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Oysters spawn when the water warms up, and they develop a milky and flabby consistency. It's certainly "safe" to eat raw oysters year 'round, though of course there's always the risk of contamination.

The Smith on Third Avenue between 10th and 11th. It's NYU-student-y, but comfortable, with better-than-decent American food at moderate prices. Burgers are killer! If the weather's nice it's semi-open-air.

I also second Piola. It's friendly there, too, partly because Brazilians own the place, and they're a famously friendly people.

"The Way to Cook" is best--it's well illustrated, and Julia never ever "talks down" to readers. It's great for beginners because of the way it's organized, but I don't know anyone who doesn't love using that book.

Mark Bittman is also terrific. There are four cookbook authors who have NEVER failed me--every recipe I've ever tried was superb: Julia Child, Mark Bittman, Marcella Hazan, and Paula Wolfert.

My Penne alla Vodka Martini:

Penne alla Vodka Martini,
With Tomatoes, Sausages, Bacon, and Cream

I always thought penne alla vodka needed the buttery, slightly herbal lilt of vermouth, benefiting by the way it works in a nice, velvety martini. This incredibly rich, voluptuous pasta creation loves to be practically covered with vegetable-peeler curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano, so keep that happily in mind. The choice of bacon or pancetta at the outset is completely up to you: Bacon lends a light smoky flavor; pancetta is more, well, Italian: lots of body with nice rich insinuations.

It takes a certain vigilance to stir and reduce the sauce for the last 10 minutes over spittingly high heat, but it’s worth it, believe me. But if you haven’t got a splatter screen, then God bless you.

The pasta-to-sauce ratio would make Marcella Hazan (among many others) wince. Too bad.

1/4 lb. slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
or 1/4 lb. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, well chopped
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 28-oz. can crushed plum tomatoes, with juice included
About 2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, the best you can get; fennel-free, if possible
3/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup French dry vermouth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb. good dried penne rigate
Plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano,
freshly grated and shaved with a vegetable peeler
Oregano, fresh chopped or dried
More dried red pepper flakes, if desired

In a good, deep, heavy-duty sauté pan, cook the bacon/pancetta over moderate heat until most of the fat is rendered. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons (if you wish) and add the onion and red pepper flakes, and cook just until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat, and simmer for a half-hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Prick the sausages with a pin every inch or so and toss them into the water. Bring them to the simmer and let them bubble away for 10 minutes. Drain the sausages and cool them in a colander. And meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne, which will probably need no more than about 10-12 minutes to cook, so don’t add it to the boiling water until the final phase.

Add the vodka, vermouth, and tomato paste to the tomato mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cut the cooled sausages into bite-sized pieces and toss them into the sauce.

Just when you’re ready to add the penne to the boiling water, turn the heat under the sauce to high, add the cream, and, using a splatter screen as needed, and, stirring often, boil the sauce vigorously for 10 minutes, about the amount of time the pasta needs to cook. The sauce will, of course, thicken considerably.

You can blend the cooked penne with the sauce, stirring in the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, oregano, and optional additional red pepper flakes, and serve that with curled peelings of Parm-Regg, OR:

Heat the broiler. Drain the pasta and, without rinsing, transfer it to a 2 1/2-quart (or larger) gratin. Add the sauce and stir in (to taste) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, the oregano, and the optional additional red pepper flakes. Run the gratin watchfully under the broiler until the penne poking out of the top of the gratin begin to singe and crisp and the sauce sizzles, 2-4 minutes. Serve under curled peelings of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Yield: 4 large servings, but it’s great for 2, because the leftovers are particularly succulent.

Jalapeño Poppers, or split jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped with bacon, and roasted to a fare-thee-well.

My favorite ham sandwich is a croque monsieur, so buttered sandwich bread filled with ham and gruyère, grilled in a croque grill or panini press.

New Year's Eve: Penne alla Vodka Martini (my own recipe--want it?)

New Year's Day: Black-eyed Peas with Kielbasa, comme il faut, a New Orleans tradition for a lucky new year.

Ribeye--the richest and most deeply flavored cut of beef.

Read through my recipe, then look at my additional comments.

