HUNGRY GERALD

Soon off to Riverside, R.I., for holiday feasting and fun with the glorious Riva family. Daughter Lesley R. promises osso buco for Christmas dinner. That’s a zillion times better than turkey. (Viva Italia!!). Russ & Daughters will provide the traditional Jewish Feast of the Seven Fishes. And, there will be fabulous dinners at some of the superior Portuguese, Chilean and Chinese eateries in Providence. Meanwhile in New Mexico, Toby, The Wonder Dog, and HG/BSK’s property will be under the superior protection of pal/tenant Robert C. and pal/house sitter Vicki B. HG/BSK will miss their little furry buddy. Also seriously missed will be son Jeremy and wife Maiko plus very tall Haru and adorable Teru. Saving grace is there will be much Face Time with the Tokyo family. HG/BSK and the Riva family will miss Jeremy’s potato latkes. Granddaughters Arianna and Sofia will heat up a skillet and give latke construction a try.

HG is very fond of Tofu in all of its glorious forms. Here are some of the Tofu delights HG has experienced: Silken Tofu with Spinach at Fortune Garden in Vancouver, B.C.. Silken Tofu in Ma Po Tofu at Kwan’s in an Oklahoma City suburb. Fried Tofu at Shohko in Santa Fe. Steamed Tofu in pho at Saigon Kitchen in Santa Fe. Here in New Mexico, BSK cooks firm Tofu in BSK’s variation of the Ma Po dish. HG often lunches on Vietnamese rice noodles cooked in chicken broth with firm Tofu plus onion and garlic slices (all enhanced by chile and sesame oil). Sopaipilla Factory, a very pleasant Mexican restaurant near HG/BSK’s home, has many vegetarian Sikh customers. For them, the chef substitutes Tofu in beef, chicken and pork dishes. Yes, Tofu is versatile but HG thinks Tofu in Mexican dishes is improbable and not palate pleasing.

It is a cause of wonder. Why is BSK, a woman in her seventies, beautiful in face and figure, lithe, supple, strong and filled with boundless energy ? Yes, BSK works out four times a week at the Pojoaque Wellness Center (10 minute drive from HG/BSK’s New Mexico home). But, the true answer is in BSK’s diet. Sour dill pickles and lightly salted peanuts are daily basics. The pickles are Bubbie’s (expensive) or Trader Joe’s (cheap). The peanuts are Feridie’s (expensive) or TJ’s (cheap). BSK often lunches on apple slices and a handful of peanuts. BSK tops congee with peanuts as well as curries. No pickles at BSK’s breakfasts but a crisp condiment with many dishes. HG believes BSK’s pickles/peanuts emphasis should be investigated by nutritionists. Sure works for BSK.

Thrifty BSK spotted skinless/boneless chicken thigh for sale at Whole Foods. Picked up two packs for two nights of delicious oven-cooked dinners. One was chicken with potatoes, arugula and garlic. The other was chicken with garbanzos, cumin and turmeric. (New York Times recipes). Both dishes marinate the chicken in a yogurt sauce before cooking it to a tender crisp. HG accompanied the meals with a big bowl of Greek yogurt flavored with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a host of spices: Zaatar, smoked paprika, cumin, sumac, white pepper plus sea salt. Dollops of Harissa (Moroccan fiery pepper condiment) enhanced the food. To avoid growing feathers and clucking, BSK interspersed the chicken dinners with BSK’s incomparable penne with broccoli.

Permit HG to express fury. In a searing column, Paul Krugman of The New York Times, called the Republican Party the “party of full authoritarianism.” In its blind obedience to its leader, Der Trumper (and his lackeys), the GOP has used gerrymandering and blocking the votes of minorities (mainly African-Americans) to keep and seize power. It has echoed Der Trumperer’s war on the media and his disgraceful environmental and immigration policies. The GOP and Der Trumperer have denigrated some of the most significant American institutions: The Federal and State Courts; the Department of Justice; the FBI, the CIA, etc. Like Hitler, the GOP and Der Trumperer are trying to create a Federal government where all institutions serve the President (or Dictator) and not the people of the United States. The disaster of global warming has been denied and the use of fossil fuels has been encouraged. The changes in environmental laws favor industrial giants (and oil companies) while despoiling our air, water, wild life, wilderness, national parks and monuments. Der Trumperer’s tax laws favor the rich and the USA”s health care system is a shambles, the worst among industrialized nations. HG thinks labeling the GOP “authoritarian” is too mild. In HG’s view, the GOP is creating a Fascist oligarchy. Democracy is in danger.

