Happy New Year!

Ta-da! My deep gold, beyond glittery calgel nails courtesy of Valley Nails! I can't stop staring at them, I'm so enamored. And the best part was that there was maybe one minute of drying time and not a single dent, scratch, or chip to be seen. Perfect for tonight's festivities, no?

I've been thinking today and trying to take stock of what I would like to accomplish in 2011. I have a feeling it's going to be a very big, very exciting year full of change and new experiences, just like 2010 was. I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are some of the new year's resolutions I've come up with so far:

• Learn more about art (I've enrolled in a class at NYU called Today's American and International Art Market for spring 2011)
• Be healthier and more active (truth be told, I'd like to lose around 5 pounds, which I've gained since the summer)
• Make my bed everyday (because it just makes me feel better to walk into an apartment with a nicely made bed in it)
• Keep growing CA Creative into a thriving business

What are your resolutions? Hope everyone has a happy, merry, safe New Year's Eve tonight full of champagne, kisses, and sparkles. xo

Seeing Red

I've spent the last few weeks scouring online stores in an attempt to find the perfect red dress for New Year's Eve. Alas, it just DOES. NOT. EXIST. And so, I gave up on the red dress and started to search for ANY good dress for New Year's Eve. Alas, this also does not exist. It's a hard time for shopping: all the good fall/winter stuff is gone and the amazing resort stuff flooding into stores is inappropriate for the weather. And so, I had to resort to shopping my closet for something to wear. I dug out a years-old Tory Burch dress covered in dark chestnut coppery sequins that I've only worn once sometime in 2004 and decided that it would have to do. It's kind of perfect for the occasion and the more I think about it, the more into it I get. Still. A festive red dress would've been nice.

In an effort to console myself, I set out on yet another search, this time, for the perfect red lipstick to wear on New Year's Eve (hey, if I can't have the dress...). I found myself at the NARS counter (my go-to brand for lips and eyeshadows) in the SoHo Bloomingdale's yesterday trying out every combination of red lipstick/red liner they had to offer. There were two combinations that I loved, but I decided to go with a bright blue-red lip, instead of one that was more orange. And what a flawless red it is. I layered Trans Siberian lipstick over Dragon Girl lipliner and it came out like a blast of cool, icy crimson that finishes off my party look nicely. One trip to Valley Nails tonight to get some glittery gold digits, and I'll be good to go. What are you guys wearing for New Year's Eve?

My red lip inspirations below:

The Movie: Angelina Jolie in The Tourist

The Runway: J. Mendel spring 2011

 The Cover Shoot: Emily Blunt for Harper's Bazaar UK, January 2011 (she's wearing Tom Ford!)

 The Editorial: Dree Hemingway in Harper's Bazaar, September 2010

 The Red Carpet: Michelle Williams in Vera Wang (an oldie but goodie)

Pan-Roasted Dry-Aged Rib Eye Steak

One of the greatest joys in life is biting into a juicy, perfectly cooked steak. That said, it can be difficult to get a steak just right, especially in the winter months when you don't have a smoky grill at your disposal. Some of the best pieces of meat I've ever had have been at David Chang's restaurants, Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam Bar. The man just knows what he's doing. And until I got my hot little hands on his cookbook (courtesy of best friend and business partner, Alex Weiss), I had absolutely no idea how his steaks come out of the kitchen the way they do: lightly charred on the outside, beautifully medium rare on the inside, and dripping in the most amazing buttery pan juices. Enter one Momofuku cookbook. Mystery solved.

On Christmas Day, I dove right into the easiest recipe in the book: the pan-roasted dry-aged rib eye steak. It was the perfect holiday meal and it came out (dare I say) just as good as the ones I've had at Noodle Bar. I've never cooked a steak quite the same way before (browning on the stovetop, sticking it in the oven, then basting it in butter over a low flame), but trust that I'll probably never cook one any other way again, save for summertime grilling. It's that delicious. The recipe below may look long and overwhelming, but that's just because it is so detailed, you can't possibly go wrong. Read through it. It's actually very simple. xo

Pan-Roasted Dry-Aged Rib Eye
From Momofuku, by David Chang and Peter Meehan
Ingredients:
One 2- to 2 1/2 lb bone-in rib-eye steak, preferably dry-aged
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
A few sprigs of thyme
3 garlic cloves
2 small shallots
Maldon salt

Directions:
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a 10- to 12-inch cast-iron pan over high heat. While the pan is heating, season the steak liberally with salt--like you'd salt a sidewalk in New York in the winter--and then with pepper.

