Blooming Lovely, Orange Blossom Champagne Cocktail with a Dash of Peychaud by Julia Charles from Summer Fizz, Over 100 Recipes for Refreshing Sparkling Cocktails (Ryland Pteres & Small, May 2022) Blooming Lovely Recipe by Julia Charles, Photograph by Alex Luck © Ryland Peters & Small Orange blossom extract has an indefinable flavor that isn’t exactly floral, so it adds intrigue to this elegant spritzer. Use a pink Champagne, if liked. Ingredients: 4 dashes of Peychaud’s... Continue reading

Bathe your seafood in liquid fire, Kinilaw from Under Coconut Skies by Yasmin Newman (Smith Street Books, October 2021). Taste the Philippines! Catch of the day with coconut vinegar, makrut lime & coriander oil Kinilaw ‘It may well be our national food,’ wrote Doreen Gamboa Fernández, not of adobo, but kinilaw. The Filipino food historian was enamoured with the combination of seafood bathed briefly in native vinegar – liquid fire as she called it –... Continue reading

Red hot chilli peppers meet Lamb Rogan for this 3rd Dip of 50 Easy Indian Curries (Smith Street Books, March 22) by Penny Chawla, the self styled 'curry queen' of Sydney. Lamb Rogan Josh Serves 4 A famed dish from the beautiful state of Kashmir, the fiery red colour of rogan josh comes from the chillies that are added in generous quantities. Rogan josh is usually cooked with tomatoes, but they are omitted here to... Continue reading

Trade nightmares for Night of Ideas on Saturday May 21 2022 in 19 US Cities from Atlanta to Washington DC via New Orleans) and 100 Countries, Brooklyn for me. Brooklyn Program in a Nutshell: All will then gather for a marathon of talks, musical performances, screenings, and lively forums at Brooklyn Public Library, headlined by a performance from Patti Smith. Programming includes Goncourt Prize-winning novelist Leïla Slimani, Director of the Lenape Center Joe Baker, Chief... Continue reading

Easter for me as a child equalled chocolate bunnies and friture. In 2022 mother hen runs the roost, thanks to La Poule de Paques, courtesy of Parisian classic shop A La Mere De Famille Easter collection. It's been all of 11 years since I shared a prehistoric Easter creation of theirs with Have a Jurassic Paques, Bite a Chocolate Dinosaur, Happy Easter! (April 24, 2011) Continue reading

For a 3rd and last helping from Otsumami by Atsuko Ikeda (published by Ryland Peters & Small, 2022), here is Takoyaki, an Osaka street food staple. TAKOYAKI, FRIED ROUND DUMPLINGS STUFFED WITH OCTOPUS Along with okonomiyaki, takoyaki are probably one of the most famous Osakan street foods, but you can also find them everywhere across Japan. They are little round balls of batter, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and stuff ed with... Continue reading

Rub the fish! Here are second dibs from 50 Easy Indian Curries (Smith Street Books, March 22) by Penny Chawla, the self styled 'curry queen' of Sydney. Bengali Fish Curry Serves 4 Bengalis love their fish. Whether it’s served for lunch or dinner, at an engagement or wedding, fish will always appear on the menu. This recipe is one of the simplest to make. The mustard paste gives the dish a slight wasabi-like kick, without... Continue reading

Tasting to buying Armenia in under 5 Minutes, Aran Wines 'Voskehat' from Sarafian Vineyards. Voskehat, which translates to golden berry, is a late ripening native white varietal. My express tasting found it to be rounded with some tart notes on the finish. This, my first taste of Armenian wine ever, was pure serendipity. The winery owners were present for an in-store tasting. Continue reading

Blooming flower of a dim sum dumpling, Ika Shumai, squid bites we serve from Otsumami by Atsuko Ikeda (published by Ryland Peters & Small, 2022) IKA SHUMAI SQUID DUMPLINGS Shumai are the steamed dumpling favorites at dim sum restaurants. They are traditionally Chinese, but this particular version is definitely Japanese and actually comes from my hometown, Yobuko in Kyushu. This town is known for its fish market and particularly for the translucent squid or ika... Continue reading

365 Days and 50 Easy Indian Curries! Under the weather, try Moong Dal, our first share from 50 Easy Indian Curries (Smith Street Books, March 22) by Penny Chawla, the self styled 'curry queen' of Sydney. Moong Dal Serves 4–6 Moong dal is a staple in every Indian home, and will be made differently depending on which part of India you are in. If you’re feeling under the weather, you can't go wrong with a... Continue reading

