I received an email a few weeks ago from a reader who wanted to vent and thought this blog would be a good place to express his frustration. I was happy to receive his email and upon reading his email, I could not agree more with his annoyance.

He was frustrated that when he goes out to dinner his plate is cleared while other people at the table are still eating. That in fact it is quite rude to clear a plate while others are still eating.  It makes for an awkward eating environment, forcing people to think they either ate to fast, or ate too slow, and should be rushed. My other personnel frustration is when a plate is taken away from you and you haven’t finished eating!  I thought, I would write about it more for food for thought and then look at how to let people know you are in fact finished. Also different cultures have different ways of letting you know when they are done.  Please let me know of any other specific cultural tradition and if you have a frustration like this to vent. I would love to hear.

I know there are many times, I take a break while I am eating. Please see the illustration below showing how your fork and knife should be place to indicate that you are not done yet. Knife and fork are criss-crossed at 8 and 4 if your plate is a clock face.

Okay now I am done. Knife should be placed turned inward and the fork is resting next to it. Using the analogy of the plate being the face of a clock, knife and fork are resting at 5 in the direction of 11. In British culture the fork is face up.

Most importantly plates should not be cleared until everyone has finished.

Asian Cultures

When eating food served in bowl with a lid, replace the lid on the bowl when you have finished.

When you have finished your meal, place your chopsticks on the chopstick rest when provided as they were when you started. If there is no rest make one with the chopstick wrapper.

Illustration Credit: Ask and about Clothes

Here is a great classic recipe for a simple rolled cookie. Yes, any cut out cookie does take a little bit more work than a drop cookie. One way I cut a corner with these cookies is that instead of frosting them, I just dipped them half in chocolate. I found this fabulous sparkle plate at TARGET. I was so excited I bought 8.

Preheat Oven to 375

1/3 Cup of Butter

1/3 Cup of Shortening/Crisco

¾ Cup of Sugar

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1 Egg

4 Teaspoons of Milk

2 Cups of Flour

2 Teaspoons of Baking Powered

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, Crisco, sugar, and vanilla. Flowed by adding the egg and whipping until light and fluffy. Mix in the milk and then stir in the flour and baking powder.  Divide batter into three equal parts and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

On a floured Surface roll out one of the parts of dough to about 1/8^th inch. With a cookie cutter cut the dough with the cutter and place on baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes.

You can eat them as is, sprinkle with sprinkles before baking, ice after being cooled or dip them in melted chocolate as I did.

I can remember the first time I had a Croque Monsieur vividly. I was 8 years old, had just moved to Tokyo with my family, and come back from school orientation and while waiting for my mother in lobby seating area my father ordered one for us. He was so excited to see it on the menu. I think to this day it is still the best croque monsieur; I have ever had. Recently, in the past year I have been on the quest to find one that compares. I have found one that competes but thought I would indulge and try it on my own.  I have seen them cut up small and served as hors d’ oeuvres. Which I think is an awesome idea.

 What makes this different from just a ham and cheese sandwich? The Béchamel Sauce.  I never would have thought to put a sauce in a sandwich, but oh how it makes it delicious!

 Pre Heat 350 degrees

Croque Monsieur

4 slices of Sandwich Bread

4 ounces of Slice Ham

11/4  Cup of Grated Gruyere Cheese

1/4 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons of Butter

1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard (optional)

5 to 6 Tablespoons of Béchamel Sauce (See Below)

 Lightly and evenly butter on both sides of bread and toast both sides in sauté pan over low heat until just golden brown. If you decide to use Dijon Mustard spread one side of each toasted slice with mustard. Evenly place the ham slices and about ½ cup Gruyère cheese on two of the bread slices. Top each with one of remaining bread slices, mustard-side down. Spread béchamel sauce to cover the top of each sandwich including the crust. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining Gruyère cheese and Parmesan Cheese. Place on a pan and bake for  5 minutes, then place under broiler until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Bechamel Sauce

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoons flour

½ cups warmed milk  plus 1 Tablespoon

Salt and ground pepper to taste

1/4 Cup of Grated Gruyere Cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, about 2 minutes, do not let it turn brown. Add the hot milk, continue to stir, the sauce will thicken and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in the Gruyere Cheese.

