It he-ere...

That 's right! Local okra is just beginning to show up at the Greenmarket, and I couldn't be happier. I haven't had any of these delicious, slime-filled pods in nearly a year. Back in Alabama okra isn't just a right of summer, it's a way of life. Every day, from mid-June to late August, okra found it's way onto my menus one way or another. It could have been sliced, fried and snuggled up to a grilled pork loin with tomato chutney. Or simmering away with it's summertime bed fellows- tomatoes, corn and butterbeans- in the season's perfect succotash. Maybe even pickled and served with a spicy raw fish preparation. nAnyway it's done, okra is always welcome on my plate.

Needless to say my excitement at the market spilled over to the kitchen. This first recipe is a nod to okra's own humble roots. With flavors and textures borrowed from it's original home in west Africa, this dish is spicy, smoky, rich and a little tart all at once.

Tomato and Okra Stew

Friday Market Report

It's seems the big story at the market today is that this weekend last call for cherries. So, I followed the signs and started buying. As I countinued to walk to market, carrying bags full deep red sweet little fruits- I began to think, had I just fallen for the oldest trick in the book? The 'order in the next thirty minutes', 'limited edition', 'get 'em before they're gone' sales tactic?

Feeling like I'd just been duped, I stopped to chat with the good folks from Cheerful Cherry Farms. Here's what I found out- the majority of the farms at the market are from Jersey and they are pretty much done with cherries for the season. The Cheerful Cherry, however, is in upstate New York and they think that they've got at least one more week with sweet cherries and 2-3 more weeks with sour cherries. So if you don't make the market this weekend, don't worry- local cherries are going, going, but they're not quite gone... yet.

Either way I've got my cherries now and this weekend I'm starting to put them up so I can still be enjoying local cherries while the leaves are falling.

Summer Cocktails

I'm getting ready for lazy summer afternoons with some delicious and refreshing cocktails. But I want my drinks just like my food- fresh, seasonal and unique. So I went to the greenmarket, then hit the liquor store. After I got home, I dug out my trusty "moonshine jars" and started infusing.

This is really fun and simple way to make original drinks that will impress all of your guests, let your imagination run wild. There's only one hard part- will power. It's not easy (for me, at least) to let these jars sit undisturbed in a cool dark place for 2+ weeks. This will definitely be the first time a bottle of bourbon has stood a chance at survivng in my cupboard for over a week.

Here's the line-up left to right:

Bourbon with Sweet Cherries- for the perfect Old Fashioned or Manhattan (pit the cherries before hand to give them more surface and so you won't have worry about choking on cherry pits after your third cocktail)

Light Rum with Pinapple- I'm thinking pineapple soda, lots of lime juice and maybe a little mint

Tequila with Watermelon and Lime- two words- Watermelon Margaritas!

Vodka with Basil- I know it sounds weird, but this is delicious. A splah of club soda, a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lime is all it takes.

Now, to sit and wait.....

Southern Hospitality

Last week Justin Timberlake opened a restaurant on the Upper East Side called 'Southern Hospitality,' on 2nd Ave between 76 and 77. I had the opportunity to spend a couple days in the kitchen with the staff helping them get those flavors of the South just so. Check out the clip from Good Morning America, and keep an eye out for the kid in the green hat around 2:05... but don't blink, you might miss it!

Opening Night- I snuck out of the kitchen to snap this photo of the crowd gathered on 2nd Ave. to witness history- the first celeb-studded red carpet to grace the entrance to of a bbq joint. Inside I helped feed mac n' cheese, fried catfish and baby back ribs to jessica biel, jay-z and seth green (among many others). Sorry I missed the shot JT playing 'Golden Tee' just before customers arrived.

In the Kitchen with JT

Check out the video from Good Morning America, fast forward to 2:13- and look for the famous green hat. The opening team asked me to lend a hand, and a little Southern-know-how to the kitchen as the restaurant was getting off the ground.