2013 Cooking Bucket List

I’m stealing someone else’s blog. Blatantly. With no shame.

But we’re friends so it’s okay. Right? Right?….

My friend Katie recently posted her cooking bucket list for 2013 on her blog (look a link – so it’s not really stealing!) and I am going to copy her and do the same. It’s a good way to remind myself what I’m trying to accomplish beyond the basic principle of do not order take out unless extremely fatigued and/or sick and perhaps near death.

So here it is, my cooking bucket list for 2013:

1. Master a roast (or two) – every single dish that I miss of my Dad’s cooking involves an incredibly well cooked piece of meat – namely his prime rib and roast beef. He didn’t cook them as often as other things and I was always thrilled when they showed up at the dinner table. Had I been smarter I would have watched him/paid attention to how something so stupidly delicious came to be, but of course, I was completely unaware of how good I had it. LE SIGH. So now it’s up to me to recreate from memory, with the help of varying recipes I find that resemble what I remember of his classic French cooking. By the end of the 2013, I want to be able to cook a prime rib and roast beef as seemingly effortlessly as my father. Standard go to recipes that once you do them enough it’s like second nature and they always taste delicious. First step, I have to buy a roaster…pretty important first step I’d say. Also, I need to expect to fail quite a few times before getting it even remotely close to being right. I might not get it right until Christmas of next year, but I’m okay with that and I think I’m up for the challenge!

2. Experiment with Spanish cooking – namely with paella, Chicken with Piquillos, and bocadillos. It’s so easy for me to only focus on French cooking since it’s where my heart lives but I love Spanish cooking too. Love it. And, given that my many summers in France were near the basque region I actually realize now that there was a profound Spanish influence to the food we ate growing up because of where my grandparents lived in France. So it’s time to try my hand at something different, but still wonderfully familiar. And of course, it’s important to note that there’s a GREAT Spanish shop and restaurant in Soho that I used to frequent when I worked down there called Despana and it has every Spanish ingredient one could possibly need to give the dish you’re making real authentic flavor. And, I feel like, since it’s there I should take advantage of it, right? It’s also an excuse to go by and get a bocadillo. Because – Oh. My.God.

3. Create a signature fish dish or two – I LOVE fish. Love it to the point of I could eat it almost every night and not tire of it at all, and the side benefit is that a fish based diet can be really healthy. So the goal is to create and/or find one or two fish dishes that I can make my own and keep on hand as go to weekly recipes. I’ve experimented quite a bit with fish this year but no recipe I’ve found has stood the test of time in my kitchen. The only thing I make with any kind of consistency is my couscous salad with scallops (skinny bitch FAVE) and I need more than that. I should have a standard three fish dishes to pull from at least.

4. Create/find and master a handful of super healthy but still super tasty dinner recipes – this is a big challenge. I love butter. Like a lot. Like if I worked on a farm and had a choice of jobs I’d probably make the butter. Because, it’s BUTTER. It brings nothing but joy people (okay – AND cellulite). This, of course, causes some problems in the “healthy” department. And while I refuse to give up my profound butter beliefs (PROFOUND), it would be wise to have three to four healthy weekly options to balance out the nights when I a melt a pound of butter all over whatever protein I’ve chosen for the evening. So this is the year of a healthy balance. One night quinoa and veggies, one night a stick of butter. Totally logical, no?

5.To learn how to make the five mother sauces – basic and super important to one’s cooking skills are the five mother sauces. From these all great things in the sauce family can be made, and by this time next year I want to have made and mastered all five. This is a big goal as it will be very easy for me to just make them once, pat myself on the back, and claim mission accomplished – when really – first efforts don’t count. It’s the continued effort and the ease that comes after making them MANY MANY times. But I think I can do it. And I’m hoping that writing it down as a cooking goal this year will hold me accountable in actually mastering these sauces.

So there you have it. If I was as ambitious as my friend Katie I would also list my fitness goals for 2013 but they can really be summed up with gurlllll don’t get fat and bitch put down that cheese. So as long as I stick with those I should do okay.

Here’s hoping!

Spanish Tapas Heaven – Tertulia in New York City

Alright – back to blogging like a big girl. You know, about things other than work. First up, a lovely review of Tertulia, an amazing Spanish restaurant in Manhattan.

