H.R. 1388

Those of you that know me know that I am not one to send mass e-mails about politics.  Quite frankly I loathe partisan bickering and find both parties lacking in the moral and ethical fiber necessary to do the job which we have elected them to.  That said, when legislation is proposed that is not only damaging to some subset of our country but frighteningly destructive to the foundation on which on entire democracy is built it tends to capture my attention.  H.R. 1388 is one such bill, particularly because it is disguised as a positive way for citizens to perform charitable works.  Scratch a little deeper...and I'm not talking lawyer depths...and you will find a very unsettling message.  Follow the link below and, once you have the bill in front of you scroll down to section 1304, sub-section 125.  Read #5 & 6, where it spells out that people involved in this program will not be able to express themselves politically.  Or # 7 where it spells out the fact that they will be stripped of their religious freedoms.  I had to read this section three of four times before it hit home.  This isn't a question of Republican or Democrat.  I happen to be a registered Democrat who marched against the war, vocally opposes capital punishment and thought our great nations involvement with the torture of prisoners was despicable.  The current administration, with it's partisan congressional majority, is moving forward with the implementation of an experiment that I do not believe most Americans endorse.  I beg you to take a few minutes to read these parts of this bill.  If they disturb you reach out to your representatives in the federal government and spread the word.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1388/text

The legislation does not include a mandate requiring service, yet.  

GQ forgets the meaning of the world "Gentleman"...

So everyone has silly, secret pleasures that they indulge in right? Nothing really bad or harmful, mind you. A giant pastry eaten in the car before you pick up the kids. Some inane technological gadget that falls firmly into the toy category. A Celine Dion song downloaded from iTunes. Alright, the Celine Dion could be considered both bad and harmful but you get my drift...right?

For me it's GQ magazine, or at least it was. Why, you ask, would a plump middle aged guy that buys most of his clothes from Kohls bother reading a fashion magazine for men? That's a dynamite question to which I have no answer other than in my dreams I am a well built, suave character with a budget for jeans that are not of the Big Yank variety. I enjoy reading GQ, even though I often find their politics and hedonistic bent tired and uninteresting.

That said, they have crossed the line by joining the current frenzy of Catholic bashing, or more specifically Pope bashing. Isn't it bad enough that we, as a society, have to endure Bill Maher and his condescending brand of humorless comedy? Now we have Gentlemen's Quarterly pontificating on the Pontiff. What gives? Do we really need some "dude" pausing his Harold and Kumar DVD to fill us in on his frighteningly uneducated thoughts about the Pope? Please....tell me what kind of shirt looks good with my argyle socks...tell me what cologne to wear if I'm going to be at the beach on a humid day...I'll even accept you telling me what a great President Barack Obama is...again...and again....and again. I would ask, however, that you not take shots at my religion or religious leaders in a failed attempt at comedy. Lame does not begin to describe this latest sophomoric rant.

You can find the link on the bottom of the page:
http://men.style.com/gq/features

I'm not sure if writing a letter or starting a boycott is worth the effort as jaded, hip people don't seem to be interested in opinions outside their own ranks. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to wear a plaid, polyester suit while mock reading an issue of GQ in a public and trendy place. Sadly, as I am an uninteresting everyman I don't know of any trendy places. Is Studio 54 still around?

I don't know. I'm outraged...but not surprised.

Cooking at Nan's

While paying a visit to my grandmother...a/k/a Nan...a/k/a Angela...my cousin Chris experienced a pleasant, emotional flashback brought on by the glorious smell wafting out from a bubbling pot of gravy (i.e. pasta sauce for the 'Mericians).  It brought happy memories of his mom, Sarita.  She was a very special person, true beauty both internally and externally.  For the record that's not some cliched, compliment for a lost family member...it is meant most sincerely.  The gravy recipe triggered thoughts of coming home to his childhood home, his mom at the stove making the gravy for supper.  Chris, and his sister Maria, decided that learning how to make this gravy would be a day well spent and a wonderful way to feel a connected to their mom.  I set up the particulars and bought the meat...they did the rest. 

For the record I do not eat meat but the verdict was this gravy was 92-95% accurate to their mom's.  They were very happy...but who wouldn't be when your eating a big plate of pasta with family.

