NEWS!

Where have I been? That's the question that's probably on your mind, reader. I know what it's like to inquisitevly check a blog, only to see the same stale post that's been sitting around the internet inactively for days, practically snoring.

Well, my answer is that I've been all over the place. I flew out to Los Angeles for a few reasons, mainly to work on a cafe I'm opening with my parents in a few months. We were doing pastry tastings with some fabulous local bakeries, including Cake Monkey (OMG their scones, apple galette, and all of their snacks!) and Hotcakes (try their canneles and danish!). I also celebrated the first night of Passover with my family for the first time in years, contributing with my annual Brisket with Merlot & Prunes. We also went to Osteria Mozza for my parents' 25th anniversary, which was a real treat. I'll tell you. Best dishes: Butter Lettuces with hazelnuts, bacon, gorgonzola dolce & egg, Burricotta with radicchio, spiced walnuts, honey & fried rosemary, Linguine with clams pancetta & spicy Fresno chiles, and Butternut Squash Mezzalune with amaretti.

Then when I got back, I had a whirlwind week of work coupled with a Long Island Easter trip and a final-night monumental Seder that I hosted. Needless to say, I was exhausted for a bit.

But the most exciting news that I will let you in on, that crept upon me in the middle of that hectic week is this... I'm going to Korea! In 10 days!

What??!?!

So, two years ago I worked on a feature film with a well-regarded Korean director living in New York after completing his MFA at NYU. This film was to be his feature film debut. I auditioned for nearly 4 weeks in November of 2007 and participated in preparing for the shoot for 2 months, and then we filmed it in February of 2008 on a shoe-string budget in 18 days. It was fantastic. I can't wait to do it again.

Anyway, that film has been selected to be the Opening Film of the Jeonju Int'l Film Festival in South Korea, premiering on April 29th at 6pm following an opening ceremony. I am being flown out to Korea to attend the festival, including the press conference, opening ceremony, premiere, additional screenings, and q&a's. This is all very exciting, overwhelming, unexpected, and over-my-head. It's taken my this long to announce it here as I have been undergoing a wealth of emotions over this.


I'll try to post more often than not, as I have a lot on my mind and plenty to share. But do forgive me in light of my hectic schedule. And also know that last night I overdosed on allergy medication, as if I knew that was possible.