October 31, 2006
Halloween x2
Two shots for this holiday, one from '06 and one from the 60's.
That's my brother in the blue satin suit...
October 30, 2006
Sunday Light
I probably looked like a madman late Sunday afternoon, running around the yard mumbling to Luigi and Mark about the "perfect light". It was when a very windy and stormy weekend weather front was passing and suddenly the darkened skies opened just as the sun was setting.
"No crap" diet results
So after another week of watching every single thing I eat and drink quite diligently, I am down to 176.5 pounds from an initial weight of 187. I definitely have more energy and Mark concurs with my observation from last Friday that I am calmer. He used another phrase which I will not repeat here...
What is in and what is out? White flour and white sugar are out as much as possible. Lean proteins are in, especially fish when I can get decent quality. Pasta and bread are but memories for now. Green tea is way in.
Yesterday we had an early supper with chipotle rubbed loin of pork roast, broccoli with a lemony hollandaise and daiquiris made with splenda instead of white sugar. This morning I had lost another 1.5 pounds and am wearing pants that I haven't worn in years. Joy.
October 26, 2006
October 25, 2006
Rouladen-shine
For some inexplicable reason, I needed to make rouladen
for the first time today. It was either glorious and possibly divine inspiration or simply giving myself a productive and very focused task on a day when I
needed that to be the case. The eighties was my decade of cooking, both learning, doing and professionally, and I'm having the wee flashback currently. Indulge me.
What the hell is this dish? It has a German/Austrian heritage, with slices of beef rolled around seasonings and vegetables, then tied with twine or fastened with toothpicks, sauteed and then braised in stock. There are many versions of this dish, varied with regions and using similar ingredients all over the globe. But today, I needed to be Viennese perfection.
Off to the new European market near us for the meat and some other items. The woman who served me must have not heard me fully, as I ordered slices of beef for rouladen, but after a few more sentences she beamed at me.
"Oh, rouladen! I have [sic] that last night."
She was now beaming and I knew that my order would be perfect. $5.42 for eight slices of beef cut perfectly against the grain and wrapped with the slices spread just enough to be used easily. Two hours of vegetable prep, rolling, tying with twine, browning, seasoning and sauce skimming came next.
We took the cooked dish over to reheat and finish at Mark's Mom's house. It was intended to be subjected to scrutiny.
"It's perfect", she concluded.
Rouladen indeed. And, I lost another pound in the last 24 hours. The road to skinny is through obsessive compulsive neurotic cooking I tell ya...
October 24, 2006
Purged and Organized
I filled the Salvation Army clothing drop off twice. Somebody in Ontario will be wearing a very special pair of green linen pants very soon. Oh, the horror.
If this is indicative of a mid-life crisis than bring it on; cause I will make it work. No new sports car required.
Stay Hungry
So, since I am pissed at myself to some degree, I have taken a step in a good direction. All bread and sugary snacks got tossed. No snacking on crap. In fact, no eating crap at all. It's been about a week now, with just one indulgence over home made chips and frites dusted with fresh thyme and lemon mayo on the side for dipping.
What does this really mean? It means I am cooking every day. Shopping and cooking. Cleaning, shopping and cooking slavishly saucy classics. Julia Child's "The French Chef" first DVD set is currently on heavy rotation. A great teacher, but also a hoot. Both my Mother and I met her; I even served her and Paul dinner at a reception. But that is a story for another post.
Get this. I am now making stock again. Alert the media. And skimming sauces until they are "clear" for cryin' out loud—all on an ancient electric stove. It could be the influence of reading a book by a woman who famously blogs as she cooks all the recipes from "Mastering that Art of French Cooking" Vol. 1, by our girl Tall J. Word.
The pounds come off even though we are eating recipes with heavy cream and cheese blithely tossed about. But lowering the ratio of carbs and really watching just what you are eating works right away. My jeans are falling off my boney "no-ass" already.
October 19, 2006
De-skunking
It is a slow process, this "de-skunking" of things. Mark's fingertips and Luigi's snout still retain quite the olfactory punch, despite many washings with various concoctions.
October 18, 2006
October 15, 2006
Pissed and Skunked
The flight from Newark to Toronto managed to leave a few minutes early today—the captain attributing this to the fact that all passengers and checked bags had been accounted for a few minutes before scheduled take off. It almost made up for the 45 minute delay on my flight down... but not quite. With the hysteria about gels and liquids still lingering, nobody seems quite sure about what is and isn't allowed. Flying sucks anymore.
When we took off this morning I could see the New York skyline to the east. There were no clouds at all to be seen on this clear blue October morning sky. I was in an introspective mood, reflecting on the past. Looking at the city's changed skyline echoed the distance and time since I had moved to Canada. There is no going back. There are no repeat performances. This highway is one way only.
It didn't take long for us to climb up and away from the Newark with New York on the horizon. It was perfect weather for flying, as if a crystal blue ball surrounded the plane as it hung in the air.
As the city that was home for years disappeared from view, the reflection turned into anger with myself. Why was I still 20 pounds too heavy? Why has my professional life found me in a cul-de-sac? When did I get so complacent instead of being fearless? I was pissed.
