It's Tuesday

That doesn't mean very much, not working today, switched with the other secretary for tomorrow. Work's going well. Staff are really nice and I'm getting the hang of things.  Need to learn about payroll, then I'll be all set.

As for going out...We've been to Tuscan Hills with Jill, Lenny, Patty and Vince.  (http://www.tuscanhillsnyc.com/).  Food is pretty good, shrimp dishes not so good (shrimp is canned, maybe, small, definitely).  Service is good.  We had a good time all around.  Same crowd, but with Karen and Brett also, went to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem after the Avon Breast Cancer Walk that Jill and Brett do every year.  We had the usual:  Chipotle garlic wings, fried green tomatoes, beer, hard cider, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, bbq chicken...Always a special annual outing for all of us!  Jill, Sue Boyle and I met at Bonfire last week.  Drinks and apps at the bar.  We had a really nice night.  Michael showed up near the end for chicken wings and while we walked home, he biked around us :)

As for staying in...I've made pork roast, spare ribs and Guinness stew, along with usuals like roasted chicken, Greek salad, etc...Mike and Margo were here for the weekend.  Glenn and Eileen joined all of us for Chinese on Saturday night.  Love hanging with friends at home.  Need to do this more often. 

Passed a few birthdays too:  Ryan was 21, Sarah was 19 and Barb was 60!!! Gotta love milestones (where would we be without them)?

Fall Fare

Last week Jennie and I took Barbara out for her birthday. I won't say which one it was, but next year is BIG.

We went to Bamboo Ya on Queens Boulevard.  We have been here before and we sat at the same tatami table with our shoes off.  We had many cups of hot sake and we shared a bunch of small plates:  Cigar spring rolls, salmon skin roll, sweet potato roll, chicken yakitori and vegetable gyoza. We also shared a piece of fried cheesecake for dessert.  Their desserts leave much to be desired, but the menu is good, the food is good and the service is good. And not expensive either :)

Happy Birthday Gracie!

We also went out with Jill, Lenny, Karen, Vince and Patty to Dinosaur BBQ after Jill finished her Avon breast cancer walk.  It has become a yearly ritual.  Mostly beer all around, I had 2 bloody Mary's; garlic chipotle wings and fried green tomatoes for the table.  Then chicken, pork, brisket and a portobello mushroom (with a bit pf pulled pork) for me.  Chocolate ice box cake for dessert and I almost fell asleep on the way to the car. Yummy and great company!

Last week I made lasagna with my own homemade pork sausage.  I made the sausage a week or so ago and froze it.  I ground up country pork boneless spare ribs with fennel seed, fresh garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese (salt and pepper too).  I have been babysitting Jill's Kitchen Aid mixer (goody for me) and I bought the meat grinder attachment for it.  Works very well, cleans up easily and I am sure there will be more grinding in my future.

Saturday night was our Polikoff Party.  We haven't had one in years.  Forest Hills crowd mainly from Little League.  Wine, beer, Michael's amazing margaritas, Old Bay chicken wings, crudite, cheese, crackers, olives and the rest was frozen appetizers from Costco.  So much dessert-I am cookied out.  And that's not a bad thing.  But since we are visiting Ithaca this weekend, the cookies are going too :)

Dinosaur BBQ

Last night I went to Dinosaur BBQ uptown with Barbara, her daughter Jackie, her niece Katie and Katie's partner Anna.  The scent of the place outside is more than enough to draw you inside.  The smell inside is enough to make you want to stay forever.  Wood bar, floor, tables, chairs and walls with old movie posters and tin signs.  A great selection of beers and of course there's the BBQ!

We had:  An order of fried green tomatoes which are yummy, however, an order of 5 slices of tomatoes costs $8.95.  Truly unconscionable.  We also had:  Pulled pork sandwich; blackened catfish; bbq ribs; pulled pork over portobello mushroom cap and collard greens, corn bread, mac and cheese; whipped sweet potatoes and chocolate ice box cake for dessert.  I brought home an order of garlic chipotle wings for Michael.  Good late night snack :)

Always exactly what you expect, decent service and street parking.  Along with great company, what more could you want?

Brine! And so much More!

I have recently discovered the goodness of brining.  http://www.howtocookmeat.com/briningmeat.htm is a great site to learn not just about brining but how to cook all sorts of meats.  Clear instructions and quantities.

