'...or the cherries. And certainly not this.'
As immovable as a Rodin statue the matronly security guard at the Met would not be swayed by any plea to disregard the unearthed zucchini salad in my shoulder bag. The walls of Tupperware and tightly sealed plastic bags were not enough to appease her, as though letting me into the museum with such contraband might lead to cherry juice and radish bits on beloved artworks.
Well, she had a job to do, and I respect that. So, LP, V and I trekked up Fifth Avenue to leave the goods in LP's car for an evening rooftop feast. We then returned to the Met and joined the line for the exhibit Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty to work up an appetite. The show is a visual bacchanal. I knew nothing about Alexander McQueen beforehand. I had no idea... (Steel yourself for the crowds, my friends, and go see it for it is truly a rapturous and intriguing experience.)
There is only one thing to do after such an experience... have a drink. We sat in the 'Great Hall Balcony Bar' and enjoyed a beverage and live classical music. I wouldn't recommend the cocktails, but I had a very nice glass of local white -- a Gewürztraminer from Hermann J. Wiemer in Fingerlakes, NY. I know it doesn't sound local, and according to my trusty wine reference, "Wine for every day and every occasion," by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, Gewürztraminer is "a distinctive, peppery grape that's a specialty of the Alsatian region of France." It also happens to be in the spell-check function on my phone. Lucky for me.
After, we headed up to East Harlem for the rooftop picnic. My zucchini salad augmented a delicious, (mostly) Middle-Eastern themed feast that LP prepared for us the night before--lemony-garlicky hummus, smoky babaganoush, tabouli with fresh parsley and mint, Moroccan tomatoes, homemade pita both plain and transformed into a little 'pizza' with olive oil, Lebanese za'atar and feta. It is not lost on me how fortunate a gastronomer I am to have friends so gifted in culinary ways.
Because it was a rooftop picnic, we drank mint lemonade spiked with Michael Collins Irish whiskey. And overhead, a brief, impromptu show of fireworks gave us a bit of a fright, but was, nonetheless delightful.
For dessert, we had two percent greek yogurt (because a little bit of fat makes everything better). The yogurt was topped with the sour cherries soaked in a little peach brandy and pistachios. A two-bite side of baklava rounded off the evening nicely.
That, my friends, was all on Saturday. V's not in town often, and the next evening, we cheered and toasted into the wee hours of the holiday. We finished the evening snacking on a range of goodies at Casa Chris, the star of which was LuLu White Truffle Honey, a present from V. and a gift from the bees (and LuLu). This spread is nothing more than clover honey, white truffle oil and salt, but oh my! Keep your panties on when you try this one, readers, it is sexy!
Today, I recovered on the beach with CME. We took an afternoon break and ate fantastic pulled pork tacos (and a substandard lobster roll--I only know this because CME explained what a lobster roll is really supposed to be! I'm such a seafood novice... one might consider this to be a plea for help, by the way...)
Happy Fourth to you and yours. And, stay tuned!
As immovable as a Rodin statue the matronly security guard at the Met would not be swayed by any plea to disregard the unearthed zucchini salad in my shoulder bag. The walls of Tupperware and tightly sealed plastic bags were not enough to appease her, as though letting me into the museum with such contraband might lead to cherry juice and radish bits on beloved artworks.
Well, she had a job to do, and I respect that. So, LP, V and I trekked up Fifth Avenue to leave the goods in LP's car for an evening rooftop feast. We then returned to the Met and joined the line for the exhibit Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty to work up an appetite. The show is a visual bacchanal. I knew nothing about Alexander McQueen beforehand. I had no idea... (Steel yourself for the crowds, my friends, and go see it for it is truly a rapturous and intriguing experience.)
There is only one thing to do after such an experience... have a drink. We sat in the 'Great Hall Balcony Bar' and enjoyed a beverage and live classical music. I wouldn't recommend the cocktails, but I had a very nice glass of local white -- a Gewürztraminer from Hermann J. Wiemer in Fingerlakes, NY. I know it doesn't sound local, and according to my trusty wine reference, "Wine for every day and every occasion," by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, Gewürztraminer is "a distinctive, peppery grape that's a specialty of the Alsatian region of France." It also happens to be in the spell-check function on my phone. Lucky for me.
After, we headed up to East Harlem for the rooftop picnic. My zucchini salad augmented a delicious, (mostly) Middle-Eastern themed feast that LP prepared for us the night before--lemony-garlicky hummus, smoky babaganoush, tabouli with fresh parsley and mint, Moroccan tomatoes, homemade pita both plain and transformed into a little 'pizza' with olive oil, Lebanese za'atar and feta. It is not lost on me how fortunate a gastronomer I am to have friends so gifted in culinary ways.
Because it was a rooftop picnic, we drank mint lemonade spiked with Michael Collins Irish whiskey. And overhead, a brief, impromptu show of fireworks gave us a bit of a fright, but was, nonetheless delightful.
For dessert, we had two percent greek yogurt (because a little bit of fat makes everything better). The yogurt was topped with the sour cherries soaked in a little peach brandy and pistachios. A two-bite side of baklava rounded off the evening nicely.
That, my friends, was all on Saturday. V's not in town often, and the next evening, we cheered and toasted into the wee hours of the holiday. We finished the evening snacking on a range of goodies at Casa Chris, the star of which was LuLu White Truffle Honey, a present from V. and a gift from the bees (and LuLu). This spread is nothing more than clover honey, white truffle oil and salt, but oh my! Keep your panties on when you try this one, readers, it is sexy!
Today, I recovered on the beach with CME. We took an afternoon break and ate fantastic pulled pork tacos (and a substandard lobster roll--I only know this because CME explained what a lobster roll is really supposed to be! I'm such a seafood novice... one might consider this to be a plea for help, by the way...)
Happy Fourth to you and yours. And, stay tuned!
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