Angry Sauce

So what a nice day I've had! I didn't go to work (I used my "Summer Friday." We get one Friday off per month during the summer months). I went shopping and bought two dresses, one is adorable and the other is very sophisticated and grown up. Then I came home and set myself to cooking. So what did I make on a day when I felt generally great? Arrabbiata Sauce (the "angry sauce" as Teresa calls it) over some penne purchased at A&S Fine Foods in Wyckoff, NJ (awesome as always, and now you Real Housewife viewers out there have seen the inside of A&S!). Arrabbiata Sauce is a spicy sauce, and I can still feel the oils from the pepper flakes on my mouth and lips. Delicious!

So, if my name and super pale appearance in the photo i posted didn't tip you off, I'm not Italian. The majority of my ancestors are from Northern Europe, Ireland, England, France and the Netherlands. So cooking spicy foods shouldn't really be in my blood. It's a joke in my family, actually, when my grandmother eats something sprinkled with pepper she immediately will grab her glass of water and go "oh! oh my! that's too hot for me!" So, generally speaking Northern Europeans overcook their meats and underspice their foods! I don't mind food from Ireland/England/Germanic/Scandinavian Countries, I actually enjoy those foods, but I really really love foods with a lot of flavor (and prefer my meat cooked rare!). That's why I really enjoyed this arrabbiata sauce!

The sauce takes a while to cook, but the good thing about sauce is that it requires little interference when cooking. After I made the "Quickie Sauce" I just sauteed some onions and garlic and pepper flakes and just threw it all in the base tomato sauce I had made. I just let the sauce simmer for an hour!
The recipe recommends 40 minutes, but it goes on to day the longer the sauce simmers the spicier it becomes. Who am I to turn down extra spice? Not being particularly hungry and in a rush (ah the joys of time off) I left it on the extra twenty minutes. With excellent results. The sauce was spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. Like I said, it's the sort of spice that lingers with you afterward. I think that's a good thing!Anyway, I am headed out to a housewarming party (though it's less housewarming centric and more party centric, I believe) tonight, but I might have an update tomorrow! Check back then and enjoy this lovely June Friday!

Second Wind

I know I said I was going to take a few days off, relax and recuperate because this is an emotionally stressful week for me. All of this on top of an intensified (though with good reason, like I said, our publication launched and I am so so happy about that!) week at work. I had prior plans tonight and didn't expect to get home until 11pm. I also thought this would impede my ability to update. However, the prior engagement was canceled, and I found myself home by 7:20. I decided to unwind and kill time by making dinner.
I actually made two dishes tonight! Both were SO easy to make, and equally as delicious. I made Skinny Pasta al Burro and Brushchetta E Prosciutto. Both dishes are simple and require very little prep. Planned right, they could both easily be made in half and hour.


Up first is the pasta. The recipe's preface said that the quality of the dish depends upon the quality of the ingredients used. So I splurged, and I bought fresh pasta and parmigiano that was aged two years. The cheese was sharp, and so delicious. It was a little pricey, but worth it. Plus, I still have a lot of cheese left over. This dish doesn't have much to it as far as ingredients go, but it does have a great taste. It's a total palette pleaser. I bet it would be hard to find someone that would dislike this dish!

Next, the prosciutto bruschetta. Also easy to make! Baking time is ten minutes and prep time probably five. Seriously, so easy. They also look fantastic finished. This little dish would make a GREAT starter dish to serve at a party or dinner. I think I might make it for our annual Christmas party. I have a feeling it will be a hit. The saltiness of the prosciutto really stands out, followed by the olive oil and then the garlic. I do not know if you all have noticed but garlic takes on this different taste when it's baked. It's less pungent but still delicious. It all worked together great in this dish! My suggestion is as follows: MAKE IT (ok, so maybe I am a slightly biased sodium fiend, so what!).
Come back to the blog on Friday! More food-related updates!

A Few Days Off

I wanted to make something from Skinny Italian tonight, honestly I did. However, I stayed at the office later than usual, until about 5:55 (mind you, I got into the office at 8:25 am), was generally exhausted, and emotionally stressed. Oh, and I went the entire day fueled by nothing more than a cup of espresso and legal speed (see caffeine pills). Needless to say, I am not necessarily in the mood to cook.

Instead I went shopping.

Anyway, the point is, this is a very hectic week for me. The publication I work for has just launched, so everything there is a bit more intense. It's also the anniversary of my father passing away this week, and I've been suffering a dull head ache the last 72 hours and I'm on the verge of vomiting anytime I find myself stretched too thin.

So, anyway, I am taking a few days off from the blog. I'm took off from work on Friday, 11 June, and I will most likely have an update then. Another dish from Skinny Italian. And since I have the WHOLE day to myself (well, I will probably go to the gym and a hatha yoga class that day, I think it would be good for me) I might try to make something slightly more complicated. Or perhaps I will make both a lunch and a dinner!

Any suggestions?

