Back in New Mexico where our gardens are ablaze with color. Daffodils, tulips, forsythia, lilac bushes. HG/BSK ambled through the apple orchard which is in full blossom. The fragrance is delicious. Fish are leaping about in the Koi pond and Toby, The Wonder Dog, is leaping in pleasure–delighted at the HG/BSK homecoming. BSK prepared one of HG’s favorite dishes: A roast spatchcocked chicken. BSK marinated the succulent Bell & Evans bird at room temperature in a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary. The nicely browned, juicy chicken (and plenty of herbaceous, garlicky juices) was served with BSK’s smashed potatoes. (BSK crushes boiled potatoes with chicken stock and then adds sliced scallions). The next day, HG cut the left over chicken in slivers. Sliced Persian cucumbers, sweet onions, carrots and radishes. Cooked and quickly cooled (under cold water) some Chinese cellophane noodles. Made a dressing of Vietnamese Red Boat Fish Sauce, brown sugar, water, sesame oil and red chile flakes. Mixed everything together, Topped the platter with torn leaves of mint and basil.and a shower of chopped, salted peanuts. A bottle of Sriracha on the table for added heat, Drank cold Anchor Steam Ale with this vaguely Vietnamese dish. Pleasant eating on a warmish spring night.
More sun. More sea. More fun. And, a nice surprise. Beautiful Zena B. has accompanied SJ and family. (The lovely lass doesn’t swim but sunbathes and hot tubs). Ram Sea, the condo/resort BSK selected, is comfy, convenient and friendly. Not to be mistaken for Palm Beach or the Riviera. Unchic. Caters to families from the South, midwest and Canada. Lots of kids and teens and college-agers. These teenagers and collegians are not the Spring Break cliche of wet-T-shirt-contest-having, beer swilling, vomiting-on-the-beach barbarians; rather, they seem to be busy all day flirting, joking, playing volleyball, kayaking, paddle boarding, throwing footballs, etc. BSK remarked on how beautiful and fit the young women looked — lean and athletic. These are young women who exercise and play soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, etc. The girls of HG’s generation (and possibly BSK’s) seemed forced into the role of beach bunnies whose principal activity was nurturing a tan. Our fellow vacationers at Ram Sea are a kind, courteous and helpful group of folks. When HG tripped leaving the sea (nothing serious), a half dozen young people and a group of oldsters raced to his rescue. Sun, swimming and sunset drinks on the terrace created raging hunger. HG, BSK, etc., abandoned seafood and drove to Pho Kien Kang, a Vietnamese restaurant. Egg rolls; big, steaming bowls of pho with sliced beef; grilled pork on “broken rice.” HG mused how immigrants have improved American restaurant cuisine. There are now few American cities where one can’t get a big bowl of good pho. Hopefully, when the Mideast madness simmers down, we’ll get a deluge of good Syrian and Iraqui eateries.
In St. Petersburg, Florida for annual visit with BSK’s very frail 95-year-old Mom (the brave lady hangs on and seems to enjoy seeing her family). BSK had the good idea of renting a 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo facing the Gulf of Mexico. SJ and family motored down from frozen Brooklyn for some much needed warm Florida sun; white, powdery sand beaches and sea swimming. HG/BSK arrived on a Saturday, did some necessary shopping for essentials, basked in the hot sun (temps in the high 80’s), swam in the warm sea, loosened muscles in a hot tub, showered and drank cold white wine on the sea facing terrace. Sunset over the Gulf was a dramatic blaze of color. Appetites well honed, HG/BSK were off to Leverock’s Restaurant for some traditional Gulf Coast seafood. Started off with some Gulf oysters (bland when compared to the briny Northeastern variety but tasty when enhanced by horseradish, lemon and hot sauce). Very good grilled Grouper with cole slaw and sweet potato fries. Shared a dessert of Key Lime pie. Went back to the restaurant on Sunday night after late afternoon arrival of SJ family. Easter Sunday crowd had demolished all of the oysters but the group managed to dine lavishly on fried shrimp, steamed snow crab, grilled Grouper, fried onion rings and a giant helping of shrimp and bacon over cheese grits. Shrimp in local St. Pete restaurants come from shrimp fleets (many manned by Vietnamese emigres) operating out of New Orleans and Galveston. These shrimp are fresh, juicy and much better than the frozen, tasteless variety served in Northern states. Happy mouthfuls.
