inshallah...a moroccan feast

a berber pizza inspired by david tanis, chez panisse

spiced olives & quail eggs

traditional moroccan bread

*featurette: sophie esser, napa valley

decorative trays- relationship series

i adore these decorative trays. they remind me of edith wharton & henry james scandals in old school new york...

(click image to enlarge)

featurette: john derian- nyc

www.johnderian.com

will you be my valentine?

straight-up, home-made valentines

how to: back to basics on this one. glitter, pieces of felt, shiny paper, etc... home-made envelopes made from Trader Joe's shopping bags and staples.

two valentines for my man- the larger from 2007, the smaller from 2008.

 by brooklyn based artist 

http://www.foxyandwinston.com

ways to say i love you...

hand stitched undershirts

i made these for him for valentines day 2007 and they're still in great shape.

how to: buy an undershirt that will fit your loved one. draw a heart in pencil as a guideline to follow. Take red thread strung through a needle and stitch a heart along the outline. if you cannot, ask your mother to. she can. then learn how. i also did another shirt with a secret 'i love you' message in blue on his shirt sleeve and his 'name' in yellow along the bottom seam of the shirt.

wall paper

wall paper as a bold statement to spruce up any ole room

*featurette: cavern home
http://www.cavernhome.com/

bridal shower

alex plays on white as an underlying theme accenting with bright colors.

featurette: alex caratachea of san francisco
interior designer
contact him at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/alex-caratachea/11/6a0/8b6

ice cubes with a twist

ice cubes with liqueur and fruit.

*how to: prepare ice cube tray with a just a dash of contreau, a pinch of orange zest and a blackberry and raspberry. top with water & freeze. plop into a glass of prosecco, a fruit based cocktail or even whiskey. try any variation including mint leaves, rosemary, habanero, campari, etc...

every ten years dinner...

freshly shucked wellfleet oysters

norwegian smoked salmon

maine lobster with herb beurre blanc

fois gras with sauteed grapes

roast rack of veal

the wines

post dinner cigars

a simple table brings focus to the food

lobster & love-- a birthday with the buells...

"my mother-in-law, susie buell of bolinas, gets most of the credit here.  She is really creative when it comes to table settings.  I'm always learning new little lessons from her.  The good one from this night was that some of the stems of the gerber daisies were too saggy to put in the arrangements, so we took off the petals and put them around the bases of the candles and then made little flower designs on the table with the petals.  It added a little more color to our orange theme." 

melt-in-your-mouth tuna sashimi as a pre-dinner snack

 

sparklers in the cake are really festive

featurette: lucille buell, san francisco                       see her interior design ideas:                         www.lucillebuell.com                                   

a christmas day table

the table is topped with with an ornament decorated lamp overhead

christmas day meal: pheasant, blau kraut, caramelized carrots with dried grapes, chanterelles, parsnip puree & a baked ground almond stuffed apple*

* stuffed apples: core apples and stuff with butter/ground almond/brown sugar mixture, bake at 350 till soft (about 30 minutes)

* parsnip puree: peel parsnips, boil till soft, put into a blender, place puree into a double boiler for about 20 minutes and slowly add cream and butter taste

*caramelized carrots: brown some butter & brown sugar until caramelized, add chopped carrots and raisons, cook until tender