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.  
 

Better Late Than Never

The blueberry buttermilk pancakes are from yesterday. Holy Shit, Amazing! Make them now!!! (link to recipe)

The shrimp saganaki is from tonight. Holy Shit, Amazing, Make it now!!! (link to recipe)

The following are past due:
Lamb chops and risotto:

Pork chops with peppers and onions:

Tomorrow night I am ordering pizza. Why, you may ask? It is senior awards night at Forest Hills High School and my boy is receiving an award. Really!!! I am also distributing the Parents Association awards for senior scholarship essays.

Good stuff!

A Few Days Late...

I have no idea where I've been. Please excuse the slacking off :)

Last week there was Risotto Bianco and rosemary lamb chops. Michael has photos he will place here later, but I can't remember the rest of the week. I was busy and stressed.

Yes, me stressed. I took the Department of Education Secretary Test. I drove to Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, actually found a spot on the street. From arrival to conclusion, I was there about 2 hours. I had practiced my steno (actually my very own scribbled version) for 2 weeks prior.

Who dictates letters anymore? It's completely outdated (sounds just like the DOE). Anyway, it's not so easy to listen to someone speak at 70 words per minute, write it all down (no you cannot type it while they speak-would be MUCH easier), then type it back perfectly in business letter format using WordPad (a minor and limited version of Word).

Additionally, I had to copy a Teacher Observation Report (not difficult) and re-type a hand written letter with all corrections made (not difficult either).

Hopefully after the stress (certainly gone now), and the driving to Brooklyn, I can peacefully wait EIGHT weeks to find out if I passed. Then I only need to find a school with openings.

Friday night we went with the Wisners, Spilkes and Judy to Dirty Pierre's. They have very good mussels, and their fries were right on the money. Judy and I had Black Bean Soup and Goat Cheese Salad (Jill too). Lisa had portobello mushrooms with mozzarella, Lenny a burger and Michael had the Jerk Chicken. No idea what Evan had, sorry. My glass of Cabernet was GROSS and they won't make pitchers of Margaritas. But otherwise it was good and fun!

Saturday we opened our cabana at Silverpoint, came home and ordered pizza and salad from D'Angelo's on 108th Street. Yum!

Last night I made Rigatoni with sopressatta, calamata olives and basil in a milled tomato sauce. Michael and I liked it, Jesse did not. Can't win all the time....

Tonight will be pork chops with charred peppers and salad with Green Goddess dressing (who remembers that one)? It was my mom's favorite when we lived in California.

Don't know about Tuesday and Wednesday yet. But Thursday, Jesse and I are driving back to Ithaca so he can make his college advisor appointment on Friday morning. Then we'll drive back afterwards.

And Mother's Day with the Figliolias!

xo