HUNGRY GERALD

Making moonshine and bootlegging have long been traditional Prince Edward Island activities. One company makes a legal version called, Strait Shine. It is distilled by The Myriad View Artisan Distillery Inc. located at Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island. Strait Shine tastes something like a French Marc or an Italian Grappa. But, more powerful. It is HG’s favorite after-dinner drink. (Second best is Bagaco, a Portuguese Marc produced at another PEI distillery). HG takes modest sips of a small amount of Shine since it carries a punch. This is wise since HG precedes it with a generous cocktail (or two) at 6PM and much wine with dinner. This alcoholic regimen keeps HG (pardon the allusion) in good spirits.

HG believes that the problem with sandwiches is there’s too much bread involved. Two slices are too much. And that holds true for rolls and hamburger buns. HG prefers open-faced sandwiches. In HG’s college days at CCNY, the Campus Diner near Convent Avenue served a roast beef (or turkey) platter. The meat rested on a slice of white Wonder Bread and was flanked by mashed potatoes and pallid string beans. All was covered with a maximum amount of dark brown gravy. Appetite honed by football practice on the grassless field of Lewisohn Stadium, HG devoured these dishes with gusto. These days HG is partial to fried haddock sandwiches on the bottom half of a burger bun. HG eats this with knife and fork since the fish is doused with tartar sauce and Tabasco. Franks are removed from their bun and eaten au naturel with mustard and sauerkraut (or pickle relish if kraut isn’t available). Hamburgers get similar treatment. HG rarely eats them anywhere but in the kitchen of BSK, The Burger Baroness. BSK grills them in a seasoned black cast iron pan; tops them with melted cheese and sweet onions. No buns. Just glory. HG concedes there are sandwiches where two slices of bread are essential: The Reuben sandwich (best ever was served at Reuben’s Restaurant on Manhattan’s upper east side. Alas, long closed).; the classic diner grilled cheese (doused with plenty of Worcestershire Sauce); bacon, lettuce and tomato on whole-wheat toast (heavy on the mayo). And, of course, New York’s Katz’s Delicatessen pastrami sandwich. The best, and messiest, two slices of bread sandwich was at HG’s favorite Jewish delicatessen, Gitlitz on the upper west side (HG/BSK lived two blocks away). This was composed of (HG’s orders) chopped liver, pastrami, sliced onion, coleslaw, and Russian dressing. Very untraditional but super delicious. Waiters frowned. One day (if health luck holds out) HG/BSK will visit the Scandinavian countries and eat the famed smorrebrod: open faced sandwiches often featuring herring and smoked fish. Pass the icy Aakavit and beer.

Beans are an essential part of HG/BSK dining in New Mexico. Every Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant serves abundant amounts of refried beans with their dishes. “Charro” beans are also a feature (Pinto beans cooked with bacon, onions, tomatoes, cilantro). The best canned beans are the Goya brand (Disclaimer: Years ago, HG had the pleasure of serving as public relations consultant to this wonderful Hispanic company). Their cannellini beans are exceptional. HG likes them mixed with olive oil and chopped garlic as an accompaniment to rare pan-broiled rib steak. These are also splendid in a bowl of Italian canned tuna seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, sweet onions and garlic. A mound of Goya black beans is topped with chopped onions and sour cream. Worthy companion to fried pork chops which have been dusted with Goya Adobo spice powder. In HG’s New York/New Jersey days, HG frequently dined in Cuban eateries and had fried shrimp with “Moros y Cristianos.” This was composed of black beans topping white, fluffy rice and recalled Spain’s embattled history. BSK likes Goya’s garbanzo beans and uses them in a hearty chickpea soup. BSK uses the brand’s pinto beans cooked with Indian sauce. It’s a favorite (served with rice) after school snack for both Hindu and Muslim children. Sadly, Prince Edward Island supermarkets don’t carry Goya products. The canned beans they carry are inedible.

