sea urchin. i’m enamored. and i have been for quite some time although it’s usually called uni and served to me over a slab of rice. well ok, not necessarily – at least not anymore. not since i had it served on a piece of lightly toasted bread, draped with the thinnest, barely warmed slice of lardo at marea in nyc. thank you chef michael white. because that right there was a most memorable bite, one that set the tone for one of my top 3 meals of ’09.

and sure, there have been a few pastas with sea urchin ordered at various restaurants (a voce, esca and marea come to mind…). and then there was that whole bourdain/ripert food porn spectacle at le bernardin… i watched that and yearned… deeply… (for both tony and the taglietelle.)

but just 3 days ago i was lucky enough to find myself in possession of two 80 gram trays of the freshest most lovely sea urchin that one might ever come across – overnighted via fedex from san diego. i nearly made that eric ripert version which is pretty much a butter sauce fortified with pureed sea urchin and then embellished with chives, espelette, parmigiano and a touch of lemon – not to mention the generous dollop of osetra… but it just seemed TOO rich. TOO heavy. not that i’m knocking it. i’m quite sure that it’s an experience unto itself and one that i plan on having at some point, but right now i’m trying to keep it light – so i begrudgingly shied away from that.

and then i found it. right in the ny times. the perfect dish…

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there’s a pretty amusing backstory as to why i created this dish, but that’s for another day. what i will say is that it was quite fabulous. the sauce wound up taking on a life if its own, as at one point a bad flick of the wrist had rendered it nearly inedible and it needed to be somehow fixed. luckily the culinary gods were with me and i had on hand just the very thing to bring it back home with grace. honestly, this was a serious sauce… and having no formal training whatsoever, i was really pleased that not only was it saved, but it was enhanced tenfold.

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in my ongoing hunt for new ways to prepare bottarga, by far one of my most favorite things to eat, i googled ‘bottarga and cream’ wondering what i might find. after all, one eats good caviar with creme fraiche so i felt i might be on to something. and once again the interwebs provided me with what was just yesterday completely unknown, and now will never be forgotten. thank you al gore.

the martha. you come for the guests (she has the best) and you leave – well, often because of martha. case in point. enter eficio farris. a dallas based chef from sardinia and writer of ‘sweet myrtle and bitter honey – flavors of sardinia‘. i’d never heard of him and now he’s my latest italian chef crush. move over michael white (of alto, convivio and my new most favorite restaurant marea)… because i’ve got sardinia to explore and eficio is taking me there.

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i made a fair few things new year’s eve, but two of them in particular were really wonderful. this, a bruschetta made from a whole wheat la brea baguette with a gremolata of parsley, lemon zest, tuscan olive oil and garlic, topped with two paper thin slightly pan warmed slices of guanciale – was quite simply, delicious.

alas, the idea was once again gently borrowed from ‘city house‘ here in nashville. chef tandy wilson’s version was slightly different, but the basic elements were much the same.

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i know… we’re in the throes of the holidays and here i am giving you the kind of post you might more be expecting in january. this modest, even unassuming soup is a fine example of the simple comfort food that everyone craves after all the excess and extravaganza that will ring out the year. but for me, even amidst all the decadence, there would be few things on my list that could ever equal the magnificence that is this soup.

imagine. if you had a cold and then you crossed my beloved jewish grandma julia with someone else’s italian nonna, i’m thinking that whatever she’d be cooking for you might look a little something like what you see here.

and really, all i’m saying is that sometimes, sniffles or not, in between all the festivity, undoubtedly filled with an array of benton’s bacon wrapped dates, hudson valley foie gras on pain de mie toast points, baked wheels of brie with fig jam on top, wine braised lamb shanks and slow roasted loins of meat – possibly followed up with a very beloved christmas eve lasagna = not to mention what you may have on the menu for your new year’s celebration… well, you might just want soup.

and of them all, to me this one reigns supreme.

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my mom just sent me keller’s latest book ‘ad hoc’. she knew i wanted this one and sure enough it showed up at my door – a heavy box from barnes & noble with a gift wrapped package inside bearing a little note that said, "because i love you". i’d recently surprised her in nyc for her 75th birthday and this was a delightful thank you. i suppose it could have been a ‘first night of (c)hanukah’ gift, but those days of a-gift-a-night for 8 nights, long the envy of my goyim friends – are long behind me, now replaced by one signed check. which funny enough, always fits me perfectly.

she also knows i’m a big fan of thomas keller. as i’m sure you’re well aware, the man is quite simply an extraordinary chef. i’ve eaten at per se only twice, but both times were sublime. and when i next find myself in napa, it won’t be french laundry that i first run to – it will be ad hoc. the restaurant with no menu. you come. you sit. and you’re served whatever 4 courses they’ve prepared for that evening. perfect.

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capitol hill/12th avenue in seattle

this shot was taken on our short stroll from having cocktails at the very cool tavern law, to dinner down the street at lark.
the photo is 100% untouched and to me, it’s ever so slightly unexpected, and perhaps even a little bit beautiful…

it’s been over 2 months and i’ve not said a word about seattle which is just wrong of me for two reasons because, well, i really liked that city – and i can honestly say that i’m glad i flew the entire 47,001 miles to see it. oh, it wasn’t that far? really? because it kind of felt that way. i’m telling you… seattle? it is way the hell across and up there. all the while i just kept thinking, man, i could have flown to portugal…

so there was the distance thing – that, and who can remember where i went and what i did 8+ weeks ago? but in the name of blogging and my own personal sanity, i am going to try and recreate the 5 days. it may be a struggle, but as of late i’ve taken to doing brain-challenger exercises so that i can perhaps put off the alzheimers for a little while longer. i even went so far as to download a few of the ‘brain apps’ on my iphone, and now i sit around trying to exercise my brain – which on the upside only requires sitting, even laying down! all this to say, that between google, credit card records and my newly toned brain – i’m going to seriously try and figure out where i went…

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