HUNGRY GERALD

Lent is ending. Easter Sunday just a day away. The Holy week is very special in northern New Mexico where HG/BSK live. The Pentitntes (Members of the religious brotherhood, Los Hermanos Penitentes) have started to appear trudging along Highway 285/84. They walk for many miles to El Santuario de Chimayo, the church in the little town of Chimayo. The taxing walk serves to link them with “the passion and pain of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” They believe El Santuario has curative powers (Some eat a bit of the earth upon which El Santuario stands). Los Hermanos was founded in Spain and Italy some 800 years ago. It has been active in New Mexico for 400 years. Many New Mexican restaurants like Pojoauque’s El Parasol and Sopaipilla Factory offer Lenten specialties. HG’s favorite is El Parasol’s crisp fried cod on a bun lined with shredded lettuce and mayonnaise. Though an atheist, HG celebrates the Passover Seder meal (Aprill 22 this year). HG/BSK’s Seder is a rather irreverent affair featuring plenty of drinking, laughter and song. After all, Passover is like most Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us. They failed. So, let’s eat and drink a lot.” Traditionally, HG/BSK start the meal with jarred Manischewitz gefilte fish. HG is not fond of this product (It is a mere shadow of the savory, handcrafted gefilte fish–think of it as a Jewish Quenelle– made by HG’s late Mom.) HG is lobbying for Baba Ganoush, a wonderful Middle Eastern eggplant dish made from scratch by HG. (It’s nice scooped up by matzos). The Seder main dish will be brisket or lamb kefte (Garlicky cigar-shaped meatballs). Dessert: Passover cookies plus strong drink–Slivovitz, Vishniak, Grappa, Limoncello, Cognac. Hey, Pharoah. Gotcha!! If there was a Jewish order of Penitentes, HG would join. Might help atone for a sin of HG’s youth: When HG was ten, HG and his pals paid a visit to a large appetizing store in the Bronx. Besides traditional smoked fish, the store offered nuts, dried fruit, hard candies–all in big, open burlap bags. Maxwell House Coffee Company distributed free Hagadahs (the little book used for the story and songs of the Seder) to stores in Jewish neighborhoods (a PR gesture). Having the sunniest and most honest face, HG approached the owner (who worked behind the smoked fish counter) and asked for some free Maxwell House Hagadahs: “We all want to study them before the Seder.” The owner praised the pious lad and while he searched for the religious tomes, HG’s buddies filled their pockets with many goodies. HG believes HG’s diversionary chat with the store owner was the seed which later sprouted into HG’s successful career as a public relations counsel for New York’s mightiest landlords and real estate developers. All goniffs. Like HG’s childhood pals.

HG respects the Italian belief that there is the right pasta for every sauce: Linguine (or spaghettini) with clam sauce; pappardelle with ragu; orecchiette with broccoli, etc., etc.. Ordinarily flexible, Italians are quite firm about this pasta point. Last night, BSK followed Mario Batali’s recipe (from Food and Wine Magazine) for rigatoni alla amatriciana. BSK used Delallo brand rigatoni (these are short, round pasta shapes with ridged surfaces ideal for hearty sauces). Amatriciana is a sauce of bacon, olive oil, bacon fat, onions, tomato paste, tomatoes, parsley, parmesan cheese and (in a BSK twist) plenty of Mexican chile powder and Aleppo pepper for earthy heat. The pasta shape and the sauce were a happy marriage. Not a dish lauded by cardiologists but a splendid once-in-a-while indulgence. HG/BSK’s guests knocked off the pasta with gusto and asked for seconds. This was preceded by appetizers of white anchovies with peppers and olives and surprisingly good shrimp ceviche produced by Pojoauque Super Market (a grocer near HG/BSK’s New Mexico home). Meal ended with a sprightly salad of butter lettuce and Belgian endive. No dessert. Everyone too full. However, snifters of grappa provided a nice Italian apres meal touch.

