At La Chapina, where the Guatemalan natives flock, I got a large plate of savory Guisado Chicken, rice, and black beans for only $8. A scoop of creamy chicken salad and thick homemade tortillas round out the meal. Pork Tamal on the side.
Each new fashion show that comes up, I get a little excited and I think, OK... THIS show is now at the top of the list. However, in All on the Line, Joe Zee, editor of Elle, basically mentors a professional designer through the low of a struggling business. Sometimes, the criticism gets tough, but Joe's comments are always to the point and highly tailored to the individual. While some designers have a hard time seeing the roadblock in the way of their success, namely their own egos, there seems to be no shortage of enablers and sycophants that confuse the rest of the issues tremendously. Professionalism can also be a big issue, again, often just a cover for a messed up ego. Unfortunately, some of the designers most resistant to Joe Zee's advice become lost causes and crack miserably under pressure. But when capsule meetings go well, I feel personally gratified as if I negotiated my own promotion. Sometimes I wonder if business "reality" has this level of honesty and emotion, probably not, but maybe it should. And at the end of the day everyone says "No hard feelings!" Or, "Good Luck to you!" and... Good Riddance! The Bonus: All the marketing for world class boutiques and appearances by top shelf designers.
For realz, All on the Line is THE fashion show.
1 cup cake flour, sifted
2 cup all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 tsp baking soda
2 1/3 tbsp buttermilk powder
3 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
7 large eggs, room temp
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp orange zest
1 cup water
opt. turbinado sugar
Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven.
I don't have a sifter so I beat my flour with a whisk. Then I measure the desired amounts. Combine the whisked flour in a bowl with the dry ingredients and give it another good mixing.
I also don't have a tube or bundt pan. Instead I greased and floured an 9" cake pan which is 3" deep. In the center, I placed an oven proof ramekin, also greased and floured. Pretty good substitute!
Combine the wet ingredients, almond extract, zest and water. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. This takes quite a while by hand, which I find personally gratifying, but you can use a mixer. The sugar should almost be dissolved into the butter. Start adding eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each one. Roughly stir in half the flour, then pour in the wet ingredients. After another good whisking, stir in the rest of the flour. Keep whisking till the batter is creamy and shiny.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. This takes quite a while by hand, which I find personally gratifying, but you can use a mixer. The sugar should almost be dissolved into the butter. Start adding eggs, one at a time. Beat well after each one. Roughly stir in half the flour, then pour in the wet ingredients. After another good whisking, stir in the rest of the flour. Keep whisking till the batter is creamy and shiny.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place in the cold oven and turn on the heat to 350 degrees. Bake till golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean. I found 1 hour to be sufficient. On a rack, cool cake for 30 minutes or when the cake has pulled away from the sides. Run a cake spatula around the edges of the cake, both inside and outside rings, and invert on the rack to cool the rest of the way.
Notes:
I find the best way to grease the pan is to use the butter wrapper as a smearing implement.
Often, I forget to place a round of greased and floured parchment at the bottom of the pan when I'm baking cakes. Really though, this is one of the most essential steps, because I can never get the darn thing back out again. Not an issue really with a home cake like this, but could be if I was trying to make it for a party.
Notes:
I find the best way to grease the pan is to use the butter wrapper as a smearing implement.
Often, I forget to place a round of greased and floured parchment at the bottom of the pan when I'm baking cakes. Really though, this is one of the most essential steps, because I can never get the darn thing back out again. Not an issue really with a home cake like this, but could be if I was trying to make it for a party.
For inspiration, I used an Epicurious recipe, supposedly a favorite of Elvis.
Opening big with Bond/Barry smolder and dipping into my favorite big band/bepop wellsprings, all the familiar elements are alive and present in Tokyo Jihen's latest. The album glistens with Shiina's trademark melodies and space jazz improvisations, where the furious rockabilly pummeling of the drums are modulated by the nimble of tinkle of the keyboard. When the songs trend towards the obligatory, friendliness, or ballads turn nostalgic for Shiina's first grunge influenced album, I get a little twee-d out and sleepy.
Notably though, the album explores rock references with a bit earthier grit than usual (more bluesy! more funky! and way more virtuoso electric axing!), and it's this energy that seems to define the album. The chameleon-like guitarist takes front seat, channelling Rage Against the Machine chord-walls and visual-k squeals. There's a goth/hair band feel to a couple tracks, as well as unusual key shifts in Kaze ni Ayakatte Ike, which conjure up scorched velvet and sweaty basements that reek of gloamy STP.
