Tag Archives: Friends

Cooking Together – Therapy I Can Enjoy

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

I know some of you do not enjoy cooking, and that’s ok. But what if I told you it is like therapy when you do it with friends? I personally love cooking. I don’t enjoy it for myself; I am happy with something grabbed out of the fridge if I am eating alone. I am happiest when cooking for, and with, a crowd. Maybe that’s why for almost 20 years I did live cooking demos as a job. It could explain why I love what I do now (managing culinary events and tradeshows). Perhaps that’s why I have always wanted my own food show.

Friend John M and I have often joked that we should have our own TV show about cooking together. We both love cooking and love doing it together. And more times than not, we end up laughing our asses off. Each of us enjoys cooking alone, but when we cook together, the enjoyment is amplified. We smile more, relax more, and the act of cooking together ratchets up the enjoyment of the meal itself. Sadly we don’t always MAKE TIME to have this happen, but that has changed.

Friends cooking together is more than “many hands make light work”. It’s fun therapy anyone can get behind.

Friend Gemini is going through a rough time physically and LOVES to cook. We have tried to get our schedules to synch up to enjoy cooking together for ages and we finally made that happen. Cooking with Gemini was born! It started with inviting Gemini and her guy John to my house to cook. Then we invited a few other couples where at least one member of the duo loves to cook. I literally had a house full of Johns, as every single man in attendance was named John! Toss in Friend Janet who loves cooking and has some chops, and Friend Lynn and we have a winner. Moment of Truth – Lynn HATES to cook, but she is HELL on clean up and she took all of the pics, so that is her contribution. We intentionally chose menu items that we had never tried before, or wanted to learn from someone else.  We decided on fish baked in a salt crust, which none of us had ever tried to do, and fresh gnocchi. Gnocchi is a personal favorite of mine and I coached everyone through that process. Some prep was done ahead of time, but the idea was to do as much as possible together.

All the tension melted away

At first there was a little tentativeness on everyone’s part. For me, I am very comfortable being bossy, but I don’t USUALLY like to boss my friends around. I needed to get over that and take charge of the flow. For others, they felt in some way like they didn’t want to step out of bounds in my kitchen, or get in someone else’s way. All the tension and tentativeness melted away gradually while we made gnocchi with truffles and garlic and amberjack baked in a salt crust. We laughed while we drank wine and stood shoulder to shoulder to roll gnocchi. Everyone who wanted to “get their hands dirty” was given a job and of course there was shock and a learning curve involved. Especially when we went to crust the fish and realized it hadn’t been gutted…my fault. The Hubs was appalled I didn’t learn to do that in culinary school (they were always cleaned for us). Thank goodness for former Boy Scout John M! He coached me through the process, and it was easier than I imagined with his guidance. A salad of blanched veggies with hearts of palm and sun dried tomatoes rounded out the meal.

Gutted Amberjack stuffed with lemons getting ready for the salt crust.

Hand rolled gnocchi. The lines in this case come from a gnocchi board available at Sur la Table (link above)

Food is so much more than fuel

Most of the folks in attendance knew at least one person other than The Hubs and me, but no one knew everyone. Politics were left at the door. We talked about food, booze, books, movies, games, ourselves and our lives. We got to know one another on a deeper, more intimate level and everyone left relaxed. As if they had gone to a therapy session with a masseuse or a shrink. We had such a good time; we decided to make a monthly event of it. Our next event will be Cajun/Creole themed. It was decided that sticking with one base idea and working off that premise would make a more cohesive evening, food wise. We also decided to keep it small and intimate and only the folks invited to the first one will be invited to future events to grow and nurture these new friendships, to foster the love of cooking and to keep it manageable for everyone to be able to participate. For each attendee, food is so much more than fuel. We all LOVE food, appreciate the details and effort that go into the prep, and revel in the outcome. And doing it all together made it so much more than just a shared meal.

Friend John M removes the skin after the salt crust has been cracked off.

The gnocchi were finished in olive oil with black truffles that came from Try the World in my “Italy box” and fresh garlic

 

To finish off the meal, Gemini brought a gorgeous flourless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache. She garnished with candied flowers and freshly whipped cream and plated it a la minute.

Flourless chocolate cake with ganache and candied flowers

If you are in need of self-care, try cooking with friends. Set up your own cooking supper club. You’ll end up feeding more than your body; you’ll feed your soul and your mind too. Watch for future pics of “Cooking with Gemini” on my Facebook page and Instagram.

 

Back to School, But Not Us

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

Back to school means something else entirely for me.

As I sit here at my kitchen table, looking at everyone’s “First Day” pics I am a bit sad. Everyone is going back to school, but not us. In our house that’s all finished…for now. Our son graduated from college this past May with a teaching degree and now that his licensing is complete, he is looking for a job in his field. Once he gets a permanent position, maybe I’ll post a “First Day” photo of him. Back to school solely means something else entirely for me now. It means lunch.

10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

In 2006, Friend Dani’s youngest was going to kindergarten and Dani was freaking out…just a bit. She was worried about what she would do all day without her small shadow. So Friend Lillian and I decided that a boozy lunch would be just the thing to take her mind off her missing shadow and thus the Annual Back to School Lunch was formed. As the young shadow now enters high school (and her older sister begins college), I realize we have been at it for 10 years. 10 years of friends celebrating the movement of life with a simple lunch.

Over time we have invited others to join us, but it always seemed forced, tight and uncomfortable when we did. Conversation was stilted and polite with little uproarious laughter. Almost as if we couldn’t be our authentic selves unless it was just our merry little trio. The three of us have many years of friendship and shared experiences under our belts and when others were thrown into the mix it was weird. After a few attempts of endeavoring to be inclusive, we three decided our annual lunch should remain exclusive. And so it goes.

