P.S.

If you shop at my Whole Foods, I owe you an apology. I cleaned them out of Meyer lemons today. I took all but three, I think.

The basket kept getting smaller and I was scared there wouldn't be any left next time I shopped so I just kept filling my bag. "Just one more," I would say. "One more." Six pounds later I finally stopped. A woman near the bananas looked at me funny. The cashier raised her eyebrow. I just smiled, visions of tarts, curds, and preserves dancing in my head.

Oh! And do you like my beautiful new bowl? Look out for it in my blog posts over the next few days. There is a story behind it...

My First Week

My first week in business is officially complete and I could not be happier! I got eight orders in--five through the site plus three outside--and the results have all been wonderful. The first few orders were delivered yesterday and I'm shipping out a second batch on Monday. The Italian Rainbows have the been the crowd favorite, but I've also sold two orders of ginger financier madeleines and got my first local commission for a custom Italian Rainbow cake to be delivered on Monday afternoon.

Even more exciting (well, to me at least): my custom boxes and special tissue paper arrived this morning! They actually arrived at some point yesterday afternoon, but my super was holding them hostage while I was out spending way too much money at Club Monaco (latest store obsession). For the packaging, I picked out a beautiful, high-quality shoe box-style box covered in glossy white paper and two beautiful reams of waxed food-grade tissue in chocolate brown and hot pink.

The cookies will fit nicely nestled into the perfectly-sized box and it's sturdy enough to help keep them from getting crushed in transit. I'm toying with the idea of ribbons or some kind of bow situation. More about that later...

I also had a set of shop labels custom-made with my store name and website in pink, brown, and white lettering and damask from another fabulous Etsy seller. I am (impatiently) looking forward to receiving those on Monday so that I can include them with the next batch of orders. The designer sent me a proof last week and I'm delighted with the results. I think they'll look perfect with the boxes and tissue paper colors. See for yourself... Positively edible, right?!

Business cards courtesy of Moo.com are next on the agenda as are a few more marketing ideas. I've been telling everybody about the store and am looking forward to some promised orders for next week. Even my father, who (like me) is a Harry & David addict, decided to use my little shop to send some spring gifts to some of his bosses and colleagues over at 30 Rock. We're talking corporate bigwigs here, and if there is one thing that I've learned from growing up with a news anchor dad is that NY isn't Hollywood. TV people *love* to eat. So fingers crossed on that!

The treats are the most important part, of course. I'm still tweaking the menu selections, but have recently added my flourless tortes into the mix and am working out a Springtime version, just perfect for Easter, of my rainbow cookies made with lemon curd between the pastel-colored almond sponge layers and all topped off with rich white chocolate frosting. Yum! I'm offering special rush availability on these so that you can get them in time by Easter as long as you order by 6 PM on Tuesday so head on over to the store to get your order in now!

As a reminder, this is the LAST week to get your entries in to win a FREE batch of these incredible cookies, now available in my beautiful custom gift boxes. You can read the detailed rules here, but the short version is: send me your absolute favorite food scene from a novel, story, or poem, along with the reference and you'll be entered to win. Mention the contest on your blog, website, or MySpace/Facebook profile and you'll get extra chances. No purchase necessary; all I want is your yummy food scenes. E-mail me at alwaysorderdessert (at) gmail (dot) com with "Contest Submission" in the subject line.

As for what else I've been up to... Well, I've got some overdue recipes that I need to post. Look for them over the coming days. I'll be back-dating them to save room for new stuff, but will add the links here so you can find easily.

Thank God for the Corner Bodega

I turn into something of a hedonist the moment I enter a grocery store. I can even feel the change as I get closer and closer. The store I frequent most is the Whole Foods located in the basement of a fancy complex near my office. I always start out with a clear purpose, walking quickly while bracing against the wind, mentally telling myself that "I'm only picking up a couple things--some chicken breasts, a few vegetables, perhaps a bit of ham." I plan out sensible meals, well-budgeted meals that will keep me fed and happy for the duration of the week.

And then I step onto the escalator.

Something happens to me in those 40 seconds as I descend into the bustling store. All sense of reason and propriety seem to drift out of me, only to be replaced by some kind of epicurean insanity. Once in the store, I pull off my big fur hat and shove my gloves in my giant purse. These are deposited in the cart (never a basket) and off I go!

Darting through the aisles in no particular order. Sea scallops! Do I get 5 or 6? Enough for a meal...oh no...I need an entire pound. And I'll take a bag of mussels too... Thick slabs of cured bacon from the butcher. Fresh Italian sausage (spicy and sweet). A few veal shanks. Some tenderloin. And a bit of prosciutto while we're at it (imported; never domestic).

Blood oranges (get them while I can...) And Meyer lemons! As many as possible (they won't be around for long, after all...) Olive oil! I could just go with the perfectly decent Whole Foods brand, but why when there are so many other gorgeous (expensive) options. And why not grab a bottle of white truffle oil while I'm at it? And perhaps some walnut oil, too? The spices are next: a few vanilla beans, some saffron, smoked paprika, pink peppercorns, fleur de sel... You know! The basics...

