Snow Birds

For a minute there, I almost believed that winter had forgotten about us up here.

Isaac's lavender yesterday.

Isaac's lavender today

I was watching the status updates on facebook of my friends down in the city: Playing in the snow in Brooklyn! Cozy inside watching the snow fall.  Snowball fight!

And we were up here, in the great snowy north, with no new snow.  It was mystifying.

And then, as soon as I dared to mention something to Isaac, oh?  What’s that?  A flake.  Followed by another and another.  By the time we got home from the grocery store, it was snowing in earnest.

Escape From NY

I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but here? It’s hot. Again.

Way too hot for sleeping, and for walking. Too hot for cooking or for lying on the couch and watching TV. Too hot to read and far too hot to sit at the computer.

So, it’s time to escape. Tomorrow Isaac and I are packing up and leaving the city; first by train, then by car, to meet my family up in the Adirondacks.

I know it’s a great luxury to be able to escape to the woods and mountains once each summer; to be able to slow down and cool off for a few days. So, in case you can’t do the same, I wanted to leave you with two dishes that will, in their simplicity and ease, help keep you cool and nourished as the heat wave rolls on.

First, please try this chilled Cucumber, Radish & Buttermilk soup from Gourmet. It’s been sitting on top of a pile of pages pulled from magazines on the living room floor that, someday, I hope to file away into a semblance of order. It’s been there for months (sadly).

And then, on Saturday, while I was in the city hunting for dill with which to pickle, it finally caught Isaac’s eye. I felt my phone jiggling around inside my purse. When I pulled it out and checked the message, there was a picture of this recipe staring at me. It was brilliant!

It’s very sophisticated and pretty and didn’t taste nearly radish-y enough for us. So for those that are worried about it being too radish-y, don’t worry. With a piece of pan-fried fish, a little chervil garnish and some hearty multi-grain bread, it felt like a were supping at midnight somewhere in Scandinavia.

Second, I give you an homage to one of the best sandwiches in New York; the tuna sandwich at ‘wichcraft, but in salad form. It’s the combination of thinly sliced lemons, with the skin on, meaty, briny olives and alluring raw fennel that really makes this sandwich sing. But in salad form, without tuna, it needed a little oomph, so I added dried chile flakes, which have the additional benefit of helping you cool down.

So I hope you manage to keep cool in the midst of this ridiculous heat wave. See you in a week!

Head below the jump for the recipe for Mediterranean Fennel Salad.

Bakey, Bakey

Did you know that Ace Frehely recorded a disco-era paean to New York City?

It’s a giddy, stompy, bizzarly addictive nugget of shuffling guitar-driven goodness. And some kid named Davey decided to load it onto his iPod and listen to it while dancing around on the Brooklyn Bridge on a heart-achingly beautiful New York city day, complete with backup dancers. Don’t believe me? Click here.

Why do I mention this? Because, well, much like Ace, I feel like I’m back in the N.Y. Groove.

I had a wonderful weekend with my aunt and cousin. We had a beer on Stone Street, walked over the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset (if you can’t stand the swarms may I recommend you try the other bridge) and ate dinner at La Maisson du Couscous, possibly the best restaurant in Bay Ridge, and definitely worth the trip from anywhere.

On Sunday morning, bright and early, I bounced around the house organizing and planning. We were heading to the Bronx to see the chrysanthemums and I had to get everyone rounded up and to Grand Central in time to catch the proper train. I sent text messages and left voice mails, I kissed the Boy and left him with a few minor errands to run and then I jumped on the train.

The MTA, for once, was voluminously accommodating in getting me to my destination. I got to Grand Central with almost half an hour to spare, so I got a coffee and wandered around taking pictures, relishing the opportunity to be a tourist in my own town for once. And then I waited, and waited, and waited.

The train had been gone for quite some time when I got the call, we weren’t going to the Bronx after all. Instead we strolled around lower Manhattan and laughed and ate and laughed some more. By the time they left I felt revived, revitalized, more in love with New York than ever and ready to get back into the groove.

When I got home the Boy had two quince roasting in the oven. The house smelled amazing: Flowery, delicate, perfumed with that aroma only a baking quince can release. After a quick kip on the couch I was back in the kitchen chopping and dicing and ecstatic to be there.

I roasted a huge bulb of fennel with a lemon. I pulled smoked turkey meat off of a slippery, cold leg. And then I squished and baked and tossed my way into one of the most exquisite dinners to come out of our kitchen in a very long time. The smoked turkey meat, mixed with golden onions and spices were stuffed into the quince, and the roasted fennel was tossed with radicchio, onions, chiles, mint and fennel fronds and dressed with the roasted lemon juice.

I never could have come up with these combinations on my own. The quince are supposed to be stuffed with lamb, but the Boy had picked up the turkey legs at the greenmarket. The combination of sweet and smoky sounded appealing, so I used them instead.

And the salad? A true team effort. He wanted the fennel thinly shaved and tossed with the radicchio and mint. I wanted it roasted. So we did both. An utterly perfect salad, born out of compromise.

And so I’m back, back in the N.Y. groove. It only took a little stepping outside of it to get back into it.

Head below the jump for the recipes for Smoky Stuffed Quince and Fall’s Perfect Salad.