With spring finally here, it’s time to start perfecting that sunny-weather makeup and strobing technique. (Think of strobing as the opposite of contouring—using highlights on the “high areas” of the face rather than sculpting shadows to create depth and dimension.) Charlotte Tilbury and team are lending us a few tips and easy steps to help you bring your natural beauty to light with products designed to do all the work for you.
First, you need to start with the right base. For a dreamy, luminous, lit-from-within glow, start with the right skin care. Quench the skin with moisture using Charlotte’s Magic Cream, followed by Magic Eye Rescue to combat tired-looking eyes. These will also ensure your skin stays hydrated all day long.
Your next step is to create a matte finish before building that luminous glow. There’s nothing better than Charlotte’s new and soon-to-be cult favorite, Magic foundation. This demi-matte liquid foundation comes in 15 shades and delivers a perfectly flawless, poreless second skin. And it goes on so lightly that you hardly feel it. The secret to getting that airbrushed finish is the Magic Complexion Brush, created specifically for applying this foundation. The formula contains supercharged vitamin C to give your skin a gorgeous glow.
Pay your eyes a little extra attention by using the MiniMiracleEye Wand—an brilliant illuminator that banishes any darkness from under the eyes.
Now you’re ready to get the glow. Use another of Charlotte’s best-selling products, the Filmstar Bronze & Glow. To catch light with every subtle movement, apply the highlight shade along the tops of your cheekbones (a little goes a long way, so no need to overload your sculpting brush!).
Finally, dab a little of Charlotte’sWonderglow on the tops of cheekbones post-makeup. It reflects light from the face for radiance, while infusing moisture for a dewy finish.
To dial it up another notch and get a shimmery, ethereal glow: scrape a bit of Barof Gold into your palm (using a disposable mascara wand or a scraper), then using a Q-tip mix with Charlotte’s Magic Cream. Apply on cheekbones, blending in an upward and circular motion. (Make sure to blend evenly so you don’t see any dry patches after the mixture settles onto skin!) The finely milled golden powder mixed with the moisture-rich Magic Cream makes for an absolutely gorgeous result.
Inspired by food grounded in comfort and family–and cooking to a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack–Chef Kasey Rivers brings the heat every day in the kitchen at our Nordstrom location in Jacksonville, Florida.
Case in point: Her recipe below for Spicy Squid Ink Pasta with Pickled Dilly Beans and Octopus. Seriously, try it at home. You will never to make a bland puttanesca again.
And lest you doubt her rockingness: she named her son after John Bonham from Led Zeppelin.
Nordstrom blogs: If you were stranded on a desert island—a desert island which happened to have knives, fire, a stove, pots, pans, etc.—what would be the five most essential ingredients you’d want with you?
Kasey Rivers: Garlic, salt, oil, an herb—thyme, most likely—and hot sauce.
If you could cook for any person living or dead, who would it be? Why and what would you make for them?
My grandma Nora Mae Anderson. I would cook her linguini and clams with broccoli. She was my inspiration to become a cook. She had over 15 grandkids and treated us all like her own. She is my inspiration in life.
Which culinary specialty from your region do you love the most? What’s another one that you think most outsiders don’t know about?
I’m going with two from Bazille, our restaurant at Nordstrom in Jacksonville. First, the tomato jam jar. It’s tomato jam, pesto and ricotta layered over each other in a canning jar—you spread it on crostini. We feature it as a special appetizer every day, and it’s a massive hit. It has that sweet and salty combination, and it makes people want to be together while having a great conversation. As far as unknown specialties, I don’t think most outsiders know about our pizzas and how we make them. To me, using Lamonica’s NY Pizza dough from NYC is key. I am from the Northeast and know you cannot replace the water and how it makes pizza dough the way it does. Using this dough specifically makes our pizzas so special, and how we take so much time to prepare the pizzas makes them so delicious.
What’s your single favorite vegetable?
Cauliflower.
Fruit?
Peach.
Protein?
Duck.
Sweet (food, not ingredient)?
Pistachio ice cream.
