Reviews! NY Theatre Reviews!

we got 2 (!) for julius caesar.  its so exciting. and they both are so detailed and indepth.  i appreciate the time both of these women took to come see our show and the thought they put into their reviews! thank you thank you thank you!

THEASY.COM review

NYTHEATRE.COM review

FOOD INC.

the title should be enough said. but its not. clearly. i cannot right now, b.c i am still reeling from it, describe to you how i feel about this movie. other that the fact that it has affected (to touch or to move) me. quite deeply. i want to do something. 

what i was just thinking about is that its about - not only about - having a relationship with your food. fine, i'll say it, obsess about food. i love it. i love making it, i love eating it, i love looking at it, i love touching it. i love the things i put in my body. the things that give me fuel and energy. but, even i don't have a real relationship with my food. yes, i buy local and organic as much as i can but i dont always read labels and when i'm in a rush, strapped on cash...i dont even thing about it. i want to think about it. i want to be educated. i want to make a small change, even if its just my single self doing something...that'll make a difference some place. and on a friends urging. ... i am going to go out and read some of pollan's books. and, if need be, i will get back on this soapbox. 

xo

whims

i decided to do one of those email forwards with a recipe exchange on a whim. i mentioned my blog b.c i sent it to family and friends....someone who decided to participate in the recipe exchange decided to put my blog in the body of the email that they sent out...my initial reaction was that of, well, fear and shock but then i realized - this is a blog. and blogs are meant for sharing and i'm writing this in part to inspire people to cook themselves and take pictures and be creative in their day to day life...so i got over myself fast. so welcome anyone who i may not know...enjoy. what i am going to do in honor of this recipe exchange, is make all of the recipes sent to me and post about them.

yeah for the next challenge.

in my other life, as an actress. julius caesar is going well. we opened on thursday and have another show tonight then again next weekend. its going well. we needed an audience and though the houses havent been very big, we've had very supportive audiences. i love having an audience there. it makes the stakes you've set for yourself on stage higher and more valid. not that if we didnt have an audience it wouldnt be valid...but it only heightens our reality and i lurve it. come see our show!

sign it!

ya'll should sign his petition! i big hearts his ideas, as seen here.

one a day

day seven : morning light

day six : duh.

day five : bits of me

day four : window pain

but baby its cold outside.

i know i know i know. its freezing in nyc. the snow came. covered the city for a bit now there's piles of grey wet ice and mush covering the streets and sidewalks. its gross really. typically on these cold gross days all i want is a big bowl of something warm....but i made this salad the other night and it was the best thing i could have ever done. it was what i needed. what reminded me that fresh crisp food is so fulfilling. i love this salad, like big much.

i found the recipe while scrolling through molly's recipes. molly has this amazing blog, orangette, her blog was my first foray into the cooking blog world and i guess inspired all of this. i even bought her book, which is also fabulous, you can borrow it if you want. she's a great writer who's life has been shaped by food. its wonderful and romantic. 

anyway, she bastardized this recipe from the Balthazar Cookbook.  i must admit, i have yet to actually eat there, i've gotten coffee and croissants from the take out place but havent graced the chairs. i'd like to go, it feels like a SoHo experience everyone should have....

Balthazar Salad, Slightly Bastardized

even more bastardized from here

the following quantities make a good-size salad for two, enough for a very satisfying dinner, preferably with a hunk of crusty bread and some butter or olive oil and pepper. i ate it for 3 days by my lonesome. the quantities of romaine, frisée, and radicchio purposely ambiguous, because any proportion of the three is delicious. just prepare enough greens to have a couple of handfuls each, and dig in.

Ingredients

• ¼ lb skinny asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• A handful of skinny green beans or haricots verts, trimmed
• A dozen or so thin strips of lemon zest
• 1 medium fennel bulb, sliced paper-thin
• A half-dozen red radishes, sliced paper-thin
• Romaine lettuce, cut into ½-inch strips
• Frisée, ripped into bite-size pieces
• Radicchio, cut into ¼-inch strips
• Lemon-Truffle Vinaigrette, to taste (see below)
• 4 ¼-inch slices from a wedge of ricotta salata, cut into matchstick slivers (THIS IS AMAZING CHEESE!!!!)
• 1 small raw beet, washed, dried, and cut into matchstick slivers
• A few thin slices of avocado (optional)
• Maldon salt or fleur de sel, as needed