Julia Child’s Beef/Boeuf  Bourguignon

I saw Julie and Julia the first day it came out. I don’t think, I was the only person that was then intrigued to make Beef Bourguignon and see what all the fuss is about. I made this recently, on a cold snowy night. This is the perfect dish for this kind of evening. While making it I did not understand why there was all this fear in making the Beef Bourguignon. I think the fear comes from the fact that there are multiple steps and it takes a long time to cook. Also you do need a Dutch Oven to make this dish. Since it was the holiday season, I saw it as an excuse for me to finally buy one. This is something that could be made the day before and I think,  actually tastes better the next day. Also  a perfect dish to entertain with in the winter since it can be made ahead. It is very hardy.

6 oz Bacon (cut into pieces ¼ inch thick and 1½ inches long)

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

3 lbs of Lean Stewing Beef (cut into 2 inch cubes and pat dry)

1 Slice Carrot – I used 4 carrots and would suggest maybe 6

1 sliced Onion

1 Teaspoon of Salt

¼ Teaspoon of Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Flour- I used 3 to 4 tablespoons

3 Cups of Full-bodied Red Wine

2 to 3 Cups of Beef Stock

1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

2 gloves of Mashed Garlic

½ Teaspoon of Thyme

A Crumbled Bay Leaf

24 Small White onions

1 lb of Fresh Mushrooms

Preheat Oven 450 Degrees

Simmer bacon for 10 minutes, and then drain water and pat try. In Dutch Oven/Casserole Fireproof Dish sauté the bacon and olive oil for 3 minutes. Remove bacon and set aside. Heat oil and sauté beef until browned, do this a few pieces at a time and when browned on all sides with bacon. In the same fat brown all of the vegetables (except small white onions and mushrooms). Once vegetables are lightly browned, pour out the sautéing fat. Return the beef and bacon to Dutch oven and toss with salt, pepper, and flour and place in oven for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and toss again and return to oven for 4 minutes. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust).

Reduce Oven heat to 325

Stir in the wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a simmer on the stove. Then cover the dish and place in oven for 2.5 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

Boil the Small White Onions and then remove skins after cooked from onions. Cut Mushrooms into quarters and sauté.

When ready to serve distribute the onions and mushrooms over the meat.

So, I have decided I am going to start the year off with something that reminds me of lunches with my mom. When I was in pre-school waiting for my sisters to be done with school, we always have lunch together and most times there was a popover with strawberry butter involved. My sister over thanksgiving served popovers, strawberry butter, and salad for her first course and it reminded me of how much I enjoy them. The batter can be made in advance and  these are perfectly simple to make, a little different than just serving a roll. Also, a popover pan could totally make a fun gift! I know, I love all of my random cooking utensils.

1 Cup of Flour

1 Cup of Milk

3 Eggs

2 Tablespoons of Melted Butter (a little extra butter to grease the pan)

Pinch or two of Salt

Preheat oven 425 degrees

In a blender mix all ingredients together until smooth. Grease the popover pan and preheat the pan in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Take out and fill each popover cup until ¾ full of batter and bake for 25 minutes. Makes 6 popovers. I think best served with Strawberry butter or some other flavored butter.

Some friends said don’t write about it, because there still is, that stigma attached to having bed bugs. But I say, I would rather have everyone know and become a little more educated and know that it easily could happened to you. Although, I will say, I hope it never does. Even if you live in a “nice area” are super clean and have no clutter don’t be fooled and think you are safe from it. Bed Bugs are an epidemic that has hit New York City like wildfire over the past two years and is up 47% since last year. Only 1/3 of people react to the bites, lucky for me I have a severe allergic reaction to them!  They are very hard to find. They can hide in walls, move through pipes, live in almost anything. They bite until the hit a capillary, and they don’t need to feed every night. I have had a lot of conflicting information on the life span but most say it is 400 days and a female bug can lay 5 eggs a day. You can’t just bomb your apartment, everything needs to be packed up.  And you can’t just move, you have to make sure the problem is cleaned up where you currently live or you will just bring it with you to your next home.