CHEESECAKE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
2 pounds Philadelphia cream cheese (4 bricks), at room temperature
1 cup “superfine’’ sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Brush the sides and bottom of a 9’’ springform pan with the melted butter. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the bottom of the pan and tilt it to coat evenly with crumbs.

Beat the cream cheese in a standing mixer until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium speed until sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl after each addition. Add lemon zest and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in cream and sour cream with a wooden spoon.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cheesecake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 200, leaving the oven door open until temperature reduces, 4-5 minutes. Bake until the cheesecake’s perimeter is set, but center jiggles when pan is tapped, about an hour. Turn off the heat and use a long-handled fork or spoon to hold the oven door open by about one foot. Let the cheesecake rest for an hour, then place it on a wire rack and let it cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate it until chilled, at least 4 hours.

COMMENTS:

For "eggnog cheesecake" (which seems pretty redundant to me), I'd add 2-3 egg yolks and lower the sour cream amount. Sprinkle the top of the finished cheesecake with *freshly grated* nutmeg, and you're good to go.

This is nice and spicy. You can hold back on the chipotles if you're frightened by spicy food.

Spaghetti Inferno

5 slices peppered slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 seven-ounce can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1/2 cup marsala wine, or dry white vermouth
2 tablespoons tomato paste, or ketchup
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 pound spaghetti
Lots of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente, about 11 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the bacon wedges until they render some fat, then add the diced onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned and the onion is translucent.

And meanwhile, in a mini-processor, pulse the chipotles and their sauce with the wine and tomato paste until fairly smooth, but not completely pureed. Deglaze the skillet with a little wine or water, add the chipotle mixture and the pine nuts to the skillet, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the mixture until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Drain the spaghetti and toss with the sauce. Serve with plenty of grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

I still watch Alton Brown, Jamie Oliver, Bobby Flay (from time to time), and that new Anne Burrell show--she's the chef at Centro Vinoteca, and used to work with Lidia Bastianich. She's really good TV and really knows what's what. Also unafraid to voice strong and smart opinions.

But yeah, the rest is pretty horrendous.

New Potato Salad

Lunge for this recipe the moment the first tiny redskin potatoes appear, but it may also be made simply because you have some wonderful leftover roasted ham on hand. (Incidentally, the first steps of this recipe may be used to provide great roasted potatoes for a side dish.) And if new potatoes are at hand, so are fresh herbs: Please try to use them. You’ll probably want to double this, if you’re going to the trouble. But don’t crowd the potatoes in the roasting skillet or they’ll steam and never achieve that roasting flavor. And be sure to serve the salad at room temperature or slightly warmer. I think potato salad served cold is silly.

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. tiny new potatoes, a little bigger than marbles, halved or quartered if not,
washed and patted dry
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or duck or bacon fat
2 tablespoons tarragon-infused white vinegar (to taste)
1 stalk of celery, diced
3-4 scallions, white and light green parts only (or shallots), minced
1/2 lb. ham, sliced into bite-sized pieces or strips (or good bacon, fried and diced)
1 tablespoon minced chives
1/2 cup crème fraîche
2 tablespoons prepared mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, or 1 tablespoon dry (to taste)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry)
slices of hard-cooked egg (optional)
1/2 pound smoked trout, skin and bones discarded, flaked (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat for several minutes. Add the olive oil, and carefully stir in potatoes. (A splatter screen would be quite useful.) Sauté for five minutes, shaking skillet often after the first two minutes. Pepper them to taste.

Transfer skillet to oven. Roast 20 minutes, or until tender, giving the skillet a couple of shakes after 10 minutes to redistribute the potatoes.

Place potatoes in a large bowl. Stir in tarragon vinegar. Bring to room temperature.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Taste carefully. You might want more crème fraiche, or salt. Serve at once, with an extravagant dollop of crème fraiche and chopped chives on top. Come to think of it, a decorative tablespoon of good salmon roe would be most welcome, too. Finish with optional slices of hard-cooked egg.

Yield: plenty for four

I wrote a feature about my quest for the spiciest dish in Manhattan a few years ago for TIME OUT/NY. I couldn't find anything to touch that Brick Lane Phaal.

Glad to know it's still burning!