Shut UP!!!!!

May 12th, 2016 § 1 comment § permalink

One of the many delights of dining in Paris is the low murmur of civilized voices. Parisians keep their conversation to a soft murmur when dining. Very unlike Americans. HG’s compatriots (not all, but very many) are loud in restaurants. Uncivilized. Insensitive to the sensibilities of other diners. Women offend as much as men (SJ has pointed out that in New York City there seems to be a trend of young women simply screaming whenever they see a friend and that screeching carries over to the dinner conversation). Here’s a snarky New Mexico/Colorado comment: Texas women are the loudest (they are also the blondest). HG used to look down on Mother’s Day as a commercialized travesty, not an homage to the glory of motherhood. However, HG has mellowed with the years and now makes sure that the world’s best Mom (and wife) is duly honored on this day with a card, gift and festive dining. BSK deserves it (and more). So, this Mom Day HG took BSK for brunch at the pleasant Restaurant Martin in Santa Fe. Lovely, simple room and deft service. HG/BSK had spicy Virgin Marys. Followed this with a spectacular duck confit hash topped with a perfect fried egg and a creative green salad. Finished with shared house made fig, peach and blueberry sorbet. This perfect brunch was marred by the woman (not a Texan) seated at a nearby table. A loud and grating voice. And, she wouldn’t stop talking and repeating the phrase “playing in the sandbox.” HG didn’t want to make a scene (uncharacteristic for HG) so HG didn’t ask Madame Loudmouth to lower her voice. Restaurants have signs forbidding cell phones (and some forbid perfume). How about:: “In consideration of others, keep your voices down” ?

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A Tasty BSK Improv

May 11th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

“Improv” is how actors refer to improvisation, the backbone of acting classes and, in the right hands, the source of both comic and dramatic masterpieces. Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner’s, The Thousand Year Old Man was total, un-scripted improvisation. Mike Nichols and Elaine May were nifty practitioners of the art. BSK has an extensive theater background (theater study at Ohio State; repertory at the Fred Miller Theater in Milwaukee; summer stock in Hyde Park, N.Y.; advanced study with Lee Strassberg and Lloyd Richards in New York.) While in college, BSK did comic improv in Columbus, Ohio, coffee houses. Her partner was puppeteer Bill Walters (later a New York actor and stage manager) and his monkey puppet “Thelonious Monkey”. More improv on Columbus live TV. These days (much to HG’s delight) BSK applies improv skills to cuisine. Witness BSK’s recent chicken masterpiece. HG/BSK (since coming back to New Mexico from Florida) have been eating out of the freezer. BSK defrosted a package of skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Dredged them in a bit of flour. Using a cast iron pan, BSK gently browned them in canola oil. Placed them in a Creuset casserole. BSK wiped out the cast iron pan. In olive oil, BSK heated garlic until golden and scattered it over the chicken. Simmered wine, chickens stock and an abundant amount of rosemary.`Turned off heat and swirled butter, capers and Dijon mustard into the mix. Poured it over the casseroled chicken and cooked it in the oven. While cooking, BSK made some additional chicken stock, butter and mustard sauce. Poured it over the cooked chicken on a warmed platter. A bit of chopped parsley for color. Ciabatta (to soak up the wonderful sauce) and chopped parsley (for color). Salad of sliced avocado and sweet onion. Finished the sumptuous meal with Trader Joe’s lush Brooklyn chocolate babka and the remainder of a bottle of Pinot Noir. HG looked at BSK and contemplated that old country song: “If My Woman Can’t Do It, It Can’t Be Done.” Sums up BSK’s endless talents.