Back in New Mexico. Blue skies. Bright sun. Temperatures in the 60’s. Much cooler when the sun goes down making HG/BSK’s living room fireplace a colorful and warming amenity. Delightful reunion with Toby, HG/BSK’s much loved dog. Polly B., neighbor, friend and much lauded photographer, gave HG/BSK a homecoming dinner. This was followed by a brief visit from Antony and Claudia C. (A talented couple: He manages a mutual fund and she’s a journalist-author-radio interviewer). BSK’s magical meat loaf for dinner. HG is taking advantage of the brief stay in the Land of Enchantment by ingesting loads of menudo and green chile smothered enchiladas at favorite neighborhood eateries. Next week HG/BSK will be off to Florida (St. Petersburg) to visit BSK’s 95-year-old Mom. Since it will be Spring Break, HG/BSK will be joined by SJ and family for five days at a beachfront condo. The Brooklynites need to thaw after the vicious, frigid and almost endless Northeast winter. Anticipate much sun, sea and seafood fun in St. Pete.
Last day in Vancouver. Wistful HG/BSK derived comfort from knowing there would be a return. Strolled and drove through many Vancouver neighborhoods including Point Grey (spectacular views, posh homes); Jericho Beach (salt air and sand beneath the toes); Mt. Pleasant (hipster heaven); Commercial Drive (the 60’s are still alive); East Side bordering Chinatown (still a tragic cesspool of drug addict horror). Walked through Stanley Park, most beautiful of all urban parks replete with delightful beaches, bike paths (stirring views), a cricket ground, a world class aquarium,a giant swimming pool, totem poles and other attractions. Visited Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings Street, the wonderland of housewares, spices, pasta, grocery items and more…much more. Sampled a lovely variety of olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Bought Aleppo pepper, Slap Yo Mama Creole Mix, Feridies Salted Peanuts (the best) and sundry other useful and tasty items. Dinner at bustling, reliable Congee Noodle House (located across the street from HG/BSK’s former Vancouver loft). Sliced pork with red peppers, green peppers, onions and black beans; spicy minced pork with silky tofu; fried squid (alas, a limp loser this time); fluffy rice and Tsing Tao beer. HG will miss CNH’s “Chef’s Special Chicken”, rice crepes stuffed with pork; wontons, shrimp dumplings, roast duck, fried minnows and smelts; all of the scrambled egg dishes. Plus, of course, the incomparable congee (some 40 varieties). And, a big bill is as rare as a CNH waitperson smile.
Leave it to BSK. HG’s lovely life companion of more than half a century has found the perfect theme song for hungrygerald.com. It’s Memphis Minnie (1897-1973), singing “Keep On Eating,” a musical tribute to appetite. Memphis Minnie recorded the song for Vocalion Race Records in 1935. Give a listen. The great blues lady didn’t mind a bit of double entendre as in her song “I’m Selling My Pork Chops But I’m Giving My Gravy Away.” As HG’s theme song, “Keep On Eating” beats out, barely, some other HG musical food favorites: “Dunkin Bagels” and “Matzo Balls” by Slim Gaillard (the inventor of the hipster “Vouty” language) and Fats Waller’s tribute to seafood: “Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama)” with the immortal lyrics: “Shrimpers and rice are very nice. Hold tight hold tight hold tight hold tight Foo-ra-de-ack-a-sa-ki. Want some seafood Mama.”
Yes, the Gods give and then take away. Okay, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. The Gods got even by walloping Boston (and most of New England) with a brutal series of blizzards and sub-freezing weather. And, now there’s more bad news coming from New England. The Pawtucket Red Sox (the PawSox) is the Triple-A farm team of the Boston Red Sox. They will open the season in their home stadium, McCoy Stadium, on April 16, against a traditional foe–the Rochester Red Wings. In April 1981 the two teams played organized baseball’s longest game–33 innings. The teams stopped playing at four AM. The score was tied 2-2 after 32 innings. The game was resumed in June with the PawSox scoring in the bottom of 33rd to win 3-2. McCoy Stadium was built in 1942 and refurbished many times. It now seats 10,000 and average daily attendance is 7,000. My Rhode Island family tells HG that McCoy is the ideal place to watch a baseball game. They mention that the scale of the stadium and a certain humanity to the design encourages a rapport with the players and reminds fans that baseball is a game and not a television-fueled industry. Now comes the sad news. Investors have bought the PawSox and have announced plans to move the team from McCoy and Pawtucket to a larger and more “modern” site in the neighboring city of Providence. Pawtucket is a gritty little city that has fought hard to replace the manufacturing jobs once housed in the many local loft buildings. The PawSox give Pawtucket an identity. The team’s move would be an urban tragedy.
