Southern comfort

Last night my friend Lesli came over for dinner. I made butternut squash soup, roasted asparagus (again), and chicken cacciatore (a.k.a. Hunter's chicken). The butternut squash was so hard to chop! I used my Chinese cleaver knife and seriously had to put my back into it, taking a few seconds to catch my breath between chops. What a work out for the arms! Next time I am buying pre-cut butternut squash.







Lesli baked a Derby pie! Apparently it's only eaten in May, for the Kentucky Derby. Did I mention that Lesli is from Kentucky? And she has a delightful Southern accent to match it too! So the Derby pie is similar to a pecan pie, but instead of maple syrup it's got chocolate chips. The ingredients are a pie crust, and a mixture of flour, eggs, butter, sugar, chocolate chips, and chopped up pecans for the filling. Oh, and bourbon! Except this time she substituted vanilla extract for the bourbon. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's absolutely delicious!

Thanks, Mark!

This is the amazing birthday cake that Mark baked for me this year. Mom's chocolate cake - possibly my favourite cake in the entire world! The cake was so moist and the icing was thick and gooey - just the way I like it!

Hot Pot

Two weekends ago I had hot pot with the CIS gang (and Ilan!).

Check out the hugely expanded fishballs:



The spread:



The mouth-watering cakes from Black Hound Bakery courtesy of Jo & Eric:




And Emi's delicious apple pie! (Note the "I *heart* hot pot" artfully carved on the pie crust!)

Look familiar?

Last weekend I went up to Boston to visit Dave. Of course I had to stop by my favourite Japanese spot. Look familiar? Recognize the guy in the back? (Japanese guy with the blonde hair.) I can't believe he's still there! Dave and I had a feast - one pork cutlet curry with a fried egg, one fried chicken with a ponzu sauce, one beef hamburg in tomato sauce, and one fresh tofu. Yum!! I *heart* Cafe Mami.

The Eater is back!

I can't believe it's been two years since my last post! Needless to say I did not go on an eating hiatus. But the Eater is back!

I've recently started cooking again (did I ever really start?) and here is my first creation. Roasted chicken with orange juice and mustard, a la Joy of Cooking, with roasted asparagus (tossed in olive oil with a generous pinch of salt and pepper), and rice. I've got my protein, veggies, and carbs - what a well-balanced meal! Pat on the back to me!



On a separate note, here is my new favourite kitchen item: Nespresso, oh how I love you so! Can't live without my morning latte. (Cosi, Strength: 3)

Honmura An: Part Deux

In my very first entry on this blog, I found there to be a lot of uncertainty around the reason for the closing of Honmura An. My initial reaction was to blame the greedy Soho landlords, but it has come to my attention that they are not responsible for the closure. According to Page One, Kobari-san (i.e. Koichi Kobari) closed Honmura An in order to head home to take over the family restaurant back in Japan. Like any dutiful Asian son, he has returned home to fulfill family obligations. As noble as that may be, I can't help but wonder, what about his obligations to us loyal New York patrons?

Well now we have reason for hope. In that same entry, I was outraged that Jean-Georges, a loyal patron of Honmura An, did nothing in his power to stop the soba temple from closing. Well I recently learned from a friend that Jean-Georges is transforming his Chinese restaurant 66 into an upscale Japanese soba joint. I have to say that I am always a little skeptical when an Asian restaurant is run by a non-Asian chef. So to quote the favourite phrase of my company's CEO, I remain "cautiously optimistic."

My lazy night obsession

For those of you like me who spend the work day surfing www.foodtv.com, planning out what gourmet meal to make for dinner, only to return home exhausted and somewhat less inspired, I like nothing better than to pop in the oven my lazy night obsession - Twin Hens Chicken Pot Pie. The crust is flaky and buttery, the chicken is juicy and tender, and the vegetables are perfectly cooked and delicious. And for those of you who have jumped on the organic bandwagon, the vegetables are organic and the chickens are raised without antibiotics. This is comfort food done right, and packaged in such a way that you could even pretend you made it yourself! Not that I would ever do something like that.

New Yorkers, you can get your fix at either Dean & Deluca or at my personal holy grail - Whole Foods. Speaking of which, you can now get Il Laboratorio del Gelato at Whole Foods! Unfortunately it sort of takes away from the trek all the way down to the Lower East Side, which always includes the requisite fifteen minutes of aimlessly wandering around and searching, only to chance upon a white as white, sterile, gelato laboratory on a nondescript street once you've given up all hope of ever finding the place (yes, I know I'm romanticizing it, like I do with everything else). But then again, sometimes convenience trumps romance.