Keeping It Cool

“Cooking for the SoHo set requires no cooking at all. Forget the girls who only sip champagne and nibble on tofu–they’re not for me. Frankly, I don’t trust you if you don’t eat cheese.”


To read more of my monthly Food & Wine column, click here.

(And for all of my archived PNJ Food & Wine and ABC News columns, click on Glam Girl Cookin’ and Foodie Musings.)

A Cup of Paula, A Pinch of Carrie

I’ve moved away from velvet ropes and stepped closer to the stove. I don’t focus on loft parties as much, instead I think about lamb chops. Miu Miu comes after Wusthof.

My site has shifted, slowly but surely, away from tales of first dates (largely horrific), fresh-out-of-college jobs (mostly demoralizing) and industry parties (all pretension, no fun) to cooking and warmth and love. I’m finally feeling comfortable in my own skin, in Manhattan—amazing. And it’s only taken me 5 years to get here…

Now, I have real friends, a tiny kitchen and a glamorous city that suits me. If there were a recipe for my current life, it would call for a cup of Paula (Deen) and a pinch of Carrie (Bradshaw). And I think my new site reflects that…

on Food & Wine [Pensacola News Journal]

The New Power Lunch

The Big Apple can be brutal for a working belle with an appetite.

There’s no time for a hot meal and the hotdog cart on Broadway and Canal is notcalling my name. What to do?

Five years in New York City and I’ve finally learned the art of portable lunches packed with protein. Think golden roasted chicken tucked into a sliced baguette, a sliver of basil & mint frittata… Don’t think you can do it ? Check out “The New Power Lunch!”

Difficult Easy Joy

I want to be the 2 year-old at the birthday party (like my niece, pictured left). That time when not enough chocolate icing warrants a tantrum and joy comes easy. Life is a simplified, play date version of itself.

Now? Work. Work. Work. The personal, the professional, the mundane require near superhuman efforts just to receive a passing grade. I remember how I longed for a difficult, city, adult life for so long. Well, I got it. In spades. Now, I want to go back and I can’t—none of us can. Mom sold my Archie Comics and Dad sold my childhood home by the bay. Press forward…

This morning, just as I start to feel unjustifiably melancholy about my too adult life, I read the best little New York Times “Modern Love” piece that’s ever rolled off the presses. ( “A Signal in the Sky Said: Marry Her” )

Ben Karlin, the author, love seeker and serial monogamist, talks about work in the context of love but his musings apply to everything in my life and yours.

“Moments of pure beauty, I realized, are not handed out like a free newspaper as you dash into the subway. You have to make them. Work for them. Sometimes, it’s a huge pain and you don’t know how or when they are going to happen. But it is flat-out wrong to expect them.”

Maybe I’m not crazy—or a complete Type A New Yorker—for working so hard for everything in my life, I think. Karlin continues.

“…life…had to be cultivated, curated, fussed over. Then came the bliss, in arrhythmic spasms.”
Ben Karlin, if you weren’t married to your gorgeous Italian, Paola, I might make you mine. Until then, keep writing and giving me hope.

No Perfume in PER SE Kitchen

I had to shelve the Kiehl’s musk and forego the scented lotion. A manicure was beside the point and clogs were much preferred to my usual high heels. You see, there are many unspoken rules when cooking with—or gawking at— top chefs. And I was about to spend the afternoon with one of the world’s best.

Chef Jonathan Benno, the rising young star and daily culinary force behind Per Se restaurant (Thomas Keller’s 3 Michelin-starred wonder), manned the burners of the Beard House and showed me how to make a smoky, creamy, soul-satisfying chowder. If you don’t have a honey, occupy yourself with this on Valentine’s Day. I promise it’ll keep you warm.

The other recipe? A fabulous, five-hour pasta affair. Make it just for your Mamma because she’s the only one who deserves it. (Recipes and video in below link)
ABC NEWS: The [Per Se] Chowder Dreams Are Made Of…
(Above pic: Last year, on my way to my first dinner at Per Se. I look a little scared, don’t I?? And I had nothing to fear–Chef Benno is a stoic sweetie!)

Amazonian “Devil”

Daddy always told me I’d grow up to be a statuesque woman (parent speak: “Mamma, looks like our girl’s gonna be tall, maybe a little chunky”)… But I never knew I’d be Amazonian!

Eight months before Belle in the Big Apple hits the shelves and I’m already on Amazon.com! Pre-order away! (HERE). I only wish y’all could see the cover image. Evan Gaffney, the artist who designed the cover of the crazy best-selling novel, The Devil Wears Prada, designed my cover also. Mine is a beauty!