I'm a sucker for preserved fish: smoked salmon fillets, peppered herring, cans of sardines, and a jar or two of imported tuna--ventresca cut, of course. Those buttery chunks straight from the belly of the tuna packed in rich olive oil. Mmmm... (Oh...never mind the mercury!).

On to the refrigerator case where I stock up on pates, freshly marinated artichokes, creamy logs of goat cheese, and--my favorite--half-sours. Oh yes...those glorious green quasi-cucumbers bobbing around in the briny water. God! They even *look* crisp!

On to the cheeses--a tiny wheel of brie, of course. Some English cheddar. A wedge of parmeggiano for grating. Maybe some pecorino or manchego (don't forget the quince paste and marcona almonds!).

And somehow I'm back in produce--I grab some red pepper, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Then the herbs: cilantro, some parsley, a few sprigs of rosemary, some fresh bay leaves, and my current favorite herb: lemon-thyme. Try it! It's citrus-scented thyme (and it's completely natural). Really---I think it's quite possibly the only reason why chicken even exists: mash into butter and stuff it under the skin of a well-washed roaster. Some kosher salt. A few generous cracks of pepper. You'll thank me...

By now I'm guessing you see the trend? I subsist off one gigantic antipasto platter! I lug these spoils home in those ugly but wonderfully convenient recycled bags with the long handle that fits perfectly over my arm. My shoulders usually feel like they're going to fall off by the time I get off my train, but nothing--NOTHING--beats that fantastic feeling after I put all the food away and realize that I have everything I need to make several incredible meals.

Um...everything but eggs. And milk. Butter. Trash bags... Damn! Where did I put the keys again?

Pink Noodles and Super Mayonnaise: Shopping at the Sunrise Mart

In the movie Hook, (yes, that Robin Williams debacle) there is a scene where Peter and the Lost Boys sit around a table with rumbling tummies and empty plates dreaming up the delicious treats they wish they could be eating. Their imaginations are so strong that it isn't long before the plates are piled high with cakes and meats and strangely colored porridges that they wolf down and flick across the table at each other as lost boys are wont to do. I've been thinking about that scene quite a bit lately since I started browsing the magnificent food por(n)tal, Tastespotting, during my lunch hour. I find myself wishing that, like Robin and the lost boys, I could will my average work cafeteria meals into some of the incredible dishes that stream by on that site.

I go there for inspiration, ideas, and pure entertainment. I'm completely dazzled by some of the images I see pop up and am quite proud to have had a couple of my own (mediocre) photos included in the line-up. While browsing the site a few days ago, my eyes were immediately drawn to a gorgeous bouquet of pink noodles. I followed the link to Cake Wardrobe's blog where I read her post about finding these ume plum udon noodles among the racks at a cool Japanese grocery store located around the corner from St. Mark's Place. Her descriptions were so exciting that I instantly decided to pay the market a visit.

I went on Sunday. After brunch with a friend in Chelsea, I made my way east towards the village. I had very vague directions, (only the name of the store and that it was "near St. Mark's Place.") and so it took a bit of wandering before I finally stumbled around a corner and found myself at the entrance to the Sunrise Mart.

The store is located at 4 Stuyvesant Street, right above the St. Mark's Bookshop. You have to take an elevator to the second floor and the moment the doors open, it's as if you've left New York. The store bustles with people: older Japanese men and women shopping slowly, NYU hipsters loading up on candy and fresh sushi, and a disproportionately high number of mom's pushing baby strollers (seriously, it's like a Japanese Park Slope in there). Even though I told myself that I was only there to buy some of those pink ume noodles, I somehow found myself reaching for a basket and checking to make sure they accept credit cards (they do). The basket filled up quickly, as I indiscriminately tossed in anything that struck my fancy. As everything is labeled in Japanese, it's almost impossible to know what you're buying without reading the mandatory English nutritional labels stuck over the back of everything (thank you FDA), but even then it's kind of a guessing game.

I love puzzles, so it was just the thing to get the ideas flowing. "I'll make green tea ice cream!" I thought as I threw in a pricey bag of ground Matcha powder. I followed the Matcha with a pound of ginger root, a bag of fiery-looking dried chiles, some rice flour and red bean paste to make daifuku (mochi cakes filled with red bean paste--an idea inspired by the cute little PacMan-like mochi on Peko's Kyoto Foodie blog). Never having actually tasted daifuku before, I made sure to pick out a plump little premade one from the fridge to serve as a guide. I also grabbed a little package of quail eggs (a dozen for two dollars--Whole Foods sells them at 1 dollar each), a package of pink noodles, and a little box of gorgeous cherry blossom tea that "blooms" when you pour hot water over it. From the snack aisle I picked out a box of chocolate candy sticks and a plastic container full of teriyaki flavored nori snacks. The item that I am most excited about, however, was found in the refrigerated section in the back: a squooshy squeeze bottle of "Super Mayonnaise." Super! Mayo! And it comes with a star tip! I'm already giddy about the possibilities...


The Details:

Sunrise Mart
Japanese Specialty Foods

4 Stuyvesant Street, Second floor
New York City, NY 10003

Hours: 11a-10p