Preparation

1. blanch the asparagus, green beans, and lemon zest. fill a medium saucepan with water, and bring it to a boil over high heat. add a pinch or two of salt, and add the asparagus. while the asparagus is cooking, make an ice bath by filling a medium bowl with ice cubes and cold water. cook the asparagus until it is bright green and barely crunchy, about 3-4 minutes; then, using a slotted spoon, transfer the spears to the ice bath. add the green beans to the boiling water, and cook them until they are bright green and barely crunchy, about 3-4 minutes. remove them to the ice bath with the asparagus. finally, add the lemon zest to the pot of boiling water, and blanch the strips for 1 minute before removing them to a cutting board. Blot the zest dry with a paper towel, and mince it finely.
2. remove the asparagus and green beans from their ice bath, dry them well on paper towels, and place them in a large salad bowl. add the fennel, radishes, romaine, frisée, and radicchio, and toss to mix. add vinaigrette to taste and toss again to coat each leaf and green with a thin sheen. serve, topping each portion with a few fingers full of ricotta salata, a few slivers of beet, and a slice or two of avocado, if you like, and cap with a light sprinkling of minced lemon zest. season with salt to taste.

Lemon-Truffle Vinaigrette (I didn’t make it lemon truffle, I made it lemon vinaigrette and it was just as good!)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• ¼ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 Tbs mild olive oil
• 2 Tbs white truffle oil (did not use!)

Preparation
in a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. slowly add the olive and truffle oils, whisking constantly. continue to whisk until the dressing is thoroughly emulsified. the vinaigrette will keep, refrigerated in a sealed container, for one week.

ps. i cannot tell you wonderfully yummy this salad is. its like a week later and i'm still thinking about it.

words of wisdom from Jamie Oliver

i just watched Jamie Oliver's TED prize wish speech.  that guy, knows his sh*t. he's smart, he's well informed, he's resourceful, he's inspiring.  when i was in high school i used to watch the food network like it was my job. i didn't really fancy MTV and all the popular shows that people were watching, i watched the food network, bravo and...i'll admit it, TLC. as my boyfriend likes to say, i'm a nerd, what can i do. i would watch Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef religiously, i went out and bought his cookbooks when i was 17. sure, maybe i also had a wee crush on the brit, but it was the way he handled his food. it was raw. the food that you put on your plate and in your mouth was good, natural and simple. there's really no bells and whistles about what he did. and none about what he's trying to do. he is empowered to make a change. to save live how he can, through what we eat. he is trying to empower each and every one of us to make a change, bit by bit, so that we live longer, so that our children live longer. so that we become a more sustainable country...planet, really.  i think he's so right, the kitchen in your home is where tradition is passed from generation to generation.  i learned how to cook from my parents and i couldnt be happier. the stage and kitchen are my safe havens. they are my go-to de-stressers. some people run to get out of their heads, i find something i've never made and always wanted to try and i make it. i dont think when i cook, i just do. it just happens. i know its different for everyone but i think there is so much worth and value in what Jamie is tying to do.  i'm not sure what you and i can do, but we can effect change some how. towards the end of his speech, and i am paraphrasing, he made the statement that if one chap, teaches three of his mates to cook, and they teach three of their mates to cook....its the whole country.  lets be the generation that helps change, thats brings us back to the basics. that brings us back to the ground.  i will gladly teach any of my friends anything i know. i'm no expert but i know my way around the kitchen.  eat organic. eat locally. as often as you can.

enjoy Jamie's talk.  xo

one a day : just for kicks

day three: snow locked.

day two: men. note.

day one: from: me; to: me

ramble on and eat.

stuff done: read and found more food blogs! (obviously...part of the reason i started one...i was inspired.) i have so much to do! 2 weeks, a mere 15 days and our next show, julius caesar opens at the access theater in tribeca. i'm so freaking stoked! here's a confession, i love the word stoked. its totally dumb, but its one of those words thats sort of makes me giddy. my dad has a good friend who's last name is stokes. i used to (yeah right, used to) giggle every time my dad talked about him. just mentioned the fact that he was playing golf with mr. stokes...yeah, dad (smile)? you must be totally stoked! (burst of giggles) that's so embarrassing. and silly. i have some gems that i choose to share.

