Oh Deer

Ok, I love Amanda Hesser's food writing.  I've read Cooking for Mr. Latte multiple times, despite its unfortunate title.  Her new website is great, and whenever her "Recipe Redux" column appears in the Times, I get giddy.


But this week's essay, on rediscovering and updating the Italian peasant snack bagna cauda, an assortment of vegetables that one may dip into a garlic and anchovy-infused butter/oil dip, is a little much.


For example, to make the dish, Ms. Hesser suggests:
Get out your pan or that little cazuela you bought in Europe that’s been collecting dust. Assemble the olive oil, butter, garlic and anchovies that you already have in your house. Then trim that overload of vegetables from your Community Supported Agriculture and make the dish.


Ummm... I don't know, Amanda.  I used my CSA produce in a French-style vegan cassoulet already.  Also, a friend borrowed the little cazuela I bought in Europe for an in-home screening of her latest avant-garde video art project.  Is it ok that my olive oil is from Spain instead of Puglia?  What ever am I to do???  

The Weekend in Cookery

I went to the farmer's market for the first time in far-too-long this past Saturday and went a little crazy.  Everything looked so freaking scrumptious!  I bought beets and several kinds of leafy greens, including pea shoots, and some smallish butternut squash that I immediately turned into soup.  They didn't have any eggs, though, which was too bad.  I'm still reeling from the egg video and would prefer to buy them directly from farms, you know?  But anyway.  The squash.

Butternut squash soup, which I learned about from Barefoot in Paris, is simplicity itself to make: first you chop an onion and start sweating it in olive oil (or butter, if you're feeling authentically French).  Then you peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, cut it down the middle, scoop out the seeds, and cut it into chunks.  Put said chunks in the pot with the onions, add some other flavorings if you feel like it (mine were: cumin, half a cut-up apple, some vermouth, a lot of salt, and red pepper flakes, which upon reflection I wish I'd left out.  Saffron might be nice), fill the pot with water or broth, and let it simmer while you clean your apartment, until the squash is falling apart.  Then you blend it up using your preferred blending tool.  Those lucky enough to own an immersion blender will use it here, but you can also use a regular blender or a food processor or a food mill, or, if you are truly gadget deprived, a fork.  Swirl in a little cream if you like (I do!) and that's it.  Dan isn't nuts about this soup, but I love it.

Ooh, here's another soup that's even easier: combine the flesh of two avocados with one seedless cucumber in a blender.  Add salt to taste.  THAT'S IT.  I'm sharing that here because Ash made it on Top Chef a few weeks ago, and even though it sounds innovative and happens to be delicious, I was like, seriously, you made that two-minute soup on television?

Back to squash soup.  I ate mine with a high-fiber salad of thinly sliced mustard greens, kale, cabbage, carrots, green beans, and pea shoots.  (Pea shoots, btw, taste like peas).  I made a similar salad as part of last night's dinner for me and Dan with roasted broco-flower on top and Dan couldn't stop eating the broco-flower.  "THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER," he said.  Moral of story: buying eight kinds of greens at the market is worth it.  And also, I'm trying to be less fat.

Neighborhood Restaurants

Inspired by the Amateur Gourmet's Park Slope wrap-up and eager to take a break from wedding stuff, here's my Look Back At Williamsburg Eateries, Bedford Stop Area, Now That I Have Moved.  There's no real reason to do this, as we moved ten minutes from our old place and still eat around there all the time, but whatever.  These were my Williamsburg Staples: not necessarily the qualified best places to eat in the burg, but with a quality - be it excellence, convenience, or just plain cheapness - that kept me going back.

Fornino

(fancy pizza)

The first time we went here, we sat alone in the back room and the servers forgot us.  I don't remember much about the food, because I was hungry and pissed.  So when we went back, well over six months later, I was warily open-minded, and pleasantly surprised.  The pizzas here are wonderful and the place is perfect for dates, like, good lord is it perfect for dates.  Dan and I went there for our two-year anniversary, since we'd just gotten back from a wonderful, money-hemorrhaging vacation in Ireland and didn't want to drop anymore Benjies.  We got the funghi misti and still do every time.  It's awesome.

