HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, HG is very fond of alcohol in all of its delightful forms. Alas, at age 92, HG has to limit consumption (advised by BSK) since HG’s agility is impaired and overindulgence could lead to a bone breaking tumble. So, HG drinks white wine with a splash of Aperol before dinner; a glass or red with dinner; snifter of bourbon after dinner. Not teetotal, but close. HG becomes wistful (in a happy way) when HG remembers New York boozy meals of yesteryear. Russian Tea Room (when it was owned by the late Sidney Kaye): Blinii with red salmon caviar, melted butter, sour cream. Icy vodka of course. Fornos, long closed Spanish restaurant in Manhattan’s W. 50’s: Margaritas drunk throughout a meal of pork in garlic sauce with Spanish fried potatoes. Two banana daiquiris for dessert. Never left the restaurant sober. Old Seidelberg Bar on Third Avenue: Mugs of tap beer with Liederkranz and onion on German rye bread. Blue Ribbon in W. 40’s (German food): Steak tartare with vodka and beer chasers. Sardi’s: Perfect dry martinis and robust red wine with rare lamb chops and roast kidneys. Christ Cella (the ultimate New York steak house): Scotch sours (fresh lemon juice) before monumental steak. Gage & Tollner (Brooklyn landmark now reopened): Chablis with spring season shad and shad roe. There were many, many more lush pairings of alcohol and food enjoyed (and, not in moderation) by HG but the old guy is wary of being intoxicated by boozy memories.

Sheila T., an activist for the preservation of the natural habitat and BSK’s valuable ally in political and environmental battles when HG/BSK lived in Jefferson County, Colorado, was visiting Santa Fe with a friend. BSK invited the two women for brunch. The menu was egg-and-cheese casserole (recipe from BSK’s Aunt Shirley); toast and local apricot jam (made by neighbor Merry C,); apple cider and lots of coffee. Delicious. HG ate non-dairy Forager yogurt and maple syrup with morning vitamins and medications. Cheese casserole (many bits of ham and greens) is tough going for HG. The old guy’s throat was drastically narrowed by cancer surgery decades ago. Swallowing can be a problem as food can be stuck with resultant coughing. Sheila brough some tasty doughnuts (HG can swallow those) which will be saved for breakfast. HG admired Sheila’s array of great silver and turquoise southwestern jewelry ( a pendant, pins, bracelets and rings). Much was vintage and all were beautiful.

El Faro was HG/BSK’s favorite New York Spanish restaurant for lusty seafood dishes enlivened by an exuberance of garlic (sadly, El Faro closed in 2012). The restaurant was located at the corner of Horatio and Greenwich in Greenwich Village. Amanda Hesser was Food Editor of The New York Times for many years (she left in 2008 and founded Food52). When at the Times she published a book of essays: “Eat, Memory.” Subtitled: Great Writers at the Table–A collection of essays from The New York Times. One of the essays is by Gary Shteyngart, the Russian-American novelist . He grew up in a home without garlic. He longed for garlic. At age 19, he and a girlfriend discovered El Faro. “We ordered two dishes (and in many visits thereafter I have tried no others: a mariscada in green sauce, a sizable pot filled with shrimps, mussels, scallops and clams coated in olive oil, parsley, onions and, yes, melting cloves of garlic; and shrimp al ajillo, saturated in garlic and hot sauce, perfect for scooping with fried Spanish potatoes or pouring over rice.” Shteyngart supplies recipes for both. The mariscada has an odd ingredient–asparagus juice from a can of asparagus. (that’s why you’ll find canned asparagus in HG/BSK’s pantry).

Yes, this was the best Thanksgiving Day feast ever. The culinary team of BSK, gifted daughter Lesley R.; brilliant granddaughter Arianna R., filled HG/BSK’s New Mexico home with intoxicating cooking smells followed by an extravaganza of roast turkey and tasty side dishes. The turkey (from Kaunes grocery in Santa Fe) was juicy, full of flavor and the skin was a burnished brown (skin was nice to look at and a treat to eat). Here’s a roll call of the side dishes: Sausage stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts with bacon and fried onions; pearl onions. Arianna delighted HG with creamed spinach decorated with slices of hard boiled eggs. This creamed spinach was better than any served with steak at New York’s famed chop houses. Guests were friends/neighbors Merry and Fred and they brought a salad of chopped jicama flavored with lime and coconut. Red wine and moist cornbread accompanied the feast. Chilled Prosecco preceded it. HG’s after dinner beverage was Tennessee sour mash whiskey. Looking forward to the coming days for turkey sandwiches and turkey soup.

Magic day before Thanksgiving. Visiting brilliant daughter, Lesley R., and phenomenal granddaughter, Arianna R., are with HG/BSK in Santa Fe. They were busy preparing all of the good things that will accompany the turkey on T-DAY. HG spied cranberry sauce, stuffing and gravy (of course). In addition: Corn bread, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, pearl onions,creamed spinach. The ultimate feast. BSK made butternut squash soup (from late beloved HG sister Beulah Naomi’s recipe). And, that unctuous soup (BSK added some jalapenos and a few other things to enhance the classic wonder) was dinner tonight plus salad, cheese, perfectly moist cornbread and red wine. Comforting down home cooking. After dinner, HG settled back in his Eames black leather and rosewood lounge chair complete with ottoman. (HG has been comforted by various editions of this very expensive contemporary masterpiece for some 63 years). Besides Toby, The Wonder Dog, HG had another companion: Mintern, Arianna’s cat who is beautiful, friendly and infinitely graceful. Multi talented Ari had made the TV and HG’s hearing aids functional. The hearing aids were a BSK thoughtful gift to HG enabling HG to see movies, etc. without subtitles. HG looked forward to a perfect evening (enhanced by a snifter of Tennessee sour mash whiskey). Not to be. The great Eames chair fell apart in a number of pieces. This happened a few years ago,much to HG’s distress. Seems, the epitome of chic modernist comfort has a design flaw. Fortunately, there is a company, Hume Modern, that specializes in repairing Eames chairs. Fear not, HG was not injured but spilled a few drops of whiskey.

