Something's Fishy

One of the reasons we eat so much chicken is because of my irrational fear of having my kitchen smell like fish. Luckily, one of my brilliant college roommates taught me a genius way to cook salmon without the smell (really one one of the only useful things I learned sophomore year), and since then I have been a complete devotée of this method, especially when the weather is too cold to use the grill outside.
All you do is season individual salmon fillets with lemon juice, the fresh herbs of your choice (any combo of dill, parsley, chervil tarragon and basil would be delicious) salt and pepper (an an optional pat of butter) and then wrap them in pieces of parchment paper and aluminum foil, forming fish "packets". I always place them on rimmed sheet (just in case they spring a leak or something). They only take about 10-15 minutes to cook in a 400 degree oven, and the foil and parchment contain the scent and the moisture, resulting in stink-free, flaky, steamed fish. Unwrapping the packets always reminds me of eating fish steamed in banana leaf on tropical vacations. I usually serve the fish with rice (you could continue the tropical theme with white rice with diced red onion and cilantro) and some fresh veggies, which turns out to be a meal that is light and healthy, quick to make, a snap to clean-up, and decidedly un-smelly.

On a side note, we also once used this method to cook salmon in the dishwasher on a bet. If you put the dishwasher on it's hottest mode, don't add detergent, and let it run a full cycle (including drying), the fish packets will come out steamed to perfection. Make that two brilliant things I learned sophomore year...

I Heart...Chinoiserie

If I were ever to find myself in the position of having tremendous wealth (keep working, hubby), I think I would decorate one of my numerous homes (probably the one in Paris) entirely in chinoiserie.
Chinoiserie is the Asian-influenced style that became popular in European decoration and design during the 17th and 18th centuries (as trade increased). The term Chinoiserie refers to the European-made imitations of Asian design, not to things actually made in Asia (and incorporates Japan and other Asian influences, not just China). While I admire Asian design, I happen to prefer the imitations, which have an English-ness or French-ness they can't seem to shake, no matter how much they try. The beautiful pink room above was featured in Southern Accents magazine. The piece in this room is obviously an antique, but this reproduction bookcase from Dorothy Draper would fill in nicely, and has a very pretty, modern quality.






There are few things in this world that would drive me to steal, but if it were possible, I would peel this De Gournay wallpaper off the wall with my fingernails in order to have it in my home. It is all hand-painted (and thus, quite expensive) and so super-dreamy, I can't stand it.

It's possible to incorporate chinoiserie in more subtle (and less costly) ways- this Chippendale-style Macau chair from Ballard Design is $279, and this pretty Ginger Jar Lamp from ShopTableLamps.com is just $150.











I'm also crazy about these lovely linens from Leontine Linens. They have several Asian-inspired styles, and this bamboo-looking monogram just does it for me.





Lastly, what would a decorating post be without hearing from our friends at Domino? This turquoise chair/ fireplace combo feels like it stepped out of a dream. I love how their ornateness contrasts with the simple sanded wood floors and the worn rug. How do you say "gorgeous" in Chinese?

Parsley, Sir, Can I Have Some More?

If I were going on Iron Chef (in a dream sequence, obviously) and had to categorize myself, I like to think of myself as a "French" style cook, as opposed to Italian or Asian. I derive this self-evaluation mostly from the fact that I cook almost everything with shallots, butter and parsley (and more butter).

While parsley may seem like an unnecessary garnish, I think it gives a wonderful flavor and finished quality to almost anything, and I always have some in my fridge. I put it in salads, on chicken and fish, and in rice and pasta. In my world, everything gets seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley.

There are two kinds of parsley- the flat "Italian" kind, and the curly kind (shown here). I typically buy the curly kind because it is more readily available, looks prettier, and seems to last longer in my fridge, but people who really know what they're talking about say that flat is more flavorful. It's all about your priorities.

If you buy fresh parsley, it should last in your fridge for up to two weeks. The best way to make it last is probably to trim the ends and put them in a jar of water (like cut flowers). Or, if you have a glorified mini-fridge like me, and would definitely knock over a jar filled with water the first time you opened the fridge door, you can do what I do- rinse the whole bunch in cold water when you get it home (it can sometimes be a little dirty or sandy), and then wrap it in a paper towel and put it in a Ziploc bag. To use it, just cut up the leaves using clean kitchen scissors.

