Category Archives: Food

Our bountiful cherry tomato harvest happily continues unabated. These luscious fruits are just the latest from only two cherry tomato plants that were established in pots earlier this season. They have climbed beyond their cone-shaped support and risen to the top of our patio canopy, leaning on the poles and now the canopy for support. Together they have formed a sort of living arch, from which dangle dozens of little tomatoes, quickly ripening and filling whatever container is on hand for the harvest. I’ve been eating them uncut in a bowl with mozzarella pearls and fresh basil, coated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It’s a heavenly combination. Thank you summer. 

One of our favorite restaurants has been rebooted and is now under new ownership and management, so for our anniversary dinner this year I took Andy out to Rosanna’s, former site of his favorite Bongiorno’s. That was once Andy’s local hang-out, and he had spent the previous decade or so slowly pulling the recipe for Rosanna’s tomato sauce out of her own lips until he got a pretty good approximation of it for our own home. We returned there for a sweet and quiet anniversary dinner, to see what remained and what had changed. 

Beginning with the Eastside mocktail, and some calamari, the evening found us on the second floor (somewhat noisy with the hardwood floors echoing throughout and an exceptionally loud party of four women who raised the ire of the other tables more than ours) which was not our usual space on the first level. It eventually quieted down when that table departed, and by the time the food arrived our spirits had lifted. 

Andy opted for the traditional spaghetti and meatballs, which was, to Rosanna’s ongoing amusement, the choice of a ten-year-old as she once affectionately described it. He found the new version to his satisfaction, and the ravioli I tried were delicious as well. The original owners still felt present, but distant – the echoes were faint, and we talked of them to keep their memory around a bit longer. 

Dessert was lovely, and the whole evening was decent enough to merit another visit. Sometimes Albany was magical in a quiet way.

It’s been way more than a hot second since I’ve had a brownie sundae, and that was rectified this past week at an impromptu lunch. Sometimes a sundae can turn the whole day around. Usually I’m more disciplined than to allow myself such an indulgence, especially at the height of swimsuit season. These days, however, discipline just feels silly, and I’m at the age where I’d rather be happily satiated than hungering for a sweet treat. If you have an itch, why not scratch it? 

Tomato season is just about upon us. We’ve had cherry tomatoes tumbling off our trellises for days now, and the markets are just seeing the first influx of heirlooms and big boys that I don’t bother growing at home anymore. Let someone else deal with all that fuss – I’m content to purchase and pay for someone else to do the work. 

The easiest and best way to enjoy a tomato may be this classic combo of mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinegar, with a dash of olive oil and some freshly-ground pepper for good measure. It is the taste of summer, and not terribly bad for you either. Easy deliciousness for when the weather zaps all energy and fighting spirit. It can make for a light lunch, or a precursor to a heavier dinner. The possibilities are endless, unlike summer, which is decidedly all too brief.

Summer fare doesn’t come much better or brighter than a simple BLT sandwich. I made this one myself, after Andy cooked the bacon, and I didn’t toast it (much to Andy’s chagrin) because I knew it would be devoured so quickly I didn’t want the roof of my mouth to get all scratched up from the toast. Yes, that’s how my mind works. Comfort over quality, even when it’s going to get macerated and swallowed up anyway.

We don’t mess around with the BLT around here – maybe we’ll go California on its ass with some avocado once in a a great while, but for the most part we keep it simple, which keeps it good. Sometimes I’ll strip it down even further and just do a bacon, tomato and mayo sandwich. Who needs all that healthy lettuce when bacon is involved? If you’re going to do bacon, do the damn thing right. 

One of our favorite summer dinners is a simple plate of grilled scallops with a few vegetables. These were brought to us from our dear friend Ali, fresh from the Atlantic, and we froze half of the batch to bring them out for just such an afternoon. Andy put them together using just olive oil, salt and pepper – and I quickly sautéed some sugar snap peas in olive oil and butter, sprinkling some sea salt and black pepper on them as they cooked. A spicy addition of some Moroccan-flavored carrots and potatoes rounded out the plate, and voila – a simple but oh-so-good summer dinner. 

