It's Official! I am "girl"

Sorry Charlie!

Chili Recipe

After two winter seasons of obsessively trying to find the right chili recipe, I found one that is both easy to make and tasty – such a recipe has been surprisingly difficult to come across. One warning, this recipe personifies the repercussive lore of chili. I am going to try to find a photo of this chili because I rarely ever make recipes myself without seeing a picture first.  

Philly Chili

ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 – 1.5 lb. Chuck Beef, ground
3 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 large bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tbsp chili powder

28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
14 oz canned black beans

14 oz canned kidney beans
1 cup corn kernels
 (preferably the fire roasted corn from Trader Joe’s)
1 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

2 tsp kosher salt


1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

directions:
Heat oil in a large pot. Add onions, carrots and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned about 5-10 minutes. Add bell pepper, jalapenos, celery and chili powder; cook another 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans (with liquid), corn, salt and spices. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for at least an hour (but the longer the tastier), stirring occasionally. Just as you’re taking the chili off the heat, stir in the balsamic vinegar. Enjoy! Top with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc. Go crazy!

November 4th, 11:05 pm Clinton Hill Brooklyn, NY

Only in NY

Leaf removed from a Long Island City Park

Leaf removed from a Long Island City Park
Originally uploaded by jn625

What's Cuter? The Halloween Edition

A puppy dressed up like a baby or
A baby dressed up like a puppy?
You decide.

Speaking of New Zealand

Here's a shaky video montage of some clips from Magical New Zealand that I threw together while feeling pathetically nostalgic. Some are sideways, don't know how to fix that. Enjoy

Brits Make A Mean Lasagne

I'm on a little bit of a roll here.  I am posting this recipe because it is one of my favorites and I keep on loosing it.   When I was in New Zealand in 2005 I spent my first Christmas away from my family and with Charlie.  I wanted to make a special home cooked meal and found this highly intriguing, non-traditional lasagne recipe in Jamie Oliver's cookbook Jamie's Dinners.  It's a time consuming recipe.  I suggest making it on a cold, cloudy Sunday in autumn with a glass of red wine (the recipe calls for red wine - perfect). Although, Christmas in New Zealand falls during the warm summer months I have made this recipe under both circumstances and I can assure you it is delicious either way. Try to limit yourself to a glass of red wine while cooking this recipe or else you will grate your thumb instead of the cheese and have a permanent bunny ear scar on your thumb. Ok!

4 slices pancetta or bacon, finely sliced
Pinch of cinnamon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (sage, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme)
olive oil
14 oz shin of beef or stewing beef, coarsely ground
7 oz pork belly, skin removed, minced
2 14 oz cans of good quality plum tomatoes
2 glasses of red wine
2 bay leaves
1 butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly chopped
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp coriander seeds, bashed
1 dried red chilli, bashed
14 oz fresh lasagne sheets
14 oz mozzarella, torn up

FOR THE WHITE SAUCE:
1 pint of creme fraiche
2 anchovies, finely chopped
2 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan cheese
a little milk, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large casserole-type pan slowly fry the pancetta and cinnamon until golden, then add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and about 4 Tbsp olive oil. Mix together, then add the beef and pork. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the canned tomatoes and the wine or water. Add the bay leaves and bring to the boil. Then get some wax paper, wet it and place it on top of the pan with a lid placed on top as well. Then place in the preheated oven for 2 hours or simmer on the stovetop over a gentle heat for arund an hour and a half. Rub your butternut squash slices with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and the bashed up corainder seeds and chilli. Place on baking sheet and roast in the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking the sauce. When the sauce is done, season to taste and put to one side. Mix together your creme fraiche, anchovies and a handful of Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. You may need to loosen the mixture with a little milk.

Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. To assemble the lasagne, rub and earthenware lasagne dish with olive oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom and drape them over the sides. Add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of Paramesan. Break the butternut squash into pieces and use this as one layer, then repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce. Tear over the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan. Cook in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes.

Not Your Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Due to popular demand I am posting my favorite, crowd pleasing recipe for Not Your Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
There is nothing wrong with Kraft boxed Macaroni and cheese - but if you have the time nothing comes close to the real thing.
This recipe is the best and it has been adapted from Ina Garten's Recipe. You will be eating this non-stop for days.

Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 3/4 cups fresh bread crumbs (6 slices, crusts removed)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top with the cayenne. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.  Let cool for a few minutes before eating. 

