Journal

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2011-10-03T19:48:00Z

Staff meals are the stuff of legends, despite the fact that most professional kitchens use them as an opportunity to get rid of food that’s about to spoil or use odd bits leftover from prep. However, in some kitchens, the “family meals” are a way to unite the team, experiment with future menu items, or give a young cook a chance to shine. On the heels of Staff Meals from Chanterelle (2000) and just before Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America’s Top Restaurants (October 11, 2011) and Restaurant Staff Meals: The Food that Fuels the World’s Best Kitchens (slated for fall 2012), comes an indispensable family meal cookbook from one of the world’s most innovative chefs—The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adrià (Phaidon), which has just been published. Even if you’re more comfortable navigating cobblestone streets in platforms than wielding a microplane in the kitchen, this book will show even the most harried and clueless of cooks how to prepare a simple dinner at home—and, as an unexpected bonus, it will also be a meal that will forever impress guests. Read more on Vogue.com and purchase it on Phaidon.

Le Fooding Takes On Manhattan

2011-08-17T00:22:00Z

Photographed by William Klein, Vogue, May 1, 1957This year, Le Fooding (the company behind France’s anti-Michelin food guides and festivals) is bringing its third annual American gastronomic celebration to Manhattan. Over the course of two weekends in September, the group will host events with phenomenal food and potent cocktails, music performances and DJ sets, in unexpected and intimate settings all over the city. Read more about the two events and buy tickets on vogue.com.

Haute Horticulture

2011-07-06T01:32:00Z

Photo by Compass GreenDesign innovations are reinvisioning urban agriculture, and in the Summer issue of Edible Brooklyn I profiled three of the latest ways Brooklynites are transforming cramped cribs into edible oases.

Nick Runkle and Justin Cutter have founded “Compass Green,” a greenhouse on wheels—fueled only by recycled vegetable oil and solar and wind energy—capable of bringing the sustainable agriculture gospel to the masses. Bob Hyland, a 77-year-old Bay Ridge resident, has become a city sensation for spreading the gospel of sub-irrigated planter systems, or SIPs. South Williamsburg resident Britta Riley created Windowfarms, a compact column of modified plastic bottles that transform any window into a teeming mini tower of urban agriculture.

Learn more about these trendsetters--and be inspired to add a little green into your apartment--read my article here.

La Séduction: How the French Play the Game of Life

2011-07-01T01:00:00Z

Over a couple glasses of wine, a business acquaintance from France quickly became an intimate friend as we discussed the differences in dating in France and America. I tried to explain exactly what "hooking up" could encompass and that dating was a game with strict rules (including 1. Double the amount of time between his response time and your own. 2. Continue to see other people until you are exclusive.). She voiced her frustration at these unnecessary complications and laughed when I told her how couples become "official" over here. (Her exact words were, "We stopped saying that when we were ten!")

In Elaine Sciolino's new book, La Séduction, former New York Times Paris bureau chief tries to uncover how France and the French succeed at charming the rest of the world -- and each other. From the social bise andbaisemain, or traditional kiss of the hand greeting, to the multiple definitions of seduire, and even the overtly sexual commercials, Sciolino covers them all.

To read the rest of my Huffington Post review, click here.

The “John Travolta” and More: Princess Diana’s Dresses Hit the Auction Block This Week

2011-06-22T23:52:00Z

In 1985, Princess Diana wore this Victor Edelstein midnight blue silk velvet dress to a State Dinner at the White House hosted by former President Reagan. Photo: Courtesy of Waddington Auction House Once upon a time, women everywhere clipped photos of a certain iconic princess, studying and copying her every look. Tomorrow, a new princess is emerging as a stylesetter in her own right, but as the newlywed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge descend on Toronto for their first official visit to North America, Diana’s dresses are again commanding attention.