First off, I have to say that a restaurant hasn’t made this good of an impression on me in a very long time. So be prepared for a pretty stellar review.

Let’s start from the beginning – with the reservations. Knowing I had a group of Londoners coming to visit, I called the restaurant two weeks before to make a group reservation for 6 people. They happily made the reservation and informed me that groups of 6 or more had to partake in the Chef’s Menu for $55 a person (excluding drinks, taxes, and tip). This sounded like a great and reasonably priced option and I happily obliged. The next week I found out we had to change the reservation to 7 people and while at first it seemed that we may have to cancel due to this small change and their available tables, the manager or whoever answered the phone pushed the reservation up a half an hour and made it work. So basically, even before I’ve shown up at the restaurant customer service has been stellar and I feel like they want to provide us with as good an experience as possible.

Arriving at the restaurant, our fantastic London visitors fell prey to commuter hell and found themselves to be a half hour late. At some places in NYC this can screw you out of your reservation but the staff at Tertulia were nothing but gracious and patient providing us with drinks at the bar and making sure we did not feel rushed at all.  Once we were sat at our table, the server explained how this particular chef menu worked – the chef would select various items from the menu that night to serve to us and food would just continue to come out, until finished by a selection of desserts. The server took note of any food allergies to avoid any problems with the chef’s selections, ordered us a few pitchers of sangria, and then we were off! Ready and waiting for whatever food they decided to bring us.

And man, oh man, did they bring us food. The first round of food was a Spanish favorite of mine Pan con Tomate with Iberico ham. I had this exact same dish when I was in Madrid in March and have been dreaming of it ever since. Sufficed it to say, this version was definitely up to par, the only thing missing were the sounds of Spain and the outdoor patio. During this round we were also served the Tosta Mejillones – grilled mussels on toast with fennel jam, raisins, and aioli. This was by far one of my favorites of the evening. So unbelievably simple yet incredibly delicious. And quite honestly something I may not have thought to order but will now order every time I go to this restaurant, provided it’s on the menu of course.

After that more tapas continued to come to the table including the delicious Tupinambures – crispy smoked sunchokes with sumac and citrus yogurt, Coles de Bruselas – crispy brussels sprouts, pork belly, and mojo picon, Pimientos de Padron – classic fried Padron peppers with lots of sea salt. There was also an amazing lamb dish, a cod dish, a special sea bass dish, and a monster sized mouth watering paella with the most tender chicken I have ever tasted. All this food, was then followed by a sampling of desserts all of which were better than the next.

When all was said and done, after a plethora of food and quite a few pitchers of sangria, tip and tax, the bill came out to about $105 per person which for what we got was a great deal. I’ve paid that much in New York for much less food and drink and not even of this kind of quality. On top of that, the service was stellar from start to finish – from the minute I picked up the phone to the minute we left the restaurant. It was so good in fact that I might just make another large party reservation for my birthday in August.

That’s right, it’s THAT good.

All that being said, I do wonder if my experience would have been as good if my first time there had not been with a bigger group and the chef’s menu. While I’m well versed enough in Spanish cuisine, I am sure I would have ordered what was most familiar to me rather than take a chance on a few menu items that came out thanks to the chef’s choice that evening. So while I’d advise anyone and everyone to go to this restaurant, I can’t recommend the chef’s menu enough as I think it really made the experience for us that night and allowed us to get a full sense of what the chef could do and what the restaurant had to offer overall.

But it can’t all be good right? Well, actually it can. I really have no complaints beyond a few things that are impossible to fix in the reality of Manhattan dining. First off, the noise. It’s a loud restaurant. Be prepared to have to project in order to be heard, especially if you’re in a bigger group. Personally, I think noise levels like that are par for the course in New York at popular restaurants, but it really bothers other people, so it’s definitely something to consider if you’re planning a trip to this restaurant. The only other small thing I would ever change about this place would be more outside seating. Currently they have a small area in front of the restaurant for outside seating, but with the buzz and heavy traffic of sixth avenue, it’s not the best outside seating if you’re looking for leisurely dining al fresco. As the restaurant is really loud inside, having an outdoor space that’s a bit more serene in nature might help that a bit. Also, I selfishly prefer eating outside, especially when it involves sangria, and if this place had a backyard patio they would be seeing me every week. Not even kidding.

