HUNGRY GERALD

Sharks is a large Peruvian cuisine restaurant that recently opened near our Central Falls, RI, loft. Reviews have been good so a dinner time table for four was reserved–HG/BSK, daughter Lesley R. and her husband, Massimo R. The restaurant was jammed with happy families. A Peruvian musician was on stage with backup music provided by speakers and amplifiers. This was the loudest music ever. Conversation was impossible. We ordered with gestures. This was a Saturday night. Have to check if there’s music every night or only on weekends. Amid the din, our group enjoyed the food. We over ordered. Lots of cold shrimp in various mayonnaise based sauces. Giant platters of fresh fried food. The fried squid (lots of tentacles) was outstanding. HG/BSK will be back (if they have a quiet night). Surprisingly, there were no condiments except quartered lemons. Next time we’ll bring a bag of sriracha, remoulade and Frank’s hot sauce.

BSK found an unusual chicken dinner dish in The New York Times: “One-Pan Paprika Chicken With Lentils, Squash and Daqua”. (What is “Daqua”? It’s a mix of vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper and water.  Much used in Egyptian cooking).  BSK mixed chicken thighs with slices of squash, paprika (much) and salt. Set this aside and sauteed sliced onion, minced garlic in olive oil dusted with paprika and salt. Stirred in lentils with chicken stock after onions and garlic softened  (10 minutes cooking time but don’t let the garlic burn). Poured mix into pyrex baking dish and topped it with the chicken and squash slices. Roasted for 20 minutes. Then baked in a 350 degree oven for an additional 40 minutes (chicken will turn golden brown and squash will soften). BSK mixed sour cream with chopped dill and parsley, removed the chicken/squash dish from the oven and topped it with the sour cream mix and a splash of daqua. Added harissa (and nduja for HG) at the table. Fabulous eating. Drank Beaujolais Nouveau. Very happy that BSK made a double header amount of this dish. We’ll have it again tonight. Hooray!!

When HG was five or six years old, the little fellow spent a year in Athens, Georgia, before returning to the family apartment in the East Bronx. HG accompanied his grieving mother who was in Athens to help nurse my older brother, Bernard, whose right leg was amputated below the knee following a barnstorming airplane accident over the University of Georgia campus where he was in his junior year. Mother and HG lived in a boarding house. It was at the breakfast table there that HG had his first happy encounter with that southern staple–Grits. The jolly and ample Black woman cook served HG the best breakfast ever: Big bowl of grits flavored with ham gravy; fresh from the oven homemade buttered biscuits; large cup of hot milk darkened with a bit of coffee. Nicely nourished, HG was off to play in the backyard with his companions, the cook’s two sons and a daughter. Yes, it was a sad time at the Athens hospital but all was joyous for HG at the boarding house. Years passed and HG never tasted grits again until a business lunch in New Orleans with HG’s public relations client, The Sazerac Company (national distributor of wines, vodka, brandy, bitters and N’awlins specialties like Herbsaint). HG ordered shrimp and grits. Wow! A revelation. HG became a grits addict. When motoring cross country with HG’s beloved wife, BSK, at the wheel, HG always stopped at Waffle House locations for lunches of grits, scrambled eggs and waffles. Thankfully, BSK (and daughter Lesley R.) enjoy grits and cook them to creamy perfection (A chunk of cream cheese is added to the boiling grits, a maneuver learned from Lesley). Sometimes, BSK adds finely chopped cooked baby spinach to the grits that are flavored with parmesan and butter (or virgin olive oil). Last night, BSK cooked grits (stone ground and organic) and topped the grits with shrimp sizzled briefly in oil, garlic and herbs. Yes, BSK transported happy HG to the South.

Rhody is a small state with a big ocean shoreline. For good reason, it’s called “The Ocean State”. And, the seas (and shore) are filled with tasty fish, bivalves and crustaceans. Gifted` daughter Lesley R. and brilliant husband, Profesore Massimo (plus HG/BSK’s beautiful visiting granddaughter, Sofia) hosted HG/BSK to a true seafood feast at their Riverside, RI, home. It was a celebration of Massimo’s latest academic prize. The group toasted his new distinction with glasses of chilled Prosecco. Modest Massimo took a bow and got busy shucking local oysters (he is an expert shucker, a skill he learned at the family oceanfront home on Prince Edward Island). HG drank white wine and savored a dozen briny, flavorful oysters. Lesley was busy at the range frying flour dusted squid–tentacles and rings–for Rhode Island’s official state dish: Fried squid with piquant little peppers. Lesley cooked the dish perfectly–tender and greaseless squid. The feast was climaxed with Lesley’s codfish cakes. Supermarket or fish market prepared fish cakes? Fuhgeddabout it!!  These were big, juicy wonders composed of the right blalance of cod, potato and herbs. A lush and lovely and local feast. Lucky to be living in Rhode Island (in HG/BSK’s Central Falls loft, a quick drive to Riverside).