Fette Sau

(Carolina barbecue)

I'm kind of over barbecue at the moment, but if you aren't, Fette Sau is the place to be.  Note: if you have a non-red-meat-eating or vegetarian friend who's all easygoing about it, who says, "oh, I'm sure I can find something," be nice and don't bring them.  They won't find anything.  They'll drink two beers from the excellent beer selection and then get drunk instantly because all they can eat there are pickles.  The baked beans, btw, are amazing.  And I don't even like baked beans.

Radegast Hall and Biergarten

(Czech beer hall)

No one goes here for the food, but the grill in the back is great.  They specialize in kielbasa and other phallic items, but the portobello sandwich is my favorite.  The fries are good too.  And they have several varieties of mustard.  This, btw, is the best drinking spot in Brooklyn, maybe all of New York.  Maybe all of the US.

S&B

(Polish)

Sacreligious for me to still love this place while living in the Polish restaurant capital of America, but the Polish Platter (kielbasa, pierogi, mashhed potato, sauerkraut, golumpki) is like ten bucks and feeds two people!  And it's awesome!  I also like the borscht, and have never tried anything else.

Egg

(breakfast)

I'm also, sadly, starting to be a little over Egg.  But it's still the best breakfast in New York and worth the insane lines and used-to-be-quaint-but-you've-been-popular-for-three-years-now, get-it-together-already inept service.  It's southern-influenced and you can get cheese grits or scrapple with your already cream and butter-fortified meal.  Excellent coffee.  Excellent everything.  What am I saying?  I love this place.  Be good to yourself and go early, on a day when the weather sucks.

Vinnie's Pizza

(pizza)

Are you totally over authentic pizza and froufy, homegrown toppings?  Do you want to give Italy's, and for that matter, New York's, culinary history the bird?  Are you maybe drunk?  Vinnie's is the place for you.  Mmmmmm.  Pizza with macaroni and cheese on it.  Nacho pizza.  Pizza with barbecue sauce and ranch.  Buffalo sauce pizza with blue cheese dressing.  It's deliiiiiicious.  Also, strangely, very vegan-friendly.

Aurora

(fancy Italian)

This is a fancy Italian place that only takes cash even though it's kind of expensive.  I should take my dad here.

Miranda

(Latin-Italian fusion)

They have a special where you get three courses for $25!  It's kind of fancy but not really.  And the food is great.  When it isn't crowded, I'm so sad.

The Bagel Store

(bagels)

Big bagels.  Bumpin' tunes.

Teddy's

(American?  I don't know.  Pubby but not entirely pubby)

This is my favorite restaurant in Williamsburg.  There.  I said it.  It's a bar, it's near the new Pool Party site, it's not that far from our new place, and the food has always been fantastic.  They do extensive specials of seasonal stuff, so I don't think I've ever even ordered off their regular menu.  Just go!  It's great!

And those are my Williamsburg staples.

Pages On Strike

You guys!  Holy shit!  The NBC Pages are STRIKING!  I'm sure the WGA will have their back.

Wait a minute... how come the girls' jackets don't have shoulder pads?  Why do they have saucy, low-cut necklines?  Where's their required navy pantyhose?  Why, for that matter, are they wearing the navy polyester uniforms that got phased out like a year and a half ago at all?  Didn't they see the fourth-hour-of-Today segment when America picked out sleek new suits from Brooks Brothers?

And why is Jack McBrayer there?  Mystery!

(While 30 Rock's accuracy in the department of "NBC Minutiae" is unparalleled, I have to quibble that the real page uniforms were so much worse, that according to the rules Kenneth would have been replaced midway through season one, and that if we, as National Broadcasting Company minions/indentured servants/barnacles/eager, willing slaves had even thought of striking, we would have been fired toute suite.  But it's ok, I still love the show).

Engagement Milestone That Is Specific To New York

On a shady bus the other night, I turned my ring around so as to appear diamond-less.

A Very Special Dinner

So last Wednesday, I was s-i-c-k.  Stay-home-from-work sick.  Go-to-bed-before-Top-Chef-sick (you know that's bad).  Miss my first Improv 201 class sick!  Really bad!  Anyway, I went to bed at 9 that night and when I woke up the next day, still felt assy, but not quite assy enough to stay home.  So I went to work.  Where I was promptly sent back home.

"You look terrible," my boss said.  I e-mailed Dan with the good news that I would be spending another day with the kittens, and that my boss had said I looked bad.

"You never look bad, my lovely!" he wrote back.

So I went home.  And slept.  And slept.

When I awoke, it was around 5:30, and Dan was home early.  Huh, I thought.

