Snapshots of Recent Food-Related Goings On

Because I start classes this week and I'm too lazy to write a real post.

We hosted a fun, but somewhat small casserole party! I made my first ever Tater Tot Casserole!



It was darn tasty, but it'll probably be my last. It's sort of as gross as it is tasty. Here's something funny about it though. On the Ore-Ida website, tater tot casserole is tagged as vegetarian - observe here. Anyone else see why this is funny? Should I write to them? Or just let it be a funny? Thoughts?

Moving on - the casseroles! It was like -2 or something, so only 6 out of 18 people showed (I'm blaming the weather, although it's also possibly I got really annoying without knowing it and all my friends don't like me.) Anyway, YUM, right?



On a plate! Caitlin made a delicious pineapple bread pudding with cheddar CHEESE on top that tasted like the 1960's. That garbonzo thing is sort of curried with all this wilted arugula and it was a saving grace on a plate loaded up with bad-for-you things.



A little close up of Alissa's lovely roasted onions, just because they're beautiful.



There should really be a picture of some wine because there was plenty of that too.

Lastly, from today, a tub of Smitten Kitchen's Oatmeal cookies that I took to our vet, One Love Animal Hospital, as a thank you. Our beloved Bill has been with them since THURSDAY (so LOOOOONG!) for surgery etc and they have been superfantasticamazingterrific. If you live in Brooklyn, take your pet there! Baking these cookies for them felt like the full realization of the true meaning of what it is to be COOKIE. A dozen little sugary, butter-licious bites of love and gratitude.

a Portland Christmas, a New York New Years

Christmas consisted of all the traditional fixings and festivities! Dinner at the University club on the 23rd, cozy Christmas eve with mom spent watching Christmas in Connecticut and eating at the always classic Paley's Place. Christmas Morning at Mom's welcomed in as always with a bunch of dear friends and plenty of good food. Dinner at Dad's with the family (and a healthy dose of presents. I was mostly too busy soaking up all the Christmas cheer, so this is the only picture I really have for you of all that - you'll just have to trust me that it was a great time, and that the food was all really delicious.



Marina and I had a little lovely post-Christmas sister day. We mostly spent it eating a delicious, big, soul warming brunch at the fabulous (if a bit heavy) Tasty & Sons in Portland.

We ordered a chocolate doughnut to begin, because that's how sister days go. Dessert First please and thank you.



Here is the burger Marina ordered.



My sister is a Champ and she ate the Whole Dang blue cheese-bacon-rare burger-with Russian-Dressing Thing! Go Marina!



I had this heavy heavy heavy Boudin Blanc omelet with truffle cheeeese.



It was sort of too much, so I was glad I had this radicchio salad to help me through.



Mom and I had a really lovely last-night-in-Portland dinner on the town at Gruner, her new favorite. I have to say - and I hate to put it this way but I really mean it as a compliment - Gruner is a place that really has risen above a lot of the Portland restaurant hangups (crappy, you're-so-lucky-to-be-eating-in-this-restaurant service, etc) and is just a great great place. These were my favorite thing I've eaten in a long time - beet pickled eggs with fresh horseradish!



A cross section, because I'm an obnoxious person who takes pictures for her blog now. Enjoy my downfall in all it's fushia-hued glory.



8 lovely, family and friend-filled days were over much too quickly, but I'll be back soon enough and it was a festivefantastic Christmas.

Plus, one must be in New York for New Years, it's the center of the world after all. Here's what ours was like:

Mike came! He brought Champagne! It pleased me immensely!



He Made Cupcakes!



Mike and I made lots of food, actually.



Inspired by my recent deviled egg experience at Gruner, I made a (surprisingly!) great Emeril Lagasse recipe!



We wore our Party Hats (courtesy of Angie).



We took Prom pictures and Danced!




New Year! A time for reflection, clearly. Pondering our resolutions.



Sometimes, of course, it's good to stop reflecting and just party it up.




Happy New Year! May 2011 bring boatloads of lovely happy times!

Impress Yourself.

Cheers!



I was supposed to have spent this evening drinking copious amounts of Champagne and prosecco in celebration of the fact that I have finally turned in my application to the Food Studies Doctoral Program! But sadly, winter is here and therefore I have a cold and the only liquids I'm ingesting right now are emergen-c and TheraFlu. Mmmmmmmm.

I have, however, found a way to enjoy these longed for beverages vicariously, thanks to the wonders of YouTube!

This first gem came into my life courtesy of the Star Wars Christmas Special, which David subjected me to last night. STAY AWAY FROM IT - IT IS HORRIBLE AND IT IS TWO HOURS LONG. But this ad is quite worthwhile. In the 1970's, it seems, they really
knew how to sell wine.