A Hypocrite is a hypocrite is a hypocrite

Hypocrisy: Moral self-contradiction whereby the behavior of one or more people belies their own claimed or implied possession of certain beliefs, standards or values. It's total hypocrisy of Danielle to pick and choose when gay slurs are acceptable, and claim to be an advocate, as they never are.

So calling someone a "faggot” when they aren't gay is more acceptable than calling someone "gay" when we're not actually aware of their sexual preferences? In what world does this logic make sense (Kelly Land?) You did not say anything (as I mentioned in last week's recap) out of protection ? You'd let down a group you "advocate," aka protect, because you were being "protected." That's what I call spineless. Gay slurs are just never acceptable, because no matter how you say it or who you are saying it to the implication is that being Gay is a negative thing worthy of derision (which it's not!).

Who is this Kim "G"ranatell? My mother has apparently met her several times, but can give me no insight. However, is she is so concerned about her son's friendship with Chris, why if she even bothering to hang around Danielle? That's playing with fire! It almost feels like she just wants the screen time, or they're bringing her in to be a cast mate.

Now on to the text message. Since when is "Bye" a synonym for "I am going to kill you?" That's like Kelly levels of delusion. However, was it acceptable for Ashley to send that text message? No, that's not going to solve any problems, and it is as Jacqueline said a bit trashy. It is very high school though, and Ashley is high school age. However, the fact that she and Danielle were going back and forth in some facebook/text flame war? Danielle is 50-year-old woman, why are you trying to tear down a high school girl about her weight (as someone that has struggled with eating issues I do find that particularly abhorrent)? Why are you getting into facebook fights with her? It's really indicative of the type of person Danielle is. That's abnormal. It's bad enough to go after your peers, it's even worse to go after people more than half your age!

Back to Danielle, like she's so convinced that Dina is trying to ambush her or somehow get her. At a public place (ps, that restaurant, Chakra, had some of the worst Calamari I've ever had)? That she needs to bring her entourage with her? And did we notice how Danielle tried to manipulate the situation "I formed my opinion about you based on what Jacqueline told me." Danielle, we all recall how desperately you wanted to be friends with her.

Some final thoughts/comments:

Anyway, the place that I ALWAYS GO to get my supplies for cooking out of Skinny Italian(!) A&S DELI was featured on the show tonight! That fellow, Angelo, is insanely friendly! Fellow Bergen Countyites (and Passaic, and Essex, et al) Go there, I promise you will not be let down!

Who is that random guy that doesn't talk at all but follows Danny Provenzano around? He's like an even bigger stereotype! He just stands there, fist in hand, never says a word but makes funny, reactionary facial expressions.

So who is leaving the show? I think all signs point to Dina. What do you all think? (Also, I guess we know why they brought on Kim Granatell-to replace the outgoing housewife).

Never Again

I am never making this dish ever again. Not because it was particularly bad, it was decent enough, but the drama that ensued from this dish is enough to turn me off from it.


What dish caused so much turmoil in my household might you ask? Luscious Linguini with Manila Clams. I think objectively I can recognize that I made this dish well; however, I was not enthusiastic about this dish nor were the other members of my family mostly due to the fact that we're not big into little neck clams.


The dish was easy enough to make, though cleaning the clams took a while. The last thing I wanted was sand in my white wine clam sauce! But actually cooking everything took no more than 20 minutes. And after the 20 minutes of cooking, the presentation looked nice, too.


Sadly, my sister left the leftovers out on the counter (along with a huge mess created with the help of her friends last night), and my mother was very displeased about this when she came downstairs in the morning. However, my sister was not around to take the brunt of my mother's frustration about the mess, I was though so I had to deal with the ire of a 50 year old woman at 7am in the morning. Needless to say, not fun and just drama drama drama. All because my sister left a bowl of linguini and pasta on the counter, totally stinking up the kitchen. She has a serious inability to take responsibility for her actions or think about other people (she also left a window open, a window she removed the screen from, and left the lights on).

So, maybe you have more responsible people in your family, or perhaps you enjoy little neck clams more than my family. If so, make the dish. Like I said, objectively I think I made it well, however we're just not big fans. If you're a fan you'd probably like this.


Anyway, check back soon. Some more food and thoughts (food for thought?)!

Fiscal Realities

I assume we've all seen this article? ? I do feel badly for them, as I feel badly for most people that end up in this situation, in particular when children are involved. However, ultimately, we have to take responsibility for our fiscal well-being.

Let me preface this next segment by saying I have no idea what sorts of mortgages the Giudice's had on their homes (and I will not bother to speculate). The next paragraphs serve as an introduction to my opinions of the pressures of American consumerism, coupled by fiscal irresponsibility and deregulation. Also, what follows is simplified and not a multi-faceted look the recession, with a look at the human factor.

