It took some time, but my episode of Cooks vs Cons can now be viewed on Food Network. You'll need a cable log-in.
Here's a snippet (actually a pastiche of two recipes... some backstage knowledge for ya):
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It took some time, but my episode of Cooks vs Cons can now be viewed on Food Network. You'll need a cable log-in.
Here's a snippet (actually a pastiche of two recipes... some backstage knowledge for ya):
Okay, I’m going to sound a little hippie-ish here. The best vacations are holistic vacations.
\hō-ˈlis-tik\ characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole
I’m not talking meditation and acupuncture...but rather looking at the balance of travel. To me, a perfect vacation has contrast, a yin and yang.
City and country. Site-seeing and relaxation. Touristy and living like a local.
We started vacation in Rome, pushing ourselves to see and eat everything possible. And then after a quick train ride and taxi ... a gear shift. Something calmer, brighter, just as stunning but in a different way.
Why Amalfi? Well, it wasn't up to us. Dave's friends decided to forego a wedding in favor of a stunning villa on the Mediterranean with 20 of their closest friends (cue: face palm and wedding planning regret).
The place was incredible. In the photo on the above left, the villa is the taller building, from the top roof deck to the in-sea lounging area to the terraced patios gilded with fig trees, bougainvillea, herbs, succulents, and more.
Relaxation took many forms. Napping on the roof deck. Crosswords on the main entertaining deck. Bocce on the...activity deck. Reading in the lemon grove. You get the point. You can even contract a boat to pick you up at the foot of the villa (but alas the sea was too choppy so our boat days were cancelled--twice).
We did some site-seeing, but at a more leisurely pace than our Roman look-and-leave. One thing a day instead of seven. On our first day, we went to Hercalaneum, a smaller, more well-to-do city than Pompeii that met the same fate when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Italy is impossibly beautiful, but not just because of the manmade. After ruins aplenty, we hiked the Path of the Gods from Agerolo to Positano, a walk that combines everything you could want: sky, sea, greenery, flowers, mountains, forest and wildlife.
The contrast extended to food, too. There are a zillion ways to slice this, but here's a start. Casual and high-end. Traditional and experimental. Planned and spontaneous.
In some ways, I think living in Rome wouldn't be that different from living in NYC. But the Amalfi Coast felt more relaxed, possibly by necessity. You can't rush anywhere on those hairpin turns on the coast. The photos above are from Amalfi, a 40-minute walk from our villa. I was ready to do a day of market-ing and cooking, but alas the walk was a bit far and more importantly, harrowing, given there's no sidewalk and every turn is a blind turn.
And unsurprisingly, possibly the best meal of the trip wasn't at some Michelin-starred restaurant, but a home-cooked meal at the villa by Marguerite, the villa's mamma-bird and housekeeper.
We had: eggplant parmigiana, stewed zucchini, panzanella, bruschetta, lemon pasta, shrimp risotto, sea bass en papillote with olives and capers, and cake with custard cream and fresh fruit.
(Side story: when we asked if the eggplant had cheese, Marguerite reassured us, no cheese, only mozzarella!)
Did I love it because it was homey and personal, that I didn't have to look it up on some blog or Google Maps? Did I love it because we were sitting with friends, new and old? Did I love it because it was a refreshing change, a contrast? Yes, yes, yes.
A common term you'll hear in Italy is tipico. As in, typical. To foreign ears, this may sound like an insult. "Typical frat boy", "typical boss rant"... something like that. But in Italy, it's a label of pride.
Up in the hills of Nocelle, the last point on the Path of the Gods until you make the 1,700 steps to Positano, we had an unlikely hike pit stop at Ristorante Santa Croce of meats, cheeses, fish and soup, all served on white tablecloths and the prettiest of plates. Of note: the tipico fiordilatte, a type of mozzarella prized in this region.
The famed Amalfi (aka Sfusato) lemon is everywhere: in orchards on the way to limoncello, in backyards, on servingware, in granita (so good), and in cakes, yogurt, pastries, you name it. I picked lemons from the villa's grove for multiple pitchers of mint lemonade and can attest that these fresh lemons are something else: more fragrant, more delicate, less acidic than our American ones.
Cheese and carbs were our common thread in Rome. Lemons, arugula, and seafood were the refrain in Amalfi.
We enjoyed our last dinner at Il Giardiniello in Minori.
And what do you know, the salad was nothing more than arugula, spicier and more herb-like than what we have here, and a wedge of Amalfi lemon.
We followed in Amalfi tipico fashion: fried anchovies stuffed with smoked mozzarella, fish wrapped in eggplant like a present, seared Mediterranean tuna, and great mounds of Minorese gnocchi, made with flour, ricotta and eggs.
Naturally, we had to get the lemon delight, a vanilla-lemon sponge covered in a dome of lemon cream. And of course, tiramisu. Again. For balance.
Where to stay:
Dimora di Mare
Via Carusiello, 28, 84010 Ravello
Perfect for a large group and/or special occasion. They even host weddings. But otherwise, there are plenty of smaller villa options here.
Where to eat:
Ristorante Giardiniello
Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 17, 84010 Minori
Ristorante Santa Croce
Via Nocelle, 19, Nocelle 84017 Positano
any lemon granita stand in Positano
I adore Rome. Where else you can encounter ancient ruins down the street from the Missoni store, a celebrity pizzaiolo in the shadow of the Vatican, and casual beauty where even the neighborhood convenience store drips with jasmine vines?
We came to Italy to celebrate a friend’s wedding on the Amalfi Coast (more on that later), but first we had to spend a couple days in the Eternal City.
This was my third time in Rome and D’s first, so our two day/ two night stay included a full sweep of all the major sites, some quieter neighborhood spots, plus lots of time for wandering.
If you have two days, I’d recommend a combination of these three groups.
GROUP 1: The Biggies - Colosseum, Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican. These are must-see destinations for the first-timer. Warning: there will be LINES, particularly at the Vatican and Colosseum.
GROUP 2: The On-the-Ways - Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese. These are also special, but if you’re short on time, you can probably do without. Chances are, you’ll be in those neighborhoods anyway, so you can stop by.
GROUP 3: The Wanderables - My favorite part of any trip: discovering where locals really live, work, and of course--eat. Trastevere is boho yet refined, a neighborhood that twinkles with charm. Testaccio is laid-back and home to satisfying, unpretentious restaurants. And Prati! What it lacks in elegance, it makes up for in the best pizza on the planet.
Here are some picks from Group 3.
Rome is not as compact as NYC, but you really should walk everywhere because there are surprises around every corner. Case in point: this buzzing farmer's market just down the street from our hotel. That porchetta was our first bite in Rome and it was just what we needed to awaken our airport-dulled appetites.
