living in new york for real

Posted on August 21, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

That is what became a possibility today. After busting my butt all summer, I just got an offer for full-time employment post MBA!!! I’m thrilled.

But I do have a little time to decide. Wish me luck!!!

la foccacia

Posted on August 20, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

This summer I’ve been able to spend some time with the other intern from my school. He’s an undergrad, but we are both interning at the same company in HR and he is just a gem. I also adore his wife, which makes hanging out with him even better. The two of them have been living in Astoria (a neighborhood in Queens) and they invited me to join them for dinner last week to see just what it was like. P.S. Astoria is great…if you aren’t single.

Last night, as a last hurrah (we both finish our internships on Friday), the three of us headed to dinner in the West Village–aka my neck of the woods. They had never been here and for those of you familiar with the West Village, it is a fabulous neighborhood.

I decided that we needed to go to La Focaccia. Sarah, Sharla, Monica, and I went here one of my first few weeks in town and I had the most amazing salmon I’ve ever had in my life. So last night the debate was to salmon or not to salmon. I decided not to salmon, as evidenced by the photos. So happy I did. Not that the salmon wouldn’t have been fabulous, but the lamb was amazing!!! Why must I love food so much?!

I am sooo going to miss all the fabulousness that is NYC. The good news is Michael, Siri, and I have agreed that we must get together at least once a semester to go to SLC (not even close to NYC, but the best we’ve got) to have good food and reminisce about our days in the city.

With any luck, we’ll all be back here next July and the good times will continue.

P.S. Speaking of luck…send some my way. The next two days are going to be big for me!

P.P.S. Posts to come: Chinese cooking class, Sunday in Brooklyn, my mid-MBA-life-crisis, and the full-story about my summer internship. I promise…once school starts and I’m back to procrastinating the mundane tasks of my boring existence, I will be a much better blogger.

the flavors of india

Posted on August 6, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

Tonight, I took a cooking class. This is the second one I’ve taken in my life. (I don’t count cake decorating as cooking in case you were wondering.) Anyway, I found this darling little culinary studio while searching online (how did we live without Google?). It’s called Miette. and located exactly three blocks from my apartment. It’s owned by Chef Paul who used to be the chef at Tartine (for those of you familiar with the fabulous West Village establishment). He’s a classically trained chef (meaning in the French tradition) from Belgium and the one in the chef’s jacket below. The class, however, was taught by Chef Rati…the teeny little Indian woman throughout my photos.

As opposed to the soufflé class I took last summer, this was not hands on. However, it was a demonstration of an entire meal (or two). It was also an education in Indian cuisine.

One of the interns in my group this summer is Indian and we have had a few conversations about the diversity within India in terms of religions and regions (the two go together). The cuisine tonight was from both the north and the south.

Delicious Tandoori Chicken…you can see it marinating above. Did you know the red color in Indian food is actually food coloring? I didn’t.

I also learned that you should always grind your own cumin and coriander. I have been using pre-ground cumin as long as I’ve known what cumin was. Now that I have smelled and tasted the fresh stuff…there’s no going back.

Did you know that curry is not actually a spice? No? Curry in India refers either to “sauce” or curry leaves (pictured above). And curry leaves don’t smell anything like what I thought of as “curry”.

Wine was actually part of the class…too bad I’m not a drinker.

So, the key to Indian curry (sauces) is in the browning of the onions. Now, I looked at this pan and thought, “There’s no way those onions are going to brown…unless they burn.” Guess who was wrong. Amazing. It took a while, but we were also quadrupling the recipes.

And here are the onions, along with a number of other ingredients, beautifully browned and ready to be added to the beef (which, incidentally, is not eaten in the north of India…only the south) that was cooking away in the oven.

You might be wondering what vermicelli noodles are doing in this post. South Indian Noodle Pudding – like rice pudding, but smoother.

Little Thai chilies to spice up the Beef Curry (meaning “sauce”).

The Beef Curry…I know this doesn’t necessarily look appetizing in this picture, but I promise you it was delicious!

Curry leaves.

Um…the Tandoori Chicken was so good. So. Good. I learned all kinds of tricks.

The coconut concoction for Fresh Green Beans with Coconut.

P.S. There are Indian names for all of these recipes, but I kind of like the straight forward translations…and I’m guessing the Indian names aren’t any more exciting; they’re just in a different language.

I hope you can tell just how beautiful the green bean dish was. The beans were perfectly cooked. And the coconut, though it looks like it might overpower the dish, was so subtle…just a great texture really.

My meal…minus the lentils that didn’t cook all the way through in the amount of time they were supposed to. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of them, but they were so good, as well. Of course, with a recipe called Creamy Spiced Indian Lentils, I wouldn’t expect anything less.

And finally, my little cup of Noodle Pudding. A perfect dessert for a lovely evening.

The best part of the whole evening was that, at the end of it, I knew I was coming back for another class in two weeks. Stay tuned. There’s more to come, but this time from China! (Not me in China, of course, just the cuisine…for now.)

i’m a crappy blogger

Posted on July 22, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

I seriously have so much to say. And so many fabulous NY things to share. But no time to do it. As it is, I’m averaging between 4 and 5 hours of sleep a night and if I try and add blogging in…well, let’s just say it’s not a great idea.

So, here we go, bullet point style:

My friend, Kari, is in town from Arizona. I have been playing the role of tourist (and really, just because I cross the street when I’m not supposed to and get upset when people stand on the left side of the escalator does not mean I’m a native). We have had a great time. Circle Line Cruise around the island, night time bus tour, etc.
I saw Wicked for the third time. I still love it! Probably my favorite musical of all time. Admittedly, I didn’t get chills this time like I did when Stephanie Block played Elphaba, but it was still amazing.
Taking full advantage of Restaurant Week…although the restaurants are probably winning since I keep ordering off the regular menu. If
Saw (500) Days of Summer…fell in love with this song (two versions…one live, one not):
Had my mid-summer review with my boss. So far, so good. Hopefully it stays that way, although today was rough…I had serious ADD.
Speaking of internship, I’m over halfway through. It has been an incredible experience. I’ve been given some really amazing opportunities. I’m loving the company. I’m loving my boss and the three other women in my little space. I love the building in which I work.
London might be where I’m living next fall…it’s a long shot, but wouldn’t that be amazing!!!
I have no money to show for my internship, but lots of pictures and lots of…pounds? Yes, I am eating my way through NYC and loving every minute of it.
I’m starting to get excited about seeing all of my school peeps, but the thought of leaving New York really is starting to break my heart!

I’m tired. It’s past my bed time. That’s all for tonight.

the insanity that is nyc – in the best sense of the word!

Posted on July 15, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

Yesterday, I was heading out for my *cough* weekly *cough* *cough* mani/pedi. As I walked to the new nail place I wanted to try (favorite so far), I had to pass the IFC Theater that is right by the W 4th Street subway stop. There was an event going on…it looked like a movie premiere. So of course, I stopped and gawked for a while (so sad I didn’t have my camera with me).

Here’s a link with pics of the red carpet at the screening with all of the famous people I saw (not the after party pics, just the obviously red carpet celebs). New York City is seriously magical; like Disneyland for grown-ups (who don’t like Disneyland…and probably those who do, too).

And then today, KP and I were at Pommes Frites (a super favorite) and who should walk by. None other than Rachel Dratch. And yeah, she pretty much looks like she does on t.v. or in movies. After that, we went to Joe’s Pub to see Katie Herzig (another super fave, but this one of the musical variety). And we had just enough time after the concert to jet up to the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble to pick up the new book by Jennifer Weiner (of In Her Shoes fame) and have them signed by none other than the author herself!