November 9, 2009 by Jill
Last night, despite some minor setbacks (including two recipes with the words “refrigerate” and “overnight” closely linked), I pulled off one of my most successful dinner parties to date. (As determined by my guests, all frequent diners at Café Moorhead). I definitely cannot take credit for the success; I had both a strong cast of characters (high-quality ingredients pictured throughout this post) and an amazing assistant director in Maya, who threw some great last-minute recipes (and gchat advice) my way.
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Tags: vegetarian, watermelon radish, lamb, local, vegan, CSA, beets, autumn, couscous, mushrooms
Posted in Columbus, Ohio, In The Neighborhood | 4 Comments »
November 6, 2009 by Jill
Prior to the hundreds of hours I spent volunteering for the Obama campaign in the Linden area, I was ignorant of the pockets of Columbus—the parts of the city that hug Cleveland Avenue, the parts of the city that are often forgotten or avoided when it’s not a crucial election year—that house large communities of our immigrants. For this, I am ashamed. After every visit to see Maya in Brooklyn, I’d come back a little sad that Columbus lacks the diversity and liveliness I’d see in her neighborhood and in Prospect Park. I had no idea. After the election, I vowed not to be a stranger to these areas.
There are more than 45,000 Somali in Columbus, making this city home to one of the largest communities of its kind in the United States (Minneapolis and St. Paul and Washington D.C. also boast large populations.) During the 2008 election, I felt as if I had met or worked alongside at least half of these 45,000 neighbors. The community – though many of them could not vote – offered their businesses, their resources and their sons to help us get out the vote. Their role in the whole process was impressive; I was, am grateful.
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Tags: politics, Somali Cuisine
Posted in Bargain Bin, Columbus, Ohio, In The Neighborhood, Table Service, Under The Table | 3 Comments »
November 5, 2009 by Maya
This week, to recap IF-NY news, I’ve mentioned what to cook when you have lots of time on your hands, and what to cook when you have very little, both of which beg the question: What to do when you don’t feel like cooking at all, but dining out and delivery aren’t options? My favorite standby, especially appropriate for a lazy Friday evening at home, is a cheese-and-charcuterie spread.
For my most recent dietary splurge, I added a few items from the prepared-foods section of the grocery store to round out my usual choices and give the plate a bit of color. (The nutrients probably didn’t hurt, either.) Clockwise from top: Applegate Farms Genoa salami, Grayson cheese, pickled guindillo peppers, Gruyère, broccoli rabe, roasted cauliflower, taleggio, homemade tomato jam, wasabi-flavored rice crackers, and thin slices of baguette (center). This might not be the healthiest, most well-balanced meal ever, but for an evening of crappy TV and a few glasses of wine, a salad just wouldn’t cut it.
Tags: charcuterie, cheese, laziness
Posted in Home Cooking | 2 Comments »
November 3, 2009 by Maya
Last weekend, lured in by the language describing gigot de sept heures (French food writer Camille Labro’s family recipe for Provençal leg of lamb), I tried another recipe from Saveur. “In the end,” she’s quoted as saying, “the lamb should be confit: caramelized, sticky to the teeth, almost melting.”
The Saveur author promised that the dish would fill my kitchen “with a heady aroma of herbs, garlic, wine, and braising lamb,” and really, between those two statements, what meat-eater could resist?
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Tags: beans, brussels sprouts, lamb, Saveur
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October 30, 2009 by Maya
By now, it’s not news that the powers-that-be shut down Gourmet. I haven’t been able to bring myself to talk about it too much, other than to express my disbelief at a company’s decision to turn its back on a game-changing publication, one with decades of food history, brilliant writing, beautiful photography, and consistently great recipes to back it all up. Sure, some of the dishes might require a bit of work, but the results, in my experience, at least, have always been worth the effort.
OK, fine. Maybe I’ve been talking about it a lot. This is (was? *sob*) one of my three favorite magazines, and the only food-related publication of the bunch. I’m still in the denial phase of my grieving process, but suffice it to say, I am not happy about this.
In an effort to finally begin the transition toward acceptance, I decided to make something from Saveur, the publication closest to being the successor to the food-mag throne. I enjoy reading it on occasion, but I’d never used it as a source for recipes before; sadly, after trying this Tuscan tomato tart, I’m even less convinced that there will ever be a replacement for Gourmet.
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Tags: Italian, Saveur, tart, tomatoes
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October 30, 2009 by Jill
A couple of weekends ago, I left my sickbed to attend the inaugural Beer Camp meeting with a few friends. It didn’t take long for innocent gatherings such as Cupcake Camp and Bacon Camp to travel down the road of fermentation. Columbus will, in March of 2010, play host to its first ever Beer Camp (and parade). I don’t want to spoil all the fun, but I do want to brag, for just a second.
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Tags: Beer Camp
Posted in Columbus, Ohio, In The Neighborhood | Leave a Comment »
October 29, 2009 by Maya
Last week, I had a travel-related breakdown, then epiphany.
See, I used to really go places: I planned actual trips that took me out of city, state, and, when I got particularly lucky, country. In fact, after quitting my first publishing job six years ago, I decided to freelance instead of looking for another full-time position, primarily because a more irregular schedule would make it easier to get out of town whenever I pleased. For awhile it did just that, but as my day-to-day life evolved, I found that, though I was working more than ever, I didn’t seem to have the funds I once did for traveling.
I was wallowing in self-pity when a fairly basic thought occurred to me: If I want this to be a priority, I have to make it one. I’ve been hemorrhaging disposable income on eating and drinking, then feeling heartsick when there wasn’t enough left over for anything else. It was obvious that my spending habits needed to change.
My new mantra? Buy tickets first, menu-plan later.
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Tags: cheap, slow-cooker, soups/stews, vegetarian
Posted in Bargain Bin, Home Cooking | 3 Comments »
October 28, 2009 by Maya
Before the newish East Village spot Luke’s Lobster opened its doors, everyone and his mother seemed to be in on the hype action. Maybe because the owner’s twenty-five and, judging from his photo, the GM isn’t much older than that, they obviously know their way around new media (not to mention a social-networking site or two). Peddling fresh Maine crustaceans, served in unadulterated form at little more than half the city’s current going rate, they also tapped in to one of New York’s evergreen fixations: the lobster roll.
I’ve made my feelings on the matter quite clear by now; needless to say, it was at the top of my Restaurants To Try list. I went before this Dining Briefs blurb was published, and I could barely read the piece when it came out, I was so stymied by the accompanying photo. Go ahead, click over and take a look. I’ll wait.
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Tags: East Village, lobster rolls, Luke's Lobster, restaurants
Posted in In The Neighborhood, New York City, Table Service | 1 Comment »
October 27, 2009 by Maya
I stopped by the farmers market last weekend, and even though each stand’s tables were practically groaning under the weight of autumn produce—leafy greens, pumpkins, apples—I found myself drawn to a lonely box of end-of-season Italian plum tomatoes. Thinking of the long, quality-tomatoless winter ahead, I filled my bag to the brim with Romas. There’d be plenty of time for kale in the coming months.
I knew what I was going to do with them, too. Last August, I bookmarked a Mark Bittman piece on tomato jam, but, per my usual recipe-overload procrastination habits, I didn’t get around to making it before all of the good specimens had disappeared for the summer. I refused to let that happen two years in a row.
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Tags: Bittman, jam, New York Times, tomato
Posted in Home Cooking | 2 Comments »