Yes, I know all about your nitro coffee and cold brew. But when it's hot, the Italians know where it's at. I first fell in love with the shakerato in 2009, when I was in Puglia for a spell. I've since ordered it at every top Italian coffee shop in NYC (Eataly, Tarallucci e Vino, and... Blue Bottle) and no one gets close. A shakerato **must** be foamy on top. Don't ask me how it works -- the ingredients are only ice, espresso, and simple syrup -- but it's magic, like a hyper caffeinated root beer float. Shakerato above is from Sant'Eustachio.
And I know you're in Italy for the gelato ... I get it! But save room for another creamy cold treat: the granita. Consider: icy shards of espresso, scoops of barely-sweetened cream, and a generous drizzle of chocolate. Like all Italian coffee, you don't take this to-go. You stop and enjoy it. Granita above is from Bar del Cappuccino.
I almost never repeat anything. Books, movies, restaurants, recipes. Life is too short, the list of options is long. Why dwell on one thing? Well, for one, because some things are really, really good.
We loved Flavio al Velavevodetto the first night. The food wasn't anything we hadn't seen before -- caponata, zucchini with mint and garlic, ricotta ravioli, meatballs -- and yet each dish was dialed into a different, more delicious register. The ravioli dough was daringly al dente, the ricotta wet and milky, the tomatoes somehow deep and bright and sweet all at once. Flavio has been a foodie fav ever since Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement, sang its praises.
And so I buried my FOMO and went to the same place for dinner, two nights in a row.
Reader, it was worth it. (Shown above: roasted padrón peppers, escarole with capers and raisins, fettuccine with green beans, pesto and potatoes, beef rollatini, tiramisu)
But man cannot live on vegetables, pasta, and espresso alone. There must be pizza.
I first learned about Pizzarium from my friend Pam Yung, who did a pop-up collab with Bonci just one week before my trip. Pam is a breadmaking goddess who has earned well-deserved acclaim for her desserts and bread program at her restaurant, Semilla. Her partner (in life and business) José Ramírez-Ruiz is a vegetable-whisperer. Any place that hosts these two is a place I'm sure to like.
And boy, did I.
Pizza is a multi-faceted thing. And I am but one small person in a giant universe. But from my POV, this is the best pizza in the world.
Gabriele Bonci uses natural sourdough starters (one that dates back to WWI), resulting in the platonic ideal of pizza crust. I always thought I liked thin crust, but what's infinitely better is a crust of medium height, airy and elastic inside and crackling and crisp on the bottom. Imagine the lift and depth of a sourdough, the crunch of a cracker, and the savory je ne sais quoi of a baguette.
And that's just the dough.
Pizzarium serves up to 20 different flavor combinations a day. Lucky for you, the pizza is al taglio, or by the kilo. You can sample a little sliver of tomato, sweet onion and Pecorino ... or squash blossoms and ricotta ... or tiles of potato ... or tuna and arugula ... or broccolini and mortadella ... or ...
I overheard one woman say, "I could die here." Same, sister.
There's another reason I was in Italy -- I have a book coming out this week! (same book, different language). Check it out here. Vita Segreta di Una Gourmet hits stores June 23.
Next up... part two of our vacation ... the Amalfi Coast. (sneak peeks on my Instagram)
Where to stay:
Kolbe Hotel
I picked this hotel because it was sandwiched between the Colosseum (touristy), Palatine Hill (serene) and Testaccio (neighborhoody). The airy, spacious hotel is in a former convent, and like many things in Rome, is a pleasing blend of new and old.
Via di S. Teodoro, 48, 00186 Roma, Italy
Where to eat:
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Via di Monte Testaccio, 97, 00153 Roma, Italy
Bonci Pizzarium
Via della Meloria 43, 00136 Rome, Italy
Frigidarium (gelato)
Via del Governo Vecchio, 112, 00186 Roma, Italy
Where to caffeinate:
Sant'Eustacchio
Piazza Sant'Eustachio 82, 00186 Rome, Italy
Yes, I know this place is touristy, but it only got that way because the coffee is so good
Bar del Cappuccino
Via Arenula, 50, 00186 Rome, Italy
Totally unassuming (even ugly), but serves a memorable, perfect cappuccino
In Chinese culture, you're supposed to change gowns for every wedding banquet course. That could be seven to ten dresses.
While I typically love license for costume changes, that's even too much for me. And given what I did for my wedding dress...that times ten equals psychotic levels of shopping.
But I do like the idea of some Chinese element at our wedding. Typically brides will go to their nearest Chinatown and get a custom cheongsam made, a dress that can cost $700 or more. That's not bad for a custom gown with high-quality silk and hand embroidery...but it's a lot for a look you'll likely never wear again. Why not spend that money on a dress that's Chinese-y enough and is also wearable?
And so begins my search.
This Mary Katrantzou has the look of Chinese embroidery, but takes it in a more abstract, aquatic direction. Mary Katrantzou Embellished Tulle Minidress
Note: Though it's not uncommon to see Chinese-American brides wear a white cheongsam, white is the color of death in Chinese culture, reserved for funerals and not weddings.
Here are all the hallmarks of a traditional cheongsam: the dainty collar, the keyhole at the neckline, the slim fit and the high slit. And yet, it's also pretty versatile and could be worn anywhere without feeling costume-y or I-tried-too-hard. Michael Kors Cap Sleeve Twist Front Gown
Red: good fortune and joy. Blue: calmness, trust, immortality. Dial those to jewel tones with some bead embellishments and you have this. Emilio Pucci Appliquéd Lace Minidress.
If I were to sketch a gown for a custom dressmaker, I'd probably do something like this. A Chinese-y pattern in a simple shape (with a dose of sexiness because, c'mon). Alice + Olivia Roxie Lace Diamond-back Dress
If I weren't concerned about getting an extra-ordinary dress, I'd get this. It's rather subversive as a wedding cheongsam. The colors and patterns are in the right realm, but the silhouette is all wrong. A cheongsam is supposed to hug your curves, while this one distorts them, squishing your boobs and puffing your hips. This doll-like silhouette is a very common shape in my closet, but probably isn't **special** enough. Erdem Black & Red Embroidered Katja Dress
What do you think of adding cultural elements to your wedding wardrobe? How did you find your dress?
Photo above: Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love
Round 2...candy! Oh boy. I don't know about you, but I've never cooked with candy before. As Bruno and Geoffrey Zakarian pointed out, it's hard to know how candy will cook. Will it melt? Hold its shape? Curdle?
I once tried to brûlé gummy bears and it was a disaster. The heat seems to toughen the gelatin, making an impossibly tacky bite.
So instead of opting for licorice, gumdrops, or jelly beans, which contain mysterious ingredients with unknown properties, I used clean and simple lollipops. Sugar, flavoring and coloring. Not ideal, but not horrifying either.