This year sadly, Lillian’s job prevents her from joining us, so it will be a happy little duo for lunch. And we continue the tradition of celebrating change. We meet on the first day back to school whenever possible. We keep it light and fun – no tears, no angst, no drama (those must be left at the door). We try to support a locally owned business when we go (one year the first day fell during Restaurant Week, so we made sure to eat at a participating resto to double our community impact). We talk, we laugh, we catch up.

Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane.

Over the past 10 years our lives have changed drastically. At our first lunch, I was an active duty wife with a career in sales. My son was in Jr. High. Dani was a SAHM[1] who had recently left the world of live music performance. Her two girls were in grade school. Lillian had just left a job that made her miserable. Her daughter was in grade school. Now Dani is a religious education coordinator and performs live music again in venues around the city with one starting high school and one starting college. Lillian has a challenging new job she loves that allows her to be “part of the solution” with her daughter entering her senior year of high school. I am building a new business in event management (no, I don’t do weddings) and I’m trying to write a cookbook with a college graduate son. Lives change. Change is good…most of the time. Thankfully, I have developed some amazing friends that keep my life sane and this back to school ritual of our traditional[2] “moms only” lunch is a part of my life that hopefully doesn’t change.

The best part of back to school has always been the breather. No summer shenanigans left. Fall is not quite here. So there is a breath. A heartbeat of a moment where I could stop and just be. That was how it was for years. Now I am feeling a little left out; slightly bereft at no longer being part of the crowd. I have no part in the conversation of schools, curricula, after school activities, school lunch, etc. While I am a woman of a certain age, many of my friends still have kids in school. The conversation continues for them, but I am outside of it. I am more than usually grateful to be having lunch with my pals today (even if one is in absentia), if for no other reason than to feel connected to the tribe of parents again.

 

[1] SAHM – Stay at Home Mom

[2] Traditional  – in the way of 50’s “Ladies Who Lunch”. Cocktails are consumed.

I Won a Raffle!

Posted on by LeAnne Notabartolo

The next time someone asks you, “Hey, do you want to buy a raffle ticket? You could win __________.” Just say yes and buy the ticket. John and I did exactly that and won Chef Chris Palmeri of Naked City Pizza cooking for us and 8 friends in OUR kitchen.

It took a while to coordinate because of all of our busy schedules but we finally got it done. Originally it was supposed to be Palmeri and Chef Christian Dolias, but Dolias JUST got a great job working as Sous Chef for Todd Harrington at Yardbird Southern Kitchen at the Venetian. It’s an incredible opportunity for him and many congratulations. Poor Palmeri had to do everything himself.

A couple of challenges about this dinner:

  • Who to invite? We have so many friends who love to eat, so it was hard to choose. It was a weeknight, so that had to be kept in mind (a few of our friends work REALLY early in the morning). I had no control over the menu, so anyone with dietary concerns (vegetarian, gluten intolerant, picky eater) had to be taken off the list. A couple we love to dine with were out of town. We decided on my closest friends Lynn and Laurie, friend Jeff, dear longtime friends John & Holly and new friends and neighbors Melvin & Virginia. (FYI – Melvin is a Chef at Della’s Kitchen at The Delano). And our only son Jack was in town for spring break, so he was able to be in on the action.
  • Friends Laurie and Virginia

    Friends Laurie and Virginia

    Friend John M shows off his appetizer plate

    Friend John M shows off his appetizer plate

    Chef Melvin, his lovely wife Virginia and dear friend Lynn

    Chef Melvin, his lovely wife Virginia and dear friend Lynn

  • Can I really NOT be in my kitchen? Yes, I know he’s a pro, but it’s MY kitchen. I can’t tell you how difficult it was to have someone else in my kitchen and me NOT help them or be The Chick in Charge. Friend John M had an equally hard time with it when I kicked him out of his usual viewing/helping location.
Chef Chris Palmeri in my Kitchen

Chef Chris Palmeri in my Kitchen

  • Not knowing the menu was dramatic for me. I didn’t know how to set the table. I didn’t know what utensils or serving pieces would be needed. It made me nuts.

Dinner was served family style and the table settings were simple. It was like a holiday or celebratory dinner in any Italian family. Hubby John and I felt transported back to our youth in New York. The menu was as follows:

  • Charcuterie, cheese and relish tray with olive oil and bread

    Charcuterie, Cheese and Oysters in the background

    Charcuterie, Cheese and Oysters in the background

  • Oysters Rockefeller
  • Sautéed Spicy Frogs Legs

    Spicy Frogs Legs

    Spicy Frogs Legs

  • Gemelli Pasta with Braised Short Rib Bolognese

    Gemelli with Short Rib Bolognese

    Gemelli with Short Rib Bolognese

  • Bay Scallops with Mixed Mushrooms and Arugula

    Bay Scallops with Mushrooms

    Bay Scallops with Mushrooms

  • Turtle Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Compote

    Turtle Cheesecake with Mixed Berries

    Turtle Cheesecake with Mixed Berries

 

Enjoy the pics. We enjoyed the meal, the camaraderie and the thought of knowing we helped out in a fundraiser for a  fellow culinarian with health issues made everything even better.

Next up? Another in the series of Guilty Pleasures from a guest blogger. Be sure to subscribe by hitting the button on the right so you don’t miss a single issue. On Tuesday evening you will get an email with links to all the blogs from the past week. And of course you can follow along with Instagram, FB and Twitter.