home style: thanksgiving, 2010

i have always had a tendency to downplay our family thanksgiving celebration.

when i was growing up, the holiday was positively traumatic for one reason: no turkey at our table. we had ham. i used to mope about how un-american it was. (the fact that my family was not american, not by birth anyway, except for me, didn't make a difference. we lived here.)

as our family grew, and my american-born cousins were old enough to collect their loud voices over "the turkey situation," our table started to take on the appearance of something more traditional. turkey is now a standby, next to the prime rib and the pork lechon and the barbeque skewers (yes, my people enjoy bbq skewers all year long). we made room for more dishes with potatoes (even the sweet ones) and green beans and brussels sprouts. we now have pies filled with apples and they sit next to pear tarts and flans and fried bananas (and other weird filipino treats).

but i'm still sometimes guilty of judging this holiday, more than any other, on ideas of what it should be, based on lore, rather celebrating what it is.

for us, thanksgiving is, more often than not, a very full house, a game of musical chairs (the music being the meal). we attack the table in waves, and shift from chair to couch to standing spot, while stories and jokes are told at a loud and fever pitch in two languages (so amid all the laughing, some of us get a little bit lost. we laugh more, anyway). and then eat more.

not sure a thanksgiving gets much better or happier than that.

here are a few photos from this year's good time.

mom's roasted brussels sprouts, with bacon.

or is it mom's bacon with roasted brussels sprouts?

homemade lumpia

lechon

filipino-style bbq

with jason (and a skewer)

does this count as a vegetable?

pancit - my aunt makes this better than any restaurant could

see, we had a turkey (not for long)

grace before the meal

cornbread stuffing--this one might be my new favorite, love the sweetness of the bread

my contribution this year: blum's coffee crunch cake

apple tart

pear tart

yes, this is a purple and orange and white dessert, made of glutinous rice.

you can understand why a kid would think this is the height of weirdness, yes?

turon! fried bananas, drizzled with caramelized sugar

6 cousins and a baby.

route 4

route 4 east

november 21, 2010

good night light

november 20, 2010

photo © anita aguilar

the sovereign rose

"as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul..."

-- pablo neruda, sonnet xvii

photo © anita aguilar

eataly, nyc

yesterday, in the park

9:45, union square park.

lowcountry: we got "low low low low, low low low low"

i'm not gonna lie. after allison and i decided we'd go to low country for dinner, i had hands in the air stuck in my head, all afternoon and evening ("she hit the floor, shorty got low..." and it's still in there today).

catchy as that little interlude is, lowcountry doesn't seem like a joint that's going to play much girl talk, or flo-rida, for that matter:

it's like i was 22 again, hanging out in some (hot) dude's basement.

not that that happened when i was 22.

i actually don't remember hearing any music?

what we did walk into on monday was "fried chicken and football night." they offer sweet-tea-brined fried chicken, macaroni salad, and barbecued black-eyed peas--and football-- for $19. an offer difficult to refuse...but, allison and i decided to save the fried chicken for a future visit.

our dinner went like this:

a michelada: modelo beer, tomato juice, and hot sauce.

grilled baby octopus

anson mills farro, pickled pear, boiled peanuts, smoked yogurt.

i didn't discern the "pickle" in the pear or the "smoke" in the yogurt, but i loved the assertive sweetness and the char in the grilled baby octopus. nice layered flavors and textures going on here.

brussels sprouts...with apple butter.

does that sound odd to you? well, if you have any interest at all in brussels sprouts, please order these. the salty, glossy leaves stayed crisp . the touch -- just a spoonful? --of apple butter woke up the palate. we loved these. loved loved loved.

cornmeal dusted catfish

carolina red rice and beans, chow chow remoulade...

our server mentioned that this dish changes his opinion of catfish forever (he was formerly disinterested). he was right to rave. these are generous fillets, perfectly fried. i thought i recognized tomato in this remoulade that gave it...you guessed it, a little sweetness. i loved how they blanketed the fish with it.

and: the humble red bean? it's lovable again, as a side here (with rice and sausage).

for dessert: bourbon banana bread pudding. this might have been the single, slight disappointment of the evening--maybe our server built this up a bit too much? it was very warm and wet banana bread, but the custard that i look forward to, was missing. a crisp top would have given a bit of texture and caramelization. the sauce would have been more memorable if it had been a bit thicker and boozier.

(we like 'em thick and boozy.)

but...allison and i are still high on lowcountry. we're plotting fried chicken biscuits and bbq sliders for the next game night. i've had the sliders before--they were one of my favorite "tastes" at the back to basis event in september.they described it then as a "north carolina, lightly smoked pork shoulder." i hope it's the same preparation. it was wonderfully refined, even with all that delicious slaw spilling out all over...

***

lowcountry is at 142 west 10th street, between greenwich avenue and waverly place.

they accept reservations at 212.255.2335 or via open table.

the high line (color, this time)

14th street, nyc

the standard hotel

november 13, 2010

all photos © anita aguilar