Making friends in New York

Last Friday, I have a lunch with some new friends, and I realized how lucky I’m. In only few months I have a great friends. Is gorgeous have friends who Goes Great Together. Perhaps, Some people in life were just made for Know each Other.

Coming back to Friday, We were having a lunch together, a French girl, Japanese girl and me Brazilian girl. It’s like United Nations. We speak English. We laughs a lot with ours differences. And is like we know each other all ours life. It’s great.

Moving to another country opens up a world of opportunity for new experience and powerful friendships.

For example, my French friend is like me, she talks all the time, she has an opinion for every thing. Our friendship, started in one Charity dinner here in New York. The event is black-tie for men and women can wear long dresses. It was a delightful event. We danced a lot and we share ours visit cards. Our friendship started, when I invited them (My French friend and her Spanish husband ) to spent thanksgiving with us in our home with some another friends from Bolivia and Venezuela.

My Japanese friend I meet in NUY, she’s lovely, very nice and I don’t know why but we liked each other in the first day. And now she is like a sister for me.

My Bolivian Friend we meet in a marriage in Brazil and when I came here we saw each other, and she is great, she know all about shopping in New York, and we are thinking about work together doing some catering here in New York in her association “New York Junior League”. She does the social and I cook.

My American friend is Funny, a very good example for someone who lives in New York. She was born in France, from American Mother and Irish father. She’s catholic, and next month she’ll be marry an Indian Muslin. It’s great!!! She is very nice and she works as a critic gastronomic in NY. 

My Spanish friend, I knew in the first day on NYU presentation. She's charming and in the first day we saw that it will be a good friendship.

How you can see my adventures in New York is very complex is not only about food is  also about friendship.

 

Twins……It is impossible not to like my sister Regina. She lives in Sao Paulo with her two daughters Thais and Gabriela, husband Roberto and her dog Zidane. She is incredibly nice. “It’s true” She is the most inspiring person I have ever met. She is a huge part of my life, my every day. She has a gentleness and humanity that’s rare nowadays. 

A charmed life, there is one thing that she does very well being focused in her family, daughters, her husband and me. She's a very successful architect.

Regina is born a few minutes before her fraternal twin sister me, in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1974. Bound by birth but with widely different temperaments we grow together. The daughter’s of Maria Beatris and Francisco Diniz Junqueira were raised with a lot of love and happiness. Sharing a room. Even when an ocean separated us, even when we thought we are two, We are  only one. We complete ourselfs. Twins share special times, happy and sad days, as they are always somehow connected by that miracle of birth.

We are very closed. We are identical twins.. We studied together in the same class, and I can't imagine my life without her. Despite we are very identical. We have different characteristics. I'm more active than her, more sociable and more emotional. I love the fact that I have someone who is always by me and give me a support in all things, whatever I do. We have spent twenty-eighth years together. When she got married I was lost. Our husbands are very closed and friends. They know that we need to talk every day and also when we meet each other they know the'll not exist for one day, because we need to update ours mind. Her daughter are like mine. I’m crazy about them. They are adorable.

Finaly, she is the best wife, the best mom, the best sister and best friend. She is beautiful over and over again. It’s fun being around her. She’s like a child almost, with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.


OBS:

I met my sister during our first days of life in our mom belly. Was love in first time. 

Valentines day,

My husband and I, we have ours Valentines tradition to taste a star Michelin restaurant. This year we commemorate before the date, cause my husband will be in Japan next Thursday. This ritual we do all year since we married even before. So this year, we went to Daniels, a very nice restaurant in Upper west side. A French cuisine inspired in by the New York market. This is the moment every one dreams of, mostly a gourmand person like me. I was wondering and dreaming to go to this restaurant since I came here. So it’s a dream that came true. I’m think I’m starting to love this city. When we arrived we gave our coats, and I was wearing a lovely red dress and my husband didn’t know that in this restaurant they have a dress cod, and his wasn’t wearing a jacket!!!! Bad news!So they gave us one jacket, Uff!, my dinner was saved. There was also a couple after us that also forget the dress cod and gave also another jacket to them. I think for me was a little bit strange, but they are used to face this kind of situation so the have jackets for clients. We have a love round table in the middle of restaurant room. The food was wonderful, tastily perfect cooked. I’m lucky because my husband also asked one delicious wine that was a perfect marriage with our food. As I took as start frog legs with wild porcini mushrooms, confit leek, crisps lollipops, garlic coulis and my husband asked sea scallops with celery mousseline, bottarga and Buddha’s hand lemon vinaigrette. As main course I ate Lamb loin, artichoke barigoule (cooked in acid liquid with vegetable), with beans puree and my husband roasted veal tenderloin with creamy polenta, crisps sweetbreads and mushroom. In the end we finished with a cheese selection and apple pie, chocolate cake with almonds cream. Delicious!! It was so romantic!!! The place is gorgeous. Taste, taste, taste, it’s the best food I ate since I came here. Le service was perfect too. We finished in kitchen because I want to know how we say “Mise en place” in English. Here in USA kitchen they say preparation (Prep) when we want to do all organization, portions, before the service. Visiting the kitchen we knew the Chef Eddy Leroux a lovely person and also we was presented to the top Chef Daniel a friends of my French chef. They gave me a signed menu and invited me to cook with them, before I start to work in the new restaurant. The kitchen brigade always impresses me. It’s like orchestra where the efforts of some cooks can do a wonderful food. It was a delicious celebration. I have a great husband. We are perfect for each other; it’s the true love!!! 