The temperature in HG/BSK’s New Mexico neighborhood has been in the low thirties lately. This may seem like tropical weather to those unfortunate folks who live in the Northeast but it seems frigid for the fortunate residents of The Land of Enchantment. That means comfort food for dinner. HG/BSK had a busy day so didn’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Sam Sifton’s New York Times recipe for “Vaguely Vietnamese Slow Cooker Pork Tacos” seemed like a good idea. Dusted off the slow cooker (haven’t used it in some time). The pork butt was popped into the slow cooker with the hoisin-fish sauce-ginger-garlic-onion-sesame oil mixture. Began cooking at 12:30. Turned off cooker at seven PM. BSK made a great cole slaw suggested by Sifton (This is a keeper. Perfect with any Asian food). Warmed flour tortillas. Pulled apart the tender and juicy pork. Ladled pork on the tortillas (with a few sprigs of cilantro). A great dinner. HG put a scallion and some dashes of Frank’s Louisiana Hot Sauce Ketchup in HG’s soft taco. The appetizing slow cooked pork can be utilized in a number of ways. HG intends to eat the pork tucked into some endive and romaine leaves. Should be good as a topping for room temperature sesame oil-slicked cellophane noodles with bean sprouts and chopped scallions. Looks like the HG/BSK slow cooker won’t be collecting dust anymore.
Angelo Di Benedetto (1913-1992), painter, sculptor, activist, was a frequent dinner guest of HG/BSK when they lived on a mountain ranch in the high Rocky Mountain foothills between Golden and Central City, Colorado. Angelo was BSK’s dedicated ally in her battle to preserve Clear Creek Canyon and defeat (successfully) efforts to destructively gravel mine the area. (Today, most of Clear Creek Canyon is owned by Jefferson County Open Space and the public has free access to one of the nation’s most scenic hiking destinations). Angelo, a man of Italian heritage, admired BSK’s Italian cuisine. Polenta with sausages in tomato sauce; Spaghetti Arabiatta; Rigatoni Amatriciana; Pork loin braised in milk; Linguine Puttanesca; Chicken Scarpariello. Angelo dove into these dishes with gusto. Angelo was a man of great artistic talent and strong convictions. In 1940, Life Magazine reproduced his paintings in an article about America’s most promising young painters. Angelo’s murals and major sculptures adorn public buildings and open areas throughout the United States. His paintings and smaller sculptures are in numerous museums and private collections. Angelo lived in Central City, founded during the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush. He bought the cavernous Sauer-McShane Warehouse there and lived and worked on two floors containing almost 15,000 square feet. Examples of Angelo’s extraordinary handiwork were evident everywhere. He welcomed visitors. (Among them were Mae West, Helen Hayes and Gypsy Rose Lee). Angelo enjoyed opera and when the Central City Opera was in session during the summer he brought many singers to HG/BSK’s home. (Once, in Denver, he punched and knocked down writer Jack Kerouac for insulting an opera singer friend). Angelo introduced HG to the Colfax Avenue Baths, in the once immigrant Jewish neighborhood of West Colfax Avenue, Denver. (Jewish sweatshop workers from New York, suffering from tuberculosis, migrated to Colorado starting in the 1880’s.They sought the clean air and sunshine that was supposed to cure the disease. The migration created two great Denver medical institutions founded by the Jewish community: National Jewish Health, one of the world’s most important respiratory disease research and treatments center; Rose Medical Center, a hospital which has been a pioneer in comprehensive women’s services including obstetrics and gynecology). The Colfax Avenue Baths is one of the few neighborhood reminders of the Colfax Jewish experience (there is also a small Hassidic synagogue nearby and there was a very depressed and dusty kosher grocery). Most of the patrons of the Colfax Baths are Hispanics with a scattering of Russians and old Jews. The Baths are women only on Thursday. Obviously, there are still some orthodox Jewish ladies who go there for “mikvah” (ritual bath) services.
BSK is, to put it simply, a master of chicken cooking. Chicken paillards (skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin, sautéed gently and served with a lemon-butter-capers sauce). Chicken curry (from the Vij’s cookbook). Chicken cooked with 40 cloves (!!) of garlic. Vietnamese chicken salad with lime juice, fish sauce, scallions, carrot shavings, chiles, etc. All of these dishes, and more, are part of BSK’s cluck-cluck repertoire. But, HG’s favorite is BSK’s roast “spatchcocked” chicken (spatchcocked being a flattened, whole chicken with the backbone removed). BSK marinates the bird in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and herbs. Cooks it at 400 degrees for forty minutes. A bird from heaven. Crisp, golden skin and juicy meat. That’s what BSK served last night accompanied by sautéed, diced golden beets with onions; braised endive; tiny potatoes. Drank a super Charles and Charles Merlot blend from Washington State’s Walla Walla region. Hearty meal but HG still had some room for a finale of a Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding (Sneer if you like — it leaves more of Kozy Shack’s Pudding and Flan for HG to enjoy!) and French VSOP Brandy laced with Peychaud’s Bitters.