Yes, HG/BSK can and do prepare excellent Indian food at home. HG refers to Indian food, not Native American food. Despite being surrounded by Native American pueblos, the only Native American food HG has tasted is Fry Bread. Not healthy and not tasty. BSK bases home style Indian cooking on the very good recipes from the cookbooks authored by Vikram Vij and his wife, Meeru Dhalwala. They have a number of super Indian fusion restaurants in Vancouver, B.C. and suburbs. HG/BSK delighted in the restaurants during HG/BSK’s long residence in Vancouver. The special spices needed for Indian cooking can be found at Talin, the international food store in Santa Fe. BSK gets the vegetables for Asian cooking at Whole Foods. Happily, Whole Foods also carries very good frozen Naan, the delectable Indian bread. Last night, BSK prepared a vegetarian Indian dinner (BSK gives the cookbook recipes a special, creative tweak). The dishes were Cauliflower “steaks” in a spicy, but not tongue numbing, curry; Eggplant and green onions in a tomato based curry spiced with turmeric, Mexican chile powder and cayenne. BSK gilded the Naan with olive oil and baked slices in the oven. HG surprised BSK with a bowl of Madras Lentils and a bowl of Paneer Makhani (Paneer cheese in a creamy sauce). No, HG did not cook these treats. Just popped some packages of Tasty Bite Indian Cuisine in boiling water and let them heat for seven minutes. Totally delicious. Totally healthy. Totally natural. No preservatives, MSG, chemicals, coloring. And the Tasty Bite company pledges that 80% of the energy used to make their dishes comes from renewable sources. The Tasty Bite packages HG bought at a local supermarket cost $3.79 each. A package of the lentils and the paneer would make a tasty quick dinner for two accompanied by a bowl of yogurt and sliced radishes plus rice (or Naan).

HG enjoys healthy gustatory pleasure from BSK’s inventive use of green vegetables. Bok choy is the green which enhances BSK’s Asian-influenced sole. BSK stir fries baby bok choy in a bit of peanut oil, soy sauce, sake, minced ginger and garlic. When the bok choy is wilted and has thrown off much water, BSK covers the pan and steams thin filets of Pacific sole draped over the vegetable. HG likes a dash of chile infused sesame oil on the fish. BSK dusts filets of cod with various spices (including turmeric), pan browns the fish, and finishes it in the oven. The cod is accompanied by Belgian endive (cut in half lengthwise) which has also been pan browned and finished in the oven. Cherry tomatoes, roasted until slightly wilted, are a nice accompaniment. HG likes to use leaves of raw endive as scoops for guacamole or super hot Szechuan ground pork. Fennel braised in butter and chicken stock is a BSK specialty and the perfect companion for BSK’s salmon, pan broiled unilateral. BSK also make a lovely salad of thin slices of fennel, radish and baby turnip (when in season). Goes nicely with Middle Eastern dishes or a slab of feta cheese. HG/BSK were introduced to salmon and braised fennel by Bob Judd, a good friend. Judd is a former advertising executive and author of many auto racing novels (he is to motor sports what Dick Francis is to horse racing). Some years ago Judd was based at the London office of the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. He lived in the Hampstead neighborhood in a modernist house designed by the great Hungarian-born architect, Erno Goldfinger. In the sunny kitchen of that house, Judd poached a slab of Scottish salmon and braised knobs of fennel in stock heavily enriched with butter. HG/BSK, Judd and Judd’s then wife, a pianist, drank chilled Beaujolais Nouveau. Memorable. (An aside. Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, hated Goldfinger and his architectural style. He took his revenge by naming his most villainous of villains, “Auric Goldfinger”. Shirley Bassey sang the memorable theme song for the filmed version. Much to Erno Goldfinger’s chagrin, people would hum the song when first meeting him. He sued Fleming and his publisher and the case was settled out of court.)

HG/BSK celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. BSK is about one-fourth Irish. HG is 100% Belorussian-Jewish. HG grew up in a Jewish-Irish-Italian Bronx neighborhood. HG drank in Irish bars, had many Irish-American pals and found Irish-American girls, in their Catholic school uniforms of pleated navy skirts and white blouses, exotic and enticing. At age 13, HG’s first romance was with Irish Peggy R., a delicious, lightly freckled Rockaway maiden. (HG has a thing about freckles. BSK’s freckles are very chic and soignée). When HG was a New York journalist, HG and reporter buddies made the rounds of Third Avenue Irish bars on St. Patrick’s Day. They were accompanied by N.O., a tough Jew. He was a newspaper motorcycle messenger and former driver for gangsters in the Williamsburg and Brownsville sections of Brooklyn. Strangely, N.O. had a pure Irish tenor voice and a vast stock of Irish songs, both sentimental and revolutionary. (Up the rebels!!). After a rendition of County Down and Kevin Barry all Irish cheeks were tear streaked and drinks were on the house for our group. When quite drunk, HG and buddies (Italian and Wasp) headed for Moe Dubiner’s bar on Stanton Street in the Lower East Side for gefilte fish, chopped herring and chopped liver. Pumpernickel bread. Jewish rye bread. Chicken fat More booze. And, then off to the Russian Baths for blazing steam and the shock of the ice plunge. HG would then sleep like a babe and was ready for a day’s work the next morning. Much less booze for HG on St. Patrick’s Day 2016. Sipped Guinness Stout and IPA ale with dinner (Drink is called Black and Tan after the hated British soldiers who, with brutal and murderous tactics, tried to quell the Irish revolution). Later, watched a favorite movie, John Ford’s “The Informer.” Set in Dublin during the revolution, it has a foggy and poetic black and white atmosphere, a great performance by Victor McLaglen and juicy bits from a host of Irish character actors. All of the revolutionaries wear dashing trench coats and fedoras. (HG wears a trench coat and fedora occasionally but does not look like an Irish revolutionary. Alas.) While watching the film, HG sipped a discreet amount of Bushmill’s Irish whiskey. HG Does not miss the New York Paddy’s Day parade (except for the bagpipes). Too many drunken louts.