We weren't allowed to make desserts (too easy), so my mind immediately went to Korean food. Korean food is actually pretty sweet, but it's tempered by salt, spice and funk. No one-note sweetness here. I called on my go-to flavors: miso, soy, ginger, garlic and sesame (the same flavors that are in one my most popular recipes of all time). I chose pink lemonade and lemon lollipops, thinking that citrus flavors were better than, say, cherry or grape (gag).
Once I knew how I'd feature the surprise ingredient, I worked from there. What works best with sweet and spicy marinated beef?
Bibimbap! Concepting the rest was easy. I'd adapt the classic Korean rice-and-veggies dish with my own spin. A quick pickle added some brightness and crunch, toasted quinoa with nori contributed an earthy, umami base (and mimicked the delicious burnt rice in the bottom of a stone bibimbap bowl). I also made a miso-egg emulsion, a hollandaise-like sauce that nods to the raw egg that is traditionally stirred into bibimbop.
The recipe below is sequenced for a tight 30-minute cook. There's no wasted time waiting for things to cook. But if you want a saner experience, then you can always make each component one by one.
RECIPE:
Beef:
1/2 cup of sugar -- ground-up citrus candy or actual sugar
1 small onion
8 cloves of garlic
1 ping-pong-ball-sized knob of ginger
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 Scotch Bonnet chili
1 lb thinly sliced top sirloin
Toasted Quinoa:
1 cup red quinoa
10 sheets of roasted seaweed
Quick Pickles:
4 radishes
3 baby cucumbers
1 tablespoon salt
Miso Egg Emulsion:
4 egg yolks
1 heaping teaspoon miso paste
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons black sesame seed
¼ cup chopped chives
Rinse quinoa and place in pot with two cups of water. Bring to a boil on high, then cover and simmer on low until nice and fluffy. The "tails" of the quinoa should be sticking out. (This didn't happen during my episode... perhaps because the stove was so hot the water boiled off too quickly and/or the quinoa was old and took longer than normal to "bloom".)
For the marinade, blend the onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili. Place in saucepan and reduce on medium-high.
For the miso egg emulsion, blend the egg yolks, miso, rice vinegar, chili powder and butter.
For the quick pickles, slice the cucumbers and radishes with a mandolin on the thinnest setting. Salt and let rest.
Slice the beef and place it in the reduced marinade. While the beef is cooking and picking up the glaze, toast half the quinoa in a frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the other half of the quinoa, add sliced nori and reserve.
Assemble your plate. Squeeze out the excess water from the pickles and place. Add the toasted quinoa with nori and Korean candy beef. Pour miso egg emulsion on top, or serve on the side. Add chopped chives and black sesame seeds.
RELAX because that was an intense 30 minutes of cooking.
I tried out for Cooks vs Cons because I'm an armchair chef. Why are you making croutons and bread pudding on Chopped? Don't you know that's so overdone? Were you thinking you could avoid making dessert on Top Chef?
And, I also have a thing for high-stakes deception (Exhibit A). Even if I wasn't a contestant on Cooks vs Cons, I'd still be obsessed with it.
So, if you haven't gathered by now, here's now the show works. Two professional chefs and two amateur chefs compete in two rounds with surprise ingredients. No one -- not the judges, host, or contestants -- knows who is who. The audience is kept in the dark too, and they can guess along with Graham Elliot, Daphne Oz, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
Turns out seeing people speculate about your identity on Twitter is really surreal.
A lot of people thought I was a chef, including Graham Elliot and Daphne Oz (I think GZ was onto me, even though I made sure to call him Chef as a real chef would). Twitter thought so too.
Jessica is the only one I'm sure of! Pro! #CooksVsCons
— TEAM TRINA (@Trinas_No1_Fan) April 15, 2016
Jessica and Mariano are the cooks #CooksVsCons
— Yolanda Moultrie (@yotmo28) April 15, 2016
#CooksVsCons Jessica is definitively a pro!
— Me (@KastoffCloud) April 15, 2016
I think Mariano is a con who is just used to making pasta. Jessica & Bruno are real cooks #CooksVsCons
— MyThoughtsMyTime (@nmills1012) April 15, 2016
I think the cooks are Peter and Jessica #CooksVsCons
— 805Collectibles (@805Collectibles) April 15, 2016
When I watch the show, I assume everyone is a chef until proven guilty. Could be a lack of conviction when talking about a dish, or a loosey-goosey way of moving around the kitchen. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in cliches, but then you realize that the producers know that, so you end up engineering some reverse reverse psychology that hurts your brain.
ie: That guy has a lot of tattoos so he must be a chef. But the producers must realize that so of course he's not. But maybe they know that I know...
And so on.
And then some people thought I was a fraud. My instinct is to be insulted, but then I remember...I am a fraud.
@FoodNetwork Jessica is a con #CooksVsCons I think she's just using her brain👌👌
— Northphillyreese (@Northphillyrees) April 15, 2016
Jessica is a con, she's probably a lawyer. #CooksVsCons
— redruM (@Phoenix90247) April 15, 2016
@gzchef Jessica is an executive business woman- con
— Meilani (@MeilaniGore) April 15, 2016
I also think Jessica's real occupation is an actress. #CooksVsCons
— Seraphim Taylor (@SeraphimTaylor) April 15, 2016
Actress, businesswoman, and lawyer are not bad guesses. After the competition, Graham Elliot said he thought I could be a knowledgeable food blogger. That's pretty close, too. Novelist is way too random for anyone to guess.
I love that this show has two layers of challenges: one for the contestant and one for the viewer. I can't think of anything quite like it -- watching your own funeral? Witnessing your college admissions panel? Something where your personhood is analyzed as if you weren't there...but you are.
But that makes it sound like a drag. It was weird and fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Also -- Cooks vs Cons has been picked up for a second season! That means they're looking for amateur and professional cooks. Take a look at the casting notice here and catch up on all my Cooks vs Cons posts here.
BTW, my bio footage was shot at PowerHouse Arena, where I had my launch party.
The Cooks vs Cons shoot was a looong day -- 14 hours. There's a lot of waiting, some napping efforts, some eating (I ordered sashimi for dinner, not realizing that nothing-but-raw-fish is probably the last thing you want when your nerves are at peak levels).
You film many things multiple times, but the actual cooking only happens once. On a day that can move in slo-mo, those rounds went so super fast.
A lot of it was a blur, but here's a taste of what I was thinking during those gone-in-a-flash 30-minute rounds.
And ICYMI, I posted the recipe for my Round 1 polenta gnocchi with creamy corn soubise here. Round 2 recipe coming soon...