Asperges

May 9th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

At a fancy dinner party, an elegant lady asked Babe Ruth why he didn’t eat asparagus. The greatest Yankee of them all responded: “Because they make my pee smell funny.” HG/BSK are not concerned about the after effect of asparagus. They are now in season and BSK prepares the delicious vegetable in many ways: Roasted on the grill; gently steamed; mixed with garlic, ginger and a bit of soy sauce in a Chinese stir fry; as the filling in an omelet. Last night, BSK steamed a batch and seasoned them with melted butter and lemon juice. They proved a worthy companion to HG’s preparation of Coho salmon a la unilaterale. A very simple dish. HG melted a mix of butter and olive oil in a cast iron pan. When quite hot, HG placed the salmon in the pan skin side down. A minute of high heat; covered the pan and turned heat to medium low. After four minutes, HG checked the fish. Found it rare (but cooked to HG’s liking). Placed it on a warm platter (like a steak, grilled salmon continues to cook after its removal from heat). Sauced the fish with melted butter, lemon juice and a dash of cayenne. Asparagus and salmon: A perfect marriage. (like HG/BSK). Tossed salad in a pungent vinaigrette provided a healthy finale.

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Ole’ and Arrigato

May 7th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

Thursday was Cinco de Mayo, a major fiesta in Hispanic New Mexico. HG celebrated at El Parasol, the delightful little restaurant on Highway 285 in Pojoaque (six minutes from HG/BSK’s home). HG’s favorite dish there is green chile menudo but, given its high cholesterol level, HG has to limit the intake of this lush treat. So, HG had a big bowl of the home made green chile stew with warm tortillas. Fiery and savory. HG ate on the sunny restaurant terrace with Toby, The Wonder Dog, at HG’s side. Little fellow was much admired by staff and diners. Toby accompanied HG to the bank where he was given a substantial dog biscuit as a Cinco de Mayo treat. The doggy is now a fan of the financial sector. The dinner theme tonight was Japanese/Chinese. BSK sliced a pork tenderloin into thin slices. Further thinned them by putting them between sheets of wax paper and pounding them with a rubber hammer. Now they were ready to become Tonkatsu. BSK dipped the thin little cutlets in beaten egg and panko crumbs. Fried until golden in hot canola oil. Meanwhile, HG made a “Chinese Grandmother’s treat.” Boiled some wide egg noodles. Sauced them with a hot/sweet sauce of green onions, butter, garlic, oyster sauce, Maggi seasoning, brown sugar and a discreet amount of sambal. BSK added crunch to the meal with a salad of sliced fennel and radishes. HG drank Guiness Stout. Perfect quaff with this collaborative effort between HG and BSK.

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Doesn’t Travel From N’awlins

May 4th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

Back home in The Land of Enchantment (AKA New Mexico). Rainy and chilly. Welcome after baking in the Florida sun for a week. Rummaged through a week’s worth of catalogs, junk mail, bills and magazines. HG/BSK decided to eat out of the freezer. Long flight to Albuquerque led the duo too tired to shop. HG lunched on a package of pierogi that had slept in a corner of the freezer for a year. HG ate one. Vile. Left the rest for Toby, The Wonder Dog. He’ll find them yummy. BSK found some very tasty feta and spinach chicken sausage in the freezer. HG plucked some Louisiana boudin sausage that had found a home beneath a bag of corn niblets. Package prose vouched for its “Genuine Cajun Taste.” While these frozen foods thawed, HG swam many laps in HG/BSK’s heated (80 degrees) pool. Felt like the Gulf of Mexico. The exercise sharpened HG’s appetite. Blaze in the fireplace chased away rain dampness. HG sipped a new cocktail (drunk in Brooklyn and Paris); The Chin Up. Gin, dry vermouth, slice of cucumber crushed with a pinch of salt, Cynar (the French artichoke aperitif). A refreshing and not too inebriating drink. BSK grilled the chicken sausages and served them with a robust green salad enriched with roasted peppers and BSK’s super savory blue cheese dressing. Good eating. HG grilled the boudin. Turned out to be a mushy, tasteless horror. In the future, HG will stick to the French versions of boudin—boudin noir and boudin blanc. Of the two, HG prefers noir, a hearty blood sausage. Accompanied by sautéed apple slices and a rough red wine (HG likes Cahors) this is French down home cooking at its best. HG will leave true southern version of boudin to the Cajuns. The stuff doesn’t travel well. Doggy gourmand Toby will gobble up the left over terrible boudin and bark his appreciation.shutterstock_70258339