But let’s not pretend, they will definitely be seeing me again soon, perhaps even this weekend with the husband in tow for some tapas and cocktails to end a long work week.

So there you have it. Obviously, I highly recommend this restaurant to New Yorkers and tourists alike. It is a true New York restaurant offering a level of Spanish food one usually needs to travel to Spain to get. Service, food, and drinks alike – all top notch. Of course be warned, the wait is long, but I promise you it’s worth it.

Tertulia

359 Sixth Avenue at Washington Place

New York City

646.559.9909

http://tertulianyc.com/

Closest Subway: W 4th Street A, C, D, E, F, M

The Redemption of Madrid – By Way of Tapas

In a small stopover before heading to France I returned to Madrid for a one night stay and an attempt to allow the city to redeem itself in my eyes. My two days there had been all work and no play, staying in not so sexy accommodations, and being too tired to go out post meetings and really experience the city. I met some incredibly wonderful people and walked the length of the city seeing all it’s wonderful sights, but sadly had no real time to actually enjoy it. Too much running around, networking, and general jetlag prohibited me from even eating a meal that wasn’t a store bought sandwich or ready made salad.

Sinful, I know.

So I returned for one day/night and committed to being a tourist and seeing what this lovely city was really all about. And I can safely say that Madrid has redeemed itself, quite beautifully, by way of tapas, and I have the pictures to prove it.

Because that’s all I do when I’m being a tourist, I take pictures of my food.

I feel it is important to note before showing said pictures that I am aware that there is absolutely nothing sly about taking pictures of your food. You try to be discreet, you try to wait for the waiter to walk away, for the other patrons to be so engrossed in their conversation and their overblown hand gestures that they couldn’t possibly notice you photographing your sandwich. But they always do. The click of the camera always echoes across the room and when you put the camera down everyone is watching you, not sure what to make of the person who takes pictures of what to them is so stupidly normal.

But that’s what I actually loved about the Madrid people. Every time someone caught me taking a picture of my food I was met with either lovable laughter, agreeable mumbles of love for the food, or I was given something for free to try!

They, like me, agreed on one thing – the food of a city is representative of the city itself, perhaps even more so than its most famous monuments. The food holds the real energy to the people’s hearts and will undoubedtly help you better understand who they are and why they live there. And it is what always, always makes me want to come back.

Here are some of my official tourist photos along with my tapas/food porn:

Plaza de Colon

view from my lunch spot

first glass of wine, second glass was comped - love you too Madrid!

the spanish version of the amuse bouche. There was salmon and spices and mayo and mustard and all around goodness

This tapa changed my life. Iberian ham, tomato relish, on bread and smothered in olive oil. I was literally licking my fingers after every bite and muttering my thanks to God.

mmmm shrimp - in the most amazing broth/sauce EVER.

No, really. LOOK AT IT! It's nothing but butter, garlic, herbs, and olive oil. And it's all bubbly and warm and perfect...SO GOOD.

In case you're wondering, this is what happiness looks like. Amazing, amazing food.

yes, we're back to the sauce. Look at it. Do you know how much bread I used to soak all that up? Do you know how much cellulite I now have because of it? Do you know how much I don't care?

the palace

gorgeous cathedral

what can only be described as the most beautiful and magical little bookstore

So there you have it. Madrid’s redemption by way of food and friendly people, both of which will no doubt bring me back.

I will however still maintain that as far as cities go, it’s not my absolute favorite. London and Lyon have control of my heart, New York will always seduce me with her unapologetic and invigorating energy, and the beauty of Paris always overwhelms me in a way that I have no real words to describe. So Madrid has stiff competition in my eyes, but at least she’s now on the list, and I can’t wait to come back and see what else she can offer me in the future.

Next up – a week in Annecy! French lessons, cooking class (!), a visit to Chambery, and an attempt to get my money back from a French bank. This should be interesting…

The Joys of Malaga

My one full day in Malaga resulted in a lot of lovely networking, a lot of tourist visits, and more drinking than I ever expected.