When Geoffrey Zakarian announced we had to make pasta for the first round of Cooks vs Cons...I wasn't very excited.
I'll occasionally eat pasta when I'm out to dinner, but I rarely make it at home and when I do, it's always dried pasta or sometimes pre-made fresh ravioli. I know I must make fresh pasta. This has been ingrained in me after years of watching cooking shows.
But I do have one pasta recipe up my sleeve: gnocchi. With some adjustments, I thought I could make it a 30-minute version, with some extra time for a dynamic, complex sauce.
My first trick was adding polenta to the dough. Usually pasta dough needs ~30 minutes for the gluten bonds to form, but I had no such luxury. So I added instant polenta, which creates instant dough "glue". Bonus points because corn is the surprise ingredient and of course polenta is cornmeal.
My second trick was to make an onion soubise. I first had soubise at Momofuku Ko, in a now-iconic poached egg with caviar and potato chips dish. A soubise traditionally calls for softened onions and cream or bechamel. But what about using corn as a not-too-rich thickener?? I gave it a try, and it worked!
And finally, corn and pasta are both soft and starchy. Where's the pop? So I added chipotle puree to the dough, along with ground annatto seeds for color. I swapped the traditional Parmesan with Mexican cotija, to keep with the Mexican flavors. I also added some tortilla chips and popcorn for texture.
This was a tough round, especially since I don't really make or eat pasta. But these gnocchi may make it into my everyday rotation...
Gnocchi:
¾ cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons grated cotija cheese
2 tablespoons potato flour
1 ½ tablespoons instant polenta
1 ½ tablespoons flour + extra for rolling
2 tablespoons chipotle puree
1 tablespoon ground annatto seeds
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
semolina flour for gnocchi dusting
salt
Soubise:
2 tablespoons butter
2 large Vidalia onions
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¾ cup heavy cream
1 cup of corn
salt / pepper
Garnish:
cilantro
tortilla chips
popcorn
sumac
chili powder
Sandwich the ricotta between four paper towels to soak up excess water. Salt your pasta water and bring to a boil.
Melt butter in a saute pan. Slice onions and add, along with cumin, oregano and salt. (If you want to do this under 30 minutes, I recommend using a mandolin to sweat the onions faster. Slice the onions directly over the pan.) Sweat the onions until semi-translucent, about 7 minutes.
Mix the ricotta, cotija cheese, potato flour, flour, polenta, chipotle puree, annatto and eggs. Form into a dough. Roll into snakes a little wider than your finger and cut into 3/4" slices with a bench scraper.
Add the sauteed onions to a blender and add the cream, corn, white wine vinegar and salt to taste. This is your creamy corn soubise.
Add the gnocchis to the salted boiled water. Remove with a spider or slotted spoon when they float at the top for about 30 seconds.
Place gnocchi in a bowl and add onion soubise plus cilantro, sumac, chili powder, more corn, sumac, crushed tortilla chips, and chili powder. Or not! The judges weren't fans of all the fixins, and I kind of agree. But at home, it's up to you.
That whole experience was so so so fun. I'll write more later (the recipes for my chipotle gnocchi with creamy corn soubise & Korean BBQ beef with red quinoa, quick pickles, and miso egg emnulsion, my behind-the-scenes thoughts), but for now just wanted to tell you other airing times.
The episode is called "Candy Clash". Check here for the most up-to-date airing schedule.
To my Canadian friends, the show will air on May 2.
Hope you enjoy!! What was your favorite moment from the episode?
Like clockwork. Every time the weather warms up a little, I get an urge to bake.
Am I self-sabotaging before bikini season? Seeking heat inside to match the heat outside? Or maybe...it's all in my head.
But alas, here we are, daffodils a-peepin', cherry blossoms a-blossomin', and me. A bakin'.
These came about because D thought he liked kumquats even though I had never seen him eat a kumquat and he doesn't like very sour or bitter things. Nevermind! We bought a whole sackful at a raucous grocery store in Flushing.
Turns out D doesn't like kumquats... and so we were left with three pounds of kumquats and two stomachs that couldn't quite take them eaten whole.
So here we are, the kumquat carrot cake muffin. These are strictly more muffin than cake. I wanted to round out the assertiveness of the kumquat while still keeping its essential character -- ie: not throwing a lot of sugar at it. I used coconut and turbinado sugar for texture and a sweet musty complexity. But if sugar is what you want, do it! That's what jam is for.
RECIPE:
2 cups kumquats, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup coconut sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
⅛ cup white sugar
⅞ cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup raisins
½ cups walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut and seed the kumquats. Place in saucepan with butter and sugar. Simmer on medium until the kumquats are soft and pliant, about 6 minutes.
Using the paddle attachment of a mixer, blend the oil, sugars, and vanilla extract. Add eggs one by one until mixed. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. While the mixer is on medium, slowly add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the carrots, raisins, and walnuts. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just blended.
Grease a muffin pan. Spoon the kumquat mixture so it just coats the bottom. Add the carrot cake batter into each cup about 80% full. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce to 350. Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Large muffin tins will bake in about 25-30 minutes. A small muffin tin will bake in about 15-20 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the tin.
Eat in your preferred fashion. Here I had some with a dollop of Rhubarb and Meiwa Kumquat jam from Sqirl.
So, I have the dress... now it's time to think about shoes (or, more precisely, flag the shoes I like so I can buy them when they're on sale).
Here's a trick with your wedding budget. You have to count everything that's a one-time expense. Flowers, food, tent, entertainment...and that dress.
But shoes! Here's where you can get a little creative with your accounting. IMO, you don't have to count shoes if you'll wear them again. They're a wedding write-off. (Same goes for your wedding ring.)
So while you might be tempted by uber bridal shoes like this or this, those might as well be flower crowns because you probably won't wear them again. Unless you're looking for a museum piece, why not go for something a little more versatile.
Here are the shoes I'm considering for my October, outdoor wedding. Stilettos are out because of the grass. Ethereal elements like feathers are out because I want these to last. Wedges are out because they feel a bit too casual, too Jess circa 1999. What's in? Sturdy, chunky heels and a little bit of humor/edginess/jolie laide (to offset that whole "princess" vibe).
Love the modern romance of these shoes. Plus, I wonder if the heel reflects the grass, so it looks like you're floating upon a golden aura? Nicholas Kirkwood Leda Sandal
Yes, these are PVC. But you can wear them in the rain and look at that diamond-like lucite heel. These are kooky and practical(ish) while also being bridal. Simone Rocha Faceted Heel Sandal
We don't really have colors. The wedding is simply "botanical" and these study yet sexy heels fit the bill. Monique Lhuillier Satin Ava Sandal
Blush without being babyish. Marni One Band Glitter Sandals
On a day when you're performing in front of everyone you care about, it's nice to have a little secret of your own. Nicholas Kirkwood Champagne Meava Pearl Sandal
I hate the word "tacky" as it relates to weddings. The classy/tacky spectrum is slippery and fraught. Just do whatever you want and the people who love you won't care anyway. But these shoes are gloriously, knowingly tacky and I love them for it. J. Crew Collection Embellished Sandals
Here are allll the shoes I'm considering at the moment. What's your favorite? What shoes did you/will you wear at your outdoor wedding?