Tomorrow, Waddington’s auction house will host the highly anticipated sale of fourteen dresses that once belonged to the late Princess Diana. Up on the block is the Walker-designed cream crepe silk dress Mario Testino photographed Diana in for the cover of Vanity Fair in 1997, as well as the midnight-blue off-the-shoulder dress the princess wore when she famously hit the dance floor of the 1985 White House State Dinner with John Travolta for a medley of songs from his movies.

Most of the dresses are estimated at between $175,000 to $550,000, but Waddington’s gauges the show-stopping blue velvet “John Travolta” dress to go for up to $1 million; the entire collection is expected to fetch up to $6 million. To view and read more about all of the dresses and find out how to follow the auction and bid online, read my article in its entirety on vogue.com.

Bespoke Denim: Perfect Pair of Jeans, Solved

2011-05-13T23:31:00Z

Photographed by Mimi Ritzen Crawford for Vogue.comThere is no quest as simultaneously clichéd and sound as the search for the perfect pair of jeans. Fortunately, style hunters in New York now have 3x1, a new denim company created by Earnest Sewn alum Scott Morrison that, in one SoHo building, produces and sells its own collection of jeans. There are limited-edition styles for men and women (from $295 to $495) which you can buy off the rack or customize with your preferred fabrics and hardware (from $525 to $775). But what interested me most, of course, is their bespoke service which, at $1,200 and up, is not exactly cheap, but less than I would spend on the six different jeans I’d buy trying in vain to find that still ever-elusive perfect pair.

To learn more about how my dream pair of jeans were designed and created--and to see photos of the process and final pair--read the rest of my Vogue.com article.

Hit the Barre: A New Studio Joins the Ballet Workout Trend

2011-05-12T23:00:00Z

Photo: Xavier LujanIn a city saturated with barre workouts (from the obvious, like the Bar Method, Core Fusion, or Physique 57, to the more subversive, like the dance techniques being folded into Flywheel and Pilates classes), opening a studio dedicated to a new variety can be tricky. That being said, a classmate of mine, Wharton alum Alexandra Perez, took her chances and opened Bari Studio in Tribeca last month. Read more about the new class on Vogue.com and stay tuned for my own barre class comparison.

Jonathan Waxman on His New Cookbook, "Italian, My Way"

2011-05-09T21:22:00Z

Last December, I fell in love with Barbuto. Yes, it is an Italian restaurant in New York's Meatpacking District, but no, this is not one of the many that has opened within the past few years, distinguishable only by location and specialty pasta. Jonathan Waxman opened Barbuto seven years ago and just released a new cookbook, Italian, My Way: More Than 150 Simple and Inspired Recipes That Breathe New Life Into Italian Classics. As the title indicates, it is inspired by Barbuto's menu's welcoming and unpretentious food: salumi, polenta with mushrooms, salad, bruschetta, pastas, fried potatoes, and of course, the signature Jonathan Waxman roasted chicken. Recently, I caught up with Waxman to discuss the book. Read my conversation with him on The Huffington Post.

Where to Take Your Mom for Brunch on Mother's Day

2011-05-06T21:00:00Z

Photographed by Arthur Elgort for VogueIt's that time of year again. Time to tell--and show--your mother how much she means to you. Nothing beats serving your mom a homemade breakfast in bed in bed, but if you don't trust you cooking skills, take her out for a delicious meal instead. I’ve scoured the country for the best restaurants offering up Mother’s Day menus and came up with a list of brunch spots that are Vogue-tested, mom-approved.

Read them all here...and don't forget to send flowers if you can't see your mom in person!

Lace to the Altar: The Story Behind Catherine Middleton’s Dress Sleeves

2011-04-29T15:47:00Z

Photo: (from left) Courtesy of Sophie Hallette; Paul Hackett - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesAll eyes were on Catherine Middleton's dress this morning. Despite speculation otherwise, she chose fellow Brit Sarah Burton to design the royal wedding dress. However, the lace for her Grace Kelly–esque dress came from Sophie Hallette, a small, family-owned company in Caudry, France.

To learn more, check out my article on vogue.com...