A haiku to sum up my trip:
Polyamory
The Helmand's good Afghani
Charm City well-named.
I've got a project coming up that is going to be absorbing all my time, so coverage is going to slow down here for a few weeks. Maybe I can find someone to guest blog. Gotta go, KIT, TTYL, xoxo.
Name: Chris Hampton
Occupation: nonprofit pr flack, freelance copy editor, blogger, knitter, curator and emcee of the WYSIWYG Talent Show, and partially-reformed Southerner.
Borough: Brooklyn
What did you eat today?
Breakfast: Coffee, an egg sandwich, and more coffee
Lunch: Leftover chicken makhani from the Indian joint near my office, Diet Pepsi.
Dinner: as soon as I send this off to you I'm going to be slapping together some grilled shrimp and a big salad with lots of cilantro, avocado lemon juice, and olive oil. And another Diet Pepsi. Caffeine, baby.
What do you never eat?
Raw onions, liver, Republicans.
Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
Cilantro, Diet Pepsi, lemons, tamari, at least one container of dangerously-expired yogurt, and milk for my coffee. And there's always a big bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer for popping into salads.
What is your favorite kitchen item?
That would be a toss-up between my mom's old crockpot and my George Forman grill thingy. I use that stupid thing at least three times a week.
Where do you eat out most frequently?
I don't eat out nearly as much as I'd like due to the whole broke-ass nonprofit worker thing, but I adore El Gran Castillo de Jagua. It's this Dominican carnivore's paradise on Flatbush where the pork chops are bigger than your head, you can get any kind of plantain dish imaginable, the rice and beans are plentiful, and you can stuff yourself silly for less than ten bucks.
World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
I'd raise my mama from the dead so I could have her fried chicken with biscuits and gravy one last time, and top it off with some form – ANY form – of dark chocolate.
Put on your roomiest trench coat, cuz it's getting hot and heavy over at Uffish.
I'll be in Baltimore this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27 and 28 with the Charming Hos to do a gig for the Charm City Kitty Club's House of Flying Bulldaggers show. Get it? Kitty Club? Bulldaggers? Yes Mae, that means LESBIANS, lots and lots of lesbians. So if you're in Baltimore this weekend, come to the show. You need not be a lesbian -- I don't care what your sexual preference is as long as you love ME.
And if you live in NYC, we're doing a gig at Tonic on Sunday night too. Come and see me, but remember, ONLY IF YOU LOVE ME. MEOW!
Friday, Jan. 27
Saturday, Jan. 28
The Creative Alliance at the Patterson
3134 Eastern Ave.
Baltimore, MD
8 pm
$10
Sunday, Jan. 29
Tonic
107 Norfolk between Rivington and Delancey
NYC
10 pm
$10
So, you know the drill, pics and picks when I'm back in NYC.
Last night we hosted a Texas Hold Em No Limit Poker Tournament for 44 participants. I know, I know, INSANE. It was all good clean fun, lots of trash talk, five velvet upholstered tables, overheated yelling, beers in the bathtub, delivery pizza, and ultimately, three winners -- the elated "Freakus" in third, the astonished "Heater" (subbing for "Ibiza" in the final rounds) in second, and our very own "Slapper" in first. I, "Bench", got taken out at the same time as "Pom-Pom" by "Gay.com" at our very first table, sadly. And I can't even blame my feebly nursed Bangkok Assassin -- the house special cocktail made with ginger-lemongrass simple syrup, vodka, and lime. It's sweet, a little exotic, and totally lethal.
Bangkok Assassin
Boil smashed ginger and lemongrass in some water for five minutes, strain the bits out, add an equal amount of sugar and heat til the sugar dissolves. Cool completely. Fill your shaker with ice, 2 oz. vodka, a healthy squirt of syrup and the juice of a lime, shake and pour into a chilled glass. Garnish with lime. (In my imagination, it's garnished with tiny ginger cubes which have been candied in the simple syrup and dropped into the bottom of the cocktail glass.)
Last night there was a lot less lime and a lot more syrup; still, you might want to mix and pour over ice, and top it off with some soda -- "Tip Me" had to cut off our friend "The Groom," who got taken out early by a few strong Bangkok Assassins and never made it past the first table. Instead, he fell face-first into the pile of coats on the bed and passed out for the rest of the evening. That's what you get when you come to my house. Next year -- more beer, weaker cocktails, and hopefully an afternoon start.
Fresh, wild sweet shrimp from Maine are back in season. They're sweet, of course, with no pesky vein to pull out. But be warned -- the flesh is so tender that removing the dainty shell requires a light touch. Many of the pretty peach shrimp are curled around little clumps of roe, though I was a little too squeamish to deal with it. Check out this Barbuto recipe from New York mag. Whole Foods has them, headless, for $5.99/lb.