I brined pork chops that Michael said were the best pork chops I have ever made :) 2 C chicken stock, ¼ C kosher salt, ¼ C brown cane sugar, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 C ice water is the basic recipe.  I let them sit turning once for about 6 hours in the fridge.  Then I broiled them to almost complete the cooking, then I added balsamic vinegar to make a glaze and seared them in a very hot pan.  Maybe a bit labor intensive, but obviously worth it.

Denise and Joe and Tom and Monica were here for dinner last Friday night and I brined Turkey tenderloins for about 4 hours, turning once, covering them in brown mustard, then with strips of black pepper bacon, then roasting them in the oven with fingerling potatoes, pearl onions and whole garlic cloves.  They remained really moist.  I served them with mesclun salad with thinly sliced red onion and crumbled French Feta cheese with garlic vinegar and olive oil.  Also, Brussels sprouts sauteed with pancetta and garlic.  Monica brought a yummy dessert of raspberry whipped cream in a chocolate cookie crumb crust.

Saturday night Michael and I went to a BBQ at the little league fields.  Peggy made great chili, Carl was the pit master grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage.  It was a fun night under the stars!

Sunday afternoon Michael and I went into the city with Brett and Lenny to meet Jill after the Avon Breast Cancer Walk.  She is a ten year survivor this year!!!!!!!!!!  We also met her sister Karen and their cousins Vince and Patty.  We all went to Dinosaur BBQ for a yummy dinner:  Hot wings with garlic chipotle sauce, fried green tomatoes (which were $8.95 for 5 slices-WAY too pricey, but good. However, I will not order them again on principle), chicken, ribs, brisket, portobello, corn bread, collard greens, rice, baked beans, a few beers and cosmos and we were stuffed and happy!

This past week I made borscht with meat and matzoh balls.  Borscht, if you like beets, and I do, is so yummy.  My grandmother and mother used to make it for holidays, but I make it just because.  I also made turkey chili with my homemade adobo spice. 

Thursday night, Jennie and I took Barbara out for her birthday to Barosa.  We shared a few glasses of wine and a chopped salad.  I had shrimp parmigiana with spaghetti (it's be sooo long since I had that).  Jennie had sausage and broccoli rabe (her favorite) and Barbara had linguine carbonara that was fantastic.  We shared a creme brulee for dessert with no singing of Happy Birthday and it was a great evening with friends!

Last night, Michael and I went to Ariana's Sweet 16 at Larkfield Manor.  The DJ was fun, everyone was dancing, all night (my feet are crippled).  There was all sorts of food on the buffet and all sorts of drinks at the bar.  We got home at 1am.  Way past my bedtime, but we had so much fun with our friends.

Tonight we are going to Glenn and Eileen's for Sarah's 17th birthday party.  Eileen is making a big pot of turkey chili with all the fixings and I know we will have a great time with our friends!  We are very lucky to have such a wonderful "framily."

I will try to write more often, I have no idea where I've been lately.  xo

Counting/BBQ

Saturday night we went to The Counting Room on Berry Street with Dina and Dmitry. It's a very cool space with neat lighting and seating arrangements. We sat downstairs, where it was much quieter. There's a nice bar and additional seating too. We shared two bottles of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a cheese and meat board (with really good mustard and dried figs). Dina and I shared a veggie sandwich and French onion soup without the soup (toasted bread, onions, cheese on a skillet-with a small glass of soup to pour over the top). Michael and Dmitry each had the Latin pork sandwich.

Afterwards we walked over to Brooklyn Bowl to show them what it's like, but the Tom Tom Club was playing and tickets were needed, so we didn't go in, however, we ran into Joe and Danny right outside. What a nice coincidence!

Later we drove to Aegean Cove on Steinway Street for Greek coffee and Greek yogurt and some other Greek dessert similar to zeppoles but with honey and cherry sauce. Yum!

Sunday night we went uptown to Dinosaur BBQ to meet Jill, Lenny, Brett, Karen, Patty and Vince (Jill's family). Jill had just walked 39 miles over the weekend for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. She was tired but really happy and we were all hungry :) Wings are great. Beer is good. Service is marginal. New location, same deal.

Tonight is roasted chicken with garlic and green onion teriyaki with veggies on the side.

Can't decide on the rest of the week yet...

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......