HUNGRY GERALD

During HG’s youth (many decades ago), liver and onions were served at all working class diners (“greasy spoons”) in New York. The liver was a thin slice with a grey interior. Young HG would give the unappetizing slice a big hit of mustard and gobble it up. Unlike the health police of today, HG’s late Mom insisted “Liver is good for you” and served HG many overcooked portions. Mom redeemed herself with chopped calf’s liver. Her version contained chopped onions (sometimes a bit of hardboiled egg) and an abundance of chicken fat. Some kosher salt, ground pepper, Stuhmer’s pumpernickel bread, cold beer—and Mom’s chopped liver. Eastern European heaven. HG never realized how delicious calf’s liver could be until he had a broiled slice at a modest Paris bistro. A thick slice with a juicy, pink interior. The liver had been marinated in Xeres (sherry) vinegar and served with a splash of melted butter. Accompanied by potato puree. Simple French cooking at its best. Chicken livers are one of HG’s favorite bits of offal. Greek owned New York and New Jersey diners used to serve them over rice pilaf. The liver were dusted in flour and fried to a brown exterior and pink interior. Good eating. Surprisingly, the New York chain of Schrafft’s restaurants (long closed) served a hearty dish of scrambled eggs with chicken livers. In France, chicken livers are often served as a topping for green salad. Sautéed chicken livers are the foundation of Spaghetti a la Caruso, a favorite pasta dish of the great Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso. Try this lusty pasta variation and you might warble some arias.

That’s right. HG refers to cow’s (or calf’s) head. The interior (brains, tongue, cheeks) are wrapped in the calf-skin — a treat. Guidebooks warn Americans to avoid this dish (served at almost every modest bistro in Paris). Adventurous HG has never heeded this counsel. HG finds the dish lush. Don’t try to make it at home. The cooking and dismembering of the head is very complicated and is best left to a French-trained butcher. (HG doubts that many of HG’s followers are going to rush to their butchers for the heads of cows). HG has had splendid tete de veau in Paris at Le Stella brasserie. It’s good at Le Vaudeville near the Bourse. Enjoyed it at a (name forgotten) little workers bistro near the Bastille. The dish is unthinkable without a substantial amount of Sauce Gribiche. This is a sauce composed of mayonnaise, mustard, chopped parboiled eggs, capers, chopped herbs (and, sometimes, cold little boiled potatoes). HG makes this sauce at HG/BSK’s oceanfront summer home on Prince Edward Island. It is sublime topping fried hake, haddock or sole. Adds zest to poached cod or left over chicken breasts. HG gives the sauce added zing by adding a modest amount of cayenne. Food critics who like old fashioned, hearty French dishes, tout the tete de veau at a rough and ready wine bar on the right bank, Le Rubis. The Sauce Gribiche is served in gargantuan portions. Ah, yes. Next time in Paris.

Prepared properly, kidneys are delectable. However, they have to be properly cleansed before cooking in order to get rid of any urinary undertones (Do some Google research to find cleansing techniques). On the other hand, Leopold Bloom (fictional hero of James Joyce’s Ulysses) famously stated that he liked kidneys for the faint trace of urine they left upon his palate. Kidneys (rognons) are on almost every French bistro menu. Prepared in a variety of ways. Mustard sauce. Wine and garlic. Tarragon and butter. HG had lamb kidneys seared on the exterior and pink inside at a pleasant bistro near the Eiffel Tower, Au Bon Accueil. The kidneys were served with ample, buttery potato puree. Mario Batalli, the colorful Italian chef, has a good recipe for fiery Kidneys a la Diabolo. Sardi’s, the New York theater district landmark, had tasty lamb chops accompanied by grilled kidneys (Caution: This was 50 years ago). Steak and kidney pie is an English standby, of course, and HG had a lush version at London’s Connaught Hotel. When Greenwich village residents, HG/BSK often picked up a container of kidneys in mustard sauce from the prepared foods section of Balducci’s, the wonderful Sixth Avenue grocer. Most Americans are suspicious of kidneys. They are missing a treat.

Food writer Alex Lobrano met the late, great Julia Child at a Paris bistro. She was eating sliced radishes with butter and sea salt flakes. JC remarked to Lobrano that a radish always reminded her how wonderful a very simple thing can be. HG agrees. HG also loves sliced red radishes from Santa Fe’s Farmer Market. Stronger black radishes from the Farmers Market are another HG fave. The red radishes are good with butter but HG prefers to smear the black guys with some duck fat. Icy vodka with the blacks. Red or white wine with the reds. BSK delights HG with a special salad of sliced red radishes, sliced baby white turnips, chopped fennel and chopped red onions. A savory accompaniment to fish dishes.

Many years ago in Paris, HG/BSK dined with HG’s beloved sister, Beulah Naomi, and her husband, Daniel Katz, at the bustling, art deco brasserie, Le Vaudeville, near the Bourse (French stock exchange). Vaudeville was a splendid brasserie in those days. It has gone downhill since taken over by a restaurant chain. HG/BSK started the meal with a big platter of oysters (and a bottle of crisp Muscadet). Beulah and Dan were happy with their starter of marinated herring. HG/BSK went on to mains of steamed cod and mashed potatoes with black truffles. Beulah and Dan ordered saumon a l’oseille (salmon with sorrel sauce) and boiled potatoes for their main dish. It was a “Voila !!!” moment for Beulah. She chortled with delight with each forkful. BSK brought back this happy memory last night with BSK’s version of this dish. BSK’s sorrel sauce: chopped sorrel (from the BSK herb garden);butter, chicken broth, shallots, lettuce and an egg yolk). All the ingredient cooked gently and swirled into an unctuous topping for a thick slab of salmon. The fish was purchased at Prince Edward Island’s ByThe Bay Fish Mart. The salmon is farm raised under excellent conditions in Nova Scotia. HG/BSK pan broiled the fish very carefully (overcooked salmon is disastrous). The fish was perfect. The sauce was lush and herbaceous. Only wish that Beulah was here to enjoy it.

Liberte, Equalite, Fraternite. Yes, indeed. France has embraced democracy and Europe. At a joyous demonstration around the Louvre, there was a sign: HOPE BEATS HATE. That sums it up. France made a mighty contribution to the American Revolution, helping the fledgling democracy defeat imperial Britain. (Yes, the USA paid back its debt to France in World Wars One and Two). HG/BSK wish they could be in Paris to join the celebration (BSK is clear eyed. BSK noted that HG”s celebration in Paris would only be partially political. HG’s worship of sole meuniere, ill flottante, quenelles, brandade, soup de poisson, canard confit, plateaus of fruits de mer, cheese platters and gallons of Morgon and Crozes Hermitage could also play a role). The lucky Family Riva (joined by Lesley’s sister, the New York restaurateur, Vicki F.) will soon be in France to celebrate Gorgeous (and smart) Granddaughter Sofia’s graduation from two years of international affairs study in Reims). Since Reims is the center of the champagne country, HG/BSK presume the group will toast Macron with many glasses of splendid (and affordable) bubbly.

French Economy minister Emmanuel Macron (R) and his wife Brigitte Trogneux arrive to attend the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14, 2015. AFP PHOTO / POOL / PASCAL ROSSIGNOL
REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol /POOL (Photo credit should read PASCAL ROSSIGNOL/AFP/Getty Images)

Surprisingly, HG has never had good choucroute in Paris. For the uninitiated, choucroute is an Alsatian dish of simmered sauerkraut topped with a variety of piggy parts: Pork knuckle, smoked pork chops (kassler ripchen); frankfurters, bratwurst, thick cut bacon, sausage, etc. At Brasserie Boulingrin in Rheims, HG was occupied by butter drenched sole meuniere while a waiter walked by with a sumptuous, huge platter of choucroute. HG will certainly order it when (hopefully) HG/BSK get back to Rheims. Choucroute at two Paris stalwarts. Chez Jenny and Brasserie Balzar, lacks zest. Last night was chilly in New Mexico so dinner was hearty. BSK answered the dining challenge by constructing an estimable choucroute. BSK simmered the sauerkraut in a base of olive oil, sliced apples and white wine. Killer kraut. Cut up a Smithfield Farms Polish Kielbasa and let it heat with the kraut. Topped it with boiled all beef frankfurters. Accompanied the dish with small boiled potatoes. Three kinds of mustard on the table: Super hot Keen’s, Maille Dijon, Maille Whole Grain. Kosher dill pickles. Bass Ale. Let the winds blow. All is merriment in the HG/BSK household.

