Need I say more?
It is officially Christmas time at our house! The roof may be in repair, the basement gutted, the ceiling in this very room has yet to be painted but our new house is a home, no matter the state of repair, when our family traditions are kept and our connections to each other are made more important than our circumstances.
Happy Holidays, everyone!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Tree Is Up!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
The Fog of Thanks
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The plan |
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Simultaneously, Mike made his his famous lasagna and tiramisu. |
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I'd put out the appetitivi and amuse bouche, smoked rainbow and lake trout over creme fraiche and chives on chips. |
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I clearly remember putting out the butternut squash soup... |
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Mom, enjoying said salad |
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Papa Irv getting ready to go in on the turkey and ham. |
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Ellen, Papa Irv, Ma, me, Mike, Ty, Eddie, Dani and Edna |
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Dad |
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Eddie |
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My plate of rice and beans, mac and cheese, yams, collards, potato salad, kale salad and a dollop of ham atop turkey in the center of it all. |
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Even Sylvester was like, "Say what?!" |
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..and an earnest, "Good night!" from Ryan. |
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Shout Out to Gold Star
Prepping for Thanksgiving is mundane; lists and such are a bore, especially for the tried and true dishes made over and over again every year. The highlight of our mad dash around Bk for the holiday was a personal, and professional, trip to Gold Star in my hometown, Red Hook.
Gold Star lives in an indescript building in an industrial area, in the cut off of Court Street and on the other side of the Gowanus Expressway.
If you can find it you will be rewarded with the best smoked fish in the borough.
We picked up some rainbow trout for the restaurant this weekend and a purchased few whole fish for our festivities tomorrow. Can't wait.
Monday, November 19, 2012
How to Make Fried Calamari
My man has the simplest, most straightforward approach that I can show in you two pictures, demystifying this process forever:
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Toss the squid in flour, salt and pepper |
Friday, November 16, 2012
Garlic Soup!
The recipe is so simple, it's crazy. It's amazing how so few ingredients can pack such a big punch. My take on it, a much simpler version of the soup, literally consisted of:
water
garlic cloves
olive oil
parsley
one bay leaf
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Inheritance or Imitation?
The nature versus nurture question arises. How many of her affinities are her own and how many are influenced by beach-loving parents or a mom who works in the music business? Does she impulsively "write" with paper and pen because she sees me using them all of the time or does she have a natural affinity for words?
Jada loves playing drums too, as does her father. Is this inheritance or imitation? This video of her at The Guitar Center makes me think it's a little bit of both.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Countdown
It's on. Two weeks out from Thanksgiving and I am already beginning to panic, internally of course. I smiled graciously when Mike invited the family (twenty people!!) over in the first flush of excitement upon moving in to the new house. Three weeks later and we have only successfully finished painting one room. Countless unpacked boxes are laying in random places. A new stove sits in the foyer waiting for construction to be completed in the second kitchen upstairs.
Slowly but surely we are making progress but making this house a home is going to take a long time. Adding a major holiday to the drama of it all is daunting. I'm tempted to call it all off. But that's not the spirit of Thanksgiving. It is about celebrating the paint splattered floors and the piles of belongings yet to find their place in this new space. It is about gratitude for all that we have and sharing all that we have with the people we love most and inviting them to be a part of the process. No one on our guest list is coming here to judge us. I should take my ego out of this situation and all of the grandiose and unrealistic ideas about how things should be and just go with the flow. Doesn't mean I can't be just a little neurotic about the schedule of tasks I'd like to see completed by the 22nd. It just means that it's not the end of the world if we are not watching the Macy's Parade in a house that looks like a Nate Berkus ad. All will be well.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Perfect for a Snowy Day
A little background info here: Ribollita is a traditional Tuscan soup made with stale bread, winter greens, beans, cheese, tomatoes and herbs. It is simple, heavenly, healthy, rich and decadent using very few ingredients. It is also perfect for a snowy day.
It all starts with a base of diced onions, garlic and celery sautéed in the best olive oil that you can find.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Election Night
A lot has changed this time around. I was not sipping champagne with celebrities. And I was not having a quiet night in with my man or any intellectual friends. The day started with the realization that our cable TV and internet service were out because of the storm. My sister had no problem letting me watch the election results at her apartment, but could I babysit Ryan? Ok, fair deal. I could handle two kids. No problem. I packed a bag full off groceries to make the patriotic meal that I'd planned days in advance, cheeseburgers and homemade fries, and headed down to her house.
In hindsight, boiling hot oil in the tiny kitchen of a studio apartment with two toddlers running around while trying to pay attention to the election results was probably not the smartest idea. My mother walked in at 7pm to ketchup-covered kids running back and forth on oil-splattered, slippery floors peppered with pieces of meat and half-chewed slider buns and what seemed like hundreds of tiny cars and crayons.
By the time we dealt with the piles of dishes and the oily floors and the sticky kids it was 9pm and I was only paying attention to the tube peripherally. I could only see that Barack was behind in electoral votes. By the time the kids went down under blankets in front of the TV at 10, it was clear that Barack had the edge. Mike walked in from the restaurant at 11 with a bottle of wine, God bless his soul, and he waited up with me until 1:30am for the president's speech. This was probably the best part of the day, an unexpected bit of time together like the old days.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
What Goes Down When Mama's Not Around
Look at Jada unapologetically going in on the "bunny rabbit"!
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