(come see the show!)

seriously, i have a lot to do. there's still lines not remembered, beats to nail down, scenes to activate. work to be had...but first...the food. food glorious food!

like i said before, i've found new food blogs. while i was surfing that crazy web thing right here, there, where you're looking...i found the nervous cook. and her post about polenta made me think. i love polenta. i mean, i freaking love it. everytime i go out to eat and its mentioned in the description of a dish, that dish is immediately on my short list of what i will be eating. seriously. but, i cant make restaurant polenta. ive never been able to. i've either bought the stuff already cooked and stuffed in and vacuum packed in plastic OR made it sort of runny and soft and more like goo than anything else. until...thats right, until tonight. tonight i *almost* made restaurant polenta! it was baked and browned and creamy and rich and spicy...eet was, eh, how due you saa', magnifique! and i laid it on top of a bed of greens. collard greens, ya'll.

i sort of blended the nervous cook's meal and this one.

Baked Polenta & Greens

makes about 8 good size slices

ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/8 cup olive oil (w. the 1/8 cups - i just guessed)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• good pepper
• 1 1/2 cup organic chicken stock (if you have homemade - use that)
• 1 cup half-and-half (this is the key i think to restaurant style polenta!!)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan

preparation

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper and saute for about 1 minute.

2. Add chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk and bring to a boil. 
3. Remove from heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk (this is important, otherwise your polenta get chunky and you don't want that).
4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, until thick and bubbly. It will bubble a lot, its like hot lava releasing air every two seconds, so be weary of the pops, you can get burned. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan. Pour into a round cake pan (8 or 9 inches OR you can use a 9 by 13 pan, smooth the top, and refrigerate until firm and cold. 
5. Turn the broiler on (rack about 5" from the heat...i dont have the luxury of aduusting my rack, so i would just make do with what you have.) and place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to heat...i forgot this part...

6. Once polenta has cooled and set, invert your dish to remove and pat the polenta dry. Cut the chilled polenta like you would a pizza or cake and brush each slice with olive oil.
7. Broil until the polenta is golden brown (6-10 minutes...mine took longer than this, so just keep your eye on it.)

greens
ingredients

• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch of collard greens sliced and dices (or, really, whatever you want to use!)
• salt & pepper
• juice of 1 fresh lemon

preparation
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper flakes and cook until soft (3-5 minutes).
2. Add the collard greens and cook until wilted. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice; toss. 
3. Serve underneath the polenta wedges.
COOKS NOTE: again, its a lot of food. the next day i had plenty of leftovers, but not enough for 2 people, so i cut up another half of a white onion and threw in a handful of spinach, then mixed in the leftover greens...it was delightful!

i guess its that winter feeling

there's a storm coming through the midatlantic states and i cannot be more jealous. i just want snow. i want snow to dump on new york city so its quiet and white and you could walk out on the streets at midnight and it would be as if not a soul breathed in new york. that may seem morbid, but i mean it so far from that sense.  when the city is that quite it looks like a painting. it feels like your favorite book that you curl up on the couch with. its wonderful. its romantic.

new york is a lonely place though - completely contradictory to what i want out of the city at this current moment. when there's a haze over the city, there's this entire city shift. we all, buildings, taxis, animals, people, we all shift into second gear and cruise. slowly. not like your on highway 101 and the sun is blowing in your hair and the sting of salt water washes over your face. but this lethargic second gear in which there seem to lurk questions unanswered. its a time when i have this urge to feel "deep." to meditate on life and reiterate to this giant of a city that i'm not afraid of it. sure its big. sure its lonely. but, hell. i'm not scared. i'm pushing on. 

its amazing. when i'm in this mood i notice everything and everyone. i see how solitary this city is. there are bodies studding the sidewalk, maybe every 5 people theres a couple or a group of friends laughing. but for the most part, its everyone walking to their homes. after a long day on their feet. with a bag of groceries, or a playlist of what to order from the thai place, or hopes that there's some rice left in the cupboard and you have a pot clean enough to cook in. there are these pained expressions of the people going by on the bus. i see them through the aging glass, their brows furrowed, their skin opaque from the fluorescent lights inside, their eyes glossed over as they peer through that same glass. in deep thought. or in that nothingness we all experience when we're tired.  the buildings seem to ache. the seem to creak and crack for help. they are falling apart. why won't someone just fill in that gap...i'd provide more warmth.

i'm being a constant observer. maybe i'm projecting. maybe i'm just creating drama. at least i know i'm thinking. xo

tragedy.

i just learned that my boyfriend's sister sent her wedding dress in to get cleaned and it never came back. she sent it to Orange Preservation Labs and they lost it! they initially said that they would compensate her for the dress, but still, 4 months later, nothing. ladies, be really careful about this - and whatever you do - DO NOT USE Orange Preservation Labs.

i can only imagine how devastating this has been. you can't really "compensate" for a wedding dress. its worn on a once in a lifetime and has so much more value than any dollar amount. so sad. and so disappointing.