The first Jägermeister and, I’m totally serious, sea urchin ceviche

June 24

Lots of interesting parties last night. I went to two of them, skipping the Donald Trump-Dubai event, which was probably off the hook, as the kids say, but not very much related to my world.
So instead I went to a party celebrating or launching or doing something with La Fée Absinthe.
If you follow the booze world at all, you’ll know that absinthe is a newly re-legalized, hot little spirit (and potent at 136 proof) that had been outlawed, ostensibly because the use of wormwood in it led to the presence of thujone, which may or may not produce psychedelic effects in those who consume it.
From what I can gather, a great mystique developed around absinthe in 19th Century Paris, when people hung around and drank it and reportedly hallucinated and did art and otherwise behaved like bohemians.
George Rowley, La Fée’s managing director, visited our offices on Friday and blamed the French wine lobby, which at the time had fairly recently covered from a phylloxera plague that had wiped out its vineyards, for getting Absinthe outlawed (in 1915). I have no idea if that’s true, but it’s a good story.
Indeed, absinthe is a good story, and like French wine (I mean, with all due respect, it’s fermented grape juice), it's a marketing story.
Because in absinthe’s heydey, George says Paris' bars had special absinthe fountains for gently watering down and sweetening the liquor (such fountains were on display at the party). Statuettes spewing cool water were installed at bar posts for the same purpose.
Just like those Jägermeister chilling machines found in bars that are conducive to doing Jäger shots.
Drinking is very, very much about marketing and has been for a long time. At turn-of-the-century American Taverns, local breweries sponsored free lunch for anyone who bought a $0.05 beer.
If marketing weren't important, vodka wouldn't come in all those fancy bottles.
Neither would grappa.
But it seemed like a pretty good party. I caught up with food writer Jay Cheshes and editor (at Gourmet) James Rodewald. And I ran into Paul Tanguay, former beverage director of the SushiSamba world, who now has teamed up with cocktail maker Tad Carducci to form their own consulting company. So good for them.
Meanwhile, I learned today, the new beverage director for Simon Oren et al in SushiSamba land is Arik Torren. I’ll be learning more about that soon.
Okay, so that was enough of that party, which was held at Openhouse Gallery in SoHo. I walked a few blocks to Moss, a fancy design store which had been rented out by people celebrating the launch of SLS Hotels, the first of which opened in Los Angeles and where José Andrés is doing the food.
It was a cool party, with a mixture of designers and journalists and kool katz. My new friend Allison Held, who works for David Rockwell and whom I just met in Aspen, was there, much to my delight. So were the always excellent Greg Lindsay and wife Sophie Donelson, who were on their way to that Trump party.
Greg noted that that Philippe Starck was at the other end of the bar, surrounded by groupies, which is why it was so crowded down there. He was also the second person that evening to tell me about the invitation to that party, which I didn't get (although an e-mail invitation was forwarded to me; it's okay — I don't have to be on everyone’s A-list), and the second person to quote the cost of the postage, which was, I believe, just over $7. It was a lacquer box containing a little metal (possible brass) invitation to the gala. The blogs are now reporting on the event with some vigor, in case you’re curious.
Instead, I ended up talking with one of Allison’s colleagues about design things, as José swung by and stuck in my mouth a morsel of serrano ham wrapped in a cone that was filled with caviar.
Mmm, salty.
Cones topped with salmon roe were also being served and, much to my delight, sea urchin ceviche.
This is why I was so psyched to see sea urchin ceviche.
Oh, I also had a really nice chat with Will Blunt from Star Chefs. I hadn’t had one of those with him before, so that was nice.

PR perdana:TAHU ISI

21 Juni 2008,sabtu siang,

Chat ma si LIza, byk omong soal makanan n resep2...kita pengen juga kreatif kayak ibu ibu lain yang pinter masak, n supaya semangat juga refresh blog everyday...hehehe...so gw n die sepakat deh buat masakan kompakan....boleh pilih resep apa aja, boleh nyontek juga resep yg ada di blog lain...ato boleh juga resep kita sendiri...yg penting semangat nyoba n pantang nyerah...hehhe

PR perdana tahu isi...ga tau kok tiba2 kepengen nyoba bikin...abis disini ga ada tuh yg jual ..adanya juga tahu kopong..hehhee...so hari ini terlaksana deh bikin tahu isi, wlaupun diselingin tangisan bebi coz kurang diperhatiin, n mewekan si Mei coz ga diajak main..hihihi....



