January 31, 2015

Shakespeare in the Park this season. Waterston as Prospero looks interesting. Never read or saw Cymbeline, I guess it's about time.



Was going to do fish today but no fish-mongers today at the Greenmarket, no mushrooms either.

Chili time ! Going to be a patchwork of my own recipe and the one that was just in the NYT. Shell steaks were on sale, so the cubed meat will be a better cut. So far the eats for the Super Bowl are: Sliders, Chili , Rice and Beans, Pizza, 100 Wings and the massive amount of stuff that comes with the six-foot hero.

November 9, 2013

Going there today, see what I can get to gussy up the bathroom. Got a 20% off coupon to ease the price.



Corona at Stop and Shop. $12.99 a twelve pack. Sold !



For football and B-Ball, Chili and Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Dr.Pepper BBQ sauce.

From the Web Site Serious Eats: Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce.

Sauce recipe adapted from Taming the Flame by Elizabeth Karmel
Ingredients

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 12-ounce can Dr. Pepper (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground ancho or New Mexican chile powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper 



Found out from an old bartender that a good ingredient to add to a Bloody Mary is Colman's Dry Mustard. Will give it a try tomorrow.

January 15, 2012

Big game today. Go Giants ! The 49er - Saints game yesterday was perhaps the best game I have seen in quite a while.



Chili and Chili dogs on the menu. The recipe:

Chili:
1 1/2 pounds Top Round Sirloin
cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Pound Chuck Chop
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
10 Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. Cocoa
7 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Dark Beer
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
2 tsp. Lime Juice
1 28 oz Marinara Sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans Red Pinto Beans
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 16 oz Diced Tomatoes

Cut Beef into small cubes. Put cubes in Gallon Storage bag
with flour, pepper. Mix well to cover cubes completely.
Add cubes to hot oil and saute for six to seven minutes.
In a large pot add the chopped garlic, onion , mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add Sauce, broth, wine, Beer. Add cooked Beef cubes, Chuck Chop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover , cook until all is tender, about two hours. Serve with Dark Beer.



I am now reading The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt. It is about De Rerum Natura, On the Nature of Things by Titus Lucretius Carus. Project Gutenberg has the Poem and it is now on my Nook for later reading.

January 22, 2011

Watched the new version of Clash of the Titans (2010), prefer the Clash of the Titans (1981.) New version has a cameo by Bubo the mechanical owl who is replaced in the plot by Io played by Gemma Arterton. The male lead played by Sam Worthington looked familiar and later realized he was the lead in Avatar. Medusa, played in part by Natalia Vodianova, is spectacular.




Watched Zombieland and it was a lot of fun. Much better than expected.
Best line:
Little Rock: So do you have any regrets?
Bill Murray: Garfield, maybe.




On tonight, Turner Classic Movies, 6:00 p.m.: Scaramouche .

Rafael Sabatini : on his headstone his wife had written, "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad", the first line of Scaramouche. This is the whole movie on Youtube, incredible. Make-up by William Tuttle , of Twilight Zone fame, the first make-up artist to receive an Oscar. Great acting by Mel Ferrer, not related to Jose or Miguel.



Championship Football coming up tomorrow, so BBQ Pulled Pork and Chili. The Pulled Pork will be East Carolina vinegar sauce and a separate pot with the leftover Guinness BBQ Sauce. Recipes below:

Chili:
1 1/2 pounds Top Round Sirloin
cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Pound Chuck Chop
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
10 Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. Cocoa
7 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Dark Beer
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
2 tsp. Lime Juice
1 28 oz Marinara Sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans Red Pinto Beans
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 16 oz Diced Tomatoes

Cut Beef into small cubes. Put cubes in Gallon Storage bag
with flour, pepper. Mix well to cover cubes completely.
Add cubes to hot oil and saute for six to seven minutes.
In a large pot add the chopped garlic, onion , mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add Sauce, broth, wine, Beer. Add cooked Beef cubes, Chuck Chop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover , cook until all is tender, about two hours. Serve with Dark Beer.

East Carolina Sauce
Ingredients:
1 c Vinegar
2 tb Brown sugar
2 tb Red pepper flakes
1 ts Cayenne
1 ts Black pepper
1 ts Salt
1/2 c Water (optional)

Serious Eats Guinness BBQ Sauce :

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 15oz can tomato sauce
• 8 oz stout beer
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

February 6, 2010

Illustration by John Ritter; photograph from Paramount Pictures
NYT review of Point Omega is in Sunday's Book Review.