Looking at Sea Creatures and Eating Them As Well

May 3rd, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

Last day in St. Pete and the sunburned family checked out of the condo. Hot and sticky day. Headed to Ybor City, the historic section of Tampa which was founded by Cuban immigrants. Once a center of a thriving cigar industry (you can still get hand rolled cigars there), Ybor City is now famous for dining. The main attraction is Columbia Restaurant, the oldest (more than 105 years) continually operating restaurant in Florida. This is a vast restaurant serving Cuban/Spanish food. Good ingredients but a bit heavy handed with salt and chorizo. Very pleasant service. Ordered a pitcher of outstanding sangria. HG had some very generous small plates: Gambas Ajillo (prawns in garlic sauce, good prawns but the sauce was too salty); grilled super tender calamari (simple and perfect); PEI mussels in a broth of tomatoes, sliced chorizo and parsley (excellent mussels whose flavor was blunted by excessive chorizo.) Handsome Haru shared the mussels with HG and pronounced them “awesome.” Given the evidence of the mussels ordered at Columbia and in St. Pete restaurants, PEI mussels have regained their splendor. (Or, are they exporting the winners and keeping the losers at home? We’ll soon find out.) BSK had grilled grouper which she pronounced “best ever.” SJ knocked off a big plate of roast pork. Handsome Haru had a Mojo Chicken sandwich (looked mass produced and not very appetizing). HH wasn’t impressed with the sandwich but happily consumed a virgin mango daiquiri and a big bowl of the house salad mixed table side by a charming young man. Teru, the reigning Princess of Cuteness, devoured a big bowl of mac and cheese. Approved. HG and HH finished with flan. HG and SJ had cups of cafe con leche. Some of the best coffee HG has ever experienced. After the lengthy meal, the group spent hours at the Tampa Aquarium, located in the Port of Tampa. Kids wondered at the sharks and were pleased to pet the sting rays (this is allowed if you use two fingers and pet their backs gently). Long, tiring flight back to Albuquerque. Home after a drive in the rain. The reunion with Toby, The Wonder Dog, was super joyous.

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A Day Of Exuberant Appetites

May 1st, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

The sun sizzled on St. Pete Beach today but it did not dull the appetites of HG/BSK and family. Brunch at The Frog Pond. Big plates of waffles, pancakes, eggs and grits (best grits ever), quiche, biscuits and gravy. Big culinary departure for HG who usually breakfasts on juice, coffee and oat cereal. Doesn’t eat until dinner. In and out of the warm sea all day. Splashed among the gentle waves with Haru, Teru, SJ and BSK. The essence of innocent fun. Despite the big brunch everyone was ready for some big time eating when the sun went down. Off to Cedars Restaurant in the Seminole neighborhood. Down home Lebanon cuisine. Halal meat. Hookahs on the outdoor tables. Wanted to taste everything so ordered baba ganoush, labneh, feta cheese with chopped tomatoes, hummus, tabouleh, salads. Excellent tastes. Perfect after toasting on the sunny beach. Main dish was kebabs (chicken, beef, ground lamb) on a bed of rice with grilled vegetables and a bowl of tzatsiki. Much, much food. All good, The garlicky chicken and the rare grilled steak were solid winners. Drove back to our vacation condo for salt caramel gelato and (for HG) a nightcap of Jim Beam bourbon. Nice finale to our last beach day. Back to The Land of Enchantment tomorrow. Hope Toby, The Wonder Dog, hasn’t lost his heart to Ina G., the charming jewelry designer, who has been HG/BSK’s temporary house sitter. HG/BSK miss Toby, their feisty, furry little friend.