As a bonus to it's delicious flavor, parsley contains three times as much vitamin C as an orange, twice the iron of spinach, and is packed with cancer-fighting anti-oxidants. Which should, hopefully, do something to offset all that butter.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

After celebrating the holidays with our families in Boston, California, and then Boston again, with only brief stopovers at our apartment in New York City in between, it was bittersweet to wake up at home in my own bed and send my husband back off to work as usual this morning. But I'm filled with a sense of purpose with the beginning of the new year and I feel like it's time to clean up and out. Today I am taking down the tree and the rest of the decorations, doing all our travel laundry, and getting ready for a clean, bright, fresh new start of the year. If you are doing the same, make sure you check with your local garbage pick-up and dispose of things properly (unlike this poor tree!) Most trees can be recycled into mulch- if you live in New York, the department of sanitation will pick them up with your regular garbage through Friday, Jan. 16, or you can drop them off at a MulchFest location this weekend.

Plus, I'm off to the post office to send off the Christmas cards and presents I didn't get out before the holiday tidal wave hit me. I'm guessing the post office will be a little more manageable now!

I'm also attacking some of my New Year's resolutions head-on. I joined the New York Road Runners, as a first step to building up to running a marathon this Fall. I will be running in a half-marathon in Central Park at the end of this month, and taking advantage of their races and other training aids and classes throughout the year.

Naturally, I have already wiled away several hours on Petfinder.com, looking to adopt a dog. There are so many wonderful animals in shelters, I don't know how we're going to be able to choose just one...if you are considering buying a cat or dog from a pet store, I hope you'll take a moment to check out all the cuties on Petfinder, and consider adopting instead. I think they will give you paws, (but that's just my opunion).

And, I'm back blogging (and making bad jokes) now, and will do so consistently every Monday-Friday, once again. My apologies for my absence over the holidays- I'm hoping you were all too busy with family and friends to notice. Lots of love and thanks to our own families and friends who kept us so happily spoiled rotten and busily entertained these last couple of weeks (SB and Boston, we love you)!

A New Day

Happy New Year to everyone! Here's hoping 2009 will be filled with happiness, laughs, projects, fun, health and love for all of us. My resolutions are to run a marathon, to cook less chicken, to work hard and be a good friend, to keep the blog fun and (hopefully) useful, and to get a dog (even though my husband says most of those don't count as resolutions). What are yours?

Ho Ho Ho!

Wishing you and your families a charmed Christmas! I'll be back on Monday!

Garland Land

When I went to the corner store to scope out their holiday decorating wares a few weeks ago, I spotted a large coil of pine garland all bound up. The chicken-scratch sign seemed to read "15 ft. $25". Let me just start by saying that I have no idea what the street value of pine garland is, so that seemed like a fair price to me, and seemed like the perfect length for my staircase, so I purchased what was essentially a rubber-tire sized bundle. However, when I got the thing home and untied all the bindings, I realized that I had misread the sign and it was actually 75 feet of garland (or 60 feet more than anyone could conceivably need in Manhattan), so then I felt simultaneously like a bargain shopper for getting so much, and like a sucker for paying so much in the first place for what I thought was less. And I was stuck with a lot of garland, and not a lot of apartment to put it in. So, I draped it over our mantles with ribbons and holly, wrapped it all the way up the railing, stuck bits of it into wreaths and on our Christmas tree, and festooned the railings of our balconies. It looks classic (very Currier and Ives), smells great, and still looks pretty, even after it's dried. It seems I discovered a great economical Christmas decoration by accident. Next year, I might buy 150 feet.

Ready, Set... Go!

After a snow-covered New England weekend, my husband and I are looking forward to flying to sunny California tomorrow for Christmas and the rest of the week.
Today I am zipping around finishing my gift shopping and packing, and readying the apartment for the week it will spend alone.
To keep myself from going insane today, and from having that "oh no, rotten bananas!" moment when we return home, I compiled a checklist of must-dos before leaving for a trip. All of it is common sense, but common sense I have completely lost in the rush to get out the door to catch a flight.

Before You Go:

Clean out the fridge and kitchen of any produce or perishables that will go bad in your absence. Make sure you get rid of that Chinese Take-Out in the very back.

Unplug electronics you won't be needing. This will save them from damage in the event of an electrical storm, and will also save you money on your bill- a plugged-in microwave or TV uses electricity even when it's not in use.

Water all of your houseplants, and move them out of direct sunlight. They should be fine without another watering for at least a week. Throw out any cut flowers and rinse out the vase- those lovely blooms will be rotting corpses by the time you get back.

Pay your bills that will come due while you are away.

Do your laundry, even if you won't be needing any of it for the trip. Mildew-y towels are only going to get worse if you leave them in a hamper for a week. And while you're at it, do the dishes, too.

Make your bed and put away your clothes. Walking into a clean house or apartment after a long day of travel on your way back will help to take a little of the edge off of the fact that your vacation is over.

Hide your valuables. It's always wise to keep your most precious jewelry and whatnot in a non-obvious place, but it becomes even more important when you will be away from home for any length of time.

Ask a neighbor to take in your mail and newspaper or call and have the post office and paperboy put a hold on them so they don't build up outside, getting damaged and broadcasting your absence to n'er-do-wells.

