the scent of Garam Masala

11-30-2011 Wed. cold, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- pasta with ragu sauce
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- pear
DINNER --- sauteed baby spinach | oven-baked sweet potato fries | chicken curry with greens and Garam Masala | rice | wine

• homemade curry.
  

chop and simmer: ragu Bolognese

11-29-2011 Tue. mild, rain.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with Brussels sprouts and pork cutlet
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- pear
DINNER --- Provencal garlic soup ( garlic, herbs, toasted baguette and poached egg) | pasta with homemade ragu sauce ( onion, tomato paste, garlic, parsley, cilantro, carrot, celery, red pepper and minced beef ) | wine

garlic soup


ragu pasta

• a lot of chopping and mincing in making ragu sauce.
  

Sweet napa cabbage

11-28-2011 Mon. warm, cloudy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with silken tofu
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- pear
DINNER --- napa cabbage soup with wood-ear, scallion, pickled radish and dried shrimp | pan-fried Brussels sprouts with black pepper sauce | pan-fried pork chop | rice | wine

• rush schedule temporally moves from Tuesday to Monday, cooking dinner in 30 minutes. winter napa cabbage is sweet and flavorful
  

holiday is over

11-27-2011 Sun. warm, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | toast
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- scallion pancake | boiled Shang-dong dumplings
DINNER --- curried angel hair potato with scallions | sauteed napa cabbage, wood ear, and porcini | tofu porridge with whitefish roe | saffron rice | wine

early morning at the city square


home meal

• back to home cooking homy meal.
  

Luke's lobster roll

11-26-2011 Sat. warm, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | apple
LUNCH --- ( at Luke's Lobster ) Maine lobster roll
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea
EARLY-DINNER --- ( at Efendi Kebab west village) falafel with pita bread | boreks spinach turnover | kibbeh patty stuffed with beef and pine nut

• after a long walk in the central park, watching the city lives go by outside big wondow while enjoying the succulent sweet lobster roll at Luke's.
  

fusion cooking at Annisa

11-25-2011 Fri. mild, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | bread and blue cheese | apple and pear | clementine | Japanese persimmon
LATE-LUNCH --- (at Pizza Roma in Greenwich village ) porcini pizza
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- ( at Old Town Hot Pot west village) hotpot in sichuan Ma-la spicy style, napa cabbage, mushrooms, glass noodles, greens and tofu
DINNER --- ( at Annisa in Greenwich village) Eggplant with Two Turkish Chilis in Yogurt Water | Seared Foie Gras with Soup Dumplings and Jicama | Miso Marinated Sable with Crispy Silken Tofu in a Bonito Broth | Rabbit with Red Scallions and Japanese Curry | Cauliflower and Romanesco Gnoccho with Hazelnuts and Sheep’s Cheese | wine | vintage port | Pecan and Salted Butterscotch Beignets with Bourbon Milk Ice | espresso

the ceiling tree at Grand Central market

• creative, well executed cooking at Anita Lo's west village restaurant Annisa, still not quite at the level of excellence, some concepts of fusion ingredients did not work well. very good espresso.
• Pizza Roma has authentic roman style thin crusted rectangular pizza, only the quality is not consistent, the to go slices seem to be better than sit-down whole pie version.
  

a cosy turkey-less Thanksgiving

11-24-2011 Thu. mild, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | doughnut | clementine | Japanese persimmon | apple and pear | blue cheese and baguette
LUNCH --- ( at Sunrise Market midtown ) udon noodles
AFTERNOON-TEA-TIME --- ( at Pizza Roma in west Village ) Roman style porcini pizza
DINNER --- sauteed Roman artichokes | curry beef stew with potato | rice with lemon zest | sauteed golden pepper and zucchini | red wine

• a contrast to last year ( two dinners ), all turkeys pardoned from us. D.D.'s curry stew took just as long as the turkey roasting process to get to the perfect state, rich but not greasy.
  

an afternoon in Chelsea

11-23-2011 Wed. chilly, rainy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee | apple
LUNCH --- (at del Posto ) LOBSTER Fra Diavolo , Garlic Bread Panna Cotta & Seaweeds | Warm COTECHINO , Lentil Vinaigrette & Dried Fruit Mostarda | Handmade ORECCHIETTE , Lamb Neck Ragù, Orange Carrots,Rye Crumbs & Toasted Sage | SFERA di Caprino, Celery & Fig Agrodolce & Celery Sorbetto | Salice Salentino Riserva | espresso
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea
DINNER --- rice soup | pickled vegetables

CDG Boutique

a spaceship sculpture



Richard Serra at Gagosian

through Serra's steel sculpture

Richard Serra's drawing


the surface of the drawing

• del Posto always delivers excellent food and service, and the best bread around.
  
• lucky to catch the end of Richard Serra's show at Gagosian, kind of art work one has to see in real and walk through in real space.
  

on the road, with burrito to go

11-22-2011 Tue. chilly, rain.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with sauteed vegetables
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- ( from Chipotle ) beef burrito | apple

• a wet and slow ride to NYC, with burrito on board
  

in the mood for loving vegetables

11-21-2011 Mon. chilly, rain.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- pizza with asiago and vegetable topping
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea | apple
DINNER --- baked Japanese sweet potato fries | sauteed cauliflower with curry sauce | stir-fried bok choy, radicchio and smoked tofu | rice | wine

• a simple and delicious meal of rice and vegetables.
  

homemade pizza and streuselkuchen

11-20-2011 Sun. warm, cloudy.



WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | baguette | soft blue cheese | orange marmalade | apple | pear
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- simmered baby octopus salad with fennel and tomatillo | homemade asiago cheese pizza with toppings: (1) fennel + radicchio + heirloom tomato ; (2) fresh Chantilly mushrooms; (3) caramelized onion + heirloom tomato | homemade apple streuselkuchen (German apple crumb cake) | wine

octopus salad

precious vegetables for pizza topping


onion and tomato


radicchio, fennel and tomato


Chantilly mushroom


apple streuselkuchen

• a Sunday of hard working day, baking, gardening, cleaning, and etc. homemade pizza turned out terrific, both crust and topping. streuselkuchen is a practice for upcoming German dinner.
  

Italian for beginners: Porcini and Bronzini

11-19-2011 Sat. mild, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | baguette | orange and cranberry marmalade | apple | pear
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea | ciabatta bread and Italian blue cheese
DINNER --- ciabatta bread | porcini mushroom soup, with bok choy and okra | oven-baked whole bronzini fish, with green sauce of parsley, green onion, sage, ginger and garlic | sauteed cauliflowers, with spiced cream sauce | wine

porcini soup


cauliflower


baked Bronzini

Bronzini with green sauce and pimenton salt


informed by nature, ceramics by Judit Varga

• porcini soup with a flavor as strong as a good beef broth.
  
• whole bronzini fish seasoned by the paste-like green sauce, encased in tightly closed foil envelope, baked at 375 degree for 20 minutes. This is a simplified version of baked salt-crusted whole fish, the result is just as good, moist and flavorful.
• visited Judit Varga's studio and brought home two pieces of her highly organic ceramic sculpture.
  

a Japanese meal: Tsukune, Donburi

11-18-2011 Fri. chilly, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- empanadas | tea
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- Tsukune: Japanese chicken dumplings and napa cabbage in dashi broth | Donburi: Japanese rice bowl with grilled eel and vegetables | wine

• Japanese chicken dumplings are "naked" meatballs boiled in broth, very light and bouncy.
  

homemade empanadas

11-17-2011 Thu. cold, cloudy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with sauteed vegetables
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- English tea | pear
DINNER --- homemade empanadas with fillings of beef, onion, green pepper, carrots sauteed with tomato and mole adobo sauce | pan-fried egg | wine

• tried two ways to cook empanadas: pan-fried and oven -baked. baking took a bit longer time but the resulted shell tasted better.
  

lotus root, napa cabbage

11-16-2011 Wed. chilly, rain.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with stir-fried vegetables
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- English tea | pear
DINNER --- tomato and fennel soup | sauteed shrimp with pickled Chinese string beans | sauteed lotus root, napa cabbage and shiitake mushrooms | rice | wine

• a little bit of everything found in the fridge , ad hoc dinner
  

a thousand threads for stir-frying

11-15-2011 Tue. mild, cloudy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- steamed vegetable buns
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- English tea | pear
DINNER --- stir-fried threaded cabbage | stir-fried red pepper, chive flowers and smoked tofu | curry cauliflower | rice | wine

threaded vegetables and tofu

stir-fry

• key to a quick and successful stir-fry is to cut ingredients thin.
  

Mostly French

11-14-2011 Mon. mild, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- soup noodles with fried tofu, cucumber, pea leaves, maitake mushroom and egg
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- baked Japanese sweet potato fries | caramelized carrots with bacon and parsley | pea leaves sauteed in garlic broth | caramelized radicchio and fennel | duck confit with marmalade sauce of shallot, dried cheery, and Dijon mustard | saffron rice | red wine | French chocolate crepe

a bowl of soup noodles for lunch

fennel and radicchio



assembled duck confit plate



french chocolate crepe

• a change of scene from sea (yesterday) to land of southern France. duck confit gets improved in flavor by rubbing garlic herb paste into duck meat during the marinating process.
  

Sea scallops and Sardines

11-13-2011 Sun. mild, cloudy.



WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | homemade ciabatta | butter and jam| apple
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- fried lotus root chips | seared sea scallops with red curry shallot sauce and green yuzu citrus sauce | maitake mushroom and fried tofu soup | marinated and grilled fresh sardines | sauteed pea shoots | rice | Spanish cava

maple leaves from garden

homemade ciabatta


fried lotus chips


fried tofu soup


seared scallops, red and green sauce


pea leaves, rice


grilled fresh sardines

cava

• a seafood theme dinner with influence from Spanish and Japanese cuisine. fresh whole sardines were marinated, deboned and flattened, then grilled over open flame.
  

Italian homecooking, Apulian and Veneto

11-12-2011 Sat. mild, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | scallion pancakes | apple | pear
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- ( at Oreste's ) pickled lupini beans with olives, parsley and fresh green chilies | Pinot Grigio | ragatoni ai Porcini alla Pugliese ( Apulian pasta with Porcini and spicy tomato sauce) | Salice Salentino | Crespelle ai Cantarelli e Caprino (Italian crepes with chantarelles and goat cheese) | Crespelle al Radicchio e Camonzola (radicchio and camonzola a blend of gorgonzola and camembert) | Valpolicella Classico | Palacinka ( with fig jam and dark chocolate ) | Bourbon

observing beautiful sunset in the garden

• Oreste's Italian cuisine from south ( Apulian to Veneto ) , superb pasta dish and three different kinds of Italian crepes.