For the past three weeks, I have been living a nightmare. One that cannot be completely explained but anyone who has gone through it would know just how horrible it is. I am living out of trash bags, putting my clothing in the refrigerator because I am paranoid, am on antibiotics, have had to stay in hotels, sore from all of my bites, and had many sleepless nights with fear of being eaten/bitten. Now, I always try and look at the glass as half full and there have been some positives, I have cleaned out my apartment, will have super clean clothing, I am turning my apartment into a craft studio. Before I detail the situation I am very grateful to those who have been supportive to me throughout this ordeal. Thank you.

Day 1- I noticed I was bitten and thought it must have been some random mosquito

Day 2- I was bitten again and realized it was too cold for mosquitoes

Day 3- Marked my body with permanent marker to track if I was getting new bites

Day 4- Went to a dermatologist to have a doctor examine my bites- ruled out all other kinds of bug and spider bites, 95% sure I have bed bugs. I decide to grab dinner by myself to try and decompress.

Day 5- Get a new bite and realize this must be bed bugs and call my management company. That day Roberta my “fairy god mother to bed bugs” came to my apartment to inspect. Could not find anything but my bites were classic bed bug bites and recommended that I have a trained beagle come into my apartment. Spent the evening washing and bagging clothing in a laundry mat. I decide I would not stay in my apartment anymore until the situation was resolved.

Day 10-   The first appointment available appointment for the trained beagle to sniff the apartment. Roscoe barked and pointed his nose in three spots in my apartment: the bed, sofa, and hamper. Now, I wanted not to believe this little beagle but he is 98% accurate and I had bites to prove it. It was just  frustrating because no one thus far was able to find one of these little bugs that was tormenting me.  I spent the rest of the day starting the cleaning and packing process. Now I have been in this apartment for five years and every article of clothing needed to be washed or dry cleaned, every book vacuumed and all packed up into trash bags and knotted. I was working until 3 am since I had little time and they were coming to fumigate my apartment in less than 48 hours. By the time I went to bed, all I had left was a t-shirt and it was cold. I had no more blankets or pillows. I sprayed myself with rubbing alcohol (supposedly they don’t like the scent) and got into a trash bag myself to prevent being bitten and to try and stay warm. Yes, a hotel might have been a better option but I was trying to process so much that nothing made sense to me and the costs of everything just seemed overwhelming to me.

Day 11- Went to work and spent the evening packing and cleaning. I did go to a hotel that night arrived with my infamous trash bags at midnight.

Day 12- I received no wake-up call, so was a little frantic as I was now running an hour behind. Like all moves you think you have made so much progress and don’t have that much to do but then there is always so much more. They arrived at 2 pm sprayed my apartment and I was left with a sense of relief that my apartment was safe again. Now another two people still could not find the little buggers. At 4:30 I had my sofa removed to take no chances and then had to run and get another mattress cover and pillow covers. I was excited to think I had control again. I picked up some laundry that had my sheets and went to go buy new pillows and a blanket. I got home and when I was working in my apartment was wearing the same dirty clothing, I was so excited to take a shower. I cleared all the trash bags out of my bathroom. I had been advised to put them in there. Since that area was deemed safe and it would be easy to spray/freeze the rest of the apartment. By the time I moved about 15 trash bags into my living room…there on the bottom of the tub I found them, TWO LIVING BED BUGS! They really did exist in my apartment. I almost lost it, but called Roberta, my bed bug fairy godmother. Not good, that the bug had moved from my living space into the bathroom which was considered a safe zone. She informed all the clothing would have to be re-washed and packaged. At this point I had a meltdown, I was exhausted in pain, overwhelmed, and the thought of doing it all over again was too much. It is funny when I first met Roberta she said I could call her whenever I needed something or had a question, I didn’t think I was going to be that person who called at 930pm on a Friday night, but I was. It was another night in a hotel…

Day 13- I decided forget about doing my laundry again, I couldn’t handle it and just sent it all out to be done. Something I wish I had just done in the first place. I was just having such a hard time wrapping my head around it since I had just brought all of my dry cleaning to the cleaners and that cost was overwhelming. I decided I would not stay in my apartment over the weekend and stayed with a friend.

Day 14- No Change

Day 15- they came again to my apartment to spray my bathroom. I thought it might be over. I was bitten that night

Day 16- was up all night and was bitten again.

Day 17- Went to Doctor because my shoulder was aggravated and became infected from carrying so many trash bags back and forth from the laundry mat. Pretty much passed out at the doctor’s office just overwhelmed by everything.  I went on antibiotics. Again moved out of my apartment and had another meltdown.

