Album opener “The Crows Fly Back After The Storm” cruises open with a flittering ambiance before the disco synths and grooving bass unexpectedly drop in alongside swirling melodies and warbled Diana Ross-sampled vocals that rise and fall as if emerging and descending through water. It’s followed by the track that initially caught my attention, “Little Clique”, which features a blinking, busted-out groove and a steady, building rhythm that deconstructs and rearranges a snippet of borrowed vocals chanting “they don’t mean a thing.” The stuttering and high energy groove of “Flossy” builds upon the speed-laced and distorted vocals of Sylvia Striplin’s “Give Me Your Love”. And that’s just the first three tracks with plenty of other highlights along the course of the LP including the strobe-lit jam “Róisín and Aoife”, the ambiant and clattering “Winflowers”, and the chopped up melody on “Ross”.

Today you’ll notice that my lovely and extremely talented wife is featuring a recipe for Cafe Du Monde Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks (Uhm, YES!). I’d tell you how awesome and tasty and perfect for warm weather that recipe is, but it’s so obvious it’d probably sound like I was being condescending. After all, we’re talking about ice cream, coffee and chocolate. Oh, and if this were a New York Times crossword puzzle, your clue for this recipe would be: “Pairs well with Ghibli’s Rare Pleasures“. After all, the album is as sweet and cooling as a double-dipped cone, but given the right environment it’ll have you on your feet and spastically waving your arms and legs like you just pounded a whole pot of New Orleans’ styled black coffee.

Ghibli – Little Clique
Ghibli – Ross

Go visit Kasey for a delicious scoop of Cafe Du Monde Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks. Buy Rare Pleasures on limited-edition cassette from Crash Symbols or download the album digitally for free. Even better, do both.

To love a city is to get involved in a complicated relationship. It means to persevere in the face of inconveniences — stairs and cobblestones, small aisle ways and laundromats. The thrill of city life is knowing that the best is always out there, but the worst is always out there, too.

I’ve been a city dweller now for much longer than I was a suburbanite and while my feelings waiver, I’m still enchanted. I love the wonders of new restaurants, bars, and coffee shops constantly opening and closing, and the excitement of getting dressed up to be seen (whether it’s just at the park or at a party). People still flee from the city, but many come back. I’ve seen it happen.

The American city, like America itself, does not have a single face. A few years ago, I visited a friend in New Orleans, a city I did not see prior to the massive destruction it endured in the form of Hurricane Katrina. But, only a few years after the horrible event, this city was in a state of rebuilding. But it wasn’t just rebuilding its infrastructure, it was rebuilding its character, its businesses, its people, its food, its music.

I discovered a city that was nothing like any city I had ever been in. There was something hanging in the air, and it wasn’t just the moisture. It was a fierce presence behind a thick layer of Southern Charm; I’d never before been called ‘baby’ by a stranger, and curiously, I did not mind. Even their coffee tasted different. Laced with chicory, Cafe Du Monde‘s coffee is a New Orleans institution.

A major tourist attraction in its own right, the main square location is packed to the gills, and the waiters run an endless supply of milky coffee and hot, fried beignets dunked in powdered sugar. Despite the heat, I still remember the euphoric feeling of dipping fried dough into a cup of coffee that instantly became showered in sugar. All those metal napkin containers, sprinkled across every table, could hardly stop the mess from happening. When you eat a beignet at Cafe Du Monde, fact is: you will get covered in powdered sugar.

My trip was brief, but my memories have lingered, and so has a tin of Cafe Du Monde coffee that I discovered at a local grocery store and immediately purchased, not because I love the taste of it (truth is, I prefer our San Francisco standbys: Blue Bottle, Four Barrel and Sightglass) but because it was the rediscovery of this city I loved; a great American city.

I used it to make ice cream, steeping the flavorful ground beans using a recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. As the ice cream spun and spun, I poured in some melted, dark chocolate, which quickly hardened and broke into what Jeni calls ‘chocolate freckles.’ Despite the lack of heat, humidity, and that Southern Charm, I tried to relive that moment in time, as I so often do through food.

Cafe Du Mond Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate ‘Freckles’
adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
*makes 1 quart

We were so thrilled to work with the fine folks (including Jeni herself!) of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on a collaboration for the May Pairings Box. Jeni’s cookbook recently won the prestigious James Beard Award. Frankly, I could adapt her ice cream recipes every week. If you don’t already own the cookbook, I would strongly recommend you get it (and an ice cream maker, if you don’t already have one). Homemade ice cream is one of the best things in life. Although we are completely sold out of the May Pairings Box, you can subscribe starting with the June Pairings Box.