Savory (food, not ingredient)?
Our tomato jam jar.
How about your “I’m having a bad day, I deserve this” go-to comfort food?
Ambrosia apples and a lot of peanut butter.
Please detail for us the best meal you’ve ever had and what you loved about it.
I dined at Le Bernardin in NYC back in 2010 and got the five-course tasting menu. It was not only the food that made this meal so spectacular, but the service, ambiance and decor. A meal is not only about the food, but your atmosphere while you enjoy that food. So yes, the merguez-stuffed squid and escarole was to die for. But the hostess who sat us, the maître d’ who greeted us, the sommelier who enlightened us and chef Eric Ripert, who glided around the dining room checking on his guests, made that meal. It was truly the best experience I had ever had.
What’s on your perfect playlist for cooking at home?
A little bit of everything. I like the Beatles, Pink Floyd (my daughter loves them), Led Zeppelin (my son is named after John Bonham), AFI, Ellie Goulding, Lindsey Stirling and maybe some Tiger Army. I know, it’s pretty random, but that’s our house!
What inspired you to become a chef?
My mother was not the best cook growing up, but with three girls she had her hands full. She made us become very independent at a young age, and my chore was to cook and clean the house. I took a liking to it and remembered how delicious my grandma Nora’s meals were, so it made me want to go to culinary school. My first day at school I was a deer in headlights and did not know what I just got myself into, but after getting my first restaurant job, I was hooked on the adrenaline and excitement that came with working the line.
And now it’s time for the recipe…
SPICY SQUID INK PASTA WITIH PICKLED DILLY BEANS AND OCTOPUS
1 pack Italian Harvest squid ink pasta
2 cans Jose octopus in olive oil
2 tablespoons Italian Harvest Calabria hot pepper paste
2 cups La Reinese puttanesca sauce (or your favorite red sauce)
1 cup McVicker Pickles spicy dilly beans, sliced into bite-size cuts
1 cup Pulse spicy lemon zest roasted chickpeas, crushed
Squeeze of lime to taste
1. In a large pot, season water with salt to taste like the ocean, and bring to a boil.
2. Once water boils, add pasta and cook until tender then strain and reserve.
3. While pasta is cooking, warm a medium sauté pan and add octopus, Calabria pepper paste and puttanesca sauce. Adjust Calabria pepper paste based on how spicy you like things.
4. Once your red sauce is simmering, add in your cooked pasta and toss well.
5. Portion your pasta into individual bowls and top with sliced dilly beans, crushed chickpeas and a squeeze of lime.
6. Enjoy.
Note: The dilly beans are best served at room temperature.
One of our favorite style writers, Jacob Gallagher over at the Wall Street Journal, recently highlighted the coach’s jacket: a clean lightweight coat which resembles a shirt jacket and can easily be dressed up or down depending on the situation.
Click here to the piece. Gallagher has a good way of explaining this garment as an American classic in the context of the ongoing ’90s revivalism.
We love the coach’s jacket for its looks and its versatility, working year-round as a layering piece but perhaps most perfect in spring, worn by itself.
Most coach’s jackets have a nylon shell. Gallagher’s article contains praise for ACNE‘s version, one of our favorites: it doesn’t wrinkle and stays sharp. The jacket you see above is by Saturdays NYC and made from cotton. Four more options are below for your consideration.
Meet the cake that bridges the divide between lovers and haters: our easy, moist carrot cake. Carrots seem like a weird thing to put in a cake, but not if you’re from ye olde times before the advent of processed sugar, and if you’re looking for something that grows abundantly and that’s rich with natural sugar. Or if you lived through times when supplies were limited. These days, we don’t rely on the carrots as the sole source of sweetness, but they do lend a flavor layer and moisture content of their own, which has kept this cake kicking around and beloved by many.
