Baby Fat - Lyla makes me a fatty

Well, This time last year I pontificated on how to stay thin - calories in vs calories out. Exercise more and eat well. I had it right I am afraid. With the undertaking of babysitting 2 days a week starting in January of 2009 I managed to gain 10 lbs this year. While I did burn an extra 125 thousand calories on the Lifecycle and walking I walked Scout and exercised less on over 100 days resulting in a reduction in calories burned of almost 100 thousand vs 2008. The body does try to regulate it's weight. In theory I should have gained a lot more weight - it took 10,000 calories for each extra pound gained and since I only gained 4 lbs of fat each lb of fat required 25,000 fewer calories burned over the course of the year. Unfortunately, as all dieters know, that same math will work against my losing the weight gained.

I have to say I certainly don't regret the babysitting - Lyla is AWESOME. I do need to get my act together in 2010 and get the exercise back up where it needs to be. Since Lyla is going to be an outdoor fan I can walk with her instead of Scout on babysitting days and there is a nice exercycle at Lyla's house.

We will have to see how I have done this time next year.

Our Trip to Las Vegas - Tableau Wynn, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, B & B Ristorante, Bouchon, Le Reve

Cindy and I decided to take a short, 2 day, trip to Las Vegas as a break from the miserable weather in Seattle. We go to Vegas only once every few years for the Food and the Cirque de Soleil shows. In our breif time there we were able to visit 4 really excellent Restaurants and see one really spectacular show. We stayed at the Wynn and our room had a great view of the Strip.

Our first night we went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon for the 9 course tasting menu.

Foie gras parfait with port wine and Parmesan foam -- the first of three foie gras servings of the night, this was presented in a small glass. Savory and creamy, the port wine added the necessary tartness to contrast the richness of the foie gras. You will see this on my tasting menu's at home! Yum!.

King crab on a turnip disc with sweet and sour sauce -- two large bites of an extremely high quality King crab meat. Looked somewhat like a steamed roll presentation at a dim sum place - I will definitely try this one at home.

Sea scallop cooked in the shell with chive oil -- a single scallop that was packed with intense flavor due to the coating of micro-chives. Not seared and quite rare but excellent - and a huge diver scallop.

White onion tart with smoked bacon and asparagus -- very soft and creamy in the style of a small french pizza on filo.

Duck foie gras with confit quince and yuzu -- the sweetness and tartness of the quince and yuzu was excellent. The seared foie was a little under-seasoned so missed amazing but very, very good..

Dover Sole fillet, baby leek and ginger. Tasty and a beautiful fish presentation.

Foie gras stuffed free-range quail with truffled-mashed potatoes. Hard to imagine Cindy eating a quail - but there you go!. Super dish and very fun to finally try Joel's Potato Puree which I have made many, many times. The truffle is a nice addition and was not overpowering. The interesting thing is i truly think he got maybe 50% more butter in the puree than I do and I didn't really think you could do that.

Grapefruit infused with Prosecco, lychee sorbet. A very inventive, fun, and hokey looking (as only the french can do when imitating something from American culture) dish and really hard to describe. Kind of a foam/sorbet over grapefruit with a pink sugar rimmed cup eaten with a plastic spoon.

Chocolate cake cremeux layered with espresso ice cream and roasted almonds - pictured at left. Yum!!!

Finished with espresso.

This restaurant is an open kitchen concept where you - if you are sitting in the right place - as we were - can see and hear everything going on in the kitchen, and the pass. Atmosphere was a more upscale version of Kaspar's Chefs Table for those of you who have done that in his kitchen. It was really fun. They are really working each and every plate - no mass production - but certainly good mis en place.

We had a half bottle of a Puilly Fume French Savignon blanc - very nice. The final bill was a little over $200 each. This a bargain when compared to the main Restaurant next door where the 12 course menu would have ended up over $500 a person.

The next morning we had one of the most elegant and wonderful breakfasts of my life at Tableau at Winn. It was a "perfect food and drink" version of the Olympic Four Seasons dining room. Cindy had a great Egg's Benedict with fresh Tarragon in the Hollandise. I had poached eggs with potatos, sausage and we both ahad fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. The rolls and jams were just perfect. $75 for two and well worth it. We were seated next to 3 older Mifia Don's and their elegant wives.