2 1/2 cups of whole or reduced fat milk
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
3 tablespoons of cream cheese, at room temperature
pinch of fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of light corn syrup
heaping 1/3 cup of Cafe Du Mond coffee (or another dark-roast ground coffee)

For the chocolate chunks:
4 ounces of high-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
2. Combine the rest of the milk, sugar, cream, and corn syrup in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat and boil for four minutes before removing from the heat.
3. Stir in the ground coffee and let steep for five minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, lined with a cheese cloth. Squeeze the ground coffee inside the cheese cloth to release as much liquid as possible. Then, toss the coffee in the cheesecloth and pour the strained mixture back into the pot.
4. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry, then bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring the mixture, until it begins to thicken (this should take about one minute).
5. Transfer the ice cream base into 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag and seal tightly. Place the bag in an ice bath (fill a large bowl with cold water and ice) and let sit until completely cooled (about 30 minutes).
6. Melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
7. Transfer the ice cream base to an ice cream maker, and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is relatively thick and creamy, slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate. It will harden and break up into small pieces as the ice cream continues to churn for another few minutes. Break up any large chunks of chocolate, then transfer the ice cream to a storage container with a tight-fitting lid. Press a sheet of parchment paper directly over the ice cream, cover, and freeze for at least four hours.

Musical Pairings: Ghibli – Rare Pleasures + Cafe Du Monde Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate ‘Freckles’

More on the Turntable.

Cat Power – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
Radiohead – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
Ryan Adams – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)

Which of these takes tops the list? If you haven’t seen it before, even Jay-Z covered the track live.  To be honest, as much as I love Jay-Z, his version sounds like painfully bad karaoke. If you’re curious, you can see that here.

I owe you an apology. Los Angeles’ producer Danny Choi emailed me his simmering, minimalist groove “Blow” back at the very end of March. It was love at first listen. I take my job of sharing the best grooves that I find very seriously, but somehow I let this gem slip through my fingers nonetheless. Later, when traveling to Ohio for Mother’s Day, the track popped up on my playlist. I fell in love all over again. Not only that, when I got home and looked up Ghost Loft, I discovered he had a second sexy groove titled “Seconds.” You’re gonna like this. Better late than never, yah?

Ghost Loft – Seconds
Ghost Loft – Blow

You can hear a few more jams by Ghost Loft on his Soundcloud page.

A few months ago, my friend Danielle and I decided to come together for a creative collaboration. I had written a little essay about food, music and the life that Matt and I share together, and we thought it would be fun to give a little visual perspective to it. I knew I would ask Danielle if she wanted to shoot some photos to bring my words to life.  We decided to invite a few friends over for dinner, create a beautiful table setting, play some records, and capture the experience that I describe in my essay — the way that food and music, together, play such a vital role in my relationship with my husband, as well as my relationship with my friends. We, and I would guess many of you, connect through taste and sound; it is what makes our home feel like home. Danielle is a talented photographer and food stylist and we’ve gotten to know each other well through blogging, so the collaboration came together very naturally. Danielle and her husband, Matthieu, were largely behind the scenes of our photoshoot, which included our friends/neighbors Hannah and Jeff. But, as the light turned to dusk, we lit some candles, crowded around our (old and small) kitchen table as a group of six, and kept the wine flowing. There was plenty of cheese, cold cuts, olives, and chickpea stew. As Matt flipped record after record on our turntable, we let ourselves get lost in conversation.

Below is my essay, The Soundtrack of Our Life, and a few of the photos Danielle took over the course of the evening. Be sure to hop on over to her beautiful site, Beyond [the Plate], for more photos.

In our home, the rhythm of life beats to song. Whether it’s just the two of us, we’re having friends over for dinner, or throwing a party, silence is never an option. But it is silence, precisely, which I find myself in, whenever I am home alone. In solitude, I turn to cooking in silence.

My husband is an avid vinyl record collector; his records inch out my cookbooks day by day. He listens to music in all forms — digitally, on vinyl, and CD — and in our home, we play a mix of all three. When we are cooking in the kitchen together, we start with the A side of a vinyl record and when Matt hears the hissing sound of the record spinning, playing nothing at all, he quickly washes his hands, runs to the record player, and flips to the other side. Our evenings often start with him asking, ‘Any requests?’ Some days, I am particular; ‘The Decemberists!’ I’ll say. Others, I’m nostalgic — ‘Beirut!’ and others still, I let him run his fingers over a dozen new additions to his collection and pop something on that’s completely unique.