I'm pretty sure there's a dissertation here...

And here's one for bubbly, featuring none other than Orson Welles!

And here's a treat from Gallo's early days... (a ring-a-ding-ding)

(p.s. the "here"s in the above three sentences are links to three superduper wine commercials - I don't think you're dumb, I just thought I would clarify as David claimed that it was unclear.)



(pardon my language, as most of you know, I would never say this. However it's sort of funny and quite topical so I just couldn't resist.)

Another festive cocktail!

I can't get enough of Christmas this year! I mean, I love Christmas, but for some reason this year I feel like Mrs. Claus! I have been playing Christmas music almost non-stop and I have been eating candy canes like they will never come into my life ever again. Tonight, after a long day filled with Dolly Parton's Christmas Album, Emmylou Harris' Christmas Album, "These are the Special Times" with Celine Dion, and of course Elvis, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald and plenty of Bing I was really in the mood to hit up a Christmas cocktail party or two. Sadly, David is sick and no one is having one tonight anyway so I had to make my own! That's what Bing would do, or Elvis, or Dolly!

I heated up the old curling iron and gave my new do (short! crazy!) a little ringlet-a-ding-ding and mixed myself my first ever Vodka Stinger!

Oh, a word of warning - don't go google image-searching 'vodka stinger' because here's a taste of what you'll get :



Apparently his/her name is Vodka Stinger. I sort of love it. Anyway, I digress. Inspired by my love of the fabulous Candy Cane Cocktail that I shared with you a few days ago, I started looking around for other things to do with this Creme de Menthe stuff that I now have lying around and lo and behold I bump into the Vodka Stinger.

I first became aquainted with the Stinger family of cocktails about two years ago when David and I made the mistake of watching a Cary Grant movie called "Kiss Them For Me". I love Cary Grant, but this movie really stinks. Its one redeeming quality is that it makes the viewer really want to go out and have a drink - namely a Stinger! All throughout the film, Grant orders Stingers. First he's just ordering them for himself, and by the end he's ordering them by the pitcher, and saying things like "Stingers for everyone!" although, because he's Cary Grant and he's wonderful, it sounds more like "Stingaahhs for everyone!" Turns out, a Stinger is usually made with Brandy and Creme de Menthe (the green kind) and in spite of the fact that David and I spent a wonderfully fun and green-lipped evening sipping Stingers late into the night, it's honestly not a cocktail I would recommend. However, this recent discovery of the Vodka Stinger (and thus rediscovery of Stingers in general) is something worth sharing.

So here's the disclaimer - THIS. DRINK. IS. ULTRA. PEPPERMINTYLICIOUS. You must like peppermint A LOT to like this bevvy. I do, so I love this drink. It's a breeze to make! Just vodka and Creme de Menthe, like so.



I used the white kind because it's what I had around and because it looks way prettier.

Candy Cane rim doesn't hurt.



Equal parts of each! Shake it up!



It sort of tastes like being Mrs. Claus on a ski holiday in the Swiss Alps, if you see what I mean. I highly recommend it. Happy Festive Cocktailing!

Liquid Candy Cane

and Boozy to Boot!

I found the recipe on Martha Stewart.com - a great place to find cocktail recipes, by the by - and made one last year. Why didn't I make more? I haven't a clue. The Candy Cane is a simple simple simple drink that tastes like this :



And turns out like this - all dressed up for a Christmas music filled, tinsel-y, pine scented cocktail party!



(photo courtesy of MarthaStewart.com but mine looked like that too! until I drank it up of course...)

Her recipe calls for store bought Strawberry Vodka which I find to be frankly shocking. I just infused some vodka that we had in our freezer (cheap cheap cheap bottom shelf stuff left over from a party) and let it sit with some sliced up strawberries for a couple of days. Much more cost-effective, and probably tastier, too. I also didn't have cranberry juice lying around so I just thinned some ginger-orange cranberry sauce left over from Thanksgiving! Yum. You could just use cranberry juice, though, I'm sure it'd still be super delish!

1 shot strawberry vodka
1/2 shot white creme de menthe (or peppermint schnapps)
1 tsp ish cranberry sauce thinned with just a tinge of water

Give it a good shake with lots of ice (I let mine sit with the ice a bit to get a little watered down and nice and icy). Pour into a cocktail glass, ideally with a candy cane-ed rim. Best enjoyed at a fancy Christmas party, or watching a super duper Christmas-y movie like my personal faves "Elf" and "White Christmas".

