Sweet Blog o' Mine

Weekend Wrapup

Plus a highlight from Thursday: the Momofuku Ssam duck dinner with Katie, Karen, Kim and Jackie -- which as absolutely delicious -- followed by my maiden visit to Corkbuzz. Will definitely return. Friday night I went to the Black Grouse launch party where I had some of Lynnette's amazing cocktails, then relaxed with Moxie for most of Saturday (with a few long walks and trips to the dog run, of course) after brunch with Jenn, Emilia and Vivian. I also cooked some spicy Asian wings for Sunday and did a few errands, and capped it off with a nightcap at the 8th Street Wine Cellar. On Sunday I threw some split pea soup in the slow cooker, did some writing then had lunch with Doug before heading to Brooklyn with Moxie for a tasty-as-hell Super Bowl with Colin and Jen. I had the wings in tow, and Colin whipped up some mac and cheese and his "beefy blue" potato skins. Perfect with some beer and a rye old fashioned.

Channeling Julia

Julia Child's birthday was August 15th, and as I was walking home last night I passed a window display at Broadway Panhandler filled with pictures of her.  As you know, I adore her; she's one of my heroes. I admire the way she lived her live to the fullest, without being overindulgent,  it seems like she had a wonderful marriage, which is a challenging feat, and she inspired others through her actions. What's not to love? As of this moment, I have no plans on Saturday night. Maybe I'll channel Julia, open up my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and a bottle of wine, and see what happens. For your viewing pleasure, here's a clip of Julia cooking one of my favorite things -- lobster! Thanks to you rock, lobster! for highlighting it.

Two Seconds of Fame

You might want to take a quick look at what flashed on CBS Sunday Morning (at approx 1:19 in the video) on their Welcome to the Blogosphere piece. Thanks to @jmagNYC and @BlondieNY for letting me know!

Sammy the Snake

I am having way too much fun following @BronxZoosCobra on Twitter: "Leaving Wall Street. These guys make my skin crawl. #snakeonthetown"

And in related news, does anyone remember this?

On the Up & Up

So I was down for the count this week with the plague -- was out of the office for three days.  I don't remember the last time I was out sick that long.  I'm on the road to recovery now, although not 100% yet, but looking forward to my weekend, which includes: visits to Ward III and Weather Up Tribeca, a trip to the schvitz, my maiden voyage to Sripraphai, slow cooker pork & bean chili, mac & cheese, punch, the Super Bowl and, of course, the Puppy Bowl (how can you resist this lineup?).  It will also include the gym, which I haven't seen in over a week (thanks, plague!).  And, for your reading pleasure, my latest on Serious Eats New York: Meet & Eat: Caroline Dorn & Loryn Lopes, Butter Queen of Brooklyn.

Previously on LOST

Have I mentioned lately how much I love LOST?  Not just love, but borderline-somewhat-crazy-love.  Like there are several episodes I have watched more than twice love.  Like I record the old episodes when they're on Saturday nights so I can watch them yet again love.  Like I watch old episodes on my iPod on the bike at the gym love. Like I blocked the season premiere date on my calendar months ahead of time love.  Like I've already watched the season premiere twice love.  Fine -- beyond borderline -- full-on crazy.  I don't think I've ever been like this with another TV show.  I blame Sco, who brought the pilot and first few episodes on DVD to OJ one year.  Damn you/thank you!

Loved this recap, btw.  Beware the spoilers.

Glee

I watched the first episode of Glee and absolutely adored it.  It was like some sort of mash-up flashback to my years of MTM (Musical Theatre Machine), college and law school a cappella groups, stage band, musicals, the Law Revue show, and ACMAP (a.k.a. band camp) all rolled into one, except with a much healthier dose of angst than anything I ever experienced in reality.  Or at least if there was angst, or if we were being called losers behind our backs in high school, I was too blissfully oblivious to notice.   I spent so much time in my high school auditorium that when they remodeled it, I took a piece of the stage home (I wasn't the only one, for the record).  It still sitting in a closet up in Maine to this day (I hope).  I look back at all of those experiences with sheer, well, glee, and find that singing and theatre is the one thing that I don't have time for anymore that I truly, truly miss with all of my heart.  Yes, I'm a dork, but proud of it as all hell.

Raising the Bar

Inspired by my recent cocktail class, I set out this weekend on a shopping excursion to pick up some components to improve my home bar.  Nothing major, just a few essentials -- bitters, a bar spoon, some more glasses, and a key bottle or two.  Everything got a good workout in honor of the Mad Men premier last night, where @cocktailspirit and @halw shook up some classic cocktails for the rest of us to enjoy.  One such treat was the Park Avenue Cocktail (courtesy of John the Bastard):

The Park Avenue Cocktail

2		oz gin
¾		oz pineapple juice
¾		oz sweet vermouth
⅓		oz Grand Marnier (or orange curaçao)

Shake and strain.

The one more piece of equipment I need to improve my home bar (and the rest of the home) is an air conditioner that cools more than my bedroom.

Things to Look Forward to in the Not-too-Distant Future

- The weekend.

- A lobster roll at the Brooklyn Flea.

- Unloading a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army to make space in my apartment.

- Having my swim in the Hudson over and done with.

- Rum Tweetup.

- A week at the beach with good friends and good food.

- Mad Men season premiere, complete w/festivities.

- Bo Ssam.

Random Thoughts for Today

- I hope this weekend's weather report is wrong -- I really need a good beach weekend.  If not, I suppose I'll get a relaxing getaway weekend nonetheless.
- I like packing for trips, but am always afraid I'll forget something important.
- I'm enjoying Top Chef Masters, although the judges are much nicer to the contestants than on regular Top Chef.
- I still love doing interviews but hate transcribing them.
- I'm very bad at estimating how much pasta to cook, but that always means good leftovers.
- I already need a nap.
- I still wish I could work from bed, especially on a crappy raining day like today.  Easier for naps.