Take Me Back to Manhattan

Foodie Heaven
Thursday, June 19, 2008

IF someone told me that I could choose between not eating and being skinny the rest of my life or eating amazing food and struggling with/having to work to keep my body in shape, I would unquestionably pick the latter. Oh wait - someone did tell me that. And I started therapy shortly thereafter.

I love food. Good food is a true art. A talent beyond measure. It is not a given that one can follow a recipe and therefore be a good cook. It is not a given that one knows how to entertain. Just as a musician hears the notes and knows what how to create a symphony, as an artist knows how to mix the colors on the palette, as a director can clearly envision the perfect shot, a chef creates a symphony of flavors, mixes the ingredients, envisions the perfect meal.

Saturday night, I had the joy and pleasure of being a guest at one of the greatest dinners I have ever been at. How often in your life do you go to someone's home and experience a tasting menu? Our friend Jackie, is not only a superior chef, but she's an incredible host.

A good host knows how to bring the perfect group of people together. They know when to gather for appetizers and when the right time is to serve dinner. They make things seem effortless (ed. note: I need work in this area...) They set a table that looks gorgeous. They have a home that feels completely welcoming. And most of all, they ENJOY entertaining.

And if the food is good, well, that's an added bonus. A tasting menu? That's next level. Saturday I had a 7 course (8 if you include the apps outside on the patio with the Pol Roger champagne) dinner that could have been served in any of LA's finest restaurants. This is not the first time this has happened. Last November**, Jackie invited us over to dinner and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I also drank every glass of (sometimes 2) wine that was paired with every dish and came home and had the spins for the first time in...oooooooooooooh, I don't know...EIGHT YEARS!!! And of course, I knew the food would be fabulous tonight as it always is.

BUT ANOTHER TASTING MENU???? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???

And not simply a tasting menu. A tasting menu complete with wine pairings.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 12:42 AM 2 comments    

Labels: food and drink, whilst drinking

A Love Letter to Ina
Monday, May 5, 2008

I read cookbooks. Like cover to cover.

This is a shock to me. I had no idea that I was going to grow up and be a cookbook reader.

This evening I came home from work and my Amazon.com shipment had arrived. It contained three books:

1. How'd You Score That Gig - a book that was promoted in my "Daily Cents" email and I just couldn't resist given my influx of career thoughts these days.

2. Colin Cowie's Chic- I recently bought this for a close friend for her birthday and it was nearly impossible not to keep it for myself. So I did the next best thing and bought myself one too. How do you resist a book with PERFECT advice on home, entertaining, travel, and work from one of the most fabulous gay men alive???

3. The Barefoot Contessa at Home- which brings me to this post. You know how Sesame Street is brought to you by a letter? Like the letter Q. or R. or any of the other 24 letters. This post is brought to you by the Barefoot Contessa.

When I opened the package, I stared at all three and contemplated - but I was immediately drawn to Ina. And I didn't just turn to the recipes. I wanted to read her introduction. I WANTED to. Ummmmm...I am a cookbook introduction reading 32 year old woman. AND I LOVE IT.

I'm only 40 pages into her 249 pages of delectable delights but I'm already dreaming of dinner parties with perfect margaritas (no margarita mix!!!!) and pan-fried french onion dip (made ENTIRELY from scratch) and most importantly lots and lots of laughing. And warmth. Ina talks about a home filled with warmth. Where people walk in and they feel like family. And that's why I love Ina. Sure, her recipes are amaaaaazing. Next level. Truly my favorites. I know if I cook Barefoot, I'm cooking a good meal. But the Ina's philosophy rings true for me even more:

"A good home should gather you up in its arms like a warm cashmere blanket, soothe your hurt feelings, and prepare you to go back out into that big bad world tomorrow all ready to fight the dragons....Sure it has to make (myself and my husband) feel comfortable, but equally important, it has to make my friends want to drop by."

This. This is the philosophy I want to live by. This is what life is about. Having a home that feels like a home to each and every person that comes here. With chairs that they can sink their bodies into and food they can sink their teeth into and conversation they can sink their souls into. This is what life is about.

I'm 32 and I read cookbooks. Excuse me now. I have to go finish...

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:48 PM 4 comments    

Labels: family, food and drink, friends, introspection, musings on life, whilst drinking

I don't do lines
Friday, May 2, 2008

I don't do lines. And btw, I'm not talking about grocery store lines or movie lines. I'm talking about get into a club for an acquaintance's birthday party line. Call me what you want - a snob, stuck up, a bitch (I call me smart)...but I don't do lines.