The day started out with the necessary meetings and information exchanges with all our partners and was followed by me spending the entire day in downtown Malaga by myself doing the touristy thing before meeting back up with my lovely colleague for dinner. I toured the cathedral, I went to the Picasso museum (oh my god), I had the Malagan version of a cosmo…it was a perfectly lovely day.

Much like Nice in France, Malaga is a typical European beach town – palm trees, cafes, lots of drinking…a little bit of heaven in the simplest terms. I do have to say that in terms of food, Malaga wins over Nice hands down. When I was in Nice I found the food quite dissapointing unless you REALLY wanted to pay for good food. Normal cafes and restaurants catered to tourists and because of that the quality of food suffered. But in Malaga the food was excellent. To be fair, I had a local taking me to dinner, which always helps, but overall Malaga wins for ultimate beach relaxation. Here are a few photos from my trip:

my adorable studio. Shame no one was traveling with me!

Welcome gift from my Malagan colleagues. You have no idea how happy I was to see that little bottle of wine.

my terrace

Malagan wine, sweet, much like Port.

tapa -salmon on crunchy bread. I never eat salmon anymore because all the salom in the states tastes funny because of the quality. But the salmon in Spain is so amazingly fresh it's all I've been eating!

mmmm - fresh chicken and ham salad for lunch. Everything is so fresh!

gorgeous

so many beautiful little streets

The Malagan version of a cosmo...hmmmmm....

view of the cathedral while drinking my "cocktail"

the cathedral at night from the harbor

Tapas dinner!

tapa on the house - cheese, tomato, and eggplant yumminess. So HAPPY.

this is a very typical Malagan digestif but I have no idea what it is called! Tastes a lot like Calvados though so I was happy. Great way to say goodbye to Malaga!

While the trip was short it was certainly lovely and I would definitely come back again. You really can’t go wrong with taking a little time off in the south of Spain…I mean, really. Who can complain?

Next up, the redemption of Madrid and back to France for one whole week!

Seville, Sangria, and Tapas

My two days in Seville consisted of many stops for tapas, one at the oldest bar in Seville open since 1670 (!), meetings with some amazing lovely people, and consistent random outbursts from yours truly of “I’m so happy right now!”

Yes, stating the absolute obvious.

First of all, let’s take a look at where I was staying:

The oh so pretty Spanish entrance

Perfect little studio

And it gets better...

Awesome shower

And oh, hey patio bigger than my Brooklyn apartment, we are new best friends.

I probably could have just stayed in the apartment the whole time and still been happy. That’s how nice it was. Even better when you’re not paying for it. God bless work.

My first day in Seville was full of meetings and general networking with lovely people as well as a Spanish class. I was able to observe students at our partner school during their lesson and brush up on a little of my own forgotten Spanish. It was certainly an eye opener into how much I could easily remember and how easy a language it truly is.  I may just sign up for one our Spanish classes when I get back to NYC and commit to getting it back. Can’t hurt to have a third language under my belt, right?

In the midst of all the meetings and running around town visiting the varying sites that I need to sell, I was treated to many tapas and servezas. Yup, I drank beer. Me – the cocktail queen – drank beer! I didn’t want to be rude, and I figured everything tastes better in Spain, why not the beer?

Tapas throughout the day included cheese and ham croquettes, potato balls in creamy goat cheese sauce, eggplant smothered in tomato cream sauce, salmon salad, Sevillan cookie cake (it’s a real thing, trust me), chicken a la plancha, and battered cod. Sadly, there are no pictures as I had to pretend to be professional and not obsessed with my food.  I’m sure they would have found my desire to photograph my tapas quite entertaining but I opted against it. Just like I opted against the liter of sangria I was offered at lunch by the oh so friendly waiter. If only, my friend, if only.

My second day was even better if that’s possible. Nothing but touristy walking around, a visit to the amazing cathedral, a walk through the Jewish quarter, and a well deserved lunch of paella and delicious sangria (finally!). Here’s a sampling of photos from my tourist day before catching my train to Malaga:

The cathedral

gorgeous

Christopher Columbus' tomb - I had no idea it was there, I just went in to see the pretty cathedral and was pleasantly surprised. Given how his "discoveries" were shoved down our American throats in history classes it was actually quite special to see

bell at the top of the tower

the tower

beautiful

Lunch time. More importantly SANGRIA!!!

and PAELLA!