For Dinner that night we went to Mario Batalli's B & B Ristorante which is a knockoff of Babbo in NYC. This was also a near perfect experience. cindy had a beet and pistachio salad with Ricotta Salita cheese in a wonderful vinaigrette. I had a GREAT fennel dusted and wonderfully sauced and presented Sweetbreads. Then Cindy had a huge, beartiful, super tasty Veal Chop which was very reminiscent of Jerome's in La Turbie, France - Which is perhaps Miranda's most memorable dish ever. I had the Rabbit served hunters style with pancetta. Close to the perfection of Cafe Juanita which is sayinga lot. Everything was very assertively salted - which we both loved but which might be too much for many folks. We were, unfortunately stuffed by this point and thus did not try dessert. About $200 for two with tax and tip.



For our final meal we got up early - getting to watch some very beautiful and elegant prostitutes meeting their pimps outside the Wynn hotel entrance - and whet over to the Venetian for Thomas Keller's Bouchon breakfast. We have learned to get there early for the best experience. Thomas Keller has impeccable standards but his Bouchons (NY, Yountville, and Las Vegas) all seem to suffer a little after the peak of service for any meal. I had a wonderful baked eggs in a mornay sauce with spinach and tomato. Maybe my best egg dish of the year. I also had a pecan sticky bun, some sausage, and nice fresh squeezed grapefruit. Cindy had an amazing bread pudding "French Toast" with a side of bacon and grapefruit juice. everything was perfect. About $75 for two.



For our show we went to See Le Reve at the Wynn. This is an almost totally water based Cirque Du Soleil. As with any Cirque show it is hard to describe but UNBELIEVABLE. WOW!! If you have the opportunity to see this show DO IT.

Perilla Falls Short

Restaurant Name: Perilla
Restaurant Location: 9 Jones Street, NYC

Having heard very positive reviews about Greenwich Village's Perilla Restaurant, I'd been keen to try it for some time. My high hopes for this attractive little neighborhood spot, however, have been thoroughly dashed. Sadly, Perilla fell far short of my expectations.

First, in order to secure a reservation for 5 people, I had to hold the reservation with a credit card. If I didn't confirm a day ahead, I was informed that I'd be charged whether I showed up or not. I held up my end of the bargain and all five of us arrived, blown in out of the cold, right on time. The hostess then announced that our table wasn't ready; it would *just be a few moments* while the previous group at the table finished up their desserts. Nearly 40 minutes later, we were finally seated. After about 30 minutes of the wait, they'd sent a free appetizer up to the bar for us to snack on, and I'd felt some sympathy for them. After all, sometimes diners simply won't leave a table.

Then we embarked on our own meal...with incredibly slow service. I began to realize that the long wait for our table probably had nothing to do with the people who'd been dining before us. The wait between each and every step of the meal was glacial.

So, was the food worth the wait? Unfortunately not. Don't get me wrong, the food was...fine. But not much else. Some dishes were better than others (at least the $40 appetizer portion of egg ravioli with shaved white truffles was up to snuff). Many dishes were off, though.

For instance, the Red Kuri Squash Agnolotti with chanterelles, grilled halloumi & brown butter-hazelnut sauce (which sound delicious) was bland and looked truly appalling on the plate. Served in a huge dish, the pasta was swimming in a brownish sauce. The agnolotti were not actually filled with squash, but with boring old ricotta. The squash was cut up and tossed in with the sauce (as were the mushrooms and a dice of the halloumi). It looked like a grey, chunky stew, not an elegant pasta dish. Though it tasted better than it looked, it was hardly worth the $22 price tag, or the long wait.

Another dish, Fluke Sashimi served with a radish-fennel garnish, was fresh and clean-tasting on its own, but totally overwhelmed by the too-assertive passion-fruit sauce that smothered it. In general, we were all fairly disappointed with the level of interest presented by the food. As I said, everything was just fine - but totally lacking in spark.

Our server also fell down on the job, failing to tell us about the dessert special (a souffle that had to be ordered in advance). In addition to generally slow service, when we were ready to pay the bill, she completely vanished. We finally spotted her at the bar, flirting with another server. Eventually, she noticed that all five of us were staring at her.

With the great reviews of this place, I guess I just expected better: better food, better service. Oh well, you can't win em all!

Sharing the Love: Fabulous Recipe

Last night I adapted a recipe out of the latest issue of Food and Wine that left both Sid and I literally licking our plates....so, I thought I'd better share it with everyone.

Seared Skirt Steak w/Farro, Chard, and Mushrooms (adapted from Food & Wine)
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
For the steak:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs skirt steak, membrane removed
3 Tbs butter
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp smoked hot paprika (pimenton)
1 lemon
Salt & pepper to taste

For the Farro:
3/4 cup farro
1 - 1 1/2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
1 lb of swiss chard
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Begin by preparing the skirt steak. Rinse, pat dry, remove any membrane and trim excess fat. Set aside.

