By Susan Hosmer

Given the time of year, I know I should be writing about the holidays. I should be telling stories about how my in-laws’ culinary traditions (i.e. creamed onions and scrapple) differ from my family (Chinese food and a movie). However, in 2007, life took a major turn in the Hosmer household and cooking has never been the same. 

Ghost of Christmas Past 

I love to cook and whether it was dinner for 2 or 12, time was never an issue for me. The more steps, mise en place and cooking time, the better. I took great pleasure in making green curry paste from scratch or smoking pork butt for eight hours. Cassoulet? No problem. (OK… I confess… I bought the duck confit.) Nevertheless, I was definitely a doer and could not relate to the 30-minute meal. I always wondered, “Who are these people?” I work long hours and still find time to cook.

Ghost of Christmas Present 

On April 27, 2007, my cooking style changed forever. Dylan Alexander Hosmer was born. It started off with complete abstinence. The kitchen was transformed into a sanitization room where only bottles and pacifiers were allowed. For the first time, food was a way to refuel and we lived on take-out. My favorite Argentinean place knew us by voice and the delivery guy would always ask how the baby was. About two months in, I was sick of all our delivery options. It was time to take back my kitchen. But how would I find time to cook when I barely had time to shower? Flipping through Bon Appétit, my eyes stopped on Fast, Easy, Fresh. Hmmm. These look good. Why haven’t I noticed this section before? I grabbed Food & Wine and Gourmet. They also have similar sections. I finally got it. Rachael Ray, I finally get it!
 

Ghost of Christmas Future 

Dylan has started solid foods and I am looking forward to him getting teeth, mostly because food gets a lot more interesting once you can chew. What does our future in cooking hold for the Hosmers? I see nights of quick meals and weekends of leisurely ones. But one thing is for sure, I am excited to watch Dylan explore the world of food and develop his palate.

What I’m:

Reading         The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

Watching       Gossip Girl (sorry, I can’t help myself)

Eating           Meals that take less than 30 minutes and comme Ça’s French Onion soup

Listening to    The sounds of Fisher Price Nature’s Touch Cradle Swing and Baby Einstein’s ExerSaucer 

by Amanda Hathaway

If Make-A-Plate had been around in 1920s Germany, Hermann Rorschach may have had a different means of evaluating the psychology of his patients. Take, for example, the various designs created by the New York staff of Bullfrog & Baum. The purpose was purely practical: Jennifer Baum wants us all to have our own plate to use and, more importantly, clean. But an unanticipated side effect of asking us to design our own plates was to provide a sneak peek into some of the personalities that reside at our Chelsea office.

Take Melissa Flores, for example (top row, first plate): In a clever ruse to potentially disguise a dirty plate, she drew eggs, bacon and toast with the complementary quote “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” A slight dis’ to lunch perhaps, and given that she’s a vegetarian, we now think she has a conflicted relationship with bacon… then again, can’t that be said of all vegetarians?

Another curious design: Helen Baldus marked her plate with the universal sign for death and/or poison – which is odd, since she’s a very good cook. Chris Langley seems to think he’s “Boss” but we’re used to that by now. And generally sweet-natured Kate Schwab may have a sinister side if her cheery rainbow design combined with the threatening warning, “Use at your own risk!” is any indicator.

Personal passions reveal themselves on the B&B plates: Katherine Bryant is “Fishing for Lunch” while Shayna Bryan says it’s “Time to Rock.” Pamela Spiegel, meanwhile, presents a portrait of her pup, Jake, and Russo (a.k.a. Jennifer) channeled her inner BLT Market with images of picturesque seasonal veggies. When it comes to quotes, we span the cultural spectrum: 19^th century poet Charles Pierre Monselet shows up on Jacque Burke’s plate, while Evyn Block let 20^th century Muppet Miss Piggy speak for her.

What can we infer about our fearless leader who subjected us to this exercise? Jennifer Baum maintains a balance between work and family by incorporating her son and husband’s initials combined with simple renditions of her city and country homes.

The strangest thing of all? There isn’t a single frog design to be found. What would Rorschach say?

by Susan Gross

“Mom, what’s for dinner?” 

Oh, no.  Not those dreaded words.  Is it really another dinner time again?  Didn’t we just have one? 

