For you non-registry types, this Cat Cora Starfrit Cook ‘n’ Serve ($70) goes straight from the stovetop to the table (the casserole pot nests into the bamboo bowl, which can also be used separately to serve salad).
More gift ideas (click links for info):
First, heat 3/4 cup sugar in 1 cup of water until sugar is dissolved. Then add your sweet syrup to about 3 cups club soda and about 2 cups fresh lemon juice (you can adjust these proportions to make it as strong or weak as you like). Add vodka if desired (about 1 1/2 oz per serving).
Serve over ice, and garnish with fresh lime rounds, strawberry slices, or even watermelon wedges.
I have been sick three – THREE – times since February. I know, suppressed immune system (so that you don’t reject the baby, which is, of course, half-comprised of someone else entirely), etc etc…but I am sick to death of being deathly sick.
When I woke up all sorts of miserable yesterday, though, I thought that maybe the intense heatwave had brought on heretofore unknown allergies (everyone else seems to be complaining about them). This would be an especially bad thing, because while the typical cold lasts just a few days, allergies can go on…and on…and on. Or so I hear. I don’t think I’ve ever had them.
Or have I?
Very confused.
Enter this helpful chart from WebMD (thanks to Christine for the link):
As it turns out, I totally do not have allergies.
Probably.
More Cure-What-Ails-You Advice (click through links for more info)
My Ex-Boyfriend’s Go-To Fever Remedy
Francesca’s Ginger-And-Apple Cold Cure
This is an absolutely perfect no-fuss summer dinner, and takes only about 20 minutes, start-to-finish. Just boil the potatoes while your steak cooks, and then toss them in the vinaigrette while the steak rests. (I served this alongside ears of sweet corn with lots of salty, garlicky butter…amazing.)
Serves 2.
TANGY POTATO SALAD
What you need:
4-5 red potatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper
What you do:
1. Boil potatoes until fork-tender.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Add scallions and mix gently.
3. Toss cooked potatoes with vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper.
STRIP STEAK WITH ARUGULA
What you need:
1 nicely sized strip steak
1 lemon
3 cups fresh arugula, washed and dried
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
What you do:
1. Generously season meat on both sides with salt and bring to room temperature.
2. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan and spritz with a little cooking spray. Add meat and fry about 4 1/2 minutes on each side, or to your liking (remember, the meat will continue to cook a bit as it rests).
3. Remove heat from skillet and allow to rest in its juices.
4. Toss arugula with the juice from half a lemon, a little olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cut the steak into 1/4″ slices and serve each person half the sliced steak plated over half the dressed arugula. Add lemon slices to the plate for garnish.
Beverage pairing suggestion: Lemonade Spritzers (recipe coming up).
(Any weekend that starts out at John’s Pizzeria is bound to be a good one.)
The #1 thing I was excited about this weekend was seeing Hangover 2, and the degree of horribleness of that movie was nothing short of heartbreaking. It is exactly the same as the first movie. Exactly. To the point where all of the characters need to keep remarking upon how weird it is that everything is exactly the same, but never actually halt the action to deal with the fact that they are 100% re-living an experience that was utterly implausible in the first place.
Still sorta funny, though. And I will watch Bradley Cooper do anything (big kiss to Todd Phillips for the slow-mo shots).
Post-movie, we decided to walk up 5th Ave, towards Serendipity. I knew there’d be a wait…but an hour and a half for a banana split was a bit much, so we continued on our way uptown to Big Daddy’s…
…where Kendrick was attacked by wayward birthday balloons.
On Saturday night, we discovered Angry Birds about a year after the rest of the global population. This is a MAJOR PROBLEM, because we cannot stop playing it. We sat in bed trading off until very, very late on Saturday, and then continued our path of destruction on the train to Coney Island the next morning.
Seriously, I can’t stop. Somebody help me stop.
I wore this sort of ridiculous thing to Coney Island because I’m trying to prevent myself from developing something called “the mask of pregnancy,” which is a temporary facial discoloration brought on by fluctuating hormones (and made worse by the sun). I also wore it because I love hats.
As it turns out, Kendrick possesses a bizarre amount of knowledge about Coney Island history, and so he did a bit of regaling. Present-day Coney Island, it seems, is built on the site of a theme park called “Dreamland,” which contained structures like an Elephant Hotel and burned to the ground in 1911 (before it ever opened) when a fire started in an exhibit called “Hell Gate.” The park as it had been originally conceived of – amusement for the upper classes – was never rebuilt, and Coney Island ended up going in a decidedly more freak-shows-and-carny-rides direction that ushered in a popular fascination with “lowbrow” attractions.
In other Coney Island news:
I won a prize. (Balloon toss.)
Do not like.
Like very much (Mozzarepas & fried oreos).
Sunday night we had a picnic up on the rooftop with Stephen and Dave featuring Dave’s guacamole, my guava sangria, and Luke’s Lobster takeout.
Perfect weekend; perfect ending.
Little things I found and loved this weekend:
Henri Bendel Large Hoop Earrings ($68)
Big Daddy’s Three’s Company Banana Split ($10)
Uncle Oinker’s Gummy Bacon (available at Dylan’s Candy Bar)
Build-A-Bear’s Colorful Peace Bear ($18)
Kix (more of a re-discovery, but a signficant one)
This is my idea of a great night.
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