workin' girl

eeeee i'm sorry!! this blog post has been like a homework assignment. i kept putting it off longer and longer but the more i put it off, the more daunting it became and so that's why it's been 3 weeks.
sorry.

ok so to sum up...

wait. where was i?? oh my god. we're so far back. ok i'll do this quickly.

MONDAY, July 12th - SUNDAY, August 1st

alrighty so here is what i've been up to in the last 3 weeks...

i had a lot of free time in between my interview and waiting to hear back from the job so i fiddled around the house a lot. making pasta!

one day i made Garnanelli, which are similar to penne but more delicate because they're hand-rolled. i made an spicy tomato sauce (Arrabiata) to go with it with- San Marzano tomatoes, pancetta, red chili flakes and fresh basil. honestly, and i'm not one to toot my own horn tooooo much, but it was one of the best pasta dishes i've ever made. tender, al dente and the sauce was perfect.


another day i made pesto and used one of the cut-settings for linguine. good lord! when you aren't rolling each piece one by one or folding and cutting each sheet, pasta is even easier than i thought! the pesto was great too. i used walnuts instead of pine nuts because the pine nuts were $16.99 for 8 oz!!!!!!! INSANE. and walnuts give the pesto a richer flavor, in my opinion.

the boys and i went to a Beirut show at the Guggenheim which was amazing! well, actually it wasn't AMAZING because 1. while the concept of being in the Guggenheim for a concert was awesome, the acoustics were awful. 2. it seemed like the Beirut boys were having a hard time and some of the songs sounded terrible.

BUT. despite those things it was a pretty fun evening. and a lovely venue.

when i wasn't up to my elbows in flour or seeing brassy indie bands at modern museums, i was spending lot of time with my new/old friends Megan and Jamie (UCSB alums) and Jamie's boyfriend Brandon who makes hats! Jamie and i spent a day at Brandon's hat shop Worth & Worth and tried on every hat style they had! my favorite was that wee top hat. i gathered up the boys and we went back to the hat shop around 11pm for a hat shop party which was about 7 of us listening to music, drinking overpriced, horrendous white wine, and wearing hats. what a hoot! we ended up at an irish pub around 2 and Jamie and i ruled the juke box for a few hours...we didn't make it to bed until 5...

after a week of fun and games, i was ready to WORK first thing monday morning...

and work i did! well, not exactly. i spent a lot of time training- sitting in rooms (COLD rooms) looking at power point presentations and taking notes. but it was fun! and it felt really good to be DOING something!!

on Friday i met up with Kate, my darling Nikki's darling sister for a Modest Mouse concert at the East River Park in Brooklyn. the view of the city was incredible, the humidity was insane and they only played 3 songs because of the crazy thunderstorm that hit! (look at how ominous the sky looks!!) no matter. Kate's got the hookup so we got in for freesies (w/VIP passes that we didn't use because we weren't there long enough!) boy oh boy the LIGHTENING!! the drama!

the boys and i had a super Swedish Saturday. we went to Ikea and then went to see The Girl who Plays with Fire. we finished the night with dinner at Frankies 17. outstanding meal and really the only one worth blogging about (besides my pasta, of course)

we started with the Frankies Antipasto, Chef’s choice of 2 each meats, cheeses, roasted vegetables & marinated olives- we had prosciutto, spicy soppressata, moliterno cheese, mountain gorgonzola and broccoli rabe and crimini mushrooms. for mains, i had House-made Cavatelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage and Browned Sage Butter Garret had Frankies Meatballs with Pine Nuts and Raisins and Nate had Sweet Sausage, Roasted Red Peppers and Onions over Creamy Polenta.

SUPERB!!

i would have taken photos but the restaurant was too dark. next time, i promise and there will be a a next time.

we finished off the night with Top Gun- which i had never seen (i know, i know.)
hilarious.

sunday was spent putting together all of our Ikea goods! of course we picked one of the most humid, miserable days of the summer to be hustling around the house sweating our faces off! but the pay off was totally worth it! check out my room! its totally livable now!!!

this week i:

- actually worked! answered emails and started on the phones!
- tried to do the master cleanse but i was getting up every 10 min to go to the bathroom and i felt weird about it (i'm new! it looked bad!) so i quit after half a day.
- celebrated Rob's birthday
- went out dancing with Jenny and Garret at a very cool hip bar in Soho
- met Brunson from work...

