Drinks and Dogs in Buenos Aires

Well, my dad is back in Buenos Aires. Working, he says. From the looks of this video, I'm not so sure. Is he a dog walker?

I do think he misses me, but I'm not so happy to see my canine competition in the land of Evita.

Although I must admit I do like that fawn colored fellow in the red harness.

Thanks for the video dad, but come home soon.

Happy Mommy's Day Grammy Jill

Well, it's Mother's Day so I have been thinking of Grammy Jill.

Dad once read me a poem he wrote for her on this day many years ago. I emailed Grammy Jill to see if she still had it. She sent back a poem, but it wasn't at all the one I recall.

Mothers are as total as the sky:

Older than the earth and more enduring.

They're rooted in our hearts like ancient trees.

Halfway down to seething lava seas:

Emblazoned on our sail, and on our mooring.

Returning home, we dwell within their sigh:

So maddening, so rich, so reassuring.

-Nicholas Gordon

I don't remember much about the poem I'm thinking of, but, Grammy Jill, this definitely isn't it.

I only remember a few fragments of one or two lines of the poem I am trying so desperately to recall.

How do you thank someone for a lifetime of work

Who's a (something, something, something), a saint, and a jerk

I do recall another line.

The cleaning, the cooking, the vodka she drank

Not a clue what the rhyming verse was. What rhymes with drank? Clank? No. Stank? NO! Dank? I don't think so. Plank? Perhaps. Tank? Could be. Bank? That's a good possibility.

Grammy Jill, center, exchanging experiences of Saturday night's icy thoroughfares. That's how the newspaper caption read. That's Barbra Streisand behind her.

Grammy Jill came and stayed with me for a month to help with my first litter of pups. Yes! A month! Thanks Grammy Jill.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY GRAMMY JILL!!!

In honor of Mother's Day, I am sharing Mario Batali's mother's blackberry pie recipe.

Marilyn Batali's Blackberry Pie

While walking in Galicia with Gwyneth Paltrow, Mario Batali spotted a bush full of ripe blackberries, his "favorite fruit in life," and recalled filling the back of his parents' station wagon with buckets of blackberries when he was growing up in Seattle. After getting his mother, Marilyn, to e-mail him her recipe, Mario prepared this luscious pie.

• ACTIVE: 30 MIN
• TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS PLUS COOLING
• SERVINGS: MAKES ONE 9-INCH PIE

CRUST

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 3 tablespoons sugar
3. 1/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup solid vegetable shortening, chilled
5. 5 tablespoons ice water

FILLING

1. 2 pints blackberries (1 1/2 pounds)
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5. 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1. MAKE THE CRUST In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt. Add the shortening and, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the ice water and stir with a fork until the dough is moistened. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather it into a ball. Knead the dough 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Divide in half; flatten each piece into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°. Let the dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch glass pie plate. Roll out the remaining dough to an 11-inch round.
3. MAKE THE FILLING Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir the blackberries with the sugar, flour and lemon juice, lightly mashing a few berries; scrape into the prepared pie crust and sprinkle the butter cubes on top.
4. Brush the overhanging pastry with water and carefully set the top crust over the berry filling. Press the edges of the dough together and trim the overhang to 1 inch. Fold the edge under itself and crimp decoratively. Cut 4 slits in the top crust.
5. Bake the pie in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the bottom crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling. If necessary, cover the edge with foil for the last few minutes of baking. Let the pie cool for at least 4 hours before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The baked pie can stand at room temperature overnight.

Laker's Coach Phil Jackson and a Talking Dog

Phil Jackson was watching a talking dog video.

You would think if the NBA's all-time playoff genius was looking at a video, it would be to find a better way to stop Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki. Or Jose Barea, whoever that is.

But Phil was watching some talking dog, and no, I'm not talking about any of the Dodgers who were playing earlier Wednesday.

He says he was looking for "comic relief," which raises the question, Why wasn't he watching the Dodgers, or talking to Ron Artest?

Phil says he wanted his team "to be a little more light-hearted," so he found the dog on the Internet. It would have made more sense, of course, had he said he found the dog in some monastery in Tibet.

