Adam D. Roberts's Blog, page 126

Two Exciting Bits of News

Guess what folks? This week I'm in New York Magazine's "Everything Guide to Deliveries: New York Food Experts Pick Their Favorite Neighborhood Delivery Options." One of my suggestions is based on a tip from a reader; so whoever out there turned me on to Tue Thai, thanks! I really do love their duck noodles. The other exciting bit of news is that Amanda Hesser, Merrill Stubbs and and Charlotte Druckman have asked me to M.C. Food52's Piglet Party! For those who don't know about The Piglet, it's a tournament of cookbooks featuring distinguished judges (Mario Batali, Ezra Klein, Susan Orlean) who select among the best cookbooks of 2010. At the end, one cookbook is declared the winner and that's announced at The Piglet Party. So get your tickets here and I'll see you there!

Sunday Morning Oatmeal

Sunday Morning Oatmeal is not your average, every day oatmeal. It's an oatmeal that, if you ate it every day, might kill you. But on Sunday morning, death is the furthest thing from your mind; you've got the Sunday Times Magazine crossword puzzle open on the table next to you (you look for all the food clues first, naturally) and Bon Iver playing on iTunes (well, Craig does, I just liked it and asked "What is this?" and he said "Bon Iver.") There's no set formula for this Sunday Morning Oatmeal, you just wing it as you go. But it's best if you start the night before, right before you go to bed.

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A Thanksgiving Recipe Round-Up

Yesterday morning I Tweeted the following Tweet: "Should I get a medal for not having any Thanksgiving content on my blog (minus the banner?) Or should I cave and make some turkey & pie?"

Several followers felt I deserved a medal ("Don't cave! It's a welcome respite from the 'holiday spirit,'" wrote @laujk; "Please no Thanksgiving stuff. I haven't bought a food magazine all month. Super boring. (especially for us Canadians," wrote @emmawaverman.") Ultimately, though, enough people DID want Thanksgiving content ("Embrace the festivities," wrote @5_minutespeace; "Cave--it's fun to see everyone's take/ideas," wrote @FreshTartSteph) that I decided to do a round-up of all the recipes from my blog's archives that'd be perfect at your Thanksgiving table.

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My iTunes Celebrity Playlist

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, in a cold sweat, wondering what 23 songs The Amateur Gourmet would put on his iTunes Celebrity Playlist if he was ever invited to make one? Relief is on the way! I just made my (imaginary) iTunes Celebrity Playlist and posted it here on my Not Food blog. If you like that post, you may also like this Beginner's Guide to Stephen Sondheim I did a few weeks earlier. And if you want to stay apprised of all my "Not Food" blog posts, you can subscribe to its RSS feed here.

The Easiest Pasta Dinner in the World

There are certain readers of my blog--and I know they exist, I've met them in real life--who see the food I make as aspirational. Instead of thinking, "Oooh, that's easy, I can make that" (as many of you think when you read my posts), they think, "Oooh, that looks tasty, I wonder if someone will make that for me?"

To those readers, then, who think these recipes are outside of your reach (and, again, I acknowledge that I'm not describing most of you) I have a recipe for you. It's Penne with Brown Butter, Nutmeg and Parmesan and I used to write about it all the time on the blog when I was a bachelor; it's a dinner you can whip up easily for yourself after coming home from work. All you need is a pot, a pan, a box of penne, a stick (or less) of butter, whole nutmeg (so much better than the pre-ground stuff), a hunk of Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. This is comfort food with a sophisticated flair.

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Food-Themed Windows at Barney's & A Hot Dog in Central Park

Confession: this post is just an excuse to share a ton of pictures that I snapped yesterday with my new camera (and new lens) as Craig and I journeyed up to Central Park on one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced in New York. It was just warm enough that I didn't need to wear my jacket (though I did have it handy for later) and just cool enough that we could walk and walk and walk without getting sweaty. To keep this post food-related, we'll eat a hot dog from a hot dog cart near the east side of the park and then we'll see the food-themed windows at Barney's. But let's start at the entrance to the park near 81st street as we wander in and behold the autumnal splendor.

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It's Apple Season, So Here Are Three Desserts You Can Make with Apples (Baked Apples, Apple Cake & Apple Cobbler)

Peter Meehan recently ranted about hectoring food snobs, the ones who make you feel bad for putting milk in your coffee (something he witnessed at an elite coffee shop) or who mock you for not knowing your various kinds of meat (hogget, anyone?) It's with a sense of subtle restraint, then, that I gently prod you (I'm not hectoring, I swear) to make your way to a farmer's market this autumn to buy some apples.

Not because it'll make you a better person (it won't) or because it'll elevate your foodie status (whatever that might be), but because farmer's market apples just taste better than supermarket apples. All you have to do to experience the difference is taste.

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Waiter! There's a Nipple in My Soup! (A Review of Robert's Restaurant at Scores Gentleman's Club by Cole Escola)

[When the P.R. e-mail came offering me a free dinner at Robert's Restaurant at Scores Gentleman's Club, my first thought was: "Ew, boobies!" And my second thought was, "I can't take a free meal and write a solicited review, I'm an ethical food blogger." I was about to click "delete" when I realized that it might be pretty hilarious to send my gay comedian friend Cole Escola to do the dirty deed for me. And Cole, as you'll see below, happily obliged. This is the story of his dinner at a steakhouse in a strip club.]

When it comes to my tastes, I'm an American through and through. I like deep-fried twinkies, chocolate with peanut butter, and bacon on everything. This patriotic love of decadent combinations is exactly what made me say "yes" when Adam asked if I'd like to review Robert's Restaurant inside of Scores Gentlemen's Club. Even though I'm gay (and I mean gay) I couldn't resist the temptation of gourmet steak paired with topless women. Like I said, I'm an American.

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For Those Who Missed It

Here's a recorded version of my interview with Eric Wolitzky from "Top Chef Just Desserts." We dish about Team Godiva, the harrowing 32-day shooting period, and how Eric became a baker (which involved escaping the first tower on 9/11).

Live with Eric Wolitzky from Top Chef Just Desserts

Have you been watching "Top Chef Just Desserts"? My friend Eric Wolitzky (whose cookies I made in the previous post) did extraordinarily well this season and tomorrow I'm joining him LIVE at Baked in Red Hook to talk about his time on the show, behind-the-scenes gossip, his biggest regrets, favorite moments and what he's doing next. Just load up this page tomorrow November 9th at 1:45 PM EST and watch the action unfold in real time. You can also ask questions live in the chatroom, either by clicking here or continuing on below. Those who can't make it live, post your questions for Eric in the comments and I'll be sure to ask them.

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