One day is all you get NYC.
05/02/2010
Hey New York,
Just wanted to say you’re very lucky that a good friend of mine lives there and is celebrating her birthday.
Because you only get me for one more day. That’s It!
I don’t quite know how to outdo last night. I’m sure we’ll try. This was a complete team effort with everyone working together! You should have seen the kitchen, there were 6 of us at anytime going nuts getting everything ready. Thanks to all, and see you next week.
London Broil Bruschetta – Italian Seasoned London Broil, Freash Basil, Gorgonzola, and Kumato Tomatoes
Roasted Macadamia Nut Salad with Prosciutto, Sweet Potato, Spinach and Goat Cheese.
Mango Curry Chicken with Coconut
Plated. With Brazilian Rolls.
Family, Friends New and Old.
Aftermath.
We’re just getting crazier and crazier.
Homemade Sauce, Rub, and Avocado Dressing
4 Different Kinds of Peppers, Jalapeno, Long Hot, Cubanelle and Fresh Chili. Sauce made with Peppers, Honey, Lime, Chicken Stock and a touch of surprise.
Rub made with Cumin, Cinnamon, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, and of course Adobo.
Plating the Salad – Spinach, White Onion, Plum Tomatoes and Homemade Avocado Dressing ( Avocado – Lime – Olive Oil – Pepper – Cream )
First 2, then 4, and yesterday 6/7 people. Awesome
Everything you see there was less than 7 bucks a person. fyi.
Lest we forget Dessert, Apple Crisp and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream – Homemade of course.
A shot of me at work courtesy of Stanziola.
And So begins THE week.
25/01/2010
So much to do. So much to make happen. So much to desire. I’m inundated with possibilities.
I should be in bed, but it’s time like these that my brain is going faster then ever. I have so much to work on, but pace is the name of the game.
I assembled my design portfolio for the first time in a few years and had to whittle it down to 30 pages, In the am I am off to kinkos to get it printed. Hopefully it looks amazingtastic.
Saw the Saints recieve a giftwrapped game, but since the Pats aren’t in, I’m rooting for them. I do think someone should tell them that Dat is misspelled.
I feel like a girl, in that I can’t decide what to wear for my “Super Tuesday”
Helping a good friend move in to an amazing house tomorrow, Cannot possibly wait.
Someone met me for 2 hours and told me I have a heart of gold, I don’t think i can express how much that makes a person smile.
Someone I’ve known for 12 years came back into my life after a year absence, to say the least it’s like a new lease on friendship. Baby Steps, but nonetheless, it’s time to let go of pointless grudges.
Someone I know is in New Orleans celebrating the victory, she was also in philadephia last year celebrating, and Boston the 4 years before that celebrating championship. Something tells me that she is a walking good luck charm…for others anyway.
Someone I know is in for a doozy of a surprise next week (the good kind)
Someone you know is looking forward to this week with such fervor that it is all but exploding out of his soul/head/heart/mind/hands.
a new site I started is starting to take steam, and we have a half dozen writers penning for it. http://www.humanolympics.wordpress.com Check it out it’s a Global Editorial. What’s that? Read and you’ll see.
Haiti…wow. Next time I complain that my rent will be a few days late, punch me in the face. We are so lucky. 10 bucks…text 90999 and it’ll be charged to your phone bill. it’s that easy.
Conan…You are late night television for anyone my age. I remember sneaking viewings of the show when i was 14 (no tv allowed mon-fri growing up)
Jay…never ever liked you.
Lost…having a big ole premiere party, come on over. Tuesday the 2nd.
I already have a guest for this weeks recipe, and it’ll be on Wednesday, stay tuned.
Ok. forcing myself to sleep.
Go Get it.
As promised. This week, we took a Bobby Flay recipe and modified it.
Kumato Tomatoes are delicious. They are very cool in that they ripen from the inside, and their flavor profile changes at each stage.
Brown the chicken, with onions, oranges and cilantro, while brushing it with the homemade Pomegranate Mango Glaze
Serve with Dirty Rice, in this case we let Uncle Ben do the honors. Also the trick here, is to have a Dijon Spread to really add flavor and mix well with the fruit flavors.
As always we are not in the business. This whole dinner for 4, plus wine cost less than 30 dollars.
Whoa. What’s up Traffic.
14/01/2010
So all I had to do was post a recipe and my blog would get swamped? Thanks for the emails and stuff saying it looked delicious.
Fine then. Consider it challenge accepted. I will attempt to do an Independent Jack Recipe of the week from here on in.