When the pan is good and hot--the steak should sizzle aggressively when it touches the pan--brown the steak. Put the steak in the pan and don't touch it or press it. After 2 minutes, take a peek: the steak should release easily from the pan and the seared side should be on the golden side of browned. Flip it. Sear the second side for another 2 minutes, following the same program. Sear the steak up with the side fatty side opposite the bone against the pan for 30 seconds, then turn the steak back over so the side that was seared first is against the pan. Put the steak in the oven and leave it untouched for 8 minutes.

Return the pan to the stovetop over low heat. Add the butter, thyme, garlic, and shallots to the pan. As soon as the butter melts, start basting: Use one hand to tilt the pan up at a 45-degree angle and, with the other hand, use a very large spoon to scoop up butter from the pool in the pan and spoon it over the steak. Repeat this motion constantly, cloaking the steak in an eddy of aromatic melted butter. After about 2 minutes of basting, give your pan-holding hand a break and give the steak a poke--it should be squishy soft, or somewhere close to that. If it's there, and if you like your steak rare, pull the steak from the pan and put it on a plate to rest. If you like your steak medium-rare (my personal preference), baste it for another minute or two. Do not cook this steak beyond medium-rare. It'll ruin it. And save the pan juice for the table! It's delicious.

Let the steak rest for at least 10 minutes. Do not slice into it before then. After 10 minutes, cut the steak off the bone, then slice it against the grain (cutting in the direction that was perpendicular to the bone) into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Put on plates and pour any juices from where it rested and the cutting board into the pan drippings. Scatter the steak with Maldon salt and serve with your choice of vegetables (Chang suggests potatoes) and drippings on the side.

On a Slow Night

What does one wear when stuck indoors at home during NYC's 6th worst blizzard in history, you ask? Well. Maybe you're not exactly asking, but in case you were wondering, it was this sweater. I pretty much lived in the thing for three days straight. And if you could feel the fuzzy, borderline-weird, soft hairiness of it, you would understand my reluctance to change out of it. I felt (and looked?) kind of like a light tan gorilla in it.

I reentered society today by venturing all the way to the West Village to have lunch with friends at the Spotted Pig and then take a turn in the Standard Hotel's cute pop-up ice-skating rink. I am now back at home and thoroughly exhausted. This leaving-the-house thing could take some getting used to. Time for a nap. xo

P.S. I'm wearing a Society for Rational Dress sweater. All photographs by Mark Iantosca.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This weekend was spent holed up cozily in my apartment swathed in cashmere sweaters and blankets, doing nothing much but playing with Suz Monster, cooking loads of food, afternoon-napping, reading, flipping lazily through magazines, doing massive apartment clean-outs, taking hot, candlelit baths, and relaxing in general. The city was quiet as a mouse. Even quieter (I've heard what a mouse actually sounds like, and it ain't that quiet). I loved it. It gave me the time and space to think about the past year, what I've done, who I've become, old goals checked off the list, and new goals to consider. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I have this running document on my computer that I'm updating constantly with things I want to accomplish, notes, thoughts, and the like. I did a lot of updating over the last few days. It's practically a whole new document.

When it comes to taking some serious downtime, the last thing I want to do is invest lots of it slaving over complicated recipes in the kitchen. So, this weekend, as always, I picked super simple comfort dishes that I love to make. The first is this spaghetti carbonara, made in the classic Roman way (no cream), albeit with thick-cut bacon replacing the guanciale. But I like it better with bacon anyway. Try it. It takes no time and is the perfect dish--everyone from kids to friends to parents to grandparents can't seem to resist its charms. xo


Spaghetti Carbonara
From ruthreichl.com
Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 to 1/2 pound thickly sliced good quality bacon
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 large eggs
Black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese, plus extra for the table
Few sprigs of parsley (optional)

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When it is boiling, throw the spaghetti in. Most dried spaghetti takes 9 to 10 minutes to cook, and you can make the sauce in that time.

Cut the bacon crosswise into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. Put them in a skillet and cook for 2 minutes, until fat begins to render. Add the whole cloves of garlic and cook another 5 minutes, until the edges of the bacon just begin to get crisp. Do not overcook; if they get too crisp they won't meld with the pasta. Meanwhile, break the eggs into the bowl you will serve the pasta in, and beat them with a fork. Add some grindings of pepper.