Jacques Pépin's Favorite Pound Cake

The French call pound cake quatre-quarts ("four-fourths") because it is made with equal parts flour, sugar, eggs and butter. Jacques Pépin's mother, aunt and cousin all have their versions. He likes to fold in candied citrus peels to make a French fruit cake; he also loves plain slices dipped in espresso.

Jacques Pépin's Favorite Pound Cake

• ACTIVE: 15 MIN
• TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS PLUS COOLING
• SERVINGS: ONE 10-BY-5-INCH LOAF

• MAKE-AHEAD
• VEGETARIAN

1. 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2. 1 1/4 cups sugar
3. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 6 large eggs
6. 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
7. 2 1/2 cups cake flour

1. . Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 10-by-5-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with a strip of parchment paper that extends 2 inches past the short ends of the pan.
2. . In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, vanilla and salt at medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating between additions. Beat in the milk. Sift the flour over the batter and whisk it in until smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
3. . Bake the cake for 1 1/2 hours, until it is cracked down the center, golden on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold the cake and let cool completely.

MAKE AHEAD The cake can be kept at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.

I LOVE RUFUS

Grand Champion Deep Acres Fields of Gold

Glamour Grrrrls

Mallory Before....

After head-to-paw makeovers, these NYC shelter pooches are no longer ruff around the edges

...and After

Like any model, Mallory, Heart and Myrtle adapt easily to the mood of a typical NYC fashion shoot: Mallory tries to snag a pink tulle number off the stylist’s table, Heart won’t come on set until all the other models leave the room, and even timid Myrtle gets distracted when the pace slows.

But in truth, these are no ordinary models: They’re shelter dogs, who with the help of doggie stylist Dara Foster, get the ultimate makeover.

Foster, a passionate advocate for shelter animals, hopes that these makeovers will help the ordinarly unkempt pups get adopted quickly. “My job mixes fashion with creativity,” says the pet style expert and author of “Now You See It! Pup Style” (Scholastic). “But mostly I love that I get to help rescue dogs.”

First, Mallory, a 1-year-old shih-tzu/poodle mix, was spritzed, trimmed, blow-dryed and air-brushed with an easy-to-wash-off, vegetable-dye “tramp-stamp." Doggie stylist Dara Foster then dressed her in a bright coat to keep her dry during spring showers.

To do that, Foster brought a suitcase and two totes — full of doggie wigs, tutus, mini-hats and collars donated by Poetic Paws — to Animal Haven shelter so she and her team could transform three scruffy, homeless dogs into princesses for a day. Her super-connected band of stylists includes go-to celebrity dog groomer Jorge Bendersky who keeps Ralph Lauren’s pups looking polished.

“When you dress your dog, you really want to think about the environment: where you’re going, what season we’re in and the temperature,” says Foster.

As the dogs get primped, the stylists’ squeals of delight over each over-the-top outfit and tiny accessory appear to encourage Myrtle and Mallory to prance a little prouder.

Asked what to do with a dog that doesn’t like dressing up, Foster remains optimistic: “If a dog freezes like a statue, give her a few treats and see what happens. If she still freezes, take the outfit off — it might not fit right. Then find another accessory and try again.”

Visit animalhavenshelter.org for info on adopting Mallory, Heart, Myrtle and other dogs.

An Apple a Day Keeps the Cholesterol Away

Well, it kinda looks like an apple

Apples may be a "miracle fruit" for individuals who have received unhealthy cholesterol test results, according to a new study from researchers at Florida State University. Their findings show that an apple a day not only keeps the doctor away, but it also results in dramatic decreases in bad cholesterol.

Bahram H. Arjmandi, who led the study, said that apples are full of antioxidants and fiber, both of which have been shown to benefit heart health. In addition to reducing cholesterol levels, these nutrients have been shown to bring down inflammation in the body, which is a leading cause of chronic diseases.

For the study, researchers asked a group of 160 women between the ages of 45 and 65 eat either one dried apple or a comparable amount of dried prunes every day for a year. They administered cholesterol tests throughout the study.

By the end of the investigation, women who ate apples every day saw a 23 percent reduction in LDL, or "bad," cholesterol levels. They also experienced a dramatic reduction in C-reactive protein levels, which are a marker of inflammation. No such gains were noted in women in the prune group.