Bruce Maguire and his delightful companion, Theresa Tursellino, just spent five days on Prince Edward Island with HG/BSK. Couldn’t ask for better and more thoughtful guests. Tidy, energetic and resourceful, Bruce was constantly helpful and (technology never defeats him) managed to coax HG’s CD changer to function. As for Theresa T. The lovely woman is a paragon. When a meal ends, Theresa does the cleanup. And, that includes greasy pots and pans. She doesn’t even ask “Can I help ?” She just goes to work with maximum efficiency. The B & T visit was filled with beach walks (Basin Head and Skunk House Road), a variety of weather changes plus much feasting. Lobster rolls at The Lobster Shack facing Rollo Bay in the Town of Souris and fried haddock tacos at Red’s food truck on The Town of Montague waterfront. Home meals featured Digby Bay scallops, local lobster and steamer clams; Atlantic haddock and Nova Scotia salmon (BSK’s sorrel sauce gave the salmon a Paris lushness). Fourth of July was celebrated with no military flourishes but a BSK Ohio dessert, Tin Roofs (vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and Planter’s Salty Cocktail Peanuts). HG was Bruce’s mentor and father figure at the beginning of Bruce’s very successful public relations career. HG considers Bruce as HG’s Irish son. B & T left early this morning and didn’t awaken their hosts. They left behind a gracious note and happy memories.

Prince Edward Island’s St. Peters Bay community (HG/BSK’s home is perched overlooking the sea a few miles from the Bay) isn’t exactly bursting with restaurants. There’s Rick’s Fish and Chips and Seafood. Very good but usually crowded with often a long wait. Lin’s (close to Greenwich National Park) has scallop sandwiches that are much favored by HG/BSK’s family. Ang & Mo’s (on St Peters Landing) for a bowl of hot soup and a fresh biscuit. There’s one fine dining establishment: The Inn at St. Peters. This is HG’s choice for a generous lobster roll. A recent welcome addition to dining in the neighborhood is Fryers Hut, a food truck parked on St. Peters Road. Outstanding French fries from just-harvested PEI potatoes, spuds with a delicious mineral tang. They do a nice fried haddock sandwich. Haven’t tried their beef dishes but nephew Haru (expected on PEI with family in August ) enthusiastically consumed their cheeseburgers last summer. Unexpectedly, Fryers Hut serves an outstanding “Jumbo Hot Dog.” Right up there with the tube steaks at the legendary Katz’s in New York. HG is looking forward to a steaming choucroute next week. October bratwurst and kassler ripchen (smoked pork chop) will nestle in BSK’s flavor enhanced kraut. The topping will be three Fryers Hut franks. Gahan’s PEI Ale, English and French mustard, pickles and fiery horseradish will be on the table. Robust flavors.

The best honey HG has ever tasted is Lucky Bee Homestead Buckwheat Honey produced by Sabine Schoenknecht at Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. (BSK and Gifted Daughter Lesley R. also love it). Often, HG has a spoonful with red wine at the end of a meal. BSK has a spoonful in the morning. BSK claims the honey prevented an oncoming head cold. HG uses lesser honey in a variety of ways. As a topping for pancakes or hot or cold cereal. As a sweetener in tea or a bowl of plain Greek yogurt. It is a necessary ingredient in grilled Korean pork bellies or chicken. A few drops will add a nice tang to Chinese dishes that usually call for the addition of sugar. Honey is better. Hey, bees. Keep buzzing!!

Rhubarb was a staple in HG’s youthful diet. HG’s late Mom pronounced it “roobock” and labeled it “good for you.” Mom often cooked prunes with it to heighten the laxative effect. It was like a nuclear bomb in the colon. BSK likes rhubarb and, since strawberries are in season, today cooked a tart and tangy rhubarb and strawberry compote. HG’s Mom would have approved. HG’s favorite use of rhubarb is in Blueberry-Rhubarb and Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam produced by Prince Edward Island’s Sunshine Farm using all natural ingredients. HG likes these jams as accompaniments to Stilton, Bleu or Gorgonzola cheese. Perfect with the last glasses of red wine at dinner. Nice topping Club crackers smeared with cream cheese or peanut butter. This year, rhubarb has made an appearance on the menus of Paris bistros. It’s an ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes. Since rhubarb is very inexpensive, its inclusion is probably a response to the rising costs of French produce.