Counter Culture: Design and the Modern Kitchen at MoMA

A super cool, inspiring exhibit. Mom was in town, and we spent a good amount of her last day in New York soaking this stuff up. Built around a newly acquired "Frankfurt Kitchen", MoMA ran wild with the general concept of kitchen design in the 20th century and the result is a fun, funny, poignant and whimsical. The kitchen evokes thoughts of home, of holidays, cooking, heat, isolation, all the ups and downs of domesticity, and sensual pleasures of all sorts. The images and design pieces in the show does a lovely job capturing all of these things.
Here are a few of our favorites!

World War II era food posters encourage rationing and gardening. Other neato ones featured rabbits as the perfect war-time meat! Mom really loved the goat/sheep one made out of vegetables - "vegetabull".



.

A captivating photograph by Cindy Sherman. I couldn't take my eyes off it, but I'm not sure why.



Dramatic and somehow so relatable. It looks like a stressful moment, but she's still so glamorous.

For a total contrast, this next one is super sweet and domestic. At one point or another, we all are/have been/will be one or both of the people in this picture.



Crazy cool 3D "Still Life #30" by Tom Wesselmann.



The spread close-up. Mom said she used to eat 'Lite Diet' bread.



The show was educational too. For example, I learned that a toaster can be one sexy appliance.

Ex. A



Ex. B



Note the progression of the toast from ex. a to ex. b. Hot, literally.


Too totally awesome. Have I mentioned I love New York City?

DC!

This past weekend, David and I got out of town! Already we're off to a good start. DC isn't my favorite place, I'll be honest, it's a little small-feeling for my taste. That said, it has a certain classic elegance that I can appreciate. We were drawn there by a couple of varying forces. Firstly, my dearest dear friends from forever, Cali and Mike, both live in/around DC and I have been meaning to visit them both for a while now. Secondly, there was a very cool sounding conference at the National Museum of American History called "Food for Tomorrow" that I wanted to go to. Finally, there was an Arcimboldo exhibit at the National Gallery and because I'm taking a class on Food in Fine Art right now, I actually know who he is and was pretty excited to see his work.

I arrived in DC Friday night and jumped right into the conference with a very cool kick-off event featuring a sneak peek at the new movie from the boys who made King Corn called Truck Farm. They only showed 45 minutes of it because that's all that is done so far, but it is completely inspiring and whimsical and wonderful.

Cali and her lovely manfriend Dan joined me for both the preview and the tasty tasty cocktails and snacks following. It was just looovely! Then over to Mike's place, where we watched Rocky Horror and stayed up until 6 am talking which sounds like a successful sleepover to me. Brunch the next day, and David's arrival (yay!) and then...

Future of Food Panel!


I took a picture to prove that I really did do serious stuff like listen intently at panels. This panel featured three very different experts ; Amy Bentley, a Professor in my dept at NYU and who spoke about the meaning of meals, Janet Poppendieck who is a Professor of Sociology and has written a book about food in schools, and finally Vickie Kloeris who is the subsystem manager for the International Space Station and Shuttle Food Systems for NASA. Ms. Kloeris' discussion was perhaps the most fascinating to me, because I really know nothing about space food and because space food is AWESOME. A little scary - the current big NASA food project involves figuring out to make a variety of foods that can last 5+ years for the mission to Mars - but really fascinating. In Food Studies, we shun all things processed, freeze dried, vacuum sealed, and certainly irradiated. Space Food, on the other hand, depends on all of these things. Curious? Here's some more about Astronaut Vittles here!

Next! East Coast winemakers tasting with David! Apparently New York follows only California, Oregon and Washington in terms of winemaking, so I've been curious to try some of these local wines. Most everything we tasted was delicious; wines from Boxwood Winery in Virginia, and Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland most especially, sadly no particular stand outs from New York.

David hadn't eaten all day, so he was quick to find the circulating snackies. Tuna tartare in a cone thing! Yum.


And the best thing at the end of a long day, dinner with friends!



Calzone for David...


Kabocha Gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce pour moi! Mmmmmm... so simple and so belly warming.


A full, happy crowd!


The next day, David and I were greeted by a crystal clear sky and blazing fall sunshine. It said "go to Dupont Circle, sit outside, eat brunch, be happy, drink Bloody Marys, linger", so we did just that. A Benedict and a few Bloody Marys later, we made out way to the National Gallery.

We're greeted by a HUGE arcimboldo-inspired sculpture! It was captivating and surprisingly thrilling. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it, and I loved watching everyone stop and stare as they wandered between exhibits. Very cool. Especially after a couple bfast bevvies.


My favorite painting of the show! Four Seasons in One Head - apparently a new acquisition!


And on that cultured and inspiring note, we bid adieu to our Nations' Capital. Ta ta DC, until next time!