A Talk of Ice and Fire: New York Events to Blow Hot and Cold About

By Troy Segal

“Some say the world will end in fire/Some say in ice,” runs the famous Robert Frost poem. While not advocating an apocalypse anytime soon, we are offering up a series of hot- or cold-themed classes, talks and activities to either get you fired up or help you chill out in the coming weeks.

Edsel Little — Flickr

The NYC cocktail cognoscenti all know Booker & Dax, a cozy East Village lounge renowned for its molecular gastronomic twist on mixed classics. Owner Dave Arnold heads uptown to the 92nd Street Y to share some secret recipes for chilled libations, Dec. 3.

That baroness of baked goods, Rose Levy Beranbaum—author of 10 cookbooks—warms things up as she unveils an international array of recipes for tarts, cookies and pastries at this talk, also at the Y, Dec. 4.

Pot roasts and pastrami, kasha and knishes: These and other heartwarming (and occasionally heartburning) examples of Jewish cuisine are covered in a book discussion and signing at the Tenement Museum, Dec. 10.

Victor Montol — Flickr

Four Icelandic poets go “Beneath the Ice” to read and discuss their verse—a tie-in to the exhibit Iceland: Artists Respond to Place, at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, Jan. 8.