I'm a proponent of regulation. (I think) A lot of America's economic problems are due to deregulation of the market place. Including a failure to check mortgages and bank (and in worst cases, predatory) lending (compounded by real estate speculation. Call it Tulip Mania 2008!). Simply speaking subprime lending allows people to finance a purchase using borrowed money. This person is one with poor credit and they do not qualify for a normal (prime) loan because the risk of default is too high. Instead, at the price of higher fees, higher interest rates and the likelihood that their loan is not fixed (an adjustable rate mortgage), it pretty much is the last ditch effort of loans. Of course, the whole notion that a person that cannot afford to keep up with their credit payments that AREN'T subprime can keep up with payments that ARE subprime is sheer delusion in most cases (but not necessarily all) if you ask me. I think a lot of borrowing, borrowing with over the top ridiculous fees, exists on our notion of achieve the American Dream, of having it all, and living a certain way and that this also played a role in our movement towards recession.

Unfortunately not everyone can afford to live the (nearly non-viable) American Dream: the house, the picket fence, etc. There are a number of various factors that influence our socio-economic status ranging from race, gender, education, etc etc etc and I do not have the time nor energy to go into the various problems that exist in America in the context of class-sex-race-gender. If we look at the credit crisis, an item emerges: Americans are consumers, and the mantra may as well be consume first, think about paying later (or never). As total Neuroscience cutey Jonah Lehrer puts it in his book "How We Decide," we're incredibly short-sighted when is comes to credit. (This is the main reason I plan to get an American Express- it's a charge card).

I've lived in Northeastern New Jersey all my life. It's not a cheap place to live. In fact, it's regularly declared to be one of the priciest places in the United States. Costs are over-inflated in New Jersey, and it can really affect the way you view money growing up here. Also skewed by the cost of living is personal income. Teresa and Joe claim a salary of USD79k (I imagine this is taxable income) plus another USD120k in "family assistance" (this, I imagine, is not taxed). That's a net income of USD199k. Undeniably that's a hefty chunk of change when compared to the national average, however, put into the context of Northern New Jersey costs compared to the presentation of their lifestyle on television, Joe and Teresa were living well beyond their means. Qualifying for mortgages became easier (deregulation people!) over the course of the 21st century as standards declined, and I am curious if the Giudice's even bothered to place a down payment on the mortgage on their "French Chateau." Even at the height of my father's Wall Street career (several years ago; my father is now deceased) when he was making more than the above mentioned income+family assistance, I don't think my family would have EVER moved into a house that would require that large of a mortgage. My mom is, in her own words, a "thrifty New Englander" and loves saving money.

Three homes and eight mortgages? USD104k in credit card debt? And for what? They were attempting to project an image. And when you're around people that are upper middle to upper class the desire to keep up with the proverbial Joneses is perhaps intensified.

Like the underlying assets of a busted speculative bubble, is the American Dream worth anything today? Teresa and Joe are victims of the very dark side American Dream. As were Tamra and Simon Barney, and Lynne and Frank Curtin. However, perhaps the importance of the American Dream has even greater weight for Joe and Teresa because of their upbringing as the children of immigrants. If only they had known that in the modern era the American Dream is a total fallacy.

If something seems too good to be true it probably is.

So Long for now New York

So I never thought I'd say this but I actually agreed with something Kelly said last night: the sense that the wedding renewal was slightly concocted. I've found the whole constant reiteration of the word renewal concocted this season (and that word was used ad nauseum) because it's kind of blatant marketing that goes back to Ramona's newest venture, Tru(e?) Renewal. However, I will tell you what was not concocted and basically wipes out any cynicism I might have felt about the contrived everything's renewed is that Ramona and Mario were really cute and seemed so genuinely happy.

Also, put a bra(r) on!

Jill Jill Jill- you were the mean girl this season. No doubt. I think it's funny that you called Alex one (who was, in my opinion, very endearing this season). I guess it's nice you were finally willing to talk to Bethenny, but that whole scene was SO SO awkward. It reminded me of the time I had to meet up with my ex-best friend for coffee. SO uncomfortable.

I loved Sonja calling Luann out on a matter of etiquette and manners, and Luann couldn't think of a response. Sonja really was a break out character this season. I really like her addition to the cast.

Finally! Luann was totally lip syncing, and I wish the DJ had accidentally started playing an Ashlee Simpson song during her performance.

Bethenny is totally done with the show, right? What are the thoughts on this?

Come back tomorrow for a helping of dinner!

Money Can Buy You Photoshop

I'm sure you've all seen this video by now...it was recently leaked.

The good: Her skin looks great. I seriously would like to know how they did that? Like, how do you photoshop a video? She seriously looks nothing like herself here. Though, according to Gawker, some dude is claiming that it's all just make up and lighting. You're about as in denial about that as Luann is about her actual singing abilities. But, ok, if you say so dude. Moving on.

The bad: She's so ridiculously stiff in this video. I do not like the outfits she's wearing (I do not find them particularly flattering). She's not singing. Seriously, they've just autotuned her talking and put it over a techno-esque beat (how European, just like the "countess"). The lyrics, my god, the lyrics (you know the ones she is pretty much talking that have been autotuned and put over a beat) are really unimaginative!

The consensus: I'd call her a drag queen, except drag queens are a lot more self-aware than this woman. However, the camp-level entertainment is all there!