Even so, there are many among us who don’t traditionally think, “root vegetable? Mmm … that’ll make a delicious dessert!” Especially when you look at a typical slice and there are all these scraggly bits of bright-orange vegetable debris poking out of each forkful. But, in our from-scratch carrot cake recipe, the carrots are finely grated, which not only helps distribute their flavors evenly as they break down throughout the cake, you also end up with much more hydrated, visually appealing crumb. Also to its credit, our method keeps flavors simple, traditional and delicious—without walking on the wild side by adding raisins or pineapple or whatever else. Though you certainly could, if you’re an advanced carrot cake connoisseur.
Topping it all, you have the rich, tangy cream cheese frosting. Cream. Cheese. Frosting. Nobody hates that. We challenge you to put a slice of this carrot cake in front of its worst enemy. The only fight that will ensue will be over the last slice. It’s really just that good.
Classic Carrot Cake From our Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook and Marketplace Café
(Serves 12)
Cake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pan
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 cups finely grated, peeled carrots
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and then dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
To toast the walnuts, spread them on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, beat together the sugar and canola oil until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating will after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, then slowly add the 1 1/2 cups flour and baking soda and beat until just smooth.
In a bowl, stir together the carrots, walnuts and cinnamon, folding them into the batter until well distributed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the top with a spatula.
Bake the cake layers until a toothpick inserted near the center of each cake comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cakes rest in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Place a rack on top of 1 cake, invert the cake and rack, and then lift off the pan. Repeat with the second cake. Let cool completely before icing.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted for decoration
To make the Cream Cheese Frosting, in a bowl, using the electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the frosting increases in volume by about half.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a plate, bottom-side up. Cut strips of waxed paper and place under the edges of the cake to keep the plate clean while frosting the cake. Spread the top of this layer with about one third of the frosting Place the second layer, bottom-side up, on top. Spread frosting around the sides of the cake and then frost the top. Press a layer of chopped walnuts all around the sides. Carefully remove the strips of waxed paper. Cover and refrigerate the cake until serving.
Try these recipes and others at a Nordstrom restaurant near you, and find more recipes to make at home in our What’s Cooking series and Nordstrom Cookbooks (available in selected Nordstrom restaurants and Ebars).
Have a favorite dish or beverage from our restaurants or cookbooks that you’d like to see featured? Let us know in the comments!
With a lengthy list of celebs and notable clients known the world over, British-born Jenny Packham is a phenom in the fashion design world. Her bridal collections—available in our Wedding Suite—are forever sought after for their romantic blend of classic touches with a modern edge. Jenny spent some time telling us about her newest collection, her favorite things in the bridal world and must-see places required for any London itinerary worth its salt.
For a newly engaged woman just beginning her journey to find the perfect wedding dress, what advice would you offer on how to start?
Choosing your wedding gown should be a really fun experience! Take your time to find the perfect dress and take a good friend or family member who you trust to give you honest advice. There is an amazing choice of dresses with an array of silhouettes, so try lots of different styles until you find the one that makes you feel confident and fabulous.
What do you love most about your most recent bridal collection? What are some of your favorite things happening in the world of weddings right now?
The 2016 bridal collection is inspired by the enchanted kingdom and characters of the Shakespearean play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The collection features celestial silk tulles, romantic sculpted corsetry and cascading silk chiffon in palettes of ivory, barley and meadow green. One of my favorite pieces is the Hermia—a full-length ivory tulle gown with gold-crystal embellished fern motifs.
Brides are introducing more color into their look, which I love, and we’re also seeing more brides wanting trains. The Venetia gown features a lace tulle train and a low scalloped back. It’s a very popular style.
You’ve been in the bridal business for just over a decade. What has changed between then and now?
Our brides vary across each of our major markets, so it is very important that the bridal collection cater to each market, accommodating different traditions and style preferences. I would say that bridal style has changed over the years: brides have become much more conscious of what their dress looks like from behind, resulting in lower backs and trains as a major trend this season. I would also say that our brides have become more fashion-forward in their approach to bridalwear.
As a Londoner, what are five favorite things about your city or neighborhood you wouldn’t necessarily find in a guidebook that you’d share with a visitor who’s never been, to show them “your” London?
A stroll through Hampstead Heath is a must. I walk through the park to my studio every morning; it’s a beautiful oasis in a bustling city.
