Out for the Weekend

Friday night after shopping at Roosevelt Field, Jennie, Barb and I went to Legal Sea Foods (http://www.legalseafoods.com/) for dinner. Barbara and I shared the tortilla, apple and goat cheese salad-with avocado and roasted red pepper (surprisingly really good) and the Legal Experience: tuna sashimi, steamed wontons, shrimp cocktail and crab cakes (good and filling). Jennie had the marinated seafood antipasto with clams and mussels. For dessert we all shared the Rum Raisin Bread Pudding. It was REALLY good (not as good as Chocolate Bread Pudding at Carmine's) but totally respectable.

Saturday Jill called and asked us if we had any desire to go to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem (http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/). And OF COURSE we said yes! So with Lenny driving, Michael, Jill, Brett and I piled into the car and drove uptown. A shared order of garlic chipotle wings, followed by bbq chicken, brisket, ribs and a portobello sandwich (no bun-mine, did you guess?) a few beers (not for Brett) and we were STUFFED. That place is soooooooooooo good!

Sunday afternoon, in the rain, Michael and I headed downtown to Clinton Street Baking Company (http://www.clintonstreetbaking.com/). After a one hour wait (we wandered to Economy Candy http://www.economycandy.com/ to get more stuff for our Easter Bags) we were seated at a tiny table for two. Coffee was good, Bloody Mary was spicy good. We shared a bowl of Barley Tomato soup-with chopped veggies-very yummy. Michael had their famous Blueberry pancakes which are TOTALLY worth the wait: fluffy but not too light, great flavor with maple butter on the side. I had the Huevos Rancheros which were good, but I don't need to wait an hour for that again. The service was good too.

For dinner we ordered in Italian salads from Primadonna (their pizza leaves much to be desired) but I love the salad.

I am cooking tonight. It's a toss up between bbq'd brisket or chicken cacciatore......

Change of Plans...Really?

What were my plans anyway?

Tonight it's chicken cordon bleu (breaded, sauteed, then baked chicken cutlets with ham and Swiss cheese stuffed inside) broccoli on the side.

Tomorrow: Turkey chili with all the fixins'.

Friday: Out with Jen and Barb for a bit of shopping then dinner.

Saturday begins the school Spring Break Holiday until Tuesday April 6. How much cooking will go on during the holiday is any ones guess.

Easter dinner at the Creutz' will be wonderful, as always. Thank you for including us!

The Week Beginning March 21

Sunday night our very good friends: Jill, Lenny and Brett shared dinner with us. We had "Sunday sauce": Homemade gravy with meatballs and chicken sausage, spaghetti, mozzarella and tomato salad, warm Italian bread and broccoli rabe with garlic and oil. Red wine and gasatta (seltzer) to drink and brownies for dessert (ok, the brownies were Dunkin Hines-I apologize). But the company is always good :)

Last night I made chicken breast sauteed with olive oil, garlic and cherry peppers with corn and salad on the side.

Tonight is Rigatoni Arrabiata with spinach, Wednesday will be Arroz con Pollo with broccoli on the side and Thursday should be Chili night, if all goes according to plan....

The best laid plans of mice and men.......

Men plan and God laughs....

Quickly

Today Michael and I wandered Chinatown for a few hours. Great vegetables, fruits and fish all over the place.

We had lunch at Joe's Shanghai on Pell Street: Soup dumplings, fresh spinach with garlic, moo shu pork and clams with black bean sauce. We sat at a communal table with a guy who looked like a young Donny Osmond and three women visiting NYC for the weekend from Texas.

Tonight we went over to Barosa, but the wait for a table was too long so a few doors down they have their own take-out place. So we placed our order and took it home: Calamari Barosa (calamari in red sauce in a baked pizza dough-fantastic) and Barosa chopped salad (an all time favorite).

Hoping the warmth will stay but reality says no.

Looking forward to Spring and planting on my terrace: Tomatoes, fresh herbs, flowers (that have no scent). It's a great thing!

TH and F

Thursday night we had the marinated steak with escarole and biscuits (from twist packaging). Jesse requested the biscuits. I guess I should learn to make them from scratch, however, they are not good for any ones diet, so maybe I won't. Those cylindrical packages come in handy when you need them. Except I am always startled when they POP!

Last night Michael and I went to Dani's House of Pizza with Jill. We shared a carafe of wine (just Jill and I) and salad. I had eggplant casserole (surprise)(not really) and Jill had something new: Calamari ala Lucia, which is sauteed calamari in marinara sauce over whole wheat penne. It was really good and Jill says she found a new favorite. Michael had his usual also :) Grilled chicken breast over peppers and onions in marinara sauce (no pasta, no rice, no nothing). It's not on the menu, he made it up and Geraldo makes it for him.

I asked Jessica (the greatest waitress) if I could make something up that Geraldo could make for me too: Baked marinara sauce parmigiana. Sounds weird right? Not to me :) I don't usually want what comes under the sauce and cheese, I just want the sauce and cheese. So she said we can ask Geraldo to make it next time. Now I only have to remember that I wanted it :)

Today is GORGEOUS! Michael and Jill are out bike riding. Later Michael and I are going into Chinatown to wander around, take in the varied sights and sounds and smells, and then eat...maybe at Joe's Shanghai on Pell. Maybe not....

Dinner with my Brother

Last night I had dinner with my brother at an Italian restaurant in Mineola called PastaVino.

The food was fine, but very average: Little meatballs in sauce (I thought the sauce was too sweet, and didn't eat the meatballs), Caesar salad (extremely average and American), Rigatoni ala Norma (yes, I order that a lot) nothing to talk about and Sole with spinach and potatoes (which Jack had and was better than the rest of dinner).

We finished with coffee and tea, no dessert. No need to go back and try it again.

Tonight I'll make the steak that's been marinating in my fridge since yesterday. A recipe from chef Michael Schlow's book It's About Time.

As you know, no cooking on Friday or Saturday.

Saturday, Michael and I may walk around Chinatown since the weather is supposed to be nice. I always feel like I am on vacation in Chinatown. The fish markets, vegetable markets, herbal stores, etc. sell so many extra-ordinary items that I am intrigued by. And of course there's always clams in black bean sauce at Wo Hop (upstairs) on Mott Street.

xo and enjoy the sun!

Pappardelle...

Tonight was a family favorite, Pappardelle with mushrooms and onions in cream sauce, with burnt broccoli on the side.

Last night was stewed chicken thighs (skinless and boneless) with garlic (lots), onion and hot cherry peppers over jasmati rice with salad on the side.

Tomorrow I am meeting my brother for dinner, so I will not cook, but I will let you know about the restaurant we go to (PastaVino in Mineola).

Thursday is marinated steak (that i will begin marinating tomorrow).

The sun came out today :)

My rainbow maker hanging on our terrace door made rainbows :)

I am having lunch with my friend Denise on Thursday :)

Life is good :)

www.poormansfeast.com

A friend of mine from my childhood has a great website. You should all check it out.

It's about food and recipes and life and opinions. -You don't wonder why we are friends :)-

A little about SALT: I read Lissie's words about the NO SALT in restaurant cooking thing and, of course, I have a SMALL problem with that.

Those who know me, know that SALT IS A FOOD GROUP in my home and in my brain. Thank god none of us has high blood pressure (yet).

I have at least 8 different salts in my home. I receive salt as a Christmas gift and I put it in Christmas stockings, as well.

I like the fish recipe on Lissie's site because it calls for 2 POUNDS OF SALT. What could be better :) :) :)

More on tonight's dinner later.

xo

Saturday Night

Michael and I went to Tuscan Hills for dinner last night. A relatively new restaurant on Queens Boulevard and 77th something.

We had fried calamari (Breading was a bit oily and not too tasty, but was not heavy. Marinara sauce on the side was mild, needed hot pepper). Straciatella soup was passable, but definitely not Dani's. Rigatoni ala Norma (with eggplant) was good and Michael's grilled chicken breast with tomato salad was good also.

Dessert was Tiramisu and espresso. Both were fine. Service was good.

It's a cute, small place and we would try it again and order differently to get a better feel for the food.

It is nice to have a new place in the neighborhood to go to.

BTW, when we stopped by Tuscan Hills earlier in the day to see the menu, some jerk hit the front bumper of our car. So this week, I get to tour auto shops. First to Wayside for a new bumper, then to Acura, who recalled our car model because the driver's air bag might blow up and shoot metal pieces into you if it expands while you are driving!

Such fun!

W and TH

Wednesday night dinner was on the table at 7 (as usual). We began with Garlic Soup, then added broiled rosemary frenched lamb chops and creamed spinach. Soup was great! I don't eat lamb (but Michael and Jesse like it very much) and creamed spinach, frozen, from Seaboook Farms is just what you thought it would be :)

Thursday was uneventful, but good, as we had Penne ala Vodka and spinach (fresh this time) with garlic and oil on the side.

Tonight, however, I may be giving Jill a fresh pasta making lesson. We'll see how that turns out :) I am sure wine will be involved, at least making it all humorous.

Have a nice weekend.

Just for you, Denise

Obviously I have been lax in my postings, or so I've been told, as I received a text message during my PA meeting tonight :)

No one will be impressed with my cooking this week. Sunday I made sloppy joe's (hard to believe, but Michael and Jesse like them). I, of course, do not eat them. Monday I made chicken cutlets, (which I also don't eat)and rice and salad on the side. (Somewhat boring). Tonight I had a PA meeting (that's parents association for those who do not know me well), so I did not cook. My boys brought in Tex-Mex. Tomorrow will be lamb chops and spinach. But I have been toying with the idea of starting with Castillian Garlic Soup (Sopa Ajo) which we all love and eat at El Quijote every chance we get.

I don't cook on Fridays and Saturdays so Denise, you may have to wait until Sunday to hear more. Unless we go to someplace cool for dinner over the weekend......

Friday Night

Last night Barb and I took Jennie out for her birthday. I won't tell you which birthday we were celebrating :)

Jen had a reservation at Philoxenia in Astoria. We found a parking spot close by and walked in. The bar area was empty and only 2 tables were taken in the dining room, yet when we asked to sit at a table with banquette seating, we were told "that's a table for 4." Yes, we are 3 people and we cannot sit at a table for 2 can we? So we have to sit at a table for 4. We were directed to a table in the the far corner against the wall. We asked to sit at a table near the center of the room in front of the fireplace. Not sure if they were too happy about that, but we sat down anyway.


They brought us menus which we perused for almost 20 minutes before the waitress came over. She prepared to take our order when we asked her for the wine list. But NO, they lost their liquor license for about 3-4 days and they cannot serve, sell, offer or let you drink your own. I asked Jen if they had confirmed her reservation earlier in the day and yes, they had, but neglected to say they were a dry restaurant.

We discussed the pros and cons of not having wine with a birthday celebration and we decided to stay anyway. However, after another 10 minutes of being ignored in an almost empty dining room, we got up and left.

Lo and behold, on the way out, at that banquette table for 4, were 3 people having appetizers.

Suffice it to say that Philoxenia is on my list. And that's NOT a good thing. My list is a boycott list (very similar to Joe's list).

In the car we went, Jen drove to Mezzo Mezzo where we had a great dinner of sharing appetizers, sharing wine and sharing friendship.

I thought the grilled octopus was a bit fishy, but the spinach pie, the cold dips, the horiatiki (country Greek salad) and the fruit crepe with nutella and chocolate were very good. The service was good too. Upstairs was a band "Spitfire" playing classic rock and roll. So we enjoyed listening to that too.

A nice evening with friends!

Oh My God!

I have to stop! Tonight's dinner was great (if I do say so myself).

Risotto Bianco with onion, garlic, white wine, butter and parm-regg. Near Heaven!

Then, chicken sausage with broccoli rabe. A family favorite.

We finished off with apple tart. The crust was very similar to shortbread, and I simmered the apple slices before baking with butter, sugar and raisins soaked in amaretto.

We almost never have dessert and I rarely bake (only at Thanksgiving, when Chrysalis and I go crazy).

Friday night, Barbara and I are taking Jennie out to dinner for her birthday. Jennie is choosing the restaurant, Tapas in Astoria I believe. I will let you know.

Saturday night is Brooklyn Bowl. I have no idea where we're eating, but rest assured, you will find out!

Have a nice weekend!

Three Nights

Tonight, I made fresh fettuccine with alfredo sauce (which is just butter and parm-regg).

I followed the recipe from THE BOOK, which is "the renowned specialty of the Roman restauranteur Alfredo, known as the 'king of fettuccine', who invented this dish during the 1930's in his restaurant in Via della Scrofa."

I also made Stracciatella soup (which is a favorite ours): Fresh spinach, chicken stock, romano cheese and eggs. Yum Yum.

Last night, dinner was Veal Bolognese (which has nothing to do with any kind of meat sauce, as most of us Americans would think). It is: breaded, sauteed veal cutlets, topped with prosciutto and shaved parm-regg, a bit of broth in the pan and covered until the cheese melts.

No, I didn't eat any of it, but Michael liked it. Jesse ate his for lunch today on a roll. (Cauliflower with garlic, oil and Steve's hot pepper on the side).

Tomorrow night is chicken sausage with broccoli rabe and risotto on the side.

xo and no cooking on Friday and Saturday!

Date with Michael

Michael and I had a lovely child-less day on Saturday.

We shopped until we dropped in Westbury.

Then talked about where to go for dinner. I mentioned garlic soup, and 1,2,3 we were in the city, parking on 23rd Street and at the bar at El Quijote with a full pitcher of sangria (best in the city) waiting for a table for 2.

Ten minutes later: garlic soup, salad, baked clams and shrimp with garlic sauce. Heaven!
(Their lobster and steaks are great too, for your reference).

Of course, RUB is on the same block. So we had to go for take out (chili, burnt ends, wings, corn bread and cole slaw (2 kinds) to save for Sunday!

Jesse came home from his senior trip today and I am back to food shopping, laundry and making dinner: Turkey burgers with onion, garlic and bbq sauce seared in a pan, then finished in the oven, smothered with sauteed onions on sweet Portuguese rolls with salad on the side.

Have a nice night!