The media went overboard this week in praise of the late President George H.W. Bush. HG did not share in the national mourning. As head of the C.I.A., Bush oversaw many covert programs within Central America that were intended to disrupt those countries. We are still seeing the fallout today in terms of migrant refugees fleeing the chaos of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, etc. As the Republican Presidential candidate Bush approved the infamous, racist “Willie Horton” commercial. Basically, this commercial warned voters that the Democratic Party’s more lenient criminal incarceration policies would free a horde of African-American rapists and murderers. It was racist and mean. Facts about Democratic policies were false. Bigotry won and helped turn the tide of the election. During his presidency, Bush ignored the AIDS epidemic that was killing his fellow Americans. HG believes his military interventions in Iraq and Panama were not necessary. There were diplomatic solutions. Bush was a product of the East Coast Republican establishment and the New England W.A.S.P. aristocracy. He had patrician dignity and manners. This is in direct contrast with the semi-Fascist, real estate developer boor now occupying the White House. Thus, the overpraise.

Hey, no naughty thoughts, please. HG refers to a rapidly prepared Korean chicken dish that is spicy (or super hot if you like fiery food). Here’s how you make it: Slice chicken thighs into squares. Marinate them for 1/2 hour in a mix of oil (canola or peanut), guanjang (Korean chile paste), garlic, ginger, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, chili powder. (Google for precise recipes from Asian mavens). Pre-heat a cast iron pan. Fry on hight heat. Pay attention. Turn them over so the chicken caramelizes a bit during quick cooking. Last night, HG put the chicken on a bed of rice and used generous amounts of hot chile oil and sambal oelek to create incendiary food. Drank icy beer to quench the flames. Pleasure.

This is a vegetable that’s sometimes labeled “endive” or “Belgian endive.” Whatever. It’s all splendid. BSK sometimes mixes endive spears with Boston lettuce. HG approves of this mix but no other. HG’s favorite dressing for an endive salad is BSK’s sublime blue cheese or French roquefort dressing. With an extra hunk of the dressing cheese this is a very nice finale to dinner when accompanied by glass of a good red wine (tonight it was Chianti). Endive is versatile. It’s very pleasant when braised in olive oil and white wine. Nice accompaniment for a chicken paillard. Sometimes HG eats braised endive over garlic and anchovy enriched pasta. It’s a perfect scoop for hummus, tsatziki and other spreads. Very nice with a stir fry of ground pork, sesame oil, scallions, szechuan peppers and a splash of oyster sauce (or hoisin). Ale in hand, HG likes to scoop up this mix with crisp, cold endive spears.

Yes, chicken fat. This is an elixir that captures the very essence of a chicken and is possibly the best artery clogger known to humankind. HG’s late Mom rendered her own and made lavish use of schmaltz. It enriched chopped liver (of course), matzo balls, chopped egg salad, kasha varnishkes, potato blintzes and every variety of stewed and fried dishes. One of Mom’s specialties was “tzimmes”. This was a long simmered stew of carrots, honey, ginger, cinnamon, chicken fat and–ugh!!–chicken feet, HG would push the chicken feet aside and relish the “tzimmes”. Contemporary versions of the dish (even Supergoy Martha Stewart has one) add sweet potatoes, prunes and sugar. Says HG: Feh!!. HG is a radical in politics and a conservative in food, scorning foams, sous vide cooking and other innovations.(many Italians share this proclivity). Schmaltz has entered the American language as defining an excessive sentimentality in drama and musical arts. “Tzimmes” is a Yiddish idiom defining an unnecessary fuss. HG recalls HG’s after school snack: Slice of pumpernickel bread with 1/4 inch of schmaltz and kosher salt and black pepper (sometimes slices of raw onion was added). Armed with this nourishment, HG was a swift and bruising Bronx sandlot football player. If you want to sample an abundance of chicken fat dine at Sammy’s Romanian in New York. There’s a big pitcher of the godly stuff on every table. Sammy’s has frozen vodka, old style Jewish food, music, dancing between tables. Yes, Sammy’s is truly schmaltzy in all meanings of the word.

This is a glorious vegetable. Alas, fennel is underused in American kitchens. Happily, it is a staple in BSK’s cuisine. BSK uses it in BSK’s chopped salad of white turnips, cherry tomatoes, chopped onions, radishes, scallions, parsley, basil, etc., in a sprightly mustard vinaigrette. Decorates it with chopped fennel fronds. BSK braises fennel in chicken broth, olive oil and butter until deliciously smooth and soft. It is HG’s favorite accompaniment for salmon cooked medium rare. HG was introduced to this delightful combo by long rime pal Bob J., the novelist, poet and former luminary in the field of creative advertising. The meal (many years ago) was cooked in the kichen of Bob’s modernist house (designed by famous architect Erno Goldfinger) in the Hampstead section of London (Bob now lives on a Montana ranch). A non sequitur: Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond had a quarrel with Erno Goldfinger, and much to Erno’s chagrin, named a greedy bad guy in one of his novels “Goldfinger” (remember the “Goldfinger” song that introduced the movie version?). Another non sequitur: The Italian word for fennel is “finocchio”. It is also a derogatory term for a gay man. In the classic “Godfather One” movie, Vito Corleone (the Godfather) berates the actor/singer Johnny Fontane (loosely based on Frank Sinatra): “Have you become a Hollywood finocchio?”