Anyway, I offered to cook dinner for my mother tonight, but she had already promised my sister we'd order in. So no cooking tonight. Come back tomorrow for my thoughts on the New York finale (the last episode for Bethenny?), and again on Saturday when I cook some Skinny Italian!

Go Green

I probably should have made tonight's dish last week considering the namesake of the dish was introduced to Real Housewife viewers last week. That's right, I made Audriana's Pesto. The recipe was pretty straightforward and easy to make. This is actually the first time I've attempted to make pesto and I think the end results were really great (I wish I had photos, but my phone's bluetooth and email aren't working oddly. Side note, I hate my phone and cannot wait to get the iPhone 4). So I'm just putting in pictures from other places of pesto.



Pesto is a powerful dish, and this one had a lot of bite. Basil and garlic and pine nuts and everything else! It really packs a punch, but taste great. I've actually been a fan of pesto for about as long as I can recall (though at one point i didn't eat it for a year or two because I happened to eat it before a strain of stomach flu set in-though the pesto didn't make me sick, I just sadly happened to eat my mom's home made before the virus attacked!).

Teresa gives two way of preparing the pesto- mortar and pestle or food processor. I thought about the mortar and then I realized wait I just got back from work after being the from 8:20am to 6:00pm (our managing editor from the London office- who actually happens to be Italian! flew in today, so I got there early to make sure I was ready), and today was the first day back in the office after a three-day weekend at the beach that involved lots of drinking and a horrible sun burn. Needless to say I went with my better judgment and used the food processor.

I thought the process was going to be arduous. My mother told me it would be. Actually, the dish was easy to make! I think my mother just didn't want me using her beloved Cuisinart! But it was easy and so worth it! I will definitely make this dish again. I think that because it is so easy to make that this will be a fun dish to experiment with the proportions of the ingredients- you know, a little more basil, less garlic etc etc!



Anyway, next meal to be made either Thursday or Friday! Make sure to check back then!

Episode V

Tonight's episode was crazy and upsetting. This poor family has a child sick with cancer and in comes a crazy woman with an entourage of felons, cons and hell's angels. She turns the whole of the event into something about herself. How crazy. She's not well. I've already expressed my belief that she has a personality disorder (and I am not the only one that thinks that). Her narcissism is insane. It's off the charts. And she's so vindictive and I generally think apathetic to the condition of others. Did anyone else notice that that fellow in her posse, Danny, totally said the word "faggot" more than once, and we did not see Danielle say boo about it-much different that her reaction last year to the use of "gay" by Joe (obviously neither is acceptable in any society, polite or otherwise)? Like, she was so caught up in the moment, the manipulation, in herself, self-obsessing, that she could have cared less.

Further, she's like shit talking a 20 year old kid, trying to emotionally psych him out! You're like 50 years old! What is up with that? Also, the woman you're with is the mother whose child is best friends with the kid you're trying to psychologically intimidate?

I am trying to figure out this Kim "G" (have we noticed how they are called "G" even though their last name was said twice in this episode) woman. Is she just desperate to get on tv? Is Andy Cohen going to bring her onto the show, and is this their way of introducing her to the world a la the introduction of the new New York housewives? Either way, she and Danielle are good for one another because they're both more or less using one another it seems like. A symbiotic parasitic relationship!

As for that crazy birthday party thrown for Gia. It looked fun, but who the hell thinks it's a good idea for someone that young to ride around (helmetless) with their younger sister on the back (also helmetless). Gia's little red headed friend dressed in black was visible in the back ground with this really skeptical look on her face.


Anyway, return tomorrow for an update complete with dinner.

Dining Out

So I know I had intended to cook a delicious home made dinner, but rather I treated my mother to a (very belated) mother's day dinner. But! We kept it Italian.

We went to La Lanterna Cafe & Grill. It's this great little Tuscan restaurant in Ridgewood, NJ. First of all, we ate outside. They have this great little semi-enclosed eating area outside. Wrought iron furniture, exposed brick walls, an all around nice ambiance. It was nice sitting outside, but staying dry thanks to the above head enclosure. Secondly, the restaurant is family owned and operated. The wife and husband that own the restaurant both work there, he is the chef and she manages the floor. She was very friendly and his food was delicious!

So the important thing: what did we eat? Well this place is BYOB, so I stopped at a liquor store and picked up some Hoegaarden while walking over from the Ridgewood train station to this restaurant (another nice thing, this restaurant is a five minute walk from the train! So convenient). We shared an appetizer of calamari, and for entrees, my mother had a crab dish with broccoli rabe and I had pesto with penne. The calamari was really light and refreshing. Not overly fried or battered like a lot of places like to do. It was cooked really well. My mom felt the pesto was on the creamier side, but I didn't really think that so much. I thought it was good. The basil was very fresh! My mom liked the soft shell crab and the broccoli rabe, she had fewer leftovers than I!

I think my mom and I are going to go back over the summer, on a warmer, less rainy day! This place is definitely enjoyable for many reasons and if you live in the Northern New Jersey I would recommend you go!