This is a bit too intense for a wedding ceremony reading, but man, I love it.
by Oriah
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
Ok... you've seen the "weird" ones...the ones that were gorgeous but offbase for various reasons. Today I'm showing the contenders, the dresses I seriously considered. Here goes.
(btw, the Reem Acra above is pretty... but was never really in the running. I'm not a fan of dropped waists...even if they're dropped only by an inch.)
This was cute but also subversive, unblingy but also luxuriously, meticulously made. Maybe you could call it adorkable (my Kleinfeld stylist would tell you no, please don't call it adorkable). This dress felt the most "me" as I am everyday, as opposed to my nebulous Bride Persona. Amsale Lake Gown. Similar here (I want this one as a rehearsal dinner dress).
Pretty! And with such a nice, soft, flowy skirt. Though, what a difference skin color makes. Ivy & Aster Secret Garden.
I grabbed this one even though it was exactly what I didn't want: the princessy puff. But I couldn't resist the floral applique detailing and beadwork on the bottom (a kind of starry beaded connect-the-dots that you can't see here). From the short time I was in it, I could tell it was also a comfy dress, one you could dance, eat, and hug in. BHLDN Ariane Gown. Similar here (actually, very very similar, such that the Ariane is likely a direct rip-off and ultimately why I didn't want to go with a company that's known for doing this to indie designers).
This dress amused me, with its sweet daisy straps and neckline... and then a bustier bodice and SEE-THROUGH side panels (yes, I am wearing black underwear in this pic). This had a Rihanna-esque pretty but DGAF attitude. The fit is a bit off here...the cups weren't really cupping the right areas... but you get the idea. Tara Keeley 2501 Gown. Similar for everyday here.
You've seen the Glamour Closet dressing room a lot. That's because my like-to-try-on ratio was very high here. They carry A-list designers (Vera Wang, Elie Saab, Naeem Khan, Reem Acra, Carolina Herrera, Mira Zwillinger, Lela Rose)... but because the dresses are all samples or discontinued styles, they're 50-75% off. Maybe that's why I liked so many of them, too.
Anyway, that means that the selection can be a little oddball and the good, au courant stuff (plunging V, illusion necklines) goes fast. This Oscar de la Renta had the sweetheart/strapless/ballgown look that I was avoiding, but the leafy applique bottom made up for it. This was the first dress where I did that happy skirt swish you see before a bride gives the word on Say Yes to the Dress. Oscar de la Renta 44E16.
Ah, and you thought I was all botanical appliques! This looks body-con in a potentially worrisome way, but in fact this whole genre of dress is pretty flattering. There's no boxy top, just a heavy skirt that pulls on a clingy bodice that's little more than illusion netting, flesh-colored cups, and lace. Instantly form-fitting, with enough weight to smooth out your curves. Martina Liana 775 Gown.
Which brings me to...
This Maison Signore shares the same basic mechanics as the Simple Slink dress, except there's more lace, more sheer panels, and more butt-hugging. Those Italians sure know how to treat and appreciate a woman's body (to the tune of 1.1K likes when this pic was reposted on Maison Signore's Facebook page. Yikes!). I couldn't find the exact dress online, but this Maison Signore is close.
Reminder... I already have my dress. Have you guessed what it looks like now? (Here are all the posts in the series if you need to catch up.) A slightly kooky comfy sheath with botanical appliques and minimal bling? Sorry, but that's not how it worked out.
What was your favorite dress?
Last week I showed you the "weird" ones, the dresses that had a unique POV. Those were dresses that I'd wear to a fashiony event.
These dresses are more versatile... beautiful, glamorous gowns that are pretty much without fault. It's not them, it's me...and our venue...and that gut reaction of "this is pretty and I want it, but not for the wedding."
The photo above is the Kelly Faetini Bree dress. I went into this whole dress saga knowing that I didn't want a strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline. So we added lace arm bunting (not the correct bridal term) and it transformed the dress from pretty but mildly forgettable into something with a more sultry silhouette. The thing about side bunting is that your arms are literally on lace leashes. You can make the bunting detachable, but then you're at sweetheart/strapless square one.
Funny thing about wedding psychosis. You go in thinking you want a certain kind of unfussy, unblingy dress. A normal dress that happens to be white. This BHLDN Catherine Deane gown fits that description. It's easy, elegant, botanical. But somewhere along the line, I convinced myself that the dress needed to be more Bridal (I'll take my kool-aid on ice, thank you). And so this one was a miss. BHLDN Jolie Gown. (Also, curiously, available in navy for $500 more... you'd think it'd be the other way around, but maybe they are constructed differently.)
A long-sleeved wedding dress? So chic. And one with pretty but not precious appliques? I'm sold...almost. I'm a mover and a stretcher, and if I'm going to wear a dress for 9+ hours, it should be pretty comfortable. Despite reassurance that I would not "hulk out" of this dress, I had to take it out of the running. Rue de Seine Roxy Gown. Similar here and here.
I would get this dress in a heartbeat if we were getting married in a ballroom or loft space or restaurant. Anywhere but a garden. The cut and weight of the beading is ridiculously flattering. In the picture above, I'm not trying to mimic the model (I hadn't seen the photo yet). I'm just wondering where my tummy went. Victor Harper Couture 289. Similar here.
I told my bridal salon stylist that this looked like a very sexy work dress and she asked me..."where do you work???" (From home, so what do I know.) Maybe it's the cap sleeve and hardy lace. Or maybe it's my questionable work attire (when I used to work in an office). This had a nice ease to it and the back was also killer, but it didn't have the air of specialness I wanted. Alyne Adella Gown. Similar here and here.
Btw, you already know this... but you can pin a million pics on Pinterest, but you have to put the dress on! These don't even look like the same dress to me.
If you can divorce yourself from the mania, you might be able to see: these dresses are works of art. Tony Ward is a Beirut-based couturier who uses the most unusual fabrics. I tried on a dress with a modern/romantic Chantilly lace-meets-Pollock. Another with a skirt pinched with floral ridges, like engraved silk. This was a lattice of ribbon that criss-crossed over the bodice, then flowed into a round, full skirt. Up close, this is a stunner. Tony Ward Astagale Gown. Similar here.