Today is Friday, a lovely day,no class, 

Firstly, Preparation for my dinner.This phrase is very important in kichten!!

This evening we’ll have a special dinner.UHmmmm Gazpacho home made over a pesto sauce and brunoises tomatoes, pinholes, scallion comfits, mozzarella “burrata” and brunoises red peppers comfits, after risotto with shitake mushroom, chanterelle mushroom and porcini mushroom, for the middle 

Roquefort cheese with goiabada (a Brazilian comfiture) in the end we’ll have Italian “Panacota” a vanilla cream with raspberry fresh and compote.

This morning, I went to Chelsea Market to buy the ingredients I need. I this place and we can find good Italian food, good bread and good fish…. It’s beside Budakan, a nice Chinese restaurant in New York!!! 

When I came back I try to find another place that I thought was near there and I got lost, but I finally I find my way in the end. The problem is always the same I'm a lost girl my brain came without a Gps …Even in New York the easily city in the world … I can lost myself.

In the afternoon I prepared the dinning room table. My cousin Denise will came this evening for dinner; She is lovely and lives here about 20 years now. 

Thursday, February 09

Today was a lovely day. I waked up with good moon. I arrived at English class, the halls all quiet. In the morning we saw a lovely movie and in the afternoon started my history of New York classroom, so amazing and interesting. I met there a nice Korean girl that does Business for musical arts in NYU. She works really hard. She does Language school all mornings and college in the evenings. She has homework from both.  

This afternoon after left class I did a diagnostic with my teacher and she said that I needed to write for improve my English. So here I am. When I was arriving in home I met some old friends in street in upper west and we went to take some coffee. After I went home to do a dinner for my husband, because he arrives from Chicago today and Saturday he’ll travel again to Japan. I did a very simple tasty truffe Boudin (French sausage) with chicken sauce and mashed potatoes. When something very simple is well done is delicious. For dessert we took same French cheese and home made Tarte tatin(sort of apple pie). My husband said that the dinner was delightful. Tomorrow we will go to Daniel for Valentine day, because he’ll be no there in February, fourteen. Tomorrow will be Friday and I will do fat morning( does mean I’ll sleep until late) ! 

Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks

English is like football; you score more with a hard work.


Today I started a new book “Something Borrowed”. My new challenge is try to read one book for week.. This is a promising book.

Morning classes was ok we talked about a very depressive book called Angela. This kind of said history is good for see how luck we are. We did also a fire evacuation. For lunch I went out to lunch with Soleidade and Ayako in “Pain Quotidian” a comfort food restaurant. In the menu we can find, salads, quiches, cereals, soups, etc. I have a very good time and also we practice our English. The afternoon, I had very interesting conversation; we talked about “Cultural shock,” The feelings and experiences we can have in a new country after leaving our home. Even me one person very open-mined can be sensitive to this shock. 


Cultural Shock has phases :

1-   The Honeymoon Phase; this is a fun time. Everything is exciting.You love the differences, meeting new people, tasting new foods.

2-   The honeymoon is over Phase; your start to see the differences.You don’t like people’s attitudes, you have had enough of the food and just want mom’s. 

3-   The negotiation Phase; In this phase you decide to negotiate, and you can regain your sense humour.

4-   The all’s well, or Ok phase; We are comfortable enough to enjoy our new life. 

5-   The Reverse culture shock Phase; When its time to return to home or a new change.

It's very nice theses phases, because we can live this new experience with humor. Sometimes le different doesn’t mean good or bad but simply different.

Tuesday, February 08, 2012

Today!!! Giants Parade!!! What does mean? Super Bowl!!!  Its something very cultural like Libertadores in Brazil. Here is more important than Oscar!!!  You can imagine the greatest city in the world win. Its like when Paris Saint Germain against Olympic the Marseille. The day whem all the city of New York celebrates. And our Major Bloomberg will give them the keys of New York for congratulate the team on the win.

