September 2007 Archives

Hey music lovers, anybody going to Farm Aid at Randall's Island on Sunday? I'll be flipping wild rice cakes at the Slow Food booth. That is, unless I'm firing up a locally grown doob with the W-Nel, devouring organic backstage catering and watching Neil Young keep on rockin in the free world. If you're there, stop by and say hello.

In memory of the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, YAWYE comes from a relocated New Yorker in the Big Easy this week.

Name: Elizabeth Oldman

Occupation: Visiting Assistant Professor, Early Modern Literature, Tulane University

Borough: Uptown New Orleans. Moved down here August before last (Originally from UES Manhattan, for like a year, and the West Village for a decade before that. Soho before that)

Relationship status: Single

What did you eat today?

Coffee (black). Tropicana orange juice, lots of pulp. A nectarine. An Oyster po’boy, fully dressed (lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles, Louisiana Crystal hot sauce). A handful of tamari-baked pumpkin seeds. Spaghetti with tomato sauce (Classico, Tomato and basil). Freshly-shaved parmesan. Baby spinach with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. ½ bottle of Sauvignon blanc. Later I’ll have peppermint tea (a nightly ritual), and oatmeal raisin cookies.

What do you never eat?

Muffins. Swordfish. Chicken combined with cheese. Dill. Seaweed salad. Black licorice.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Koop’s spicy brown mustard, Heinz ketchup, Hellmann’s mayo, Perrier Lemon-flavored (b/c there’s no seltzer at my local market, Zara’s), Lurpak Danish butter, Heinekin, Coca-cola Zero.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

My sweet blender (Kitchen Classics by Waring, copper base).

Where do you eat out most frequently? In NOLA: Parasol’s for roast beef po-boys, Rice and beans at Felix’s, Acme for oysters, Slim Goodies for toast, hash browns, and bacon (I’m not a big egg fan), Galatoire’s when my mom and bro are in town. In NYC: Thomas Beisl (across from BAM), Hasaki for sushi, BLTs at Joe Jr’s (extra pickles).

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

A high-end Burgundy, steamed artichokes w/lemon and beurre, steak frites, béarnaise sauce, crème brulee, strawberries. [Bon Appetit! --Ed.]

On a separate but related note, my friend Mark Schwartz has created a public service announcement to raise awareness of what's happening (and not happening) with the reconstruction of New Orleans. To learn more, visit happybirthdaykatrina.com. You can also read about my trip to New Orleans on the 1st anniversary of Katrina here.

I bought some Ricera rice yogurt to try the other night. I don't know about the other flavors, but the peach one tasted like peach cough syrup. Peach cough syrup flavored khaki goop. I think it's those "natural flavors". Why does peach flavoring taste nothing like peaches? I should just stick to real peaches while I can. I also got vanilla -- I'll let you know how it goes. If you must try it, it's $1.29 per cup at Whole Foods.

My favorite part of our annual Hudson weekend was getting to drop cash on a case of vino at Hudson Wine Merchants. We had to add a few $11 bottles of the delicious, medium-bodied Kaiken cabernet from Argentina after our wine seller described it as having a refreshing "hint of mint". We also loved the big cherry flavor of the 2003 Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which, while apparently not as chocolaty as its preceding vintages, still had nice inky body. I tossed a jiggerful in with some sliced local Italian sugar plums for an impromptu midnight tart that we munched on after watching Singin' In the Rain. (See it again if it's been a while — Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds are total dreamboats.)

Midnight Plum Tart

It's midnight. Don't mess with the measuring spoons and cups. Use your eyeballs to measure and your tongue to taste.

Lots (2 lbs.?) of plums, any kind as long as they're local
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar, depending on how sweet your plums are
Gentle sprinkle of cornstarch
A big splash of red wine leftover from dinner
1 generous splash of vanilla
2 dashes of cinnamon
1 pinch of cloves
1 ready-made pie crust (yeah, yeah, I know how to make pie crust, but sometimes you want pie, not process)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Slice up the plums, skin on. Toss with the rest of the ingredients (except for the crust). Unroll the crust onto a baking sheet, a pizza pan, or whatever ovenproof dish is handy. Arrange your plum slices, skin side down, in a pretty or a haphazard way, depending on how much of that red wine you have already had to drink. Roll the edges of the pie crust towards the middle, making a little lip to catch any of the juices. Pour the remaining juice from the plum bowl on top of the plums. Bake for 10-15 minutes til the pie crust is golden brown. Serves 8-12, more or less. Would be great with vanilla ice cream if you've got any hiding in the freezer.

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By the way, I tweaked this recipe yet again. We ran out of berries this morning, so I used 1/2 cup of hot water-soaked golden raisins, zest of a lemon, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp. ground cardamom, and 1/2 inch piece of microplaned ginger instead. Topped with a little crunchy granola. Still awesome.