Scott’s on Mount Street has the most delicious seafood in town, and The Mount Street Deli for a coffee stop—both are on the same road as our flagship store. I always try and pop in when I visit the boutique.
Aerin Lauder, founder and creative director of AERIN and style and image director at Estée Lauder, spent some time sharing a peek into her perfumed world. A lover of art, travel and easy refinement, Aerin pours herself into her luxury lifestyle brand and believes that living beautifully should be effortless. See some of the ways she brings that philosophy to life.
We love the scents from AERIN Beauty, like the newest, Mediterranean Honeysuckle. Of all your fragrances, which is your favorite right now?
I love Mediterranean Honeysuckle because it’s more than just a fragrance, it’s a lifestyle and journey. The unique combination of honeysuckle and grapefruit reminds me of my favorite Mediterranean places to visit. Roses are my favorite flower and a timeless symbol of beauty and femininity, so Rose de Grasse is also one of my preferred scents. I really love the complete fragrance collection and use each for my different moods and feelings.
Speaking of scent, hands down of all in the world, what are your top 3 favorite smells?
I love the aroma of flowers. Roses, peonies and tuberose are my favorite right now.
Your Instagram is chock-full of inspiring images and beautiful places around the world. What’s a recent or favorite place you’ve visited that you’d love to show to someone who’s never been?
I always love traveling to the Mediterranean. Growing up, I was fortunate to spend some time there, and my favorite place is the Italian coast. My advice for anyone visiting the Mediterranean is to live like a local—don’t make too many plans. Just explore the town, walk around and excite all your senses.
What are your expert tips for choosing and wearing the perfect fragrance?
Fragrance is a personal expression. I always recommend picking a scent that has a special meaning or something that evokes personal memories and emotions.
Keys, wallet, phone aside, what three things do you never leave home without?
My AERIN Rose Lip Conditioner, some type of candy and fragrance samples. I also never leave home without my iPhone in my custom Alexandra Knight cover.
You’re an art lover. Who is your favorite artist?
I love Picasso.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
My grandmother always said, “You only have one face; take care of it.”
Chef Jackie Kai Ellis had an existential crisis, quit her design company and learned how to make perfect pastries in Paris. Now she’s a major factor in Vancouver’s culinary scene as the leader of Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe–and a prolific food writer with a column in The Vancouver Sun.
Check out our Q&A below to learn about Chef Jackie’s literary hero (it’s the same person as her culinary hero), her love for Erykah Badu and for the details on two original recipes: a yuzu pudding cake and a potato salad with fish. Trust us: both rule.
Nordstrom blogs: If you were stranded on a desert island—a desert island which happened to have knives, fire, a stove, pots, pans, etc.—what would be the five most essential ingredients you’d want with you?
Jackie Kai Ellis: Funny, I feel especially prepared to answer this since I’ve been living quite rurally for the last two months! I won’t choose salt because I’m assuming I’ll be surrounded by salt water. It would have to be olive oil, sugar, garlic, flour and tomato paste. (The last one surprises me too.)
If you could cook for any person living or dead, who would it be? Why and what would you make for them? M.F.K. Fisher, my culinary and literary hero. I would make her something simple but that I know satisfies her soul like freshly shucked oysters with lemon and champagne, a simple salad with fresh, local greens, a buttery cooked pigeon and a dessert of fine cheeses and sweet clementines.
Which culinary specialty from your region do you love the most? What’s another one that you think most outsiders don’t know about?
Our Asian food is some of the best I’ve had. We are so diverse in Vancouver and can find some of the most delicious and authentic Asian dishes in our own backyards. And I think many don’t travel to Richmond to explore the plethora of restaurants we have just 20 minutes away! Imagine feasts of juicy and caramelized BBQ pork, perfect Hainanese chicken, ramen and xiao long bao!
What’s your single favorite vegetable?
Eggplant.
Fruit?
Changes with seasons but right now, citrus. Lemons, oranges and yuzu.
Protein?
I do love seafood, oysters, shrimp, salmon, lobster.