Cook the farro by placing it in a pot and covering with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook covered for 25 minutes (farro should be tender). Drain and set aside. Wash and pat dry the chard, roughly chop both the leaves and tender top portion of stems. Clean the mushrooms and thickly slice. Thinly slice the onion.

For the farro: Heat 1 Tbs each of the oils in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes. Add the rest of the oil and the swiss chard (this will fill the pan, but will cook down dramatically). Toss with tongs frequently to ensure even cooking down of the chard. Salt and pepper the vegetables and then add the farro. Reduce the heat and toss the vegetables with the farro. After about 2 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings. Take off the heat.

For the paprika butter: in a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the sliced garlic. Saute until the garlic is lightly golden brown, making sure not to burn the butter. Add the paprika and continue cooking another 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the steak: Heat a grill or grill pan smoking hot and lightly coat the meat with oil. Season w/salt and pepper (generously). Add the meat to the hot pan or grill and cook undisturbed about 3 minutes per side (each side should be well charred but the meat should still be medium-rare in the center). Remove the steak from the grill, squeeze with lemon, and cover with foil; rest the meat for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, rewarm the paprika butter and the farro salad.

Slice the meat and serve atop a bed of the farro salad. Drizzle all with the paprika butter.

Enjoy!
(photo by John Kernick, from Food & Wine.com)

Having Supper in Philly

Restaurant Name: Supper

Restaurant Location: 926 South Street (10th & South), Philadelphia

On a recent whirlwind trip to my old stomping ground of Philadelphia, I had the pleasure of eating at Supper. This warm and inviting spot has long been on my radar, since it literally opened around the corner from my old apartment just months after we moved away. I was therefore delighted at the opportunity to find out what I'd been missing these last few years.

Overall, I'm going to say that I've been missing a truly lovely restaurant that shares my adoration of the pig and it's many splendors as well as my appreciation of small plates. Supper is just the kind of place I'd eat all the time if I still lived in Philly.

To start, I enjoyed Roasted Marrow Bones with parsley garnish and shallot jam. This dish was rich and delicious and the jam on the side was a real win. Sadly, though, the plural marker on the menu was misleading as we were not even served one whole marrow bone...just a sad little half of a bone that we disconsolately scraped clean. This dish would have been much more satisfying it we'd been given just a little more. I am a fan of small dishes, but this was too small, even for me!

Next I polished off the Boston Bibb and Herb Salad with apples, bacon, cornbread and buttermilk dressing. The buttermilk dressing was great - creamy and tangy - and since this salad was rife with crumbled bacon, I was happy. The apples had been marinated and were dark and full of flavor. The cornbread seemed like a good idea but might have worked better as a cornbread crouton rather than served soft.

Still hungry...I also ordered the Slow Cooked Pork Belly with warm fingerling-and-green bean salad, bacon dressing & apple chutney. This was suitably rich and absurdly fatty. There was a great tang in the dressing and garnish to cut through the creamy fat (which was admittedly so plump and quivering that I couldn't finish it).

In addition to sharing the bone marrow and pork belly with me, my dinner companion also ordered the Strozzapreti Pasta with shaved brussels sprouts, leeks, hazelnuts and sage brown butter, which was complex, tender, and very Fall-like.

Overall, I was really pleased with the offerings at Supper. And, I saw plenty more on the menu that I would have liked to try, including a heaping (entree-sized) dish of seafood cioppino that looked amazing. The frankly very rich dishes were almost all balanced with fairly assertive acids, which helped cut through all that pork-goodness.

Well-conceived and reasonably priced, with a good wine list....Supper: why didn't you open before we moved away!!

Bon Apetit!

From Amy's Kitchen: Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

My sister, Amy Miller, recently shared this holiday standard with me and I thought I should pass them along to all of you! The cream cheese in this recipe really adds a lovely, subtle flavor that sugar cookies often lack. These are great for cutting into festive, holiday shapes and gobbling up.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

(makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on cookie cutter sizes)
1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter, softened
1 3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 c. flour

1. In large bowl, combine sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Beat in flour until well blended. Chill dough for 8 hours or over night.

2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/3 at a time, a generous 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate remaining dough as you work, until ready to use. Keeping the dough cold is essential for preventing it from sticking to the counter. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

Place cookies 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Brush each lightly with egg white (slightly beaten) and sprinkle with colored sugars.

