You want great Sichuan in Manhattan? Peep Legend on 7th Ave between 15th and 16th Street.
I’ve been four times in the past two weeks and can recommend almost everything that I tried. I especially liked:
Sichuan Cucumber
The Green Beans with Ground Pork
Sichuan Spicy Ma Pa Tofu
Dry Spicy, Tasty Diced Chicken with Ginger and Peanut.
Photo Credit: Serious Eats, from their fine slideshow of the place.
Say you’ve got an empty cone–and for the sake of this argument, let’s pretend you like cones–what kind of ice cream would you put in it?
[Photo Credit: A Day that is Dessert]
In 1974, when I was three years old, my grandparents returned from a trip to Florida with a gift for my mother and my aunt. They carried it in a box, a few small branches of an orange tree. My aunt planted hers and it died immediately but mom, who has a way with plants and flowers, potted the branch and it grew into a small bush. For years, it didn’t produce any fruit. Then, a few, small yellowish oranges appeared, too sour to eat.
Still, mom brought the orange tree with us when we left Manhattan and it survived a divorce, a new marriage, and five homes.
In a recent e-mail, she explained:
I had close-to-death encounters with this one: once going on vacation and finding it all dried up, I put a plastic tent over it and misted it to bring it back to life. Another time one of the cats peed in the dirt and nearly killed it. I had to wash the roots and repot the tree. I kept my fingers crossed on that one, I can tell you. Before we left Croton, a bug infestation, the tree got covered with scales. I hand picked the bugs and spay each leave on the top and on the bottom…
The tree survived and then flourished once mom moved up to Vermont two years ago.
I never knew you could eat the fruits. Then in a catalog recently, I read that a calamondin is a cross between a clementine and a kumquat.
This fall, as by conspiracy, the tree was covered with the biggest fruits ever. (The Vermont air and the Vermont compost…) So I decided to try to make marmalade. I added an orange to brake down the tartness of the calamondin, and bingo. Delicious, tart but nor sour, clementine-parfumed marmalade. The natural pectin in the fruit worked like a charm. All I needed was sugar and cute little pots.
She needed more than that. Patience, devotion, love. Mom’s got it. Got it in spades. It took close to forty years but she never gave up on her little plant, and I can’t wait to taste the marmalade.
My dad used to make fun of me for mixing cultures in the kitchen like when I had Genoa salami and sliced cornichons with Dijon mustard on a bagel from Zabars. I never saw anything strange about it. That in mind, thanks to the wonderful food blog Three to One, check out this good combination:
There are few things in this world that I love more than quality prosciutto and a good croissant is something to savor. Yes, please.
It’s winter cold today for a change. Nothing would hit the spot better than a bowl of chicken soup.
[Photo Credit: Taste with the Eyes]
Oh, it ain’t over…
Couple of more days of drool-worthy sweetness before that New Year’s resolution diet kicks in.
[Photo Credit: A Spoon Full of Sugar]
Serious Eats gives us 11 burgers around the country that are worth the hype. This simple-looking burger from JG Melon looks good enough to troop over to the East Side, don’t it?
One of Emily’s cousins is a self-proclaimed apple snob. Says nothing beats a honeycrisp as an everyday eating apple. I didn’t know from the variety until he mentioned it but have since tried out them out and have to say–damn tasty.
[Photo Credit: Ecker’s Apple Farm]
Every day is a good day for Madeleine’s. Man, check out the beautiful site: Three to One.
No matter what you are cooking, as our man, Jacques Pepin likes to say: Happy Cooking.
Ever have “The Luther”?
That’s a burger with bacon on a doughnut. It’s named about Luther Vandross.
I have not tried one. I gotta admit the truth: I ascared.
[Photo Credit: Scene by Laurie]
If you’ve never been to this spot, well, what the hell are you waiting for?
Serious Eats gives us Apple Cider Doughnut Ice Cream.
Why the hell not?
Here’s the recipe. Oh, baby.
Dig this recipe for Lemony Chicken Tortellini Soup from the beautiful site, The Parsley Thief.
Fresh direct from the Goddess at Smitten Kitchen: Apple Pie cookies.
Dag, where have you been my whole life?
Food 52 is a regular stop for me. It’s a wonderful site that just got a face lift and is now better than ever. Drop by.
Oh, and dig this fat bastard ridiculousness: croissant french toast.
Fug me.
[Photo Credit: Jennifer Causey]
