annaholl's Profile

For my first dinner party, I actually wrote out an hour-by-hour schedule for the day's tasks that included things like "eat lunch!" and "Shower" and "have a glass of wine." I taped it to the wall above my prep station. Knowing what needed to come next and how long that task would take really helped me feel like things were under control.

As a homesick Texan, "Homesick Texan" was by far my favorite cookbook this year. But I'm also loving Plenty and Supernatural Every Day.

Anna here -- Thanks for the tips, everyone!

The first "lesson" was last night, and we went through her kitchen and looked at her tools. (Thanks, foodefafa! That hadn't occurred to me.) We made a list of things she needs, ranking them in importance. (A pair of tongs is No. 1; a toaster oven is No. 2 -- we live in Asia, so no ovens in the apartments.) We cleared out a space for a pantry. And then we made a salad (to work on knife skills) and our own vinaigrette.

I think eggs might be next.

She also checked some cookbooks out of the library and is going to find a recipe that interests her. And I suggested the food journal to help her choose, akay. We'll see how it goes.

And @NewInDupont: Yes, I did send in the same question to The Post -- not because I didn't like the answer I got there but more because I wanted more "instant gratification" so I had a starting point. I wasn't sure how long it would take for my question to get posted here -- sometimes people say things like, "I sent in this question weeks ago, and the dinner party was last weekend!"

I currently rent a 350-square-foot studio in Hong Kong (so I understand the prices you are talking about). And I, too, am looking for a bigger place -- maybe 500 or so -- but I'm not ruling out bigger studios. I just want a bit more space (a bigger bathroom, really), and I want to get away from my landlord's crappy furniture.

One thing I do love about my place is that the layout allows the bed, which is right next to the front door, to be partitioned off: There are translucent sliding panels around the corner where the bed is. I keep them open most of the time, but it's nice to be able to close the space off when I have people over.

I have three boxes in my "living room" (I live in a 400-square-foot studio) that I have not unpacked. I moved in two years ago. And I am not above shoving new things in them in an "Oh, crap, people are coming over and I have nowhere to put this!" cleaning frenzy.

Also, I leave my shoes on the floor by the front door instead of putting them in the shoe cabinet. Which is right by the front door.

Before I moved overseas, my sister would call me -- almost daily -- about some cooking thing or other. Sometimes, it was just "I'm in the grocery store. What should I make for dinner? Because I'm seriously considering buying cereal and milk and calling it a meal."

When I was home for Thanksgiving, she called me from the grocery store. Just because she could, she said.

I'm with bryn: Shopping is an excuse for mall food. But a lot of these would be great things to take along for holiday traveling. (No smoothies on the plane, obviously.)

For those interested in how the project came to be and how the photographer set up the shots, there's a great item on the New York Times's Lens blog from several weeks ago: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/showcase-77/

This particular housing estate has since been torn down (the photos were taken in four days only weeks before the residents had to move out), but, as others have said, it's a common situation here in Hong Kong.

I live in Hong Kong, and I promised a friend I would make tamales for Christmas. Before I read a recipe. Now I'm kind of kicking myself.

I'm thinking about turning the tamale-making into a party, though. The stuffing and folding will go so much faster that way!

A friend here in Hong Kong bakes bread and cakes in her rice cooker.

But I vote for pancakes.