Apparently there’s a new chef at the Hudson House. I haven’t called to get the scoop on his name or credentials, but from the few things Irene and I tasted, I’d say we’re in for a treat with his cooking!
This was the Green Goddess salad, which was a little like a greek salad, but more sophisticated. Olives, endive, arugula, onion… all delishy!
The Hudson House is undergoing renovations, so we ate in the upstairs dining room, which is really quite cozy and comfortable. There’s a cute little bar in the back, and a raised area that has served as a stage during performances there (and also was used to seat the wedding party at Sarah and Wilson’s rehearsal dinner!).
I want to start off this post by saying that these “Shit that” whoever “says” videos flying around YouTube are hilarious. “Shit New Yorkers Say” is especially funny (“Where’s the train?” “All I had to eat today was a bagel.” “Queens?”).
“Shit Bartenders Say” is so good, I’ll embed it here. Please, take the time to watch. I’ll wait.
This is a long way of saying that when my friend Kara Newman posted a link to this video and decided to note the quote “I’m really into Amaro lately,” I was laughing — at myself, especially. I just got “into” Amaro — Kris and Irene have been talking about it lots lately — and this was the first cocktail I tried with it. Irene found this cocktail — the Criterium — in the current issue of La Cucina Italiana, where another friend, Mindy Fox, is food editor. (By the way, Mindy’s book, “A Bird in the Oven,” is excellent. We’ve made two recipes here at Sour Cherry Farm, and Irene has made tons more. They’re all amazing. But I digress.)
Back to the cocktail. It’s got the lovely bitter flavor of Amaro, along with some sweetness from the grapefruit and tart from the lemon. It tastes sort of like a grown-up Coca Cola, without the cloy. We loved it. And yes. I’m really into Amaro lately.
Kris and Tom introduced us to one of their holiday traditions this year, reading “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote. We so enjoyed the story that Greg and I vowed to make it a Sour Cherry Farm ritual, too. Indeed, the next night, over at the Ranch, we took the story, and the whole family took turns reading from it — just as we did at Irene’s with Kris and Tom.
This being Irene and Kris and Tom doing the hosting, you can bet the evening was filled with great food. We started with Wassail, for which Tom baked apples to flavor the drink. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of that, because it was really great. Warm, sweet and boozy. Just what you want on a winter’s night. So was Tom’s cotechino with lentils.
As was Irene’s brisket sandwich. Photos of that, as well as some more photos from the evening, after the jump.
Irene’s sister, Carol, is in town for her annual December visit. Kris and I met the sisters for a supper at Velo. The food was so good we all decided we need to go back more often. The cocktails, especially, were super. Irene and I loved our Manhattans and Kris’ martini was out of sight.
We all had rich, hearty, wintery food: short ribs and pastas. Irene’s Handmade Ricotta Cavatelli with Sausage and Fennel Ragu and Grana Padano was especially delishy.
Our book club met at Irene’s to discuss Tom’s pick: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Since the book was set in 1974, Irene made an aspic. Of course she did.
The Goatherd Book Club met at Rory and Chris’ apartment to discuss the Hemingway classic, “The Sun Also Rises.” Rory and Chris made a special Spanish tapas meal, with gazpacho and pastel moreno and a host of other terrific dishes. They also rented the 1950s edition of the movie, which played in the background as we dined and disucssed. Here’s Kris, Tom and Chris, enjoying their meal:
Edward Hopper, famous for such works as “Gas” and “Nighthawks” —
— was born in Nyack and lived here during his formative years. The Hopper House Art Center — which is celebrating its 40th anniversary — has an exhibit this summer charting Hopper’s development as an artist before he left his hometown for Paris and New York and really left his mark on the art world and America itself.
You may remember our little trip to the new Palisades Market a few weeks back? Well I went back, this time with Irene and Kris, and am happy to report that the food is very good indeed. We ordered a few things from the counter and then took them to the patio to enjoy lunch on a beautiful spring day.
Here is my crab cake and beet salad with pumpkin seeds and goat cheese. Fab!
I was so honored to be invited back for another Seder at Irene’s. I love learning and sharing the traditions, reading from the Haggadah and of course, sharing a tableful of fabulous food. The first was in 2007, but I didn’t blog that one. Then there was the completely over-the-top delicious feast of 2008. I didn’t think it was possible to better that. I was wrong.
The Goatherd book club gathered at Sour Cherry Farm for its discussion on “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers. Because Boo has been a fan of the book for most of her life, she was invited as a special goatherd guest. Kate, a new member of the book club, also made her premier appearance.
M. Wells is a diner. But just on the outside. Here, instead of gum-snapping waitresses and stale coffee, you’ll find pickled pig tongue with housemade soda crackers. Served warm.
You’ll also find bone marrow and escargot, oozing with a butter-garlic sauce and crunchy with breadcrumbs:
And a fun, funky atmosphere that encourages much laughter.
Each year after Messiah Sing at Grace Church, the parish hosts an Advent party. This year, for the first time, I attended both. Leigh was my date for the first part of the evening (we sat in the tenors section and were positively awful); Greg was my date for the second. Here’s the buffet, supervised and organized by the lovely and talented Kris.
So for the final portion of our BDoF, we went to Irene’s “It Ain’t 50!” birthday party. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of the host — who looked ravishing, by the way! — but I did get a couple silly photos of some of the guests, including me and Boo. A little washed, bout, but I’m going to make a call here and say, at this point in the evening? That’s a good thing:
Sour Cherry Farm hosted “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, the Goat Herd book club’s most recent selection. We had a lively discussion about savages and utopia, of expectations and dreams lost. And of course we laughed. A lot.
We’ve all got Mad Men fever, and Irene knew it. So she had us over for a viewing party, complete with such retro dishes as aspic and, well, whatever this contribution from Kris is called:
I haven’t before reported on book club. but CynDee went so over the top with matching food to theme that I finally broke down. I simply couldn’t help taking photos. To go with “A Room with a View,” set in partly in Florence, she emarked upon a true Italian journey. She asked her friend Dominick, a second generation Italian-American, to teach her the secrets of Sunday Sauce. He took her to Arthur Avenue to source her ingredients, and showed her all the tricks and trades to serving an absoultely stunning meal. Here’s just a peak at the pasta and the meat that goes along with it:
More mouthwatering dishes and photos of our fun and lively discussion, after the jump.