Leave a key with a trusted friend or neighbor. It's always good if there is at least one person who can get into your house in the event of an emergency (or if you realize on the way to the airport that you left the tea kettle on the stove).

Lock up (obviously). Make sure you walk around and get all the doors and windows, including those in the bathrooms, and in your basement or attic.

Set your thermostat/heater or air conditioner on very low (in the Winter/Summer), to avoid extreme temperatures in your apartment that can damage plants, electronics, and perishables.

Take out the trash. This is best done right before you walk out the door with your suitcase, so you make sure to get rid of anything that might get (even more) gross or smelly.

Turn out all the lights and make sure anything potentially dangerous (space heaters, curling irons, Christmas tree lights) are also off. If you have one (and are a real trickster), you can also set a timer to have a few lights come on at night.

Enjoy your trip (and let the relaxation begin)!

For a comprehensive packing list, click here. And if you have any tips of your own for leaving for a trip, please feel free to post them in the comments section!

Can't Live Without...Blush

With a dreamy snowstorm outside (at least on the East Coast) and the holiday spirit in the air, I doubt that many of you will be needing much artificial enhancement to get those glow-y sugarplums in your cheeks these days.
But should the need arise, I am here to suggest you make your next blush purchase NARS Blush in "Orgasm"($25).
I used to think of blush as something best reserved for geisha and old ladies, but this product made me change my tune. Because it's such a subtle and natural shade, it won't give you that clown-y cheek spots look or that glittery thing that some blushes have going on, even if you have to put it on in the dark. And due to some magic the mad scientists at Nars put in the recipe, it looks equally good on everyone, regardless of skin tone or complexion. You heard it here first- all that nonsense about needing to find the right shade for your skin type was total bull hockey- this is the right shade for everyone. Seriously.
If you don't believe me, stop by Sephora and get the "Orgasm" glow for yourself from their samples. Or you can get it the old-fashioned way...

Fun with Onions

One of the most common cooking tasks that elicits the most unnecessary dread is chopping onions. If you do it wrong (and there are so many ways to do it wrong), you will spend 10 minutes with make-up streaming down your face, wrestling with chunks of onion and end up with uneven, sloppy chunks and a sliced thumb, when all you wanted was guacamole. This Good Housekeeping video illustrates the proper way.

I'm a total wimp about onion tears, so I have several of my own crying-avoidance strategies that aren't mentioned in the video that I've listed below, along with the basic steps.

1. Slice the onion in half, from root to tip, using a nice large chef or santoku knife (not a little paring knife or steak knife, people!)
2. Immediately place both of the flat open sides face-down on the cutting board to prevent the tear-inducing gases from escaping into the air.
3.Cut the tips off (but not the root) and peel both sides of the onion, throwing away the skins.
4. Take one half of the onion and slice it once or twice parallel to the cutting board.
4. Slice evenly into the onion from front to back making several even cuts without slicing through the root.
5. Slice across the onion evenly making nice even cubes.
6. Immediately transfer all of the onion pieces into a small bowl and cover with saran wrap or a plate (again, we are trying to contain the weepy juices here).
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with the other half of the onion.
8. Immediately rinse your cutting board with cold water.

*Use this exact technique for cubing potatoes, or adapt it for chopping garlic or shallots (just use a smaller knife and make more cuts in all directions).

*If you have a stainless steel sink, run your palms and fingers on the metal to get rid of the onion smell on your skin (it works, I swear!)

* If you aren't too vain, and really hate the tears, swimming goggles will completely protect your eyes. No cool guy, sunglasses won't work.

Kitschy Classics

At this time of year, if you aren't already sick of hearing all that holiday music in every store and in line at the bank, it can be nice to have a good go-to mix of holiday classics to play at home. Call me crazy, but nothing gets me in the mood for Christmas like hearing little Michael Jackson insist, "I did! I really did see Mommy kissing Santa Claus!" to his disbelieving brothers (I believe it's Tito who exclaims, "Aw, c'mon, Michael!) Personally, I've always been a fan of the kitschy oldies, even though I come from a family (and married a man) who favors the Three Tenors and the Messiah. These songs send me right back to a simpler, happier time that can feel sort of hazy and distant (because it was before I was alive). Somehow, listening to this music while baking cookies or wrapping presents makes it all feel that much more fun and festive. And it's a great mix for a party, too (unless you plan to invite my poor, suffering husband).
I posted my favorites as an iMix on the iTunes store, and you can see the full list below:

