I didn't write this, but I truly wish I had. Props to you, Jean Grae.

Get a loaf of great bread. From a bakery. Or a supermarket. Whatever you want. I don’t know what you want. Something with olives in it? Rosemary? Sundried tomatoes? None of the above? Baguette? Focaccia?

It’s up to you.

Now, get things that will go with this bread.

A great olive oil.
A wonderful pesto.
A tapenade (I’m thinking about this anchovy and black tapenade that I had recently. OMG YES SO GOOD.)
Olives. A gang of mixed olives.
Sea salt chocolate.
An Asian pear.
Grilled asparagus.
Meats. Prosciutto...whatever, man.

CHEESE. CHEESE AND MORE CHEESE.
Get you some GOOD damn cheese.
You could even make some Burrata. Dear lord, you should make some Burrata. It’s an Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. Yes. Exactly.

Anyways, it’s not that hard to learn how to make. I’ve done it. It’s delicious and amazing and now you will know how to make cheese and THAT, is sexy. Make some Burrata and level up in life. People get excited when you tell them you make cheese. THEN THEY WILL MARRY YOU. OH!

Put everything on a big chopping board or a wooden whatever. Sit there. Eat it.

My photos from January's Oaxaca trip are up! Finally.

photo courtesy of cocktailia.com

It's Friday -- time for a drink. @daisy17 and I are already plotting and planning this evening's post-work drink destination. Despite the slightly warmer temperature, I'm still in the mood for brown & stirred drinks. This Manhattan-y variation from Pegu Club might do the trick tonight:

Little Italy
2 oz. rye (Pegu uses Rittenhouse 100)
1/2 oz. Cynar
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (Pegu uses Martini & Rossi)
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with 2 Luxardo cherries, skewered.

My friend Beth wrote a great piece in the New York Times about the joy of car radio surfing. We were commenting back and forth on Facebook about it and she mentioned that in an earlier draft she had mentioned a day she heard me singing "Stand By" on WLIR one morning before school. I had totally forgotten about that (and still not sure I remember why they let me sing on the air . . .)

and generally a good philosophy, V-Day or not. Spread love, y'all.

To put it mildly, I am not a morning person. Minor annoyances -- like when the top of my leakproof coffee mug decides that it doesn't want to seal shut properly, thereby rendering it UN-leakproof -- send me into a rage. (On the flip side, when it started working again, it made my day.)

This one keeps popping up . . .

It's amazing how quickly one's thoughts about winter in NYC can shift from "the snow makes everything look so lovely and serene -- it's a winter wonderland!" to "how am I expected to get around with these massive piles of filthy snow and ankle-deep puddles of nasty slush, especially when the damn trains aren't functioning properly!?!?" Deep breaths.

until I get my act together and post my pictures from Oaxaca . . .