Curried Red Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard. I’m not a huge fan of curry, but I still love love this soup.

Roxy Paine’s Maelstrom installation on the Met rooftop. Last day for Vermeer and this exhibit - could barely see The Milkmaid through the crowds but the rooftop was oddly serene.

the menu:

22 pound turkey (not organic, alas, but purchased from the sustainable-minded meat market)

stuffing with leeks, apples, and lots of butter (baked in muffin tins a la kim severson)

new green bean casserole (brooklyn star recipe)

roasted winter squash and parsnips with maple syrup and marcona almonds (inspired by wonderful much depends on dinner blog)

brussels sprouts with shaved pecorino and walnuts (winging this one, inspired by last year’s successful brussels sprouts hash from bon appetit)

mashed potatoes (mom swears that boiling them in milk is the key)

celery root and meyer lemon salad (hoping to perk up those tastebuds)

cranberry-orange relish (i’m still sad about the lack of can o cranberry gelatin)

bourbon pumpkin pie (gourmet - rip - nov 2009)

gingerbread cake with lemon glaze (locanda verde via nyt)

dark chocolate tart with gingersnap crust (smitten kitchen; subbing graham crackers for ginger snaps, per mini chen’s request)

whew.

“super epic rainbow cake” by whisk kid.

Cold sunny day. Dozens of amazing food purveyors. Happy crowds. Salted caramel bourbon ice cream from the Bent Spoon. Porchetta’s porky, greasy mini sandwiches, Dickson’s chicken liver pate, Sweet Deliverance pies, Port Clyde crab claws, Great Performances’s beet chips…My ideal way to spend a Sunday. Technically I was volunteering but the height of my helpfulness was emptying two garbage cans - oh and I gave one of the Porchetta guys a hug because he looked like he needed one. I went to the first New Amsterdam market a couple years ago and it’s amazing how far it has come, really by the sheer enthusiasm and tenacity of Robert LeValva and company. Next one is December 20th - just in time for Christmas shopping

It’s not that I don’t understand basic nutrition - I really like healthy foods - but sometimes I just want a cookie. Which is why, after tonight’s yoga class, I made a nod toward antioxidants with a few bites of sauteed turnip greens and some beet chips… then proceeded to tuck into a massive Levain Bakery dark chocolate-chip cookie. The tummy ache is on the horizon but I welcome it like an old friend.

new amsterdam market at the south street seaport this sunday. amazing list of vendors, including saxelby’s cheeses, fleischer’s meats, mother-in-law’s kimchee, and mast brothers chocolate, plus food from jimmy’s no 43, marlow and sons, and luke’s lobster. and i’ll be volunteering!

this just made my morning (via bonbro)

everytime i go to soho house i feel the urge to fake a british accent. (i also feel insecure about my lack of leather jacket, louboutins, and country house.) it’s not my type of club, as much as i love the cozy lounge area and wonderchef neil ferguson. last night i had drinks at another private downtown club, norwood. despite being smack in the middle of icky fourteenth street, the six-story townhouse feels deliciously intimate. i loved the upside down treebranch chandelier hanging over the bar, the artsy patrons (older men in berets, stylish gay couples discussing interior design over champagne, smoky eyed women lounging on couches), and the toned down feel. plus there is a compact back garden that feels like a wonderful secret.

latest amazing project: the wonder city, “a graphic novel that reimagines New York’s entire history