Sweet (food, not ingredient)?
I don’t eat a lot of sweets, but a chocolate chip cookie cannot be beat.
Savory (food, not ingredient)?
Whenever I see a boudin noir, I always get it. I also have a soft spot for French onion soup.
How about your “I’m having a bad day, I deserve this” go-to comfort food?
I tend to eat what I crave almost always, so it depends on the day. But I have to say, if I’m having an awful day, there’s nothing a perfect Old Fashioned cocktail can’t fix!
Please detail for us the best meal you’ve ever had and what you loved about it. Since I’ve been writing a food memoir called The Measure of My Powers with Random House Appetite for the last few months, so many amazing food memories are swimming around in my mind! I’ve eaten the most ethereal gnocchi in Bologna; Michelin-starred meals all over France; had some of the best chefs and friends cook for me…. But I must say, the best meal I’ll ever have is still my grandmother’s pork, chive and shrimp dumplings. The wrappers are so thin, just substantial and chewy enough to hold its savory filling. When dipped in black vinegar with pungent minced garlic, it really grounds me.
What’s on your perfect playlist for cooking at home?
It really ranges! I love almost all types of music. Although I have a soft spot for 1990s R & B and hip-hop when I want to laugh and have fun. I’ve really enjoyed Erykah Badu’s But You Caint Use My Phone album more than a few times. Oh, and Stevie Wonder is always a good choice.
What inspired you to become a chef?
Food brought a lot of rest and inspiration to me at a time when things didn’t seem so clear. It was a connection I had to life and others, and I followed it as far as I could. That meant shutting down my design firm and going to Paris to study pastries. I never intended on becoming a chef, and I still don’t know if I call myself one. All I wanted to do was immerse myself in something that I deeply loved. I opened Beaucoup Bakery because I wanted others to taste and be fed by the same things that nourished me in my life.
And now it’s time for the recipes…
LEMON YUZU PUDDING CAKES
Makes 8 individual cakes in ramekins.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup yogurt (a thick Greek yogurt is best)
2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Yakami Orchard yuzu juice
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar plus ½ cup for coating the ramekins
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
FOR DECORATION:
½ cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks and lightly sweetened to taste
1 cup seasonal berries
¼ cup edible flower petals
Simple & Crisp orange crisps
Icing sugar to dust
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the ovenproof ramekins. Dust and coat the inside of the vessels with a light layer of sugar.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream, yogurt, zest, lemon and yuzu juices and let sit.
3. In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until well incorporated. Add the yolks and mix well until light in color.
4. Add the cream and juice mixture in three additions, alternating with the flour in two additions, mixing between each addition with a whisk.
5. In a clean bowl or the bowl of a mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the whites and salt until they are soft peaks. (When you lift the whisk, the peak of the egg will hold but the tip will droop ever so slightly).
6. Fold the whites into the batter gently and pour into your ramekins.
7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. You will know it is done when the outer edge is baked and puffed but the center still jiggles when shaken. Let cool at least 30 minutes.
8. Top with whipped cream, flowers, berries and orange crisps, dust with icing sugar and serve.
ROASTED POTATO SALAD WITH PICKLED ONIONS AND CANDIED SALMON
A twist on the classic, the addition of salmon candy is meant to bring smokiness and sweetness. The pickles add acidity and brightness.
For roasting potatoes:
2 pounds (900 grams) small red-skin potatoes, halved or quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup ILM extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 large sprigs of thyme
6 strips of lemon peel
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix all the ingredients on a sheet tray lined with parchment. Place in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes or until golden and crisp on the edges.
For the aioli:
1 clove garlic, grated
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ a lemon, zested
¼ cup ILM extra-virgin olive oil
Whisk together all ingredients except the oil. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream while whisking and continue until the mixture begins to thicken and lighten. Can be made 2 hours ahead and kept refrigerated.
