Recently...

Happy Bull Pizza is a pop-up operation run by one guy named Felix who comes to 2 of our favorite breweries: Finback Queens and Grimm.  He has a varied menu, and can make something not on this menu if he has the time, and the inclination LOL.  This is the margherita, and if you are trying ANY pizza ANYWHERE for the first time, please get the simplest.  That way you can truly judge the smell, flavor and texture.  If you like it, move on to variations.  This margherita is wonderfully crispy, yet perfectly chewy.  The sauce and cheese are mildly salty and just right.  The bottom is always cooked through. No weak spots.  Dough is hand-thrown for each pie you order!

Michael's favorite bake of mine are chocolate chip cookies (sometimes with other chips ie; espresso, white, Heath). This week I decided to make my favorite (which I make and eat less than once a year) shortbread.  I added espresso chips for an interesting change.  

Grilled chicken marinated in olive oil, rosemary and thyme (both growing in pots on our terrace).  I roast cherry/grape tomatoes in the oven with a head of garlic covered in olive oil, salt, pepper and pepper flake from our friend Steve (who grows his own, then dries them and crushes them). You cannot compare this to dried packaged hot pepper.

Pork stir-fry with julienned veggies and couscous.  Marinated-thinly sliced pork, carrots, bean sprouts, scallions.

Everyone's favorite, pappardelle with mushrooms and onions in cream sauce.  I think there's a video on here somewhere of us making ravioli with the mushrooms and onions inside...

Chicken cacciatore. Needs no explanation :)

YES, I am retired and I spend my time MY WAY, which includes cooking whatever and whenever I want.  It's dreamy!!!

Rolo's

Last night Michael and I went to dinner at Rolo's on Onderdonk in Ridgewood. Made reservation on Resy. Unfortunately, reservations can only be made on Resy either early (5pm ish) or late (after 9:30), but we had a party to go to at 7pm, so we took a 5pm reservation.  First ones in the restaurant.  Parking is usually pretty bad, but Michael snagged a good spot!

Lovely service by all staff.  Many staff members around to take care of all your needs, even when not asking.  Really nice, take plates and silverware and replace as needed, fresh water carafe brought several times, table cleared and cleaned.  Atticus was a great and friendly server, always around to see if we needed anything, but not pushy.

We shared wood-fired polenta bread with olive oil and salt (they have other styles) but we wanted to see what it really tasted like without heavy toppings and it was absolutely delicious.  Chewy and light and flavorful.  Then we shared a dish of golden beets with Gouda cheese crumbled on top tossed in a citrus vinaigrette.  That was the show stopper.  Super flavorful, sweet and savory and great texture from the crumbles.  I had grilled artic char over cauliflower.  The char (think salmon) was PERFECTLY cooked and seared and I was in heaven with each bite.  Michael had the double cheeseburger with coppa bacon and yes it's pricey for a burger (comes with no sides) however, the flavor was outstanding and it was juicy and yummy.

We had two cocktails: Mezcal old-fashioned (with 3 cherries) and a dirty vodka martini (with 3 olives). They were made and presented perfectly.

Dessert was an apple brown butter galette that while delicious, should have been served warm or room temp and not cold...Added a cordial of Forthave "Brown" coffee liqueur (https://forthavespirits.com/) and we were done and off to Finback Queens for a friend's birthday celebration. 

Great and fun night, as always, with Michael. xo

Rack of Pork

Yesterday I met with retired and on-sabbatical school friends for lunch at Grand Lux Cafe near Roosevelt Field. Yes, they have a large menu and all the items are described nicely...the food, however, does not live up to the hype of either the restaurant or the décor.  The service was lovely though and much appreciated. The best part of lunch, the people we ate with, and talked with and laughed with and caught up with. Let's do it again!

When I got home I started to make dinner.  Rack of pork from Costco.  Lately their bone-in pork chops and their racks of pork have been fantastic.  Firstly, 6 double cut bone-in pork chops were $14 for the pack.  Secondly, the rack of pork with 8-9 ribs was $17.  Can't beat the prices.  The flavor and consistency of the chops were surprisingly flavorful, soft and well trimmed.

I don't have photos of the chops (they were from a few weeks ago) but here are photos of the rack:

The crust on this was crispy (lol) and super flavorful: spicy mustard, horseradish cream, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Roasted at 375 convection for approx 55 minutes until 150 degrees inside. Let sit and then enjoy.  
 

During the Week Banana Cake

During the week, I cook dinner and bake a bit. On the weekends, we go out to dinner usually Friday and Saturday nights and I bake occasionally.  

Recently I've made Banana cake. 

I always like to add chips to the batter; chocolate, espresso, heath, white. This cake had chocolate chips inside with Heath-toffee chips on top.  The recipe is easy and always comes out great:

4 overripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla (or maple syrup if you like)

2 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

chips for inside and outside

Pre heat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients (I do wet, then add dry) and pour into a baking dish you've sprayed previously (or buttered).  Add chips on top (streusel works well too).

Bake for 30 minutes uncovered, then cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes more.  Check for doneness and take out or adjust time to your oven.  

