Gotham Gal

new orleans dinner party

Every year we travel down to New Orleans for Jazzfest. The festival is fantastic. The music ranges from zydeco to the latest hot musician (counting crows, john mayer, ben harper) to gospel. You wander around at a huge racetrack going from stage to stage listening to music all for the entry price of (I believe) $30 or so. You can't beat it. Also, the added bonus is the food. In order to be a vendor, you have to pass the judges to get a booth. So, there is the best fried oyster sandwich, the best jambalaya, the best gumbo etc. Each booth sells 2 different size portions, about $4 for a small and $7 for a large. Not bad. You can eat your way through the day drinking fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade and plain lemonade...or a beer. There are also craft booths through out the fair grounds. Handmade dolls, photos, crafts, etc. Be advised that the humidity and heat there is fierce. People wear incredible hats to try and beat the heat. You can't spend the day there without one. You'd drop.

We have gone each year with the same group of people. We start our party the minute we get off the plane and continue until we get back on the plane. I believe it usually takes me 2 days to recover. Although, my stamina is getting better.

I decided that since we have 6 months until jazzfest, we'd have a new orleans dinner party with our jazzfest crew.

Our meal started with hushpuppies and artichoke/spinach dip. Both New Orleans faves. Then we had my jazzfest favorite. Fried oysters over spinach salad with sliced red onions and a spicy blue cheese dressing. Yum!

Then, we went straight into the main course of Jambalaya. Jambalaya is easy to make.

Here is my recipe:

1 lb. of andouille sausage, sliced
1 lb. of boneless chicken breast, diced
1 lb. of peeled shrimp
1 cup of diced onions
1 cup of diced celery
2 red peppers sliced into thin strips
1 green pepper sliced into thin strips
1 can of chopped tomatoes (canned is fine, just strain the juice) - 28 ounce can
pinch of kosher salt
1 T fresh thyme
1/4 - 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1T gumbo file
2 bay leaves
4 cups water
2 cups rice
cilantro chopped finely to put on top of serving

Heat oil (olive or vegetable) in a dutch oven pot (a big one), add sliced andouille sausage at a med high heat. Stir on occassion until the sausage is crisped. Take out. Put a little more oil in the pot if needed. Add onions, celery and peppers. Saute about 5 minutes or until the onions are turning golden and soft. Put the andouille sausage back into the pot. Add in the chicken breast. Saute until all the chicken appears to be cooked on the outside. Roughly 5 minutes. Add in the seasonings. Take it easy on the cayenne if you don't like spicy. Now, add the tomato. Mix well. Add in the rice and stir through the mixture. Now, pour in 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, then down to simmer. Cook until all the rice is cooked through. About 20-25 minutes or until the rice soft. Stir occassionally. Then, put in the shimp and stir through until shrimp is done. Serve it up, sprinkled with cilantro.

Note: I made mine in the morning and reheated it for dinner. Stew always tastes better the next day or reheated.

Last but certainly not least, bread pudding with whiskey sauce. Classic New Orleans dish. We also had incredible sweet potato and pecan pies shipped in from New Orleans.

Only a few pounds added that evening, but yummy, yummy, yummy!

The Violet Hour

We finally became members of the Manhattan Theater Club. Consistently they seem to put out good theater. Unfortunately, The Violet Hour is not under that category.

The best part was going to the new Biltmore Theater. It is beautiful. The theater has been vacant for over a decade. Now, it is a modern theater with attention to details especially the acoustics. I always enjoy going to different theaters even to hear the sounds, and see the architecture. I'm looking forward to returning to the Biltmore for other productions from the Manhattan Theater Club.

The line up for this play was sketchy. A variety of debut performers with Robert Sean Leonard getting star billing. The playwright was Richard Greenberg who wrote Take me Out which unfortunately I have not seen but have heard rave reviews when it was off-Broadway. The Violet Hour was boring and the story line was uninteresting.

As more and more plays close on Broadway, the question is "why is the content so bad"? Is it because the good writers are writing movies, can't be because they are writing tv. I don't know the answer but I love the theater and hope that better content comes along this spring.

I actually walked out during intermission. I was not the only one. Lots of people were putting on their coats at intermission and I would find it hard to believe that so many people were taking a cigarette break.

The best line of the play was by 2 women behind us as we were leaving. She said "the Violet Hour, I think an hour is enough, don't you?"