A British Italian bridge, Kani Zosui is sort of a cross between risotto and porridge. This Crab Meat Rice Recipe is the first taste we share from Otsumami by Atsuko Ikeda (published by Ryland Peters & Small, 2022) KANI ZOSUI CRAB MEAT RICE Zosui is something between a risotto and a porridge. It is usually enjoyed at the end of a nomikai or work drinks party to finish the meal. There are various types of... Continue reading

Our venture Mediterranean Work & Play is in the news via 'Future of Work Briefing'. We shared with Matthew Parsons of Skift some 'preventive medicine' for burnout that 'Mediterranean Work & Play' offers with stays in Occitanie, France, from Toulouse to Perpignan... Read more in Travel Outfits Offer Solutions to Companies for Pandemic Worker Burnout (Skift, January 14, 2022) Share your comments on LinkedIn... Continue reading

Troglodytes Homes And Castle in the Sky 2 Vignettes from Foix, in Ariege, if you know where Ariege is on the French map, captured by yours truly, early November 2021. Continue reading

This is not a lesson you most probably will learn in college. Seismic monitors can become a must have installed on New York City construction sites near subways, especially elevated lines. New lessons learned daily for Concierge Mondays #23 Continue reading

Putting new windows in your apartment or house, buying a new air conditioning unit as weather heats up, picking a mover that will not damage your furniture or the front door of your new digs, cheaper is not always the wise option. Better spend a little more once than a little less twice! Minding the money for Concierge Mondays # 22 Continue reading

Walk into the storm andstroll around Hakkaido with illustrator and digital artist Mateusz Urbanowicz, Polish born, based in Tokyo. I picked Into the Storm for 2 reasons. First here in New Jersey as I write this thunderstorms are on the way, second it in a way illustrates our walk into (and hopefully through) the Covid storm. The stroll around Hokkaido, spoke to me through its ink illustrations. The small Hokkaido in Ink book contains 30... Continue reading

After receiving a bid on a home fix, a mover (especially if your new place is a long distance away), a body shop repair, slow down before making a decision. First of all get at least 2 estimates, if possible get your estimates from people that friends or colleagues recommended. If your plate is full and your mind is tired, it is one more reason to slow the decision process. Bids and estimates might be... Continue reading

Right Location, Rich Mix from Paintings to Distinct Clothing and Garden Fare Make for Successful Yard Sale As in retail, you will get buyers, not just passing by visitors , if you have the right ingredients and not just a mass of things for people to dig through the piles. How to Not have Just Another Yard Sale? Concierge Mondays # 20 Continue reading

Summer lunch up North (meaning Scandinavia) has seafood rillettes on the menu. Like this Smoked Mackerel Rillettes With Rye Crisps recipe from ScandiKitchen: Midsommar: Simply Delicious Food for Summer Days (Ryland Peters & Small, 2018, 2021) by Brontë Aurell, co-owner of ScandiKitchen in West London. Smoked Mackerel Rillettes With Rye Crisps This is a super-easy way to prepare an appetizer or light lunch. Rillettes are a coarse, potted meat similar to pâté that are stirred... Continue reading

Into The Woods, want to wander off off Paris, here's a map of natural parks and wooded areas around Paris. Carte des Bois via Enlarge Your Paris Continue reading

Will online marketplaces soon be flooded with 'For Sale' breadmakers and Peloton (Interactive) bikes? Will people start interacting with other people instead? With warmer days and people starting to trickle back or being tricked back (at least part time) to the office, time will tell! Not so new shiny objects for Concierge Mondays # 19 Continue reading

Being a liaison could become prominent concierge role for me in this getting past covid period. After reading number of articles on what 'back at the office' might mean, most of us are still muddling through this, it appears that ferrying things (documents, supplies, and more) from main office to satellite ones and same to and from 'working from home' team members could be a prominent activity in my New Jersey Concierges line of work.... Continue reading

Whether you are moving, need to empty part of your house or apartment for a home improvement project, or just running out of space for some of your possessions, many of us do, pick up a facility that has a drive in garage or loading room with direct elevator access to your storage space. Temperature control is also part of the basic requirements so none of your items suffer during their time in storage. If... Continue reading

Make the message fit on a very small birthday cake, shrink It! More small studio than penthouse! Cake and portion control for Concierge Mondays # 16 Continue reading

Crustacean eating red mullet makes for smooth pink Whole Thai Fish Skewers, a recipe from Skewered: Recipes for Fire Food on Sticks from Around the World by Marcus Bawdon (© Dog ‘n’ Bone, April 27, 2021) WHOLE THAI FISH SKEWERS I’m a lover of red mullet and I think it’s much under-rated by a lot of folk. It’s a lovely pink, smooth-skinned fish, and the flesh is delicate with a shellfish flavor from all the... Continue reading