People
- This is the Chinese zodiac year of the rabbit. I was born in another year of the rabbit. I’m said to have the luckiest sign — except during other years of the rabbit, where I’m supposed to experience miserable luck. I don’t really remember what happened in 1999, but in 2011, the last year of the rabbit, I was diagnosed with cancer.
- After getting a back sprain in the gym on the eve of New Year’s eve, different discomfort moved around my body so that all of January I had intrusive and intense moments of certainty believing I was experiencing sciatica, a recurrence of lymphoma, early signs of stroke or heart attack, lyme disease, COVID and/or testicular torsion.
- After a routine visit to my GP, an emergency visit to an urgent care clinic and an ultrasound appointment the next day, a neurologist, while prescribing nothing necessary, summarized that I simply had had “a funny month”. The co-pay was $40. A great deal, I think.
- I practiced cooking cheap, simple and chic meals that came together in less than 20 minutes to make more time for the life I thought may end a bit short. I thought of a restaurant idea that served mostly bistro classics (e.g., omelets, salads, salads on omelets, fresh juices, oysters, tartares, crudite with grand aiolis, pan-fried, pan-sauced fish, chicken and beef entrees, flambees, tartins, souflees) extremely competently and quickly, with a philosophy of swiftness that requires lively skill, impractical freshness and breezy finesse. Also a dash of tableside flair. Customers would have to pay more for reservations or seatings that lasted over 45 minutes. Call it Café Rapide.
- World of Echo radio isn’t as interesting as this guy’s.
Plates
Saltie’s chocolate mousse
By square foot (about 400), Saltie was once the best restaurant in New York. It closed in 2017. l’ve made this mousse at least once every year for like seven years. It’s both rich and light — yes, some can have it all. Here’s a recipe, but don’t add the orange flavoring. Also, you probably don’t need any liquor, but I like to use kirsch — a dark rum will do too. if you want it to look like a mossy and severe irish cliffside island jutting out from the sea, microplane a pistachio or two on top after you scoop it out in a tumbler or bowl or plate. What do you mean you don’t have a microplane?