Anyway, I am in the middle of packing. I am going away for the long weekend (No, not the shore. We're not all stereotypes here in Jersey). No cooking or updating for a few days! But check back in June (a new month-time flies)!

It's Bacon!

First, have you guys seen this Twitter account? It's something!

I was looking forward to tonight's dinner. Teresa described it as a traditional dish, hugely popular in Italy, and as "peasant food." One of my favorite Northern Italian dishes of all time is peasant food (see ribollita, which literally means "reboiled," I had it in Tuscany and it was hands down one of the best things I ate while there). Needless to say expectations were high. Were they met? Yes! Tonight's dinner was up there on the list in terms of tastiness. Bucatini All'Amatriciana is great!

This dish had pancetta, which is kind of like Italian bacon, so obviously totally delicious! Actually, while it was cooking it kind of reminded my of a Jersey classic, Taylor Ham (confession before this I had never actually cooked pancetta at home, only had it eating out at Italian restaurants).



This dish took about 40 minutes total time to make, there was a fair amount of prep, chopping you know? But it was really delicious. There was this great flavor, a little bit of spice, a really decent amount of salt (pancetta is cured pork), and some acidity. It all worked well together.


It was a hit with the family, too. There's none left. Even my (super slender) mother, who is under the weather with an upper respiratory infection and claimed to have "little appetite" because of this, had two servings! Just saying.
I would make this again in a heartbeat. Though next time I would make it with guanciale instead of pancetta. Teresa said in the book either could be used, but I kind of had the feeling that she was subtlety hinting to go with guanciale instead of pancetta. Sadly, the Italian deli up the street had just run out of guanciale a few days ago and didn't have any on hand. Next time though, I will plan ahead and use it instead!

Next meal will probably be blogged on Thursday as I am going away with some friends for the long weekend!

Episode IV

Well congrats to Teresa for giving birth this episode. Also, for terrifying me about having babies. However, it's very cute to watch parents bond with new babies. I don't have to worry now, I am not having kids for a very long while!

Less cute, the creepy guys at Scores that were totally ok with showing their faces on national television while receiving lap dances. Your buddies will think you're cool for about five minutes, but you're going to regret that at some point!

But this episode was filled with juxtaposition (babies being born, babies falling seriously ill- and all the best to that family, I hope the baby is doing better), stereotypes (guns, felons, Italians, threats, Jersey. Not that I mentioned the "M" word), ambition (the face of strip gentlemen's club car washes) and in the thicket of it all the storm was building to the craziness that will come to a head at the Brownstone. The episode is had two storylines: the joys of cute new life and all the sweetness associated there, and the callousness that comes with age, that somehow people can potentially turn a benefit for a sickly little girl into a rumble.

I have a feeling that most things in Danielle's life are transient in every sense of the word. So she's putting together a gang of her own, a new group for the time being, but will we see them again after next episode? She's recruiting people to go against the Manzo clan for this upcoming rumble at the Brownstone, only adding kerosene to smoldering embers of disdain these people hold for one another. Caroline is no better in this episode though, particularly in those last five minutes of the show! Her rhetoric was near-Jihadist: "don't call them your friends if they're not having me or Dina present the check" kind of sounded like "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" in some sort of way. And it seems like whatever small dissent from the family there might have been in this episode, the family is going to ban together for next week.

All said, next week is going to bring the crazy.

And tomorrow I'm going to update with a delicious new dish. Make sure to check it out!

Welcome Back Dinner

So I didn't actually make a meal today. I made it last night. For several reasons, actually. Today I have a birthday celebration to go to, my nieces are turning 4 and 1 years old respectively and I am opening up my Roth IRA today (yeah- ways to tell your parents work/worked in finance, you receive money for a retirement plan as your college graduation-though I'm already thinking about investments). Plus! My mother returned from Boston, where she's been the last few days, Friday evening, so I thought it might be nice of me to make her a lovely, homemade welcome back dinner!

I made to date what I consider simultaneously the easiest and most delicious recipe! Gorgeous Garlic Shrimp. This dish was so light and refreshing, and so so simple. It was really the perfect meal for last night. It was 75 degrees out at 8:30pm, so this summery dish with a glass of crisp, dry white wine was just necessary.

And how was the cooking? Well, of course cooking sea food always runs the risk of creating an overwhelmingly low tide scent. I just turned the fan on in the kitchen, and really the smell was nothing. Further, between prep work and cooking this dish probably took no more than 15 minutes to make.
Those pictures were literally taken within four minutes of one another. It cooks so quickly!

I mean, can it get any better than lite, refreshing, simple to make and fast to cook?! I STRONGLY recommend this dish to anyone that's looking for a great dish to serve on a summer afternoon/evening.
It did turn out lovely!

Next meal will be next week. Maybe Monday or Tuesday!

A Break From La La Land

...I think an ellipses is the perfect way to start of this post regarding last nights Real Housewives of New York because What The Fuck!


What do you guys think, did Kelly forget to take her drugs or does she have one hell of a coke hook-up down on the Virgin Islands?