My turkey burger with avocado ($8) was pretty tasty, the fries were crisp and hot, my ginger cosmo (ginger vodka, grand marnier, lime, and white cranberry juice) nice and strong, and the singing proprietor Joe was amiable and adorable. But what was up with icy Kay Sera, our cross-dressing karaoke mistress? She put the drag in drag queen. Blaise was singled out by Kay and asked to pipe down, though many other people in the room were being plenty rowdy. If I wanted to radiate good vibes and politely clap at some self-indulgent adult recital, I'd go see cabaret at the Rainbow Room. But it's KARAOKE. With a DRAG QUEEN. And STRONG LIQUOR. That's some no sex in the champagne room bullshit. We suspect Kay was envious of Blaise's fab Gwynnie style blond wig. In this interview, Kay Sera/Richard Eagan says:
People often say it's like no other karaoke they've been to, its like going to somebody's home.
Yeah, maybe a home where your friend's mom freaks out if you don't double up coasters on the glass table and your friend's dad has to practice his jazz guitar by plugging headphones into his amp and FUN IS ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NOT ALLOWED.
The near-hostile staff obviously didn't want us to be there. Guess what guys, I've got great news for you -- I'M NOT COMING BACK. On top of all this, some completely fucked up driver full-on smashed into a parked car in front of the restaurant and drove off.
O is for OVERDRAMA.
Hope & Anchor
347 Van Brunt St. at Wolcott St.
718-237-0276
You wanna go, you get the directions yourself.
Name: Catherine Pappas
Occupation: Television Producer/ Stand-up Comedienne
Borough: Manhattan (Hell’s Kitchen)
What did you eat today?
Breakfast:
Egg White Omelet with Ham and Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Ice Tea
Water
Snack:
Earl Grey with milk and sugar
Lunch:
Honey Mustard Chicken with Monterey Jack Cheese, Bacon, and Mushrooms
Garlic Rice Pilaf
Broccoli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
(made it all myself, thank-you!)
Water
Dinner:
Spinach Salad with Bleu Cheese, Bacon, Red Onions and Walnuts
Glass of Goats Do Roam Red Wine
Water
What do you never eat?
Chinese Food and Yams [Whatchoo got against my people? --Ed.]
Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
Cheese. Any kind of cheese. Domestic, Imported, Processed, Organic, even Soy when I start to feel guilty…
What is your favorite kitchen item?
Dare I say cheese slicer? OK, How about my corkscrew? Does that count?
Where do you eat out most frequently?
I crave the Cubano from Say Cheese and the Mac and Jack from Eatery. West Side Sushi always hits the spot.
World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
My Mom’s Fondue with some fresh French bread
Baked Asparagus with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and Parmesan cheese
Chocolate covered cherries and strawberries with champagne (because I’m worth it)
The news according to Ganda:
A special MLK weekend treat for you -- the New York Times' oft-e-mailed Crusty Macaroni and Cheese recipe tested and reviewed by special EDOW correspondent and recurring guest star, Doug!
Though you know how much I love Land O'Lakes White American Cheese, the snob in me had trouble dumping a pound of it into my dish. So, I went with:
18 oz. extra-sharp cheddar
11 oz. Land O'Lakes White American Cheese
10 oz. Gruyere
7 oz. Gouda
(to 2 pounds of pasta)
I requested a mild Gouda, but the new Murray's lady--who clearly knew nothing about cheese (*gasp*)--gave me cave-aged Gouda instead.
The final dish was, as Chris said, "asskickingly delicious." But it's not mac & cheese--it's pasta with melted cheese, and I've come to appreciate the huge difference between the two.
First off, it's hard for me to praise its yumminess as a quality of the dish itself. There's so little preparation here that all the credit lies with the cheeses--ultimately, nothing gets exalted in the making. This, however, is the one thing that makes the dish considerable: it's incredibly easy to throw together.
The super-crunchy crust has that addictive textural quality--you keep eating because it's fun regardless of taste or hunger--though in the end it's just burnt macaroni with a hint of cheese. (I'm sure after hours of cooling the sophisticated gourmand gives way to the zoned muncher and I'm picking at the crust like it's toenail casserole--not an attractive quality in a dish, but of course that's just me.)
In the end, though, it comes down to béchamel: the lack of sauce creates a very uneven cheese-pasta ratio per bite. And the cheese doesn't coat the pasta so much as bind to it. Again, this makes for a yummy texture, but it's not worth the sacrifice: there's nothing in the world like a thick, velvety, slightly nutty cheddar cheese sauce. Surprisingly, this dish isn't for mac & cheese lovers--it's for lazy cooks, or lazy days at least.
(2 caveats: Though the recipe doesn't call for it, I wonder if a toss or two during the baking wouldn't reduce the unevenness; also, as you can see from the pic, we didn't use macaroni.)
--D
Did anyone try the creamy recipe? Reports, please. --G
UPDATE: Slate weighs in. Cliffs Notes: Mac and cheese needs roux. Incidentally, I made Charlie Palmer's Family Cooking recipe yesterday and I think it needs more cheese. Like, a lot more cheese.