4. Bake 7-10 min or until light and golden brown. Don't over cook. They'll set up a bit as they cool. Share or freeze extras!

Bon Appetit and Happy Holidays!

Hit and Miss at Get Fresh

Restaurant Name: Get Fresh Table & Market
Restaurant Location: 370 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY



This relative newcomer in Park Slope is a place of highs and lows, so much so that after dining there last week, we left befuddled and unable to clearly answer a basic question: had we enjoyed the meal?

The Pros:
Get Fresh is a welcoming, if spare, space on the southern end of Park Slope's 5th Avenue. The servers are friendly and attentive and the menu purports to offer local, organic, sustainable fare (see below, though). Plus, it's one of the few BYOB restaurants around, which really helps cut down on the dinner bill.

Some of the dishes we tried were really outstanding. Our starter, for instance, of Rabbit-Pork sausage served atop a bed of creamy truffled potato puree, was divine. We literally wiped the plate clean with our fingers. But, oddly, rather than being housemade (as one might expect from a place championing great local food), the sausage was from D'Artagnan (this was disappointing, somehow. Though, at least now I know where I can order the sausage for myself...). Another winner was a side dish we ordered, Mexican Beans and Rice. Usually a throwaway, this dish was full of flavor and texture.

Our dessert, a chocolate "cake" (really more like two incredibly tender brownies held together with a thick serving of ganache) was also a plate-licker. Weirdly, though, this wasn't made in the restaurant either, but at a local bakery.

The Cons
Some of the dishes were downright awful. I ordered the Hawaiian prawns with sweet potato puree expecting plump prawns set atop a bed of flavorful puree. Instead the pawns were coated with the puree, creating a mushy dish with a horrifying mouth-feel. It was barely edible when it could have been great. Plus, Hawaiian prawns at a place bragging about local food? Really?

My husband's entree (the smoked pork belly with tamales and mole) was fine - good, not great.

So, in sum, Get Fresh had some real highs and real lows and very little in between. Coupled with so much of their food being prepared off-site, we just felt that the whole experience was very unrestaurant-y and were uncertain if we'd return or not.

Tulio Restaurant in Downtown Seattle

Last weekend Cindy and I reconnected with some old Vashon friends, Jan and Joel Schwarz, that we have not seen for 20 years. We had them suggest a restaurant and they chose Tulio in downtown Seattle. I was aware of the restaurant but had no real impression - which is not usually a good sign since I am food and restaurant obsessed. However, We were very pleasantly surprised by the Ambiance, the Food and Service. This is really a very good Italian Trattoria with housemade fresh pastas, fresh burrata cheese, nice risotto, and a nice friendly wine list

It was fun getting together and talking about kids and grandkids so the company was very congenial as well. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for well done Italian in downtown Seattle

From Miranda's Kitchen: Homemade "Fish Sticks"

Not too long ago I was stuck in a long line at the grocery store, one that wound all the way past the frozen food section. And there, staring meaningfully at me from the freezer, were the golden and glorious frozen fish sticks of childhood.

How I craved them! So, I decided to come up with a recipe to make them fresh at home. It turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Homemade Fish Sticks (serves 2-3)
Ingredients
1 lb fresh cod fillets
Sourdough bread
3/4 cup of flour
1 egg white
Salt & pepper
Canola Oil (enough to fill a heavy-duty pot about 1-2 inches deep)

Garnish
Lemons cut into quarters
1/3 cup Mayo
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions
Lightly wash the cod fillet and pat dry (it's important to get the fillets very dry). Cut them into short, fat strips of roughly equivalent size. Set aside.

Meanwhile, fill a shallow dish with flour for dredging and season it well with salt and pepper. Whisk the egg yolk with some salt until loose and slightly foamy.

For the breadcrumbs, tear some chunks of the sourdough bread and process them in a food processor. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the breadcrumbs onto a cookie sheet and toast until dry and lightly browned (keep a close eye on them so they don't burn). Place the dry crumbs into a shallow dish and season these with salt and pepper as well. [This really is worth the extra 5 minutes or so that it takes; the sourdough crumbs add something special to the final product]

Season the cod fingers with salt and pepper. Dredge them in the flour to lightly coat. Then slip them through the egg white, shaking off any excess, and press them into the breadcrumbs to cover all sides of the sticks.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees. When it comes to temperature, drop in the cod fingers. Only fry a few at a time - it is very important not to crowd pan so that the temperature remains constant. It is okay if the oil doesn't cover the fish sticks all the way. Let the sticks sizzle and bubble in the oil for about 1 minute and then flip them over (they should be a nice golden brown) and brown the other side. Don't overcook - you want a crispy crust with a tender flaky interior. Drain the fingers on a couple layers of paper towels while you fry the remaining fish sticks.