Remove the garlic from the bacon pan. If it looks like too much to you, discard some, but you're going to toss the bacon with most of its fat into the pasta. When it is cooked, drain the pasta and immediately throw it into the beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs and turn them into a sauce. Add the bacon with its fat, toss again, and add cheese. Garnish with some parsley leaves for color if you want. Serve immediately.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Oh, hello. I just wanted to say a big Merry Christmas Eve (or happy holidays, to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas). That's Suz Monster in the picture--she's feeling feisty today. The fact that yet another year is winding down to it's last few days hasn't quite settled in yet. Today, I've got nothing on the agenda except for some grocery shopping to stock up for the snowstorm blowing into town over the weekend and cleaning house to make some room for the new year and all the things it will bring. It's going to be a very cozy few days around here. xo

Come on Baby Play Me Something

I love dressing up in my most dressed-down, cool, comfortable pieces during the winter. When it's cold outside, I don't want to be wearing anything but a slouchy sweatshirt anyway. And I think pairing it with this super soft burned-out velvet Charlotte Ronson skirt gives it a bit more cred. Believe me, I've worn the sweatshirt above to dinners, friend's birthday parties, crazy late nights out at the Jane, Le Bain, Kenmare, etc. and it always makes the night a little more fun (for me, at least). I mean, seriously, who can really have fun wearing something skintight and mini anyway? Plus, 9 times out of 10, the aforementioned skintight/mini thing will make you look like you're trying too hard. Something that's not remotely possible if you go out on the town wearing a baggy grey sweatshirt. These are all the arguments that run through my head on any given night. And they usually win.

Remember the nights of dressing up in a "going out top" and cute jeans? Har. Memories. (College memories, to be exact. Those nights came to an abrupt, very timely death as soon as I set foot into NYC. I was trying not to do the city a sartorial disservice.)

I'm wearing an American Apparel sweatshirt, Charlotte Ronson skirt, Chanel bag, Jeffrey Campbell shoes. All photos by Mark Iantosca. xo

Chicken Cacciatore

Here I go again with the hearty, stewy dishes that I JUST CAN'T SEEM TO STOP MAKING. I promise you that I will bake something sweet to post next week. And nothing that vaguely resembles a soup or a stew. Maybe I'll even throw in an all-veggie dish (stranger things have happened). But for now, I've got one last amazing, down-home, cold-weather recipe for you: chicken cacciatore.

This is a "hunter's stew" of sorts made from a whole chicken (I used chicken legs), tomatoes, onions, peppers, and some good red wine that will warm you right up during these cold days. The recipe below will serve a hungry group of four, or it will be enough for one w/ leftovers to last you a few delicious days. Serve it over a bed of noodles or rice. Talk about a dish designed to get you through the winter. xo


Chicken Cacciatore
Adapted from Gourmet, January 2006; originally published in 1948
Ingredients:
3 pounds of chicken legs, cut into 8 serving pieces
1 3/4 teaspoons table salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped, most seeds removed
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle on all sides with 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Reduce heat to moderate and add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any brown bits, until onion and garlic are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine and simmer, scraping up brown bits, until liquid is reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and nestle chicken pieces in sauce.

Simmer, loosely covered with foil, until chicken is cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. For a thicker sauce, transfer cooked chicken to a platter and keep warm, covered, then boil sauce until it reaches desired consistency.

Keep Me Closer

It's almost Christmas, and I can feel my pace slowing down beautifully. My calendar is suddenly a series of white spaces, our clients are slowly drifting off into vacations, and the party invitations have slowed to an intermittent trickle instead of an all-out flood akin to the one that Noah built an ark to deal with way back when. Do you hear that heavy sigh of relief? Yeah, that's coming from my little apartment all the way down on Wall Street.

I'm planning on spending the next couple of weeks doing things like taking long oil-scented baths (Jo Malone makes the best bath oils), getting my nails properly did (at Valley Nails), finishing the new Cleopatra biography, cooking a lot, seeing movies complete with tubs of popcorn (The Fighter, anyone?), and taking long afternoon naps. Can't wait.

I'm wearing a Madewell shirt, The Kooples skirt, Club Monaco tights, Brian Atwood shoes, Chanel bag. All photos by Mark Iantosca. xo

Top 10 Restaurant Openings of 2010 for Refinery29!