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel

After dining at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at the London Hotel in New York I cant help but feel somewhat hoodwinked. He always seemed schizo – but in an amusingly self-promotional way. There’s the celebrity Gordon Ramsay and his lowest common denominator - short order cook circus Hell’s Kitchen, as well as the theatrical U.S. version of Kitchen Nightmares and it’s more sincere U.K. counterpart. He has positioned himself as a personality based brand.
But there is also the Chef Gordon Ramsay who has garnered multiple Michelin Star acclaim as one of the U.K.’s top chef’s. Charlie worked for a Gordon Ramsay backed restaurant that failed miserably partially because his executive chef did not fit his mold. He runs a tight kitchen based on classic technique and takes on protégé chef’s that go on to run his kitchens. Charlie and I have a mini, healthy obsession with the bloke so for our anniversary this past weekend we decided to check it out. Here’s my play by play!

May 7th: Call the restaurant for a reservation a month and 1 day in advance. They are “fully booked” I add my name to the waiting list.
May 12th: A table miraculously opens up at the coveted 5:30 PM spot. I grab it. To secure my lucky spot I am informed that I must give a credit card number and that it will be charged $350 if I miss my reservation of don’t cancel in time. I reluctantly hand over the information.
June 8th:
5:24 - We arrive. People in the ¾ empty bar area are finishing up teatime. An icy hostess tells us that the dining room does not open until 5:30, and directs us to the bar.
5:25 - I scan over the wine menu for .5 seconds and noticed the price of champagne per glass was upwards of $45. Before I can order we are told that we can now be seated. Icy hostess walks us through two frosty glass doors. We enter into a dimly lit dining room the size of the playable area of a tennis court. The décor is subdued arctic glitz. Vastly empty, it is just the two of us and a team of at least twelve finely suited wait staff, and silence. Charlie looks like he is about to implode and I giggle in embarrassment of being treated like the lowest common denominator of fine dining. What happened to being fully booked?
5:32 – Sommolier with massive ice bucket full of champagne on cart - wheels over. He lovingly names the evenings’ selection never mentioning price –I did not want seem gauche. I tried to flash back to the wine list I saw at the bar but could not place any names with prices. Panic. I avoided the vintage and we went for two glasses of rosé.

5:40 After downing a sip of desperately needed libation – the glass door opens and a man is seated at a table all by himself. This does not do much to ease the confinement. A tall Japanese woman in a suit approaches the table and hands us the menus – she explains that the “prestige tasting menu” is a 7 course tasting menu at $135. There is also a prix fixe 3 course meal at $100. It wasn’t clear if you could just order a la carte but I decided that the whole night would be better if I just went with the flow. So 3 courses it was! A few of the various staff eagerly but coolly waited on us. We were asked one to many times by different people in short intervals if we were ready to place our wine order.

6:00 More people enter the dining room but it is still sparse. The very French head waiter arrived to take our order.
I ordered:
Loin of Pacific yellow fin tuna with pickled white radish, peekytoe crab, herb salad and sesame dressing
Pan seared black cod pig’s tails with Caraquet oysters, celeriac and sweet garlic
Pineapple soufflé with Thai curry ice cream and toasted coconut

Charlie Ordered:
Roasted Hudson Valley foie gras with caramelized plum, preserved black walnuts, green bean salad
Loin of Colorado lamb with braised shank, spring garlic, baby squash and Pommery mustard
Soft white chocolate ganache with white rum gelée, coconut foam, mango and basil sorbet

6:10 The first course arrives mine is a thinly sliced carpaccio of tuna. It was layered atop an equally thin slice of radish which overpowered rather than complemented the tuna. It was good but not great. Charlie and I switched plates and his foie gras. He was thinking about the ducklings we saw in the park the previous day, so he was not enjoying his dish as much. The foie fras was browned on the outside and luscious and creamy on the inside. It came with a savory ice cream and I can't remember the flavor. The dish was rich and sweet and very good - but again, not great.

6:30 - The Second Course arrived. Our dishes both looked like beautiful pieces of edible art. The colors, placement, textures, negative space all excruciatingly perfect. The tastes? The cod was outrageously good. I'm talking about possibly one of the best dishes I have ever had. The pigs tails were diced and tasted like delicious bacon. It added a smokey flavor to the fish. The cod rested on a bed of oysters, garlic and celeriac that all appeared to be whipped together. It was heavenly. Charlie's lamb was another beautiful display matched by great taste. The duo of lamb loin and shank were cooked to perfection and the dish was wisely kept simple.

6:45 Dessert was total B.S. Both were pretty but boring. I normally love souffles and definitely consider them a special occasion dessert. but the dessert was too tangy I couldn't taste any pineapple. I ate half of it trying with every bite to love it because it sounded so promising. Charlie's was forgettable.

7:00 Out of the corner of my eye a shining, towering beacon of light approached the bon-bon cart was wheeled over with our coffee. Truffles, bon bon's, cotton candy, etc. in glass jars. Dessert should definitely be skipped in favor of the bon bon trolley. We were wary with the amount of bon bon's we ordered. Figuring that each morsel would tack on an extra $8.00. But it was included with the coffee service.

