Sunday was my first opportunity to do a little entertaining in my new condo. It was a co-workers birthday and I invited her over for a little lunch before heading to a fundraiser for the Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society - but that's another story.
Mary Ann is the Director of Human Resources and was welcoming before I even got the job! She's a real sweetie and invited me on a few forays while I was living in the hotel. She lost her Dad suddenly in December and has been struggling since. Her mother passed away a few years ago and her Dad had moved in with her and her then husband. Two years ago the lout left her and she and her Dad had developed an easy routine. When he passed suddenly, I think that was the straw for Mary Ann. It's been tough, and this is her first birthday without real family. Needless to say, folks at work tried to make it as special as we could. Lunch at Caterina de Medici - her favorite on campus restaurant and a fabulous cannoli cake while singing raucous versions of Happy Birthday.
So invited her to join me at the fundraiser and stop by for a snack first. So here's the Martha Stewart part.... I haven't really been doing too much cooking as there's so much good food available at work. I decided to fuss a little.
I started by making Lavender Lemonade (thanks, Ellen, for the beautiful lavender from "up north" - put it to good use! The house smelled wonderful of course, as it simmered in a simple syrup. I found Sicilian lemon juice at the grocery store, so that added a lovely fresh lemon taste without squeezing a half dozen lemons. Next I found some baby artichokes and prepared them to use in a salad. Funny how little they end up once you take the outer leaves off and steam them. Seems like an awful lot of waste, but they sure were tasty.
I made an olive and anchovy dressing with fresh basil and shallots in the blender. Haven't made dressing from scratch in forever - it really is easy and tastes so good! I also blanched asparagus for the salad and used arugula and baby spinach as the base. Topped with goat's milk feta and some fresh ground pepper and yummy!
I baked a gluten free carrot cake dusted with powdered sugar and found some cute candles to top it off. What was also fun was finding my mother's beautiful lemonade/ice tea pitcher to use, along with the fabulous hand-painted dishes from my sister Diane for the salad. Needless to say, Mary Ann felt pretty special and I'm thrilled to be a part of her celebration of life. She had brought a little housewarming gift and the card said - "Glad your life's journey has brought you here."
So I'm beginning to figure who I am outside of the CIA. That's the next part of the journey for me. I'm really clear about who I am at work, but there's more to life than work and I need to figure that part out as well. Our participation at the Chamber Music Society fundraiser was a step in the right direction, and last weekend, besides the trip to the City with the students, I went on a walking tour of the public art in Poughkeepsie. It was sponsored by a local gallery owned by a fellow Italian who supports the "come back" of Poughkeepsie. Seems when IBM pulled out a big chunk of operations here, the City suffered and the downtown area has some real blighted areas. Of course there will always be artists and those brave few who stay involved even when the rest of us head for the hills. Thank God for them.
Mary Ann bid on tickets to the New York Philharmonic, performing at the Bardavon theatre in Poughkeepsie, and I bid on the wine and cheese package and the sushi restaurant gift certificate. Looks like I'm finding my path outside of work, but somehow it still involves food and wine. Gosh - it's a tough life. giggle
Ciao for now!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Conquered by Bluepoints and Wellfleets
I suppose it was inevitable. First beets and now oysters. I'm told the students have to taste everything, regardless of whether they like it or not. Chefs taste the food. When I mentioned to the young women chefs I was accompanying to the City last Saturday that I didn't like oysters, they insisted that I just hadn't had the right kind, right acoutrements, right wine, etc. They were going to show me the right way at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station - famous spot for fresh seafood. Go figure - the basement of the train station. They were right, of course. Let me go back a few steps....
On Friday I was having breakfast with the VP of Advancement, a cool lady who interviewed me and has rolled out the welcome mat to me since I arrived. She was talking to another person at the table about a problem some students were having lining up a chaperone for a field trip scheduled Saturday. The faculty member who was supposed to go with them had a last minute emergency. Seems the student chapter of Women Chefs and Restrauntuers (WCR) had received a grant to travel to a woman owned and operated restaurant and they were planning to go to At Vermilion in NYC on Saturday. Without a chaperone though, no dice. Nancy turned to me and said, "You'd be perfect. Can you take them?" Let's see: support a group of young women chefs, take the train to the City, eat at a fabulous Indian-Latin fusion restaurant run by women, all for free. Gee, I think I might be able to swing it!
Two students were organizing the event - Ashley and Kwan - and they came to my office to meet me and orient me to the plans. Ashley had a check made out to the restaurant and she gave me a check, made out to me, to buy the train tickets. I would accompany the students on the train, to the restaurant, and back home again. Ashley and Kwan had plans for a little side trip to the Oyster Bar - can't go to the City without stopping there. When I told them I didn't really care for oysters...you know the rest of the story. Of course they were wonderful - and I learned to mix a little "mignonette" (a sort of vinagrette) into the sauce with a little extra horse radish. I thought, oh sure, just mask the taste, but that's not really what happened. They were small oysters, a nice briney taste, with just the right amount of heat from the horseradish and sweet from the mignonette. Add a glass of sauvignon blanc from down under (the best pairing according to Kwan) and there you have it - Vincenza enjoying oysters. Will wonders never cease?!!
