The Gate is Open...Summer Is Loose!

A contradictory weekend indeed.  It started off defiant and angry.  Cold, blustery, damp...barbecues and garage sales be damned!  Be damned, shrieked the weekend.  Go eat pizza indoors with a close friend at Harry's and watch some bad movies on television.  Put together a shelf that's been sitting in a box for weeks.  And once you are done with your penance - you will get to enjoy two sparklingly nice days at a shore.  And you will put your American flag out on the lawn of the home you grew up and remember those who served and no longer here on Earth.

The shelf looks great.  And even though Saturday proved to be less then successful weather wise - it still felt nice to have the day off, get some chores down and also run into My Favorite Fountain...at City Hall Park.  Even in questionable weather...that tiny park is pretty nice to look at.

Now onwards to the Jersey Shore.  It was a little weird being there without my Dad around.  Definitely noticeable but the weather was  very sunny.  And I helped my mom get her bungalow  in order.   And I got to up to the boards...packed with gangs of drunken youth...young and old.  The highlight was a nice dinner at Atlantic Bar & Grill.  I went against my grain (I don't like ordering things I can cook and now that I'm chef-obsessed I feel there is nothing I can't accomplish) and ordered the pork chop with maple mashed potatoes.  Oh and the two gin martinis.  The boardwalk is back... but there's some work that needs to be done.  But...it's not a deal breaker...

Beautiful Little Things

I am not sure how it got stuck in my head.  B.  Was it the simple act of accidentally leaving my freezer drawer slightly ajar and spotting a package of bacon starting to sweat that caused me to obsess?  L.  Or have I been harboring this tiny obsession since Mother's Day weekend.  I thought I was going to cook a nice big breakfast but my fatty plans were rebuffed in favor of healthier fare.  T.  

All day - in my head - I planned it like it was a date.  I couldn't get the idea of chowing down on a big BLT sandwich out of my head.  I fantasized about the huge slices of bread being cozily toasted while thick, applewood bacon sizzled in the oven baking ever so gently to a satisfyingly crisp.  I heard the rough chop of the red lettuce leaves and mighty munch of the layers being delightfully masticated.  

And it came together perfectly.  I used a fantastic whole grain bread with double fiber and toasted to a golden perfection.  Thick cut applewood smoked bacon cooked in an oven on a rimmed baking sheet at 375 for about 20-25 minutes.  Very sturdy, crunch lettuce leaves.  I am not a huge fan of tomatoes.  But Roma's taste nice to me.  I just take my knife and scrape away the seeds and jelly.  And I use nice thin slices.  I also took some plain fat free yogurt and mixed it with some Frank's Red Hot sauce, fresh pepper, some ground chipoltle pepper and used that instead of mayo.  I spread it on the bread....and it was a beautiful little thing to eat and enjoy.

I am trying to avoid the roads taken by forefathers and foremothers and get ahead of some health issues.   But I do think it's important to have a fantastic munch every now and then.  And this was a moment I will not forget.  It took some detailed thought.  I didn't want a county diner job...I wanted something that was more...state dinner appropriate.  And I scored.  

SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:

Gardens and Gun - I recently subscribed to this print magazine.  It's out of my element but it's a great read with some fantastic editorials about Southern culture without a political bent.  It's photography and layout is superb.  The advertisements have to step it up to appeal to the draw of the content.  For real. It's well done.

Bates Motel - I'm not sure how long this A&E show will last.  It's a re-imagination of Psycho and the Norman Bates story but told from a contemporary time and featuring his adolescence.  Aside from a few weird plot turns about the town the motel is in...it's very well done.  And it features three very good performances from the always lovely Vera Farmiga and the actors playing her two sons.  

New Museum - go see 1993 alive and well from an artist point of few if you have nothing to do this weekend.  It's a look into art created almost/exactly 20 years ago before the intranet and cell phones entered the picture.  Spend time on the 5th (?) floor where TVs are set to repeat "This Day in History" reports and display news footage from certain events.  

