Music

05/07/2013 A Springtime Cocktail Party by Nate

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New York’s winter was quite long, and the artic chills are finally starting to wear off. When the sun is out, reflecting off skyscrapers, New Yorkers feel compelled to engage in certain springtime activities: wearing sunglasses, shedding layers of clothes, picnicking in parks, riding over bridges, and most of all, drinking during the day, preferably outside, on a sidewalk cafe or rooftop bar. They also enjoy listening to brighter tunes while consuming those very drinks, tunes with upbeat guitar riffs or a synthetic loftiness that both compliment the sunshine, sandals, t-shirts, and dresses. So, with that in mind, I have provided you with a mixtape and some cocktail recipes meant to lift your spirits as the temperature continues to rise. Let’s hope it doesn’t get too hot too soon.

——————————————————————————————————TRACK LISTINGS——————————————————————————————————
“Feelin’ Alright” by Joe Cocker
“Always Alright” by Alabama Shakes
“Line of Fire” by Junip
“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk (ft. Pharrell)
“Big Love” by Jamie Lidell
“Adorn” by Miguel
“Hang with Me” by Robyn
“Little Numbers” by BOY

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01/11/2013 Pickled Fennel by Nate

Pickling Music

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Jessie Ware: Devotion

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Tennis: My Better Self

It has become a tradition that with each holiday or birthday or spontaneous present, I am gifted a new cookbook. Some may say it has to do with my affinity for food and photographs. When December rolled around this year, I found myself unwrapping my most utilitarian recipe book yet, one that will forever teach me the science of making pickles and preserves. The Preservation Kitchen is a compilation of ratios, coupled with interesting ideas for the contents of your next Ball Jar. While in the past I’ve dabbled in pickling, I haven’t had very much success, but this time around, I have a good feeling that Michelin recognized Chef Paul Virant may pull me out of my slump.

As my first experiment, I used Fennel, a vegetable that contains fresh herbs in the fronds, which protrude from the most delicious meat at its bulbous roots. Fennel is a common ingredient mainly in Mediterranean cooking; in the past I have sliced, caramelized, sautéed, braised and roasted the bulb, including it in many a pasta dish or topping it with Parmesan for a perfect side. Yet, I had never pickled Fennel and I was quite happy with the outcome. Using champagne vinegar for the base of the brine, as Chef Virant recommends for all of his pickles, the pickles took on a bright acidity. The recipe was simple: vinegar, salt, sugar and water. For more flavor, toast red pepper flakes on a dry pan with coriander and fennel seeds, and add them to the bottom of a jar. Add the sliced Fennel, and pour the hot liquid over to cover. My first use for these pickles was a turkey sandwich I made on Amy’s Sourdough Bread, and topped with Comté cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, arugula and whole grain mustard. My second use will be for a garnish, to compliment a whole roasted white fish with stewed tomatoes.

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12/02/2012 Fall Mixtape: Musician’s Brew by Nate

Album Artwork by Colin Sutherland

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Big Boi (feat. Gucci Maine)–Shine Blockas//Amy Winehouse–Valerie//Frank Ocean-Thinkin About You (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)//Flight Facilities- Dreams (Fleetwood Mac Remix)//Bon Iver-Towers (Jonathan Lee Remix)//Rhye–The Fall//Andrew Bird–Orpheo//Local Natives–Breakers//Sky Ferreira–Everything is Embarrasing//Goldroom–Fifteen

This mixtape is a tribute to a season where the weather is not yet freezing, where the leaves change colors, squashes and pumpkins hit the farmers markets, and there is a plethora of good seasonal beer. I go through phases of obsession with different beverages, in the spring it was wine, in the summer it was cocktails and this fall it has been American microbrewed beer. Below is a list of a couple of beers that I hope you all can get your hands on at one point or another, some are only made this season and others just go well with the chilly weather:

Shipyard Pumpkinhead, Portland, ME
Victory Festbier, Downingtown, PA
Abita Turbodog, New Orleans, LA
Bluepoint White IPA, Bluepoint, NY
Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Boonville, CA
Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale, Atlanta, GA
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, Galesberg, MI
Full Nelson Pale Ale, Afton, VA

11/04/2012 48 Hours of Food–Atlanta, Georgia by Nate

——————————————————————————————Tuesday Dinner: Empire State South——————————————————————————————