Ok, not that I should joke because in all seriousness that was bizarre and strange and god knows. I've always kind of thought that Kelly had some delusions of grandeur about herself, and that yeah maybe she was in la la land half the time. But last night Kelly not only had a psychotic break from reality, she had one from la la land. There was nothing la-la-ish about that at all. She was paranoid, delusional, and making no sense (which I did not think this woman could make any less sense than what we've already seen). I mean, as the night progressed her claims became more extreme. From I keep on dreaming she's going to kill me, to I feel like she wants to kill me, to SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME and SHE HAS ALREADY TRIED TO KILL ME A BUNCH OF TIMES. Ok, accusing someone of attempting to kill you is a REALLY serious thing to say. Like, no person in their right mind would make such outrageous claims. In fact, it's pretty easily construed as illegal.

Kelly claims it's all editing, but they didn't edit her to act that way. She was clearly not alright. I've honest to god never seen ANYONE behave like that before. Plus, we already know she has a record of violence. Recall she was arrested last year for assaulting her (then?) boyfriend.

But I will say what is creepy is that she is so obsessed with Bethenny. She puts entirely too much time into caring about what Bethenny does and doesn't do, is or isn't. It's a little strange. Who cares if Bethenny is a cook or a chef, it's pretty much fucking semantics.

And poor Sonja. You know I wasn't too keen on her at first, but now I am becoming a big Sonja fan. She's an unabashed oversharer...so am I! So i appreciate that. Also, she seems to be an all around well-intentioned, fun-loving woman. Also, she is writing a toaster oven cookbook!! However, she is perpetually being left with Kelly. At least Sonja was aware enough of the situation to be the one to say first hold up we've got to back up because this woman is unbalanced.

Back in New York Jill is plotting whisking herself away to St. John where no doubt the women will be overly pleased to see her. Jill is doing to Bethenny what Jill a few episodes ago was freaking out about happening--a surprise I'M HERE LET'S TALK! session. Or as Jill called it an ambush.

Also, we need more episodes with less Luann like this one. Luann is the single most boorish woman I've seen on reality tv. She's like a less self-aware female version of Spencer Pratt

In all, this episode came close to the table flip episode as far as epicness goes. It was up there.

Speaking of up there, on an unrelated post I just have to share with everyone this great rooftop bar i went to yesterday with a friend of mine! Top of the Strand in mid-town. The rooftop bar was fabulous, the drinks were creative and the view was spectacular.

Anyway, I plan to make a seasonally appropriate meal tomorrow since the weather's been so amazing, see you tomorrow!

Dinner and a Musical

BEFORE I START A PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGE FOR FLOW AREA RESIDENTS: Early morning on May 18 several homes in Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes were burgled. The burglar apparently broke into the homes through open windows. Make sure to keep your windows SHUT and LOCKED.

Tonight I technically made two dishes from Skinny Italian. That's because to make the final dish, I had to make the base dish. First I made the Quickie Tomato Sauce, which served as the base to Gabriella's Bolognese Sauce! To quote The Soup, so meaty. A pound of meat to be exact.

I made the bolognese because I thought something hearty would do well tonight. It's been miserable and rainy all day. I've been equally miserable. So I needed something heartwarming and comforting. It delivered.

There's the base. Very easy to make. And it has basil in it, which inspired me to buy a basil plant! Now I have fresh basil whenever I want it!

I did my shopping for tonight's dish at A&P and A&S (the delicious deli up the street). While at A&P I ran into a woman that graduated from college with me. Like me she is 23. Unlike me she is apparently engaged! I wish her all the luck in the world, but I don't think I could see myself engaged at this moment in my life.

At the Deli, where the employees there are so amiable, they were kind enough to give me a delicious loaf of Italian bread on the house!
And how was the actual dish? Well, it took forever! I got home a little bit before six and got all my ingredients together. I started prepping just before 7pm and I didn't actually eat until 15 minutes into tonight's episode of Glee. I actually didn't have the bolognese sauce simmering until about 7:40pm I had so much to do before I actually had all the ingredients stewing in that iron pot on the stove!

So I simmered the the sauce for more than an hour. With sauce I do believe it's a general consensus the longer the simmer, the better the sauce. Well the hour plus of cooking, the kitchen smelled AMAZING! And the dinner, which included cavatelli (as per Teresa's suggestion) al dente.
So after pretty much two hours of cooking how was the end result? Well, I settled onto the couch with a bowl, dug in and enjoyed my dinner along with an episode of Glee. I would certainly make this dish again, of course, I might hold off on making it until the weekend when I have a little more town.


Next meal will likely be cookin' this Saturday. I'll definitly be dishing my thoughts on the Real Housewives of New York on Friday, so check back then for an update!

Episode III

So, the third episode. It felt mostly like Housewife fodder if you ask me. Like, this episode was mostly unexciting but there's always a calm before the storm and next weeks episode looks insane.