Yes, ice cream. Without question and indubitably, it is the best dessert ever created by humankind. HG reflected on this as HG dove into a dessert of Chapman’s (a Canadian company) Maple Walnut. This used to be a ubiquitous ice cream flavor but is now rarely encountered. Better than the easily available butter pecan. When on Prince Edward Island, HG usually enjoys ADL French Vanilla with a splash of local maple syrup. HG’s son-in-law, the distinguished Profesore Massimo R., gifted HG with a jar of Italian pistachio cream. A small topping of this ethereal substance transports vanilla ice cream to a higher realm. During the early days of HG’s marriage to BSK (Some 53 years ago), BSK introduced hubby HG to a midwestern ice cream dessert: The Tin Roof. Vanilla ice cream with a topping of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and Planter’s Cocktail Peanuts. HG/BSK always indulged in this on summer Sunday nights after returning to Manhattan from sun kissed beach weekends on Fire Island. The combination of creamy, sweet, salty and crunchy was extraordinary. (If you make a Tin Roof be sure to use Planter’s Cocktail Peanuts. Don’t substitute). When at home in New Mexico, HG favors Talenti Gelato (available in a nearby supermarket). Sea Salt Caramel is the best flavor. When in Paris, HG often passes on the pastry desserts in favor of legendary Berthillon ice cream. Very good, but inferior to the sublime ice cream made on the premises at Barney’s, a Rockaway Beach ice cream parlor that flourished in HG’s youth. Was it really that good or is the memory enhanced by HG’s nostalgia?

HG is not a big fan of desserts. Usually prefers to end a meal with a cheese platter and red wine. However, HG recalls with fondness desserts HG enjoyed in New York of yesteryear. Number one, of course, was the hot fudge sundae at Rumpelmayer’s on Central Park South. This was also loved by young SJ and Lesley R. when HG took the youngsters to New York for a “treat day.”. Another great ice cream dessert was the vanilla ice cream ball rolled in toasted coconut. This was served at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. Other sweet splendors: Frozen banana daiquiris at Fornos; Nesselrode pie at Grand Central Oyster Bar; pots de creme at the Oak Room of the Plaza Hotel; cheesecake at Reuben’s (and Lindy’s); coconut custard pie at the Automat; strudel at Eclair. Ed Berberian’s Balkan-Armenian Restaurant on E. 26 Street served a wonderful middle eastern treat–Baklava with Ekmek. The Ekmek was a cross between ice cream and dense whipped cream. Perfect with the sweet pastry. HG is very fond of Paris bistro desserts: Tarte tatin with plentiful creme fraiche; creme caramel; ice cream (from Berthillon) and ile flottante (the best is at Le Stella). Favorite dessert in London is chestnut puree with whipped cream at Gay Hussar. When HG has a sweets craving on Prince Edward Island (which seems to be often, notes SJ), HG opts for Lebanese halvah or vanilla ice cream with Island maple syrup.

HG has no guilty pleasures. Finds porn boring. Ditto thrillers and other best selling fiction. Franchise fast food is inedible. French fries are boring. The crap that lines the snacks and candy aisles of supermarkets are a disgrace. HG hates Coca Cola and all of its vile, chemical relatives. The exception is Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray tonic, the appropriate companion of pastrami sandwiches. HG is by no means a health addict. Though 90% of HG/BSK’s diet consists of fish, vegetables, salad greens, grains and pasta, HG/BSK do eat (with pleasure) an occasional well marbled steak, lamb and pork chops. HG ignores cardiological wisdom by indulging in a number of lo-cal but high cholesterol foods like oysters, shrimp and Mexican menudo, the addictive tripe stew that is featured at restaurants near HG/BSK’s New Mexico home. When in France, HG dines on artery cloggers like brains, kidneys and sweetbreads. (Strangely, never eat them on the rare occasions when they appear on American restaurant menus). When resident on Prince Edward Island, HG eats lots of frog legs (Imported from Vietnam and sold at Sobey’s Supermarket). HG wrote about the delicacy in a recent post. Gifted Daughter Lesley R. is concerned. Always well informed on health matters (She’s marketing and communications manager at a major Rhode Island hospital). Lesley R.has warned HG that Asian raised frog legs pose a health risk since they are often raised and processed in unsanitary conditions. While gratified by Lesley R.’s concern, HG will continue to eat these delicious morsels. Will be closing in on age 87 in a few months. Something will kill HG in the not too distant future. Might was well be frog legs.