Serve with lemon wedges and a simple aoili (for the aoili, mix together the garlic powder, mayo, and 1 tsp of olive oil).

These are great with oven fried potato wedges and some nice sauted Swiss Chard.

Bon Appetit!

The Vanderbilt

Restaurant Name: The Vanderbilt
Restaurant Location: 570 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn



The Vanderbilt is a relatively new restaurant on the Brooklyn dining scene. It's a beautiful space, though one that is divided up and used somewhat oddly. There is a bar in the front with a long row of elevated banquet seating across from it. In this part of the restaurant you can only order drinks and appetizers (no small plates), which seems odd since it probably seats nearly 30 people. Next down the length of the restaurant is a kitchen bar where you can sit and watch the action while ordering off the full menu (this is where we sat). The back of the restaurant appears quite small and provides table seating for the lucky few who are able to get there early enough or are willing to wait long enough for a table.

The food is all small plates served tapas-style (to share) and most of it was quite good.

To start, we tried the brussels sprouts with sirachia, lime, and honey, which were sweet and crisp-tender but could have been a little spicier. We also had the homemade jerky, which was incredibly flavorful (clearly made from high-quality beef). We also tried the duck rillets with quince, which were classically prepared and tasted just as they should (nothing amazing or special here, though), and the smoked Jagerwurst with German potato salad, which was a universal favorite - very juicy, tender, and full of flavor.

Other dishes we sampled included the crispy pork belly with lentils (a generous portion with tender layers and a crisp skin), the grilled Merguez sausage (spicy, but I found it a little dry), the steamed Bouchot mussels with coconut, basil, chili (really plump and flavorful mussels, awesome Thai accent), and the grilled Spanish octopus with cranberry beans (great flavor, but slightly overcooked and chewy)

As the evening wore on and the tasty drinks flowed, we ordered even MORE, including grilled pork loin with parisian gnocchi (very passable, but nothing special) and a dessert of spiced donuts with pistachio ice cream. Unfortunately, the donuts were a real miss, dry and unappetizing.

Overall, with tip, drinks and more food than we probably needed, the meal came to around $135 per couple. This isn't outrageous for New York, but seemed a little steep for the overall quality of the food. My final assessment: very good but not mind-blowing. I'd return and probably order a little more wisely. If you go, don't miss out on the Jagerwurst, the mussels, the jerky, and anything with polenta (the chef gave us a taste of some polenta he was working on to see if we liked it -- it was *incredible*). This is also a nice place to just grab drinks; they have a creative bar menu with some real winners (favorites: black cherry rickey and the Pimms cup).

Bon Appetit!

From Miranda's Kitchen: Lasagna al Forno

I made this lasagna for dinner last night and it was absolute perfection.



Imagine: a cold, windy night that spoke of winter's insidious fingers. A hot oven, venting the aroma of blistering cheese and slowly caramelizing tomato. Gooey layers of bechamel and meaty ragu enfolded in tender pasta, layered up until it gives way to the crisped, curled edges exposed to the oven's inferno. Like I said: perfection.

This recipe is loosely adapted from Mario Batali's cookbook "Molto Italiano" and is in the style of a Lasagna al Forno.

Serves 6. Total cooking time about 2 1/2 - 3 hours (but worth every second, I swear!).

Ingredients
For the ragu
1 lb of Italian sausage, removed from the casting
4 oz of pancetta, finely diced
1/2 lbs of ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large rib of celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/2 cup of tomato paste
12 oz of diced tomatoes in their juices
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup of water (or white wine)
1 tsp of fresh thyme
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

To make the ragu: pour about 1 Tbs olive oil in a large pot and heat on medium high. Add the diced onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and saute until translucent but not brown (about 5 minutes). Increase heat to high. Add the sausage, pancetta, and ground beef. Stir and break up clumps with your spoon until the meat is browned. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water (or wine), and milk. Stir well to incorporate. Add the thyme. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then cover and reduce heat. Let the ragu simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour and a half. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings by adding salt and pepper as needed.

