Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

What a great film that was, right?

...

So I made some delicious food this past week, and also ate some delicious good prepared by other people.

How pretty is that? Cherry tomatoes and edible flowers and oil and vinegar and salt and pepper.

A delicious roast beet, green bean and onion salad. Yum!

And a delicious asparagus, scallion and goat cheese tart. Delish. 

Then I went to a Cuban place in Corona and had delicious Estrella beer and roast pork and rice and beans and sweet plantains...oh and the best espresso I've ever had...unfortunately, no pic.

That was so good I was ready for the good lord to take me. 

Also unpictured, the appetizers...I was too busy eating. There was croquettes (Cuban style...they were like potato croquettes, but only texture wise) they were great. Everything was, really. Independent of my love of this style of food. Also some tostones, some fried yuca, and my favorite, some mind melting chorizo. 

Man alive. What a week.

Dudes with donut attitudes

I went to the sayville farmers market this past Saturday. It was no downingtown farmers market, but there was one stall that is a treasure. 

Edible flowers! 

 

Delicious goat cheese. Looks like a bog, but was delicious:

(That's another edible flower)

And an elephant ear from a bakery next to the immortal Jilly's:

I went to a bar rescue stress test in jersey city Saturday. No pictures, as they were forbidden. But they had delicious empanadas there and terrible, terrible drinks. Watch it October 26th for some top notch complaining. 

The one picture I was able to take was of a 33 year old man turned into a child at the sight of a mister softee truck:

I got big plans for more food soon. Update to follow!

Hello Old Friend

It's been since May since I blogged???? Woweee wow wow. Where does the time go???

I guess I didn't cook enough. 

I went to a Mets game and ate in the Acela club. 

My friend and his brother got to watch batting practice because his brother was honored before the game as one of the top 10 teachers in all the city. What doe this have to do with food? Nothing...but my friend Chris got to meet the immortal John Glaser and profess his love of cheap seats. He had just come from cataract surgery:

The other big news is that it was my father's birthday in June and my mother's birthday just this past week. 

So for my father's birthday we shot the moon and went to a lovely place in Pennsylvania called the Kimberton Inn. It was a chance to wear dress pants and a blazer with the following pattern:

The food was stupendous...let's take a look, shall we? (All photo credits to my sister, since I can't take food pictures worth a damn)

 

Ooh, what lovely shrimp cocktail! I came close to summoning Beetlejuice by saying his name twice, but decided against saying it a third time and having a shrimp hand attack my mother.

Ooh, what lovely duck confit!

I couldn't wait for my sister to take a pic, I had to dive right in too my scallops. They made heaven a place on earth.

Some creme brûlée, macallan 12, and the remnants of my espresso. 

It was all great. 

Next was my mothers birthday. I wanted to cook...so I did. I also was able to go to the farmers market while I was visiting to pick up some goodies. I was seriously excited. I love the goddam downingtown farmers market so damned much. Holy moly is it the best!

I went with my mother, who got these beautiful flowers:

I also got a lot of food. I need one of those panorama settings:

I got pickles and pickled turnips, and bread, rosemary, kale, beets with their greens, eggs, cherry and pistachio goat cheese, chive goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes, white potatoes, blueberries and apricots.

Out of these

 

Came this beauty:

It all disappeared later that day.

We had the goat cheese before dinner as well as some shrimp.

The piece de of the resistance was rack of lamb, which I prepared according to my fathers recipe. That golden brown is Dijon mustard, olive oil, a head of crushed garlic and the market rosemary.

I made garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, roasted beets and beet greens...it was greeeeaaaaaaat!

I did it, I really did it! I made a delicious dinner for my mother!