Picked this up at the local Beer Distributor. I thought -
$8.99 a twelve pack for British Pale Ale, a bargain.
Turns out it is brewed under license in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Still, very drinkable and worth the price.



Super Bowl XLIV features two teams I don't care
about. I guess I'll root for the Colts because they have Eli's
Brother. The food and the crazy ads will be the thing, not the game.



Super Bowl Sunday means Chili, Chili Dogs, and Wings.
Here's my recipe for Chili:

1 1/2 pounds Top Round Sirloin
cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Pound Chuck Chop
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
10 Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. Cocoa
7 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Dark Beer
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
2 tsp. Lime Juice
1 28 oz Marinara Sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans Red Pinto Beans
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 16 oz Diced Tomatoes

Cut Beef into small cubes. Put cubes in Gallon Storage bag
with flour, pepper. Mix well to cover cubes completely.
Add cubes to hot oil and saute for six to seven minutes.
In a large pot add the chopped garlic, onion , mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add Sauce, broth, wine, Beer. Add cooked Beef cubes, Chuck Chop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover , cook until all is tender, about two hours. Serve with Dark Beer.



The Serious Eats Web Blog has some great recipes.
Baked Buffalo Wings and Honey Mustard Wings
will be made with BBQ Wings.

January 17, 2010

Picked this one up. Author Interview.
You got to love a book with lines like this
one: "Artie was five-eight and slim but he had
balls the size of a pregnant Mack Truck..."



Read about this one, it should be good.



On order from the Queens Library.
They send you an e-mail when it is ready.



24 starts tonight. The only show I watch.
NY is the setting but it was mostly filmed
elsewhere.



Lots of football. Games have been unwatchable.
My team The Giants aren't in it, but Chili Dogs are
on the menu. I have , in the past, bought ready made
Chili but I wasn't impressed. Also, the sodium levels
were astronomical. Here's a quick recipe:

1/2 pound Ground Chuck
1 can Red Kidney Beans
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Chili powder
2 tsp Cocoa
1 Red Pepper
1 onion
3 cloves Garlic
9 mushrooms
1/2 cup Brandy
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

October 11, 2009

Early morning at the market.



There is a pepper stand with every type of pepper
you could want. I bought some Pablanos and Trinidad Reds.
Made an awesome Chili. Added a lot of Cinnamon based on
a NYT recipe.



Decorative Corn. This stuff lasts forever.
I have a decoration on my door that I bought
10 years ago.



Great Garlic. I buy it all the time.



This was painted on a delivery truck.
Wow !



This is your brain on Cauliflower.



On the way to Madison Square Park.
Wisdom - front of Appellate Division First Department,
27 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010.



Force - front of Appellate Division First Department,
27 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010.



Madison Square Park Harvest festival kicks off.
Hill Country BBQ. Beer was ice-cold.



Hill Country BBQ Beef.



Pumpkin House.



Last stop was Heartland Brewery for Pumpkin Ale.

January 10, 2009

Basketball used to be my passion. Now, since I've lost
my explosive first step and age has taken a toll, I only play
once or twice a year. Tonight, I play in a fund-raiser for my
old grammar school. Class of 65.
I still coach CYO Basketball and today my team was down by
14 at half-time and pulled out a five point victory.




Philly still rules for making Cheesesteaks.
Above is a picture of Pat's.
New York City has finally started to make
decent Philly-Style Cheesesteaks. Here
is NYC Cheesesteak Crawl results.



Tonight's meal is Chili. Just in time
for snow and NFL Playoffs.
My recipe:
1 1/2 pounds Top Round Sirloin
cut into ½ inch cubes
1 Pound Chuck Chop
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon Black pepper
2 Tablespoons Virgin Olive Oil
10 Mushrooms
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp. Cocoa
7 cloves garlic
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Dark Beer
2 Bay Leaves
1 ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce
2 tsp. Lime Juice
1 28 oz Marinara Sauce
2 (16 oz.) cans Red Pinto Beans
1 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 16 oz Diced Tomatoes

Cut Beef into small cubes. Put cubes in Gallon Storage bag
with flour, pepper. Mix well to cover cubes completely.
Add cubes to hot oil and saute for six to seven minutes.
In a large pot add the chopped garlic, onion , mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add Sauce, broth, wine, Beer. Add cooked Beef cubes, Chuck Chop, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover , cook until all is tender, about two hours. Serve with Dark Beer.