Tonight I went to STK for said acquaintance's birthday. Oh - and click on that link to be officially disgusted (when you get there, click on the STK link). I can save you a trip if you'd like. First you'll see a woman's calf so defined (by photoshop clearly) that you might want to puke. If that doesn't do it, your gag reflex will definitely kick in when you see the piece of raw meat hanging off a captain hook hand. Next up is the picture of bright red lips bighting into a chunk o' filet. This is supposed to be sexy by the way. Lastly is the lovely shot of the spike heel digging into the bright red bloody beef. V. I. L. E. And I like a good steak. But seriously? This is revolting.

Oh and also, did I mention I had dinner here on Tuesday night? And it was actually surprisingly good. After seeing the website I was highly skeptical but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. So when I was told to "swing by" said birthday party I figured why not? I had no idea that STK had an entirely different section that is a bona fide CLUB. Yes I'm TOTALLY out of the loop. Entirely.

I should have gotten the hint when the valet line was 10 cars long. But I just figured I was dealing with a bunch of lazy ass people and found myself some street parking. However, when I walked up, it was like I was at an entirely different restaurant than I'd been to on Tuesday night. That's because I was no longer at a restaurant. In true LA nightclub fashion, I found myself surrounded by women plastered in makeup, wearing heels too high for them to walk in, leaning on the arms of men pretending to be more important than they are. I bypassed this scene and headed into the restaurant, certain that there must be some sort of mistake. I pushed my way past paparazzi standing like vultures awaiting the possible prey that might come out of one of the aforementioned cars valeting.

In the safety of the restaurant, I called my friend to see where they were. I should have known I had it all wrong since my husband couldn't hear a word I was saying when I'd called him earlier. (Why wasn't I with him? I had a dinner party with some work colleagues earlier in the evening and agreed to meet him there after. Huge mistake. HUGE.) So I tried Amy, only to find that she couldn't hear me either. She said something about looking for me on the patio. And I turned around to come face to face with a patio resembling a sardine can. I knew I was not going to be a happy person, but still...I opted to give it a shot. I went up to the guy at the patio entrance and told him who's birthday I was there for.

"There's a guest list at the front door."

A GUEST LIST? FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???

I walked back out past the vultures and took one look at the slew of people lying in wait to get into a place where no one could hear each other talk and where moving from one side of the room to the other would take at least 20 minutes and decided to go home. I knew I could make my way to the front of the line and someone would come out and get me. That I wouldn't actually have to wait in that line if I didn't want to.

But to what end? So I could go see my friends but not hear a thing they were saying? (That is if I could even FIND them in the ridiculous crowds inside...) So I could get sandwiched between people hoping to get noticed or shoved between two drunk morons? So I could lose my voice attempting to say "excuse me"? So I could get to the bathroom and wait in line for 20 minutes to pee? So I could say I was at STK last night? So I could "see and be seen"? Ummmm...let me think about this for a moment. Can't think of anything I'd rather do less.

Lines=Clubs=so NOT fun. I don't do lines.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:24 AM 2 comments    

Labels: food and drink, LA rant, whilst drinking

This post brought to you by the grape Chardonnay
Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Why is it that we don't learn most of things we need to learn to help us through an experience until we've already been through that experience and sort of...in some way or another...screwed it up. It's true. You learn lessons from...well...lessons. You learn from doing. From being. From living. But that means that the living produces heartache and feelings of failure and confusion. You ask yourself what if you'd known that before you were here, in this moment? You wonder why the epiphany comes after the moment when you needed it most.

Is this just how life works? As Alanis once said, "You live, you learn. You breathe, you learn." Is that just how it is? So you do it better next time?

Are we simply who we are, the better and wiser versions of ourselves, because we make mistakes, because we fall down? Sometimes I'd just like to walk without tripping.

How do some people do it right the first time? Do they remember from past lives or something?

All thoughts on an evening of perhaps a bit too much chardonnay.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 10:35 PM 4 comments    

Labels: introspection, whilst drinking

Have yourself...
Monday, December 24, 2007

It is Christmas Eve and I've gotten a moment of quiet. I took out the computer while it was there and now the quiet is gone. But I enjoy the noise nonetheless. I am alternating between English Breakfast tea and J Pinot Gris. The tree is lit with ornaments the colors of the sea. Appropriate considering we are south of Santa Barbara - about 5 minutes from Rincon Beach. The house is full of laughter and children's voices and different accents and fantastic smells. There's "White Christmas" playing on the stereo and soon it will be followed by a Bob Marley or U2 Christmas song - both of which I would have been able to think of that names if only you'd asked me two glasses of wine ago. We just ate some sort of tenderloin that was out of this world and mixed baby greens with dried cranberries and stilton and candied pecans and haricot verts with marcona almonds and lemon juice and baked potatoes with creme fraiche and butter and scallions. We've just realized that we left the bottle of pinot grigio in the freezer but we've gotten it out just in time. There are cookies going out for Santa - along with a pint of Guiness and a carrot for the reindeer.

