Well, I didn’t save the menus, and I didn’t take any pictures: that shows you how hard it is to teach a Gen X blogger Gen Z tricks…. But brunch was great! It had a Southern/Caribbean vibe. The centerpiece were these Biscuits with Pancetta, Collards, Marbleized Eggs, and Espresso Aioli that sound way cheffier thanContinue reading “ESC #12: Brunch Edition”
Category Archives: blackbird
ESC#11: Shellfish Edition
This one truly went to 11 (to quote Spinal Tap). I was in Sacramento visiting friends and having a wonderful dinner at Localis–more on that trip this weekend–and I knew this was my chance to pick up some fresh seafood I couldn’t get in my home town. So, I packed a cooler with me inContinue reading “ESC#11: Shellfish Edition”
Mocktails in Space!
My friend Brooke had her birthday party at our local Planetarium, and as they don’t allow alcohol, she wondered if I could whip up a couple of space-themed mocktails for the event. Challenge accepted. I got out the old specific-gravity tables, ordered up some butterfly pea flower tea, and got mixin’. Of course, either ofContinue reading “Mocktails in Space!”
ESC #10: Valentine’s Edition
You just can’t beat Italian for Valentine’s Day. The Sunday Gravy was phenomenal—none of us could believe that so much flavor came out of so few ingredients (basically a couple of kinds of meat, garlic, and Italian herbs added to tomato purée). The semolina gnocchi (aka Roman gnocchi) were really interesting—kind of like rustic gougères.Continue reading “ESC #10: Valentine’s Edition”
Japanese Whole Wheat Milk Bread: Attempt #3
This one’s the ticket: it didn’t make the most beautiful loaf ever, but that’s on me. And despite the operator error, the texture and flavor were spot on. I reduced the wheat flour in this recipe to 50% (because honestly, if you’re going to add barley malt and wheat gluten to your whole wheat toContinue reading “Japanese Whole Wheat Milk Bread: Attempt #3”
ESC #9: Burns Night
So in case you don’t happen to be Scottish (or partly so), I’ll bring you up to speed: the poet Robert Burns’s birthday is January 25th and is usually celebrated among Scots with the eating of haggis (if you don’t know what all that ent[r]ails, it’s probably best not to Google it) and the drinkingContinue reading “ESC #9: Burns Night”
Letter of Recommendation: Lard
Look, I’m not even going to try to argue that lard has been misunderstood and is somehow good for you…. This is quite obviously not true. But! I do think that, in the first place, it’s no worse for you than any other fat that’s solid at room temperature (provided you eat meat in theContinue reading “Letter of Recommendation: Lard”
Sourdough Waffles
I know: with this post I have officially destroyed any lingering sympathy you might have had for my third bout with COVID. And your suspicions are well-founded. As I’m one of the very fortunate folks for whom the virus is no worse than a middling cold, my COVID infections have all essentially been a staycation,Continue reading “Sourdough Waffles”
Experimental Supper Club #8
The clam fritters were a disappointment, but the lamb ragu was good and everyone loved the cocktail, the carrot salad, and the rice pudding, which is a family recipe from Rene Redzepi’s partner….
Chef-y Recipes
I called a recipe chef-y the other week—I think it was this one—and one of my Experimental Supper Club buddies asked me what I meant by that. I thought about it and said something like, “A chef-y recipe calls for like 2 more hands, 4 more ingredients, and 8 more hours than you’ve got.” IContinue reading “Chef-y Recipes”
The Rookery 