And more sangria! I could drink it ALL day long.

Seriously, Seville, thank you for such a warm welcome and your endless charm. I will be back for sure as soon as I can possibly manage it, friends and family in tow.

Next up Malaga, let’s see if it can possibly compare!

Seville – It’s Love, Officially

So Seville and I are in love. True love, with tapas.

If you never hear from me again it’s because I’ve abandoned all responsibility and ambition, all American “necessities” and I am hiding out in Seville. And by hiding out I mean hanging out at a tapas bar bonding with the amazing Spanish people and telling all my friends and family to come visit me because I’m not coming back to the States. Ever.

The love affair started when I arrived last night at about 9pm by train from Madrid. I had been instructed by my work colleagues that in order to get the keys for my studio apartment I’d have to first go by a hotel and then go to my apartment. Simple, really. Except, I’ve never been to Seville, so I had to take a cab and I don’t speak Spanish. A recipe for disaster in any location, except apparently in Seville.

My cabbie bellowed an extremely friendly laugh when I asked if he spoke English and proceeded to assure me in words I did not understand that it will be fine, we can communicate, no worries!  In my broken high school Spanish I somehow managed to communicate “two stops” and “don’t drive away while I go inside to pick up my keys’ in broken Spanish and managed to get to my gorgeous little studio in one piece, without being ripped off. That’s a New York miracle.

Arriving late with no open grocery store in sight, I decided to treat myself to dinner, and walked out my door and around the corner to a line of neighborhood restaurants on the plaza. I settled into a seat on a patio and was greeted by an extremely friendly man who asked the question I love the most, “Para beber?” I noticed then that there were cocktails on the menu and my face immediately lit up like a overdecorated Christmas tree. It was one simple line, stating only the word “cocktails” for 5 euro with no actual description in sight. But I was not to be deterred and I embraced the challenge for hard alcohol and proudly asked, “Cocktails…quel typo?”

His response all in Spanish made my head spin until I recognized something familiar, “bdlddlhddhadldldhfrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnaldldla RUM AND COKE”

“Si! Rum and coke! Si!”

“Abhhhh, bien!”

With a triumphant smile I went back to my book and minutes later looked up and my lovely waiter was not just bringing me a rum and coke, but a full pint glass of rum and coke and I just about kissed him. A full pizza and another rum and coke later and I was in absolute heaven sitting outside on a cool February evening surrounded by a few tourists and relaxed Seville residents.

I must have looked as happy as I felt because when my waiter came over with the bill at the end of the evening, he looked me deep in the eyes with more heartfelt emotion than I’ve gotten from some boyfriends and said, ”Como se dice…you are very beautiful when you eat, muy contenta.” This led to him comping me one of my cocktails and us sharing a shot of limoncello before I left.

Seriously, why would I ever leave?

Needless to say, I may not get on my train to Malaga tomorrow. Why bother? When it’s love, it’s love. Best not to question it and stay where I’m appreciated and men tell me I’m beautiful when I’m stuffing my face with pizza.

God bless the Spanish.

A First Impression of Madrid

I have learned the following during my first full day in Madrid:

1. Men make kissing noises at you when they’re trying to hit on you/get your attention. At first I thought it was just the lowlifes who did it, you know the desperate unappealing ones that need such tactics. But then some men in suits did it. Some really good looking men in suits did it. Men who would have had a chance at at least a conversation, had they not made a noise that suggested I come to them like a sweet, needy little puppy. Note to the Spaniards, thanks for the “compliment” but I’m not actually a dog who wants to kiss your feet and bring you your slippers.

2. Despite the above, the friendliness and energy of the Spanish people is truly beautiful. Maybe I’ve spent too many years around the French who are guarded and particular about who they are friendly with, but man, Spaniards are nice to everyone! Even the city people will talk to you! And they smile! Between living in New York and Paris and Lyon I didn’t know people still did that.