Christmas is magic.

I describe this scene because I can't quite find the words to describe how I feel. And being surrounded by these Brits, I hear myself writing this and saying "Cah-n't" in my head...like you would say car. Do other people do that? Read their emails or their articles or their blogs in the voices that they imagine are authoring? I do.

Anyhow, I can't find the words. I hope that one day I'll become the writer that can transport you there to experience everything happening as it is in my world. But for now, I'm not certain I can do it justice. We are with close friends celebrating the holiday in their home - friends who are family.

I think of a year ago. My first Christmas Eve with Fin and Russell. It was just the four of us. We gathered in this newly built living room around the fireplace and ate on the floor and drank red wine. The only light was that of the Christmas tree - the first piece of furniture to enter the new home. We laughed and spoke of the year past and the year ahead. We weren't married yet. It was our first and only Christmas as fiances with all the hope and excitement of everything to come. We spent the evening wrapping gifts and eating the cookies and carrots left out. And laughing.

We were awoken by the kids the next morning at some ungodly hour in order to open presents. It was my first Christmas morning with children and it was fantastic. We awoke to "Santa's come! SANTA'S COME!!! Michelle, Matt, come ON!" Gifts were chosen and paper was torn apart and bicycles were ridden and forts were built and Christmas morning was the most fantastic thing ever.

And here we are again a year later. There's something different the second year. A building of tradition. A lovely ease. This time the house is filled with far more people and it appears that there's no last minute gift-wrapping (although it's only 8:45 and there are still children awake. But I'm not sure my less than stellar wrapping abilities would be enhanced any by the amount of wine I've consumed.) The house has been occupied for almost a year and we've even got our own room for when we come to stay. A whole year has past and dare I say it for fear of sounding like my great aunt Connie - the kids are a year older. And so are we.

A lot has happened in this past year. I'm grateful for this evening. The same place a year later...to look back and reflect. I can't describe how I feel - can't possibly do it justice. But the genius is that I'm with people that don't need to hear the words. They just know.

I hope your Christmas is filled with all the beauty and wonderment and reflection that you could possibly ask for.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:22 PM 0 comments    

Labels: family, food and drink, friends, whilst drinking

20-something bloggers
Sunday, December 23, 2007

I have to admit, I feel like I missed out. As far as I can see, there's no such thing as 30-something bloggers. I even googled it just to be certain. There are plenty of blogs pertaining to 30-something, but no sort of community or group. There's only 20-something and I can't join. And it leaves me feeling - dare I say it - old. I was 20-something once. I had all sorts of life experiences too. I was single and dating. I could hold my liquor a whole lot better. I could live in an apartment the size of shoebox and not care less. I could live with reckless abandon. I could not know what I wanted and feel sort-of ok about it (as OK as a type A personality can feel). I was tormented (ok - sometimes still am) and drunk and free of most responsibility (although I didn't realize it then). And now, because I didn't write it down, I feel left out of a generation. But only sometimes.

There are days when I revel in 30. There are days when I am fully aware of the fact that I am just beginning to enter some of the best years of my life. They are the best because I know myself better than I did when I was in my 20's. In some ways, I'm clearer about what I want and in others, to be honest, I'm less clear. Although I'm way more willing to admit that now. I'm more comfortable in my own skin. I've got a wonderful husband and true home that I'm proud of and love spending time in. I've enjoyed getting older. Mostly. There are certainly night when I long for the New York City streets, bottles of tequila, great friends, and the mystery of the next bar. But then, don't we romanticize what's past? I remember those days with great fondness, forgetting the torment and the distress that was often a part of those years. It's easy to look back and remember the great. And while there are many moments that I have to remind myself of this, I truly believe we are meant to live in the now.

But I still feel a little left out. And perhaps it's just because there's still a part of me that's nostalgic. There's still a part of me that revels in those rare nights out where I can stay awake until 2 in the morning. I still enjoy the man that flirts with me even though there's no mystery or what if's that accompany it. When I get time with my girlfriends, I am proud to admit how much I depend on them - for advice, for companionship, for laughter. I often still feel like I'm in my 20's - but like a fine wine, a little better with time.

Still, I can't help but feel a little like I've been discriminated against. Just a little. Or perhaps it's just that I'd love another day in the life of a 20-something.

Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 8:27 PM 1 comments    

Labels: drinking, introspection, musings on life, whilst drinking