John Currin/Lucas Samaras

Yesterday, I went to view 2 new exhibits at the Whitney Museum.

I was really looking forward to seeing the first solo exhibit of John Currin. This past Sunday there was a article on him and his work in the New York Times magazine section. 41 year old artist, lives in Soho, was turned on to art at a young age while taking classes with a local artist. Went to school for art and then off to Yale grad school for art. He was struggling and then finally figured out how he could stand out as an artist. Rare for an artist to try and figure out his niche. He started painting figures in 6 by 8 easels. Noone else was doing that so he decided that he would make an impact. Lucky for us. His figurative paintings are beautiful pieces of work. It as if through the Renaissance art played off of Norman Rockwell and then Alex Katz, John Currin was the next step. Some of these paintings could been hanging in old museums in Rome. The bodies are lucious. The colors are warm. The characters are alive. Yet, the characters are people of today. Definitely work worth seeing. They are already classics.

The other exhibit was of Lucas Samaras. Wow! What a prolific human being. There are literally over 400 objects in this exhibition. The majority of them are self-portraits made over many years. There are some paintings and drawings and even some mixed media boxes but most of the work are polaroids. Polaroids that have been manipulated, drawn on, blown up, focused on parts of his body, his movement. Really extraordinary use of film. John Currin believes that photograhy is not an art form. I think he would beg to differ if he came and saw the incredible depth of imagery that Lucas Samaras has created of himself.

AVENUE Q

I went to see Avenue Q the other night. I started reading about this production last spring. I never really appealed to me. But, people kept saying that it was worth seeing. I am not sure about that.

Personally, I prefer dialogue theater. Something interesting and thought provoking. I am not a big fan of musicals but unfortunately have seen most of them because musicals are great introductory theater for kids.

In Avenue Q, the actors/puppeteers are on stage with the puppets as extensions of their arms. There are also actors in the play that are puppetless. When the puppetless actors speak with the actors that have puppets, they speak directly to the puppets as if the actors are not even there. Make sense?

The story is based on a fictional street in NYC called Avenue Q. It is basically a cast of characters from a mixed marriage couple, a closet gay man who lives with his best friend, a young monster kindergarten teacher who is looking for love and a change in her career life, a recent college grad who is trying to figure out his mission and the landlord of these buildings that the characters live in. There are a few other characaters who are not that important.

The songs are incredibly campy. Some are funnier than others. I liked the song about "it sucks to be me" and "internet is for porn" and "if you were gay". Those were the first few songs. After that, it lost my chuckle.

I was sort of tired and cranky that night so perhaps it was my state of mind. The couple we were with sort of felt the same way we did. Maybe if I was in a really silly giddy mood, things would have worked out better.

Golda's Balcony

My friend, who's opinion I trust, told me that I must see Golda's Balcony. She was lucky enough to see it this summer off-Broadway, where the theater was probably smaller and more intimate. But, by the time I was able to get tickets, the play had arrived on Broadway. So glad that this play continued on. Wow!

My knowledge about the life of Golda Meir was limited so from a historical standpoint, the play really teaches you about her life. It is a one woman play, without intermission. Tovah Feldshuh is truly amazing. I do not know how she possibly does this every night. It has to be physically and mentally exhausting.

The play intertwines the life of Golda Meir through her role as the Prime Minister and how she dealt during the 6 Day war when Syria and Egypt went to war with Israel. How she thought, how she dealt with her comrades, her generals on each day. Also, going back to meeting her husband, raising her children, living in the US but wanting to be part of zionism. What a woman!

Golda Meir was a woman before her time. She loved the power and she loved Israel. She did not want to stay home and make matzah balls but with the power came sacrifices like her family. Today, we see how hard it is to be a Super Mom. You just can't be everything. Something always gives. In her case, Israel is lucky that she was willing to put all that on the line. She had more nerve and balls than any man might have had.

Definitely a play worth seeing. True theater. The audience loved it. It is obvious that Tovah loves playing this character.

Gillian Welch

I saw Gillian Welch the other night at Townhall. What a concert! She comes on stage with her husband, and only partner in her band, Dave. Dave rocks. Her voice is crystal clear. They have a very dry comical banter on stage which makes the audience laugh and feel really involved in their performance. Be aware, that there are serious die-hard fans in the audience. She played for over one and a half hours and came back for 2 ovations.