So, Chris and I set off to Nan's house to meet Maria and of course...Nan.  Joining us there were my sister Sara, stepmother Claudia, cousins Peter and Matthew, aunts MaryLou and Millie, and my aunt's husband Peter.  

Aunt Millie is an interesting one.  Born Amelia, she was Millie our entire lives until about 4 years ago when she announced that she was Amy.  The bizarre part was that she denied that she had ever been called Millie.  It was as if the entire family had forgotten the name we used when addressing her.  Amy assured us that no one, at any point in her life, had called her Amy.  She was quite serious as well.  We tried to be serious, as well, but after a while just went back to calling her Aunt Millie.  Every so often she resurrects the Amy conspiracy.  Perhaps the next time she does we will all announce that we wish to be called by another name.  I always liked Horace.

Chris videotaped the entire session and I think Maria is going to transcribe the recipe, however, for the blog's sake I'm going to take a stab at it.

~  Nan's Gravy  ~

1.5-2 lbs Sweet Sausage

2 lbs Chopped Meat (Beef, not lean)

3 Cans Tutto Rosso Crushed Tomatos (green can)

5-10 Cloves of Garlic

Stale Bread...or Breadcrumb in a pinch

3 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Parsley

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Fennel Seeds

Dried Oregano

Dried Basil

Place the chopped meat in a large bowl with the stale bread (or breadcrumbs), eggs, parsley, Parmesan and black pepper.  Mix it all up well and form into small, gold ball sized, balls.

Poke a few holes in the sausage and place them in a large pot with about 2 Tbs of Olive Oil.  Cook over medium heat until all sides are brown.  When you turn the sausage for the final time toss in the garlic, chopped but not minced.

While the sausage is cooking you can cook your meatballs in a frying pan with a small amount of Olive Oil.  

When the sausage is cooked add the crushed tomatos, and small amounts of the fennel and dried spices.

When the meatballs are cooked add them into the pot with the gravy.  

Cover and cook for at least an hour...two is better.

Check your seasoning and serve with spaghetti.  

Mangiare!

Restaurant review - #1 - Nobu

Last year Jill received a very generous gift certificate to Nobu.  I would say that for her it was comparable to Charlie finding the golden ticket in his Wonka bar.  She was very, very excited and to be honest so was I.  The name Nobu is held up as the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine and we were so geared up to climb that mountain.  Sadly, it was more of a dusty hill.   

My sincerest hope was that I would be writing about our experience with culinary ecstasy but what we had was just really good, utility Japanese food.  Had we been at any other Japanese restaurant I think we would have both left pretty happy.  However, when you go to a restaurant that is lauded as the top in it's field and you drop a good amount of money, even with a gift certificate, the bar is understandable raised.

The most positive part of the Nobu experience was our waitress who was very down to earth and genuinely friendly.  I can't say the same for most of her peers who came off aloof and a little condescending.  

We started with a Bamboo container filled with Hokusetsu Daiginjo sake, served iced cold. Very refreshing and crisp on the palate.  After our initial excitement at being able to recreate a scene from Gilligan's Island every time we filled up our little bamboo cups, the rustic carafe lost it's allure and just became a pain to pour.   

As both Jill and I are familiar with Japanese cuisine and enjoy new experiences we decided on the Omakase, which is chef's choice.  We've done this before, most notably at Sushi of Gari 46, and enjoyed every adventurous bite we ate.

It seems at Nobu the chef is very conservative and just picks the restaurants most popular dishes for people.  Maybe he sized us up and thought we were too New Jersey to go for a true Omakase experience.  Maybe he had a bad day and was just in a lull of creativity.  Whatever the case it was generally dull, with a few glimpses of brilliance.

