A New Cookbook & Some Peacefulness on Your Plate

I must admit, it's been quite an odd, dreary week and when I happened to stumble on some photos of the landmark Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, yesterday, they brought a little solace and inspiration.  There's something about gathering around the table with good friends in a warm, rustic environment that just makes you smile and appreciate what's on your plate (and who's in your life) a bit more.  
Noma was named "best restaurant in the world" earlier this year in the S. Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurant awards.  Though I have yet to travel to Denmark to qualify that statement, the photos featured in Noma's new cookbook (Phaidon) by famed photographed are pretty spectacular. A collaboration between chef Rene Redzepi and photographer Ditte Isager The restaurant and the book exudes the essence of everything Scandinavian - the design, the food and that feeling of calm that goes along with it.  Take a good, long gaze for yourself...

Here's to a very relaxing, peaceful weekend!  On tap for moi...apple picking upstate and a few events at this weekend's NYC Wine & Food Festival.  Stay tuned for resulting recipes and recaps, including an overview of the incredibly-stacked panel I attended yesterday: Dan Barber of Blue Hill, Tom Colicchio of Craft and Top Chef, Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter, Daniel Humm of 11 Madison Park and Patrick Martins of Heritage Foods - all discussing the meaning of "local" and where the direction of eating and thinking more sustainably is heading.  


Images via: NordicDesign, Phaidon, Ditte Isager, La Tartine Gourmande