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Martha Stewart's rack of lamb.

corton and centrico

corniest corn muffins

Ed, were you following me in Chicago? I was also at Avec and then at Spacca Napoli last weekend.

A friend took me there. Knowing that I am pretty particular about pizza and that I was in Naples, Italy a week earlier, he still thought I would love it. I also wanted to. I didnt fall in love or feel transported to the middle of Naples. It was still enjoyable though and did remind me of pizza that you could find somewhere in Italy. (Is it ok to say that it makes me feel pretty lucky with the pizza options in New York?)

I agree with you about the mozzarella. I think it may be almost impossible to find the real deal water buffalo mozzarella in the U.S. (I mostly blame sanitation laws re shipping/storage temperature) and I thought the one they use was fairly tangy and good.

Mr. Goldsmith was not at the oven when the pizzamaker kindly showed it to me. One thing of interest is the oven is fired up by wood and woodchips/saw dust. I think it provides the pizza with those small burn specks. While the pizza had some nice little specks on it (evident in the picture), I am partial to a more crisp bottom with larger burn spots. Also, the dough didnt let out that nice moist steam that hits your mouth when enjoying a Neopolitan pie.

These prefences aside, the wine list was wonderful. I sampled a fiano, greco di tufo and falanghina. They were good company to the various pizzas I sampled, reminding me to enjoy the meal before I got too heady with my friends at the table that night.

worcestershire sauce makes meats taste more savory.

if you are a fan of italian food I recommend al di la in brooklyn. it feels special, elegant, yet casual enough that you could almost justify eating there everyday. perbacco in the east village is along the same vein but a bit more casual. you cant make reservations at either one though. I think they are both great values, especially al di la.
Falai on the lower east side might mediate things as well, it is a "funky" neighborhood but the atmosphere and style is chic and modern. The food is wonderful, pricier than al di la and perbacco.

Check out Melissa Clark's raw kale salad recipe adapted from Franny's in Brooklyn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/dining/241arex.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin

I love playing around with this recipe, and adding different spices such as smoked salt and za'tar.

Very anemic, I am a big fan of kale, which is a good thing given that the averaged sized woman must eat 16 cups of kale to get her fill of iron for the day.

Seyo--you can also bring a pot of water to boil and dunk the seared peppers in with a tong for 10 seconds. The skin comes off very easily soon after pulling them out.

in bird with oysters and lots of liver

turkey stock

Ed--great recipe post. Chef Peacock is an advocate for quality buttermilk, which can be difficult to find. Also, I know he used very young chickens when I tried it--very tender!

555 really is not that special unless you are a bell pepper enthusiast. Almost everything had them in it. It was overpriced and the service was spotty.