Friday, January 10, 2014

No, Really. This Time I Mean It.

A year ago, I posted that I was ready to for things to get back to normal.  The holidays always bring about a lot of happiness for me from visiting friends, entertaining and resolution about what the new year will bring.

A year a go I took my first trip in some time and resolved that 2013 would be the year of getting back to traveling regularly, entertaining, building my bag business and most importantly, chronicling it all here.  Little did I know what lay ahead for me when I returned...

Four days after I returned home, I had a house fire that gutted my house the day before my birthday.  I never imagined that my resolution of traveling more would actually manifest itself as crashing at other peoples places for 5 months. I spent the rest of the year replacing my life and my things.

Now, a few weeks before my birthday, I am packing up the salon to move to a new location.  My space that I had for 10 years is being demolished for new construction and I am lucky enough to have found space right across the street.  It turns out we can resolve to do all sorts of things to improve our lives, but the universe can always make different plans for us.  After everything, I feel that living through the last few years has changed my life for the better.  Being forced to adapt has made me see things differently and made me less fearful of change.  I have adopted the motto "things will all work out" rather than clinging to the status quo.  My friend Kitty recently told me that I lead a "horribly charmed life".  Terrible things happen to me and the result ends up being better than the previous situation.

Heres to a horribly charmed 2014!


My first entertaining post last year would have been a dinner made in L.A. for one of my best friends.    I am reminded of it because I made the same thing this New Years Eve for friends.  What better way to ring in the new year - feeding my favorite comfort food to special people.

Photos below are from the Flack Bachelor Pad in L.A. taken with an iPhone, so please excuse the lack of my usual staging.

Caesar Salad

This original recipe concocted by Caesar Cardini is traditionally assembled at the table.  The dressing is made in the bowl, then the salad is tossed in with cheese and croutons.  I like offering anchovy paste mixed into the dressing, or if you like, anchovies on top of the individual finished salads.

3 romaine hearts sliced
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg 
1/4 t salt
1/2 meyer lemon juice
1/2 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper
anchovy paste or canned anchovies
1 1/2 cups homemade croutons (recipe in my potato leek soup recipe post)

Gently boil the egg for exactly 1 minute. With a garlic press, crush garlic clove into a wooden salad bowl and crack the egg directly into the bowl.  Whisk egg and garlic together with olive oil, salt, lemon, worcestershire and a 2 inch strip of anchovy paste (if desired).  Toss in lettuce, then cheese and top with fresh ground pepper, croutons and anchovy filets.

Serves 6 side salads

Mac & Cheese

16 ounce package of tortiglioni
 (or other corkscrew pasta)
4 T cornstarch
2 t salt
1 t dry mustard
1/2 t ground black pepper
6 cups milk
4 T butter
3 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar
1 cup shredded Gouda
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat to 375 degrees
Cook pasta for 6 minutes, drain and place in baking dish.
In a 4 Qt. saucepan, combine cornstarch, salt, dry mustard and pepper.  Whisk in milk until smooth and add butter.  Stir constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute.  
Remove from heat and stir in cheese, pour over pasta in baking dish and top with breadcrumbs.
Bake for 20-25 minutes

Serves 10


Jim's Manhattan

3 oz. Maker's Mark bourbon
1 oz. Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth
1 t cherry juice
Dash Angostura bitters
Luxardo Cherry
Shake on ice and serve in a martini glass


Manhattan Mocktail

1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 t cherry juice
1/4 t meyer lemon juice
Dash Orange bitters
Luxardo Cherry

Shake on ice and serve in a rocks glass

*I find this recipe to be a tad sweet for me and like to add 1/4 cup seltzer after shaking.