JennyUptown

One of my fondest food memories is making apple pies with my grandmother. Whenever Nana wanted to make a different kind of pie (lemon meringue, which I found disgusting, was her personal favorite), I'd plead and beg and cajole until she agreed to make an apple one in addition. But even though I liked the pie, what I really liked was eating the apples, covered in cinnamon and sugar, out of the pie pan before she could put the top crust on.

The dinner. *sigh* I was suddenly reminded of why I usually prefer NOT cooking. All I have now is a splattered stove, dirty dishes and... a headache. More on that later. If you would be kind enough to visit the recipe link and have that handy as you read this commentary, I'll go pretty much line by line. EVOO No problem Butter Got plenty of that Garlic Will use a combination of fresh sliced cloves and some garlic I minced in my food processor Shallots Uh-oh. Looking in the fridge, I realized that PLM used the last of my shallots on Sunday's dinner. Shoot. Shallots inadvertently caused my headache. More on that later. Vodka Duh. I have that. I need more though because I'm down to the end of this bottle of Belvedere. Seems like I should get some of the cheaper stuff for cooking, perhaps. Chicken Stock I had just enough of that. Crushed Tomatoes Hmm...what to do. I don't have crushed - I do have diced (yuck, why did I buy those?), whole and sauce. None of the cans are the suggested 32 oz. I guess I'll have to adapt the recipe. That's nothing new for me. The rest...piece of cake. Throw in my usuals: prosciutto and peas (can you see where this is going?) But the few improvisations I did make were resulted in a too-watery, too-salty vodka sauce. For that reason, I declined to take photos. The headache. After digging around my refrigerator to make absolutely certain that I didn't have any shallots, I banged my head on the open freezer door. Cooking stinks. The worst part? I made enough for leftovers so I'm stuck eating the stuff for lunch tomorrow. If only I'd had volunteers to cook for me.

Many responses whilst cooking!! Thank you my DC friend. Be careful about being too sweet to me though because next weekend it'll be my turn to tab someone for the next blog. You have a great writing style so... watch out. Another option. I did grow up inland (PA), however both parents are seafood lovers. Old-school seafood, not sushi or sashimi. Never crudo and forget anything fancier than a chowder. Whenever we'd travel, Mom and Dad would go crazy over whatever the local seafood dish was. Not me. No way. Uh-uh. My post re: tonight's meal is forthcoming.

<<awaiting snide comment from Al_Dente>>

PS I'm taking suggestions and/or design help for a new avatar. Volunteers? Comedians?

What I will be cooking... ready for this? Aside from the name of this variant on the dish it's not exciting. My dinner in progress I'm part annoyed [by the title], part amused...but completely sure PLM must NOT see my printout. Note to hillvalley: the meal will be sans fresh basil, of course.

The end of my workday is rapidly approaching and I'm panic-stricken. What will I eat tonight? PLM is working a LOT this week so I've written him off where meals are concerned until the weekend. I'm on my own tonight so I'm digging around the usual recipe sites for something that strikes my fancy. I'll also have a look at one of my two (yes, two. Total.) cookbooks. Because I failed to defrost anything from my freezer* I will either make some pasta variation, stop at the grocery store near my home (it's not a good one) or...order takeout. I'm trying to avoid the latter for budgetary reasons, as well as to try and keep this blog interesting. I hate defrosting any kind of meat in the microwave (chicken with white edges makes me sad) and in my haste to get to work on time, I "forgot" to plan my dinner ahead. Again. Anyone want to come over and cook for me spur of the moment? I'll put you in the blog... Yeah, I thought not. *My freezer The content of my freezer include: * Many bags of frozen edamame, one of my favorite foods * Many bags of frozen peas plus one each of corn and carrots (which shall never be used - I should chuck 'em) * Several pints of ice cream - Chocolate Fudge Brownie (for PLM), One Sweet Whirled (for me), lemon sorbet (eons old, seemed like a good idea in the store) * Frozen chicken breasts * Frozen ground beef (bought specifically to recreate the aforementioned goulash!) * Frozen pork chops that might be freezer burned * Frozen spaghetti sauce from Mom (to make lasagna or the disgusting pasta & peas dish) * Extra butter * Some weird Indian frozen prepared dish (samosas?) that, again, seemed like a good idea I didn't eat as much as usual today and what I ate was bad with a capital B so I'm hoping to salvage the day with a nice supper. Breakfast was a low-fat blueberry coffee cake from Starbucks and a iced grande skim latte. The coffee cake was chosen out of necessity between off-site appointments, not desire, and certainly not a desire for a "low fat" product as anyone who knows me will attest to. It was simply the best looking of a bad bunch. My other options were a Krispy Kreme doughnut (delicious, but I'd need three or four to feel full and the feeling would last maybe thirty minutes) and some scary fat free muffins. The coffee cake was super-sugary, probably to make up for the reduced fat. Lunch was lemonade (a favorite) and the corn chowder I mentioned previously. I've been drinking water throughout - probably 64 oz while at work alone - and I had a peanut butter Gertrude Hawk smidgen or two. Back to food memories in a minute...