Brunson. Brunson is quite a character. from Charlston S. Carolina, flamboyant, bitchy, and hilarious. i sat and listened to him talk for like an hour after work on Friday and then he invited me out with him to go to some swanky, exclusive celebrity bars. sure.

we went to Le Bain at the top of The Standard where we were hanging with Marc Jacobs & his husband, Karen Oh from the Yeah Yeah Yeah, Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) and models models models models models models models.

better than the view of the rich and semi-famous was the view of the city from rooftop patio. amazing. obviously i couldn't take photos. (it was hard enough to play it cool...)

next stop was Kenmare (i couldn't find a link for it...) but it was just as swanky. and another explosion of models.

got home at 5. it was a fun night but im not attractive, skinny, rich, or cool enough for those places. AT LEAST NOT YET!

saturday, the boys and i went to the P.S.1. Warm up Series at the P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the MOMA "which is one of the largest and oldest institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art", according to Wikepedia. the Warm Up Series is a music series in the summer with DJs and art and all kinds of awesome things including a kiddie pool with kiddies, and this netting/pole situation that made for some good photos. we stayed for a few hours and then headed home and watched Day Breakers (terrrrrrible Vampire movie) and Zombieland (hillllarioussssss zombie movie).

today i did nothing. oh, no, i made lemon bars!

so so sorry for the delay. i need to get into a groove of working and blogging.

thanks for still reading!
xo
L

i'm lazy; here's a preview

im feeling uninspired, blog-wise. which is really unfortunate because i have lots to say and show. so here is just a preview until i can really sit down and do it:

1.) PASTA

what? really? more pasta!? yes. more. all last week i was FUNemployed. meaning i had days before my new job started so what better way to celebrate and pass that time than by making fresh pasta!?

2.) HATS
i spent a lot of time this week with a great group of people, one of whom is a hat maker. beautiful hats.


3) JOB!!!
yeah, i got one. no big deal. and its a reallllllly cool one...!!! customer support for a very popular, invite only, luxury fashion online retail store. feeeeeelin' good my friends! job starts tomorrow so thats part of the reason i'm not blogging- gotta get my z's!




i will elaborate on all of these things more when i get a moment. sorry i'm being lazy.
wish me luck on my first day of work tomorrow!!!

xo
L

Pics from Leens

even when i remember to take my camera with me when i leave the house, it still can't really capture the moment like i want it to. it's a nice camera but nothing compared to what Cathleen was packin' this weekend. she sent us these photos, and with her permission i'm putting them up here because they are so good!

plus! it's a treat for you, reader because you get a post of allllllll pictures and you don't even have to suffer through my (sometimes) exhausting explanations!

enjoy!

xo,
L
(Leens)

food death(s)

sometimes i take it too far.

often i get too excited for the really big, important parties and drink tequila like it's going out of style and i miss everything.

sometimes, when faced with the same 'big, important, party' feeling in terms of food, i over-do it. (cured meats, cheese platters, pate, a hot, fresh pizza pie, etc)

sometimes i just can't stop. sometimes it absolutely cannot be helped. sometimes i HAVE to keep eating because its just too good to stop. and sometimes...sometimes i over do it.

this, friends, is one such occasion.

Friday, July 9th

up bright and early for my interview that i MUST have done well at because i have follow-up on Monday!!!

im trying not to count my eggs all in one basket....before they are...hatched...or...something...BUT ahem-imfeelingverypositiveaboutitandimtotallygonnanailit.

i rewarded myself for my job-well done with back to back to back episodes of AB:NR (Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations- Indonesia, Ireland, Sweden, Ghana, Beirut) and i also spent almost 2 hours video chatting/watching Top Chef with aunt Jill, uncle Frank and Mom.

later on...

i met up with my friend Megan from college and some her friends and things got fuzzy. ladies and gentlemen, my first "too much" of something:

TEQUILA. too much. too too much.

luckily i managed to get out of Chelsea in one piece and after a very brief meet up with Garret, Cathleen and Nate it was straight to bed.

SATURDAY, July 10th

Garret, Cathleen (or Leens, as she will henceforth be referred) and I set out to watch the final game of the World Cup!!! oh. well. whoops. turns out we were a day early....

so we went to Central Park instead! it was a perfect day to walk around the park- it was warm but over-cast and gave the whole park this incredible light.

i love it there. i want to go there all the time! and i WILL live there one day. i will.


since we were already way up west there was only one place to go...

Salumeria Rosi

my mom told me about this place after seeing on, guess where, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. what can i say? we're big time fans...

it was on his 'food porn' episode and after seeing a clip of him chowing down cured meats and lardo i was DONE. had to go. and so we did!

i practically ran in. and as i squirmed excitedly in my seat i knew we were in for it. this is a place that takes what it does very seriously. you can tell by the almost perverse way they describe their wares. if ever there was a a sexy food it is absolutely cured Italian meats.

we ordered the the Selezione del Salumerie, which is the choice of whoever happens to be working behind the glorious counter of fatty, meaty heaven. three pieces of the following:

Il Parmacotto Our signature prosciutto cotta, or cooked ham. Delicately flavored, this boneless ham is brined for several days then cooked in steam ovens until juicy and tender.

Mortadella di Bologna finely ground, cooked pork sausage, a staple in Bologna. Rose colored, dotted with cubes of port fat. Light, yet full of flavor. With our without pistachios.

Prosciutto di Parma, the Ferrari of Italian pork products. This shiny red, hind thigh of hog, rimmed with pure white fat, is simple irresistible. Salt cured and air-dried between 18 and 36 months.