If you're an Iron Chef fan, you may recognize the chef's name from At Vermilion: Maneet Chauran. She was on the show last week I think. She's a CIA grad, doing rather well for herself. She and her partner also have a restaurant in Chicago. Check it out: www.thevermilionrestaurant.com. As Maneet explained, vermilion is the most vibrant of reds and they chose it to connote the essence and ebullience of the Indian and Latim American peoples. It translates into sindoor, a core symbol of Indian femininity and a celebration of the beauty of women. The students were in awe of Maneet and she generously shared her time with them talking about her path. She also gave them a tour of her kitchen.
They specialize in herb and spice cocktail pairings. We had Latin-Indian street food appetizers - colombian arepas and duck vindaloo, artichoke fritters, Indian "Chaat" - paired with a shot of green gazpacho bloody mary. Totally yummy. Then we had Brazilian seafood stew with Indian seasoning paired with cucumber mint martini. Giggle. Next was a choice of entrees from Tandoori Skirt Steak to Shrimp Paella and Blackened Tamarind Ribs - paired with pani puri margarita. We ended with a rich Indian nut cake paired with a perfectly lovely coconut safron drink. While the cocktails were a smaller size, they came in fairly quick succession. Good thing we were taking the train home!
So 13 very happy students and I headed back to Grand Central Station and caught the 9:10 train to Poughkeepsie. At that time of evening, half the population of NYC seemed to be heading to the same train. It was as busy as Grand Central Station. Oh, wait. It WAS Grand Central Station. Just another perfect night in New York....
Ciao for now!
On Friday I was having breakfast with the VP of Advancement, a cool lady who interviewed me and has rolled out the welcome mat to me since I arrived. She was talking to another person at the table about a problem some students were having lining up a chaperone for a field trip scheduled Saturday. The faculty member who was supposed to go with them had a last minute emergency. Seems the student chapter of Women Chefs and Restrauntuers (WCR) had received a grant to travel to a woman owned and operated restaurant and they were planning to go to At Vermilion in NYC on Saturday. Without a chaperone though, no dice. Nancy turned to me and said, "You'd be perfect. Can you take them?" Let's see: support a group of young women chefs, take the train to the City, eat at a fabulous Indian-Latin fusion restaurant run by women, all for free. Gee, I think I might be able to swing it!
Two students were organizing the event - Ashley and Kwan - and they came to my office to meet me and orient me to the plans. Ashley had a check made out to the restaurant and she gave me a check, made out to me, to buy the train tickets. I would accompany the students on the train, to the restaurant, and back home again. Ashley and Kwan had plans for a little side trip to the Oyster Bar - can't go to the City without stopping there. When I told them I didn't really care for oysters...you know the rest of the story. Of course they were wonderful - and I learned to mix a little "mignonette" (a sort of vinagrette) into the sauce with a little extra horse radish. I thought, oh sure, just mask the taste, but that's not really what happened. They were small oysters, a nice briney taste, with just the right amount of heat from the horseradish and sweet from the mignonette. Add a glass of sauvignon blanc from down under (the best pairing according to Kwan) and there you have it - Vincenza enjoying oysters. Will wonders never cease?!!
If you're an Iron Chef fan, you may recognize the chef's name from At Vermilion: Maneet Chauran. She was on the show last week I think. She's a CIA grad, doing rather well for herself. She and her partner also have a restaurant in Chicago. Check it out: www.thevermilionrestaurant.com. As Maneet explained, vermilion is the most vibrant of reds and they chose it to connote the essence and ebullience of the Indian and Latim American peoples. It translates into sindoor, a core symbol of Indian femininity and a celebration of the beauty of women. The students were in awe of Maneet and she generously shared her time with them talking about her path. She also gave them a tour of her kitchen.
They specialize in herb and spice cocktail pairings. We had Latin-Indian street food appetizers - colombian arepas and duck vindaloo, artichoke fritters, Indian "Chaat" - paired with a shot of green gazpacho bloody mary. Totally yummy. Then we had Brazilian seafood stew with Indian seasoning paired with cucumber mint martini. Giggle. Next was a choice of entrees from Tandoori Skirt Steak to Shrimp Paella and Blackened Tamarind Ribs - paired with pani puri margarita. We ended with a rich Indian nut cake paired with a perfectly lovely coconut safron drink. While the cocktails were a smaller size, they came in fairly quick succession. Good thing we were taking the train home!
So 13 very happy students and I headed back to Grand Central Station and caught the 9:10 train to Poughkeepsie. At that time of evening, half the population of NYC seemed to be heading to the same train. It was as busy as Grand Central Station. Oh, wait. It WAS Grand Central Station. Just another perfect night in New York....
Ciao for now!
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