I wrote an article for one of my fave sites, Refinery29, on the best restaurants that have opened up in 2010. Check it out HERE and tell me what you think! Did I miss anything? xo

Scotch Broth (or Lamb and Barley Soup)

I've been on a soup kick lately, I know. When it gets this cold and this close to the holidays, all I want to do is simmer something hot and rich on the stove for hours and watch Sex and the City Season 4 reruns all day. Which is basically what my weekend consisted of. I skipped more than a few holiday parties in favor of pajamas and tea and La Mer night cream. Bah humbug. But in my defense, I was sick, and aiming to get better for all the festivities to come this week, including the birthday party of one of my dearest friends tonight.

I chose to make this soup, called Scotch Broth, based on the name alone (it's kind of fun to say, no?). It has no scotch in it, unfortunately (that would be some soup), but it comes from the Scots, hence it's moniker, and it is absolutely delicious. Made with loads of veggies and two pounds of lamb shoulder, it's a hearty, nourishing winter soup that took the edge off my sore throat and filled my kitchen with good smells. I made this recipe over two days to make it easier to skim the fat and I now have a big pot of it sitting in my refrigerator to sip on through the week. Pretty good, if you ask me. See for yourselves. xo

Scotch Broth
From The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 pounds lamb shoulder
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion, plus 1 onion, peeled
1 clove garlic, finely minced
8 cups water
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 carrots, peeled and quartered
1 medium turnip, peeled
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Rinse the lamb and drain. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add the lamb, chopped onion, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the water, whole onion, celery, carrots, turnip, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. Bring to a boil, skimming the surface as necessary to remove the scum and foam. Partially cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours until the lamb is tender.

Strain the broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth; save the lamb, carrots, and turnip. Return the strained broth to the soup pot and refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate the lamb, carrots, and turnip on a plate overnight.

The next day, the fat from the broth will have risen to the top and hardened, making it easy to lift off and discard. After you have done so, return the broth to the stove and bring it to a boil. Add the barley. Season with salt and pepper and simmer, partially covered, for 35 to 45 minutes, until the barley is tender.

Meanwhile, pull the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Cut the lamb into small pieces. Cut the carrots and turnip into match-like strips. When the barley is tender, add the meat, carrot, and turnip and reheat. Serve piping hot in bowls.

The Best Cookbooks to Give (And Get) of 2010

Truth be told, if I were really pressed to pick a perfect present, it wouldn't be clothes or shoes, or even jewelry. It would be a book. There's nothing quite like cracking open a brand new book, smelling the fresh ink, and diving in. Times that by a million when it comes to cookbooks. Exploring recipes, drooling over gorgeous photos, reading about the food, getting to know a new author's voice, and finally taking it to the kitchen for a test drive really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Here are my personal favorite cookbooks of this year. Some I own, some I've leafed through longingly in the Cookbooks section of Border's for hours on end (if I bought every cookbook I wanted, my bank account would be in a very sorry state). Hope this serves as gift inspiration for the food lovers in your lives. xo

1. The New Brooklyn Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from 31 Restaurants That Put Brooklyn on the Culinary Map, by Melissa Vaughan and Brendan Vaughan, $40, at barnesandnoble.com
2. One Big Table: 600 Recipes from the Nation's Best Home Cooks, Farmers, Fishermen, Pit-Masters, and Chefs, by Molly O'Neill, $50, at barnesandnoble.com
3. The Happy Baker: A Girl's Guide to Emotional Baking, by Erin Bolger, $17.95, at barnesandnoble.com
4. Street Food of India: The 50 Greatest Indian Snacks-Complete with Recipes, by Sephi Bergerson, $28, at barnesandnoble.com
5. Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, $40, at barnesandnoble.com
6. The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century, $40, by Amanda Hesser, at barnesandnoble.com
7. Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys, by David Tanis, $35, at barnesandnoble.com
8. In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories About the Food You Love, by Melissa Clark, $27.50, at barnesandnoble.com

Fast White-Bean Stew

The other day, I walked into a morning meeting decidedly holiday'ed out. I had been up til the wee hours at some festive party or another and woke up feeling less than happy. Less than sober, even. And so, as soon as the meeting wrapped, I crossed the street into Dean & Deluca, that temple of fine foods and hot, fictional TV baristas in SoHo. Wandering around, trying to figure out what to make that could possibly make me feel (and look) human again, I found myself unconsciously gathering the ingredients for a quick white bean stew. I make variations of this simple soup all the time, and know the components by heart--a couple of cans of cannellini beans, a can of tomatoes, a dark leafy green, a meat of some sort.

