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Just a girl living in New York hoping to find a table for one...at the bar. Small in stature yet I make up for it with high heels and a large appetite.
barstoolKate endorses Eater dating:
In collaboration with How About We, Eater debuts “Eater Dating”. Brilliant idea to weed out those who frequent chain restaurants out of the dating pool. ;)
Christmas Vacation
I’m on vacation. So my lunchtime grilled cheese is accompanied by a glass of Vouvray. And a cheesy chick flick.
Christmas is for Kumquats
This is the second time in 2 days I’ve had this salad. I’m currently sitting on the couch alone…eating the entire salad out of the salad bowl. If you can find kumquats near you (I foraged at Dean & Deluca and Whole Foods) make it now! It’s the perfect balance of bitter, savory and sweet. And at holiday time, when I feel like I need an extra dose of something green to balance out the indulgence, it’s the perfect antidote.
(Click here for Bon Appetit Mixed Bitter Greens & Kumquat Salad with Anchovy Vinaigrette recipe)
Santa didn’t bring me what I wanted for Christmas. And he also forgot these turquoise Lagiole knives. Wowzaa!
Christmas menu:
Chicken liver pate (first timers…who knew it had so much butter in it?!)
Pierogi (potato & cheese, sweet potato, prune, leftover porchetta!!)
Flying Pigs Farm kielbasa
Mixed bitter greens with kumquats and anchovy dressing
Beers!!
My thoughts exactly (on bacon)
Recently, at a charity event I attended, a new purveyor of fine foods fad bakery, Baconery, was serving treats barely edible baked goods including Cranberry Oatmeal Turkey Bacon Cookies and brownies laced with…bacon. This article perfectly sums up my reaction: “calm the hell down”.
Tried my hand at duck breast last night. I was a wee bit scared but it turned out pretty much perfect.
What’s a “barstoolKate”?
Once upon a time I was a regular at a watering hole in St. Louis. My friend Mark was the barkeep and one night I volunteered to help him change the light bulb above my barstool (yes, this story involves a blonde and an Irish guy changing a light bulb). Before even one drink I had lost my footing on the barstool and landed flat on my tailbone on the cement floor, which left me breathless and unsure whether to laugh or cry in pain. A lawyer who looked on passed me her card as if chasing an ambulance. Instead, I chose to numb the pain with a free drink and embrace my new nickname, “barstoolKate”. From that day on, every time I walked into the bar Mark yelled out my nickname as if I was Cliff walking into Cheers.
As years passed I moved on to new cities and continuously sought out establishments where the bartenders knew my name and I felt comfortable pulling up a stool to the bar without a companion for a drink or dinner. Many of my friends have called me bold for sitting at a bar alone but I refuse to stay at home, watching bad tv, when I can be exploring my city through food and drink and making new friendships. Over the years, the nickname “barstoolKate” has taken on new meaning.
barstoolKate
DEFINITION
noun
1: A lone eater who wanders the city in search of culinary adventure, comfy bar stools, and new friends.
HASH IT OVER
I spent the weekend at the top of a mountain (not exaggerating) in Asheville hanging out with my family. My family indulged me by letting me cook as much as possible. A hearty Saturday morning brunch of sage-scented sweet potato hash with fried eggs and sauteed kale got us in the mountain mood.
Creative Leftover Lunch
Herbed ricotta toasts with heirloom tomatoes, grilled zucchini and corn
My mom makes the best pancakes. Always with blueberries, always light and fluffy. None of that can’t-open-my-mouth-to-chew cause the cake is SO dry stuff. Making the perfect flapjack is no easy feat though, and I’d all but given up trying until I finally gave in to the calling of the pretty packaging on the Stonewall Kitchen Farmhouse Pancake & Waffle Mix. I’m all for homemade baked goods, but I’m convinced that the best pancakes start with a mix. This one requires you add an egg, buttermilk and melted butter (the holy trinity of flapjacks). I added fresh blueberries, hand-dropped one-by-one, into the batter after it hits the skillet to ensure the perfect distribution of fruit throughout (that’s my father’s contribution). Patiently waiting until the bubbles around the edge have popped until flipping (just like mom taught me) and closely monitoring the heat in the pan is key. Enjoying them with a cup of coffee while watching the CBS Sunday Morning Show is the perfect recipe for a cozy Sunday morning at home, just like at Mom & Dad’s.
Summer School: Clam Bake 101
Being from the Midwest, I had never attempted a seafood boil/clam bake (what’s the difference?). It seems appropriate to seal my status as a New Yorker with attempting the New England summertime favorite. So one Saturday in early August my team and I prepared to do it up. We New Yorkers piled in a rental car and headed for Stamford. The boys were in charge of the pot and fuel (and of course stocked up on beers) and Marianne and I hit the Fairway to shop for seafood suburban style. We left $200 poorer, armed with clams, mussels, shrimp, live lobsters and wine for us as well as the pot.
We turned to my new go-to, Bon Appetit, for advice on how to prepare the feast. With a little improv (why the hard boiled eggs in their recipe?) we turned out a solid first try that elicited no complaints. We paired our bake with crunchy cole slaw and topped it off with a peak-of-the-season peach pie a la mode made with market-fresh peaches.
My dreams of spending a summer night with good friends sipping cool white wine and noshing on sweet seafood had at last been realized. Now my summer is complete and I’m ready for cooler weather, a change of wardrobe and a fall-appropriate New England pursuit. Clam chowder?