From the 19th to early 20th-century Celery was not just a popular vegetable in America, it was a national obsession. Other than coffee and tea, celery appeared on more menus than any other foodstuff — raw, fried, mashed, fed to ducklings, jellied. Wealthy families displayed celery in cut crystal vases as a lavish table setting. On one early 20th century menu dug up by the New York Public Library, a dish of caviar is priced at 25 cents; celery is 30 cents. Times have changed. Celery is a neglected vegetable. Not by BSK. Celery is included in BSK’s mirepoix that enhances many dishes. It is also an ingredient in chopped salad a la BSK with scallions, onions, radishes, baby turnips, fennel, parsley and cherry tomatoes. (HG, lover of Asian food, likes it mixed with cold Vietnamese rice noodles and gilded with lemon juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce and chili oil). Don’t see celery on many restaurant menus these days (Sometimes used as a modest garnish). A great cooked celery dish was the braised celery served in years past at The Oak Room in New York’s Plaza Hotel. If memory serves, it was topped with a bit of beef marrow. Lush. For many years, diners at New York restaurants were served with a dish of celery and green olives on ice. These were nibbles to accompany the pre-dinner cocktail. That custom has vanished. Pete Meehan, in his book, “Lucky Peach: 101Easy Asian Recipes,” has two celery recipes HG/BSK will try. One is for “Spicy Cold Celery.” Thin sliced celery (cut on an angle) is smothered in a dressing of sesame oil, chili oil, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and a few crushed Szechuan peppercorns. Sounds like a good warm weather appetizer. The other recipe is for “Szechuan Chopped Celery With Beef”. This calls for chopped celery and chopped beef to be stir-fried with Korean chili-bean paste and other ingredients and served over rice or Asian noodles. HG intends to cook this and will add Sambal Oelek to the HG portion. Some (include HG) like it hot.

The first time HG tasted salmon with sorrel sauce was at a curious locale: The Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe. This was some years ago when the restaurant was famous for introducing sophisticated versions of Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes. But, on that night the chef had received fresh salmon from the west coast and was eager for HG to taste it. The fish rested in a pool of lush sorrel sauce. Superlative dish. When in Paris, HG/BSK ordered it at the Le Stella and Le Vaudeville brasseries. HG’s beloved late sister, Beulah Naomi, was ecstatic about the Vaudeville version. However, the ultimate sorrel sauce is created by BSK. Fortunately, BSK raises a big crop of sorrel on Prince Edward Island. This means lots of tangy sorrel soup (served both hot and cold) and, of course, sorrel sauce. Last night, HG pan broiled salmon filets and cooked mashed potatoes. BSK made an ample bowl of sorrel sauce and braised a head of fennel. (It was Bob Judd, novelist/poet/advertising executive, who introduced HG/BSK to braised fennel as the appropriate companion to salmon). Yes, the HG/BSK collaboration produced a perfect dinner. HG’s mashed potatoes were original. Spuds a la HG consisted of boiled PEI potatoes mashed with olive oil, warm chicken stock and plentiful grated garlic. No butter. No cream. Very savory dish. A very famous Paris chef, the darling of wealthy gourmands, boasted that his mashed potatoes consisted of four parts butter to one part potato. HG’s comment: Feh!!

bunch of fresh cut green sorrel leaves on white background

No, HG is not referring to a fine bowel movement. HG is speaking of a waste disposal facility known in the vernacular as “the dump”. They are usually grim and foreboding places. And, smelly. When in New Mexico, HG delivers the month’s household garbage to “the dump” in the Jacona neighborhood on route 502. It is the one place in The Land of Enchantment where HG is not greeted with smiles and friendly courtesy. Contrast this with the waste disposal facility (HG feels it would denigrate it by calling it “the dump”) in Dingwell Mills, Prince Edward Island. The manager/cashier is an attractive, smiling, curly headed woman. She warmly welcomes HG/BSK and Toby, The Wonder Dog. The principal attendant is another friendly greeter (and helps unload HG/BSK car if it’s very full ). Toby loves to
come here. That’s because the intelligent dog knows that before leaving the manager will present him with an excellent dog treat. Typical PEI. Typical Canada. HG/BSK and Toby will join in Canada Day, July 1. Glad to be in the northern democracy, home of the NBA champs.