Finally!

It's snowing here in Manhattan today, and boy is it pretty.

Warm beverages I've known and loved (recently).

Hot chocolate (with melty marshmallow) at Peels.

Cappuccino at La Colombe on Lafayette.
La Colombe cappuccino, take two.

Cappuccino at my new neighborhood Joe.

Joe's adorable to-go cup.

Einspanner (double espresso with whipped cream) at Café Sabarsky.

Snow day, part two.

As you all know, we had a pretty incredible snowstorm here in New York last week. It snowed overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, but Thursday afternoon was bright and sunny and clear as a bell - the perfect weather for a walk through Central Park.

The streets were a bit slushy, but the park was pristine, full of sledders and cross-country skiers and loads of folks just out for a stroll, like me.

Alexander Hamilton says hello.

One of my favorite things about where I live is that I'm a five-block walk from this, Cleopatra's Needle. The obelisk actually dates to about 1,000 years before the time of Cleopatra herself and was erected here in New York in 1880.

There's been some debate recently about how well the obelisk is holding up exposed to the weather, but one thing's for sure: there's something majestic and fascinating about seeing it juxtaposed against the snow.

On my way out the park, I saw some kids leaving (temporary) hieroglyphics of their own.

I also saw one of the coolest snow forts of all time.

The faces on the facade of the Metropolitan Museum of Art agree: snow is cold, but pretty.

Am I in Central Park, or northern New England?

Snow day!

Hello, my lovelies! As you've likely heard by now, New York was walloped yesterday and into this morning with a huge snowstorm. First came the relatively peaceful four inches yesterday morning and afternoon. Then came the thundersnow and the hail and the sleet. Then came the blizzard-like conditions, dumping up to four inches per hour overnight.

All told, we got about 19 inches here on the Upper East Side. And since I, personally, love snow, I am so happy! It's actually pretty warm out today, so I think I might take a little walk in the park this afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy a few snaps from my walk to grab coffee this morning!

A wee experiment.

Upon the completion of the holiday season, most of us are typically left feeling a bit bloated, over-extended, exhausted, and, let's face it: kinda gross. And so when my friend Richard suggested Queenie take on a winter meatless week to get over the New Year's food and booze coma, I decided he was a genius.

My meatless week kicks off today. I laid in a huge supply of winter greens (mainly escarole) and root vegetables (celeriac, potatoes, beets, carrots), and plan to feast on them all week long. Beets will make several appearances, as will some out-of-season delights from the depth of my freezer, including corn and sweet peas. (The latter are pretty much always better frozen, and the former are a decent substitute for the in-season delights of Jersey corn.)

My summer meatless week went by in a free and easy blur of corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh herbs; I'm anticipating that this one will be a bit more of a challenge. I just don't crave winter's vegetables the way I do summer's bounty. Never fear, though - I will stick to it, even if it means breaking halfway through for French fries and salted peanut butter hot chocolate at Shake Shack.

To get you started, here are a few of things I plan to try this week...I'd love it if you played along!

- Beets With Garlic-Walnut Sauce
- Gratin Dauphinois
- Escarole with Red Onion, Pecorino and Walnuts
- Orecchiette with Corn and Basil Tarragon
- Celeriac Remoulade
- Orange-Honey Glazed Carrots
- Peas with Ramp Compound Butter
- Butternut Squash Galette

Also, I'd love to hear if you have any suggestions for me! I'm dying for recommendations...

A stopped clock.

It's that odd in-between time here in New York, when the seasons are paused mid-shift. Balmy spring dominates after noon, but in the mornings, the air still nips at you like it's winter. This past Saturday, I arrived at the Union Square Greenmarket under cool, gray skies. One of the first sights to greet me was a clear indicator of the chilly weather: hot apple cider!

Spring was on display, too, though, in the form of azaleas...

...and just-beginning-to-bloom lilacs...

...and edible flowers.

The perfect breakfast, no matter what the season? Ronnybrook's coffee-flavored milk. Remember when your parents would put just a smidge of their coffee in your milk to make you feel all grown-up? This is like that, but creamier. It's decadent, it's naughty, and I love it.

Not roasted, for a change.

My love for cauliflower is well-established, as is my love for wine. But what happens when you combine the two? Delicious, delicious things. Last week I saved a quarter of a head of cauliflower from the roasting pan and reserved it for a pasta dinner. I'd seen a couple mentions of that a red wine barley risotto with cauliflower, and since I didn't have any barley (or arborio rice) sitting around, I decided to improvise with a pasta instead.

I chopped some onion and minced some garlic and decided to keep the florets intact. Cavatappi was the only pasta I had on hand, so it won out automatically. I had about a glass of red wine left in the bottom of a bottle. And since I can always go for something spicy, I added a sprinkling of red pepper flakes to the mix.

The result was a fairly nutritious, hearty, satisfying lunch. As much as I love the sweet, crunchy experience of roasted cauliflower, a quick saute in wine and garlic does a great job of bringing out its sharper, more vegetal side. Good stuff.

Pasta with Red Wine and Cauliflower

1/4 pound short pasta, such as penne rigate or cavatappi
Olive oil
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1-inch florets
1/2 cup dry red wine
Generous pinch of red pepper flakes
Finely grated parmesan cheese
Salt

In boiling, salted water, cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside; do not rinse. (You can also cook the pasta while you make the sauce.)

Set a large skillet (I used my 12-incher) over high heat. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan, turn the heat to medium-high, and add the onions. Saute the onions for a few minutes until soft and fragrant, but not browned. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes more, until you can smell the garlic and it has turned golden.

Add the cauliflower to the pan and saute for 4-6 minutes, until it has acquired a bit of color and begun to release its water. Sprinkle the mixture with a pinch of salt and deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the pepper flakes and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the red wine is reduced to a syrupy glaze. Add the pasta to the skillet and cook for a minute or two, mixing it with the sauce and letting everything get to know each other.

Transfer the pasta and sauce to a shallow bowl, top with the cheese, taste for seasoning, and eat!

Serves one.

Same old, same old - and some new, too.

I've blogged about my favorite cauliflower recipe before (roasted cauliflower with lemon and honey), but given that cauliflower is still one of the (very few) vegetables in season here in the northeast, I thought it bore repeating.

I also thought that - since I'm boring you by showing you photos of the same salad - I'd share a few of my other favorite cauliflower recipes with you. Check out the list below for inspiration, and find all kinds of new ways to enjoy winter's albino goodness.


● Cauliflower pickles (Gourmet Magazine)
● Cauliflower gratin (Bouchon Cookbook)
● Cauliflower barley risotto (Gourmet Magazine)
● Cauliflower with almonds, raisins and capers (Smitten Kitchen)
● Roasted curried cauliflower (Epicurious)

Eat up, and enjoy!

Almost summer.

I'm a sucker for a change in season. I love the first crisp evenings of autumn, the puffy breezes of early spring, and even the first day or two of summer's sweltering heat. And I truly love the frigid cold of winter. I love bundling up in my coat and scarf, pulling on my gloves, and heading out into a world whose edges seem somehow more sharply defined than in warmer weather.

But when winter's doldrums descend, I start to miss summer's bounty in earnest. I crave tomatoes and corn and berries; I yearn for bunches of peonies and dahlias, and I dream of ice cream and cold coffee. And while I've found frozen corn to be a decent, craving-sating substitute for its fresh counterpart, I've never been a huge fan of canned tomatoes. They've always seemed a bit cloying to me, somehow lacking in the earthy, muddy flavor that makes their fresh brethren so delicious.

Finally, though, I think I've found a reason to keep canned tomatoes in the pantry. Thanks to Smitten Kitchen's post about Marcela Hazan's simple, winter-friendly tomato sauce, I'm now prepared to invest in multiple cans of San Marzano tomatoes.

The recipe is the epitome of ease; you open the can of tomatoes and dump them into a three-quart pot along with the better part of a stick of butter and a halved onion. Turn the heat to medium, simmer for about an hour - and you're done. You should stir it every once in a while, and don't forget to use the back of your spoon to mush the increasingly tender tomatoes against the side - it's what passes for pureeing in this recipe.

I disagree with Deb on one point - I think the sauce profits a good deal from a modest sprinkling of Parmesan cheese; it adds to the creaminess already going on, and adds a funky note to things that really gets the party started.

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano are the best!)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy, 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until drops of fat float free of the tomatoes.

Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serves four.