An Homage to Jessica Alba’s Superhot Bikini Body

Carrot ginger soup

Source: <img src="https://newyorkcity.kitchen/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/carrots-215x300.jpg" alt="carrots" title="carrots" width="215" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-221" /> In the fall I love making soup, especially ones that are puréed. That paired with some crunchy bread and white wine is a whole meal for me. And as cliché as it is to be a New Yorker who shops at the Greenmarket, that’s one of my favorite places to buy vegetables. During fall it’s where I stock up on root vegetables of all kinds for just this kind of thing. I have a whole roster of soups I plan on making, and which I’ll serve to Baby S in hopes she likes them, too. I am starting out the fall with a classic: carrot ginger soup. Serve with your favorite crunchy bread (a classic baguette will do), some creamy butter (or goat cheese) and a glass of white wine. If you like soup with some added spice (as I do), add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper before blending. To purée the soup, definitely buy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008GSA5?ie=UTF8&tag=thebushed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00008GSA5">KitchenAid Hand Blender</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=thebushed-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00008GSA5" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />—it’s one of my favorite kitchen gadgets of all time. Ingredients 2 tablespoons sweet cream butter 2 onions, peeled and chopped 6 cups chicken broth 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 cup whipping cream Salt and fresh pepper Sour cream Make the soup In a 6-quart pan, over medium high heat, add butter and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are limp. Add broth, carrots, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. transfer to large bowl, if you like and cover with a kitchen towel as you blend with immersion blender, using caution as you blend the hot liquid. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with dollop sour cream.

Grilled cheese sandwich

Source: [caption id="attachment_231" align="aligncenter" width="127" caption="Earthy truffles—a Busy Hedonist favorite"]<img src="https://newyorkcity.kitchen/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/images2.jpeg" alt="Earthy truffles—a Busy Hedonist favorite" title="images" width="127" height="85" class="size-full wp-image-231" />[/caption] Grilled cheese is not just for children. In fact, the following is a grown-up version, made with earthy flavors: mushrooms, truffled cheese, and prosciutto—a perfect combination of flavors for lunch or a late night snack. Recommendation: DiPalo’s Fine Food is my go-to place for Italian cheese and cured meats. If you’re in New York, or visit the city, definitely visit. Except for the mushrooms, they sell all the ingredients for this sandwich. DiPalo’s/200 Grand St at Elizabeth/212- 226-1033 Grown-up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Makes 4 sandwiches, adjust to your desire Ingredients ½ cup grated fontina 1 cup grated truffled parmesan 8 slices sandwich bread (or feel free to play around with bread that you like since you can easily slice any bread, or even make mini grilled cheese sandwiches from narrower loaf) 8 slices prosciutto 4 thinly sliced cremini mushrooms olive oil for brushing on sandwiches Make the sandwiches Combine the cheese and set aside. Lay slices of bread out on a clean surface. Carefully fold 2 slices of prosciutto onto 4 slices, making sure that the prosciutto does not go over the edges. Lay mushrooms slices over the prosciutto in 1 layer. Top each slices equally with the cheese. Place a piece of bread on top of the sandwich and brush with olive oil. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and once hot, place sandwiches, olive oil side down on the grill. Brush the exposed side of the sandwich with another teaspoon or so of olive oil. Use a grill press or another pan to weight the sandwiches. Cook the sandwiches for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown grill marks have formed and the cheese is beginning to melt. Turn to the other side and cook for another, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until crispy and the cheese is melted. Remove from the grill and cut in half diagonally.