Yes, HG has posted two appreciations of Toby, The Wonder Dog, in the last eight months. Obsessive? Possibly. However, there’s a back story behind the latest post. A few days ago, just before HG/BSK’s bedtime. Daughter Lesley R. texted that Pip, her family’s dog, was very ill and Lesley was rushing her to a veterinary emergency center. Things were looking grim for Pip. Not much sleep that night for HG/BSK. Pip is a very pretty little dog. Affectionate. Ladylike. Extraordinarily intelligent. Toby and Pip have a grand time when they are together in Rhode Island and Prince Edward Island. Good news in the morning. Pip had survived (now back to normal). Vet explained that Pip had been poisoned by nibbling at the compost pile in the garden. It seems compost heaps produce an acid. When swallowed by a dog, the result is death or serious illness requiring emergency treatment. So, dog owners who are gardeners, be warned. Fence in your compost pile (as BSK has done) to make it dog proof.

The best, cutest, smartest, most lovable, most idiosyncratic dog in the world is HG/BSK’s fragrant and furry companion, Toby, The Wonder Dog. Toby came into HG/BSK’s life two years ago. BSK (accompanied by granddaughter, Gorgeous Sofia, living with HG/BSK at the time) found Toby at a dog shelter. He had been abandoned and mistreated. (must have been owned by a deranged individual). For HG/BSK and Sofia, it was love at first sight. Toby is a Havanese (a Cuban breed) with a bit of poodle in the mix. Toby has never had an “accident” in our home. Toby is discreet where he does his “business.” Toby is not destructive. Toby likes to lounge on HG/BSK’s leather sofa or lounge chair. No scratching. Toby does not shed. Toby is a watchdog, alert to any human or critter intrusion on HG/BSK’s property. Toby is not a finicky eater (though he is perpetually on the lookout for something edible). Toby is a perfect auto traveler, perches on the space between the front seats and admires the view. Toby is a wakeup dog, better than an alarm clock — When it’s time for HG to arise, Toby perches on the bed and licks HG’s ears. And, Toby smells good and has a sweet breath. Idiosyncrasies? When Toby is called he comes or does not come. Depends on his mood; however, a dog treat will always fetch him. Toby is very indecisive about being outdoors or indoors. (“Make up your mind, Toby!!!). Toby is probably spoiled. However he projects an abundance of love which HG/BSK return. In abundance.

Does anyone remember Father Divine (1876-1965)? He was a small (five feet two) African-American man who claimed he was God. He attracted thousands of followers even though he preached celibacy and denounced alcohol, smoking and gambling. His movement had chapters throughout the United States (mostly African-American in the Northeast and white, middle class in other areas.) Divine’s glory years were 1932-1942. In 1932, Divine was living in Sayville, N.Y. and was charged with disturbing the peace. Judge Lewis J. Smith described Divine as “a menace” and sentenced him to a year in prison. Shortly after the trial, Judge Smith died of a heart attack. Divine’s followers characterized this as divine retribution and Father Divine’s popularity soared. Father Divine moved to Harlem in New York, bought hotels and other properties to house his followers and operated low cost clothing stores (Very popular during the years of The Great Depression). Father Divine gave great feasts and banquets for his followers and those interested in his movement (cult?). The food was carefully planned. First there were platters of beans. Then came potatoes. These were followed by courses of collard greens, string beans, lettuce salads, etc. When the banqueters were stuffed, some meager platters of chicken appeared. HG recalled this at dinner last night. HG/BSK’s guest was the distinguished (and hungry) educator/historian/ novelist David F. With St. Patrick’s Day in the offing, BSK prepared traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage. Earlier, HG bought a robust piece of corned beef (properly brined and spiced) at Whole Foods. BSK placed it in the slow cooker with water, onions, garlic, pepper corns, bay leaves. Let it cook on high for seven hours. BSK prepared BSK’s perfect boiled potatoes (in their skins) and crisp sautéed cabbage (This wasn’t the sodden boiled cabbage prepared in the Irish and English manner). The table was set with five varieties of mustard; dill pickles and cornichons. Ample chilled Guinness Stout and Sierra Nevada ale. The corned beef was plucked from the cooker. Alas. It had shrunk into a very small size. Tender and tasty, yes. But, very tiny. A big platter was brought to table. Massive mounds of cabbage and boiled potatoes. Hiding behind them were a few demure slices of corned beef. A true Father Divine dinner.

