come party with me on wednesday!

Remember back in February when I catered that film shoot in snowy New Hampshire? Well, the editing process of the film is nearly completed, and it's time to party for the cause! Palehorse Productions, the non-profit organization behind 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is throwing a benefit party this Wednesday at the Professor's Loft in the East Village to raise money to complete 'The Tell-Tale Heart' so it can be entered into festivals, etc.

Entrance is free, there's a bar, and they will be taking any donations you care to offer all night long. At 9pm, the director, Robert Eggers, will be introducing a preview of the film and talking a bit about the project.

This is sure to be a fun event, and I'm super excited to support this group of childhood friends who are some of the most talented and ambitious artists I know and have had the pleasure of working with!

You better believe I will be there, glammed up, and ready to have a great time! Come join me!

See all the details below, or click here.

on the set: tarragon tomato soup + grilled cheese

It's one of the last days of shooting on the set of The Tell-Tale Heart here in Lee, New Hampshire. I've been serving hot soup to the cast and crew at least once a day, as they're spending their time inside and outside of an old abandoned house, with very little or no heat, and nothing's better than a nice bowl of soup to get over being so chilly! This time around, lunch was 'just like mom used to make'. I made grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, chocolate oatmeal chocolate chip walnut cookies, a green salad, and non-dairy tarragon scented tomato soup.

It was lovely to see people's faces light up when they came in and saw this spread. The director's brother Max, one of the production assistants, said to me, 'This is the best tomato soup I've ever had.' Now you can try it for yourself...


Recipe: Tarragon Tomato Soup
The fresh tarragon in this recipe really makes this soup happen. It adds a distinct sweetness and a faint fennel/anise flavor that puts a lovely twist on a classic. I think it can be a challenge to keep tomato soup from tasting like tomato sauce. Too often tomato soup has loads of butter, cream, or other heavy dairy to make the soup ‘creamy’. I didn’t understand this, as most soup, when you puree it, is already creamy, but maybe that’s just me. I’m sure this splash would be magnificent with a dollop of crème fraiche, or a splash of cream towards the end of cooking, if that’s your thing, but personally, I like to keep it simple. Though I will say, this soup goes mighty fine with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Serves 4-6
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or mix of olive oil and butter
1 large onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small dried bay leaf
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, divided
1/4 to 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)
3 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 cups water or stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a pot and add in the onions. Sweat these for about 1 minute (if the onions begin to brown, turn down your heat). Then add in the garlic, the bay leaf, half of the tarragon, and all of the basil (if using) and sweat together for another minute or two.

2. Add in the crushed tomatoes and mix well. Stir in the water. Bring to a gentle boil and immediately turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test for salt and pepper and adjust as necessary. Stir in the remaining tarragon. With an immersion blender (or carefully, in batches in a standing blender), blend the soup until smooth. For an extremely smooth soup, pass the puree through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

3. Feel free to enjoy with a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream. Or a grilled cheese sandwich.

new hampshire, day 1

So I am finally here in snowy Lee, New Hampshire where filming is just beginning this evening. I have been here for a couple of days getting acclimated to the kitchen I'm using, as well as getting to know some of the core cast and crew. Everyone is really lovely and friendly and eager to be helpful. It's a cute and small farm town and everything is covered with a nice thick layer of snow, which looks so pretty from the windows and the roads. It's even fun to walk in. I hope to make a snow-creature soon!

This is a unique situation for me...namely, navigating steep driveways and stairways, which up until this afternoon, thanks to warm temperatures and rain, have been mostly coated in sheets of ice. Making for nerve-wracking treks with bags, boxes, and armloads of food. But so far, so good, the only mishap I've had was earlier today when I slipped and fell on a patch of ice while walking to the car. Luckily, I wasn't carrying anything at all. I always find it a bit comical to fall on the ice. It's very cartoonish, because your feet slip up from under you and fly into the air, as you fall on your butt.

Working on a film set in an old boarded up house can make for some interesting challenges-- most pertinently, heat, water, and electricity. Not to mention that a shoot schedule is a 12-hour workday, that for these first few days begin at 5pm. But the crew is working hard to make it a relatively comfortable and manageable situation for everyone involved, and I am hoping that warm food in everyone's bellies will keep them happy and hard at work.

The core of the organization putting on this production (Palehorse Productions) are all from this small town and as they are non-profit, are looking to cut costs at every turn and the community really has pulled through in a lot of ways-- including donating the bulk of the food that I'm using to cook the meals for the cast and crew of 20-25 over a 10-day period. It's really amazing and lovely.

Today's first meal ('lunch' at 4pm) was a simple green salad with veggies and a homemade carrot-miso dressing; steamed rice; and soy-glazed baked chicken and tofu.
For our 11pm dinner, I'm serving a melange of some leftovers of baked ziti, vegetarian with squash or non-veggie with Italian sausage, Mexican Chicken soup, and some cold cuts for sandwiches.

But as I left the set earlier, to come back to the house where I am staying and cooking to take a break before preparing dinner, I was observing all of the hubbub of excitement and anxiety of everyone involved, and it made me feel re-energized about taking on this project, and happy to be involved with something so unique and special.