Grilled cheese sandwich

Source: [caption id="attachment_231" align="aligncenter" width="127" caption="Earthy truffles—a Busy Hedonist favorite"]<img src="https://newyorkcity.kitchen/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/images2.jpeg" alt="Earthy truffles—a Busy Hedonist favorite" title="images" width="127" height="85" class="size-full wp-image-231" />[/caption] Grilled cheese is not just for children. In fact, the following is a grown-up version, made with earthy flavors: mushrooms, truffled cheese, and prosciutto—a perfect combination of flavors for lunch or a late night snack. Recommendation: DiPalo’s Fine Food is my go-to place for Italian cheese and cured meats. If you’re in New York, or visit the city, definitely visit. Except for the mushrooms, they sell all the ingredients for this sandwich. DiPalo’s/200 Grand St at Elizabeth/212- 226-1033 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Makes 4 sandwiches, adjust to your desire Ingredients ½ cup grated fontina 1 cup grated truffled parmesan 8 slices sandwich bread (or feel free to play around with bread that you like since you can easily slice any bread, or even make mini grilled cheese sandwiches from narrower loaf) 8 slices prosciutto 4 thinly sliced cremini mushrooms olive oil for brushing on sandwiches Make the sandwiches Combine the cheese and set aside. Lay slices of bread out on a clean surface. Carefully fold 2 slices of prosciutto onto 4 slices, making sure that the prosciutto does not go over the edges. Lay mushrooms slices over the prosciutto in 1 layer. Top each slices equally with the cheese. Place a piece of bread on top of the sandwich and brush with olive oil. Heat a grill pan over medium heat and once hot, place sandwiches, olive oil side down on the grill. Brush the exposed side of the sandwich with another teaspoon or so of olive oil. Use a grill press or another pan to weight the sandwiches. Cook the sandwiches for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown grill marks have formed and the cheese is beginning to melt. Turn to the other side and cook for another, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until crispy and the cheese is melted. Remove from the grill and cut in half diagonally.

Jessica Alba turns 34 on Tuesday, and we’re celebrating with a look back at her best bikini pictures. Jessica’s been no stranger to the two-piece and looks equally as fantastic in a swimsuit on screen as she does while lounging on the beach.

Wear it dry, and you’ve got your standard dusting of color—classic and predictable (in a good way). But wet! Wearing it wet opens a whole new world of opportunity. “What you’re doing is bringing out the pigmented nature of the shadow,” makeup artist Vincent Oquendo says. “Whenever I wet an eye shadow, it’s when I really want it to pop—but it really has to be a special kind of product to be able to blend after it sets. Because a lot of the times when it sets, you get streaking.” Nobody wants that. In order to avoid any wet shadow mishaps, follow these guidelines:

Product

First, go with the obvious: any eye shadow labeled wet-to-dry. The Nars Dual-Intensity line is the standout—the singles come in 12 different shimmery shades, and there’s a corresponding brush (then there’s the newly released Dual Intensity Blush line, which was all over Fashion Week—but that’s a product for another post). Burberry also makes a few very versatile shades specifically for this in their Wet & Dry Silk Shadows. And the technique-specific eye shadow category isn’t just a ploy to get you to buy more product. “You can’t just use any eye shadow for this,” Vincent says. “Certain ones will harden up on top and become unusable because they’re not made for this.”

Baked shadows are also fair game—we’re fans of Laura Mercier’s Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry and Lorac’s Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio in particular.

For more advanced players, Vincent suggests moving on to straight pigment (MAC or even OCC’s Pure Cosmetic Pigments). With the added moisture, they’ll become easier to layer with other products. For a look with more depth, try using a cream shadow as a based before swiping with a wet powder shadow. “It’s like insurance,” Vincent says. “You’re doubling your wearability.”

Brush
This all depends on exactly what you want to do. “Mind the resistance,” Vincent says, particularly if you’re looking for uniform color across the lid. “I tend to recommend a blender brush, which is the brush that looks like a feather duster. If you do it with a stiff brush, you’re defeating yourself before you even start. The joy of a wet-to-dry is you have to get it right amount of product loaded up, and then it blends itself. If the brush is too stiff, it will leave the shadow streaky and then much harder to control.”

However, if tightlining or waterlining is in the cards, a much thinner brush is required accordingly.

Liquid
Do not, repeat, do not put eye drops, water, or any other sort of liquid directly on your eye shadow. This’ll screw up your product for later use. “Lately, I’ve been wetting the brush with the Glossier Soothing Face Mist, but Evian Mineral Water Spray is good for sensitive eyes,” Vincent says. If the top of your powder does get a little hardened by wet application, there’s a trick to remove it: Get a clean mascara spoolie and “exfoliate” your compact, Vincent recommends. This won’t crack the compact and will make it ready to go once more.

Photographed by Tom Newton.