Tumis sayur ini itu, masukin tumisannya ke tahu....sorenya baru ngegoreng....pas husband pulang, lgs liat...wah lgs dicaplok...wiih...jangan dulu donk, blom smpet difoto...hehehe
n ternyata husband suka bner...coz org jep ga pnh mkan yg namanya tahu isi..hihi...mpe sparoh dicaplok...lah gw aja cm makan 2 biji...heheh...biar deh...ntar kpn2 bikin lagi katanya...

Cerdo Iberico con mostaza de Dijon y raviolis de boletus

Angel from Madrid (SPAIN) and his:

- CERDO IBERICO con MOSTAZA de DIJON y RAVIOLIS de BOLETUS (IBERIAN PORK with DIJON MUSTARD and MUSHROOM RAVIOLIS):



Thanks and welcome Angel!

苺ミルクシェイク/strawbery milk shake

24 juni 2008, selasa siang

Strawbery yg minggu lalu dipetik sndiri, tinggal sdikit, so enakan dibikin apa yak...? ya uda deh dibikin jus aja biar enak ditambah susu n gula sdikit biar rasanya mantap..hehehe
yang penting enak...dijus bisa dapet 3 gelas nih..lumyan...enak...apalgi diksh es batu ya...tambah sip...

Kimchi

Kimchi Refrigerator

Kimchi

I do love Kimchi . Especially fried with some meat and garlic. I do have to admit it took me at least 6 months to develop a like for it and now two and a half years later a love for it. I like the old sour stuff best.:)
Here is some links .
http://www.kimchi.or.kr/kor/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi

http://www.lovethatkimchi.com/

" I don’t believe there is a Korean person alive or dead who would concede that kimchi is weird. Nor, having lived in Korea for more than a year, am I able to do so. (Smelly, yes; weird, no.) In Korea, kimchi is more than a foodstuff. It’s a national icon, a cultural treasure, a palpable expression of the country’s feisty spirit and determination throughout history to grow and protect its own unique soul—to resist wholesale assimilation into the more megalithic cultures of Asia, through culinary defense. It’s a cure-all, a protective shield, a magic balm and a goddess of plenty. Without kimchi, Korea would not be the same country—there might be a nation in the same place, and it might even be called the same thing, but it would not be Korea."

"In case you don’t know, kimchi is basically fermented vegetables, which these days are usually (but not always) heavily spiced with garlic, ginger and red hot pepper flakes. The most common type is baechu, made by rubbing a spice paste in between leaves of a whole head of brined Napa cabbage, which is then put aside to ferment for a number of days. This is what most people think of when they think of kimchi: the hot-and-sour leaves that are both wilted and crunchy at the same time. But there are more than two hundred varieties of kimchi, from cucumber to pumpkin, served in dozens of styles."
From http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/05/13/korea-kimchi/?page=




Kim Chi Making http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Culture/kimchi/kimchi.cfm?xURL=making

"Koreans say they must eat kimchi wherever they are. When South Korea dispatched troops to the Vietnam War in the 1960s, tearful mothers sent off their sons with clay pots containing homemade kimchi. Soon troopships were filled with the pungent smell of the fermenting cabbage slathered with pepper and garlic.

So it was only natural for Koreans to think that their first astronaut must have the beloved national dish when he goes on his historic space mission in April. Three top government research institutes went to work. Their mission: to create "space kimchi.""

South Koreans consume 1.6 million tons of kimchi a year, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Until recently, in a tradition similar to an Amish barn raising, villagers joined to make kimchi each fall and stored it underground in jars to last through the winter. Today, most housewives buy kimchi in stores and keep it in an electronic "kimchi refrigerator."

From http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/22/asia/kimchi.php