Anyway, some thoughts on the episode. First off, Caroline. I appreciate that she doesn't bull shit, but that said I do think she can be a little overbearing. It came across somewhat in her segment with Jacqueline. Speaking of Jacqueline, watching her interact with her daughter is kind of funny because it reminds me of the way my mother and sister interact. It only makes sense that Ashley and my Sister got along when they went to high school together.

Watching the show people always reflect how level headed Danielle's children seem. However, I've heard from someone that has spent time with her kids that they're pretty different from their television portrayal. Until tonight anyway. I had heard that Danielle's eldest is fairly disrespectful and rude, and I think there was a real sense of that in tonight's episode. I found much of her behavior bratty. I know 15 is a rough age, but for god's sake, you're at fashion week! The closest I've ever been to fashion week is walking down the stairs at Bryant Park while on lunch break, breaking a heel (of a Bruno Magli no less) and getting quickly snapped by a photographer for it!

Onto Dina's house. My god the aesthetic could not be anymore different than mine. The leather couch she and Teresa were sitting on looked very comfortable, but I do not think I'd put that in my house personally (I'm not so keen on larger furniture). But, speaking of Dina's decor vs. her spirituality, I would recommend getting rid of some of the superfluous stuff! There's just SO much in her house, and I've read that too much stuff in a room can really mess up the energy.

I am cooking dinner on Tuesday night. I am not traditional in any sense of the word, so dinner will not be ready by 5pm. In fact, I'll just be getting out of work by then (guess I'm just not pretty enough, hence the job)

Take Two

So expectations were high tonight. I made Teresa's self-proclaimed favorite, Teresa's Favorite Tagliatelle! I will be honest, not my favorite. I definitely prefer the last dish I made! But that's neither here nor there. Before I bought the book, the morning of, actually, I received this recipe for free from someone standing outside of Penn Station handing out flyers. At least they know their audience, 31st street at Seventh is pure Jersey commuters between 7 and 10 am!


Actually getting ready to make this dish was fun. I went to a great, local Italian Deli in my town, A&S Fine Foods. It's a great place. The people there are very friendly and gregarious. The selection that they offer is fabulous. They have fantastic imports from Italy and fresh options! When they found out I was making dinner for my mother and myself they asked what time the food would be ready, because they'd be there with red wine and cigars for Dad (sadly Dad is no longer with us, otherwise I'd be making dinner for him, too).

I picked up an interesting ingredient for this dish at A&S. The recipe called for peas and I will be honest, I do not really care for peas (I swear I do like veggies! You might think otherwise between my portobello mushroom ambivalence and my pea disdain! But I really do!). It's a combination of the taste and texture. Anyway, one of the gentlemen at A&S said he didn't like peas either until he had the peas they have in Italy. So i bought a bottle: The peas are baby peas and are kept in a jar with water with a salt and sugar. Almost like they're pickled, but not really. Anyway, they weren't bad as far as peas go, but the texture still gets me!


Onto the dish. Not so spectacular. My mother conjectures I must have made too much pasta, but I don't think I did. We honestly couldn't taste very much. There was smoked ham in it, but I couldn't even really get a great feel for that. I am not sure I would try this again. I might try it again and try it with less pasta. Who knows, maybe I didn't mix the ingredients well enough together in the pot.



That said, it was easier to make than the last dish. Prep work was easy (just chopping) and the actual cooking time was under ten minutes. So props for simplicity. However, the prep work DID kick my ass, or eyes , I should say. I was crying while chopping an onion! Note how red they are!


Anyway, enjoy your Saturday night, all! I'll have a dish update sometime next week. Maybe Tuesday!

New York Ladies

I know this is a Real Housewives of NJ blog, but we can't forget the ladies just to the east of Bergen County. Especially after last night's episode! What a shit-show that was (but those in glass houses, I was pretty tipsy myself last night).

I have a question. Do people really like Kelly? I mean, I don't see how or why. The woman is a certifiably idiotic. The fact that she's a "journalist" is something I find vaguely insulting. Not even vaguely. She literally does not know how to put words coherently together. When she speaks it's like an onslaught of stupidity. The lemons/lemonade thing? Her insistence at going after someone who had just lost a parent with inane arguments? The woman should really get her voice box surgically removed to make up for the lack of mental filter/brain. What an idiot!

Speaking of voice boxes, what about Luann. She's really setting up a successful career...for whatever Drag Queens decide to do a "Countess" show (am I right?). And as I tweeted a week ago: money cannot buy you class, but it can buy you an autotuner. If you missed it Jezebel uploaded some clips of Luann singing on the show, and on Watch What Happens.

Anyway, I'm having a low-key friday night. My mother is at her Gourmet Group, the younger sister is god only knows, so I am going to settle in with some Thai food from Malee Thai, a delicious Hefe (my favorite style of beer) and watch the Soup!

This beer is delicious on warm, humid days like the one we've got today in New Jersey!

Anyway, next recipe blog should be up on Saturday. Make sure to check it out!

The First Supper

So mom and I have just finished the first supper! And let me say that after a few glasses of wine, forty minutes in the kitchen, and a serving of some delicious pasta I am totally satiated!

