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!