7:30 We were out of the door. The dining room was never full. We split the bill which after tip came to $400. The 3 course tasting meal was originally $75.00 and I think that the price increase is unfortunate. It was overpriced for sure.   I always assumed that his sensibilities as a chef were more about simple, good  food rather than peacocking, and I was left confused about what this man is all about.  One thing that he gets undeniable accolades for is his Staff.  The service was impeccable, tight, and beautiful. It should be an example for every restaurant, and I would expect nothing less from Chef Ramsay.

The Road to the Hospital

I remember hearing on the news a few years ago about actor Martin Lawrence nearly dying after running in 100+ heat in multiple lawyers of sweats. He was trying to slim down for a role. At the time I thought that this incident was typical for moronic Hollywood behavior.

I would not expect similar antics from my local YMCA. I have been a member for nearly 6 months because it is close and cheap. It’s not the kind of place you want to work for hours. It’s humid, cramped, there’s always some funk to be whiffed, and 12 year-old boys run into the women’s locker room at whim. Plus the weight room looks like a scene out of OZ.  

There was a book/movie in the early 90’s called The Road to Wellville based on Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s actual health sanitariums. I have reason to believe that some of my workout compatriots are still practicing his antiquated and kooky methods. Yesterday I just saw a woman saran wrapping her torso over and over again. We made eye contact. I wanted to stop and stare but I just told myself to keep going.  

There is also a contingency of largely proportioned men and women that wear vinyl or pvc bags on their bodies while working out. I have become accustomed to the parade of ambulances that frequent the YMCA. Someone always ends up on the floor passed out from what I have entitled the Martin Lawrence effect.

Trainspotting

The Joys of Live TV

Let me preface this entry by mentioning that I do have wide and varied interests.
One of them is the 3d’s detecting, dissecting and discerning the occurrence of disorderly incidents of live TV. Every day I come across these oft hilarious snafus that simply fly under the radar and I pray that they don’t disappear into the void. I find comfort in knowing that people out there make a living on sourcing such live TV incidents, but sometimes these fleeting moments simply vanish.

Arguably the most fruitful bumble farms comes from NBC’s the Today Show. With creepy Al–Pedo-Roker, schooled by magnificent perv Willard, glib Matt Lauer, “that foot tastes great in my mouth” Vierra, and a cast of others – my today-dar is always on high alert!
This morning I have finally had enough of seeing this one particular man’s face on the plaza. Why oh why is he there every morning, in his cowboy hat and sunglasses and isn’t it about time that he went ape-shizz and fulfilled that mission for his kin on planet Zeldar?

Actually, his name is Linny and he has been stalking the Today Show for 16 years.  It turns out he’s not so wacko anyway. Or is he? You be the judge.

Stink Stick

While I would love to support Tom's of Maine's natural philosophy  - using their deodorant is about as useful as rubbing onions under your armpits.  Yes, I have learned this the hard way, and have come to the sad conclusion that it would be better to wear no deodorant than to wear Tom's. Why does the stick advertise that it's improved  when it clearly is not?  I love that your deodorant is all natural and aluminum-free but it would be less misleading if it was named sweaty stink stick.

I do love those scents though - so please improve the formula!

Bingo Arms

1. bingo arms
Bingo is a game typically played by senior citizens. Random numbers are selected, and the first person to have all of their numbers called yells out "BINGO!". Since this typically takes place in a large group, you usually need to raise your hand and shake your arm to alert the group to your winning status. Since most senior citizens do not have "toned" or "firm" skin, waving of the arms causes a swinging movement in the skin of the lower arm or tricep area. Someone who has loose or flabby skin in the tricep area may be referred to as having "bingo arms".

From urbandictionary.com

Just When You Thought the Health Care Industry Couldn't Get Any Worse, Biggie Saves the Day

Last night while walking home in the rain, I noticed that my pharmacy had morphed overnight into a liquor store. Among the copious variety of Cognacs in the display window I saw a small sign among the booze that read PHARMACY OPEN. Mourning the implicit end of days that this corrupt shop foreshadowed, I wondered where to bring my next prescription.

This morning the very same pharmacy was surrounded by filming crews, trucks, cameras, dollies and craft services. I realized that they were filming a scene for the new Notorious B.I.G. Movie being shot in my nabe’. They are shooting in the original locations where he lived, and apparently my pharmacy was his old corner liquor store. Love it that they really going for accuracy here – they even tore down the Pharmacy sign to reveal the older Liquor sign that was underneath. Here’s Biggie back in the day outside of my Pharmacy/his Liquor Shop: