Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

This sounds awesome! Now I wish we were going to Chicago instead of NY that week... well, mostly anyway. It's hard to turn down NY!

Oh, this is all so exciting! I'll be in the City in about 6 weeks, and I can almost taste it from these postings! Devil's Food Cheesecake, Devil's Food Cheesecake...

My grandmother (mom was always at work) and, to a lesser extent, my mother-in-law. Of course, stumbling on a copy of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest in a place I was house-sitting didn't hurt...

Billy's BBQ in Lexington, KY for the western KY style barbecued mutton and FRIED PICKLES!!!

I made a blueberry - lemon thyme(?) sorbet once -- it was wonderful!

I always thought gummies to be more asexual than anything.

EQUALITY FOR FEMALE GUMMIES! Where's the chart for us goils?

Made these last weekend - delicious!

Thanks Karen and glad you have enjoyed it. The interview on Friday went well (phew) and there is an MP3 on Wisconsin Public Radio's website. I was on Jean Feraca's 'Here on Earth'. I was relieved, though a bit sad that most of the conversation seemed to be about 'Toad in the hole' when I wanted to stress that I have 61,000 entries in multiple languages - so if you want to know the English description of a Spanish dish, rather than a description of an English language dish, this is the place to go!

We're off back to England today but when I get back I will describe the night on the chef's table at Park Avenue Spring and the wonderful, wonderful meal at Per Se. Oh my goodness. I came slightly prepared to look down my nose at it but I had my breath taken away. Must go as we have to check out of our kitchenless 'apartment'!

I had some problems with connectivity yesterday so didn’t have a chance to let you know how things are going. But *so* many thanks to everyone for your recommendations. I am only sorry that I am not going to be able to make all of them - but, next time!

I had an early start yesterday at Union Square Market, and though it may not be so good as Fridays and Saturdays, this was my only opportunity. I 'wasted' the entire morning there in the most glorious sunshine and met lovely traders who were passionate about what they were selling. I *love* photographing in markets. I got some quite good pictures. Showing them to traders is always fun as I am quite good at spotting patterns and so on that even they haven't realised they are incorporating in their arrangements. Check in a couple of weeks and you will see picture of ramps, broccoli raab, turnip tops, fiddleheads, oyster mushrooms, cheeses, radishes and more on http://www.whatamieating.com - not to mention egg cream though that will probably have to be the girly vanilla version. It's quite a nice picture, even so!

Anyway, the whole morning having passed in this wonderful occupation, I then headed on down to Citarella to hand Frank Marotta the photographs I took last year of sardines and pompano : http://127.0.0.1/foodglossary/?b=1&d=1&t=main&s=pompano&r=All and it was well worth it as he was thrilled. What did I do then? Oh yes, wended my way to Murrays Cheese shop (gorgeous) and Chelsea Market. But I have to say that my absolute highlight was the Union Square Market with thanks to Lemons, Joannabars and James18n. If I come away from a journey with two usable pictures I am really pleased, but I took a couple there which I like so much that I think that they will go on next year's calendar!

By now it was around 3.00 pm and I had a camera to buy. With camera equipment much cheaper in the US than in the UK (around the same number of dollars as it would be pounds at home) plus the exchange rate being so favourable, the camera of my dreams was now accessible. So three years of my savings disappeared into the American exchequer yesterday afternoon and I am the very proud owner indeed of a Nikon D-300.

So then I had to go 'home' and lie on the bed with a cold flannel on my brow to recover……. After which we went out for an uninteresting supper as someone's guest, though it was good to have cieche (elvers – baby eels) for the first time since I was a child. I was brought up in a tiny village beside a great river from which elvers were fished by the ton and we had elver-eating contests at the village fair in August each year.

And so today, cooler and a bit damper, I walked from 66th to 28th taking in the sights, admiring the Chrysler building looking as though it had been drawn on the sky in pencil; wondering why about 30 policemen were gathered on 51st and Lexington; admiring the shoes but knowing I could never wear any of them and looking at weird people and beautiful people, sometimes rather difficult to tell which they actually were. On the way I stopped at the Grand Central Market where, Cybercita will be delighted to know, I photographed some of the wieners. Sadly at Schaller & Weber there was not enough space and too much glass, but at the Grand Central Market, and using my magic new camera which seems to be able to function when it is practically dark, I got some good usable shots!

And then on to Kalustyan's. Boy. Another highlight. The smell as I went through the door was enough. The great tubs of apricots and prunes, green Persian raisins, every imaginable kind of chickpea; the spice room, the source of much the smell, with shelf upon shelf of different types of paprika; the rows of pickles and chutneys. Again, and with their permission, some great pictures, but I will have to think of what I can use them for as an entry, as they are essentially of the shop itself. I will have to do an entry for 'food store' or something, and say something along the lines of "If only they were all like Kalustyan's". I will think of a way to use it.

All the way there and back I popped into places to ask if they did egg creams, but most just laughed. So I am yet to join the ranks of the big boys Karen!

Tonight we are guests at the Chef's table at Park Avenue Café. Looking forward to that but had better run and shower. As MOH's mother says "Far from this you were reared!"

I am sure I have left some things out, and I have had to be doing one or two other work-related things in between. Tomorrow's my big day and I have realised why I am in such a state about it – I can’t rehearse it. I can't (as when I give a lecture) get myself organised, know when I am going to change the picture, tell the joke, ask the audience something. This is going to be just as it comes. Eeek. Mind you, shutting me up is often a difficulty, as you may have gathered……