To assemble the salad:
½ cup Olympia Provisions cocktail onions
½ cup smoky candied salmon, broken into small chunks
1/3 cup Italian parsley leaves
1/3 cup celery leaves
1 celery stalk, diced
6 radishes, sliced thinly
Generous pinch of ILM black lava sea salt
Place potatoes on a plate or in a bowl. Top with pickled onions, candied salmon, parsley, celery leaves, celery and radishes. Drizzle aioli onto the salad right before serving and mix if desired.
This layering situation is about color. It’s definitely cool to focus on one color in your outfit, but it’s also important to break it up so you don’t look like you work at a hospital. In this ‘fit the stripes break up the all-blue outfit. So does the white undershirt. Undershirts are underrated. They can be visually crucial, especially when you use them strategically to play with or against another color. Here, the undershirt references the white socks and white shoes. The silver accessory, the dog tag, I included because this outfit was feeling Navy-esque.
Leave it to CHANEL to launch two truly innovative new formulas just in time for spring: moisture-rich CHANEL ROUGE COCO STYLO Complete Care Lipshine and durable LE VERNIS Longwear Nail Color. We couldn’t wait to get our hands on the newest collections at our photo studio and get to work having fun experimenting with the new shades.
We rounded up a small crew at Studio N. Our first reaction? Loving the variety of perfectly edited colors that run the gamut from classic glamour to freshly modern. We incorporated a few different inspirations throughout the shoot, which give you just a tiny glimpse at the countless looks anyone can create with these superior hues. From day to night, see the all our looks and more reasons why CHANEL has you covered for spring and beyond with these two covetable collections.
Fresh and Natural: We started off clean and beautiful with barely-there blush and a tinge of peach on the eyes–try CHANEL ILLUSION D’OMBRE Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in ’98 Melody’. On the lips, our artist chose the Lipshine Stylo in ‘218 Script’ and paired it with ‘522 monochrome’ on the nails.
Dressed-Up Casual: For a look that can take you from workday to weekend brunch, we bumped things up a notch with a red lip in ‘206 Histoire’. With rich color, shine and hydration, the Lipshine formula is like a lipstick, gloss and balm all in one product. Genius!
Happy Hour: For a little more drama, swipe on some smoke (try Luminous Eyeshadow in ’83 Illusoire’) and deepen the lip color with ‘212 Recit’. Our artist also changed the nails to LE VERNIS Longwear in ‘514 Roubachka,’ which she loved because “it’s a true purple, and you don’t see that very often.” Get the most out of these high-shine colors with LE GEL COAT Longwear Top Coat. Activated by natural light–no UV light required–this new gel coat extends the wear of your nail color up to seven days while adding an ultra-glossy finish.
Night Out: For an A-list party look, we doubled up on the smoke factor, without going overboard and popped the lip with ‘208 Roman’.
The verdict at the end of the day? Our makeup artist said it best: “The lip colors are great. They’re richly pigmented but go on feeling like lip balm and don’t dry your lips out or flake. They keep everything feeling smooth, hydrated and glossy. They wear evenly, and you don’t end up with a line of demarcation around the outer edges of your lips. As for the polishes, they go on smooth and easily. Plus the colors are very cool–I’m still in love with that purple!”
Special thanks to our model Camilla Christensen and the Studio N crew members who helped create and photograph these looks: Matthew Sumi, Sarah Swain and Tim Whalen.
Shop coach’s jackets from: 
Nordstrom blogs: If you were stranded on a desert island—a desert island which happened to have knives, fire, a stove, pots, pans, etc.—what would be the five most essential ingredients you’d want with you?
What’s your single favorite vegetable?
detail for us the best meal you’ve ever had and what you loved about it. Since I’ve been writing a food memoir called The Measure of My Powers with Random House Appetite for the last few months, so many amazing food memories are swimming around in my mind! I’ve eaten the most ethereal gnocchi in Bologna; Michelin-starred meals all over France; had some of the best chefs and friends cook for me…. But I must say, the best meal I’ll ever have is still my grandmother’s pork, chive and shrimp dumplings. The wrappers are so thin, just substantial and chewy enough to hold its savory filling. When dipped in black vinegar with pungent minced garlic, it really grounds me.
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