But Luigi was in quite another predicament. Mark had gone to his Mother's house for dinner last night, and when more guests showed up, Luigi had been spooked by something he saw in the back yard.
That turned out to be the skunk that sprayed him right between the eyes.
Can you imagine a swifter way to end a dinner party than with freshly atomized skunk juice over your beloved dog, partner, partner's mother, house, clothes, rug, kitchen floor, hair, fingertips, etc.? Poor Luigi.
October 14, 2006
The First Supper
It isn't every day when you have the very first meal at the never been used before dining room table in the brand new house; so it was especially nice that this one was very special for many reasons.
My camera indicates just how long it took this smiling group to go from photo op to pass the grub...
6:30 PM
6:32 PM
October 13, 2006
A View from the Light
This Friday the 13th brought no bad luck at all. It had friends and family together, with a clear blue sky backdrop. It's good to visit home again, if just for a short time.
October 10, 2006
October 8, 2006
Grilled 'Za'
Who doesn't like pizza? For that matter, who doesn't have an opinion about pizza? In Chicago, the deep dish style is the town favorite. Have you been lucky enough to visit Chicago and try an authentic version such as Pizzeria Uno? Trust me, it is worth doing...
But I was raised near New York, and when I lived in Manhattan in the 90's it was easy to get spoiled by easy access to great pizza in the New York style—typically thin crust and baked in a very hot coal fired oven. It has always been this way. You can get a slice of great pizza, with a lightly charred bottom oozing molten mozzarella in almost any neighborhood in the city. And some spots are rightfully legend, such as John's on Bleeker St. (order the meatball pie if you go... just trust me), Totonno's or Lombardi's, among many others. Sure, there is lousy pizza in New York. Just not as much as the rest of the world.
Cooking your own pizza is not difficult at all. Lots of folks are intimidated by working with dough, but my advice is to just jump in and join the crowd that are making their own. Many supermarkets now offer raw dough for easier pizza making at home. But then that makes you a wuss.
You can make pretty good pizza using a preheated ceramic stone or unglazed tiles in your own oven. But let's face it, home ovens simply do not reach the same lofty temperatures that coal fired ovens can produce.
So, why not grill pizza on your gas or charcoal grill? I've been doing it for a few years now, but only recently learned a few tips that get you close to perfection. First, using a dough specifically designed for grilling over a flame is important. And also using toppings that make sense for a very short cooking time over high heat. This isn't the place for a lot of sauce and wet ingredients.
"America's Test Kitchen" on PBS did a show this year that featured a detailed recipe for grilled tomato and cheese pizza, and it included a spicy garlic oil that you brushed on the crust before garnishing and finishing cooking the other side. Normally I don't do published recipes to the exacting details. If the dish sounds interesting I might use it as a jumping off point—sometimes crashing and burning—but this time I followed the recipes printed off the TV show's web site with all my neurotic compulsiveness.
I invited T. and her hound over for the testing. It turned out to be a glorious autumn Saturday afternoon; all blue skies and orange leaf sunshine.
When the first pizza hit the grill with the garlic oil, chopped, salted and drained plum tomatoes, grated fontina and parmigiano reggiano toppings I closed the grill quickly and we sipped our glasses of wine. It only took moments for the scent to permeate the patio.
"Oh my god. Do you smell that?" said T. as the dogs chased each other around the pool.
I slid the first pie onto a cutting board and sprinkled the top with chopped fresh basil. It was crisp and hot, savory and light, with a hint of garlic and spice. It was green, white and red, pointing back to Italy like a round flag if you looked quickly, because it was gone very soon.
October 7, 2006
Big Piney
In the front yard, this tree has prospered for years, standing like a beacon. It is probably as tall as the house is long...
I've always thought it would be a great candidate to be fully lit for Christmas, with thousands of white lights winding from the base to the top.
Now all I need is the Rockefeller Center holiday decorating budget and we are good to go.
October 6, 2006
Purge!
It looked a little silly. There we both stood yesterday afternoon—in our underwear—next to three rolling racks of pants in the basement.
For some time now, my wardrobe has been out of control. Years of wearing full corporate drag at work complete with suits, ties and dress shoes everyday naturally swelled the number of garments over time. The problem was that I never really purged anything. It just kept accumulating.
So, we worked through the racks of clothes in the basement just like we were on "What Not to Wear"—throwing them into two piles either for charity, or alteration if they fitted Mark and were deemed usable. Loads of pleated trousers got tossed into the charity pile right away. I moved on to shoes and coats after we finished with the pants.
It took two trips to the Salvation Army with the trunk of the car filled with bags of clothing, and I feel four hundred pounds lighter today.
October 5, 2006
Coverage is coming
Luigi is expecting it soon. And rightly so.
They are coming next week to cover the pool on the same day I leave for New Jersey. He will sit inside at the sliding glass door and bark at them as they work—stretching the cover over the pool and weighting it down for the onslaught of winter.
Afterward he will peruse their work and walk along the perimeter, smelling the water filled weights and standing on the edges, peering into his newly refurbished domain.
Our faint hope is that one day next April or May we will uncover the blue water again. And in the meantime the weekend looks to be warm and sunny. Nothing like a little Indian summer...
October 4, 2006
Today's Real Life Tag Line
I just saved a thousand dollars on my car insurance!