3. When exploring a new city never underestimate your need for walking shoes. My legs and feet feel like they are going to fall off and I was wearing my comfy shoes today. All those outfits I brought that require heels may never see the light of day on this trip. Seriously, ouch.

Sadly, so far, I’m not really feeling Madrid. To be fair I’m working, and running around from point A to point B for meetings, but in all that running around in all the varying neighborhoods, I’m not quite loving it. It’s pretty, as most Spanish cities are, but it’s lacking something that I just can’t put my finger on. I just can’t seem to feel anything but indifferent.

I suppose I have unrealistic expectations of big cities having lived in New York. New York is special because of it’s energy. There’s a reason everyone says there’s no other city like it – because there truly isn’t. However, I’ve been immediately seduced by London and Paris, and even Lyon on arrival, yet somehow Madrid is just not doing it for me.

I blame work.  The people who live here love it here and I am sure they have good reason to…I just can’t quite see it yet. So I am reserving actual judgment until I am back on Saturday for a real tourist day. I have a whole 24 hours here in an honest to goodness hotel with nothing but time to do things like go to museums and visit the old town, which I do believe is where everyone keeps telling me to go. I just don’t currently have the time.

Besides, the Prado museum currently has the “Mona Lisa copy” everyone is all up in arms over. I can’t leave without seeing that. And I haven’t even had time to have tapas. How can I possibly judge Madrid without having their tapas? That almost seems criminal.

Silly work, always getting in the way of  a good time. We’ll see how Madrid seduces me tomorrow. If she doesn’t I’m off to Seville in the p.m. and I am pretty sure she is going to be just my type.

Hola Madrid! Yo No Hablo Espanol!

And that is about all I can say – Hola, Gracias, yo peudo? cuanto cuesta? bano? pan? And yet somehow I am managing quite well.

After a very bumpy flight (thank you drugs for making me only semi conscious)  and little to no food, I made my way to the Madrid metro determined to conquer the public transportation system, suitcase and all. I not only conquered the metro but managed to follow my nose enough to find my apartment which was a good 20 minute walk from the subway station despite assurance from my colleagues that it was “just around the corner.” Yeah, at this point in my life I could write a thesis on the cultural significance of that phrase and how it means many things to many different cultures.

After embarrassing myself with my hosts and apologizing in a mix of half English/half French for my complete lack of Spanish I fell onto my lovely little single bed and had a much needed siesta in my new Madrid digs, waking  up around 8pm wondering what always springs to mind when I first wake up – how the hell am I going to eat?

After making the necessary rubbing of my tummy and grunting noises to demonstrate “American is hungry”, my hosts assured me nothing was open on a Sunday but I refused to believe it. It’s Madrid, something has to be open, not anything good. But something will be open. So I told them I’d go explore anyway,  and lo and behold, within 5 minutes I found a small corner store/deli that had all the basics to make a not so sexy yet potentially delicious meal.

And boy did I score big. No seriously, God bless Spain.

From the limited corner store selection I was faced with I opted for a dinner of goat cheese, baguette, and salami. Dinner of champions from any travelling point of view. It’s not terribly exciting but it serves its purpose and it will fill me up. And, voila, my first official meal in Spain

And man was it DELICIOUS. I expected it to be good, like all basic things are in Europe, but the salami had like a lovely garlic oil all over it and the cheese was that perfectly tart goat cheese that when combined with the bread and the sweetness of the salami…yeah, happy tummy.

YUMMMM. I’m certainly not saying I’d rather be eating this than some fabulous sit down meal prepared for me by some amazing chef, but if this is me making do, then I’m not exactly upset about it.

I also treated myself to a 4 euro baby bottle of wine and some much needed snacks to get me through a busy work day with no stop for real food in sight.

So there you have it. My experience in Madrid so far – airport, metro, embarrassing lack of Spanish vocabulary,  food, snacks, and cheap Spanish wine.

I’m hoping the next two days are much more thrilling.

The itinerary for this week is Madrid for two days, Seville for two days, then Malaga for two days, followed by a one night stopover back in Madrid before venturing off to bond with France for a week.  I will do my best to update the blog as much I can while I’m running around eating everything I see and quietly judging everyone I meet.

Pics and more to come!