minutes away. I picked dessert as my course, not wanting to have to bother trying to make anything vegetarian. My mom kept saying, "we could just get some fruit and cheese or something," to which I said "Mom! They read my blog! I have to cook something!" Plus, I love to cook. Well, you know.

I decided to make Chocolate Pots (one of the first fancy desserts I ever tried to make). The first time I made it, I didn't really know what I was doing and ended up with bits of scrambled egg in my dessert. But I've made it several times since then and now I know how to avoid that.

Also, I didn't have any of my cookbooks. Or my computer. Or the Internet. So, this was not the time to try something new.

These are a snap to make! All you need is time.

2 cups heavy cream
3/4 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, at room temperature, coarsely chopped (you can always use Ghiradelli bittersweet chips - I love those)
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons dark rum (or whatever liquor you have hanging about - Bailey's would be good. I tend to use whiskey because I love it)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream until bubbles appear around the edge. Keep watching - my mom looked away for a second and totally missed it.


Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute, then stir until smooth.


Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl.


Then whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot chocolate cream. This is called "tempering" the yolks. It makes it so that your eggs won't scramble in your dessert. It's very important. Don't skip this step! I'm sorry I don't have any useful pictures of it. I've only got two hands, you know.

Scrape this mixture into the saucepan and whisk constantly until smooth. Stir in the booze and butter.


Pour the custard into eight 1/2-cup ramekins or espresso cups and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours



The beer isn't ours. I swear.

I topped it with whipped cream (whip your own cream - please. It's so much better) and shaved bits of chocolate. I used a vegetable peeler. My mom thought I was nuts when I asked for it.


They were so good! I'm pretty sure everyone liked them. To end this post (but not my segment on Portland), here's a picture of my sister doing her "model" face.


More soon....

Tacos and hippies and Alli, oh my!

I love Mexican food. I could eat it every single day and be happy (and fat). Growing up on the West Coast, there was no shortage of amazing choices, but here in New York City, it is harder to find (not impossible, by any means). So when I read an article on Serious Eats, I told my sister (Alli) right away "we're going here." "Ok, cool," she said "the food is good, but the portions are small." This did not deter me - in fact, I thought - great, built in restraint so that I don't overindulge on tacos. And off we went to Por Que No? Taqueria.


It had a nice funky interior that my dad (who had previously been to this place) called "hippie Mexican." I thought that was pretty apt.


We started with some freshly made guacamole and chips.


They had several kinds of house-made salsa, ranging from mild to spicy. I thought the spicy had a nice kick, but my mom and sister made faces and loud exclamations to the contrary (wimps).

My sister, a vegetarian since birth, ordered the rice and beans bowl. It was more interesting than the name let on.


Mexican rice, pinto beans, salsa, cheese and guacamole all mixed together and were served with 3 fresh tortillas. Yum!

I had tacos - one pescado (fish - which I never dare to order on the East Coast, but here in Oregon seemed like the fish would be good) and carnitas (shredded pork - always one of my favorites).


They were a little fancy for my taste (I tend to like my tacos unadorned), but all the flavors worked well together. I especially liked the pineapple with the fish.

Overall, it was a happy experience. Look at my sister smile!


She's so adorable. I want to visit her again and eat more tacos.

More Portland soon!

The west coast beckoned.....

So I didn't blog for a week. But I have a good excuse! I went off to Portland (Oregon, not Maine) to visit my sister at Lewis and Clark college. My mom came along as well and we all had a great time. I'm starting us off slow, but know that this trip ends at a Chocolate Festival. Rock it.

First stop on the Portland tour: Voodoo Doughnut!

This place came highly recommended by my good friend and former roommate Josh. His exact words: OH! Voodoo Donut!!! (he spelled it wrong. But I still love him) And so off we went.

There were literally a tower of doughnuts to choose from.


What I love the most about Portland is the hippie greenie crunchy vibe mixed in with tons and tons of bacon. Seriously. There was bacon everywhere we went. You'll see as we go on. But here?


Yeah, that's bacon ON A DOUGHNUT. Awesome. I totally ate it. My mom and sister tried not to vomit. I'm sure my dad is horrified. But it was amazing. Salty and sweet, with maple frosting.....gotta love it.

Don't worry, if you're not bacon friendly, there are plenty of choices.


Note the vegan options! Those crazy Oregonians. Also note the spirited names of doughnuts such as Cock N' Balls, Tex-ass and Old Dirty Bastard.

It was a nice start to the trip. Here we are, smiling and happy.


More Portland to come!

Don't make these

I have a big problem.

I can't stop eating these cookies.


I was browsing the Smitten Kitchen website (which I am now obsessed with, by the way) and I came across this cookie recipe. I make oatmeal cookies all the time - usually these. But something about these called to me - I had to make them. Right this second.

Smitten Kitchen's Crisp Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies

Note: these are not really salted at all. Both Bryn (who I had a dinner date with on Friday night which prompted me to make these cookies - what kind of hostess doesn't make dessert?) and Zack had the same response to my lack of saltiness statement "um, that's okay with me." They don't liked salted desserts. I love them. But I love these too.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
6 ounces white chocolate chips (the original recipe really didn't want me to use white chocolate chips. But that was the only white chocolate that Key Food had, so I used them and it was fine)
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) (for sprinkling on top)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (usually I use tin foil. I'm not sure why. This was way better). Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl (in the interest of full disclosure, I did not do this. I just added it to the butter/sugar mixture below. Don't tell).

2. Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated (inspired by Zack's mom, I used a wooden spoon for this and not an electric mixer. Old fashioned cooking! Anyone can do it).

3. Divide dough into 24 (I made 39 cookies with this amount of dough - but they were perfectly sized) equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 3/4-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie (if you really want the "salted" thing to come through, I'd add a tiny pinch instead).


5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

I can not stop eating these. These are literally the only things that I have eaten today (except for a bowl of matzo ball soup). I plan to punish myself by going to the gym for a long time tomorrow. Or maybe ritual flogging.

This is my comfort food

So over the past week, someone asked me, "what's up? Aren't you cooking anything?" and I realized that the answer was "No." So after a boring week of lackluster food, I decided to take advantage of my voice lesson being canceled and make one of the recipes that I've been staring at for several days.

Marcella Hazan (you may remember, I read her book a while back), and who is known (at least in my mind) as that Italian lady on PBS with the lame arm, is a genius. I got her essential cookbook for Xmas (thanks, Margie and Hugh!) and there is one recipe in it that people seem to go wild for. Smitten Kitchen and the Amateur Gourmet both love it. I've always been skeptical. For one thing - the only ingredients are tomatoes, an onion and butter. What kind of crazy list is that? For another - it's a tomato sauce that takes over 45 minutes to make. My tomato sauce usually consists of some sauteed onion and garlic, a can of whole peeled tomatoes and salt, maybe some dried oregano, pepper, whatever. It usually takes about 20 minutes.

However - I like tomato sauce. I have extra time today. Why not? So here goes nothing.

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes (I used a 35 oz can. Whoops)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste



The neat thing about this recipe? No chopping. Enjoy.

Put the tomatoes, onion, a bit of salt and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion (I know! Crazy! But just do it), add salt to taste.

Marcella says people have been known to just eat this sauce with a spoon and let me tell you, that couldn't be more true. That's pretty much what I've been doing all afternoon.

Here's the sauce (mixed with some whole wheat linguine):


It's messy. It's delicious. It's simple. I am so making this again.

Also, I'm already predicting my dad's comment on this post. Something along the lines of: Why do you add butter to everything? Ruining a perfectly good healthy dish. I only weigh 120 pounds. Blah blah blah.

To which I preemptively reply: Shut it. I cook what I want. I like a little butter now and then. And so do my readers.

Half Straddle Sings!

Come see Half Straddle Sings!

HALF STRADDLE makes plays, performances, videos and music—often about girls and usually an attempt to portray the weird, sometimes unsettling ecstasy that emerges in the everyday. Half Straddle’s The Knockout Blow, a girl-glam musical mashup, had a sold-out run last summer at the Ontological Hysteric Theater and ran at HERE Arts Center in February 2009. In the past year, Half Straddle has also shown work at Dixon Place (Corey and Pam) and in the Catch! performance series (Amazing Miracles, or Nurses in New England).

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

Saturday, January 9th, 2010
at HOME SWEET HOME BAR
from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

FREE! (with Complimentary Cocktails!)

Featuring:
Heather Christian * Erin Markey * Joseph Keckler * Lena Moy-Borgen
Becky Yamamoto * Eliza Bent * Rae C Wright * Julia Sirna-Frest
and MORE!

See shining stars of downtown theater sing and shimmy to favorites from the Half Straddle cannon– including songs by Chris Giarmo from FAMILY by Tina Satter– just chosen as one of the TOP 10 of 2009 by Time Out!

It’s simple: make an early evening pit stop for fabulous entertainment that comes gratis, sip on a Plotzed Plunker (the signature Half Straddle cocktail) and enjoy the awesomeness from a company "full to the brim with killer talent…" – Helen Shaw, Time Out New York.

Home Sweet Home Bar
131 Chrystie Street
(between Delancey and Broome - F V trains to 2nd Ave or Essex St., J M Z to Essex St., B D to Grand St.)

I love Julia

So, long before this Julie and Julia movie craze happened, I was a devoted fan of both Julies - Powell and Child. I read Julie and Julia and My Life in France long before Nora Ephron ever decided to make Julie Powell bland and not very funny and Julia Child into a national obsession. So, years before all this (back in 2006), when I first read Julie Powell's book, I said "Hey, I want to go see Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian" because it's on display there, don't cha know. Fortunately, the boy I was dating (who is now my husband, yes) had parents who lived in the Washington DC area! "Let's go!" I proclaimed! Zack, ever the pragmatist, made me look up the hours on the website, where we found....that the exhibit was closed. For years.

Finally! It's years later. I'm in DC with Zack for the Xmas holidays and his parents very graciously offer to take us to the Smithsonian so that I can finally see Julia Child kitchen (almost four years later). Let me tell you, it is a cool kitchen.


It doesn't look like much, but just think of all the cool things made in here! Plus, it is very well thought out and designed for Julia specifically. For those of you who don't know, this is Julia's actual kitchen from her house in Cambridge, moved and recreated in the Smithsonian. I love all the pots hanging on the wall. She had a whole pegboard wall for all her things so that she could find them.


In case you were wondering, this is what I dream about my kitchen looking like. Except there is also a kitchen island. It is my lifelong dream to have a kitchen island. Sigh.

I got very caught up watching the video on Julia Child while I was there. Zack got bored and left me there but I just liked it so much. Why don't I own any French Chef dvds? I should have asked for some for Xmas.....