Pasta Carbonara, Duck Egg, Black Pepper, Ham Brodo
What. A. Week.
Let’s just get one thing out of the way. I had to get stitches on Wednesday. Oh yeah. Wednesday around 2:30, just an hour and a half after I arrived at work. Not to mention Wednesday is my Monday. And, I had to take a cab to work. So, when I went to drive myself to my Mom’s office, after cutting myself on the sharp metal anchovy can while making a broken Caesar-like vinaigrette, I realized Erik had the car . <insert curse word here>. I had to pull Erik out of an important meeting so he could drive me fifteen miles north to the arms of my Mama. Three stitches an a tetanus shot later, I was home-ridden. Unable to cook. This is the second time I have ever had to leave the restaurant from cutting myself.
Capellini, Plugra, Parmigiano Reggiano, Cracked Pepper
The bookshelf sat in the kitchen, in a sunny nook where the four person table and the golden retriever also shared it’s space. It was black metal, with inclining shelves that got shorter has they got further from the floor. Those shelves were packed with books. So, packed, in fact, that you would almost pull it over when you pried one out of its home. Read the rest of this entry »
Risotto, Red Chard, Pancetta, Pomegranate
This summer, while sitting at the dock of Matthew’s beach, one of my chef friends said to me with great excitement, “I think I have constructed the perfect hamachi dish: grapefruit, lavender, fennel-saffron puree, fennel pollen”. I looked at him, wide eyed, and asked him how many times he had tested the recipe. He looked back at me, laughed a little due to my ignorance and said, “No, Stage. It is all up here” as he pointed to his thick head of black hair. Read the rest of this entry »
A Feast
Scallops, Pickled Huckleberries, Grapefruit, Vanilla Oil
Potato Gnocchi, Onion, Black Pepper, Egg
Halibut, Chanterelles, Swiss Chard, Champagne Vinaigrette
Crostata, Seckel Pear, Thyme, Honey
This was my first dinner party in my new house. After cooking a professional kitchen all summer, I found cooking at home a bit jarring. I am not used to the burners on my range, I took for granted having multiple food processors and endless supplies of olive oil. But, I loved getting to create my own menu, making mistakes without getting made fun of, and not be told what to do.
Asparagus, Walnut Crema, Truffle Oil, Parmigiano
I’ll be honest. Sometimes, I feel uninspired to be here. My mind is on The Restaurant, new choreography, and reading recently purchased cookbooks and kitchen memoirs. I also have been spending a lot of time writing.
I mean a lot of time. Read the rest of this entry »
Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and New Potato Pizza
I have come down with a serious case of food blogger’s guilt.
What kind of guilt, you ask? Well, I can tell you it has nothing to do with calories, and more to do with content. It is a “disease” in which you have no motivation to blog about food, or take pictures while you are cooking, or even write about food and, yet, you know that your stats will go down if you have not posted in over a week. I know someone out there also has this condition.
Please?! Tell me I am not weird. Sometimes, I just don’t make anything worth blogging about. Last week, I made my Sake Poached Sea Bass twice. Yes….twice. Tuesday and Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »
Citrus Risotto with Prawns and Asparagus
Today was my brother Nicholas’ 17th birthday. This makes me feel old. First, because I am 10 years older than him. Second, well, I remember the first moment I saw him. And with that moment came tons of 10-year old adolescent emotion: jealousy, excitement, fear, and love.
Duck Leg Ragu with Bucatini
Why do we eat Ducks, Chickens, Turkeys, and Geese but not Swans? Why do Swans get exempt from the ubiquitous poultry category. Well for one, it is illegal to kill and eat a swan in most countries. Especially in the United Kingdom because all of the swans are the property of the Queen. But, if you really want to try one, you can kill and eat a swan in North Carolina. Go figure. Southerners will eat anything.
The reason I wondered this is because we are in the midst of performing Swan Lake right now. In the story, Prince Siegfried goes hunting for Swan and then falls in love with Odette who is a Swan Queen that has been kidnapped and transformed by an evil sorcerer to a Swan by day and Woman by night. I wonder if Swan would even taste good? The Amateur Gourmet says no. Anthony Bourdain however….. Read the rest of this entry »
Spring Awakening Campanelle
I just experienced a magical moment in my ballet career. It all happened in about a 12 hour period of time, and at the end of the night, I was surprised that my delirium had not made me batty. Actually, I am wondering now if it even really happened, or if it was just a vivid dream.
I premiered a ballet that I had been wanting to dance ever since I had seen New York City Ballet do it back in 1998. Now, 11 years later, my dream had come true. I got to dance the “Strip Tease Girl” in “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue“. Read the rest of this entry »
Sunday Night Pork Shoulder Ragu
I have never chopped onions and garlic at 8am. Never.
But because of my plans for Sunday, I knew I had to get an early start on this dish. I did all of the normal protocol: chop, saute, simmer, scrape the brown bits, but when it came to cooking on the stove for 2 hours, I just didn’t have time for that. So, I heated the oven to 250 degrees, put a lid on my dutch oven and left my pork shoulder to do what it does best. I got home at 4:00, 8 hours later, and I smelled the ragu down the hallway of my building. I came in and opened the oven. Took the lid off, and began to stir. The pork just shredded. Read the rest of this entry »