I was there not because I’m crazy for the Giants, No I was there simply because my English classes are there. I saw every thing by my window, and I can say The confetti rained down from the sky and there is no greater sight that seeing New York City enveloped by toilet paper. The Key’s history traces back to medieval history in Europe, when city visitors actually needed a key to get though walls and gates. But today it’s only symbolic honor and can’t open anything.

The street was crowd and with my classemates Serena and Ayako we went to eat at “Pret a Manger”. After we came back to our afternoon classes and surprise, my teacher wasn’t there because She’s a biggest Giant fan!!! If you love Giants you can look for this coolest teacher her name is Maxine.

Monday,February, 06 2012

I've just moved to New York and I want to share  my adventures in this crazy city.

 I was born in Brazil in the 1974s, and I've lived in  two different country’s like Spain and France. I have a twin sister Regina, even if we grow up together we have a widely different temperaments and now we live in different country’s. I'm married with a lovely French guy named Xavier, and we have a bizarre language in home. I speak Portuguese with him and he French. We decided to speak each one the maternal language to not have the misunderstood. I'm here because my husband has been transferred from Paris to New York to assume a new position.

I'm a chef; I used to work in Paris in a Palace in Vendome square. I've worked there for 8 years and now I'm here for a new experience. I was very said to live Paris, because I've learned to love this city and I've just bought a new apartment that I've spent a year to renovate and I've lived there only 6 months and we received the news that must leave to 

New York. So in November 2011 we moved and now I'm here!!!

In the beginning was very difficult, "I felt like a fish out of water". We decided to bring with us every things like furniture’s, lamps, pictures, and we did by boat. The difficult was that we first put ours things in boat and after choose our apartment that was quite difficult because we needed an apartment that we can put all ours stuff inside. So, I've visited a 30 apartments and we loved just 2 of them. Then were in west side and another in uptown. In the process, for both buildings, they asked to provide letters of reference because these apartments were coop apartments, and this kind of rent is quite complex. We were lucky because we had a very good broker and very nice friends that made letters and in the end we were accepted. Now we are really new Yorkers and we live in upper west side, a quite nice neighborhood. 
   The next steep to live in New York was find the best places to buy food. Yes Food. To cook is a very important word for me so even if the kitchens in New York are small. The only thing I love as much as cooking is traveling. So something very important for cook is INGREDIENTS. We can’t do a great meal with second-class ingredients. We must seek out the best. So I started a new adventure, find the similar ingredients I had in French, here!!! I decided to follow the Zagat guide and try to find the best foods shops in New York. The idea was pretty nice because I found myself with a challenge, and for the first time I stopped to feel sorry to myself and now I try to get back my life. I explored every week one section, neighborhood. I was surprised that we can find very good ingredients in New York and the most surprising is that we can find every thing in this city. Nothing is impossible here!!!There are very nice places like “Lobel’s” a very nice to buy meat in upper east,” Raffetto's” a makers of fresh pasta in Houston street, “Murray's” a nice cheese market in Bleecker street, “Lobster Place” a seafood market at Chelsea market, a lovely place called “Eataly” a shopping center for Italian food in Flatiron neighborhood, “Fairway” and “Cittarella” in upper west, “Agate and Valentine” in upper east side, “Dean and Deluca”, “the Sullivan Bakery” in theater district 47th, “Petrosian” in fifty avenue, etc.... 
   So the next steep was learn English, so I went to explore the University’s like Columbia, Hunter and NYU. In the end I choose NYU so I'm here now writing this blog that is Homework for this school and a new challenge because I’ve never write a blog before. So here one last thing I'd like to mention. Enjoy your days in New York City.

The Bucher in New York

As a chef my challenge in the last 30 days was to find in New York the best place to by meat. Firstly it was hard because not everyone has the same taste as you. So I try to ask different people. The good think is that I learned a lot how worked the subway lines and buses in this city. One day I finally found the best butcher in New York, ''Lobel's" at Madison Avenue. Immediately I asked some information and I placed my order for the next Thursday. I asked for a Lamb saddle, a Veal scallops and some slice of Beef Carpaccio.

Thursday I was in NYU doing my test when my husband called. When I finished my test I called him back and he asked me "how I could spent a lot of money5 in a butcher store?" I was surprised because when I placed my order, I was so happy to find that wonderful store that I forgot to ask the price!! So I said I was very sorry but as Chef a need to use the best ingredients. He laughed and said, "Next time please ask the price before!!". The dinner was wonderful, the lamb was softy and very tasty. Everyone face was like shine. My husband was very happy and I was forgiven.

The next day, everyone writes to say how tasty was the lamb.

My conclusion is that is important know how to cook, but the most important is the good ingredients.