muerto de risa

olga's kinky graffiti

oh new york!  i will miss you. 

thank you for continuing to leave me comments despite my infrequent posting over the past few weeks.  i hope to start posting regularly again in another week or two.  on friday we will start our drive to denver.  once we settle in i should be able to spend a little more time online.

until then, here are a couple of photos from a yummy french-mexican dinner at itzocan cafe.  the restaurant was started by two chefs from puebla, mexico who after spending a number of years working in the kitchens of french restaurants decided to open a place that allowed them to create a fusion of french and mexican food.  the results are delicious.

mmmm...crispy goat cheese ravioli.

sweet corn, huitlacoche mushroom, and truffle oil souffle.

semolina epazote dumplings with roasted poblano peppers, corn, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

we also enjoyed a cold corn and apple soup that was lovely (despite not really tasting like apple nor corn) and a black bean and roasted vegetable casserole (scrumptious, but a little difficult to eat once we ran out of tortillas).

fresh kimchi

fresh kimchi and a cold korean beer...

could it get any better?

more on italian cooking...

So as I was previewing my post, the format kept changing and the pictures would not be placed in the correct spot.  Because of this, I have put all of the pictures at the bottom of the post.  I'm sorry about that and I hope the post makes sense.

I cannot begin to discuss the food that we cooked without explaining the environment in which we were learning.  Villa Lucia is a private residence consisting of three large houses, two pools, a grotto, and a variety of beautiful gardens.  The cooking school was held in the main house (shown below), where the kitchen and dining room were on the main level and the nine guests/students stayed on the second. Besides learning to cook, another goal of the trip was to be able to relax.  As you can see, the gardens provided the perfect setting to do just that. 

Below is a picture of our chef Fabio.  Without him, our vacation would not have been a success. He is a wonderful chef (he actually worked as head chef in the states for a few years and had interesting stories about his staff, always referring to them using stereotypes that an American could not get away with) and taught us a lot.  Actually, the most beneficial parts of the cooking lessons were the hands-on experiences that we were encouraged to partake in.  I just graduated from college and will be looking to save as much money as possible, so learning how to prepare the food that I will be cooking was a huge help.  We were taught how to fillet fish, scallop veal that turned into this beautiful creation, and made ravioli and tagliatelle from hand.

yummy faces...

cute and delicious!

also, interested in a mini-swap?  i have a bunch of ribbon (some long, some scraps) available for trade (of anything you want to send me) to the first person who leaves a comment that they are swapilicious.

   

cookies and teachers

yesterday i baked about 6 dozen cookies.  today i will take them into work for a cookie decorating party.  by the end my boys will be bouncing of the walls from all the cookie, candy, and frosting eating.

right now, hoever i will give you two more book reviews.  the theme today is teacher memoirs.

   

5. The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy

this book is a memoir of conroy's experience teaching on south carolina's yamacraw island in 1969.  the island is poor due to the end of a prosperous crabbing industry that ended due to pollution of the local waters.  conroy is white and his students are black.  one thing i really liked about this book is the honesty of conroy's own transition with racism.  i was also able to relate some of my experiences working with a group of youth who are in many ways deemed "unteachable" with conroy's similar experience.  doesn't everyone have the potential to learn???  while teachers will especially appreciate this book, anyone interested in race issues, politics, education, and social justice will enjoy it.

6. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

we love frank mccourt in my house.  we love his humor.  we love that he was an english teacher.  we love that he published his first book at 66.  we love his writing.  i enjoyed Teacher Man.  one of the first anecdotes in the book had me rolling on the floor giggling ans it still makes me laugh whenever i think about it.  there were many other memories that reminded me of stories jordan tells me about his own experiences teaching english.  my only question is if this book can be appreciated the same way by readers who have not taught, lived with a teacher, or been close to a teacher.  it seems a little less accessible than Angela's Ashes or 'Tis (which was my favorite of the three). 

have a great week!  may it be filled with cookies and great books.

sweets party

i've made it to LA in time for the sweets party, but my baked goods are still in the oven, so for now i'm going to pop my copy of Marie Antoinette into the dvd player so we can all enjoy her pastel treats.

happy birthday wendy! 

um...yum

tonight my mother and sister leave for tuscany where they will attend culinary school for a week.  jealous?  i told my sister to take lots of photos and she will guest blog here when she returns.  this way we can all go to culinary school in italy.

 

speaking of food, i love this photo essay by peter menzel.  it is a global chronicle of what people eat and how much they pay for it.  i've now added his book, hungry planet to my wish list.  i could look at these photos for hours.

one of the major reasons i love to travel is i love to try new foods.  i will eat almost anything once.  and i love going to local food markets to check out the local produce and other offerings.

(photo from market in cuenca, ecuador)

i love how the concept of what is delicious varies from place to place, and person to person.  for example, this is a delicious american style brunch we enjoyed recently:

 

but if i could i would eat this every morning for the rest of my life.

happy friday!  eat well!

i love old food stands...

that's it for today.

have a great weekend!

buenos aires food and wine part 2: for veggie lovers

a few blocks away from the hustle and bustle of palermo viejo, we followed the directions on an old orange door and "knocked hard."  a woman in a vintage looking red blouse and multi-colored vinyl belt welcomed us in.  we were presented with the choice of sitting at the table in the big loft kitchen or sitting in a smaller room next door.

a jarra of perfectly sour lemonade quickly landed on our little table, accompanied by a basket of nutty bread and a small dish of spiced celery in garlic and oil.

 

while our lunch was prepared, we devised our plans for converting the space into the perfect home.

...and then we ate!  a hot veggie sandwich, thick slices of sweet red tomato and expertly hard-boiled egg, spicy potato salad covered in grilled corn, and a delicious guacamole filled with chunks of avocado, tomato, and onion.

if you ever find yourself in buenos aires, i highly recommend eating lunch at providencia.  you may see us sitting at our same small table, continuing our plans to move in permanently.

buenos aires food and wine part 1: for meat lovers

a salad devoured at Bar Uriarte, a little gem located in the Palermo Viejo (a trendy neighborhood filled with great restaurants, bars, and shops).  spinach, endive, almonds, croutons, and bacon tossed in a yummy mustard dressing and topped with a poached egg. divine!  so divine that we returned a second night and each ordered our own.

followed by the best steak i ever tasted. it was served with potatoes and a little fried round of parmesan cheese that went perfectly with the meat and wine.  you can see it poking out from behind the meat.

a gigantic steak enjoyed by jordan one night when we met up with friends from quito.  i slurped down two little dishes of perfectly spiced ratatouille.  other dishes contained guacamole, two different kinds of potato salad, a green olive tapenade, blended beets, and marinated mushrooms.

(this post is dedicated to jill.)