Oh, and guess what?? I got my dress this past weekend! I went with my mom to Schone Bride, a mere 12-minute walk from our apartment and conveniently close to Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Fletcher's. Do wedding dresses go with pie and barbecue? Not really, but between those two places and its Brooklyn DNA, this salon and The Dress feel right.
I'm still planning on posting other pics... dresses that were almost The One, and possibly "dresses that looked good on models but look terrible on me" ... but come to think of it, not sure why I would do that last one.
I care about food. People know I care about food. People I care about...care about food. So wedding catering is a huge decision and was a bit stressful (though tastings were a ton of fun).
I'm happy to report that we officially booked our caterer, Birchtree Catering!! Here's what won us over at our tasting.
Striped vegetable canapes - chive bread, salted cucumber, French breakfast radish, creme fraiche, dill
Like high tea in a garden. Which is exactly the vibe we're going for in our venue.
Hen of the woods tarts - Kennett Square mushrooms, house ricotta, pecorino, caramelized onion, herbs
The only thing worse than perfunctory carbs is perfunctory pastry. You know, that greasy cup that's clearly just a vehicle for whatever's inside. Find me at a cocktail party and I am the shameless person with the plateful of licked-clean pastry. Well this was not that. The pastry was fresh, an essential player rather than a boring stage.
Chicken shumai with lemongrass and malagueta chili oil
I like the idea of including some Chinese flavors in the menu, if only because they are cozy and familiar to me. But my mother, who doesn't mince words, says if my family wanted Chinese food, they'd go to a Chinese restaurant.
Lemon capon with roasted lemon, almonds and oven roasted olives, with ricotta gnudi and winter greens
Capons are the eunuchs of the poultry world. The lack of sex organs result in a less gamey taste (but who ever said chicken was gamey?) and meat that is more moist, tender and flavorful than hens or un-castrated chickens. Probably TMI.
Anyway, true to its breeding, this was super tender and flavorful. The lemon and olives brought acidity and bite. The gnudi was a surprise too. When I think of gnudi, I think of April Bloomfield's ricotta clouds. As my dad said, these were like mini knishes (high praise for him).
Smoky hanger steak with demi-glace, roasted sunchokes, frizzled maitake mushrooms, charred baby rainbow carrots
I know this plate looks kinda empty. But keep in mind, this is a tasting portion and we are really really stuffed by now. This was a solid meat dish, but we'll likely go with a red meat selection with more pow (like the skirt steak with chimichurri) or perhaps the bourbon braised short ribs.
Food is the most important deciding factor, but we also knew Birchtree was the one for us because of their care, competence and culture fit. Even their office in Global Dye Works reminded us of 195 Morgan, where I worked from 2010-2012 as the Marketing & Events Director of 3rd Ward, and where Dave works now, in a weird coincidence (different company though).
Now we have to figure out our service style (family style? plated? a hybrid) and finalize the menu. I have an image of no centerpieces...just giant platters of vibrant, delicious food. Flowers are great, but they're no food.
I'm not gonna name names, but some author websites are so bad. So, so bad.
Patterns and colors that hurt your eyes. Layouts that feature all the wrong things. Weird effects that are just glitchy and annoying.
And the thing is: many of these are custom, expensive sites that can't easily be altered by the author. So when you're paying a designer by the hour, you're stuck with a website that's either a money-suck or an embarrassment.
I didn't want that for myself. So I built my site -- this site -- all on my own, using what I've learned as a marketer, creative director, and community director. I thought about what I would want as a modern, design-conscious author. Color, clarity, personality.
Once I had my site built, I worked on numbers-based marketing (analytics, ad buys, email capture), as well as content marketing ("sticky" recipe and publishing posts, content partnerships, product collaborations, community cultivation).
Turns out, I like this side of the author life and other people in the publishing industry told me that my approach was on the money. They wanted to know if I could do the same for them or their clients.
Well... now I can. Starting today I'm offering Author Website Services. My core services are website design, branding, and debut author launch strategy, but I can do any of the stuff I listed above. You can learn more and reach out to me here.
And seriously. Say no to bad author sites!
I've lost count of how many dresses I've tried on. I've been to twelve bridal salons (one of them twice). Tried on an average of eight dresses at each. Really ... over 100 dresses??
If you said that to me two months ago, I would have thought that was insane. Are dresses really that different? Yes, they are. Very much so. And if you let yourself believe that this dress is the MIDOYL (Most Important Dress of Your Life), then the pressure is very on. (I've chosen to believe this, though I recognize you can be way more chill and will not live a lifetime of debilitating dress regret.)
D and I decided that he wouldn't see my dress until the day of the wedding, so don't expect to see The One here or on Instagram. But, man, I have SO MANY others to show you!
Today's post will be...the weird ones! If you know me IRL you know that I like to experiment with fashion and have been known to wear very directional things: turbans, a leather breastplate, puffy armored boleros...you get it.
I'm naturally drawn to quirkier styles and in bridal, these designs can be so refreshing amongst a sea of sweetheart/strapless cupcakes (no offense to those, they are lovely, but not for me).
Here are some delightfully weird dresses that I would love to wear if I were, say, doing an editorial shoot. They're just a little too funky for our wedding and my somewhat traditional fiance and family.
I dug the debauched, deconstructed glamour of this. A little Moulin Rouge, a little garbage pail after you've had a cold. Monique Lhuillier Bouquet Gown at Glamour Closet. Similar here.
A sheer-paneled silk taffeta powder blue gown...with pockets! This had the right mix of sexy/sweet/avant-garde...but for the wedding itself, I think I'd have to line the sheer elements, which kinda takes away what makes it so great. Schone Bride. Similar here, here, and here.
Would you believe this dress is practically weightless? Those silk rosettes were so touchable and the cowl neck is such an unexpected bridal neckline. Lakum Suzanne Gown at Schone Bride Trunk Show. Similar here and here.
This Carolina Herrera had amazing 3d flowers made of petal-like sequins at the waist and shoulders. Everytime you looked at it, there was something new. The super-soft overlay and lace met chunky, crafty detailing. Art teachery vibes, almost Marni-esque. Carolina Herrera Cassidy Gown at Glamour Closet. Similar in black here. (wow those model arms, yeesh)
There are plenty of times when I'd want to look goofy and muppet-like. But probably not my wedding. Temperley Leigh Gown at Glamour Closet. Similar here and here.
I still don't have a dress and the timeline is as tight as can be. Made-to-order gowns can take 6-12 months to make, then alterations take another 1-2 months. (Yes, this is crazy!) We are 7 months out. Defcon 1 ("nuclear war is imminent") as my visibly distressed Kleinfeld consultant told me.
Truth is...I think I know what dress I want. I'm just letting it marinate a little to make sure I love it tomorrow and the next day and hopefully forever.
