The Social Security Birthday - and a Four-Day Birthday Weekend

One of the [many] fun things about being retired, is I can take a 4-day birthday weekend and not have to use vacation days! We get to just go. Well... after arranging the Nonna-Sitter, and all... but, you get the idea. It's totally liberating to just do things when you want to and not have to figure out what's convenient for the job.

We have great friends up in Rochester, NY, that we hadn't visited in a while, so we thought a trek up north was in order. Next thing we know, friends from New Hampshire decided to join us, and we converged on Rochester on the day before my birthday for a long food-and-fun-filled weekend!

We arrived early Friday afternoon to Ann and Julie's house, and withing a few minutes, Marlene and Pat arrived. We immediately started eating - the Sandwich Board came out and a plethora of sandwich fixings of meats and cheeses, breads and rolls, spreads and greens. A Bean Salad to die for... Did I take a picture?!? No. Did I eat?!? You betcha!

After filling ourselves on one spread, it was time for the next.

Ann made the most delicious Roasted Chicken Provençal - a recipe she originally got from the New York Times and has tweaked over the years with her own herbs, seasonings, and touches. Again, I totally blew it - no pictures. but damn! It is good. So good, in fact, that I listened carefully to the tweaks she made, and then printed out the NYT recipe. I'm probably going to make it this week.

The weather was perfect - we could sit outside without a care in the world and sleep with windows open - and after a good night's sleep, we headed off to Niagara Falls. I had been to the falls many times - I opened the Hyatt Regency Buffalo in 1984 - and when in Buffalo in 1984, the hip thing to do was leave town whenever ya could. The honky-tonk of Niagara Falls never disappointed.

And it didn't this time, either! It was even more fun because Victor had never been to the falls, before!

We headed over to the Canadian side - hoping for asylum - and six people in a van, passports in hand - were let in with a smile and a wave. Last time I was there it was a simple show a driver license. My how times have changed.

First stop was to actually view the falls - the American Falls come up first. And then we walked down to the larger Canadian Horseshoe Falls. They are pretty spectacular. I do have to admit that the very first time I saw them I was a tad disappointed. Yosemite Falls fall almost 2500 feet and it is spectacular in its height. And then, I learned that, while at Niagara, the fall height is under 200 feet, it has the most massive flow rate of any waterfall in North America and the sheer volume of water flowing over the falls can top six million cubic feet of water every minute.

That's impressive.

From the falls, we headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake for lunch. The lake is Lake Ontario and it's about 25km from the falls at the end of the Niagara River. We meandered down the Niagara Parkway and soon entered a quaint English village.

Lunch was at the Shaw Cafe and Wine Bar. The food was great and our waiter was perfectly goofy - he climbed the spiral staircase to take the photo, kept coming back with riddles for us to solve - and we did! Needless to say, he got a good tip. It was a fun meal.

And then it was time to head back to Rochester. As friendly as the Canadian Border agent was heading in, his US counterpart coming back was his polar opposite. Sad, to quote the Tweeter-in-Chief.

Home and more food... It was a great birthday!

Sunday dawned and Ann cooked us breakfast - bagels and yogurts and bacon and eggs, juices and schmears and pots of coffee. The perfect start to a day that was going to be non-stop eating!

Before coming up, Ann had casually mentioned that she would love for Victor to cook a typical Italian Sunday Supper for all of us and Julie's brother, Will, his Italian wife, Linda, and another friend, Ian. Ann and Julie had had the typical "We can't ask Victor to come all the way up here to cook us dinner" and "Of course we can. He can always say no if he doesn't want to." You know they're good friends when they have no qualms about asking - and you have no qualms about doing!

The one thing that made it interesting is Linda has celiac - as in diagnosed years ago and actually has it. She said don't make a fuss, she would just bring her own pasta... don't worry about it, don't go out of your way... Of course, that meant we were going to do a pasta-free meal. Italians don't only eat spaghetti!

The menu became Victor's Eggplant Rollatini and Sausages, Fennel, Peppers, and Onions with Polenta! The eggplants came from our garden, the sausages came from Martin's Meats in Reading Terminal Market, the polenta was stone ground yellow grits from Adluh in South Carolina...

Getting ready to make a mess in Ann's kitchen! And then actually making one!

Again, I didn't take any pictures of the finished products, but I did get a picture of the Cookie Tray that Linda baked! It was simply stunning - and every one was hand-made by her!

Everyone knows that we make a bazillion cookies every year and we make a couple of these, ourselves. The truly amazing thing is she made every one of them gluten free using her family recipes she tweaked with a cup-for-cup flour. They were simply out of this world fabulous! Words fail - not simply because they were gluten free, but because they were so varied and so totally delicious.

We slept well...

And then, it was over. Another breakfast and it was time to start packing up the car for the ride home.

I have had some pretty awesome birthdays in my 66 years, and this one is certainly in the Top Five!

We had a lot of fun at the falls and decided we should come back and spend a couple of days right at the falls and see them at night, at daylight, at dusk... so we're looking at a train trip in late November and spending a couple of days just meandering around the town, the falls, and see what trouble we can get into.

And we won't have to use vacation days...

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by Tim Dineen

Memorial Day 2018

It is dark and bleak outside. The rain is coming down in buckets. I guess it's kinda fitting for a Memorial Day weekend - the weekend where we're supposed to honor those who have died defending our country.

This isn't Veteran's Day weekend - it's not about people who have served in the military and lived to tell their tall tales. It's about those who have died.

And today, it's about those who are rolling in their graves wondering how their ultimate sacrifice has become this mockery of everything they died for.

While I'm a very political person in life, I really try not to transfer that here - this is about food and fun. But sometimes things are just so fucked up that I have to start shouting for people to open their eyes and see what is happening in our name.

We have Nazis marching openly in the United States. Nazis. More than 400,000 Americans died in World War II fighting Nazis and the Axis powers. They did not die so that 70 years after their deaths, these scum could come back and openly parade their hate.

We have a president who has fanned the flames of hate and intolerance, blatantly lying, blaming the ills of the country on immigrants and people of color, pandering to the fears of the uninformed.

The Trump administration is forcibly taking migrant children from their parents and placing them in separate detention centers. Let that sink in. The Trump administration is forcibly taking migrant children from their parents and placing them in separate detention centers. They did this in Nazi Germany. We have Nazis marching openly in the United States. What the fuck is wrong with this picture?

We have the National Football League capitulating to these racists and bigots by creating a rule that will fine players for kneeling during the National Anthem.

They have already blackballed Colin Kaepernick from every playing, again, yet, conveniently forget about Tim Tebow kneeling during the same song to protest abortion. Tebow, of course, is white.

Trump, in his pandering to his racist base, made taking a knee a show of disrespect for flag, country, and veterans, while completely ignoring the reasons players started taking a knee in the first place - the thousands of deaths of black Americans for the sole crime of being black in the wrong place.

Memorial Day. A day to remember our dead.

And a day to reflect on a dying country.

 

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by Tim Dineen

Thanksgiving 2017

This Thanksgiving will definitely be one for the Memory Book. November 23rd was our 23rd Anniversary! What better way for the two of us to celebrate an anniversary than with a holiday all about food?!? And food, we had.

What - or, rather, who - we didn't have, was Nonna. She spent the holiday in the hospital. She's been coughing too much and short of breath, so on Wednesday, he made an appointment with her PC Dr who said she should probably go to the ER.

And then the fun began...

NeverNeverNever let an otherwise healthy 91-year old into the clutches of the Medical Industrial Complex if you can in any way avoid it. Really. Just.Don't.Do.It. She just got home an hour ago - 4 days later - with a litany of physical therapists and home care specialists scheduled over the next few days to drive her completely crazy. And she's still coughing and short of breath.

Meanwhile, we were cooking up a storm for a festive holiday. One needs food between trips to the hospital - and food we had! And booze, of course!

Victor made Linda's Chicken Livers - and it was the best batch made - ever.

This is one of those recipes that you like even if you don't like chicken liver. We just do half-batches...

Linda's Chicken Liver Pâté

• 4 sticks butter
• 2 lbs chicken livers
• 2 med onions, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 – or more – tsp cognac

Melt 1 stick of butter. Add onions but do not brown.

Add other ingredients – except butter – and cover. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Process in food processor with remaining butter. Add cognac, and S&P, to taste.

Serve with chopped eggs or onion and toasted baguette or crackers.

We also had cheeses, salamis, homemade baba ghanoush I made and canned with the last of our eggplants...

One of my favorites, this year, was a flatbread with a cranberry onion jam, Boursin cheese, arugula, and balsamic. I didn't get a picture of the flatbread, but this is the jam...

The recipe comes from Cooking Light Magazine - and it is pretty awesome! Make some, today!

Cranberry Onion Jam

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups chopped sweet onions
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 (12-oz.) pkg. fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Step 1
Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium. Add onions and salt; cover and cook 30 minutes or until caramelized. Add honey, pepper, thyme, and cranberries; cook, uncovered, 30 minutes or until cranberries break down and mixture is syrupy.

Step 2
Remove pan from heat; discard thyme sprigs. Stir in vinegar.

And onto the dinner table...

For many years, I have made Pumpkin Rolls for Thanksgiving. I really like them, but decided something new was in order for 2017. What I ended up with was a recipe from King Arthur Flour that would rival any bakery - anywhere. These were some of the lightest, soft white rolls I have ever had - let alone made! And easy. Really, really easy!

Soft White Dinner Rolls

King Arthur Flour

• 1 packet "highly active" active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water*
• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

*Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.

Instructions

1. If you're using active dry yeast, dissolve it with a pinch of sugar in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.
2. Combine the dissolved yeast (or instant yeast) with the remainder of the ingredients. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a smooth dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a smooth ball.
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, until it's nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Rising may take longer, especially if you've kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy.
4. While the dough is rising, lightly grease two 9" round cake pans, or a 9" x 13" pan.
5. Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 16 pieces.
6. Shape each piece into a rough ball by pulling the dough into a very small knot at the bottom, then rolling it under the palm of your hand into a smooth ball.
7. Place eight rolls in each of the round cake pans (or all 16 rolls in the 9" x 13" pan), spacing them evenly; they won't touch one another.
8. Cover the pan(s) with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the rolls to rise till they're very puffy, and have reached out and touched one another, about 1 hour. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
9. Bake the rolls until they're a deep golden brown on top, and lighter on the sides, about 25 minutes.
10. Remove the rolls from the oven, and after 2 or 3 minutes, carefully transfer them to a rack. They'll be hot and delicate, so be careful. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

We had the obligatory canned cranberry sauce in Mom's crystal dish, along with homemade cranberry orange relish and homemade whole berry cranberry sauce. And an Eggplant Lasagne, because... well... because!

From eggplant to Nonna's dressing and Marie's sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans with garlic and parmesan, carrots with honey and dill - and a vat of gravy - the table was filled to overflowing.

Totally filled to overflowing...

And then, of course, we had desserts...

First up was the Maple Walnut Cheesecake I had made a few weeks ago for work. Same recipe but this time I used a sugared walnut in the topping. Yum.

Maple Walnut Cheesecake

crust:

• 1 sleeve graham crackers
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted

filling:

• 4 pkg cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup mascarpone
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt

topping:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°. Butter or spray a 10″ springform pan.

Make crust:

Pulse together graham crackers, walnuts, and brown sugar until fine crumbs are formed. Add melted butter and pulse to combine. Press firmly onto bottom of buttered pan – a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup works well.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Make filling:

Mix cream cheese, mascarpone, spices, and pinch of salt together until creamy. Add maple syrup and mix well

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Pour into crust and smooth top.

Bake until center is barely set – about 1 hour.

Remove from oven and cool before refrigerating overnight.

Make topping:

Mix together 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup maple syrup. Heat to boiling – stirring constantly. Reduce heat and reduce to about 2/3 cup, stirring occasionally. Stir in nuts and refrigerate.

Final assembly:

Spread cold caramel topping over cold cake almost to edge.

Slice and enjoy!

From cheesecake we went to Chocolate Cherry Mousse - in a mini Chocolate Cup. The cherries are Amarena cherries  - and if you've never had them, stop reading right now and go buy them. Really. Chocolate cups are easy - just brush melted chocolate into small molds or small muffin cups and chill until set.

The mousse is based a on Martha Stewart recipe.

Chocolate Cherry Mousse

• 4 large egg yolks
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 3 tbsp Amarena Cherry syrup from jar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 3/4 cup heavy cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture coats back of spoon, 3 to 4 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat; whisk in melted chocolate, cherry syrup, and vanilla. Strain into a bowl; chill until cool

The Pumpkin Pie is our classic recipe - the same one we have made for years.

Pumpkin Pie

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
• 1 unbaked 10" pie shell
• Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 425°. Beat eggs, sugar, maple syrup, and spices in large bowl. Add pumpkin amd mix well. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Top with whipped cream before serving.

And then a new one this year - a take-off of one of my Mom's recipes from way back when. Her original recipe was for a pecan pie with a custard topping. I turned it into tartlettes with a bourbon vanilla mousse.

Pecan Tarts with Bourbon Vanilla Mousse

• 12 tart shells

Filling

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

Mousse

• 3 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 egg yolk
• pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix eggs with corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla until well blended.

Divide pecan pieces among the tart shells. Carefully pour filling over pecans.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until set.

Make Mousse.

Mix 1 1/2 cups cream, bourbon, cornstarch, egg yolk, and salt in a medium sauce pan. Whisk everything together and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 1 minute and then remove from heat, stir in vanilla, place in bowl, cover, and refrigerate until set.

When set, whip remaining cream. Fold into pudding and whisk until smooth.

Pipe or spoon onto top of tarts.

Marie made two more tarts that I didn't get pictures of. Needless to say, we had enough food.

Tonight is the Turkey Soup we would have had last night if life had been normal.

Nonna's home, we're back to normal, and all is right with the world.

 

 

 

 

 

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by Tim Dineen

Prime Rib and the Ghosts of Christmas' Past

The quiet day turned into a quiet night. And a really great dinner. And a great dessert.

Prime Rib. Not something I buy often. Nor anything I cook often. Lord knows I cooked enough of them in my early Hyatt days, but not so much, anymore. Granted, it's one of the easiest pieces of meat to cook, but putting a pound of meat on a plate is just not something we do very much.

And Yorkshire Pudding - not something I make often.

I think the last time I made it I set the oven on fire when I spilled grease. The house didn't burn down, so it wasn't that much of an issue. But I did make sure I poured the batter into the tins out of the oven, this time. I'm getting less adventurous as I age...

Funny how a quiet Christmas can get the nostalgic thoughts flowing. Most of the day I've thought about some of the raucous Christmas' of my past - and a few of the more quiet ones.

Coming from a rather large, loud family, it's fun to recall those thrilling days of yesteryear.

First Christmas picture I have is from 1953. Me and Mike on Santa's lap.

I had a double chin back then, too. Some things never change. Below is the same year. We are in Bakersfield at our grandparents - in fact, that picture was probably taken at Brock's Department Store where my grandfather worked.

Most of the Christmas' when there were but two or three of us were spent in Bakersfield. We pretty much did every other year after the twins were born, and by the time Phoebe came along, we were staying closer to home. It must have been hell packing that station wagon.

Here we are at Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Day...

Notice the wide-screen TV. The huge piece of furniture behind me is a radio/record player that recorded records. It had a microphone that you could use to record onto real records. Grandma and Grandpa had tons of old radio scripts - everything from Hatfields and McCoys to The Shadow and old soaps. When we were old enough to read, we'd perform the shows using the mic and blasting it through the house. It was cool making up lines and changing the scripts or figuring out how to make sound effects. We were a bunch of budding thespians.

You can barely see them but on top of the radio is a hurricane lamp and grandma's anniversary clock. I still have the clock - I sent the lamps off to one of the great grandkids last year.

This is Bakersfield in 1956.

And here we are on Christmas Morning 1956 wearing the robes my mother made. She made a lot of our clothes, pajamas, robes, and the like.

And don't let those angelic smiles fool you.

Leaving the '50s and entering the '60s, we have the awesome clock I wish I had, today! Mom would cut tin foil into icicles and the sleigh / candle holder would always be in the center. Judy has that.

We'd always have at least one get-together at Aunt Phoebe's and Aunt Dolores' in their apartment at Stonestown. My job was to assemble their aluminum Christmas Tree every year. It was a really nice - and really expensive one. Another thing I wish I had, today!

This is Aunt Phoebe, born in 1890, Grandma, born in 1896, and Aunt Dolores, born in 1898. They had several other siblings, including a brother, Philip, who was born in 1893. He was a hobo, rode the rails, caught TB and died in 1946. Rumor has it he led a pretty interesting - and not always law-abiding - life. Aunt Dolores made it to 96.

They were all really interesting and not at all conventional for their time. Aunt Phoebe was widowed by 20 and never remarried, lived in San Francisco in 1910, was a nurse on the United States Shipping Line in the '30s, had her face done and a forged birth certificate when she was 50, joined the Army Nurse Corps, and was in a hospital in The Philippines that was bombed. They all knew how to have fun. I wish I had asked more questions, although I don't think they would have given me truthful answers...

As the family grew, the stockings grew.

And then grew some more... One year they were plastered all over the walls... I think the sleigh worked its way down to the coffee table this year - but was back when grandkids were walking about.

It's amazing the amount of people we could get into that living room. It's amazing that the folks raised six kids in a 1500 square foot house. No wonder we played outside a lot!

I moved all over the USofA, missed far too many Christmas' at home, and Christmas 1980 spent the holiday at a friend's apartment in East Boston while he was away with his family - I was living in a one-room apartment with bathroom down the hall and shared kitchen on the 2nd floor. I got really drunk and called everyone I knew. Huge phone bill.

I bought this mug in Boston in 1981. Susan, Gordy, and I moved into a great house on Parker Street in Boston. Gordy went home to Rhode Island for Christmas, Susan headed down to Pennsylvania with relatives, and I stayed home. Our landlords, Frank and Maureen, lived down the street, their daughter lived above us and Maureen's sister, Evelyn lived on the top flat. It was a standard Boston 3-decker. Christmas Eve started with a family party at Evelyn's and I was invited as the lone Irish face in a sea of African-Americans.

They made fun of me eating chitlins and greens and not batting an eye, while I regaled them with stories of the first time I had eaten them - cooked and cleaned them, as well - in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club. Evelyn knew how to cook and we sat up there until almost midnight eating and drinking, laughing, telling stories, and just having fun. Then we headed out to visit even more relatives and more parties. We got home as the sun was rising. That Christmas I pretty much slept away, full of great food, good booze, and great - if not slightly foggy - memories.

Too many years away, I moved back home, met Victor, and life as we now know it, began.

Our first house on Kirkham Street was great. Lots of architectural charm. It was a great place to decorate. I wish I had some decent pictures...

We still have almost every decoration - and piece of furniture - in these pictures. When we bought our house in San Leandro, the holidays just got more and more fun. One year little sister and her girls stayed with us and we got to experience just what it's like to have lots of little kids in the house on Christmas Morning. We had a blast.

And then we had the rest of the family over for holiday fun. Yes, that is a conga line going through the house. We know how to celebrate at our house! And, yes. Alcohol was involved.

Here's a more sedate moment. The family has more than doubled since this was taken.

That was 1999. We didn't fly back east and Victor's mom started guilting us about being home for New Year's. It was the new millennium. Her comment was "Well... I'm not going to be here for the next one." [Note to Nonna - NONE of us are going to be here for the next one.]

We flew east - on New Year's Eve 1999. The airplane was empty. The airports were empty. It was one of the best flights, ever. And we made it in time to celebrate 2000.

And then we moved east. The holidays took on a whole new meaning with snow! And new traditions with old things. Like Mom's tables - still here after all these years.

And more little kids to play with...

And teach how to make cookies.

And more cookies to bake and more decorations to decorate.  And being goofy with the East Coast Family.

More cards to send - because we still do send cards...

And still more decorations... The old look of the living room with cheap carpet and uninsulated window.

The kitchen - a constantly-changing theme in here.

The faux mantle we had for a while.

And Santa's on the old window seat.

Even more Santas...

The ever-changing chandelier. That is actually one of those cheap brass 1970s chandeliers that I faux-painted when we moved in. I figured I had nothing to lose since it was already ugly. Had it up there for almost 17 years, now. And it has seen its share of gaudy holiday decorations!

That ugly window gave way to a new really cool window...

And another constantly-changing area is the dining room. The cabinet is now our TV stand. It's the first piece of furniture we bought back when we were poor as church mice. We stripped off a dozen layers of paint and stained it. It's my most favorite thing we own! And it's totally useful, holding extra china, flatware, platters, table linens... I love it.

One year leads into another and another... and every one is better than the last.

So Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by Tim Dineen