This cliche of an adage is true for Kokoman, the very odd and wonderful wine/beer/liquor store near HG’s New Mexico home. From the highway (285/84) it looks like a ramshackle joint catering to impecunious drunks. The exterior is plastered with signs adverting beer bargains. Then you go inside. Surprise. On the right are three aisles and a back wall. First aisle: French brandies (Cognac, calvados, armagnac, Prices rising up to the hundreds); Single malt scotch whisky (All the greats); Tequila (Vintage brands including rarities); Whiskey ( Definitive selection of rye, bourbon, Canadian, Irish, Japanese); Sake (all the best); Vodka and gin (There are rarities for the connoisseur). Second aisle: The great, expensive Belgian beers and ales; scores of bitters and mixers; jug wines. Third aisle: Beer heaven (Hundreds of selections from craft breweries throughout the United States plus imports from all over the world including bottles of Britain’s best ales). Back wall: Every brandy, eau de vie, liqueur, aperitif you’ve ever tasted or heard of plus a strong selection of grappas. The left side of the store is devoted to aisles and walls of wine. Very carefully curated. Sound values on drinkable, pleasant wines. Plus all of the world’s greats: California’s cabernets; France’s burgundies and bordeaux; Italy’s Super Tuscans; etc., etc.. HG enjoys strolling through the enticing wine section. Always buys more than anticipated. Temptation overwhelms. One of Kokoman’s missions is to educate the palate of wine drinkers. There’s a themed wine tasting every Saturday afternoon. :Last week it was the U.S. Northwest coast. This week it’s Portugal. In the offing is Germany (the Kokoman wine director says the Teutonic wines have vastly improved. He promises surprises.) The wine tastings draw folks from all over New Mexico, some armed with two glasses–one for white and one for red. The tastings are festive, joyous events. One more reason HG/BSK are glad to live in The Land of Enchantment.

HG has a daily swim before dinner in HG/BSK/s indoor lap pool (The lap pool is in a separate building with a wall of windows and a toilet room, a changing room and a shower room. New Mexico luxury). Feeling healthy, exercised and super clean, HG sips a bitters and soda drink and listens to music. HG/BSK’s musical tastes are eclectic. Jazz: Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli; Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Ruby Braff, Billie Holliday, Fats Waller, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Blossom Dearie; HG’s late, dear friends, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. Plus the extraordinary Chet Baker (HG often wonders why such a handsome man and a supreme trumpeter and singer could destroy himself with drugs at such a young age). Other favorites are from foreign lands. From Cuba: Bebo and Cigala. From Capo Verde: Cesaria Evora. From France: Serge Gainsbourg. From Jamaica: Deadly Dragon Sound Mix CDs. From Brazil: Antonio Carlos Jobim (The Jobim Songbook on Verve has a virtuoso jazz-samba scat by Ella Fitzgerald). While dining and wine drinking, HG/BSK switch to classical music. Yo Yo Ma; the Jascha Heifetz- Gregor Piatigorsky concert series. Plus select Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart and Bach CD’s. (Sometimes there is no classical music but rather the mellow, beautifully phrased songs of Tony Bennet). After dinner it’s movie time from Netflix. Lately, HG/BSK have been exploring little known but critically acclaimed foreign movies. “Divided We Fall” from Czechoslovakia. “Seraphine” , a French-Belgian production. “Diplomacy”, a French-German production. No movies on nights when “Better Call Saul”, “Downton Abbey,” “Breaking Bad”, “Homeland” are (or were) on TV.