I absolutely love a sweet treat after lunch or dinner, and that damn Trader Joe’s has plenty of options on that front. (Too many, quite frankly, and it takes a bit of discipline to avoid getting hooked on some delicious thing that’s only found there.) Case in point is the Ube Tea Cookie as seen here. These bite-size beauties incorporate the purple ube tuber (shout-out to the Philippines!) and some sugar and shortbread for a powdered puff of delicious sweetness. 

These are little enough to have a few at a time and not be a total glutton (assuming you can keep it to a few) and they are perfect for an afternoon snack with some tea. 

And while they are sweet, they are not too sweet, even with that glorious coating of powdered sugar. The older I get, the more I like my sweet-treats on the not-too-sweet side, which makes these little cookies practically perfect. 

Behold the magnificent Pastéis de Nata!

These Portuguese egg tarts are one of the most delicious things our wayward world has to offer. Our friend Ali brings them whenever she visits, which makes her visits even more special than they already are – lending a festive aspect of the extraordinary to those fabulous weekends. She just accompanied JoAnn for a get-away here and brought a box, and we’ve been enjoying them every day since. She advised to sprinkle some cinnamon on them, then heat them for a bit, and that makes all the difference. A little but of rustic decadence that is good for breakfast, ideal for a midday snack, and perfect for a dessert after dinner – in other words, we eat these at all times of the day until we’ve gone through an entire box. Thank you, Ali! 

Feast your digits on the following links, which will each bring you to some delectable treat – some savory, some sweet – in the grand tradition of food porn exploited for 4/20. The world has gotten far too serious, and some the food posts of today are here to lighten your spirit and weigh down your load. 

Let’s begin with this simple apple crisp, redolent of fall and coziness. Not out of place on an early spring evening either.. 

Keeping with the cozy theme, my classic candied yams recipe. These pair wondrously with ham, so for all those with some Easter dinner leftovers, this side’s for you. 

Edible heirlooms – a reminder of fresh summer days. 

Sinful scallops for the seafood lover in you. 

A Sunday omelette by Andy. 

Black Bean & Quinoa Salad With Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette – the name says it all.

Don’t be mad at me about these brownies – I didn’t name them.

Cornbread croutons are no joke. 

Beat the heat: Tom Yum soup. 

Chicken and olives and oranges, oh my! 

A perennial favorite at all times of the year: kimchi fried rice topped with a pair of fried eggs. 

What the actual pho?

A basic pot salad.

Pulling some pork.

The famous (and now infamous) Ko Jello Mold. 

That banana trifle allegedly from Magnolia Bakery.

Those hot hues of the Pennsylvania Dutch. 

And finally, a bit of shakshuka splendor.

Enjoy your day! 

Like many kids, my favorite part of an Italian meal at certain restaurants was the garlic bread that started the dinner. At the Armory Grill in Amsterdam, NY, they offered an opening salvo of extra deliciousness in a spinach garlic bread – something I have not had or seen since. It was buttery and garlicky, and the spinach was just lightly distributed among the folds of the dough. I could have devoured the entire bowl of it, though every piece was equitably doled out because we all loved it so much. 

Since those childhood days, I’ve often thought about that spinach bread. It has haunted me happily for four decades, yet for some reason I never thought of trying to re-create it. Having conquered my fear of yeast, and rolling out dough, it might be time. Suzie has been encouraging me to try it out, and it is definitely a worthy goal. This effort came close – I added butter to the olive oil and garlic before wilting the spinach, then sprinkled some Italian seasoning and mozzarella cheese. The bread best open in the oven, but the taste was good. I think the cheese was too much. Next time I’ll simplify it and see if the spinach and butter and garlic is enough. 

Check the date, have some newly-legal fun, and come back to visit this page during the day as I’ve decided to populate the posts with food stuff. That means if you’re having a case of the munchies, you might find some inspiration here. (Later on I’ll describe an amazing spinach bread I’m trying to find after forty years of being haunted by its deliciousness.) 

For the morning, here’s a batch of cinnamon rolls I made for work this week. Using the dough recipe from these lemon cardamom rolls, I switched out the citrus for cinnamon, and the cardamom for chopped pecans. For the frosting, I used butter and crisco as the base eliminating the cream cheese entirely. It was a magical transformation, and a hit for all who tried it. 

Come back in a bit for that spinach bread search and another food hit… and smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em.

Happy 4/20!!