You Smell LIke Cigarettes and Have Gray Hair

Garofalo. She knows her shit.  You may know her from the Ben Stiller Show, Larry Sanders, a cameo in The Sopranos as herself, the dog and cat movie and one of my favorite movies, Wet Hot American Summer.  Have you seen that cast?!  Mother...

Anyway - I saw Ms. G the other night at EastVille Comedy Club.  It's a little place off Bleecker where Louis CK and other comics come out to practice material.  It was $10 with a 2 drink minimum. Instead of recapping some of the highlights from her set - I'll just display some snippets for you below from some of her past standups.  She totally bends to the task.

Unacceptable!

NUMERO 1: I want to knock this salad to the ground and steal it's handbag.  

They call it...Geriatric Salad.  Right up there with Weedy Pelvic Floors and Hipster Parents that make their toddlers shit on subway grates -- I am aggravated and my brow furiously narrows.  The kicker is you serve the salad with mayo and lemons.  The top just literally blew off the top of my freakin' head!





Ingredients
2 envelopes gelatin
1 cup hot water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
One 15-ounce can asparagus, drained and chopped
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup pimentos, chopped
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt
Mayo, for dipping
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Directions
In a large bowl, add 1 cup cold water, sprinkle the gelatin on top and allow to dissolve. In the meantime, add the hot water and sugar to another bowl and stir together. Then add the white vinegar and stir until it dissolves. Pour the sugar mixture over the gelatin. Place in the freezer and stir occasionally until it thickens, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the freezer and add the asparagus, celery, pecans, pimentos, onions, lemon juice and salt to taste. Pour into a mold and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serve with mayo and lemons.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/geriatric-salad-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback


NUMERO 2: An entire planeload of people simultaneously damning Dolly Parton to hell for writing such a nice li'l song.  It actually happened.  Somewhat.  

At the very least I can take comfort in the fact that I wasn't on the red eye flight from LA to NYC that featured a woman in a diabetic shock singing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" at the top of her lungs until the plane diverted in Kansas City.  

Laying it on the Line

I suppose I'm still licking my wounds.  Death and trauma can really warp.  It's not imagined or a mental disease.  It's how the human brain works and reacts and figures shit out or...sometimes misfires.

Like any classic tale - the omen sewed it's seeds within the ferocity of a storm named Sandy.  The storm   zeroed in on the northeast like a cancer.  Spreading it's vicious fury across the skin of the Atlantic Ocean and setting it's sights on some of the area's most precious and vital organs.

I didn't evacuate New York City.  No one told me to.  Yes - the media hyped up the pending storm as they did with Hurricane Irene...and while Hurricane Irene packed a wallop along interior sections of New Jersey and the East Coast - the anticipated hit along the coast and the city was overblown.

So I stayed.  I live in a brand new building.  In an apartment that no one has lived.  And someone will be stepping foot where I stepped or laying their head down close to where I did 100 years from now.  I hope.  

I could see a flash explosion from my apartment window and everything went dark.  Cell phone service ceased. It would be weeks before the power was back on and the hot water was working.  Oh and you couldn't walk the streets of Lower Manhattan at night.  From 29th street on down, the lights were out.  The buses and taxis refused to venture into the dark.  They didn't want to run over anyone.

The Jersey Shore.  I will shake my fist at New Jersey in a million different ways for a million different reasons.  But the beauty of the New Jersey coastline is so unique.  You do not know it unless you have spent decades there.  I found a special zen there when faced with so many difficult decisions and circumstances.  But the beating it took this time around will forever alter it's future.

Homes, carnival rides, boardwalk, memories, furniture, cars, photographs, lawnmowers, roofs ripped away and washed inwards and outwards.  

Yes - Seaside Heights is loud and obnoxious.  But a mile away is Island Beach State Park which is unspoiled beauty.  

Ending the year.  My dad got sick.  Beginning the year.  He died.  I don't think it's something I will process.  My hunch is...no one does.  You don't get over that. 

but you do go forward.  and love.  love.  love.  the best part of life is the people I get to love.  love forever.