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Ever since receiving Hugh Acheson’s cookbook, A New Turn in the South, a couple of months back as a gift, the thought of heading down to Georgia to experience one of his restaurants has been fresh in my mind. Luckily, one of my closest childhood friends, Matt Lipkins, is a musician whose band, The Shadowboxers is based in Atlanta, and Chef Acheson opened his newest restaurant, Empire State South downtown in that very city. Hugh Acheson is known for his modern approach to Southern Cuisine, using French and Italian culinary technique and applying it to the local ingredients and traditions. ESS is no different. We kicked it off with a rye based cocktail, a spiced up Sazerac, mixed with Aperol, orange bitters, antica and sugar, and an impeccable Charcuterie plate, possibly the best part of the meal. Five meats — bologna, terrine and a chicken liver pate in a small ball jar — accompanied by freshly baked bread, three homemade mustards and an assortment of pickled veggies. The waitress picked the rest, sending a plethora of small plates: Farm Egg w/ Crispy Rice & Bologna (pictured above), Prime Steak Tartare (pictured below), Crisp Pork Belly, Crisp Sweetbreads, Octopus & Pork Sausages, Foie Gras Ravioli, and a light Vegetable dish to cap it off. The food was paired with a gin cocktail w/ rosewater, and two Uinta Wylde Pale Ale’s, both fantastic for the heavy food we were ingesting. For dessert, we got a taste of the “Not Carrot Cake” made with Parsnip, instead of carrot, and two perfect double espressos to sober us up for the evening’s rehearsal. The Shadowboxers were gearing up to play a big show on the final day of my trip, and I was content be a spectator.

I must give a shout out to Jarrett Stieber, ESS’s brilliant butcher, whose hospitality and charcuterie plate were unprecedented. Thank you for showing us what Atlanta food is all about. Hotlanta, as it’s called may not be know for its food, but this was a spectacular start of two days saturated with innovative Southern cuisine.

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09/04/2012 The Kitchen Sink — Le Chateaubriand by Nate

Enjoy the Serge while you read…

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Last nights in Paris are tough. There is something about the city’s energy, its history, its sights and smells that make it impossible to leave. To soften the blow, last nights in Paris are overtaken by the consumption of delicious and innovative French Food. Last year was Le Verre Volé, a restaurant in a wine store serving up gentrified provincial cuisine–for this occasion Sanaë and I finished a bottle of Vouvray together. This year it was Paris’ newest “bobo” bistro in the 10th Arrondissement, Inaki Aizpitarte’s Le Chateaubriand, a chef and his restaurant stacked with all the hype the world can offer. Maybe by oblivion or sheer naivete, I was unaware that Le Chateaubriand, was just ranked #15 in the WORLD on San Pelligrino’s list of top 50. Without preconceived notions of perfection, Le Chateaubriand’s 60€, mercurial prix fixe exceeded our expectations and awoke the magic that emanates from Paris’ cobblestone streets on last nights.

Yes, we were exhausted from a day of travel from the South; yes, it was a bit too hot inside despite the cool air outside; yes the wine arrived a bit too late, and yes the clientele was a bit over the top. But these were only blips in a two hour, 5 course meal filled with warm service, chilled watermelon soup and mint ice cream, funky whites and juicy reds, and proteins from the land and the sea.

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05/16/2012 Late Night Supermarket Run with “The Smiths” by Forsyth

Musical Accompaniment:

The Smiths–Unloveable

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The Smiths–Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before

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Morrissey–Suedehead

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An excerpt from my illustrated novel The Woo:

Stop & Shop’s different at night. Desperate. Shouldn’t be here when not working. You couldn’t find a more pathetic way to spend your 20th birthday. Not telling anyone it’s today. I somehow thought I’d be famous by now. Who should really be famous is Justine.

Mark holds up two cantaloupes and says: “Nina’s melons!” Ryan throws an apple. It hits Mark’s arm. Nina Lowry? Nina Lanuto? Nina Vacarri? Mark starts juggling oranges and Justine pelts him with green grapes. I’m surprised to feel responsible, like I need people to behave. How do I behave around Ryan now? He acts like nothing happened so I do too, pretending I don’t notice every little thing. I don’t want to know. Nina Scarduzio?

Mark buys a gallon of water. Justine pockets a pack of Trident. Thank God Fran’s not on. I don’t know the checkout girl. Ryan smiles at her. She has fake nails. He has no discrimination. I’m starting to feel supremely stupid.