Scrod a la Enzo

Scallops on a bed of curried maple festival squash

I really need to a) get a good camera and b) take a course in food photography because as I reflect back on my meals using such washed-out blurry photos I actually can't remember how good things tasted.

At any rate, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Butternut, Acord, or Festival squash
Scallops
Ginger
Sage
Nutmeg
Butter
Maple syrup
Curry powder
Mango Chutney powder

Recipe:

1. Grate ginger over halved squash and sprinkle curry powder, salt, & pepper.  Grate nutmeg
2. Coat with olive oil and put sage leaves in the squash cavity
3. Roast for 1 hour at 400 degrees, then scoop out and puree with maple syrup and a dash of lime juice
4. Sprinkle mango chutney powder, salt, & pepper on scallops
5. Sear in butter

On a kale kick

Rotini with kale, shallots, garlic, fresh chillies, (and super-secret anchovies).

You can replace the anchovies (which you dissolve into the oil first before sauteeing the shallots and garlic) with bacon, pancetta, or any other fatty goodness that will render down and give a little extra richness.  I suppose if you wanted to go vegan you might even be able to brown some portabello mushrooms and deglaze with a veggie stock.

Kale with pomegranite seeds?

Yep. Tasty! And looks like Christmas on a plate but my cell phone camera dulled the colors :(

Here's the "recipe":

1. Heat up some olive oil in a pan
2. Sautee some shallots and chillies
3. Throw in some chopped kale and make it go all wilty 
4. Sprinkle some celery salt as you stir in some pomegranite seeds and lemon juice
5. Serve immediately, eat immediately, and sigh with pleasure (immediately)

Death and Co

I don't normally review bars but K and I just had such bafflingly beautiful cocktails at Death and Co (6th between first and ave a).  The entire place is themed like a funeral parlor complete with austere entrance, with a menu full of about 12 pages worth of original drinks, sorted by primary liquor.  

K & I both opted for selections from the whiskey page.  She had La Dolce Vita (right), a strong drink centered around a chamomile-infused rye, complemented by St. Germain, Campari, and Elderflower liquor.  It grew on both of us as the ginormous ice-cube began to dilute.  I'm a sucker for all things smokey (scotch, bbq, lox, and lapsang suchong), so I went for the Laphroaig-based Paul's Word (left) spiked with lime juice and Green Chartreuse.  It was, despite the strong single-malt structure, a bit lightweight for me, but it was oh so interesting to taste the peaty backdrop of Laphroaig cut through the sweet.  And our bartender Thomas: this is a man worth befriending, folks.  He worked his tail off, even going so far as to taste (with a little pipette) my Paul's Word and decide it wasn't to his liking.  He spilled it out and started from scratch.  Wow.

So, if you're looking to contemplate your mortality while you imbibe some highly original cocktails with uber-top-shelf spirits, I definitely recommend Death and Co.

It now appears I have a hot chocolate blog

At MarieBelle New York in (wait for it) New York. Ordered their Panela ($6.50). 75% chocolate!!! I didn't think that was street legal. Such a well-crafted drink feels both decadent and refreshing, equal parts dessert and restorative. And since it is served in delicate little gilded teacups in a second floor boutique over looking Madison Ave, one feels oh so uppercrust. As near to chocolate perfection as I have had, but MarieBelle has not solved the classic hot chocolate dilemma: lumping. It invariably sets in as the hot chocolate becomes less..hot. Stirring doesn't help. Maybe all hot chocolate should be ladelled into shot glasses from an auto stirring fondue pot on your table? Maybe I should just chew my lumps :)