After returning from a trip, Matt lugs along his vintage finds; cumbia and tango, jazz and instrumental. We relive those trips in the cozy confines of our long kitchen, where we bump elbows as we chop, reach for pots, and maneuver our various kitchen gadgets.

There is no party or gathering in our home without a soundtrack. Carefully curated, and artfully executed. Early guests gravitate towards the red-laquered turntable which plays the evening’s early tracks. A mood is created. An ambiance, of sorts. As voices elevate and windows open to let in extra air into our second floor apartment, the music changes, too. We switch to digital and more bass. Music is never far from Matt’s mind, even when he is circling the room, I’ll see him pause and evaluate the status of his setup. He lights up when someone asks him what’s playing, or makes a request.

The convivial nature of our home, and what makes it a place where we create, share, feed and entertain our friends and family, is inherently tied to our two loves: food and music. And, to my surprise, cooking alone — without music — reiterates just how closely connected the two are for me, and how intertwined music is with cooking, and sharing, and creating a space where people want to connect and reflect.

I am, by nature, a social person. When I find myself alone, I turn inward, but I continue to cook, refusing to give in to a bachelorette lifestyle. I pick up fresh vegetables and put on my apron. I preheat the stove and spray down the counters. I turn on a candle. But I never turn on the music. I rush through the process. I’m not as meticulous with my measurements, I’m unafraid of extra salt and a random spice. And I sit over my bowl because, alone, it’s always something eaten out of a bowl. I listen to the silence, reminding myself that the music is the kinship that I miss. It is what makes whatever is in my bowl have meaning, energy, passion, and a beat.

1. Rhubarb Mojito by Ashley from Not Without Salt
2. Flower arrangement by Studio Choo
3. Dress by Emerson Fry
4. Croque Monsieur French Toast Bake, prepared by Jewels of New York, photograph via Sunday Suppers

I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan of brunch (I much prefer splitting my breakfast and lunch into two separate meals). But, I LOVE brunch food, and as my friend Tracy reminded me, so do many moms I know. With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I thought I’d devote a Stylish in the Kitchen post to my favorite lady, my mom. My mom is a pretty stylish woman; she has more shoes than me, and a bolder sense of style. She doesn’t stress about hosting dinner for fifteen people, and she seems to always know the answer to everything. She’s not a doctor, but she tends to know the reasons and cures for all of my ailments. She is not a photographer, but she has an eye for light. She was not born in this country, but she commands the English language. She is not a gardener, but she knows how to grow the most beautiful flowers and herbs.

Like some of you, I didn’t immediately become friends with my mom. At first, I idolized her, then I found that she and I never seemed to see eye to eye, then I started coming to her for real-life advice (like how to tell a boy I liked him), and I finally, she became my friend. I’m glad that my relationship with my mother evolved the way that it did. She’s my friend, but she’s also my mom. She nags me about not calling my grandfather enough, and for dropping the ball on renewing my car registration on time. But she also talks to me about purses, and gossips with me about parties and television shows. This year, we’re spending Mother’s Day weekend lounging by the pool, going hiking, and grilling out.

As I got more into cooking, I started to spend time not just watching my mom in the kitchen, but helping her conceptualize the menu, figure out the table setting, and organize cooking plans. A few years ago, my mom and I took a mother-daughter trip to London, Zurich, Lucerne, and Prague, and there was something somewhat romantic about the meals we had there, our little coffee breaks at cafes, and strolls through cobblestoned streets. It wasn’t warm, then (we went in November), but as this Mother’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking a lot about that trip. The images above remind me of a blissful afternoon with my mom, noshing on homemade French Toast Bake, sipping mojitos (my mom’s favorite, with a clever springtime twist!), and enjoying beautiful blooms. The dress, by a designer I have a serious crush on (both for her clothes, as well as her aesthetic and lifestyle), is the sort of thing both my mom and I can agree on; it’s simple, chic, Euro-fab, and utilitarian.

I hope you treat your mom to something nice this weekend, and always.

I’ve been toying around with ideas for a new ongoing series here on Turntable Kitchen for some time now, but I’ve not been sure what format that would take. I’ve also been looking for a series that would give me an opportunity to post more r&b and hip hop on the site (I love hip hop, but I’m generally a little hesitant to suggest it as pairings music for your meals). The Sampler Platter is envisioned as an ongoing series that will bridge both of those goals. Basically, the series will highlight a song I love that features a prominent sample placed alongside the track it borrows the sample from.

