Just a very bad wizard.

My birthday was nice, but today I am wiped out. After work yesterday I went out for drinks with a few friends, which was lovely, and then at about 8:30 met my family at Blue Ribbon for my birthday dinner. It took an hour and a half to get a table, which was not surprising to me, since BR doesn't do reservations for groups less than 5 (too bad I didn't think of it last year when Nathan was here). I had only had a martini, but was in "rare form" as my mom would say. While we waited for our table I had a beer and some oysters, which were quite nice. When we were seated I immediately ordered what I had come to BR for -- the beef marrow with oxtail marmalade. It was delicious, but it was intensely rich. They also gave us a complimentary dish of escargots cooked in a very rich dark sauce (which they made the mistake of plonking down in front of my mother, who just about had a fit because she won't eat snails :p). Both dishes were delicious and had a complex combination of flavors. I think maybe though it was too late in the evening to be eating that way, or maybe I had just eaten so decadently all day long (donuts, cupcakes, etc) that there was just no room left. When my main course came out (catfish with mashed potatoes and collards) I could hardly touch it. The collards were more butter than vegetable. Delicious but too much! I had it wrapped up. There was no way I could manage dessert. My mother wanted it though (all she had was a salad and some chicken wings from the pu pu platter -- she's a very picky eater) so we had to watch her eat ice cream with berries while I was just sitting there trying not to barf. They must have overheard us talking about it being my birthday because they brought out a scoop of lemon sorbet for me with a candle in it. That was nice because it gave my family the opportunity to sing happy birthday to me, and I managed a couple spoonfuls, but that was it. I did not feel at all well leaving the restaurant, which I feel bad about since I know the food there is great and for whatever the reason, late hour, pre-dinner cocktails, I was not able to fully appreciate it. In the end I went to sleep and did not yak, which is good, but oy, I feel like I need to fast or at least take a break from solid foods today! Then maybe, just maybe tonight I can attempt to eat my leftovers from last night. :b I also have several cupcakes left from the batch of Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes I brought to work yesterday. They came out amazingly good. Maybe if I avoid food today I can have one later! Ha ha.

I know I didn't post here yesterday but thanks to everyone who conveyed birthday wishes via Facebook or e-mail (or otherwise). :)

Wow, I've eaten quite a lot of random stuff! I may have even eaten some of the things I haven't bolded here and just not remember. Like black pudding and frog's legs -- I have certainly had opportunities to try them, but don't distinctly remember having done so. As for crossing things out...well there's very little, if anything, I wouldn't consider eating at least just to try.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

( The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred )

Cookies are amazing.

Think about it. You get together a collection of bizarre ingredients, most of which you would never want to eat by themselves: flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, butter, raw eggs, bittersweet chocolate. But you combine them in the right amounts, in the right order, and you get something utterly irresistable and delicious. There are all kinds of scientific principles going on of course: oils, proteins, the application of heat changing molecular structures. To me, it is less like art, and more like magic, every time.

YUM.

A coworker informed me about the squash (zucchini) blossoms at our local farmer's market today. I had to pick some up and recommend that you do the same. :) If you've never had them, squash blossoms taste like flowers that taste like zucchini. They are simply lovely.



I've had them stuffed with ricotta before, but there was a recipe next to the blossoms at the market that I had to try. I added the Green Goddess spices and cut the recipe in half. ( Read more... )

At 12:30 pm on a Tuesday, I just discovered that grapefruit juice and lemoncello makes a great cocktail. At times I like this I can't help but feel a great affection for my place of work. :) My boss brought in a vat of salsa dip that her sister-in-law made. It was essentially sour cream and cream cheese with some olives and a little salsa for flavor. It was delicious, and now I feel like spending my lunch break at the gym. :b

Futureheads at Bowery tonight!!!!!! I haven't been this excited for gig since I don't know when!

Has anyone ever read the side of a Pret a Manger bag?

Wallies tend to be kind, gentle human beings. They're comfy following the crowd. Wallies are vulnerable to having the wool pulled over their eyes. They enjoy getting lost in malls, they're often late, their time management is patchy, at best. You wouldn't find a Pret in Wallyland. It's a bit too racy. Come on in, Wallies. We welcome you.

Does this make any sense to anyone? Is it a British term? What does it have to do with sandwiches? And doesn't it seem vaguely insulting? Are we Wallies for paying $7.50 for a loosely constructed turkey sandwich?

I have never been a big fan of apple pie. As pies go, I always found it kinda boring. But I've finally found an apple pie worth all the hype -- and I made it!

At work, they've been putting out buckets of apples and oranges for us, and when they put out Granny Smiths, I found them too bitter to eat. But they're wonderful for pies. So I stole a few (more like 8) to turn into pie. I figured I'd then bring in the pie, so it didn't constitute stealing, just "repurposing." Today albauk and I did the weekly editorial department wine-and-cheese and I served my pie with it. It was a huge hit!

I knew it looked good, I only hoped it tasted as good. And it did. The crust was flaky and melted in your mouth, and the apple filling was of just the right sweetness and consistency. And there was nothing fancy about this pie -- just flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, apples, cinnamon, lemon juice, and some egg on the top for browning. I used the recipe I got from my pie class. It really was better than any other apple pie I've ever had -- though I could be biased. :)

It wasn't really hard to make either -- the crust was the hardest part. It's hard to get it just moist enough without being sticky, and I don't have a very good rolling pin. I found rolling it between sheets of plastic wrap helps. I used my one and only cookie cutter for the shape in the middle. Yay! I'll definitely be making this one again. :)

Today was the first in a series of three seafood cooking classes I'm taking at the Institute of Culinary Education (this is where I took the pie class as well). I forgot my camera so camera phone pics have to suffice. It was unlike the pie class as in that class we all paired up and each pair made 2 pies. This time we split into 3 groups and each group made 2 things, but I ended up only making one: red snapper baked en papillot with lime beurre blanc. I enjoyed it though and hope I remember some of what I learned, particularly the stuff about filleting and cutting whole fish. ( See some pics. )

The cakes have been eaten. The votes have been counted. And I, Meredith, am the cheesecake queen! I won the cheesecake competition against my coworker Grace. We each made strawberry cheesecakes and our colleagues judged us on 4 different categories. I won in overall, and for taste and for smell. We tied for texture. Grace won presentation.

Pictures to follow!