I won't show you that dress until after the wedding...but I already have more wedding dress search posts planned: Gorgeous Dresses I Want But Not For a Wedding, Dresses I Thought I'd Love But Look Terrible On Me, and Dresses That Were Almost The One.
What do you think of these dresses? Would you go "weird" at your wedding?
New Yorkers visiting LA, here's a tip. On your first couple days, don't worry about adjusting to the new time zone. Get to Sqirl early -- it opens at 6:30am for drinks and pastries during the week, and the kitchen heats up at 8am. No line, just morning light and the best breakfast in your recent memory. (Or in my case, maybe ever??)
I like breakfast/brunch as a social event, but as a meal, it's not my thing. Pancakes and waffles knock me out for the rest of the day. I love eggs, but they get boring easily. Benedict, omelette, with a side of bacon (even if it is maple-glazed, submerged in a Bloody Mary, thick cut from a heritage pig...) Meh. I'd rather have an interesting dinner plate.
But Sqirl! I will fully admit that I'm a sucker for avocado toasts and chicory lattes, handmade almond milks and jams. But even D who is wary of anything hyped and twee loved it. We went twice over four days.
Here's what Mark Bittman said of Jessica Koslow's cooking in the NY Times:
Instead, it’s a kind of gentler version of dinner food, with little or no meat, but often with eggs and seasonings from the southern and eastern Mediterranean and much of Asia, and yet somehow, in the end, quite American. Nothing is bland or insipid, and much of the food is laced with a sharpness that comes from lemon juice and hot sauce and garlic and pickled things. For breakfast food, it’s downright revolutionary.
Yep. We're used to breakfast "notes": cheese, potatoes, hollandaise, bacon, buttery carbs, maple syrup. But what Koslow brings is something else entirely.
Take the "Green Eggs and Jam", caramelized onions, creamed spinach, wild arugula, and a toad in the hole in Clark Street Bakery bread. It's addictively savory, without crutches of cheese or pork. The bread is key, soft and pillowy, just a whisper of sour. Each bite hits on every register from sharp and peppery to sweet and slow-cooked.
And then there's the sorrel bowl, with Kokuko Rose brown rice, sorrel pesto, preserved Meyer lemon, lacto-fermented hot sauce, pickled radish, sheep's milk feta and poached egg. I won't go into the hot sauce, pickles and feta, which are riotous players that add heat, brine and funk. But preserved lemon! What? The flavor -- sour, bitter, salty -- makes this breakfast one for the books. The sorrel adds an apologetic weedy note (not marijuana...the other type of weed, jeez).
The avocado toast (top) presently features JJ's avocados, hot pickled carrots, green garlic creme fraiche, wood sorrel, and house za'atar. This is served all day (as opposed to the breakfast items, which are only available 'til the leisurely hour of 4pm). I'd venture to say this is the oddest avocado toast I've ever had, and that's a good thing...like I've been listening to flutes and clarinets -- sweet, mellow, easy -- and finally someone plays the oboe -- sharp, strange, memorable.
Here's the "Famous Damus", soft scrambled egg, Surryano ham, chives, ciabatta. We liked this one, though it's definitely more familiar in flavor than our other dishes.
Sqirl also serves lovely drinks and pastries. The almond milk is made in-house (so no worrying about weird emulsifiers).
This has become our dream wedding cake flavor combo: chocolate with blood orange. The best part? The crackled cacao nib crust.
Sqirl historians will know that it actually started as a jam business. If we went a third time, I'd surely get the burnt brioche with almond hazelnut butter and jam. Instead, I have two jars at home: the rather romantic-sounding Moro Blood Orange and Tonga Vanilla Marmalade and Rhubarb and Meiwa Kumquat Jam. I can't wait to try them in yogurt, on ice cream, or let's be real, by the spoonful.
Word to the wise -- jams are considered liquid and cannot be taken in carry-on luggage! I learned this the hard way. The TSA woman at the Long Beach airport saw me go from okay to grief-stricken in record time. Don't do that.
"We had ordered the shaved ice and candied tropical fruits, the curry ice cream with mini brioche puffs, and the lemon basil profiteroles with blueberry-oatmeal brittle. But a small army of servers brought out even more: chocolate fondant sandwiched in coconut crisps, cinnamon apple churros with maple syrup tapioca, chocolates, macarons, marshmallows. Felix delivered the petit fours himself, and whispered to me, “I’m sorry for the delay with the truffles. Try the lavender-peach macarons. They’re my favorite.” Then he smoothed his bangs back and gave me an extra-long look that made my hair stand on end." - Food Whore, Chapter 14
This scene at Tellicherry was one of my favorite to write. This is Tia's first on-the-job dinner with Michael Saltz and there's something fishy about the service. So many desserts, each more delicious than the last.
This actually happened to me when I ate lunch with Tim Zagat as an intern at Zagat Survey. We ate at Jean-Georges and the desserts kept coming, a seemingly endless parade.
I'm so glad this scene resonated with others, including Lena of Lena's Lunchbox who made an IRL version of my fictional creation.
Aren't they gorgeous??? See below for the full recipe and check out Lena's incredibly creative and playful recipes (I'm partial to the Big Mac(aron) and the Brown Sugar Honey Cake with Carrot Ganache and Crushed Honeycomb). And -- get this -- she's only 16. Next Christina Tosi anyone?
photos and words from Lena's Lunchbox
baking with lavender always makes me feel a little weird. it has a lovely taste, but using even a quarter teaspoon too much can quickly make a flavor go from ‘delicately floral’ to ‘hotel soap.’ in this recipe, finely ground lavender buds add character to the simple, meringue-based macaron cookie, and any soapiness is offset by a filling of assertive cream cheese frosting and bright peach jam.
these cookies were inspired by jessica tom’s food whore! in the book, the main character works as a secret assistant to the new york times’ food critic. their cover is blown while dining at a super nice restaurant called tellicherry, and the waiter brings them plates upon plates of desserts to try to leave a good impression: curry ice cream with mini brioche puffs, cinnamon apple churros with maple syrup tapioca, chocolate fondant sandwiched in coconut crisps, and lavender peach macarons! it was one of the more mouthwatering chapters.
read food whore and make these (4 star) macarons!
macarons (adapted from entertaining with beth)
filling
line two baking sheets with parchment paper. beat the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until frothy, about a minute. add the sugar, cream of tartar, and salt, and turn the mixer to high speed. whip for 8-10 minutes, or until very stiff peaks have formed (think seattle space needle). add the food coloring, making the color a little darker than desired (it will fade as the macarons bake).
combine the almond flour, powdered sugar, and dried lavender in a food processor. pulse until the lavender turns to powder, then sift the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. discard the larger almond pieces that remain in the sieve.