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Reliable Keegan’s

April 30th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

Perfect beach day. Bright sun. Cloudless blue sky. Modest breeze making the heat comfortable. Inviting sea. Gentle waves and warm water. HG read Hemingway’s book about Paris, A Moveable Feast. Conclusion one: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ford Madox Ford, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound were all certifiably crazy. Conclusion Two: HG admires Hemingway’s prose craftsmanship. His account of a trip with Fitzgerald is brilliant. His generosity toward that troubled man is admirable. Despite that, HG finds Hemingway personally unpalatable–homophobic, ludicrously suspect macho. HG/BSK, Haru, Teru and SJ spent much time carousing in the gentle sea. HG ended the glorious beach day with a soak in the hot tub. HG and family were ravenous after hours of fun. So, it was back to reliable Keegan’s in the Indian Shores neighborhood of St. Pete Beach. Seated immediately. HG had the stupendous sea scallop ceviche washed down with an icy beer, Followed by charbroiled octopus. Best ever. Superlatively tender and full of flavor. SJ had a cup of the creamy She Crab Chowder. The group devoured Prince Edward Island mussels, conch fritters, fried calamari, grouper sandwiches, loads of French fries and cole slaw. HG had a generous platter of warm Gulf shrimp dipped in melted butter and dotted with Keegan’s hot sauce. Finished with hearty gumbo. Wonderful food. Friendly, efficient service. Keegan’s never disappoints.

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Trying Too Hard

April 29th, 2016 § 2 comments § permalink

Dinner at Guppy’s On The Beach Seafood Grill (in the Indian Rocks neighborhood of St. Pete Beach) was an up and down (mostly down) experience. Guppy’s is a large, popular restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating. HG chose indoor (an error). Seated in a bleak air conditioning chilled room. Historic photos on the wall of historic Indian Rocks bathing beauties (in one piece suits) was a nice touch. Ordered a pitcher of sangria. Eeks, horrors!! The restaurant tampered with the classic recipe and added loads of cinnamon (also some cloves). Smelled like a men’s room deodorant with overtones of potpourri in a New England tourist gift shop. Undrinkable. Replaced the witches brew with cold Stella Artois beer. After a lengthy wait HG and SJ were served bowls of hot and spicy fish chowder. Caribbean tastes. Heartening. Twenty minute wait. A bowl of plump, tasty Prince Edward Island mussels in a broth enhanced by tomatoes, greens and garlic finally arrived. Light at the end of a tunnel. Mood became optimistic. A 25 minute wait quenched the happy mood. HG rose to complain. Waitperson said she’d inform management. Rest of the meal arrived in a rush. Strange food. The dishes were over elaborate with too many ingredients on each plate. Festoons of shaved carrots. Slivers of olives. Sauces that did not enhance. Truffled mashed potatoes that tasted chemical. Fried green tomatoes and fried oysters destroyed by heavy breading. Broiled octopus (tender and good quality) that were savory after all the redundant sauce was scraped away. “Lobstercargot” failed. This was a dish served in a traditional escargot plate, little chunks of lobster in a traditional garlic and butter sauce. Something went wrong. Cheese (possibly cream) was added to the sauce. Glop. At end of the meal, very personable manager appeared and removed sangria and chowders from the bill. Apologized for the delays. Consolation for the bad meal was the very modest expense.

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An Italian Zabar’s in St. Petersburg

April 28th, 2016 § 0 comments § permalink

If you relish Italian food, visit Mazzaro’s Italian Market in St. Petersburg, Fla. This is a vast, busy Italian food emporium that is an Italian version of New York’s famed Zabar’s. No housewares, but unlike Zabar’s there’s a butcher, fresh fish counter, greengrocer, pastry section, coffee bar and an encyclopedic array of fine wines. There are indoor and outdoor dining areas where one can order exceptional sandwiches and hot dishes. Row upon row of shopping aisles with shelves carrying an endless array of olive oils, vinegars, canned tomatoes, capers, sweet treats, etc., etc.. The scope is international. HG discovered six varieties of middle eastern halvah, for example. HG/SJ visited this extraordinary place for dinner fixings. Sausage, prosciutto, tomatoes, olives, ricotta, mozzarella, mortadella, bruschetta topping, almond honey bars, cheeses and rose and pinot noir wines. All of excellent quality. Dinner at home was outstanding (as usual). SJ prepared a big platter of antipasto. This was followed by SJ’s supreme version of linguine with oil, garlic, anchovies and chopped flat leaf parsley. An epic Italian-accented extravaganza. Viva Italia!! And, Viva SJ !!.

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