In other news, Haiti..wow.
Saw Batali make this on the White House Iron Chef.
I figured I could rock it.
First you make the pasta from scratch.
always make the pasta from scratch.
Then you make the filling for the raviolis, in this case, sweet potato, goat cheese, spices, ricotta, and for the lactose intolerant, sweet potato, olive oil, spices and pepper jack soy cheese. remember, you put an egg yolk on top of the filling in the ravioli, it serves as the sauce for the pasta.
then you combine with a bit of trickery and you have your first test ravioli. (hint. when it floats its done)
top with porcini and shaved goat cheese, touch of basil and oregano…
some rosemary crostinis and a side of Porterhouse.
as my dad used to say “tutti mundi a mangiare!”
because as stated before…we are not in the business of f-ing around. ever.
deus ex melancholia
11/01/2010
I just wanted to see what a pretentious blog title would look like.
4:14 AM
10/01/2010
Where do you go?
When the path splits so evenly…which way do you go?
Both are less traveled…or in your case…never traveled.
Left says you will keep parts of your family so far away and rediscover some of the original pieces.
Right says you will start alone, but in the place you know so well.
where do i go?
Up says you can change the one thing in your life you’ve never had
Down says you will continue to lack the one thing you’ve never had
a donde voy?
Here says you’ll be comfortable in so many new ways but more alone than ever
There says you’ll leave your comfort zone but be surrounded by love in so many ways
“i’m a dude playing the dude playing the dude playing the dude”
This is consuming me and we are weeks, if not months away from any decisions.
Do i do this for myself? Do i do it for the thought of my children having different lives? My 8 year dream turned into a nightmare that took me to the brink….do i sleep again?
12 years is enough. but 12 more years in the same manner will be torture regardless of location.
But i just started to tap into the gift that i was given, after locking it up for 8 years.
“anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination”
If Mr. Wilde is right I must be the most imaginative fool around.
I suppose I have some splainin, and deciding to do. but for now I need to stay the small course I’ve created. I need to continue to work hard, play hard, and enjoy the gifts around me, my family, my friends, my health and my dreams…the new one’s, which are finally attainable…just hard to pick which one to follow.
4:42 AM
Phone Calls, Neighborhoods and Patriots.
08/01/2010
I think everyone has sat around waiting for “that” call. It may be a minuscule as waiting for comcast to install your cable between the hours of monday-friday. It might be test results after your trip to mexico. It’s like Manny waiting for his Dad (yup a Modern Family reference) It might be your girlfriend or boyfriend after a semester of self exploration in france. regardless, when the time approaches you get antsy. Your cellphone becomes glued to the inside of your hand like Ari Gold on steroids (and that’s 2 Tv references, 3 if you count Comcast, in one paragraph)
. You look at it at an almost annoying rate. But you can’t help it. You wonder what it will be like, whether you’ll cough, or stutter. Whether your voice will crack. You enact in your mind possible conversational scenarios, all of which end up with awkward silence. You get scared everytime the phone rings and dissapointed when it’s only your best friend calling to see what’s up.
Well I had been waiting for a call for almost a month.
It came today.
While i was in the shower.
Irony.
I’ll tell you all about it soon…just wait for my call.
Los Angeles:
I have to touch upon a subject that affects me. Los Angeles, mainly, myself in Los Angeles.
If I were to find myself in Los Angeles, where would I want to live? Rod, an ex losangelino mentioned a few neighborhoods…Echo Park, Los Feliz and Silverlake for their hipness, youth and excitement.
I reminded Rod that I’m 30.
I am leaning towards Hancock Park, which has been described to me as the Newton of LA. If this it true, I could be alright with that.
Depending on life I plan on working near the Staples Center, so If anyone has any suggestions, if I were to hypothetically move to Los Angeles, send them my way, either here via comment or email me (stagelos@yahoo.com)
I can’t live in the valley…not yet anyway. I want that middle ground.
The New England Patriots.
If you’re here, chances are you know me. If you do, you know what my favorite sport is, and how much I bleed patriot red, blue and silver.
I cannot begin to explain how exicited, nervous I am for the playoff game Sunday. I’ve been going to Patriots games longer than the age of some of my friends. (22 years) So the only reason for this part of the post is to let you know that unless you’re watching the game, or in my living room, I will be emotionally and mentally unavailable from 1-5pm on Sunday.
Go Pats!
Focus Pat.
No more Wes boys. GGI.
My Bro. (our season tickets since 1990)
