I like to steal things.

Today I'm stealing from Julia Allison, who you may recognize as the white girl the far right took so much umbrage with Harold Ford Jr. dating. And she used to write a sex column. And I didn't really steal this from her since she stole it from The New Yorker, but why not give her some more traffic from all six of my loyal readers?

Name: Josephine Zohny
Age: 22
Job: Publicist by day/Writer by night
Neighborhood: Roosevelt Island. Whut.
Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional? Eloise. Have you ever been in The Plaza?
What's the best meal you've eaten in New York? Something at Luna's before it closed down. Oh my god, they used to bring me out so much free food and aperitifs. And now they're gone and I've died a little inside.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job? I talk (and write) a lot of shit, occasionally some of it is true.
Where do you get your coffee? My kitchen.
What's the last thing you saw on Broadway? Hairspray, with Jarrod.
Do you give money to panhandlers? Only if they have babies or dogs with them.
What's your drink? red wine
How often do you prepare your own meals? Pretty regularly and I often feed my friends. Sam's the only one to claim illness as a result, so I think I'm doing alright.
What's your favorite medication? any form of 'tussin. Yum.
What's hanging above your sofa? Framed James Brown, Michael Jackson and The Beatles vinyl albums. There's another framed Roberta flack in the kitchen.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut? Anything more than whatever Hair on Astor is charging these days.
When's bedtime? Lately, never. It's been a long week.
Brunch: pro or con? Pro. Very pro. Mimosa's all around!
What's your thread count? My sheets cost $5 and they're from a Doctor Leonard's catalog. You know, for the old people? They're shiny and awesome.
What do you hate most about living in New York? not being able to drive and listen the radio, people who never go above 14th street, everybody in Park Slope
What's your brand of jeans? If I'm in the midst of a "skinny for me" point in my life, Seven jeans are great. If I'm not and my booty is overflowing from out of the back of the Sevens, Immortality jeans are fab.
When was the last time you drove a car? A month ago? That sounds about right.
Who should be the next president? John Edwards
Times, Post, or Daily News? All three. The latter are necessary evils.
Yankees or Mets? Yankees
What makes someone a New Yorker? Being crazy-- mostly in a good way.

Mushroom Risotto

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. Most of my free time is spent doodling hearts on napkins and making googly eyes. Okay, not really...but almost.

Oh, and in case you were wondering - yes, I am doing Media Relations for PETA. I started last week and I've managed to get hits in USA Today, OK!, BET (although because of a certain person's publicist, it ended up being a no-go. boo hiss.) Family Circle and Fox News. Not bad.

Current musical obsessions - Frankie Laine, Roberta Flack, Bob Dylan. Nothing new, basically. I do dig that new Ne-Yo song, though. Very MJish.

I've been eating a lot, which is way more fun than going to clubs. Sam and I had Thai on Friday (at SEA on 2nd Ave and it was crazy good). Then, I went out for Japanese food with Rie on Saturday and had a little too much fun yelling (and drinking) "sake!" and embarrassing her, but she's used to me by now. Sunday was spent cooking for the week - mushroom risotto for lunch at work and Cincinnati chili for dinner (courtesy of Sam G from Ohio - thank ya, love ya!). I have to say, the mushroom risotto turned out crazy good, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:
1 cup of Arborio rice (medium grain white rice can be subbed if you can't find it, it's almost as starchy)
12 oz wild mushrooms (or the canned ones you have in your cupboard, it's not as fancy, but they work in a pinch - just make sure you let them dry out a little)
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups broth (veg or chicken are fine)
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (although I usually freeze mozzarella and grate that instead, feel free to use soy)
2 tablespoons basil
Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter until they melt on high. Add mushrooms and fennel seeds and heat 1-3 minutes, until sufficiently heated through and tender. In a separate pot, heat up the broth on low, just to keep it warm. Turn down the heat to medium and add the rice to the skillet. Then, add 1/2 cup of the wine, making sure that it's absorbed (about 3 minutes) before adding the rest. After the wine is soaked up, start adding the broth, a half cup at a time, making sure it's fully absorbed before adding more. Stir often. It should take about 25 minutes for all the broth to be fully absorbed. Add the cheese and basil, stirring through to make sure all the cheesy-basily goodness melts and makes its way throughout. Season with cracked pepper to taste.

Enjoy!