01 - 天国へようこそ For The Disc (Tengoku he Youkoso)
02 - 絶対値対相対値 (Zettaichi Tai Soutaichi)
03 - 新しい文明開化 (Atarashii Bunmeikaika)
04 - 電気のない都市 (Denki no nai Machi)
05 - 海底に巣くう男 (Kaitei ni Sukuu Otoko)
06 - 禁じられた遊び (Kinjirareta Asobi)
07 - ドーパミント！ BPM103 (Dopamint!)
08 - 恐るべき大人達 (Osorubeki Otona Tachi)
09 - 21世紀宇宙の子 (21 Seiki Uchuu no Ko)
10 - かつては男と女 (Katsute wa Otoko to Onna)
11 - 空が鳴っている (Sora ga Natteiru)
12 - 風に肖って行け (Kaze ni Ayakatte Ike)
13 - 女の子は誰でも (Onna no Ko wa Daredemo)
BT - 天国へようこそ For The Tube (Tengoku he Youkouso)
R. Kelly, (self) proclaims that he's is bringing Love back to the R&B, a move that I've been yearning for since Next came out with Too Close. Nevermind that Robert is to blame for putting the raunch in radio... On his PG-rated, unabashedly romantic new album, the consummate crooner shows Minaj how to mimic, with loving renditions of Michael Jackson and Sade tempered with his own maudlin stylings. Occasionally, the respectability is leavened by that trademark excess, a love for silly metaphors, ridiculous narrative and warbling melisma. This time, we get to reminisce about a mournful hookup in the back seat of a Taxi. But, Kelly's obvious breadth of knowledge and affinity for the the rich history of rhythym and blues, including his own place within that history, permeates the album. While, others have been taking it back, no one has the vocal capabilities to bust out the emotional dynamism like R. Kelly can, even when he's equating great sex to lady muse-ic. Yeah, he gets a pass on that one.
Hamish Bowles monograph on the influence of regional vernacular on the Spanish designer is wonderfully detailed and much more informative than the book that was offered with the YSL exhibit.
Inspirational matador coats and resultant boleros.
The ollection included the metamorphic kelly green caterpillar/cocoon cape/dress. Flat pack capes in green (above) and yellow (shown in the book) are ingenious in their simplicity.
The ollection included the metamorphic kelly green caterpillar/cocoon cape/dress. Flat pack capes in green (above) and yellow (shown in the book) are ingenious in their simplicity.
Voluminous red silk coat.
Series of black dresses, highlighting unique forms.
Pert New Look suits and lace gowns.
Flamenco influences.
While the pieces themselves are amazing, the De Young likes to cram the fashion exhibits into a small roundabout up the main stair, lighted dramatically like a theater production. I find the pieces don't have space to breathe this way and the written descriptions get confusing in density.
Set in the chiaroscuro, neon/electricity of modern life, the artifice of the flashbulb becomes a kind of explosive club energy. But while the show gains in high impact, it loses intensity in examination. Details disappear from the picture plane when cast in harsh shadows. True, these curatorial decisions evoke Goya, and Surrealism, and high drama in atmosphere much like a bustling soiree. Perhaps this encouragement to look with the glance, to shuffle through quickly and be stunned at every moment, speaks to that. But, I expect a bit more introspection for my money at a museum. Laymen only see garments as flat pictures or illustrations, so the chance to view in person what cannot be shown on paper should not be squandered.
Compare to the superb Gres exhibit in Paris as covered by the New York Times and Stylebubble, where natural light reinforces the experiential aspect of greek naturalism. Ancient sculptures and gowns are presented together, training the eye to see the garments 3 dimensionally and encouraging slow traversal around major pieces. Furthermore, garments are displayed as half size models on stands, in spare galleries, within intimate salons, or behind glass in large boxes. From each shift, the viewer intuits the workings of the atelier, the eventual use of the garment, and the intellectual journey of the curator in preserving antiquity to find meaning in detritus.
Kumamoto, Beau Jolie Oysters
Roast Chicken with Bread Salad for two. Order an hour ahead.
Some sweet thang with cherries, grappa cream, wafers, and crunchies
