Dja'jeh Burd'aan b'Teen
What's in a name?!? In the middle east, dinner tonight was Dja'jeh Burd'aan b'Teen. In English, it translates to Orange Chicken with Golden Raisins and Figs.
A rather exotic-sounding and foreign dish made with common ingredients found in almost any home in America. Orange juice, potatoes, chicken, raisins. Figs. Who hasn't had a Fig Newton at least once in their lives?
I mention all of this because I am just so sick and tired of the hate spewing forth from people who are wrapping themselves in the flag and calling themselves Americans, yet have no concept of what America is, or what America is supposed to stand for. The emails I've been getting from people who really should know better read like Saturday Night Live skits except people are actually taking them seriously.
"Give me your tired, your poor,your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Unless you're a Mexican, or, worse yet, a Muslim.
The Crusades ended in 1292. And began, again, in 2010. Different location. Same hate and rhetoric.
What's sad is, just like the nine Crusades before it, this is based upon ignorance and being perpetrated by politicians who don't care about you, me, the real victims of the WTC attack, or anyone else but themselves and their power.
This isn't about a community center in New York City, this is about politicians dividing and conquering us - again. It's about their power and the hell with our Constitution, our laws, and our religious freedom. Blaming all Muslims for the actions of Osama bin Laden is like blaming all Ugandans for Idi Amin or all Americans for Lindsay Lohan.
Give it a rest, folks.
Food. The great equalizer. It's amazing when you look at the cuisines of the world how similar they all are. But it's how the ingredients are put together than makes them unique. Just like people.
Through all of my years of cooking - and eating - I have really come to appreciate just how similar we all are. Universally, food is about family, community, and sharing. And, universally, people pretty much just want to live their lives as best they can. Unfortunately, we're constantly being driven apart with our differences instead of being brought together with our many - many - similarities.
Food. The common denominator.
Tonight's common denominator was anything but common. Slightly sweet and slightly spicy without being hot, it's one of my favorite flavor profiles.
It come from the book A Fistful of Lentils by Jennifer Felicia Abadi
I halved the recipe for two of us but added a lot of figs and served it over whole grain red rice cooked in chicken stock. I also used two boneless chicken breasts.
Here's the full recipe. Enjoy!
Orange Chicken with Golden Raisins and Figs
Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
- 2 cups peeled and cubed white potatoes (any kind)
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup whole Black Mission figs or the larger, amber-colored Calimyrna figs, cut into halves
- 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, strained
- 4 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, (preferably Lea & Perrins, or another brand that lists tamarind as an ingredient
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
Chicken
- 3 pounds chicken pieces (white and dark meat)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Several grindings of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 4 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
To Serve
1 recipe Basic Syrian Rice (recipe can be found in book)preparation
1. Prepare the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl and set aside.
2. Prepare the chicken. Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a plate.
3. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, allspice, and paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spices into the chicken skin.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken pieces and brown, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through and very moist, 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Serve the chicken pieces over rice, with the sauce spooned on top.
Omaha Steaks
When in Rome, do as the Romans. When in Omaha, have a steak.
The cousins took us out to a steakhouse that's been around for 80 or so years - Piccolos's. On the south side of town down where the stockyards one dominated, it has transitioned from neighborhood bar to night club to a cavernous restaurant with some damned good steaks!
We headed off to the bar while awaiting the gang. Old-style drinks poured by people who know how to pour a drink.
Into the restaurant we went - a party of 20.
The steaks are all served with an iceberg salad and choice of sides.
I ordered the 20 oz T-bone for $21.00. Rare. Really rare.
It was one fine steak. The sides were a foil-wrapped baked potato and canned green beans, but ya know?!? I was here for the steak, not the side dishes. Besides, they were slightly fitting for the environment.
It was the perfect local haunt.
Dinner For A Hundred
You know you come from a big family when one of your cousins can seamlessly host a party for 100 relatives - without having it catered - and there is plenty of fabulous food and drink, fantastic company and uproariously good times.
That was dinner at Ed and Jane's last night.
Uproariously good times doesn't even begin to describe it, either. Non-stop talking, laughing, eating, drinking, reminiscing about everything under the sun...
I was so busy with all of the above that I neglected to get any pictures. There were just too many people to talk to.
I specifically brought the laptop and Family Tree program to get updates from everyone. There's been a few additions to the family since I last saw everyone. Quite a few.
The biggest shock was seeing how big those little kids from the last reunion have gotten. And now married with kids of their own. It's really evident we haven't done this nearly often enough.
Original plan for today was to have a family picnic at a local park. Alas, it was flooded out and the venue has been changed to another cousins home - and then later, a big ol' Omaha Steak at a local steakhouse.
Maybe I'll remember to get a picture or two.
Omaha
We made it. Finally.
Getting ready to leave Philadelphia yesterday, we remarked at how quickly we were going to be in Omaha. Half-way across the country. Our airport treks usually are coast-to-coast and take the better part of a day.
How quickly things change.
We were booked on Midwest Airlines. A hop up to Milwaukee, a shorter hop to Omaha. I even booked a direct flight - land but no plane change. And then Midway changed the itinerary. Same flight up to Milwaukee, but a plane-change. And then Midway left Philadelphia 45 minutes late and we missed the flight to Omaha. And the next flight - at 10:30pm - was already over-booked. I was not amused.
The Midway reps let us know right away that because the delays were weather related, the airline wasn't responsible for getting us on another carrier or feeding us or putting us up in a hotel. Did I mention that I wasn't amused!? I wasn't amused.
We did receive a "Distressed Passenger" voucher for a discounted rate at a local Best Western hotel. I was so not amused.
While the clan was gathering in Omaha, laughing and joking, and reliving times past, we had a nice, quiet evening in Milwaukee. I was just not amused.
But... we did finally arrive in Omaha. We got all checked in to a very nice room - a little mini-suite - and all was right with the world.
Naturally, everyone was out doing stuff - golfing, at the zoo - but a few phone calls alter, the troops started arriving back.
We received out "Welcome Bags" that included the above cookie (which tasted most excellent!) along with a bag of candy corn, reunion t-shirts color-coded to the family branch - ours are red in honor of Pop being a fireman - and just a wild assortment of fun stuff. Another cousin made the bags! Fun, indeed.
Tonight we have a BBQ at my cousins that will be a lot of fun. I'm bringing the laptop and the Family Tree program to get these deadbeats to update their family info.
I'm really looking forward to finally seeing all these folks!
Finally amused.
Off To Omaha
The Last Supper before heading off to Omaha tomorrow for a fun-filled Family Reunion! Doctored up tempura chicken, steamed pork buns and red bean paste buns... Quick and easy. Just like some folks I know.
So, we're off to Omaha tomorrow. I think I have only been to Omaha twice in my life. First in July, 1967 - the family vacation with 6 kids in the Ford Country Squire station wagon. Without air conditioning, I might add. Second trip was July of 1986. Family Reunion at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. I flew in from Boston, stayed with my cousin, Tom, and caravaned across the state with his family. We drove his kids crazy singing The Wild Rover.
I've been a wild rover for many a year
And I spent all my money on whiskey and beer,
And now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild rover no more.And it's no, nay, never, (clap, clap, clap, clap)
No nay never no more,
Will I play the wild rover
No never no more.
I am genetically predisposed to annoy and/or embarrass children. It was passed down from my father - the master at embarrassing me as a child. As I grew older, I learned first to tolerate his humor, then to actually appreciate it, and then to really look forward to it. He told the same 20 jokes for 50 years. And pity the poor newcomer who came into the house. A new audience was all he needed to start them all one after another.
He would just start all sincere and reel 'em right in.
We had a liquor store a few blocks from the ancestral home and he always ranted about them. One day a woman pulled up in front of the store and, with her blinkers flashing and her baby in the back seat, ran in to pick up a keg of beer. The teenager working there wheeled it out, opened the back door, and threw it in the back seat - right on top of the baby! Fortunately, it was light beer.
I didn't say they were good jokes.
There's going to be a huge void there without him and his two equally crazy brothers. There's a new generation out there who needs to know about the little girl who was lost in the woods for several years and raised by wild animals. When they finally found her she had a deer face and a bear ass.
And more.
And more.
And more.
(It explains a lot, doesn't it?!?)
So... Midwest Airlines tomorrow. Arriving Omaha at 5:28pm. Hospitality Suite at the hotel opens at 7:00pm.
I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of fun.
In Omaha.
Wild Rover is on a playlist on the iPod. There's a few kids I need to embarrass and/or annoy!
A Trek To Costco
Back in the '80s, I joined a warehouse club called Price Club. It was, actually, the first warehouse club. $25.00 membership and no-frills shopping. It merged with Costco, became PriceCostco, and, later, became Costco, once again.
When I first joined, it seemed that there really were some pretty good deals to be had. But... as time went on and the annual rate kept climbing (it's now $50.00/year) I realized I just wasn't shopping there enough to justify the cost. And the prices were no longer that competitive. I let my membership lapse about 6 years ago. Never thought about the place again. Until last week.
In the mail, I received a free 2-month shopping pass. Free shopping at Costco It almost went into the trash. And then I tossed it onto the desk.
Today, for grins and giggles, we paid our first trip to a Costco store in 6 years.
I was underwhelmed.
There just wasn't anything there I wanted to buy. I tried. Really. I just didn't need a 60" flat-screen TV for $3199.99, don't need another laptop, or window air conditioner. Or a back yard faux-stone dining table with fire pit in the middle - for $799.
I did pick up some AA batteries because my rechargeable ones are starting to die. And some florescent light bulbs 'cuz I had used the last one a couple of days ago. We walked up and down every aisle. Couldn't spend any money.
We headed to the food side.
Oreos in a Drum. I'll pass. A barrel of bright orange ball-things. No thanks. No. 10 cans of sauerkraut. Nope. I don't generally buy national brands of things in the first place because the ingredient lists often leave a lot to be desired. Seeing industrial-sized containers of ketchup loaded with high fructose corn syrup or bottled dressings without an ounce of actual food-product in them was downright scary.
And it was really obvious that I was the weird person in the store. Folks were whizzing by with their over-sized carts jammed with more junk and junk food than I could consume in several lifetimes. I did get an industrial-sized box of Cheerios for $4.79, but spent 81¢ more than if I had bought 2 boxes of store-brand O's. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm not a food snob. It's no longer working. I'm a food snob. That being said, it does not mean that if I went to your house and you made me Green Bean Casserole with canned mushroom soup and French's onion pieces that I would turn my nose up at it. Au contraire! You're cooking, I'm eating. And I could even get through the whole meal without editorializing! I'm just not going to go out of my way to get certain things...
I did break down and buy a couple of racks of pork ribs. They were a bit more per pound than out at Wegmans, but they looked pretty good. And if you look back up at the picture, you'll see just how good they looked. And they tasted even better!
I did a dry rub on them of
- cumin
- chili powder
- smoked paprika
- Spanish paprika
- Hungarian paprika
- chipotle powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- Mexican oregano
- brown sugar
- salt
- pepper
I then baked them at 250° for 2 hours and then onto he grill with BBQ sauce for about 10 minutes.
The chicken was thin-sliced breasts with BBQ sauce.
Back to shopping for a moment...
We also picked up a large bag of dog food for Cybil. That was it. $67.93. Wow. And we actually didn't need any of it. At least not today. And If I could only manage $67.93 in sales after not shopping there for 6+ years, the odds of me renewing a membership are between slim and none.
The Pasta salad in the photo was made by Victor this afternoon from odds and ends in the kitchen...
- tortellini
- celery
- tomatoes
- bell pepper
- salami
- cheese
- tuna
- carrots
- sun dried tomatoes
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
More simplicity!
And to top it all off... Victor made Peach Ice Cream for dessert.
It's been a good day!
London Broil
London Broil... I've been searching for the origin of the term but keep coming up short. But I did find out that contrary to popular belief, "London Broil" is not that thick ol' slab of top round. In fact, it's not a cut of beef, at all - it's a method of cooking. Who knew?!?
And, the traditional cut of beef used was flank steak. Over time, it became a marinated piece of beef, grilled close to the fire, sliced thin, against the grain. Really. Who knew?!?
I remember in my cooking days at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe, we had a bin in the meat walk-in with marinating flank steaks in it 24/7/365. I honestly don't know if that thing was ever emptied in all the years I worked there. It seems we just kept adding to it. But it was some of the best damned flank steak I've ever had. We'd just push up a sleeve and stick a hand in there to pick a few out, as needed.
It was definitely a different world, back then. Agribusiness still hadn't taken control of our food supply and we still had standards. It's funny to think of basic, normal things we did back then that would flabbergast people, today. For instance... we used to smoke and drink while working! There were no such thing as latex gloves and we literally had cases of cold beer at our disposal at all times. Customers would buy us drinks for grilling that perfect steak or just from appreciation for a stellar meal. Make that a double Jack Daniels, thankyouverymuch!
But lest anyone think it was a free-wheeling party, we also had an Executive Chef, Peter Koenig, who ran that kitchen like a well-oiled Swiss watch. I mentioned standards, earlier?!? His cooks were clean, his kitchens were clean. We worked hard and we played hard. We had a lot of fun. But there was no horseplay. Trust me on that one.
Peter went on to become one of the founders of the Max's chain in San Francisco. He was a great guy. In fact, he hired me twice. The first time as a cook at Hugo's Rotisserie right on the lake, and then, after a brief stint back in SF and a move back to Tahoe (long story) he rehired me on the spot and had me open the all-you-could-eat Ponderosa Buffet. I learned a lot from him.
Looking back, it really was a great place to be young. And we ate really well.
So fast-forward almost 35 years and we're grilling a big, thick, top round steak labeled "London Broil". I did a bit of a marinade in some Dale's Seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper. Basic and simple. Mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, and a bit of mushroom gravy finished the plate.
I was going to do the traditional thin-slice-against-the-grain, but Victor said to just cut him a slab.
Worked for me.
It was good.
Breakfast For Dinner
Considering I've been in bed more hours than up the past few days, breakfast for dinner somehow seemed fitting. Besides, we had everything we needed and I didn't have to go outside for anything. The cold from hell coupled with hellish temperatures outside have not done much for my normally charming disposition. Cranky?!? MOI?!? Of course, not... Much...
Potatoes roasted in the oven, thick-sliced Niman Ranch bacon, and local, cage-free, jumbo eggs... Toast sliced from yesterday's homemade bread...
The appetite is still not quite back, and the taste buds are still on hiatus, but all things considered, it was pretty good.
I cooked us each three eggs, although Cybil ended up with most of them.
Three eggs are what I first flipped circa 1975 at The Old Post Office in Carnelian Bay, California.
I was collecting unemployment in San Francisco after being laid off from The Red Chimney restaurant when a friend of mine, Steve Johnson, called me up and asked me if I would be interested in a cook job up at Lake Tahoe. I figured I had nothing to lose and a few days vacation at the lake would be fun, regardless...
So... I flew up to the lake. Steve picked me up and off we went.
The interview went great until Norma, the owner, said she wanted to see me flip some eggs. They were famous for their three-egg breakfast orders... Panic set in. I had never - ever - flipped an egg before in my life. Ever.
So with a brave face I went into the kitchen, heated the pan, added some butter, cracked three eggs, waited for just the right moment... and... a perfect flip! I was shocked! And Norma hired me right then and there!
The beginning of five years of living in the mountains started by flipping a couple of eggs. Actually, it was the start of life as I know it, today! Had I not flipped those eggs, I wouldn't have gone to work for Hyatt, met Dusty, Susan, and Michael, moved to Boston in 1980, and met Dorrie who was just here to visit. Who knows how different things would have been if I had stayed in that house on 28th Avenue with Kira and Robert - and their soon-to-be-born son.
I wonder if I would have quit cooking and gone back to school for social work?!? It's what I actually wanted to do. I got pushed into hotel and restaurant by my old boss, Barry Beaupre, and he was signing my outrageous $1000.00/mo paycheck - a hellava lot more than social workers were getting paid at the time! It was the path of least resistance, and Uncle Sam was only paying $260.00/mo in GI Benefits for us Vietnam Veterans to go to school full-time.
Me a Social Worker. That really would have changed my life dramatically! I never would have left San Francisco. I think that's the most difficult part to imagine. Never leaving the city...
No... the most difficult thing to imagine is life without Victor. I am sooooo glad I flipped those eggs!
So there it is - my life in an egg shell.
This cold is driving me crazy!
Rigatoni and the Cold From Hell
Right in the middle of a fabulous visit with friends, I developed the Cold From Hell. Who knows where this one came from. It hit me like a freight train, knocking me right into the ground.
I sucked it up and put on a brave face, but I have to admit I felt pretty lousy. And while I think I hid the feeling lousy part fairly well, I couldn't hide the sounding lousy part. I've been barking like a seal since Saturday. Ugh. I did everything in my power to keep the germs contained around me, so I'm really hoping no one else comes down with it. I went right into that 'working in a hospital' mode and just constantly washed my hands, didn't touch my face, washed my hands, kept everything around me clean, washed my hands... Plus, no hugs and kisses when everyone left today - I stayed back and waved.
In the meantime, my taste buds have gone on a medical hiatus, as has most of (but certainly not all) of my appetite.
Victor came to the rescue tonight with leftovers from Saturday. Sausage and meatballs and sauce with rigatoni.
I know it was absolutely delicious from having it a couple of days ago. Alas, tonight I just sort of went through the motions and ate a few bites here and there.
Since I'm the only person I know who can get sick, not eat, and still manage to gain weight, I doubt this will help with the weight-loss plan
On the other hand... right now, I don't really care.
As soon as the sun begins to set a bit, I'm crawling into bed.
7月愉快的四 (Happy Fourth of July)
What Fun!
Tradition flew right out the window, today. While the vast majority of the country was setting up their grills and barbecues, we had the steamer baskets filled with pork buns, dumplings,, and an assortment of Chinese goodies.
We decided that since the Chinese had invented fireworks, we would celebrate China this 4th of July. Did I mention how much fun it was?!?
We did a combination of store-bought frozen items and some things we made ourselves. We had spring rolls, shu mai, and the dumplings above for appetizers, along with a myriad of home made dipping sauces.
We had more steamed buns - pork buns, chicken and vegetable buns, along with fish and scallops wrapped in banana leaves and grilled, sweet and spicy chicken with peppers and pineapple, and rice and potstickers... There were eight of us. We ate a goodly amount.
We all know that I'm not a huge prepared-food-purchaser, but the frozen Chinese stuff is unbelievably good. It's all stuff I definitely couldn't begin to make myself, plus it all has clean ingredients. Win-Win!
In typical Tim-and-Victor-shopping-style, we bought way more than we could have even tried to cook or eat, so we have several more meals in the making!
Family, Friends, and Food. Who can ask for more?!?
It really was a fun spin on the holiday.
Wine, Women, and Food
What a fun weekend we have been having!
Friends are visiting from Boston and we're eating (and drinking) well! That's a bottle of Marilyn Merlot on the counter. Gotta love it!
Victor did the honors with this dinner - meat balls, sausage, ravioli, salad... I baked a loaf of bread.
Simple food perfect for sharing with friends. We're having a blast!
Today, we're adding a couple more folks to the mix and having a Chinese 4th of July Celebration! Since the Chinese invented fireworks, it seems only fitting that they should be included in the festivities!
We'll be making a few things, thawing a few things, and steaming a few things we bought.
Stay tuned!
BBQ Chicken
I love bone-in chicken. It is so much more flavorful than its boneless and skinless cousin. Not that the latter doesn't have its place, but for putting on the barbie, bone-in rocks. And that's what we had tonight. With corn-on-the-cob, roasted potatoes, and baked beans. Perfect almost-officially-Summer fare.
I used the Wegmans Memphis BBQ Sauce which, I'm beginning to think after several uses, is merely okay. I like the fact that it has clean ingredients - no high fructose corn syrup and the like - but I'm thinking I want something a bit bolder. Memphis-style (at least out of a bottle) just isn't strong enough for my tastes. It gets lost on the grill. I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Memphis in person - other than the airport, that is. I'm sure that I'd be swooning over any number of BBQ joints, in person, but simply coming out of a bottle has me wanting to reach for something to doctor it up a bit.
Which actually leads me to another thought. I am increasingly realizing that I have absolutely no brand-loyalty anymore. Sorry, all you brands out there who are spending bazillions of dollars trying to convince me that your product is better, is for "people like me", or who honestly think I will pay more for the privileged of letting other people see me with your product(s) in my shopping cart. I don't think so!
Once upon a time, I only bought Best Foods Mayonnaise. I paid more money for it. It's good. It has decent ingredients. I tasted a few others and realized there wasn't any reason for me to be paying a premium for Best Foods when there were others out there that also had decent ingredients and tasted good. I still buy it, occasionally, but it's no longer the only one in the cabinet. I always bought B&M Baked Beans. Until I read their ingredient label and noticed their "Original" recipe had high fructose corn syrup in it. Funny... I didn't know B&M used high fructose corn syrup when they introduced their baked beans back in 1927. Amazing. And I don't care how many commercials they come out with telling me how good high fructose corn syrup is. I won't buy it. At all. Period.
It really seems that the more I started reading labels, the more I started switching products. And the more I stopped buying national brands. I think at some point I realized that the food manufacturers had no loyalty towards me as a person - if they did, they'd be using quality ingredients in the first place - and it was asinine for me to continue to support companies that are selling garbage as food.
That is not to say that I don't have my favorite products. I definitely do. But the odds of me buying something merely because it is made by (Fill In The Blank) are between slim and none. I think the odds of me not buying something because it's made by (Fill In The Blank) are much better.
As a consumer, there are some serious benefits to not being chained to specific brands and products. First off, you'll probably be eating healthier. And second, it opens up a whole new world of tastes and flavors and fun foods. It's almost amazing how much better ketchup made with sugar tastes compared to ketchup made with high fructose corn syrup. And that's but one little condiment.
And then switch from factory-farmed national-brand chicken to either organic or locally produced. All of a sudden chicken has flavor again!
Which brings me full-circle back to dinner tonight.
Bone-in chicken on the barbie. Gas. Not charcoal. Oh well. Nobody's perfect.