Died with a Bow (29 page)

Rita’s Underwear Rules

1. If you’re worried about telltale underwear lines, you’re ready for a thong. Look for something simple and comfortable. Avoid lace; it looks sexy, but it’s uncomfortable and itchy. Buy something in cotton or seamless microfiber.
   
2. If your bra is riding up, it’s too big (in number, not letter). Exchange your 36B for a 34B.
   
3. Don’t buy underwear that has to be hand-washed. Who has time for hand-washing? Besides, eventually you’ll throw it in the washing machine by mistake, so check the labels or ask the sales staff at the lingerie department to be sure you can machine wash whatever you buy.
   
4. Bra straps can show, so be sure and choose your bra with that in mind. Some call it tacky, others call it high fashion. Check out the celebs who show their straps on purpose. How about a yellow tank top with red bra straps? Red is a power color, after all. Or a white top with black straps that match your black, color-intense lipstick?
   

Rita’s Hair Tips

1. Long hair set in loose waves is always sexy.
   
2. After shampooing your hair, be sure to make the final rinse in cold water—this will make your hair shinier.
   
3. Don’t make the mistake of not rinsing the shampoo completely out of your hair. Rinse and rinse again, using a ton of water. If you don’t, your hair will be dull and listless.
   
4. For maximum volume, blow-dry to the side rather than upside down.
   
5. Braids or one single braid is a cute and sexy style. At night wash your hair and braid it. In the morning, take out the braid and voila—you’ve got waves!
   
6. You wear your haircut every day, so don’t be afraid to spend a bundle on a good cut. If a great cut cost more than your shoes, it would still be reasonable.
   
7. If your hairstylist trashes the beautician who last cut your hair, dump her or him! The best stylists concentrate on doing a good job for you no matter what shape your hair is in. It’s not their job to tell you what’s wrong with you.
   
8. Stick with something that’s closest to your natural hair texture. If you have natural waves, don’t hide them by straightening your hair. If you have long straight hair, iron it and make sure it’s clean, shiny and swingy. For a change, put it up in a bun or tuck it into your hat.
   
9. A bad haircut? It’s not the end of the world. In a year you won’t even remember this disastrous cut. In the meantime, first you cry. Sure you feel ugly and maybe even stupid for going to the wrong place. Then write it down. Where you went, how much you paid and your vow never to make that mistake again. Finally, accept what happened. Your hair will grow and it will look great once again.
   
10. Round face? Try a layered haircut with fullness on top, but keep it close to your face at the sides. Go either short or longer than chin length. A rounded style that ends at your chin will make your face look rounder, just what you don’t want. Oval face? Lucky you, you can wear your hair any length or style you want.
    
11. Color your hair? Don’t do a wild color like blue no matter how crazy you feel. You’ll be sorry in the morning. But deliberate messiness is okay. After all, Jennifer Aniston gets away with it, why not you? Perfumed hair? A great idea unless your hair is dry, in which case spray your nape instead because the alcohol in most fragrances sucks out moisture.
    

Rita’s Wardrobe Must-Haves

1. A fluffy sweater. Even in the summer you must have one to go with your jeans, your shorts or your miniskirt. Especially if you live in San Francisco where summer can be really chilly. Sweaters are cozy and sexy at the same time, whether they’re slouchy or fitted, alpaca blend or mohair, scoop-neck or turtleneck.
   
2. Colorful booties. You can go solid or print with these. In a bright color, they stand out and make a statement. If you decide on printed booties, it’s because they’re whimsical, bold and attention-grabbing. Choose polka dots or jewel-toned velvet. Wear with slouchy socks or jeans or, for a stunning contrast, a lacy party dress.
   
3. A tuxedo shirt. The look you want is that you just borrowed the shirt from a guy who’s almost the same size as you. Keep the neck exposed by unbuttoning at least three buttons and adding jewelry. Try wide-cuff bracelets at your
   wrists and metallic wedges on your feet, and carry a vintage silk clutch. Then top it off with a black satin blazer, which is subtle and understated. Finally, a bright short silk skirt with—what else?—black tights, of course.
   
4. The gown. You may say, as Rita did, that you have no place to wear a formal gown, but you never know. When you do and you don’t want to look so formal, go with a pattern and a wild color. How about a temporary tattoo? So fun and so much attitude. With your gown, wear a tough leather jacket and a pair of colorful sequined pumps.
   
5. The party skirt (and what to wear with it even if you’re not going to a party). The skirt is a nylon-blend flouncy skirt. When Rita is in her preppie mood, she wears it with a blazer, a turtleneck shirt, black tights and a pair of faux-suede shoes. When she’s feeling European, she wears her fitted shrunken-tweed jacket, a leather bag, mulberry tights and high-heeled booties. There are days when Rita wants to look more girlie. That’s when she goes to her closet for a thin, lightweight wool cardigan, a silk chiffon blouse, rhinestone earrings and, of course, her best black tights with classic black pumps.
   
6. An all-black outfit. Some days Rita likes to wear black. Even in spring. It feels clean and strong to her. When the mood strikes, she opts for black J Brand zipper jeans with a black Lainey Keogh cashmere sweater, bold wire-rim Ray-Ban sunglasses and a pair of black sneakers. In this outfit she can go anywhere from work to dinner and even fit in a little sleuthing, since everyone knows that black is great for sneaking around at night.
   
7. Hot pants and boy shorts. Rita convinced Dolce to place a big order for these items, sure she could sell them. So of course what better way than to wear them to work? This is a
   shorter-than-short style and admittedly is not for everyone. But for those who want to wear them, a gym membership is a must to tone the muscles. That’s why Rita will be seen pedaling around Golden Gate Park on her rented bicycle, in her boy shorts, naturally. Sometimes she’ll wear her knee-high or over-the-knee socks with them.
   
8. A day-off look. Even though Rita had had only one day off a week, she needed a special look. First a pair of lean and sexy chinos, which form the neutral base for a khaki-’n’-color combo. Then she added an anorak in a bright color in case of wind or rain. Or she liked a sequined vest to jazz up her basics or add a fashionable touch to a tank and khakis. Wedges are very spring. When it’s her day off, she likes to wear a bra top under blouses or oversize shirts. They’re great with something sheer.
   

Meera’s Romanian
Mamaliga
Balls

These delicious appetizers are an excellent example of the Eastern Europeans’ love of one food tucked inside of another. In this case, begin with cornmeal porridge (
mamaliga
) and cook until thick; then form into balls with your hands, stuff with meat such as smoked sausage, and finally, fry the balls until crisp and hot. Serve hot with sliced tomatoes, sour cream or—if you don’t care about being traditional—a marinara sauce.
Mamaliga
is a wonderful appetizer, snack or addition to any meal. You can substitute the sausage stuffing with chunks of ham or feta cheese.

Notice that cornmeal porridge is the equivalent of Italian polenta, which can be substituted for cornmeal.

This recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.

Stir together cornmeal, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick enough to be scooped. Stir in butter; taste and season to your liking.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or deep fryer to 350°F. Using a cookie scoop or your hands, portion the cornmeal mixture into balls. Flatten the
mamaliga
in your hand, add a chunk of meat to the center, seal and reroll into a ball.

Fry balls 2–3 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

William’s Recipe for Steak Diane

Steak Diane was traditionally cooked tableside at fine restaurants like Delmonico’s. The headwaiter would roll a food trolley to your table, and as you watched wide-eyed, he would slice, dice, debone and flambé. The excitement came when he’d set fire to the cognac in the sauce. It’s hard to find a restaurant that will actually do a traditional flambé these days. Maybe it’s because they fear an accident followed by a lawsuit, or perhaps it’s just that the waitstaff is not trained in the art of flambé.

It’s too bad because flambéing is not just for show. Igniting the cognac or brandy in the recipe intensifies the flavor of the sauce by caramelizing the sugars. During caramelization, the sauce develops its mouthwatering flavor.

5 Secrets to a Stunning Flambé

1. Start with a dry piece of meat.
   
2. Use high heat.
   
3. Use a heavy skillet.
   
4. Use a skillet large enough to accommodate the steaks without overcrowding.
   
5. Use high-quality cognac, brandy or rum
   

Steak Diane

Season beef medallions on both sides with the salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add meat and cook for 45 seconds on first side. Turn over and cook for 30 seconds on second side. Add shallots and garlic and cook 20 seconds. Add
mushrooms and cook until soft. Place meat on a plate and cover to keep warm.

Tilt pan toward you and add the brandy. Tip the pan away from you and ignite the brandy with a match, or remove pan from heat to ignite and then return to the heat. When the flame is burned out, add the mustard and cream, mix thoroughly and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add veal stock and simmer for 1 minute. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce and keep stirring until smooth. Return the meat and juices to pan and turn the meat to coat with the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in green onions and parsley. Serve immediately.

Rita’s Slow-Cooked Pork Roast

(A Slight Variation to the One She Actually Made)

A note about slow cooking: if you, like Rita, don’t have a slow cooker, you can also make this in a Dutch oven or other heavy covered pot. Cook at 250° for about 4 hours.

This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.

Rub the pork roast all over with salt and pepper. Bruise the sage leaves (Rita didn’t know what that meant, so she skipped it), and mince or slice the garlic—anything quick—it doesn’t need to be pretty. Put the roast, white wine, sage, garlic, allspice berries and red pepper flakes (if desired) in the slow cooker and cook for 10 hours on low or 5–6 hours on high. If desired, add small potatoes and/or small baby carrots during the last hour of cooking.

This method takes some preplanning and a slow cooker. The day before, rub the meat lightly with kosher salt and black pepper. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. On the day you are going to cook the roast, heat a little olive oil in a large skillet and fry the garlic until golden, then remove it from the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high and when the pan is very hot, add the pork roast and brown until it’s very dark on all sides. It helps if you cut the pork into pieces first. Don’t worry about the meat drying out—it will reabsorb all its moisture and more. Crack the allspice and fry it, along with the red pepper, with the pork just as it’s finishing browning. Add everything to the slow cooker and cook for 10 hours on low or 5–6 hours on high.

I’m not a native, but I do know one thing about San Francisco: the weather is as unpredictable as the people. Take that warm, cloudless September day when I was on my way to work wearing a pair of Bruno Magli Italian leather sandals. They were all the rage that spring and summer, and I still loved them because they worked with either a pair of jeans or a skirt. No matter what else you were wearing, it looked like you made an effort because of those shoes. And believe me, I always made an effort. Not just because my job was selling clothes and accessories in a boutique, but just because that’s the way I was, and still am.

I was on the Thirty Stockton bus in a bright jade blue flowy dress by Cladiana that could go from work to cocktails and a cream-colored Nicole Farhi linen blazer that gave it a daywear look, and was reading a depressing article in the
San Francisco Chronicle
, “Changing Weather Patterns
Spell Doom for Humanity.” Suddenly the sky clouded over, and just as I got off the bus it started to rain, dampening my clothes and the chic fedora perched jauntily on my head. Talk about doom. Rain in September in everyone’s favorite city? Not going to happen. But there it was.