Now, before you get all huffy about my lack of parenting skills, let me say this:  I love my 8 year old in that way that makes people’s eyes roll in their heads with irritation as I obliviously wax poetic about her.  But here is the issue:  I cannot cook.  And I mean that quite seriously and literally.  I burn things – chicken, broccoli or, even pasta (that’s what happens, folks, when you forget about the pot and the water evaporates).  Left to my own devices, cereal and milk make me perfectly happy.  However, I have discovered that this is not the optimal daily dinner for an 8 year old – one who rather enjoys food at that!

And so I have my repertoire. And it does not involve putting actual flame to anything: Amy’s Mac & Cheese that goes in the microwave? Perfect and can keep her happy for three days in a row.  Bell & Evans Chicken Tenders – as long as I remember to use that timer I got as a gift from my husband after the burned pasta debacle. 

But, of course, we are happiest eating out: Landmarc’s fried calamari and steak makes us deeply satisfied. Though it does have a great children’s menu, no children’s portions for my child – bring on the regular sizes and we are as happy as can be. And for dessert?  We always ask for extra caramels and I inhale the cotton candy. 

BLT Fish Shack is another place we’re always happy to hit together.  Lobster roll for me and fish and chips for her.  No matter how much garlic bread we’ve eaten at the start of the meal or how completely we’ve cleaned our plates from the entrée, there is always and forever room for cupcakes for dessert.  Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream –as an avowed chocolate lover, I can tell you: These are the best cupcakes. Ever.

Closest to home for us is The Farm on Adderley near our home in Ditmas Park. This place created a serious stir when it opened and I, acting on snobbish ignorance, didn’t try it for a number of months (and given that I don’t cook, it was a particularly ridiculous strike on my part). Luckily, desperation led us there one night – no mac and cheese in the freezer nor any chicken tenders.  We were at home and in trouble. So I suggested that new place on Courtelyou Road. Knowing it was that or the lone can of chickpeas on the shelf, Georgia quickly agreed and off we went.  What can I say?  There’s nothing quite as fantastic as finding a place that makes a great burger and fries right around the corner from your home.  Everytime, we clean our respective plates completely and have no choice but to turn down dessert. We are fed and happy and get to walk home slowly hand-in-hand together.

Perhaps I need to rethink my assertion that cereal and milk would be just fine with me for dinner. These meals with my daughter are pretty close to perfect.

What I’m:

Reading           Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

Watching       Endless re-runs of Law and Order: Criminal Intent

Eating           Jacques Torres’ Dark Chocolate Bark

Listening to    Invoke by Arto Lindsay 

By Melissa Flores

Once upon a time, in a faraway land (OK, Boston) lived a beautiful restaurant manager and a handsome chef.  We will call the restaurant manager Erin Shea and the handsome chef, Lee Chizmar – because those are their real names and they are my real friends. They worked in a wondrous New American seafood restaurant in Boston called Great Bay. This restaurant was owned by Christopher Myers, the dashing epicure and endearingly erratic restaurateur responsible for some of Boston’s most acclaimed eateries Radius, Via Matta and most recently the funky Asian boîte Myers + Chang.

Both Erin and Lee ran a tight ship (pun sort of intended) and worked side by side day in and day out. Lee was impressed with Erin’s sassy confidence and Erin could not get enough of Lee’s halibut tacos.  It wasn’t long before the two fell in love and united to open up their very own restaurant.

Into the sunset they went, in their golden carriage (OK, a silver 2007 Toyota FJ cruiser) to the land of virtue, liberty and independence: Pennsylvania. They settled in the town of Bethlehem and bought a 200-year-old restaurant and inn.  After four months of hard labor, fabric swatch-induced anxiety and a water-main break, the beautiful hostess and handsome chef opened Bolete Restaurant and Inn.

At Bolete Restaurant and Inn, named for the picturesque mushroom, Erin oversees the elegantly dressed dining room with meticulous direction and consummate style and grace, while Lee produces dishes inspired by his spirited culinary passion and devotion to fresh, honest ingredients.  Together, they are living a long-held dream and making damn good food while they are at it.

And they are living happily ever after.

THE END

What I’m Reading: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Watching: Run’s House

Eating: Chef Carmen’s Flan at Lucy of Gramercy

Listening: MSTRKRFT