Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

being a former radio dj turned pastry chef (still in training) my ears get treated relatively well when i'm in the kitchen. its gotta be turned up super loud because spending most of my adult life in headphones has left me straining to hear things a bit more than most people my age.
but i listen to everything from Sharon Jones & the DapKings to Dillinger Escape Plan, to Steely Dan, to Jay-Z. its GOTTA be upbeat though. I love the Magnetic Fields but probably couldn't go 10 hrs in a restaurant kitchen or my own with that on.

my next piece (tatt #10) will be my fav fruit...a giant red apple on the back of my calf. i am also tossing around the idea of a portrait of st. honore and a replica of the sugar stage scale on a taylor candy thermometer.
ps-i finish pastry school in two months.

I am a HUGE HUGE fan of Sunflower Seed butter with bananas and unfiltered wildflower honey on whole wheat. The sunflower butter is amazingly good and balanced with the sweetness of the honey.

also PB&Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams and SEEDED raspberry jam...drool drool

We hit up Angelica Kitchen on E. 12th between 1st and 2nd ave in Manhattan for their 5 course Prix Fixe Thanksgiving Feast. Its the only day during the year that they do the prix fixe, but it was amazing. It started with pickled veggies and a turnip pate with toasted flatbread, then next was a pumpkin bisque with toasted pumpkin seeds. The salad course was a mix of apples, figs, sliced radish, and I think fennel over baby greens with a balsalmic dressing. There was a choice between seitan & acorn squash or a wild mushroom tamale for the main course. I opted for the tamale and it was amazing! Chanterelles and other 'shrooms with sweet corn masa, pinenuts, tomatoes and a side of cooked beans! The seitan was served with cranberry sauce on the top and both entrees came with kale. The dessert was a choice between pumpkin pie, a poached pear, or a chocolate torte. Since it was thanksgiving and all, there's no way i couldn't get pie! It was SCANDALOUSLY good and served with an orange cinnamon whip. Before we left, they gave each of us (and there were 4 of us) a teensy bag of pumpkin seed brittle with a 'thank you' note attached! I'd go again in a heartbeat.

angelicakitchen.com

Juniors Bakery in Times Square. They have a Strawberry Short-Cheesecake that looks INSANE! Basically SSC wrapped in a blanket of cheesecake.

If you hear me singing the Doris Day song "Que sera, sera" from the kitchen, you can be fairly certain that the meal forthcoming will not be one of my greatest.

@LoCo......you had me going with Menudo. All I knew was boy band. Mexican soup! My vocab is growing. Great contributions to the Bands with food names!

Graham crackers with peanut butter, anything with tons of cheese, anything deep fried, and cupcakes are my devil foods. But I read somewhere that if you truly enjoy the food you eat, even if it's "bad for you" food, your body doesn't absorb as much fat or "reject" the food, or something like that, so I feel less guilty about it now.

I'm an avid Indie rock fan, but in the kitchen it's downright depressing! When I cook it's gotta be the oldies, Freda Payne, the Jackson Five, and I totally agree about the "Heard it through the Grapevine"! Also, whenever I make meatballs I pull out the real classics, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and other random Italian love songs my nonna used to play while she cooked! I also wear my Sicily apron, it's this whole process.

One of my all-time favorite film moments is the cooking/cleaning scene in "The Big Chill", where they're all groovin' to 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine'. Made kitchen chores look like a whole lotta fun. I love to sing along while I'm working in the kitchen and company is always welcome.