Soppressata, A coarsely ground, dry-cured sausage popular in Southern Italy. Made with lean pork fat and spices of infinite combination

Arista, Slow-roasted pork loin, seasoned with salt, pepper and various spices. The superior cut of pork certainly lives up to its name- arista, from the Greek aristos, meaning "the best".

Finocchiona, A zippy, Tuscan-style salame, seasoned with fennel or finocchio. Full of flavor, it pairs well with mild foods like the saltless bread of Tuscany.

Cacciatorino, This pocket-sized salame originated as a snack for Piemontese hunters, or cacciatori. Now popular all over Italy, recipes vary from region to region.

amazing. amazing. amazing.

we also ordered a cheese selection. yeah, why not?!

Pecorino Stagionato (Toscano), Six month old sheep's milk cheese served with carrot mostarda

Parmagiano-Reggiano Stravecchio (Emilia Romanga), Hard cow's milk cheese, aged 24 months served with balsamic reduction

Gorgonzola Dolce (Lombardia), Creamy, blue veined cow's milk cheese, served with candied walnuts


so that we didn't get scurvy, we ordered a modest salad,

Rucolo E Parmigiano, Arugula, lemon vinaigrette and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.

oh and WINE! we also had a bottle of wine! Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2007

and finally...to top off my own 'waterloo of gluttony'....

in a whispered voice, seeming to be coming from another world....


lllaarrrddddooooo

slippery, salty strips of as far as i'm concerned, the fat of some sacred, God-like pig. there is no reason for fat from the back of a pig to taste the way lardo tastes. its magic.

sooooooo yeah. we had a pretty good time.
(on a scale of 1 to 10 how jealous are you of this meal?! im jealous just re-living it)

and to make it better, Garret, most likely drunk on pork products, cheese and the wine, offered to pay for this incredible lunch. THANK YOU GARRET. thank you thank you thank you.
amazing.


so what are you supposed to do after you've eaten incredible meats and cheeses???
why, go get more, of course!!

i took them to Zabars, aka mecca. easily one of my favorite places in the entire world. i can spend HOURS here. downstairs rows and rows and shelves and shelves filled with any cheese you can imagine, olives, breads, deli products, fish, etc etc etc and upstairs rows and rows of kitchen products for every possible dish imaginable.

sooo we went a little nuts and walked away with bags full of goodies that we couldn't even fathom eating, being so full of the previous meats and cheeses...


but that didn't stop us! no way. after a nap for them and some Anthony Bourdain for me i set up our feast...

Dry salami, truffle mousse pate, olives, cornichons, caper berries, two baguettes, grilled salmon, gazpacho,

Dutch aged gouda, french goat cheese, burrata, apricot preserves, olive oil, and of course a zabars mug.

ooooof.

it was a day of excess. and i was totally feeling it. but i pressed on. we went out to Brooklyn and had beer beer beer beer!

sure! the heaviest drink after a day of nonstop eating! yeah, you bet!

and yet....there was more!!

at the bar we went to The Woods had a taco truck out back. i haven't had ANY Mexican food out here yet because all i've heard are bad reviews so i was curious. Garret and i each got 1 carne asada taco and some chips and 'guacamole'. not bad! $3 for a taco and not too shabby. the 'guacamole' was interesting. it was basically pureed avocado, lime and spices so it was really runny and weird but at least it tasted like avocado...

i went to bed full. very full.

SUNDAY, July 11th

after only hours since my last meal (taco) i was up and eating again! Garret, Leens and i, now champion eaters, went to Clinton St. Baking Co. which we had heard sooooooo much about. amazing! wonderful! best brunch ever! usually you have to wait hours to be seated but since we live so close, they put our names in and we came back to the house and relaxed instead of waiting out front. not bad! (it still took 2 hours). but boy were we excited!! with such a reputation! I ordered the special
Asparagus Benedict with truffle hollandaise served on a buttermilk biscuit. Garret got the Southern Breakfast, two eggs, sugar cured bacon, cheese grits and fried green tomatoes. Leens got the Buttermilk Breakfast Sandwich, scrambled eggs, melted cheddar, homemade tomato jam, with hash browns and bacon.


oh, AND

we shared...

Brioche French Toast with caramelized bananas, roasted pecans and warm maple butter.
(dear lord)

meh.

i dont know what happened. maybe we ordered the wrong things? but everything just kind of...lacked flavor. lacked spice. all the components were there but something was just....not amazing about it. maybe we're jadded SF diners? maybe we had eaten such incredible food the day before? i dont know....EXCEPT the Brioche French Toast. that was pretty awesome.

i spent the rest of the day rolling around on the floor in agony. two days of INSANE eating.
too much.

TOO MUCH.

i'll spare you the details of my misery but i was unhappy. and the worst part was that i had all kinds of great food in the fridge that i just could NOT eat!! sad.

im a bit ashamed to reveal the sheer volume of food that was consumed this weekend but food that delicious needs to be shared. and as my new imaginary best friend Anthony Bourdain says, "few things are better in this world than pork skin and pork fat, as far as im concerned."

so true. but i need a break.

xo
L