So, what did I make? Penne with Portobello Mushroom Sauce! I was a little ambivalent about this dish at first because of how I feel about portobellos. We haven't always had the best relationship, and I sometimes find portobellos a bit overwhelming. Last time I used them it was a disaster. However, it worked really well in this dish. Very delicious, and a hearty thank you to The Wine Seller in Ridgewood, NJ for directing me to it!

But I seriously cooked the hell out of those portobellos! I mean, they were sauteeing for nearly 30 minutes! However, I am glad that I tried this recipe as the end result was really very delicious, and once again has made me rethink the way I feel about mushrooms (I'm totally working on working with them!). I did also enjoy that there was red wine vinegar in this dish. In fact, it was probably the addition of the vinegar that helped balance out the mushrooms to make them more agreeable to my personal tastes! Further, the wine I bought to drink tonight was also an acidic wine.



For the most part I followed the recipe, I might have added a bit more garlic than instructed, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE garlic! Cannot get enough of it. Though, I will say that I do sometimes have a tendency to over-season. I'm a former smoker, so I used to be able to handle industrial strength spice. Now that I've stopped I need to learn that I don't need to over season now that my ability to taste has made a come back!

On the whole a good recipe. I would recommend it and I would definitely say cook the portobellos as long as you can!

i apologize for the cell phone quality photos; i was too lazy to find my good digital camera (I had just gotten back from work so cut me some slack)!

Reflecting Before Tomorrow's Cooking Debut

I've made my choice regarding tomorrow's dish. I sat down and combed through the book and came to a decision based on the recipe's preface: that it's ideal for cold nights, and my has the weather been miserable. For those not in New Jersey it's the middle of May and it did not even break 50 degrees today! This was only made worse by the dreary drizzle. Tomorrow should be warmer, but by the time I'm making dinner the temperature should be in cooler territory.

Speaking of cold, I'm having the blogger version of cold feet. Don't worry, I'm not going to not cook! I'm just getting anxious because I realized how daunting making all this food is actually going to be! Cooking can be an ordeal. The supplies, the prep, the cleaning-on top of that I'll be doing this after a long day at work and a train commute home! All my friends can attest to the fact that I'm high strung, especially when it comes to food. I for one am not surprised that I'm somewhat stressed about the task ahead of me. I can only imagine the stress the woman behind the Julie&Julia blog (the blog that this blog kind of parodies) must have felt cooking more than 500 recipes!

Perhaps I'll have to make sure to drink a few of Teresa's Bellissimo Bellinis whenever I find myself stressed in the kitchen (and anyone who cooks can tell you drinking is some of the fun of cooking)!

Oh! And what am I going to make tomorrow? Well, I went to the Market Basket and bought all my supplies, but you're just going to have to come back and see for yourself!

Some Thoughts On Episode II

So, I have to admit before I started watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey I had never before heard, used, or knew of the existence of the word "Chucky" (first used last season by Caroline's daughter, Lauren) as a term for female genitalia. Perhaps sex education is taught slightly differently at Ramapo High School as opposed to my high school alma mater Indian Hills (the two schools in the regional high school district for the FLOW area).

But onto a thought from last night: who throws a luncheon to honor someone's accomplishments without inviting them? The evidence of a cluster b personality disorder (which often manifest in victims of abuse) keeps on piling up.*

While my mother was driving me to the train station today we talked briefly about the interactions between Danielle and the other women. My mother said Danielle had better find a way to interact with them more often or she might get the boot. It made me think of a tweet that Ms. Staub posted a few days back asking her followers to tweet Andy Cohen that they love her. Makes one think.

I spent last night looking through the Skinny Italian cook book and decided that I'm going to make two-three dishes a week. The book features just over 60 recipes, so that will keep my busy for sometime!

Make sure to check back on Thursday! I'll have something, to take a quote from Teresa, delicious and juicy to share as I post my first Skinny Italian cooking experience!




*disclaimer: I'm not a psychiatrist, I'm financial journalist. This is just an observation of mine.

In the Beginning

It all started last week when a friend and I went to the Borders at the Columbus Circle Mall to meet Real Housewife Teresa Giudice. It’s funny, the two of us from Bergen County, very close to where they film Real Housewives leaving the state to see a fellow Jersey Girl as opposed to going to the closer-to-home Book-Ends in Ridgewood, NJ (though in my defense, I do work in Manhattan, so I was already there!).

Back at home my mother and I flipped through the pages of Teresa’s book impressed (though not surprised given her heritage) at the authenticity of her recipes. I joked, wouldn’t it be funny if I started a blog a la Julie & Julia, where I cooked my way through Teresa's cookbook. My mother suggested I pitch a show to Andy Cohen (Andy, if you're reading, I'm open to negotiations). However, I decided it would be best to start off someplace more easily accessed (and more realistic).

So join me as I cook and eat my way through Skinny Italian, weigh in on the second season of the Housewives, and enjoy “La Bella Vita.”

I'm the pasty one (duh!)