Day 18- No Change

Day 19- Moved all dry cleaning into a storage unit. I did not want to take a chance of taking anything into my apartment.  I am really excited to now have two storage units in NYC. Thank you Manhattan Mini Storage.

Day 20- Slept again in my apartment did not get bitten….

Day 21- Don’t think I was bitten previous bites super itchy and slept with TV and Lights on.

Now I am waiting for day 24 when they come again to freeze/spray. I figure, I will not unpack until December it is now November 3^rd and I will always have that thought will they come back and are they really all gone. Maybe next Halloween I will go as a bed bug victim  but this year it was too close to home.

This week I had the unpleasant experience of having my wisdom teeth taken out. I know, I am a little late since I think the average age of taking them out when they are 18 not 28. For the month prior I was teething which now I completely understand what toddlers are going through and have a new perspective. Now that I had to revert to eating mushy foods, I made in advance pre-surgery mashed potatoes. In true fashion I had to mess around with them a little and added some fresh pesto; I had gotten some basil at the Farmer’s market last weekend. Now I do love traditional mashed potatoes but this definitely was a fun twist to them and something I would enjoy every so often.

Pesto

½ Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Cups of Fresh Basil Leaves

1/3 Cup of Toasted Pine Nuts

½ Cup of Olive Oil

1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice and 1-2 Teaspoons of Lemon Zest

I used my blender but a food processor would be better. Pulse together Basil and Pine Nuts (I chopped both before placing them into the blender) followed by Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese, and Lemon Juice + Zest blend all ingredients together until smooth and looks like green pulp if it is too think add a little extra Olive Oil.

Mashed Potatoes

3 Russet Potatoes

½ Cup of Skim Milk

2 Tablespoons of Butter

Salt and Pepper

Peel the Potatoes and boil them until they are soft (a fork can easily puncture through). Remove potatoes from heat and water and place in a separate bowl. In a saucepan heat milk and butter once butter has melted add to potatoes and with a hand mixer whip the potatoes until fluffy and smooth. At this point add about ½ of the prepared pesto to start add more depending on how strong of a pesto taste desired.

Earlier this summer I was at a wedding and  on the table was this little jar of strawberry jam attached with a quote. The bride and her mother had made the jam. I thought it was so perfect, sweet, thoughtful and a wonderful idea. So in case anyone is looking for a favor idea, I thought this was a great one! 

So we grew together

Like to a double strawberry, seeming parted,

But yet an union in partition;

Two lovely berries molded on one stem

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

Last weekend I was at the farmer’s market in Union Square buying some blueberries because I wanted to make the August cover of Gourmet. Lemon Blueberry Ice Cream Bars- they turned out great and think they would be perfect to serve at a summer BBQ. While I was walking through the market I discovered Mexican Sour Gherkins. They look like mini watermelons about 1 inch in size but taste like a cucumber. It is now days later and I am still fascinated by these little guys. Now I just wish I had a garden and could grow them myself.

Maybe others have seen these before and I am just completely behind the times. I think they are amazing the only problem was they were rather expensive so I have been enjoying eating then one by one…although they would be completely awesome in a salad.

Definitely as the heat wave continues salad or cold soups are what I have been craving. Every so often I make something that I am truly excited about how it turned out. This  is how I felt about this recent Steak Salad. I think I told just a few people, about 10 just how excited Iwas about it!  I know it might seem like a lot of work, but I was able to accomplish everything in under an hour- I had a lot of things cooking at the same time. Unfortunately, I don’t per say have real measurements I just used what I had and tried to have equal portions. Also since I don’t have a grill I broiled my NY Strip steak for about 4 ½ minutes on each side. It did not have that beautiful grilled look but still tasted delicious!

Steak Salad

1 Head of Red Lettuce

1 Red Bell Pepper Roasted

1 Bunch of Asparagus Roasted (cooked in broiler)

1 Sautéed Yellow Onion

Fingerling Potatoes Roasted with Rosemary

Steamed French String Beans

1 Pound of Steak

1 Tomato chopped

Extra- I roasted a garlic bulb to either be added to the salad or used on the bread.

Vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Dijon Mustard

Before mixing all the ingredients together I cooled them all except the steak was served warm.