New Member Mixer- April 24th, 2010

We had our first new member event of the season last night. It was a great time re-connecting with new and old friends! Kaitlin was, as usual, a stunning hostess!

Heather made another batch of her famous cupcakes, this time they were tirimisu inspired. The vanilla cake was soaked in coffee and topped with a touch of dark chocolate and a delicious mascapone frosting. There was a challenger in the house when our resident sweets expert Melissa showed up with chocolate peanut butter brownie bites (she also quite selflessly brought cheese from Murray's, despite her own aversion to it)! Needless to say, they were both phenomenal!

Our favorite couple Adam and Jennifer were back in action and provided a delightful assortment of cheeses. There was a fantastic walnut goat cheese, classic brie, a hard cheese that we likened to manchego, a wonderful "stinky sock" cheese and some salami. As usual, my memory of the food itself is not matched by my accuracy when it comes to the specifics! Young spoiled us with an amazing Barbera wine.

A new member, Nelson, turned-it-out with salt cod fritters served with a sweet pepper remoulade. Rajani and her friend Hasti arrived with french bread and cheese, and yes, you guessed it, more wine!

A new member of the club, Larissa, came with her friend Ivy, who we were aghast to find out came to New York this weekend forgoing an opportunity to sample the cuisine of the newest crop of Top Chef contestants in DC! Andrew, his friend Jesse arrived a bit later and provided a replenishment of wine, and not a moment too soon!

I decided to tempt fate and try making homemade pork tamales that very morning and testing them on our unsuspecting guests! To counter balance this risk, I also brought a 1999 Bordeaux. Best to get people as drunk as possible when testing new recipes! The tamales seemed to actually turn out quite well, I felt especially confident when our Hispanic members deemed them passable!

As often happens with our beloved mixers, day became night and we realized that we had been drinking and eating for seven hours! The time flew by on the wings of conversation ranging from Colombian versus Peruvian Arepas to boarder disputes; dating horror stories to best meals in the city; restaurant recommendations from members who never cook and recipe suggestions from those who usually dine-in.

There is something so instantly endearing about those who love food, whether original member or first time visitor, the group felt like a collection of old friends: comfortable and buzzing with excitement. Food is more than a way to sustain ourselves, it connects people and those who understand that are a unique breed with instant camaraderie.

We arranged some fantastic events for the weeks to come. We will be celebrating Cinco De Mayo and housewarming at Young's new apartment, there will be a "flavor tripping" dinner party in Queens with Adam and Jennifer, excursions to the Japanese market over the GW bridge and restaurant tastings galor. This party was a great foray into our summer of new culinary compatriots and adventures!

Bon Appetite

Motorino Williamsburg Brunch- April 18th, 2010

Erin, Andrew, Laura, Deepa and I congregated in Williamsburg this morning to sample the brunch pizza at Motorino's flagship. Still in a Manhattan mind-set, I thought it wise to employ my usual trick when dealing with no-reservation brunch spots and descending upon them the moment they open to ensure seating. Erin schooled me on the Brooklyn reality that arriving anywhere at 11am in Brooklyn would ensure having the restaurant to ourselves. It seems that brunch seats are not quite as competitive in our sister borough!

They sat our incomplete party without trouble and brought us our first round of drinks. The $10 brunch special includes pizza and orange juice or bloody mary mix with vodka for an additional $3. We were bemused by the idea of someone drinking bloody mary's without the vodka, and as I am sure you can imagine, coughed-up the extra three dollars quite willingly! The bloody mary's were great! They had a kick, but were not overly spicy, prompting most of us to order another round. After putting in our orders for the pizza, our waitress rushed back over to let us know that they now add a drizzle of chili oil, she wanted to make sure we were okay with it. We laughed, pointing to the bloody mary's, and assured her that the chili oil was welcome with us!

After a few drinks and conversation, the pies arrived. They were fantastic! I feel I must frame this description by saying that I have had Motorino's before in the East Village. I was horrifically disappointed in the Brussels sprout pie and was sceptical going into this. I have been converted!

Generous chunks of crispy panchetta peppered the creamy blanket of fior di latte and the fried eggs resting atop the pie were cooked perfectly so that when you cut into a slice, the yolk oozed luxuriously. The sprinkle of potent pecorino and drizzle of chili oil added a complexity that took each bite to another level. The sweet basil (which was stacked a bit generously for me) was the perfect finish to a rather perfect breakfast pizza. As if things couldn't get any better, the portions were huge! The sheer quantity of this high quality dish should be enough to make some of the lesser (and more expensive) brunch dishes in the city blush.

As our brunch wound down, we were all filled with a deep sense of satisfaction. The leisurely, yet attentive pace of service, delicious food, and for a lucky few, leftovers, made for a very nice Sunday Brunch. As far as I'm concerned, Motorino Brunch was well worth a trip on the L train.

This was a great start to our EWI spring eating season!

Spring Celebration Mixer- April 11th, 2010

Today was our coming out of hibernation party. All our dishes were a celebration of spring.

I made a sweet green pea hummus with pita chips and a fresh bruchetta with Parmesan garlic crostinis, both were quite a hit! I also provided my favorite Spanish sparking white wine. Heather made delicious lavender cupcakes, which were devoured shamelessly. Young and Sahi made sun dried tomato and fresh mozzarella sandwiches on a black olive bread. The bread was softly chewy and the intensely flavored tomatoes danced with the mild cheese.They also brought a lovely Bordeaux, which we made short order of! Erin brought a fresh mozzarella her neighbor in Williamsburg made earlier today and a couple other cheeses that were delicious, and that none of us could remember the names of! Kaitlin brought a very interesting white honey mead wine. At first, I won't lie, I was a bit repulsed! After a few sips it began growing on me. In the end, we made short order of that too! I do believe this was the first event in EWI history where the quantity of food surpassed the quantity of alcohol! Despite this fact, we still put away four bottles between the six of us, it was an EWI party after all!

After gorging on our spring fare and demolishing the wine, we got down to business and started discussing the season ahead and potential events. We have an exciting season coming-up, everything from day trips out to Stone Hill Farm and Hudson Valley Winery's to Dumpling Walking tours in Flushing to a Mad Men Dishes of the Past Dinner Party.

It is also the season of new birth and growth and in that spirit, we are planning on hosting another new members event in a couple weeks.

This is an exciting season, who knows what possibilities are on the horizon for us! It is the collective passion and the ideas generated from our unique blend of members that have made Eating With Impunity such a success, this new season will be no different!