The Super Bowl (now an American holiday) can be tedious. Not this time. Even though (in HG’s opinion) Philadelphia was the better team, Patrick Mahomes was miraculous and led Kansas City to a last second win. Exciting. HG/BSK television watched with gifted daughter Lesley R.and her brilliant husband, Massimo R. All was enhanced by tasty food and ample beer and wine. Massimo brought pizza from the prize winning Pizza Marvin in Providence, RI. Ate some lush slices in the comfortable living/media room of HG/BSK’s Central Falls, RI, loft. More food. BSK made green chile pork stew with chiles obtained from New Mexico via the internet. They were labeled (in terms of heat) “Medium”. “Medium”? The purveyor must be kidding. This was the most fiery chile stew HG ever tasted (and HG has much picante tolerance). It became edible when topped with ample sour cream. So, HG presumes the brand’s “Hot” chile would boil HG’s tongue. The next night, BSK added canned San Marzano tomatoes and frozen corn kernels to the leftover fire chile. Good idea. HG had a big bowl of altered chile før dinner. Spicy. Not for the timid. But, not crazy hot.

BSK enjoys doing “one pot” dinners, convenient and less work. That’s why sheet pans are indispensable. Last night BSK cooked an excellent dinner–sheet pan chicken with potatoes, leeks and garlic yogurt. Here’s how BSK did it: Chicken thighs and sliced potatoes were showered with pepper and salt. A mix of olive oil, harissa (piquant Moroccan paste),cumin and oil were poured over the chicken in a bowl and kept at room temperature for 30 minutes. In another bowl, sliced leeks, lemon zest, salt and oil were mixed. Oven was heated to 425 degrees. Chicken and potatoes went on the sheet pan in a single layer and roasted for 15 minutes. Leeks mix was scattered over the pan and all was roasted for another 30 minutes. Chicken became golden and the potatoes came to a desired texture. This was topped with yogurt (from The Food Market) mixed with garlic. Heat loving HG added harissa to HG’s plate and the result was zesty,flavorful eating. Red Montepulciano from Abruzze was the accompaniment. BSK scores again.

BSK likes Japanese soba noodles. They are tasty and healthy noodles (made of buckwheat). Last night, BSK was attracted to a New York Times recipe: “Soba Noodles With  Shiitakes, Broccoli and Tofu”. So, BSK mixed chicken stock,rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, salt, red pepper flakes. BSK set his fragrant mix aside and blanched chunks of broccoli in a pot of boiling water. BSK removed the broccoli and cooked the soba in the boiling pot. Took out the cooked soba and mixed it with sesame oil. In wok added canola oil until it sizzled. Stir fried the mushrooms. Broccoli was added for additional cooking. Finally, tofu was added plus the chicken stock mixture to heat.  Oh, my!! Sublime. In a daze of happiness, HG drank more than HG’s usual two glasses of red wine. Slept like a happy baby.

There are few things more comforting on a cold winter day than a steaming bowl of chili (Texas style, no beans). And, that’s what BSK served gifted daughter Lesley R. and Lesley’s brillânt husband, Massimo R., when they came to dinner. a few nights ago. Rhode Island was shivering in an Arctic below zero chill.  But, all was warm and cozy at HG/BSK’s Central Falls, RI, loft.   BSK has often made chili from the Wick Fowler mix but this time she made the dish from BSK’s own blend. So good and modestly picante. Grated cheddar, chopped onions and Mrs. Renfrew’s Salsa topped the steaming bowls. Everybody had second (and third) helpings. BSK made a large pot of the good stuff so there was an ample amount leftover for dinner and lunch the next day. HG has always loved chili. When HG was eight, HG would earn tips from errands at Kingsbridge Road markets, the Bronx neighborhood where HG’s family lived. HG took his pennies (1937, a Great Depression year) to a local diner.  “Bowl o’ Red,” the little guy ordered. Big bowl of pleasure for a dime. Years later when HG was a journalist headquartered on Manhattan’s E. 45th Street, HG would dine at a local chili “parlor”. A bowl cost a few dollars and an option was to have it over spaghetti (a very filling meal). Many pleasant memories.

A joyous evening. Gifted daughter, Lesley R. and her husband, the distinguished Profesore Massimo R., were at HG/BSK’s Central Falls, RI, loft for the alternate weekend dinner. (Next weeked HG/BSK will sup at L. & M.’s Riverside home).  They brought Toby, The Wonder Dog, and Pip. the Gentle Genius female dog. Tummy,rubs, frolics, pats. Happy,happy!! BSK made a big pot of gumbo.HG has noted that BSK gumbo is better than anything served in New Orleans. It is an appetizing dark color. A roux and sprinkles of File powder thicken the texture. It is full of chicken, shrimp, okra, and chorizo. Also chopped onions, garlic, celery, peppers. Outstanding. Even with second and third helpings, there was ample leftover. That means gumbo for dinner tonight plus lunch tomorrow.

A Negroni is the best cocktail. Subtly sweet. Pungent. Sharpens appetite but doesn’t blunt. For years, HG favored  a Martini as a pre-dinner joy. But, a Martini is a left hook to the jaw. A Negroni is an urgent caress. The late, great wit Dorothy Parker characterized the Martini perfectly: “One Martini. Two at most. Three Martinis, I’m under the host”.  Indeed. The classic Negroni is one part gin, a lesser amount of sweet vermouth and a splash of Campari. Many drinkers substitute Scotch for the gin. Others substitute bourbon or rye whiskey. HG chooses bourbon. The Negroni is so  good it leads to temptation.. HG once had three Negronis before dinner. Not as lethal as Martinis, but left HG quite thick tongued and tipsy. Beware. Pleasure can be overdone.