When I got home, I set up shop in the kitchen right away, and half an hour later, I was happily slurping down a bowl of this hot, nourishing stew and feeling worlds better. That's the power of a good soup in the wintertime. Try it for yourself. I guarantee it'll chase any holiday hangovers away. xo

Fast White-Bean Stew
Adapted from Gourmet Quick Kitchen
Ingredients:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 (14- to 15-oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (19-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
1 (1/2-lb) piece baked ham (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (5-oz) bag baby romaine or baby arugula
Pinch of red pepper flakes. 

Directions:
Cook garlic in 1/4 cup oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy post over moderately high heat, stirring until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Coarsely cut up tomatoes in can with kitchen shears, then add (with juice) to garlic in oil. Stir in broth, beans, ham, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in greens and cook until wilted, 3 minutes for romaine or 1 minute for arugula. Stir in a pinch of red pepper flakes to taste.

Serve hot with toasted baguette slices.

Easy for You to Lead Me

The temperatures in NYC have dropped to levels that are so cold, you can feel it in your bones and the backs of your eyeballs. It's making me want to curl up in a soft Pendleton blanket on my couch and read books for the next four months. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), my schedule never really allows for very long stretches of seclusion--the holidays are here and with them come holiday shopping trips, festive parties, and a lot of last-minute dinners and meetings (it seems everyone is trying to fit everyone else in before year's end).

This is the last week of work (I almost typed "school" there--yikes) before NYC empties out a bit as everyone flies off to join their families for the holiday. I, on the other hand, am staying put this year, considering I just got back from home (which happens to be a 12-hour flight away) a couple of weeks ago. I'm looking forward to some serious down time in a slightly less hectic city, though. What are your plans for the next couple of weeks?

I'm wearing a vintage Pendleton cape, JNBY skirt, Madewell socks, Jeffrey Campbell shoes, Alexander Wang bag. All pictures by Mark Iantosca.

Foil-Baked Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

There's nothing quite as satisfying as cooking a delicious meal that comes together flawlessly and easily with minimal ingredients and mess. That's why I love making fish. Some people tend to shy away from it, thinking that it's difficult to prepare--for some reason, seafood tends to give that impression. In actuality, good, fresh fish needs almost no preparation--just a few simple seasonings and a bit of time on a fired up stove or in a hot oven. The natural flavors are so good, it doesn't need a lot of fuss.

This recipe for foil-baked salmon is a prime example of this kind of cooking. I made it on a cold Monday night when I was so exhausted from a long day of meetings and standard work-day commotion, that the temptation to just order in some pad thai and call it a night was seriously calling my name. I'm glad I didn't succumb. This took almost no time to make and tasted heavenly. It's the perfect weeknight meal, whether you're cooking for just one or a crowd. Bonus: when you cut open the foil packets, the scent of the basil fills the kitchen and it looks just as good as it smells--like decoupage on the salmon. Try it and see for yourself. xo


Foil-Baked Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
From The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser
Ingredients:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

One 1 ½ - to- 2-pound skinless salmon fillet, any pin bones removed, cut into 4 pieces

12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 leaves basil

Directions:

For each of the 4 packages, place one 12-inch-long sheet of aluminum foil on top of another. Smear top sheet with ½ tablespoon olive oil and layer a fillet of salmon, 6 tomato halves, salt and pepper to taste, 4 basil leaves, and another ½ tablespoon oil on it. Seal the package by folding the foil over itself and crimping the edges tightly. Refrigerate until ready to cook, no more than 2 hours later.

When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the packages in a roasting pan. Cook for 5 minutes, for medium-rare, to 8 minutes from the time the oil starts to sizzle, roughly 10 to 12 minutes total.

Let the packages rest for a minute, then cut a slit along the top of each with a knife. Use a knife and fork to open the package, and spoon the salmon, garnish, and juices onto a plate.

Serves 4.

'Tis the Season

Last week, I got all dressed up in Rugby Ralph Lauren's holiday best (including a sweet red wool plaid jacket--very befitting of the season, if I do say so myself), gathered a bunch of close friends, and indulged in an all-out pizza dinner party at Rubirosa (a.k.a. the best Italian restaurant in town). We had a little bit of pretty much everything on the menu, including the restaurant's famous vodka pizza as well as their classic pizza (made from a family recipe that is over 50 years old).

Aren't my friends photogenic? Appearing in no particular order: Mark Holcomb, Emerson Barth, Steven Rojas, Maia Wojcik, Faran Krentcil, Kurt Soller, Adrian Muniz, Elizabeth Monson, Sam Walker, and David Hsu. All pictures by Mark Iantosca.

See the rest of the pictures on Rugby's awesome blog HERE. xo