The first dish out of the gate was outstanding by any standard...Bigeye & Bluefin Toro Tartar. The small mound of caviar on top of the little molded, sushi was exquisite.  It looked as good as it tasted and it tasted like Heaven.  Jill and I shared a look similar to people about to share the most exciting point in a roller coaster ride.   Unfortunately the thrill our bodies were braced for never came.  Instead they served us Fresh Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno.  The fish was sliced very thin and was super fresh but the sauce combined with a cilantro leaf on each piece quickly took this dish to the furniture polish zone.  You didn't taste the fish at all, and even the zing from the jalapeno was lost.  The first cracks in the Nobu facade were starting to appear.  The final cold dish that we were served was the Kumamoto Oysters with Maui Onion Salsa.  The oysters themselves were perfect but the sauce...eh...nothing to write home amount.  I would have served the oysters plain with just a few fresh lemon slices.  At this point we were a little let down but hope springs eternal.  On to the hot dishes.

The first dish out was a micro greens (the name annoyed me but it might have been the music) with a few slices of fish.  Again, good but utterly forgettable.  Before we had come Jill's friends had recommended the Shrimp Tempura, which was supposedly served with a killer sauce.  They bumped us up to Lobster Tempura and said it was even better than the shrimp.  What can I say?  Tempura should be light and crunchy, this was soggy and drowned in sauce.  I have no idea if that's the way it was supposed to be served, if the chef had an accident with his sauce vessel or if the dish sat under warmer lights because we weren't eating fast enough.  I don't know the answer nor do I care.  It was the turning point for us and we knew it with the first bite.  Our eyes shared the same look we shared when we were looking at houses and realtors would take us into some overpriced cottage.  Hmmm...something's not right.  There was a little redemption with the next dish, Black Cod with Miso.  Yes, I think they might have saved the night with this one.  The meat was seasoned beautifully and cooked to tender perfection.  Every bite of this dish was like waltzing on a dock in a small Caribbean fishing village as steel drums play Mozart and the woman you love has her gaze fixed on your eyes...past your eyes...into your soul.  Yes, it was that good.  But instead of building on that crescendo they tossed us down on to the rocks with the main sushi course. 

5 pieces of very fresh, but very boring sushi.  I'm talking one long, rectangular plate containing five rice dollops each with a piece of fish on top.  That's it.  Oh no, a little wasabi and a little ginger on the end.  The ginger had the same wilted look that the stuff they sell in Stop-n-Shop with California rolls has.  I looked at it with horror then I looked at Jill and my heart broke for her.  She had the same look that little Ricky Schroder had, in “The Champ”, when he realized his father was kind of a loser.  This was not the meal she had envisioned or, dare I say, fantasized about.  We weren’t expecting a lot of sushi, mind you, but we thought there would be some unique presentation...maybe some daring selections...something...anything...I mean....this is Nobu!  When the waitress took our plates we looked at each other in disbelief.  Surely, she’d be back with at least one more piece that would knock our socks off.  Nope.  Nada.  

They quickly brought out this tapioca, coconut, lemon in a shot glass thing that neither Jill nor I really liked.  The flavors clashed and the big giant tapioca were like chewing some type of rare spider egg that had been imported from the Amazon river region.

Was there any chance the dessert would save the lackluster meal....maybe???  No such luck.  I swear that I had the same Bento Box dessert (a warm chocolate souffle) at a Chili’s in Oshkosh one time.  It was so run of the mill.  Not sure if someone made it onsite or if they just bought a gross on sale at Restaurant Depot.  It was the punctuation to the entire meal.  Lame....lame....lame.  I’m not kidding, these are the same desserts that are on the menu at most Houlihan’s, save for the fact that they cost three times as much here and come in a little Japanese Bento box.  

Did we build this restaurant up in our minds?  Yes.  Is that fair?  Also yes, considering their reputation and their prices.  If you want to experience a truly magical Japanese meal I would highly recommend Sushi of Gari 46.  There was not one area where they do not completely eclipse Nobu.  Also, before I forget, the background music at Nobu was some kind of obnoxious Rave-fest.  I felt like the bass drum was literally next to my head pounding in the over simplistic quarter note rhythm.  Not conducive to a relaxing meal at all, but the perfect complement to the “resting on our laurels” fare that Nobu was serving.

Fat Onion...

After a month of planning we shot a video for Fat Onion.  Actually John shot the video and I bought the bagels.  Which were very good.  Everybody commented.  I got the good cream cheese too.  

Anyway...just a few still shots...more to come...