The Social Table

My coworkers have been planning a private cooking class for fun and entertainment for the past month. I, unfortunately, could not afford the class and did not put too much thought into it after I turned down their offer. I did not want to get sad thinking about being left out.

Well, after a visit home to Tulsa, a case of tonsillitis and two days back at work, they came to me with a desperate offer for another person. I accepted before asking two very important questions. One, when? Two, what is on the menu? Well, turns out it was that night, therefore I had to cancel my studio cycling class, and fish was the main course along with a side of brussel sprouts. Classic was the term to used to describe my face after I already accepted and found out the answers. If any of you didn't know, the only thing I don't eat is seafood and a small, ok maybe medium, variety of others which include brussel sprouts.

So at 6:00pm , a late work day for me, we stopped by our local wine shop, Bottle & Soul, to pick a few wines recommended by our chef and headed over to Hells Kitchen. The Social Table is located on 51st Street just west of Eight Avenue.

Joining our little MAC II party was Susie's friend, Ildiko and Jennifer's friend ,Karim (the only boy) to make a total of six inspiring chefs. All I can say is we had one hell of a time. I am so glad they convinced me to go. It was such a great experience with great friends. Rebecca, our fantastic chef, definitely did most of the work while we drank wines from all over the country and chatted away. I know now why it is called The Social Table. But, I did learn some very interesting things like how to hold a knife correctly, how to chop like they do on the Cooking Channel, what a fennel is... You get my drift. After a short conversation overheard by Rebecca I was fortunate enough not to have fish as my main course but chicken with a wine lemon sauce. She let me pound the chicken (see picture below).

P.S. I very much enjoyed the brussel sprouts!

Here was our awesome menu, chosen by my lovely coworkers Erin, Jennifer and Susie:

Menu:

Roasted Sea Bass with Fennel, Leeks and Tomatoes

Artichokes Stuffed with Ricotta & Walnuts

Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Shallots

Bread Pudding

As always classes are BYOB and we encourage you to bring your beverage of choice. If you are looking for some guidance we suggest:

* South American Chardonnay

* California Sauvignon Blanc

* Pinot Noir

* Central Coast Syrah

I will post the recepies as soon as I get them. Enjoy the pictures!

The Girls (Ildiko, Me, Susie, Erin and Jennifer).

Jennifer double tasking.

Susie and Erin showing much excitement about cooking.

Me, Susie and Erin taking a break from cooking for a mini photo shoot.

The girls stuffing the "Chokes."

Ildiko and me waiting for the next step.

Pounding my chicken!

Erin showing her love for fish.

The boy, Karim, got to do the fishy work.

Our awesome chef Rebecca showing Karim how to prep the fish.

The "apparently fantastic fish" before the oven.

Need something fun to do on a week night, plan the perfect date or just have a girls night? You now know where to go! 

Summer is a comin'

You know summer is right around the corner when I am headed back out to the Hampton's for installations. I am getting ready to head out my front door to the Hampton Jitney. Hopefully, I will be free of any Hampton Jitney horror stories, like the first time I went out by myself last year. Oh what a day. It regarded an elderly woman with pig tails, her adorable little pooch that wanted to sit in a seat, a pissed off gay man, an elderly man with gas, sitting on the side of the road for 20 minutes and it all resulted in a threat to call the cops. Wow.

It is however supposed to rain. Just my luck. It seems every time I get to go to the Hampton's it is supposed to rain. Just my luck. Oh well, I still get to be in the Hampton's instead of the office. I just thought I would give you something to be jealous about all day.

Things That Make Me Happy on Monday #1

During a family visit upstate to West Chazy, New York, we stopped by my Aunt Nancy's friends house to see her horses. The Chestnut, who I believe is a Throughbread, was at the time pregnant and the Arabian Bay, who is Rhonda's "baby", has been with her for years.

The beautiful colt was born March 7, 2009 at 7:15am.

Grey Gardens

During an outing with my boss the other day, she began to tell me about her weekend in the Hamptons. It included a screening of the HBO movie Grey Gardens and a tour of the actual home.

While on the subway this morning a got a little sneak peek of the New York Times Home & Garden section from the woman sitting to my left. Low and behold there it was, Grey Gardens of today.

"LIMELIGHT, at least the reflected kind, is again shining on Grey Gardens, a 10-bedroom 1897 house near Georgica Pond here. Thirty-four years after its former residents, Edith Bouvier Beale, known as Big Edie, and her namesake daughter, who was called Little Edie, were introduced to the world in the Maysles brothers’ classic documentary, and three years after their life in the tumbledown raccoon-infested mansion on a wildly overgrown lot became the basis of a Broadway musical, HBO is rolling out a feature-length movie about them, also called “Grey Gardens,” this weekend."

"The two Edies have become famous for the way they lived at Grey Gardens — the squalor of their home was especially striking given that Big Edie was an aunt and Little Edie a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — and they will soon be even better known after being portrayed by Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore in the HBO film."

"The house’s current owners, who restored it after buying it from Little Edie in 1979, are celebrities themselves: Sally Quinn, the writer and Washington hostess, and her husband, Benjamin C. Bradlee, the former editor of The Washington Post. The couple have taken up residence at Grey Gardens every summer for decades, and have used it to entertain friends like Lauren Bacall and Norman Lear."

Horsin' Around

I have ridden horses since I was in fourth grade. I started riding in Saginaw, MI when a friend of my parents introduced them to Four Winds Farms in Bridgeport, MI. This is where I became a proud owner of my first pony, Boo Boo (The trainers daughter, Allie, who became one of my best friends, also had a pony named Yogi Bear. Hints Boo Boo....Heyyyy Boo Boo!).

I guess they knew ever since we lived in California that I would end up riding horses. Every time I would see a horse on the side of the road I would ecstatically yell "Horsie Daddy!" or "Horsie Mommy!"

When my family moved from Saginaw, MI to Tulsa, OK they decided to sell my pony, Boo Boo. After some desperate begging and crying my parents decided to bring the pony to good ole Oklahoma. He arrived on a day where the weather was very stormy and scary. Therefore his show name was changed, by some new friends at the barn, to Stormy Weather. Boo Boo, who is probably in his 20's now is still alive, as far as I know, and living at KJM Farm in Tulsa.

Schon-'M-All (Showing Them All) was my first horse. I remember my Mom bringing the check to our KJM Christmas party at one of my fellow riders homes. Trey, his barn name, was an adorable dark brown gelding with a little attitude. I showed Trey all over the US and he won numerous blue ribbions. After a battle with cataracks we didn't know he had, he didn't pass his vet check. In the end we donated him to the Oklahoma State Equestrian Team where he was their star horse. From what I know he is still there.

My first jumper was a special one with a large body and large heart. He was a Selle Francaise gelding imported from France by my trainer at KJM. His name was Derby De La Hague, aka Derby. That horse got me around anything under 4'0" without a care in the world. Once the jumps started getting larger it was decided I needed a smaller horse with more scope. We sold Derby to a local barn. Sadly, a few months later he coliced and passed away. I still think about you and miss you buddy!

I was horseless for a few months before my parents bought me the love of my life. I tried Genie d'Or, a 16.3 hand Selle Francaise gelding who had just been recently imported a few months before, in Santa Fe. I had one of the best shows of my life. Before leaving the show he already had a new name, Monaco aka Miles. I won champion or reserve champion in almost every show I rode him in. Monaco now lives in Cypress, TX where he has been for almost 10 years at Top Line Sporthorse. He won the Biltmore Estate Summer Classic Grand Prix in 2005 which oddly enough was where my last show on him was a few years before he moved to Cypress. Monaco will be 15 this year on July 9th.