Reading Material
-I finally finished reading Life, On the Line by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. When I finally got to the latter section of the book where they get into Grant's stage 4 tongue cancer diagnosis and breaking the news to his entire staff, I began tearing up and sniffling in the booth I was sharing with a random girl at Diesel Cafe. She probably thought I was nuts, but it just really got to me reading about such a devastating diagnosis...especially to a young, world-reknown chef, 33 at the time. It's like Mozart going deaf. Who thinks that kind of shit will happen to you? His story is amazing and I was extremely touched by the lengths Nick (his business partner/friend) went to help him find a doctor who was willing to try chemotherapy to target the cancerous area in his tongue and neck instead of splitting his jaw in 2 to remove his entire tongue (and surrounding tissue, just in case), rebuilding a "tongue" for him out of his arm muscles that would mean he would no longer be able to swallow, taste, or talk, as was recommended by 3 other doctors they went to first.
He survived the treatment, gradually recovered his sense of taste and hasn't skipped a beat in running Alinea with 2 other restaurant developments in the works. My cousin Jess was lamenting the closing of Ferran Adria's El Bulli, and we both decided we have to make a list of restaurants to eventually go to...Alinea is on the list. I haven't experienced food that modern before, although under the new chef in charge I believe the cuisine at L'Espalier is becoming more modern bit by bit, and I'm not sure if it's my favorite style of cooking, but...I have endless respect for the sheer creativity, intelligence, discipline, and dedication it takes to innovate and create food that challenges our conceptions of how ingredients should be used and presented. You wouldn't necessarily want to eat food like this all the time, but it's good to know there are chefs out there who are pushing boundaries. Which is the whole point. Cooking can't continue to evolve without chefs doing things like this, no matter how much you want to hate on foams and gels and encapsulated liquids and so on.
-Vogue, Elle, Saveur. I love magazines...and food and fashion.
-This wonderful blog. This article especially resonated with me:
I have a beautiful niece who I can't help but praise for her cuteness, adorable-ness, cleverness, and general awesomeness. None of which is bad per se, but reading this blog entry made me seriously re-think how I address this lovely little girl who I hope will be as strong, confident, and discerning as she is beautiful and talented as she grows older. What kind of message am I sending her if the first thing that comes out of my mouth when I address her is praise for her outfits, hair, and physical looks? Societal beauty pressure will always exist, but I can certainly do my best to not add to that pressure and expectation and treat her as an interesting individual with more going for her than just her outward looks. I fwded the link to my entire extended family...and I hope we all take the inherent message to heart. I've often reflected that I have only managed to turn out confident due to the fact that my entire family (parents and aunts and uncles) have never twitted me about my looks or weight...even when I was at my most awkward. I always felt valued no matter what and when my looks were commented on, all I ever heard was that I was growing prettier every year...whether it was true or not. I do think it's okay to give that kind of praise judiciously...but it's a good reminder that there are many ways to break the ice when talking to a young girl besides complimenting her clothes or hairstyle.
-Ratio by Michael Ruhlman. I skim through this periodically. I want to be freed from needing recipes all the time. Trying to get a better grasp of common, basic ratios for making vinaigrettes, aiolis, different batters, etc. The more I cook, the more I realize that nothing quite replaces good old fashioned repetition. I have to make blini batter fresh every day I go into work. The basic gist of it is 18-20 oz of cooked potato, 3 eggs, 2 yolks, 4 Tb creme fraiche, 2-4 Tb flour. There is probably a more exact science to this but sometimes I don't always weigh out the potato. I usually do just to make sure I know whether I'm a little over or under 18 oz, which then informs me that I may or may not need that last egg or egg yolk. Using the chef's freshly dug young yukon gold potatoes has also taught me that the batter turns out really grainy and shitty unless I throw in a russet, which is starchier and less waxy (I think that's the reason at least). Sometimes I need to add more flour, sometimes less. It depends on how moist the potatoes are. The first few times I made blini, the batter was often too runny and I would get reamed by the fish cook who has to cook them off for me on his steel plancha when I get in caviar orders. I now make them pretty much perfectly all the time. But it's a bit tricky sometimes. My partner's fucked it up a few times too. It just takes practice and knowing what to look for in the consistency of the batter...and using your judgment.
Clothes
Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, American Apparel, J. Crew. Wearing my hair in a low bun and looking polished on my days off : ) ...for a change! I bought my first A. Wang item. A very plain and boring looking heather gray tank top dress...on the hanger. On me, it comes to life, baby. Love simple clothing. Worth every penny.
Food
Sadly, I seem to only enjoy good food when I am cooking for others. I have a couple pictures I managed to take before my dying camera batteries gave out of the meals I made for Varun and me when he came to visit a couple weeks ago. Think lots of corn, tomatoes, ratatouille, watermelon. Also, blueberry buttermilk pancakes. I have to confess, the past 2 nights though I've been living off of Chinese take out. Mongolian beef...it hits the spot when you are starving at night at 2 am in the morning. And a tall frosty glass of Mountain Dew. $1 dollar taco tuesdays at La Verdad! I went yesterday for the first time. Awesome!
Drink
Italian reds. Beer. Of any brand. But favorite of the summer is Mayflower Golden Ale. I can't resist a nice, malty, crisp golden ale. Very strong coffee with lots of cream. Cafe Au Laits if I'm buying from a cafe.