And he was in the kitchen?

"I thought I'd make you dinner," he said.  "I wanted to do it for your birthday, but I'm really busy at work next week.  Plus you're sick, so I figured... um... this would be good..." and then he kind of trailed off.  Honestly, all I wanted to eat was soup.  But it was sweet.  "Okay," I said.  Then I started watching Stick It on ABC Family.

It was a very elaborate meal.  Seven courses!  Course one: olives.  Course two: cucumber, tomato, and feta salad.  Course three: English muffin pizzas.  They were quite delicious.  Course five: we were pretty full so we skipped course five.  Course six: little warm chocolate cakes.  And at this point, I had stopped counting.

"That was great!" I said.  "Let's watch Top Chef."

"There's one course left," he said.  Honestly, I still didn't know what was coming.  Maybe it would be a microwave, because we need one, or a gift certificate for a manicure.  Some kind of practical birthday present.  And then he came in with flowers.  And then... well, you know the rest.  I didn't even look at the ring until after saying yes.  Then we spent hours calling people, and then we collapsed in a sweaty mess.  Here's my favorite picture from the night:

We'd had to shower from said sweaty grossness, and passed out soon after, but can't you see how delighted we are?  Why wouldn't I be?  People used to ask me if I thought I'd end up with Dan, and I'd kind of pause and say, "well, I hope so.  I don't think I can do any better."  And I didn't mean it in a self-deprecating way: I meant it, and mean it, in the sense that there could not possibly be a better person for me, or a person for whom I am better, than Dan.  Why mess with such wild success?  I just love him to bits.

I didn't want the engagement night to end, but the next day was even better, because I got to tell all my friends and receive their good wishes.  I basked in the glow of our special Meghan-and-Dan time, receiving gifts like Tiffany toasting flutes from my parents...

And THEN...

The day of our formerly-my-birthday-party/now-it's-an-engagement thing...

I got a call from Katie.

"Semmes just gave me a ring!"

YOWZA!

To be continued.

Eee!!!

I found my wedding dress!

What do you think, Mom?

Or Katie?  We can share it!

PS I realize that I haven't blogged about The Proposal at all, while Dennis has already posted twice about my upcoming mawwiage.  But I will.  I promise.

Someday.

Engaged!

I'll add more later, when I'm not at work fielding congratulations and trying not to get fired for lack of productivity, but Dan gave me a shiny ring last night and I'm incredibly happy!

(Props to Dennis for the new and improved header).

Viewing

I guess the upside of feeling like shoe-gum and staying home from work is, if you happen to be in the television industry, catching up on all the pilots and screeners you should be watching for work.  So, my current reviews of my recent viewing (like the past week or so.  I actually spend most of today sleeping):

Community - Really funny cast and a solid concept that's neither too specific nor too vague.  Chevy Chase is perfect in it.  Whoever put him in a turtleneck suit: A+.  This will make it the full season and then some.

The Office - as good as ever.

Parks and Recreation - Amy Poehler is just better than this.  P&R is a comedy that makes me sad.  No bueno.  Maybe she should do movies.

The Good Wife - This is hardly competition for where I work, but I was really into the premiere.  It's like Nurse Carol Hathaway dumped Doug, went to law school, had two kids, straightened her hair, and is now a disgraced political wife who's still, surprise surprise, a killer legal thinker.  Plus: Christine Baranski.

Fringe - so underrated!  Back and better than ever!  Shapeshifting soldiers from a parallel universe: bless.

500 Days of Summer - I happened to have the screener in my purse.  This was really cute, but I don't get why Tom was all surprised when Summer dumped him.  She just wasn't that into you, bro!

Entourage - I still occasionally tune into this, because for some reason, it still rates and garners critical attention.  YOU GUYS.  STOP PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS SHOW.  Season two was amazing, and I think we should all hold the "tsetse fly" episode in our hearts for the rest of our lives, but seriously, the current big plotline is whether Eric will dump his not-that-cute-especially-for-this-show girlfriend for being too clingy?  They need a murder mystery or something.  Yawn.

Curb - anyone else think Loretta will go the way of George Costanza's fiance, Susan?

Bored to Death - finally.  An elitist New York seriocomedy on HBO.  It's like they've finally made a show about my dreams.

Ew

I'm sick.  Stay-home-from-work sick.  This doesn't happen very much but it is currently displeasing me greatly.