9.26.2007

YAY! Wednesday! And it actually is this time!

Oooh, delight! The NYT Dining section is full of glorious stuff today: cities I love, recipes I want to try, and restaurants I might actually hire a babysitter to go to with my cute husband.

The main article was about a city near and dear to my heart: Portland, Oregon. Portland is the city I desperately wish I was able to live in. I really wish I could. But I lived in the Pacific Northwest for about 8 years and it nearly killed me. I just couldn't take that gray drizzle. Constant drizzle. Adam said I was "unbearable" to live with. When I complained about his statement to my best friend, looking for some back-up from her, you know what she said? "He's right, Laura. You were awful." So, needless to say, I won't be moving back anytime soon. Nevertheless, this article was so much fun to read and made me wish so desperately I could be back there. If you can stand the rain, I highly recommend living there at some point in your life. Or living there forever.

There was also a super-duper cool little blurbie about Niagara grapes at the Greenmarket. Particularly, they have a recipe entrenched in the blurbie for simmering the grapes with chicken, thyme, and shallots. Wow. Salivating, salivating...

There's another recipe for Scallops with Cream and Basil that sounds and looks simple and beautiful. However, I've had a difficult time finding good basil lately - I got a bunch of stalks at the market about 2 weeks ago but, upon closer inspection, there were an awful lot of blackened leaves. Best try this recipe quick before autumn permanently settles in!

There was also a recipe for cornbread cake with bacon and maple ice cream, courtesy of Le Pigeon in Portland. YOWZA! I'm aching to try it. But honestly, am I really going to make my own maple ice cream? I think we all know the answer to that one...

There's a small review on a new restaurant in Inwood, Mamajuana Cafe, and I want to go there immediately. Seriously. How do plates of puerquito sound to you? "Pork shoulder marinated in wine, bitter oranges and spices, then roasted for 10 hours..." Yeah? Sound good? But wait - there's more! How about the mamajuana? "It's a blend of rum, wine and honey steeped with roots and herbs, and was brewed long before Columbus turned up in this hemisphere." Awwwww yeaaaaaaaah. That's the stuff. I'm thinking two things: 1.) Can I get the babysitter this weekend, and 2) how long does it take to get from Queens to Inwood anyway?

Go forth, eat well.

No comments: