So it's been a while. Sorry!
Not much on the food horizon to report. After Thanksgiving, food is overrated and over eaten.
This weekend we are going to see our nephew Ryan dance in the SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory's Nutcracker. Then we are going to see a band from Ithaca, Sim Redmond, at the Mercury Lounge. They are a great band but we've only heard them on CD so this will be fun. Mike, Margo and Chrysalis will be joining us for the weekend adventure. It's great to see them again!!
We have a Christmas party at Glenn and Eileen's and one at Leslie's coming up which we are very happy to be a part of. Then Christmas Eve dinner here with the usual suspects :), Christmas Day at Joe and Denise's and New Year's Eve with Joe and Denise also. We also get to see the Figliolia boys and Brett for Christmas dinner. An added special visit because we have not seen most of the boys since they left for college. (Brett will be going in the Fall of 2012).
This is what Michael calls a "routine six." I think that's from the Bowery Boys. It means business as usual. I'd like to add that this is one of our favorite times of the year, when we spend time with the people we love the most! I wouldn't change our "routine six" for anything! (And no Joe, that's not bullshit).
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
After The Feast
Today is the day after the feast. It went very well, even if we missed one important guest (you know who you are).
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thanksgiving Menu
Our Thanksgiving Dinner menu will include a 15 pound all natural fresh turkey roasted with herbs, lemon and butter. A mixture of finely chopped herbs along with softened butter will be distributed on the entire bird between the skin and the meat (Chrysalis and I do this together, gagging all the way, on Thursday morning).
Accompanying the obligatory bird will be: Baked whipped sweet potatoes with cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, butter and orange juice topped with mini marshmallows. Also, creamed fresh spinach with onions and butter. Along with homemade whole berry cranberry sauce (and a sliced can of Ocean Spray jellied sauce too), herbed stuffing with celery, carrots, onions, turkey broth and butter, fresh gravy made from turkey broth, carrots, celery, onions and butter.
We begin dinner with corn chowder made with creamed corn, bacon, onions, potatoes, peppers and heavy cream.
Antipasti will include: Mixed olives, pepperdew peppers, mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, aged Gouda, french bread, raisin pumpernickel bread and center cut, thinly sliced salmon marinated in olive oil, fennel and celery.
Dessert is carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies. (We have ice cream too-Ben & Jerry's).
All homemade, baked and prepped on Wednesday, cooked on Thursday and eaten for a week.
With our family down from Ithaca and our boy home from college this will be a very special Thanksgiving.
We are thankful for our friends and loved ones everyday of the year! Have a great holiday!
Accompanying the obligatory bird will be: Baked whipped sweet potatoes with cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, butter and orange juice topped with mini marshmallows. Also, creamed fresh spinach with onions and butter. Along with homemade whole berry cranberry sauce (and a sliced can of Ocean Spray jellied sauce too), herbed stuffing with celery, carrots, onions, turkey broth and butter, fresh gravy made from turkey broth, carrots, celery, onions and butter.
We begin dinner with corn chowder made with creamed corn, bacon, onions, potatoes, peppers and heavy cream.
Antipasti will include: Mixed olives, pepperdew peppers, mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, aged Gouda, french bread, raisin pumpernickel bread and center cut, thinly sliced salmon marinated in olive oil, fennel and celery.
Dessert is carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies. (We have ice cream too-Ben & Jerry's).
All homemade, baked and prepped on Wednesday, cooked on Thursday and eaten for a week.
With our family down from Ithaca and our boy home from college this will be a very special Thanksgiving.
We are thankful for our friends and loved ones everyday of the year! Have a great holiday!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Since Thursday
Friday night we went to Applebee's (why you ask?) with the Wisners and Danny BECAUSE if you ate there on Friday night and you gave in a flyer to the waiter, Forest Hills High School sports programs receive 10% of your food bill. That's why!
Saturday night, we went to Joe and Denise's. It is THE best place to eat in Forest Hills. Denise made: roasted peppers, salmon marinated in Olive oil and fennel, Greek salad, broccoli rabe and paella valenciana. She also served mixed olives, mozzerella, bread, crackers and 3 cheeses: Ciao Angelo (our favorite-an aged Gouda), a Rembrandt-type aged Gouda and provolone. I hope I didn't leave anything out. Monica brought apple cobbler (WAY yummy) and chocolate chip cookies. She is a great baker! We all had a lot of fun!
Today, Michael and I moved the million pound TV back into the living room so he could watch the Jet game. We had lunch (D'Angelo's pizza, salad and wings) and I fell asleep. But the Jets won, so that's good :)
Tomorrow Euro Floors is coming back for what was SUPPOSED to be the end of the ordeal. But NO. They miscalculated the amount of wood we needed and had to order more on Friday. BUT, it won't come in until Wednesday. SO...hopefully, they will come back and finish on Thursday. Yes, it's one week extra of sleeping on the mattress on the living room floor. Tomorrow, the entire apartment and about 3/4 of our bedroom will be done, just not complete enough to move everything back in it's proper place. Just enough out of whack to make me crazy (er).
And, as my friend Marc used to say: So it goes!
Saturday night, we went to Joe and Denise's. It is THE best place to eat in Forest Hills. Denise made: roasted peppers, salmon marinated in Olive oil and fennel, Greek salad, broccoli rabe and paella valenciana. She also served mixed olives, mozzerella, bread, crackers and 3 cheeses: Ciao Angelo (our favorite-an aged Gouda), a Rembrandt-type aged Gouda and provolone. I hope I didn't leave anything out. Monica brought apple cobbler (WAY yummy) and chocolate chip cookies. She is a great baker! We all had a lot of fun!
Today, Michael and I moved the million pound TV back into the living room so he could watch the Jet game. We had lunch (D'Angelo's pizza, salad and wings) and I fell asleep. But the Jets won, so that's good :)
Tomorrow Euro Floors is coming back for what was SUPPOSED to be the end of the ordeal. But NO. They miscalculated the amount of wood we needed and had to order more on Friday. BUT, it won't come in until Wednesday. SO...hopefully, they will come back and finish on Thursday. Yes, it's one week extra of sleeping on the mattress on the living room floor. Tomorrow, the entire apartment and about 3/4 of our bedroom will be done, just not complete enough to move everything back in it's proper place. Just enough out of whack to make me crazy (er).
And, as my friend Marc used to say: So it goes!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
One Week Ago
It has been one week since I posted. As you know our apartment is in complete disarray due to construction of all of our new floors. Should be complete by Monday. Then a week's worth of moving back in again...
Last Friday night we went out with Dina and Dmitry to Aegean Cove. I think the secret of eating there is to order a bunch of appetizers and salad. Their main dishes are not always up to par, and their specials are usually not good. Which is odd, because we like the place very much.
We all shared: Traditional Greek Salad (beefsteak tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, feta cheese, green peppers, olive oil and red wine vinegar). Grilled octopus with capers, red peppers and Bermuda onions in red wine vinaigrette. Red beets marinated in garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar served with skordalia (they make theirs with bread, not potatoes). Fried zucchini and eggplant with tzatziki sauce. Shrimp with tomato sauce, white beans and melted feta cheese. The men had the lamb special and we also shared a bottle of red Greek Wine. For dessert we shared Greek yogurt with walnuts and cherry sauce (sooo good) and Dina and I had Greek Coffee. The appetizers were great, the wine was fine and the company was terrific!
Saturday night Michael and I ate at Dee's (Michael had salad with grilled chicken and I had an olive delight pizza (with leftovers to take home). Then we went to see "The Town" with Ben Affleck. Jesse said it was one of the best movies he's ever seen. We liked it. No complaints :)
Sunday, I met Gaby and her son Teddy for brunch at Austin's Ale House. We had Eggs Benedict, Country Eggs and chicken parm (Teddy). Brunch comes with either one Mimosa, Bloody Mary or Screwdriver OR you can pay a few dollars more and get unlimited cocktails. We had one each :) Food was okay. I'd go back to watch football and eat again. They have a room where each table has it's own flat screen TV. The games are also projected on large screens. We sat in the quieter room. It was wonderful to see both of them!!
Monday and Tuesday we had Tower Diner and Angelo's pizza for takeout. Last night I went to Jennie's for dinner. She made stir fry shrimp with brown rice (it was in a really good sauce) and we shared a bottle of Geyser Peak Merlot 2005. We chatted and laughed. What could be better?
Today is back to the grind of being locked in my bedroom all day. Yesterday, to break it up, I did laundry. How exciting! I've read all my books and even gone back to one I started a few years ago. Watched TV (when the noise from the insisde AND outside construction allowed), and even managed a nap one day. Maybe we'll check out Ikea later (Michael has the day off for Veteran's Day). We need new shelves for Jesse's room. The old ones were ruined in the flood.
No plans for Friday night, but Saturday night we have been invited to Joe and Denise's for dinner with Joe and Penny and Tom and Monica. I know it will be a really nice evening with great food!! Denise is amazing in the kitchen :)
That's all folks...thanks for listening!
Last Friday night we went out with Dina and Dmitry to Aegean Cove. I think the secret of eating there is to order a bunch of appetizers and salad. Their main dishes are not always up to par, and their specials are usually not good. Which is odd, because we like the place very much.
We all shared: Traditional Greek Salad (beefsteak tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, feta cheese, green peppers, olive oil and red wine vinegar). Grilled octopus with capers, red peppers and Bermuda onions in red wine vinaigrette. Red beets marinated in garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar served with skordalia (they make theirs with bread, not potatoes). Fried zucchini and eggplant with tzatziki sauce. Shrimp with tomato sauce, white beans and melted feta cheese. The men had the lamb special and we also shared a bottle of red Greek Wine. For dessert we shared Greek yogurt with walnuts and cherry sauce (sooo good) and Dina and I had Greek Coffee. The appetizers were great, the wine was fine and the company was terrific!
Saturday night Michael and I ate at Dee's (Michael had salad with grilled chicken and I had an olive delight pizza (with leftovers to take home). Then we went to see "The Town" with Ben Affleck. Jesse said it was one of the best movies he's ever seen. We liked it. No complaints :)
Sunday, I met Gaby and her son Teddy for brunch at Austin's Ale House. We had Eggs Benedict, Country Eggs and chicken parm (Teddy). Brunch comes with either one Mimosa, Bloody Mary or Screwdriver OR you can pay a few dollars more and get unlimited cocktails. We had one each :) Food was okay. I'd go back to watch football and eat again. They have a room where each table has it's own flat screen TV. The games are also projected on large screens. We sat in the quieter room. It was wonderful to see both of them!!
Monday and Tuesday we had Tower Diner and Angelo's pizza for takeout. Last night I went to Jennie's for dinner. She made stir fry shrimp with brown rice (it was in a really good sauce) and we shared a bottle of Geyser Peak Merlot 2005. We chatted and laughed. What could be better?
Today is back to the grind of being locked in my bedroom all day. Yesterday, to break it up, I did laundry. How exciting! I've read all my books and even gone back to one I started a few years ago. Watched TV (when the noise from the insisde AND outside construction allowed), and even managed a nap one day. Maybe we'll check out Ikea later (Michael has the day off for Veteran's Day). We need new shelves for Jesse's room. The old ones were ruined in the flood.
No plans for Friday night, but Saturday night we have been invited to Joe and Denise's for dinner with Joe and Penny and Tom and Monica. I know it will be a really nice evening with great food!! Denise is amazing in the kitchen :)
That's all folks...thanks for listening!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Feels like Moving...
Looks like moving, acts like moving...but it isn't. It's wrapping up and packing up everything that's not in a closet into moving boxes. Why, you might ask? Good question...we're finally having our floors replaced from the flood that happened way back on April 9.
The wood is being delivered Friday and the demolition starts Monday. No, we are not moving out with our boxes. We are shuttling ourselves and boxes and furniture and cats between rooms.
We decided on Brazilian Cherry. It's beautiful. And I will be happy again on or about November 18. Until then...
Tonight is my last time to cook dinner for sometime, so I am making Feta Turkey burgers and a great, big salad with every vegetable in the fridge. Last night was chicken breasts with sundried tomatoes and spinach on the side. Monday was BBQ'd chicken ravioli (I made the raviolis from scratch), the chicken came from a tub of Lloyd's. Michael liked it and the Wisners received the leftovers.
Tomorrow night, deservedly so, we are going out to dinner with Dina and Dmitry to Aegean Cove for a relaxing evening of good friends, good food, good wine and no more packing!
I hope to see my friend Gaby for brunch on Sunday. It's been a while since we sat down together and I am looking forward to it.
You may or may not hear about all the take out food next week. Depends on my mood :) and where Michael sets up the computer in all this mess...
The wood is being delivered Friday and the demolition starts Monday. No, we are not moving out with our boxes. We are shuttling ourselves and boxes and furniture and cats between rooms.
We decided on Brazilian Cherry. It's beautiful. And I will be happy again on or about November 18. Until then...
Tonight is my last time to cook dinner for sometime, so I am making Feta Turkey burgers and a great, big salad with every vegetable in the fridge. Last night was chicken breasts with sundried tomatoes and spinach on the side. Monday was BBQ'd chicken ravioli (I made the raviolis from scratch), the chicken came from a tub of Lloyd's. Michael liked it and the Wisners received the leftovers.
Tomorrow night, deservedly so, we are going out to dinner with Dina and Dmitry to Aegean Cove for a relaxing evening of good friends, good food, good wine and no more packing!
I hope to see my friend Gaby for brunch on Sunday. It's been a while since we sat down together and I am looking forward to it.
You may or may not hear about all the take out food next week. Depends on my mood :) and where Michael sets up the computer in all this mess...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
I Just Remembered
I just remembered the best thing about Pasta Del Giorno: Without asking, when my coffee arrived after dinner, it came in a small pot with enough coffee for two cups plus a small pot of WARM milk!!! That is one of life's greatest pleasures (for me anyway). It was a great treat!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Busy, Busy, Busy
But Fun!
Friday night Jennie and I took Barbara out for her birthday dinner (even though her birthday was 10/21). We went to Pasta Del Giorno on Austin Street since we hadn't been there in forever. Before you all say "Yuck!" Let me tell you how pleasantly surprised we all were.
First of all the service was pretty decent. No rushing at all, poured our wine-several times-cleared the table when necessary (almost too much actually), gave the specials, refilled water glasses. No real complaints there.
Secondly, our appetizers were good. Jennie and I shared tri-color salad (not something that can be fucked up anyway) and Barb had a zucchini stuffed with chicken, veggies and cheese surrounded by giant white beans (yum) in a really good sauce.
We all chose a past for dinner: I stuck to my usual-Taglialini Toscana-linguine with white beans, spinach and garlic. It was wonderful. Jennie had Pappardelle Valtellina-with sundried tomatoes and porcini mushrooms. Also great. And Barb had Rigatoni Ponte Vecchio-with pancetta, onions and peas in a light pink sauce. My fork was in her plate almost as much as it was in my own :)
Dessert was fresh strawberries in zabaglione (a bit too much of an anisette flavor) but otherwise, yummy!
We sat and chatted and no one sang happy birthday (which Barbara appreciated). It was fun and warm and we will go back. Who knew?
Saturday, Michael and I drove out to Martha Clara Vineyards for a 40th birthday celebration for Lori. That was really fun. The wine was even decent (and that was another surprise for Long Island). I liked the 5-0 red better than the Cab-Franc. Steve provided tons of appetizers and food for lunch and we had a really good time :)
Same evening we had the 3rd Annual Forest Hills Youth Activities Association Dinner, Dance and Benefit Auction at Bruno's on the Boulevard (ridiculous name for a place). I arrived in the clown car: Judy drove and out piled-Judy, Ross, Lenny, Jill, Lisa, Evan, Lisa B. and myself. All in costume looking goofy-but laughing at ourselves.
Michael had gone over early to set up the equipment for the amazing slide show he prepares every year! Everyone was really appreciative and the show was great!
The food is edible, the wine is crappy, the music got funky, but I have to say we had fun anyway! Michael and I won 4 prizes from the raffle table. We won: a HUGE bottle of Patron, a bottle of Vodka, 3 bottles of wine with really nice wood cases, 2 handbags and a digital camera. Yippee! Of course, we had to buy the raffle tickets first...
Sunday we spent the afternoon and evening at Glenn and Eileen's handing out candy to trick-or-treaters (all said thank you-very polite children in Commack). We had a roaring fire, turkey chili, tons of appetizers and good wine. Best of all...the company!
Today I was awakened to INTENSELY LOUD drilling outside my windows. The building is pointing bricks and removing our old terraces to make way for new. I am sure it will all be lovely, but now, just REALLY LOUD!
That's all for now...I cannot hear my self type :)
Friday night Jennie and I took Barbara out for her birthday dinner (even though her birthday was 10/21). We went to Pasta Del Giorno on Austin Street since we hadn't been there in forever. Before you all say "Yuck!" Let me tell you how pleasantly surprised we all were.
First of all the service was pretty decent. No rushing at all, poured our wine-several times-cleared the table when necessary (almost too much actually), gave the specials, refilled water glasses. No real complaints there.
Secondly, our appetizers were good. Jennie and I shared tri-color salad (not something that can be fucked up anyway) and Barb had a zucchini stuffed with chicken, veggies and cheese surrounded by giant white beans (yum) in a really good sauce.
We all chose a past for dinner: I stuck to my usual-Taglialini Toscana-linguine with white beans, spinach and garlic. It was wonderful. Jennie had Pappardelle Valtellina-with sundried tomatoes and porcini mushrooms. Also great. And Barb had Rigatoni Ponte Vecchio-with pancetta, onions and peas in a light pink sauce. My fork was in her plate almost as much as it was in my own :)
Dessert was fresh strawberries in zabaglione (a bit too much of an anisette flavor) but otherwise, yummy!
We sat and chatted and no one sang happy birthday (which Barbara appreciated). It was fun and warm and we will go back. Who knew?
Saturday, Michael and I drove out to Martha Clara Vineyards for a 40th birthday celebration for Lori. That was really fun. The wine was even decent (and that was another surprise for Long Island). I liked the 5-0 red better than the Cab-Franc. Steve provided tons of appetizers and food for lunch and we had a really good time :)
Same evening we had the 3rd Annual Forest Hills Youth Activities Association Dinner, Dance and Benefit Auction at Bruno's on the Boulevard (ridiculous name for a place). I arrived in the clown car: Judy drove and out piled-Judy, Ross, Lenny, Jill, Lisa, Evan, Lisa B. and myself. All in costume looking goofy-but laughing at ourselves.
Michael had gone over early to set up the equipment for the amazing slide show he prepares every year! Everyone was really appreciative and the show was great!
The food is edible, the wine is crappy, the music got funky, but I have to say we had fun anyway! Michael and I won 4 prizes from the raffle table. We won: a HUGE bottle of Patron, a bottle of Vodka, 3 bottles of wine with really nice wood cases, 2 handbags and a digital camera. Yippee! Of course, we had to buy the raffle tickets first...
Sunday we spent the afternoon and evening at Glenn and Eileen's handing out candy to trick-or-treaters (all said thank you-very polite children in Commack). We had a roaring fire, turkey chili, tons of appetizers and good wine. Best of all...the company!
Today I was awakened to INTENSELY LOUD drilling outside my windows. The building is pointing bricks and removing our old terraces to make way for new. I am sure it will all be lovely, but now, just REALLY LOUD!
That's all for now...I cannot hear my self type :)
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