I admit that this summer was the first time that I really started listening to her albums. I was obviously a newbie in the audience. But, I have gone back and purchased her older albums after hearing Soul Journey which was released this past June.

Gillian was born in New Jersey and went to Beverly Hill High School but she croons like an old timer from Nashville. She is a true songwriter. She is a grassroots type of gal. She plays a mean guitar, banjo and harmonica. There are not that many real musicians out there today like Gillian - and Dave.

Dave is the ultimate back-up man. He did one solo but she's definitely the lead of the 2. He is one with his instrument. His body moves with the music and his instrument. His fingers move up and down each instrument while he is playing the harmonica. I was really into watching Dave.

Go out and buy her albums. She is fantastic!!!

Chelsea Galleries

Art is so personal. Sometimes when I venture into Chelsea, I feel so pedestrian. Not only would I not want some pieces hanging on my walls, I am not sure why anyone would. But, that is why art is so personal.

I really was looking forward to seeing the James Casebere show at the Sean Kelly Gallery. I am a huge fan of this work. We actually own one of his pieces. In essence, he creates small structures of work and then takes pictures of them. The pictures are so surreal they actually look like paintings. You can see the water running through the structures, the shadows on the wall, the details are so intense. This is a show worth seeing.

I also was looking forward to seeing the Ross Bleckner show at Mary Boone in Chelsea. First of all, I think Ross is an amazing person. He really helps cultivate young artists and is involved in giving back to the community and is also politically active. I have always liked his work. There is movement in his paintings. The colors are beautiful. This exhibit has flowers that feel as they are moving across the canvas. It is a sold out show but worth seeing before it is over.

I also went to check out Markus Linnenbrink at Margaret Thatcher Projects. I had seen this artist at the Affordable Art Fair a few weeks ago. This work was worth seeing again. He is all about color. Vertical drippings of colors, multiplayered use of epoxy over polaroids he brought back from Israel. He even has created a large statue that is layers upon layers of epoxy colors. Bright colors. He manipulates the epoxy to come through from underneath as it is literally exploding among the colors. I really like his work.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by the Gagosian Gallery to see what they had installed. The artist was Howard Hodgkin. Here is where I felt like I didn't get it. The New York Times gave him a wonderful review today. Personally, it looked like he had taken his canvas, built a frame around it and then taken huge brushes and made big strokes to cover the entire piece (frame included). Looked similar to art that was done by my children in pre-school. But, there you have it, art is very personal. I wish that I had asked for Zach, who is a walking art historian at Gagosian. He can always give me a better perspective on why, what and how come. Then, I at least might not like it but I can understand the significance of the work in the art world.

I went to a few other galleries that are not even worth mentioning. Although, Metro Pictures had an interesting exhibit by Isaac Julien. In the back there is a 3 screen film installation that basically incorporates all the paintings through out the space. The film is quite interesting, strange, weird, etc. The installation is about black wax figures in museums. He goes to real museums in his movie which at the end sees all the characters that are in the paitnings. I can't decide where I am on this one.

Last stop was 303 Gallery which had an installation by Anne Chu. Huge wood cuttings and sculptures made of wire, fabric and such hanging by nooses. At least that is what it looked like to me. Interesting bodies of work but again, not in my house.

It is always fun to get out into the art world and see what is happening. People are always buying. Noted today in the New York Times that the Contemporary Art Auctions brought in a whopping $11.4 million with the majority coming from young artists. Regardless of the economy, the art world is still hopping.

Cuban Stew

I love a good stew particularly in the fall and winter months. I made this the other night and it was really yummy.

2 large flank steaks (4 lbs)
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 onions, sliced
2 red peppers, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
2 yellow peppers, sliced
10 whole clobes
2 cinnamon sticks
1 28 ounce can of peeled tomatoes, coarsley chopped
1/4 cup capers, rinsed

In a large dutch oven (like a Le Crueset pot), heat up some olive oil and brown the flank steaks (after seasoning them with some salt, pepper and paprika). It will take about 5-10 minutes. Then, after both steaks are done, put them back in the dish and add 8 cups of water. Bring to boil, and then simmer, covered for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The meat should be falling apart when done. When the meat is cooled, literally pull it apart into strings.

Take the meat out, and pour out the liquid (reserve this liquid for later).