Log Blog

Who hasn't looked at a mossy, mushroom-covered log and thought, "I wish that was made out of chocolate cake, so I could eat it"? That's right, at some point or another, we've all made that wish, and, thankfully, it has finally come true. My family has always had a traditional büche de nöel (I've got mad punctuation skills) yule log cake for Christmas dinner, and for the last few years I have made it from scratch. The full recipe (find it here) takes the whole day- the log consists of a chocolate genoise cake rolled around a chocolate mousse center, frosted with chocolate ganache, and garnished with chocolate "bark" and meringue and chocolate mushrooms. It's surrounded by candied rosemary sprigs and cranberries, and then dusted with cocoa and powdered sugar. I take pleasure in the whole production of it, but it's a labor of love and care, and, I'm realizing, a total waste of time. At least, this year. My husband and I will be arriving at my childhood home in California on the afternoon of the 23rd, and I don't think I will be able to pull off the Christmas miracle it will take to put that thing together, and get all of my other baking in (and also spend the afternoon sunbathing and swimming in the pool with my friends and fam.) It pains me, but something's gotta give, and it looks like it's gonna be the log.
However, I have a couple strategies up my sleeve to make a close approximation of the original log, with very little of the elbow grease. My plan is to make this cake in its original log form, frost it with chocolate whipped cream, and decorate with pieces of store-bought toffee to represent the bark. See?- I know how to cut back and simplify.

Well, I might make the mushrooms ahead of time and pack them in my suitcase.

Wrap Stars

I'm always impressed when people come up with creative ways of wrapping holiday presents beyond the Santa paper and stick-on bows from the drug store. No matter what is inside, if a gift is carefully and thoughtfully wrapped, it feels like the person giving it to you really cared (and if it turns out that it contains Paulie Walnuts cologne, at least you got to enjoy it for a few minutes before you opened it).

The package above was wrapped in white paper, and then a pattern and "bow" were carefully drawn on with markers- I found it on this crazy website called WrapArt that has tons of wild ideas with detailed how-tos.

This stack of gifts (the photo is from Martha Stewart) is wrapped paper made from color photo-copying pretty fabrics (copyright infringement, be damned!)


These wine bottles are wrapped in pretty linen napkins or dishcloths and tied with ribbon (photo is from Real Simple). A good way to dress up (or disguise) a re-gifted bottle from your last party.






I spotted this idea on Lupin's blog, Bugs and Fishes (and then everyone else's blog, because it got widely linked to- watch me jump on the bandwagon). So clever and personalized!




Lastly, I found these old pages from a 1960's ladies' magazine (Good Housekeeping, maybe) while zipping around the internet. I downloaded them, and then promptly and thoroughly forgot where I got them. But they are full of fun, kitschy wrapping ideas, and seem to prove that, when it comes to gifts, originality has always counted. That's a wrap!

Colour Like No Othour

In a thinly veiled attempt to distract you from the fact that I am too busy this morning to post anything original, I am posting my first video (I'll post some party pictures later). This is a commercial that Sony made a couple of years ago (so maybe you've seen it) by dropping 25,000 bouncy balls down a street in San Francisco. It puts me in a blissful calm mood every time I watch it. Though, when you think about it, 25,000 bouncy balls coming down a street at you would probably actually be totally terrifying.

Just Chillin'

I'm a little behind on planning the menu for our holiday shindig tomorrow night. I always have so many dessert recipes I want to make that I have to pare back for fear of putting everyone into a sugar coma. But one thing I will definitely be making is my favorite no-bake Icebox Zebra Cake. My mom (and probably everyone's mom) used to make it in it's classic form- cookies stacked with whipped cream in a log shape. But I like to make it in a cake shape, like this photo from Smitten Kitchen. It's fast, delicious, and has to be made ahead of time (I'll make mine this afternoon), so I can just pull it out of the fridge right before the party.
The hardest part of making this cake is finding the elusive Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies it requires. I used to have to order mine in bulk from Amazon, but happily they sell them at the Gristede's grocery store by my new apartment (which was obviously a major selling point for this place for me). If you can't find them, you can sub in chocolate graham crackers, and break them to form the circle shape. the layers won't turn out as pretty, though, so you might want to "frost" the whole thing with more whipped cream before serving. A little more whipped cream never hurt anybody.

You will need:

3 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 (9-ounce) packages chocolate wafer cookies
Chocolate shavings

In a large bowl, beat cream, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form (if you don't have a mixer, you can use the canned whipped cream instead- you will probably need 2-3 cans of cream).

On a flat plate or cake stand, arrange 7 cookies in a flower shape, with 1 cookie in the center, and 6 around it.

Spread with 1/2 cup whipped cream, making a 7-inch circle (staying 1/2 inch away from the edge of the circle of cookies). Repeat with remaining cookies and cream, making 11 layers of cookies. If some of the cookies are broken, put them on the inside, and keep the pretty round edges on the outside. Top with a layer of cream (there will be a few cookies left over). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 8 hours).

Just before serving, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.