For the bechamel sauce
5 Tbs of butter
1/4 cup of flour
3 cups of whole milk (2% may be substituted, but do not use skim)
grated nutmeg & salt to taste
2 Tbs of marscapone cheese

To make the bechamel: in a clean pot, melt the butter and wait until it bubbles/sizzles slightly. Add the flour and stir while it bubbles and sizzles to cook the roux. Add the milk, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. Cook the mixture over medium to medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and bubbles. Add grated nutmeg and salt to taste. Whisk in the marscapone.

For the noodles
1 package of dried Lasagna noodles
fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese (do NOT substitute pre-grated cheese!!!).

To cook the noodles: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 4 lasagna noodles at a time, about 4 minutes each to par-cook.

To assemble the lasagna: layer the ragu, noodles, bechamel, and freshly grated parmigiano reggiano in a large, oven-safe casserole dish. Begin with a thin layer of ragu (enough to just cover the bottom of the dish). Layer noodles (one noodle thick) atop the ragu. Add another layer of ragu (a good, thick portion so that the noodles no longer show through.) Atop the ragu, add a layer of bechamel sauce. Atop the bechamel, add a layer of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and a sprinkle of sea salt. Repeat this process until the dish is nearly full. Be sure not to skimp on the layers of ragu and bechamel; the idea is to create a thick, gooey layer between each noodle. You should wind up with only about 3 layers of noodles. The final, top layer should be bechamel sauce with plenty of parmigiano grated atop it and sprinkled with sea salt.

Place the lasagna into a preheated 375 degree oven and cook until the dish is bubbling and the cheese on top is beginning to brown (about 45 minutes). Any exposed pasta edges should be crisp. After removing from the oven, let the lasagna rest about 10 minutes (if you can bear it). Serve with wine (to cut the richness) and a simple salad.

Bon Appetit!

Tapas: the perfect food

Restaurant Name: Tia Pol
Location: 205 10th Avenue (Chelsea), New York City

There has always been a warm little corner of my heart reserved for tapas. What could be more perfect than a few bites each of an endless parade of dishes? New flavors, spices, textures, and surprises come in rapid succession, all washed down with plenty of good wine. Plus, for some reason, tapas restaurants are always more *fun* -- louder, warmer, more boisterous.

New York boasts many wonderful tapas joints (try Casa Mono for elevated gourmet tapas and Boqueria for more affordable, traditional, but no less tasty, tapas). Last night we tried a new place (well, new to us) called Tia Pol.

Tucked away in Chelsea, Tia Pol is a bit of a hike from the subway (especially on such a cruelly cold night for early November). But, if you arrive breathless and chilly, you'll tilt back out into the night a few hours later, warmed through and with a full, happy belly.

Being a lover of all things potato, I have to begin by saying that Tia Pol serves the very best patatas bravas I've ever had. The ones at Casa Mono are so exotic they hardly warrant the name (though are fabulously delicious) and the ones at Boqueria are cut too small and have too little sauce. Tia Pol gets the traditional fried, spicy potato with paprika aioli just right. The pieces of potato were big enough to have a crispy exterior and soft fluffy interior but still be happily bite-sized. The creamy, spicy aioli was just abundant enough to make you press the bits of potato into the corners of the dish for more but not drown the poor spuds.

Other standouts included a bruschetta with fried rock shrimp and pimenton with a tiny dab of lemon cream (salty, slightly spicy, creamy and crispy all at once) and a spicy roast pork sandwich. We also really enjoyed a cold salad of baby greens with fried artichoke hearts and leaves, white asparagus, and creamy lemon vinaigrette. The only miss here were the asparagus (out of season and thus apparently out of a jar....boo) and the fact that the artichokes would have achieved perfection had they been hot (I believe all things fried should be served hot). We finished the evening off with a plate of smoking hot seared & blistered green peppers tossed with sea salt -- SO addictive!

The wine list was baffling to us -- I don't consider myself an afficionado of Spanish wines, but I do know a bit and I didn't recognize even a single thing on the list. Such mystification, though, is just a door opening to new and wonderful experiences. All the wines we tried were lovely (lots of super-dry minerally whites).

Tia Pol is a very crowded (very tiny) restaurant. They do take reservations, but we hadn't made one. We arrived early, around 6:30pm and waited a little over a half an hour for a seat at the bar. The hostess had told us it would be a 30 minute wait, so she gave us a small plate of fried garbanzos for free as compensation (I was impressed, since the wait had only been a few minutes longer than promised, hardly something we even noticed). Those who arrived after 7pm waited over an hour to be seated. So, if you can plan ahead for it, make a reservation -- we certainly will the next time we return...which I hope will be very soon!

Bon Appetit