Now, put in some more olive oil and add the onions and peppers until soft and golden.

Put the cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves in a piece of cheese cloth and tie up. You can use kitchen string to tie. Stir in the tomatoes, capers and 3 cups of the reserved liquid. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce gets thicker. Add the all the meat and serve.

You can make this a day in advance and rewarm.

I served this with warm tortillas, slices of avocado, black beans, cilantro, salsa and hot sauce. It was really good!

NYCircuit

NYCircuit, the voice of a new generation, is a new magazine started by 2 Trinity students (Molly is a senior and Lauren graduated last year). The staff consists of students from other uptown private schools in Manhattan. Brearly, Trinity, Dwight School, Horace Mann and Columbia Prep.

I was very interested in checking out this magazine. The first issue is an 80ish page bound mag with glossy paper. Pretty impressive for a high school rag. Obviously Daddy put a little money into this. The concept is to give NY teenagers a voice of their own (note the tag line).

If this is the voice of NY teenagers, then we should all be very concerned about this generation of kids. The magazine is beyond pretentious. The Must Haves section quite frankly, frightened me. For instance, I quote from the Juicy clothing piece "every new york city girl has at least one item of apparel and now guys are sporting them too. So what will make your Juicy sweat suit stand out from all the rest". FYI - Juicy sweatsuits run about $100 or more. Here is another one. Stylish boots at $285. Shoes from Madden to Miu Miu. Miu Miu?? Warm sweaters starting at $220. School outfits for daytime and night. The most frigthening is the spread on "the best denim". There is not a pair of pants for under $128. I believe that I am wearing some of the items sported in this magazine. Don't miss the recipes for Marvelous Cocktails - sans alcohol.

Are these kids learning any values? Are they grounded? If this is the life that these kids are living at 16, how will they be living at 21? 25? 30? I gather that their parents will be supporting this trendy, expensive lifestyle for the rest of their lives. Do these kids have any ideas about diversity, inclusion and responsibility to the voice of other kids within their schools? Maybe all kids at these schools live the life style of the rich and famous but I doubt it.

Although, I certainly acknowledge the time and energy put into this publication but did they actually sweat it out? Pay for it themselves? Start with a newspaper type print publication stapled instead of beautifully bound glossy paper. Incredible how the ad revenues are advertisers that are coveted by New York Magazine or Gotham. Did they pound the pavement with their concept to advertisers or ask their parents friends for help?

This magazine certainly makes me even more committed to raising kids iin NYC with a perspective about the value of money, not growing up too soon, giving back to people that are not as fortunate, being inclusive of all people and having friends that do not see themselves as entitled. The kids that wrote that magazine sure do.

What can I say, it just took my breath away. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!

Book Reviews

Love a good book group. We had our monthly book group meeting the other night. Such an interesting group of people. Conversations went in some interesting directions. We had just finished reading a gem of a book WhenThe Emperor was Divine. The book was written in such a way that each chapter was seen from a different view point of each character. The book was about an upper middle class Japanese family that is sent to the camps in WW2 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. One of America's dirty little secrets. These people lived in the camps for almost 4-5 years. They never did anything wrong but were stripped away of their entire lives in one night. She writes about how the mother got them organized to go, how the boy longed for his father who was taken somewhere else, how the daughter dealt with growing up as a teenager during the time and how when they all (including the father) returned to their home and how they felt and were treated. Julia Otsuka, the writer, writes in a very simple prose that makes the story even more haunting. Definite worth the read.

Unfortunately, the only other book that I was able to read this month was American Woman by Susan Choi. I know the book got great reviews but I could not get through it. The book is like being on a bad journey that you can't get out of. The characters are adrift in a boring existence that never seems to go anywhere. It certainly did not go anywhere for me, because I put it down after I finished half of the book. I hate when you feel compelled to finish a book and because of that, you never move on to read something else. That book went under the "life is too short" category. I moved on.

On a musical note, I just got the new Dave Matthews album. Even if you aren't a fan of his, this is really an excellent album. Can't stop playing it. I am also digging the new Dido album. I am going to see Gillian Welch next week, and I think she has a terrific soulful voice worth listening to. One last album, which we have played out is Fountains of Wayne. My family loves it. Again, my son was Joey Ramone for Halloween so this is not kid's tunes but it is a solid pop album worth listening to again and again and again and again....