HG mused about movies this chilly day in Nee Mexico. As a lifelong cinema addict, HG decided to list the ten movies that gave HG repealed pleasure even after as many as twenty viewings, Some cannot be classified as “great” but all are a delight. #1–Citizen Kane. of course. #2–Children of Paradise (French). #3–The Dead–John Huston brings James Joyce to life. #4 and #5–Godfather One and Godfather Two. True American epics. #6–Chinatown. Literate script and riveting Jack Nicholson. #7–Sweet Smell of Success. Majestic, cynical movie that mirrored HG’s young days as a press agent. Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis are epic. #8–Goodfellas. HG has a weakness for Mafia movies, #9–Grand Illusion Erich von Stroheim and Jean Gabin directed by Jean Renoir (French). #10–Sunday in the Country (French). Directed by Bernard Tavernier with the brilliant Louis Ducreux. A forgotten masterpiece.

Sad news. Dave Frishberg has died. Frishberg was a wonderful jazz pianist and songwriter. He gave HG laugh filled delight singing his witty, inventive songs in a voice that was perfect for them (and, of course, Dave accompanied his vocals with adroit piano riffs). Ah, those songs: “My Attorney Bernie”, “Do I Miss New York ??”, “I’m Hip”, “Dodger Blue”. These are some of my favorites. There are many more. The most extraordinary and ingenious is “Van Lingle Mungo.” Mungo (1911-1985) was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Born in Pageland, South Carolina, he had a long major league career starting in i931. His record: W120–L115. He was an outstanding hitting pitcher and often appeared as a pinch hitter. But, his immortality rests with his unusual euphonious name. He is the centerpiece of Dave’s song. The lyrics are composed of the names of baseball players of Dave’s (and HG’s youth). Two euphonious players of that era were Frenchy Bordagaray and Cookie Lavagetto. Frenchy is in the song but Cookie isn’t. Go figure.

BSK often manages to slip in some cheese (as well as a few other surprise elements) when making her lush sauces. For example: BSK is fond of a dish served at Santa Fe’s Compound Restaurant. It’s polenta smothered in a buttery wild mushroom sauce and topped with sauteed greens. BSK duplicated the dish for dinner last night. But, BSK added Italian truffle cheese as the polenta was stirred. This gave the dish additional creaminess as well as the scent of truffles. Oh, my!! Last night the main dish was penne with cauliflower sauce. BSK added abundant Danish blue cheese to the mix as well as anchovies. Yes, anchovies. They don’t have any fishy taste but enhance all of the other flavors in the sauce. Big winner. BSK also adds anchovies to broccoli pasta sauce plus chunks of mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. HG/BSK are in New Mexico, not Italy. But, sometimes…..

This is a post HG never wanted to write. Stevie died of cancer a few days ago. The world’s wittiest woman, she was HG/BSK’s pal for more than a half century. Memories galore of mirth filled experiences (and meals) in Fire Island, New York, Colorado, New Mexico. She was unique, irreplaceable. A true New Yorker. Talented as a big time advertising copywriter and glorious in her authorship of books, magazine and newspaper articles, television appearances. “The Brisket Book” was her last book and if you love life and food you must own it. The loss of Stevie leaves a hole in HG/BSK’s hearts and lives. Stevie’s object in life was to bring joy and laughter to every occasion. And, she succeeded. (HG has often written about HG’s beloved friend. Check hungrygerald.com archive: Pierson vs.Lebowitz 11/23/2010, More Joy 12/2/2019. Holiday Reunion 12/1/2019).

Hard to believe. HG was 92 on Nov. 9. Many affectionate emails and phone calls from family and friends (plus some much appreciated generous gifts). Let’s face it. 92 isn’t aging or mature. 92 is old. However, HG has enough unimpaired faculties to enjoy life, swimming, the delights of Prince Edward Island and New Mexico. So, after 20 laps in HG/BSK’s heated indoor pool, it was off to birthday dinner at Compound Restaurant in Santa Fe. Forget the food and wine for a moment. The star of the evening was BSK. The woman was the epitome of chic, style and beauty. Ageless. During 20 months in PEI and homecoming to New Mexico, HG has only seen BSK in sweatpants and other very casual attire. No makeup. For HG birthday, BSK did full “dress up.” The color was black. Round neck silk blouse in a black and white abstraction. Kenzo jacket and pants. All bought in Paris 25 years ago. Still the height of style. Attire fit forever svelte BSK perfectly. Yes, HG is 92 and after 58 years of marriage HG remains in love with a wondrous, creative woman. Dinner was upscale. Shared sensational tuna tartare which was finely chopped, topped with black caviar and accompanied by walnut toast, savory mayonnaise and wasabi sauce. Mains were seared greens and wild mushrooms over polenta (a BSK favorite). For HG, a huge dish of two (sizeable) striped bass filets accompanied by cockles in a spicy tomato sauce. These good things rested on a layer of spaghetti squash enriched by tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushroom slivers in a briny sauce with hints of garlic. For dessert, HG had an “Opera” cake. Chocolate mousse enrobed in thick chocolate sauce. There was a bit of ganache and a layer of butterscotch and bittersweet chocolate sauces. Well, if this was an “Opera”, it was a duet sung by Placido Domingo and Joan Sutherland. The food was sumptuous and the Prosecco and Provencal Rose’ accented it but all the feasting was overshadowed by BSK’s dazzling presence.