For example, in the inaugural post I’ve decided to highlight The Weeknd’s “Loft Music” from House of Balloons (my top album from last year). The track features one of two samples of Baltimore-based duo Beach House that appear on House of Balloons (the track “The Party & The After Party” also features a sample of the track “Master of None” from Beach House’s debut album). Here, Abel Tesfaye and company sample Beach House’s track “Gila,” building the tune’s melody upon a looped sample of Beach House’s Victoria Legrand’s vocals and a warped riff on the Baltimore duo’s melody. The melody from “Gila” is used almost throughout the length of the tune, but it’s distorted and warbled. Meanwhile, Legrand’s “oh” is from the :59 second point in the original and is used from the beginning of The Weeknd’s track through at least the half way point.

The Weeknd – Loft Music
Beach House – Gila

Get Beach House’s Devotion from Insound. Sadly, The Weeknd’s House of Balloons hasn’t seen a vinyl release yet.

Having discovered those shared influences, they decided to meet up and record a few jams together. As it turned out, they weren’t alone in their love for blues-heavy rockers. Indeed, they recently rode a wave of critical praise from dozens of popular music blogs (including TK) leading to a series of well-attended SXSW gigs and a month-long residency at Los Angeles’ Harvard & Stone. Their live set is sweltering and ragged. So much so that it’s hard to believe they’d only played their first live show on January of this year.

The single’s a-side, “This Crooked City,” is one of the band’s earliest tracks having been originally laid down that very first day the band decided to record together. It’s an affecting, bluesy ballad with twang, grit and a steady groove all complementing Vos’ soulful croon: “If you need some money / I swear I’ll steal millions / to take care of you my darlin’.” Meanwhile, the single’s b-side is a non-album cover of the fiery Freddy Cannon groove “Tallahassee Lassie.” After throwing down the blistering rocker during a practice session, the trio knew they wanted to bring it out with them to play on the road. It quickly developed into a fan favorite and a staple of their live set. It opens with a siren-like twirl before lighting up and burning across the floor aflame with smoking guitar riffs and a floor-board stomping rhythm.

The Record Company – This Crooked City

This one was released on a marbled sky blue 7″ vinyl with cloudy white swirls. Only 375 copies were pressed. We’re down to less than a dozen remaining at the time of writing. The only way to guarantee a copy of each month’s single is to subscribe to the Pairings Box.

Released in September 2001, Know By Heart was the band’s fourth full-length. With it’s shimmering elegance, restrained rhythmic sensibility, and (compared to the band’s prior releases) concise compositions, it’s always been my favorite album by the band. The album kicks open softly with the misleadingly titled “Punk As Fuck.” Brushed jazzy drumming, warm bass tones, and soft acoustic strumming usher in a flowing and gentle melody as comforting and enveloping as a wool blanket and a cup of coffe on a cool morning.

Meanwhile, the album’s most upbeat moment may come on the kinetic and shuffling “The Only One” which is propelled along a sharp, tightly wound guitar riff as Kenny warmly intones: “Keep me like a key, I’m the only one. Worn around your neck, I’m the only one. Lucky like a charm, I’m the only one. Closest to your heart, I’m the only one.” It’s driving and hypnotic.

Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard provides guest vocals on the sparkling, plaintive track “The Postman.” It’s pleasantly lethargic and relaxed. Of course, that’s the mood the album sets for from start to finish. It’s whispered and bright. For example, the buzzing organ and clattering percussion on the grooving “Million Young” is embracing and dreamy. Similarly, the track “Aaron and Maria” is almost hymnal-like in it’s cinematic, urban love-story lyrics and unrushed, strummed acoustic guitar-based melody.

Know By Heart pairs well Kasey’s recipe for Cardamom and Nutmeg Waffles with Minted Strawberries. Like the album, the recipe is fresh, bright and clean. It’s comforting and upbeat. But, not only that, Know By Heart is a great album to start your day with. It’s positive and cool, but stays sluggishly kinetic throughout. It’s gentle enough that you can leave the energizing to your morning cup of coffee.

The American Analog Set – Aaron & Maria

Buy Know By Heart from Insound (it’s no longer available on vinyl though). Then head to the Kitchen to read Kasey’s recipe for Cardamom and Nutmeg Waffles with Minted Strawberries.

