My Meal Not At Home

Eating at home is usually the best option but every now and then, it's nice to go out --- no doubt about it. Most meals in restaurants are mediocre and unless you have deep pockets you're better off preparing your own dinner. That's the case in New York, anyway. When I lived in France it was different. You could almost always find a good restaurant for a reasonable amount of money. Is that true or was it just because I was young and in Paris? I don't know if it's still the case but "back in the day," the simplest meal there was memorable. Eating out comes to mind because last week I had dinner in a nice restaurant. Four of us went to 11 Madison in downtown Manhattan for an extravaganza. It's a big space with tall ceilings, huge windows and well-spaced tables. This makes a dramatic setting for flowers and on this evening, there were lots of red roses suspended on wire stanchions with big bouquets of Sweet William. My friends weren't too impressed with the floral details and found it somber. I kind of liked the austerity of it all but what do I know? Anyway, the food was good....for the most part. There were a couple of clunkers but, all in all, it was high-scale dining that didn't disappoint. Was it as good as a three-star Michelin restaurant? Mais, non. Did it cost as much as a three-star Michelin restaurant? Mais, oui. Could we have been more reserved in the wines we drank? Certainment... But boy, a good white Burgundy and a fine Riesling are sometimes worth the splurge. My most memorable dish? Foie gras with a head-cheese stuffing and pickled vegetables. They asked if I wanted to have a glass of late-harvest Riesling with it and luckily I said yes. It was excellent...Pardon my slight description of the evening but I'm signing off because I'm tired---I have some work these days and while this is a good thing, it tends to sap my energy. So Eat at Home except when someone says: "Let's make a reservation at 11 Madison." It's worth a detour.

Olé!

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The sun is out after a couple of dreary days and the blue sky is a welcome sight. I haven't posted in a few days because I'm happy to say I've actually had some work. That aside, my energy level has been low. The elections on Tuesday didn't help my rainy-day mood. Poor Mr. Spector....Think what you will about the guy but he has been a good public servant for thirty years. To see him loose a primary, especially at his age, is heartbreaking. And to think that a Tea Party candidate won in Kentucky! That just adds insult to injury. Guess we'll survive but you have to wonder what happened to all the forces of good that were with us right after Mr. Obama was elected. Where did we go wrong? The rapid right is so good at framing issues to their advantage. It's easy for them to get a message across in a quick sound-bite whereas more nuanced positions are not so easily or quickly defined. At the White House, they're celebrating the visit of the president of Mexico. Maybe Senor Calderón's stay takes the sting out of some Tuesday's results for the beleaguered administration. Diversion is a good thing and what better way is there to take our minds off losses than to eat? Sounds like the state dinner was a success and Rick Bayless from Chicago's Topolobampo pulled off a meal that I'm sure was memorable. So while I watched the ho-hum American Idol finalists on TV, Mr. Bayless and Beyoncé made history. I get the feeling that Rick likes the spotlight. I'm sure he's a good restaurateur and his Chicago connection makes him the right cook for this event but maybe they should have hired some illegal immigrants from Arizona to cater the affair. Or the mother of the little girl who,in the presence of Mexico's first lady, told Michele that her mother was here without papers. Instead of Beyoncé, they could have asked Sheriff Arpiao to come up from Arizona to put on a skit. He could have conducted a fake raid and carted off all those undesirables to a Washington jail where they'd have to listen to courses in American history from Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. Maybe his warm-up act could have been last night's American Idol loser, Goldilocks Casey James, who would have put them all to sleep.... Oh---it's a funny old world. Time for lunch now so I'll go ponder it all....Thanks for giving the chance to vent!!!

Susannah and Pad Thai

I grew up in Georgia with my friend, Susannah, who now lives in Chelsea. It's always a treat when I meet her for lunch. She's a talented artist whose wit, intelligence and insight I greatly appreciate. Because we come from the same background, I often feel like she understands some of the complexities of living in New York more readily than others in my circle of friends. She took me to a Thai restaurant in her neighborhood today where I had Pad Thai, a dish that seems to be on menus everywhere these days. When it's good, it's very satisfying. Lightly seasoned flat noodles are tossed with fresh bean sprouts, egg, scallions and chopped peanuts for a perfect lunch dish. It almost always comes with a wedge of lime that adds a squirt of fresh flavor and there's often a choice of beef, chicken, pork or shrimp. I sometimes choose tofu for my protein as it's lighter and easier to digest. (And also because I think I'm going to turn into a chicken if I eat more than I already do!). The one I had today wasn't so good and I can't put my finger on it. It was heavy, not very well seasoned, a little oily and generally uninteresting. It reminded me of a piece by Mark Bitman in last week's NY Times. He says there's no reason why we can't make it at home and goes on to give a good recipe that's worth a look. Odds are a homemade version is better than you'd find in many NY restaurants so have a good go at Mr. Bitman's and remember that it's always better to Eat At Home....

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• The Minimalist: Pad Thai, an Easy Stir-Fry (nytimes.com)

Is she what she eats?