gradually fold the flour mixture into the egg whites with a spatula. be careful!! undermix and the macarons will be lumpy and cracked, overmix and they’ll be flat and won’t have feet. about 60-75 turns of the spatula when folding is the right amount of time. the batter should be thick but runny.
transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. the easiest way to fill the bag with batter is to 1) twist the end of the pastry bag nearest to the tip (this prevents batter from leaking out before you’re ready), 2) place the bag in a large drinking glass and fold it around the rim, then 3) pour the batter in. pipe one-inch rounds onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, then rap the sheets on the counter to pop any air bubbles. let the macarons sit, untouched, for 30-45 minutes. this allows them to develop a skin; when they dry out, they’re forced to rise up and not spread out, giving them the trademark macaron “feet.” they should be tacky to the touch, but not stick to your fingers. during the last 10 minutes of letting them sit, preheat the oven to 300º.
bake for 20 minutes. don’t open the oven door while they’re baking. remove and let cool on pans for 20 minutes, then remove to a rack.
for the filling, beat together the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. after a few minutes, add the powdered sugar, then the vanilla and salt. beat for 5 more minutes. add the cream and beat for one more minute. transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.
to assemble, pipe a circle of frosting around the edge of half of the macarons. fill the hole with peach jam, then sandwich another macaron on top. makes 30 sandwich cookies.
Thank you so much Lena!
See more Food Whore-inspired recipes here. Do you have a Food Whore-inspired dish you want to share? Email me at jessica@jessicatom.com and I'll feature you here.
There is one fewer 4-star restaurant in New York. The NYT review of Per Se: https://t.co/D8Lf9A8D3B pic.twitter.com/q1EuoGVMOR
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 13, 2016
Last Tuesday, my Twitter feed read like this: tributes to David Bowie, the State of the Union, and the one that beat everything—Pete Wells slaughtered Per Se in the New York Times, downgrading Thomas Keller's Central Park temple from a vaunted four stars to a humiliating two.
If I didn’t already write a book about this exact scenario, I’d be inspired anew. In an age where we discover restaurants on Yelp, Instagram and blogs rather than crusty old media, why such a frenzy? Even people who have no desire to dine at Per Se are weighing in. How come?
We might not look to the New York Times as the final word on a restaurant’s worth, but restaurant reviews matter for other reasons:
· Chefs may be rock stars, but critics are the real idols. When people eat for sport, their idols aren’t really chefs. Of the hundreds of thousands of people who have posted about the #cronut, how many have followed Dominique Ansel's recipe and spent the three days to make it? My guess: next to none.
But critics! Those professional eaters: Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, Gail Simmons, Jonathan Gold, Ruth Reichl, Kate Krader. They travel the world, savoring the world's most extraordinary cuisine. Let's be real, though critics insist eating for a living is a tough gig, it sure beats the antiseptic office jobs most of us have. We’re fascinated by critics—their power, their disguises, their company credit card—and, if we’re being honest, we probably want to be them.
· Restaurant happenings are deliciously dynamic and gossipy. In certain cities, among certain circles, restaurant blogs are like sports pages and reservations are courtside seats. We track where chefs are headed, what places are shuttering, the debut of a chicken sandwich/veggie burger/bone broth menu. And when a four-star restaurant is stripped of half its stars, that’s the stuff of scandal.
Mr @pete_wells before you try to destroy a restaurant like Per Se + others, you show know the odds of owning one @DanielBoulud @ChefBianco
— François Payard (@francoispayard) January 14, 2016
· Critics are not normal journalists, so it’s easy (and fun) to theorize on their motivations. People treat reviews like literature or Supreme Court rulings, reading between the lines. Does he have an ax to grind? Is she cozy with the chef? Why such spiteful language? Whether he likes it or not, a critic reveals more than the meal in his writing.
A naïf might assume reviewers are objective and fair, that they come to the table with no biases. But what is a review except for a written declaration of bias? There are clear fails (a hair in your soup, a delayed dish), but the rest is pretty subjective. Where's the line between too salty and well-seasoned? Aloof and respectful of your space? “Limp and dispirited" and elegantly draped? The decision comes down to perspective, a plate through the lens of personal experience. After all, one man's bong water is another man's ambrosia.
· There may be more voices, but that doesn’t mean there’s more criticism. Instagrams tend to be fanatical and food porny (like flies, it’s easier to attract “Likes“ with oozing honey rather than vinegar). Yelp has a star system, but there's no standardization. Per Se has 4.5 stars, but so does Cheesecake Factory. For a measured, informed, and trustworthy review, you'll have to look elsewhere.
A critic is like a personal trainer. We might not love them and often they spoil the fun. But sometimes we crave that rigor. Critics—good ones—are immensely knowledgeable and aren't afraid to call out bad form.
· Restaurants are about status. We read reviews to see how the other side lives, to imagine an existence in which we can afford to spend $3,000 on a dinner for four. Maybe you enjoy the absurdity, a la Real Housewives. Or you're incensed by the social injustice. Or perhaps you pin this experience to your “Someday” dream board.
NYT Per Se review reveals a world so different frm my own I feel Ive glimpsed another planet https://t.co/mQczLXnbkM pic.twitter.com/TsSmXaSMQP
— travis lupick (@tlupick) January 13, 2016
Many of the Times' most iconic reviews touch on wealth and entitlement. Ruth Reichl's dinner as herself and her Midwestern alter ego “Molly“ at Le Cirque. Sam Sifton's takedown of Lavo, where bankers dine as a prelude to clubbing. Pete Wells and his surprising admiration of the anti-Per Se, Señor Frog's.
New York City runs on money and access disguised as art, style, and culture. Prime Hamilton tickets, the latest Mansur Gavriel bag, an 8pm at Polo Bar. It's exhilarating or exhausting, depending on who you ask.
In his book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Toby Young recounts a conversation with his boss, Vanity Fair editor and man-about-town Graydon Carter. It's called the “Seven Rooms Theory" and postulates that in cities across the globe there are seven connected rooms, each more exclusive than the last.
"You think you've arrived, doncha?" he said. "I hate to break it to you but you're only in the first room." He paused. "It's not nothing — don't get me wrong — but it's not that great either. Believe me, there are plenty of people in this town who got to the first room and then didn't get any further. After a year or so, maybe longer, you'll discover a secret doorway at the back of the first room that leads to the second room. In time, if you're lucky, you'll discover a doorway in the back of the second room that leads to the third. There are seven rooms in total and you're in the first. Doncha forget it."
When we hear that a lofty restaurant like Per Se is “among the worst food deals in New York“, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps the things/meals/jobs/lives we strive for aren't worth the anguish and feelings of inadequacy. For the moment, we can be satisfied with our current room. At least for now.