Serve warm.  Michael's 2nd favorite (after chocolate chip cookies).

About Last Night

Yesterday afternoon ('cause I'm retired bitches, and don't have to wait 'til after 5pm)I went to the Union Square Holiday market with my friend Barbara. We used to go to the Bryant Park market every December which was especially great when the kids were little and we could go during the day, more hectic when we worked and went afterwards.  Anyhoo, we've been to the Union Square market before (one exceptionally freezing evening a few years ago) and decided to try it again.

Thanking our lucky stars, the weather cooperated and we were not cold at all so we could walk leisurely.  Very beautiful jewelry, interesting felt ornaments and decorations, really great hats and scarves, yummy smelling food vendors too.  

We thought it would have been bigger, there is certainly space for more, but all in all we bought a few gifts and felt festive. Which is really the point of it all...getting into the holiday spirit.

Afterwards, we had reservations at Max Brenner.  Barbara had always wanted to go, I'd never heard of it, but knew the "chocolate theme " would be right up her alley.  Nice little chocolate shop in the front, beautifully packaged gifts (didn't buy any). 

We each started with the "Iconic chocolate Martini $16.                                                  
Créme de cocoa, vanilla vodka, milk & white chocolate & hazelnut dipped strawberry."  There is no photo because (1) the strawberry had seen better days (2) the hazelnut had mushed off into the drink (3) I think they waved the vodka bottle over the glass but forgot to pour any in. The food is NOT why anyone goes, trust me.  The OMG Quesadilla was more like WTF.  Dry, thin, had to hunt for the black beans.  The Brenner burger was good however. Not a $19 burger, but whatever, it's the holidays. 

The star of the evening was the "CLASSIC EUROPEAN FONDUE $29.
The one and only Max Brenner original bananas, strawberries, chocolate chunk
cookies, marshmallows and fluffy chocolate sponge cake. Served with toffee sauce
and your choice of two chocolates (milk, dark, white)." Straight from the menu. 

They light a small grill (very cool) so you can flame roast the marshmallows and then you can dip (yes, double and even triple dipping was done) in the different sauces.  Of course we chose dark and milk (absolute discussion of how white chocolate is NOT chocolate). 

My advice, go for fondue after you've eaten elsewhere👍

What is Switchel?

What is Switchel? You may ask...some may already know...some may like or dislike, however, I think it cannot be denied that it is good for you.

Switchel is "Switchel, switzel, swizzle, switchy, ginger-water or haymaker's punch is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses, though honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup are sometimes used instead." According to Wikipedia.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way.  My sister-in-law brought some for Thanksgiving (thanks Margo) and she's mentioned it before and thought Jesse and I would like it.  It does have a kombucha-like quality to it, but different, especially if you use flat water as opposed to sparkling or club soda or seltzer.  We've experiment with all, even added lemon seltzer.

Ingredients:  Fresh ginger peeled and sliced, about 1/4 cup

2-ish cups of water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (we always use Bragg's)

Most recipes call for 1/2 cup + of honey. I am not into too much sweetness so I have cut the honey down to 2 tablespoons (but you can do what you like)

Sparkling, flat, club, seltzer to finish, about 2 cups

Recipe:  If you LIKE ginger, boil the sliced pieces in 2-ish cups of water and let cool. Or you can leave the sliced ginger in water standing on the counter for a few hours. I always leave the ginger pieces in the finished product, but you can strain out.

Add honey to warm ginger water, let cool.  Add apple cider vinegar and more water to finish to your liking.

Keeps in the fridge for about 5 days, however, if you are like us, it's gone by nightfall.

Hey There Friends

 Hey there friends.

It's been years....seriously...2020 was the fucking worst.  Couldn't go out to eat for so long, thought I'd collapse. I did cook a lot and worked from home most of the year, but I cannot say that makes up for sitting and being served. 

Now, however, I am RETIRED. Last day of work was Wednesday November 30, 2022 and I am beyond THRILLED to be home.  

Call me crazy, I like to be home: cooking, laundry, projects, reading, movies, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max and Paramount+.  Movies for me all day and International series all night, or vice versa, makes no difference.  

Recently Michael I spent a few days (maybe 2) brewery hopping.  Our favorites are Finback Queens (Finbackbrewery.com) and Grimm (Grimmales.com) on Metropolitan Avenue.  We also frequent Evil Twin, Wild East and Talea. Shout out  to the best bar tenders Bailey, Marcus and Ian.  Lest we overlook a great and happening bar in Queens called Bierwax (Bierwaxqueens.com) where the BEST cocktails are made by Rudy and the bar is tended by Ariel.

Since I retired I've made a few dishes that are family favorites: 

Getting prepared for Feta Spinach Wraps

The finished product

Also, 

Brie Cranberry Bites (leftover brie and homemade cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving)

 And: 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with onion, garlic and balsamic glaze

Pappardelle with mushrooms, onions and cream sauce

Romanian Meat Borscht with short ribs and matzoh balls

So happy to be home and hopefully writing here more often about food, friends, bars, restaurants, etc...

PS:  Follow me on Instagram if you'd like @Jandonna