I think we should start the confirmation process of Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court by asking her what she eats. That's, to me, a sign of one's character. I'd like to know what she has for breakfast. A bagel? A croissant? A boiled egg or a simple bowl of cereal? I see that she studied at Oxford. Does she appreciate the virtues of "bangers and mash?" Does she have a feel for how great English dairy products are? I know she's a terribly busy woman but I'd like to know what she has for lunch, or rather, how does she navigate the pressures of a full schedule with the very human need to eat? Such daily habits are revealing, n'est-ce pas? She's short so she must watch her weight but is she someone who's constantly on a diet or does she let nature take it's course? What sort of wine does she drink? Is she a vegetarian? Does she have a sweet tooth? If I were having her for dinner, I'd like to know what foods to avoid. Is she allergic to shellfish? I read an article in today's NY Times about a woman who is deathly allergic to paprika and because of this affliction, the poor soul has spent $10,000 on a help-dog who is trained to detect the deadly substance. (She's suing her employer because she was let go when a fellow worker is allergic to the dog!) These sorts of allergies say something about one's demeanor so if Ms. Kagan has a severe allergy, I want to know before I vote to seat her ( as if I have a vote!!).... In any case, Ms. Kagan seems like a decent sort and I hope she's confirmed. But I think her eating habits should be delved into as part of the vetting process.....She's there for life so, who knows---she might be asked to vote on a foie gras ban, decide on doing away with veal or asked to adjudicate on the issue of oysters from the tainted waters of the Gulf Coast or to declare that some overfished species are verboten..For those of us who Eat At Home, these are important issues of the day!!

Mother's Day

I often wish I could talk to my mother for just five minutes. She's been gone for a few years now and for ten years before she died you couldn't really have a conversation with her. Dementia had taken it's hold by the time she was in her late 70's and she, of course, was never the same after the onset of this insidious malady. It's been a long time since I've been able to pick up the phone and ask her how she's doing. I think of her on mother's day and send her good fortune wherever she might be. Eligal was her nickname and that's what we all called her---except when she made us mad and then she was "Mama." She wasn't much of a cook, preferring the golf course, doing water colors or hiding out in the attic where she went to play the guitar. There was an article in yesterday's NY Times featuring paintings by several artists who depicted childhood memories of dishes prepared by their mothers. I laughed when I thought of how I'd paint a small plate of canned pears with some grated cheese on top or, if we were lucky, a sandwich of cream cheese and dates. Luckily, we had a wonderful maid who took up the slack. If it hadn't been for Elizabeth, I think we'd have starved....Not all women are meant to be good cooks and she had other memorable traits. Anyway, I had lunch with a friend at a local restaurant yesterday and watched several families celebrating motherhood. I pined for Eligal who used to make me laugh, who could infuriate me like nobody else could, who soothed my wounds at times and who was always interested in what I was up to no matter what she really thought about it all. I also saw a wonderful movie called "Mother and Child" with Annette Benning, written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia who did a couple of other films I liked, "Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her" and "Nine Lives." This film is sort of melancholy but very touching. I think that if I had my longed-for five minutes talk with my mother, I would have told her how much I enjoyed the movie. I doubt she'd ever have seen it but she would have feigned interest --- maybe that's what I miss.

This free-lance life

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Just when I thought everything was going to be okay, an e-mail arrives announcing that the project I'd hoped to be working on has fallen through. Ugh! I get tired of these set-backs but there isn't much I can do. It's part and parcel of this free-lance life and that's just the way it is. In the meantime, I did have a rush job over the weekend and it involved roast beef. Hadn't roasted a big piece of meat in a while and I must say, it's sort of rewarding. The sight, smell and taste is so primal. And there is nothing easier or more economical. Just rub the joint with a little oil, season with salt and pepper then pop it in the oven.....I seared the sirloin tip first but I'm not sure it was necessary. If I'd started it in a really hot oven then turned the heat down (from something like 500°F. reduced to 350°F.), the results would probably been the same. The editor wanted me to roast carrots and potatoes along side the beef. This provided an easy and simple side dish but it didn't allow for making a delicious sauce from the pan drippings. Also, the editor didn't want to use a tenderloin because it was deemed too expensive and if it's one thing I've learned about roasts over the years, you're almost always better off with a splurge if you want a really fine piece of roast beef. It's almost always best to either cook an inexpensive piece of beef very slowly for a long time or to cook an expensive cut rather quickly and efficiently. She wanted me to use either eye-of-round or sirloin tip and having picked the latter, I wasn't unhappy with the results but I know in my heart-of-hearts that a tenderloin would have been a much better choice. Anyway, it was good and it's nice to have leftovers. The next day I used a big chunk of the roast to make four individual portions of shepherd's pie which are tucked away in the freezer for future consumption. (I added some boned short rib beef that I had hanging around from another set of recipe testing I'd done earlier in the week --- waste not, want not!!). I kept a little piece of the leftover roast for sandwiches, too. So that's my adventure with roast beef. Of course it's not the greatest idea to have the stove on for three hours when it's hot and humid outside but come next fall, I'll do it again. Maybe by then my free-lance life will have picked up and I'll be able to enjoy that primal feeling of carnivorous well-being again. There is something reassuring about meat and while I often say I could live on fish alone, beef does appeal to an innate part of my soul. Try roasting a joint before the real heat of summer sets in and let me know how it goes...Happy cooking!!