We women are constantly reminding each other that we support one another. We welcome and share each other’s ideas. We compliment each other on our clothing choices and haircuts. We boast about each other’s cooking skills. We raise a glass to each other’s promotions, raises, and career accomplishments. We tell each other that we all have a choice to be a single working woman, a working mom, a stay-at-home mom. We see other women’s successes as our own, and as a celebration of woman-kind. Or, do we?

I tend to think of myself as both a ‘girl’s girl’ and a ‘guy’s girl.’ I have plenty of lady friends, and a handful of male buds. I relish girls’ nights, love to network with power women, and often use my voice on social media to promote awesome things fellow women are doing that I believe emphasize sisterhood, and squash certain male opinions that women can’t do some things as well as men. But, this article reminded me that there’s one quality that tends to creep up on women (and, equally, men) that kills our very best intentions. That quality is jealousy.

You know how you might wish you had someone else’s job, or their kitchen, or their perfectly toned legs, or their relationship with their husband/sister/mother/brother? There’s a healthy level of wishful thinking and then there’s the crash and burn jealous route. I’m not proud to admit that I’ve been there! And I bet you have, too. But if there’s one sure way to set us back and ruin this whole concept of ‘community’ we form — in person and online — it’s being green with envy over what someone else has.

Lately, I’ve been trying to be really conscious of surrounding myself with women (and men, to be fair) who are positive thinkers, who want me to succeed, and who want to share their successes with me not because they want to make me jealous, but because they want us to feel this amazing energy together. We share ideas and connections. We introduce each other to people we think are kindred spirits. We make each other feel beautiful. We splurge on each other with our time, with our food, with our drinks. We take care of each other.

My girlfriends and I get together for dinner and breakfast dates, cocktails, and hikes. One of the best ways to enjoy each other’s company, and to get the words flowing is to get a few of your favorite people (no, they don’t all need to be ladies; men, you, too, can embrace your softer side!) around the kitchen table for fancy-feeling breakfast. I’ve had waffles on my mind for months. Everywhere I looked, they seemed to be staring at me. I finally decided it was time to order a waffle maker, and this was one of the first recipes I made.

To make it a little more celebratory, I pulled together a little fruit topping (minted strawberries), inspired by my friend Kimberley. Thank you to Melissa of thefauxMartha for sharing the link to this commanding birch tree slice, and nudging my decision to purchase it. Melissa’s photos are always so beautifully styled, and I thought it was really cool of her to share the source of this little gem of a prop on Twitter. It’s an amazing table setting, in addition to being a food prop!

Let’s start actually supporting each other, friends, instead of just saying we are.

P.S. Did you catch the episode of Mad Men in which Megan tells Peggy that the guys loved her idea? I LOVED Peggy’s reaction.
P.P.S. You know the woman who’s supported you through more than anyone else? She may be your mother, your grandmother, your sister or a friend. This Mother’s Day, invite her over for some waffles, and tell her why you’re a better person because of her.

Cardamom and Nutmeg Waffles with Minted Strawberries
*serves 4
Basic waffle batter recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of low-fat buttermilk, plus more to thin out the batter (if needed)
1/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 cardamom pod, seeds removed and finely ground
1/4 teaspoon of freshly-grated nutmeg

*minted strawberries, to serve
oil, for greasing the waffle iron

1. Place a baking sheet in your oven and preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamom, ground nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In large bowl, combine the buttermilk, butter, and eggs, whisking until smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mix until the batter is just combined. The batter should be thick, but you can thin it out with a little bit of buttermilk, if you like. I found that thinning the batter too much makes the waffles a bit softer and less crunchy on the outside.
2. Brush your waffle iron with oil and heat it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pour about 1/3 cup – 1/2 cup of batter into your iron (the amount you pour in will depend on your iron; you want to make sure you leave an inch or so border around to allow the batter to spread).
3. Close the waffle iron and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the top of the waffle iron lifts easily and the waffles are crisp and golden brown on the outside.
4. Transfer cooked waffles to the baking sheet in the oven to keep them warm as you make more.
5. Top waffles with minted strawberries and serve with maple syrup.

*For the minted strawberries

1 cup of thinly sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon of sugar, or vanilla sugar
1/2 tablespoon of freshly-chopped mint leaves

Toss all of the ingredients together and let sit while you prepare the waffles.

Musical Pairings: The American Analog Set – Know By Heart + Cardamom and Nutmeg Waffles with Minted Strawberries

There’s more on the Turntable.