Short-Ribs...

...Halloween Party


Cocktails...

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Friday night we opted to stay in rather than go out (I know, blasphemy right?) We practiced making our cocktail for the next days Halloween party and while of course we are no Catherine Lombardi, we were certainly proud of our repli-cocktail. (sorry guys, no recipe, just head over to Catherine Lombardi, because you'll never be able to make it as good at home!) My Falernum came out great (see previous post), next time I will add a little bit of Ginger though.







Picked up some good short ribs (for a hefty price unfortunately) that I braised (see my other posts about "perfect short ribs" and follow that recipe. It's the closest you can come to being to god, especially with risotto and homemade stock.





Then we went to a Halloween party on Saturday night...





Laurie kind of cheated...and was 'Asian' for Halloween.


We made (and I don't have pictures of) pumpkin tarts, pumpkin hummus, and pumpkin scones for the party along with the honeycrisp apple cocktails...

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I'll try it tomorrow and confirm it doesn't stink. I used some Barcardi I had in the liquor cabinet that no one is going to drink. First time around, it should be ok to experiment with. I didn't use ginger as I followed DeGroffs recipe that is floating around. Mistake? We'll see.

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Went to Origin Thai in Somerville on Friday with some friends, great night and I didn't even hear the "happy birthday" song. Maybe they have done away with it. Catherine Lombardi on Saturday. Did some shopping on Saturday and I have to say, regardless of the economy, I've never seen the malls packed as much as I did on Saturday, and people weren't window shopping, the checkout lines were insane too! Bought close to 50$ worth of candy for the mass herds of trick-or-treaters this year, every year it grows! I admit that 10$ of that was to a box of king size bars for the good costumes (yeah, I'm not an equal opportunity giver). Should I make some hor'd'oeuvre's for Obama supporter parents too?

Made some spicy(chili,pepper,spices)-chocolate covered bacon this weekend. (yes, it IS interesting, and good) and some Parisienne Gnocchi as well.


no crazy pictures of the Gnocchi, still perfecting it (trying to duplicate a favorite restaurant dish) but here is a picture before I cooked them after I poached them. I made a bunch so I stuck a bunch in the freezer.

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Thomas Keller is a ruler.


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Well, I almost bit off more than I can chew, but pulled off a great dinner nonetheless. I was selfish and wanted to try a Parisian gnocchi for a before the mushroom risotto....

Parmesan crisps east...... cups...tough. First try yielded awesome crisps, no cups....second try, I got some "cups" (you have to be iron man to handle that hot cheese, thank god my callouses are seasoned)






got to use one of my new microplane zesters. awesome.


everyone should own one of these!










and....


BAM.


although, following the recipe to let it sit 30 seconds, was not the right thing to do....they crisped up too fast...no cups from this batch. I learned that using this mini-muffin tin and working ON the oven door, fast, with burnt callouses and a spatula....was the ticket.









Ok, so the gnocchi? failure. just too rushed, and too mushy. i think i would have been better off freezing after poaching and using the next day. just throwing them in the fridge then in the saute pan wasn't a good idea.


in any case....here are some pics.





I picked up some PA Bluefoots, chanterelles, and some shitakes. (them bluefoots were 37$ a lb!)













best. risotto. I. (and NRatched) ever. tasted. I don't really even like mushrooms all that much, but the ragout (a half glass red wine, some homemade chicken stock i used for the risotto, and some heavy cream) was also great! Ok, it was a pretty good tie for a risotto I had at Gramercy Tavern a couple of months ago...

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I'm on the hunt for a 1935 First Edition, First Printing Old Mr. Boston...if anyone has one, knows of one, knows where I can get one, finds one on ebay...drop me an email/comment!

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For 20 years or so, I've been going to the same 3 farms in October for "Pumpkin Extravaganza" (see 2007) This year. No more. Depressing.

Laurie and I woke up at a reasonable time for a Sunday morning, drove about an hour down to South Jersey to the same farm I've been pumpkin picking/hayride forever. Emmons Dairy Farm. We pulled up. Closed. Done. Gone. No more.

Depressed, we trucked on to the next stop. Mr. McGregors farm for fresh pies. (well, not sure how fresh strawberry and rhubarbs can be) Sure they have great pies....but looking around the store for some preserves, jellies, good fun local stuff, came up short with loads of high fructose corn syrup crap.

Strike two. No worries, Robsons Farm market down the road, the last stop on the tradition, has a big hayride too, we can pick our own pumpkins there when we pick up the mums!

We pull up. Is it closed? No...but it's no longer Robson's....it's some other name...and it shows. No more hayrides, no more growing their own pumpkins, no more fields of pumpkins, the great pumpkin? no....but I surely felt like Charley fucking Brown at this point. Trucked in pumpkins. Same "fresh fructose corn syrup" produce as the other place. We went home. I have pictures, but it's too depressing for me to post and not worth it. I'm glad Laurie had a chance to experience the tradition I'll talk about the "remember when things were great" to my kids.

Support your local farms perhaps?

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Is Catherine Lombardi bar on a Friday night with REAL apple cocktails.....

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Just some stuffed peppers and some chicken pot pies....

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I'm Marrying a model?


Catherine Lombardi's?

New Coffee Maker?

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Friday night a friend Christoph Q. came over and did Laurie's make-up. I took some pictures....here are some of my favorites.












The artist himself...


Dana came over.....


...and then we went to Catherine Lombardi to taste the new Apple cocktail......and some appetizers.....and of course dinner. Great as usual.

And well, other than that I picked up a new french press coffee maker, that's about it....

Good seeing old friends! If I have old friends, does that mean I am getting old?

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My Christmas Present coffee maker shit the proverbial bed a couple of weeks ago. While I'm not a die hard coffee drinker, I do enjoy a cup on the weekends with breakfast and lately have been drinking more at work. Also, as more of a lazyness than taste preference, I've also been drinking it black for some time....now, I can't drink it with sugar or cream. So, equipped with a Bed Bath and Beyond gift card 50$, we set out to find a coffee maker. Well, since I'm on a budget trying to save some money, I couldn't get the Bunn or Technivorm with the thermal caraf drip maker, so I bought the next best (or better?) thing. A Bodum french press.


I have to be honest, I haven't quite got the hang of it. Some say french press is supposed to taste stronger, but to me it doesn't taste as strong as I'd like it. Albiet I've only tested with a course ground cheap supermarket Kona.

is the size of my grind, I'm putting in 200 degree water (maybe even a little hotter) and letting it steep for about 5-6 minutes. I'm putting in 1 scoop with the Bodum spoon for each 4oz I'm making (so 4 scoops, 16oz). Any suggestions.

Perhaps I'm just used to drinking bitter burnt D&D or Starbucks house blends at work....

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