The Unrefined Hedonist

More Counter Space Please

I've been in my new apartment for over three months and other than breakfast cereal and the occasional snack I've cooked exactly two meals. I can attempt to blame the slow down on any number of things, (not having a dishwasher is hard) but the one handicap that I've finally decided to remedy is counter space. There's just not enough. It's the challenge of many a New Yorker, or at least those New Yorker's who actually cook. I seem to have an astounding number of friends here who use their kitchens for storage, the ovens serving as bookshelves.

I have a spacious apartment, but the kitchen is tiny, so finding a solution for extra counter space was a challenge. An architect friend of mine recommended building out some kind of fold-up contraption which I would need to have designed and installed. Too much work. Instead I headed to Target.com and found this extremely affordable and seemingly effective (I'll know better when it actually arrives this week) chrome baker's rack. It's only 14" deep, but will add a 36" wide counter plus additional storage for my pots and pans, utensils, and other kitchen essentials. The Container Store carries a similar rack for $250, but the Target version is only $99. You gotta love Target!

A Cook in Transition

I haven't been cooking lately, thus I haven't been writing lately. I moved into a new apartment a week ago, just three blocks from my last one. It's the first time I've lived alone since 1996. As I was packing up my belongings to venture out on my own it dawned on me that everything in the apartment I had been living in belonged to my roommate/ex-boyfriend. He gave me the option of taking anything I might need to keep myself fed in my new space, but I decided that I wanted to start from scratch.

So now I'm sitting here in my new, empty apartment (Thank you Brian for helping me find something to sit on) wondering where to begin on the list of all of the things I need to buy. The lamps in the living area are sitting on cardboard boxes, all of the artwork is lined up against the floor boards, the mattress is without a frame, the deadbolt sits in its package by the front door, boxes sit unpacked, the fridge is empty and somehow I no longer even own plates, bowls, measuring cups, pans, or utensils.

Every time I think of walking into a store to look for the things I need I find myself overwhelmed by the possibilities. This is one of the nicest apartments I've ever lived in, the location is amazing and I actually have a key to a private park, but my new kitchen is really small and it doesn't have a dishwasher. Every item I purchase needs to be carefully considered in terms of where it will fit and how difficult it will be to wash by hand (that food processor I bought earlier this year was so much more exciting when I could just toss all the parts into the dishwasher).

I have a feeling however, that I'm about to be inspired out of my non-cooking state. Tomorrow night I start fine cooking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education. The course is divided into 5 5-hour sessions and covers the essentials and techniques of fine cooking. So even if I'm not doing any cooking for a while in my own kitchen I'll still be cooking, and I'll be sure to keep you posted about all of the cool things I learn.

Fleur de Sel

Last night I had dinner with a friend at Fleur de Sel, a French restaurant in the Flatiron District of NYC. It's a charming, well-designed space with just a few tables. We went for an early dinner so the crowd was  sparse, which is how I generally prefer to dine.

In the evening chef Cyril Renaud offers up a three-course prix-fixe dinner with an abundance of innovative dishes to choose from. I went with the waitress's recommendation and started with the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Rose Water, Exotic Fruit Purée and Red Wine Sauce. One bite into the Foie Gras had me praying that New York City never follows Chicago's example of banning Foie Gras. I don't know how Chicagoans can stand it. I always know when it's time for me to find a restaurant and order Foie Gras because I start dreaming about eating it. It's a staple of my diet.

For my entrée I ordered the Colorado Lamb Rack with Lamb Sausage Crêpes, Baby Vegetables, and Whole Grain Mustard Sauce. I could have eaten a whole plate of just the  Sausage Crêpes. Luckily the portions in the restaurant were very French, which some might call small. I'd say they were perfect. After finishing the appetizer and entrée I had plenty of room for dessert, Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Spiced Bread and Rum Raisin Ice Cream. The cake had the circumference of silver dollar and was maybe just a couple of inches tall, the perfect size for enjoying the gooey dark chocolate, but not enough to be overwhelmed.

We finished the meal with coffee and a plate of cookies, which were once again the perfect size, so we left the restaurant entirely satisfied, but not painfully full or guilty of gluttony. On our way out the door we were each handed two beautifully wrapped individual coffee cakes to take home for breakfast. If I had held any doubts about this restaurant, it would have been this final touch that would have won me over. As it was, the entire evening was wonderful, and the coffee cakes just made it more so.

Food & Music

The April 2008 issue of Bon Appétit has a list of "Songs For Rainy Days" to "inspire quality time in the kitchen." The list includes songs from Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and even a Balkan gypsy band called Taraf De Haïdouks. I just added several of the songs to my Ipod, some really good stuff.

Seeing the list got me to thinking about my own experience with food and music.  I find that the two are often deeply intertwined. What could be better than cooking or eating great food while also nourishing the ears and soul with great music. Admittedly however, not everyone shares my opinion.

Years ago while working as a waiter I was summoned to the table of Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, where he demanded (yes demanded, he was quite angry in fact) that I turn off the music playing in the restaurant. He exclaimed that it was not possible to eat, much less think, with music playing in the background. In case you aren't familiar with Sir Lloyd Weber, he is the composer of musicals such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and others.

One would think he might appreciate a bit of background music as he dined, but apparently not. Being a lover of music, and a sometimes musician, I found myself angered at his request. Who was he to demand that the entire restaurant be forced to dine sans music? I passed the request on to the manager, a musician himself, who said, "Tell him to screw himself!"

This incident was made all the more amusing by the fact that later that year Sir Lloyd Weber's ex-wife/muse Sarah Brightman was dining in the restaurant. She too summoned me to her table, and asked that I play her CD for the listening pleasure of the diners. I was a bit embarrassed for her and had to admit that I didn't think her music was appropriate for our restaurant. She was unfazed and gave me a copy of her CD and an autographed photo to give to one of her fans, my mother.

Similar to wine pairing, the right music can really enhance the dining experience. As a good waiter I new that Sarah Brightman's CD would be the wrong match for the restaurant, but I also knew in the Lloyd Weber situation that silence would also be wrong. I guess I'd be curious to hear what kind of music other people like to listen to while they eat.

Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Red Peppers and Brocolli Rabe

I tend to go through phases when I crave a certain food over and over again. My current food crush is spicy Italian sausage. There's a little gourmet grocer around the corner that sells a particularly flavorful sausage, which manages to find its way into my shopping basket at least once each week. I've come up with a recipe that works really well for one person and can easily be multiplied for a dinner with friends.

Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage, Red Pepper and Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients

1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 links of spicy Italian Sausage, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 bunch of broccoli rabe, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups whole wheat fusilli or orecchiette pasta
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Accompaniment: freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

        In a kettle of boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Add the broccoli rabe during the last minute of cooking.

While pasta is cooking, sauté  red pepper and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over moderate high heat until it starts to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add sausage, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to the pan and continue to cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Add the beef stock and red wine and cook until liquid reduces to 1/4.

Drain pasta and return to kettle. Add red pepper, sausage and toss.

Serve pasta with Parmesan.    

William Dufty VI

Nine years ago while working as a cocktail waiter in a piano bar in Chicago I had the pleasure of meeting the great William Dufty. It was a slow Wednesday night when the 83 year old walked in the door. I didn't know who he was at the time, but he had an air about him that commanded my interest. He sat at a table near the piano with an attractive younger man and proceeded to engage me in conversation. I quickly learned that he was the co-author of Billie Holiday's biography Lady Sings the Blues, Gloria Swanson's sixth and final husband (thus he signed his name William Dufty IV) and the author of Sugar Blues.

Bill lived in Michigan, but was visiting Chicago regularly for cancer treatment. He was almost 60 years older than I, but we never managed to run out of things to talk about. We carried the friendship out of the piano bar and together with his young friend spent many a day and night having adventures in and around the city of Chicago.

He shared his life story with me over meals, during road trips, and in book stores, and I in turn showed him what it was like to live life as a 24 year old underemployed dancer in Chicago. His friends included movie stars, rock stars, politicians, and the generally famous. I delighted in hearing of his early performances as a boy singing on the radio, his marriage to Gloria Swanson, and his friendship with Billie Holiday. He told of how he tore up his royalty check when Diana Ross was cast as Billie in the movie version of Lady Sings the Blues. Just the mention of Diana Ross seemed to fill him with anger.

I will never forget the meals we had in some of the best restaurants in the Chicago area. He always introduced me to our dining companions, the chef, and the maître de as an up-and-coming Broadway star. As a result the restaurant staff would lavish attention on me, anticipating my every move. He always consulted me on which wine to order, and when I particularly enjoyed something he asked that the maître de deliver my compliments to the chef.

Bill was years ahead of his time when he wrote Sugar Blues. In it he argues that refined sugar is not only an addictive substance but that it is "responsible for modern plagues ranging from depression to coronary thrombosis." Michael Pollan's current best seller In Defense of Food seems to build upon the groundwork that Bill laid in 1975. I encourage you to read both books, as they will change the way you think about refined foods.

I fell out of touch with Bill when I moved to New York after just a few short months of life-changing adventures. He died in 2002 at the age of 86 of cancer. I will always be grateful for the short time he spent in my life.

A Better Rice Pudding

After the Thursday night rice pudding fiasco I knew that I had to save face—fast, so I sent out a plea for my family to send Grandma's recipe. Her rice pudding has always been the standard against which all other rice puddings are judged. It's no surprise that all of them fall short in the taste tests.

So imagine my great surprise when my mother took the blasphemous approach of sending me Ina Garten's recipe for Rum Raisin Rice Pudding, and declared it better than grandma's. My little sister Amanda took the high road and posted Grandma's recipe in the comments of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup and Rice Pudding. Thank you Amanda.

I made Ina's recipe for my roommates on Friday night. Half a week later they are still raving and declaring that I am required to make it every week. Mom's right, it's a really good rice pudding. But what's not to like about 3/4 cup of rice swimming in 5 cups of half and half flavored with sugar, vanilla, raisins and rum. The only thing that would make it better would be to use cream instead of half and half.

Attack of the 50 Foot Department of Agriculture

As I've mentioned before, I grew up across the street from my grandparents, just steps away from their sizable backyard garden planted with corn, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, squash, zucchini, strawberries, garlic, onions, potatoes, cilantro, and more. Our own yard produced apples, cherries, and the occasional apricot. I know well the taste of food picked fresh from the garden. 

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup and Rice Pudding

My mind holds countless childhood memories of lunches and dinners at my mother's table eating Campbell's Tomato Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches on white bread. The cheese was often the generic brand when it could be afforded, or more times than not it was government-issue free cheese, which had a disturbing after taste. Still, I look back with fondness on those meals, and today the combination of grilled cheese and tomato soup is always comforting.

Diary of a Foodie

Lately I've really been enjoying Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie on PBS. I'd never even heard of the show until a publicist sent me a dvd promoting the second season, which means that an entire season managed to go by without me ever hearing about it. What a loss!