Or... "Rapunzel, Rapunzel...let down your hair!"

Want to join my family? I described what sounds like that exact dish in another forum.

For those of you who don't know you by anything other than your marvelous posts, describe a bit if you don't mind.

Pop tarts! Strawberry frosted to be specific.

OK, since all of you guys are slacking (ha!) and not telling me about your favorite food memories, I'll tell you about some of mine as I slurp a cup of Poblano Corn Chowder (from High Noon, not something I made) for lunch. Yeah, I get it: my blog thus I must do most of the writing. Is that what you are trying to tell me? I see you reading it. So many of my happy memories rely on food as a key element. Among them: When I was eight or nine, I started having big swimming parties at the local YMCA to commemorate my birthday. While we kids splashed, played and - once I was eleven or so - flirted via the dunking of or by the crush-of-the-moment - one of my adult relatives would head next door to Pizza Hut, picking up eight or ten of their large trays for the hungry kids. After pizza, we'd eat cake of course, but my cake was, to me, unique. Every year my mother's sister, Aunt Mar, would bring a cake with her from NJ to PA , probably from one of the Portuguese bakeries in or near Parsippany where she lived with my Uncle Frank. It was huge, covered in white fluffy frosting and it bore the usual "Happy Birthday Jennifer" message. But inside, it was special, filled with chunks of fresh strawberries and vanilla custard in between the layers of white cake. If anyone other than Aunt Mar had recommended this cake, I'm sure I would have rejected it out of hand because growing up, I was a notoriously finicky eater (some of YOU would say I still am, I am sure! ). But because the cake came via the efforts of dear, sweet, wonderful Aunt Mar, I ate it then and in my memory has taken on a mythic perfection that can never again be achieved in a cake. I don't see to replicate this cake or find it in a local bakery. Instead, I'd rather the memory remain just that: a happy thought I turn to from time to time.

Thanks, SWEETIE. Your information is very helpful.

I would post a list of what gave it away, but I don't want to give other flacks coaching on how to blend in (a good one would know anyway).

Why I oughtta... I'm going to be writing about the food-memory connection, which is so strong for me, later. In the meantime, think about this: * What is your first food memory? * What is the food you can remember hating? * What food do you associate with a particular age, say being six years old? Being in college? * Think of your favorite person growing up - a friend, a special aunt, a teacher, etc. - and name the first food that comes to mind when thinking of that person. I don't know...maybe these questions will seem weird to you (maybe not), but for me, food is inextricably linked to most of my memories.

My mother is allergic to raw celery. Has been all of her life, but she loves the stuff and finds way to build up her ability to eat it. When I was eight or so, she went into anaphyactic shock from it - lips swollen, hands itchy and finally her throat swelled shut. Still, the crazy lady eats celery. She can't imagine having a bloody mary without it. Most of the time, she eats a little and is fine. (I watch angrily, worrying) I wonder if this is why I have such an aversion to celery, cooked or otherwise. Ha!

Hey! Some people (uh, me) like Tang.

My guess is that virgin strawberry daiquiris (or virgin anything for that matter ) are out of the question...? Just playin'.

Cynical JennyUptown thinks rosie11211 = publicist

I'm working on the pics. Check out page 1 and you'll see that I added a shot of the chicken and a very glare-y one of the sesame oil PLM was so excited to find at a bargain price. Regarding the budget thing, I don't know how I used to do it. Living in NYC, I ordered takeout at least once (and often twice) a week. Baluchi's (Indian), this hideous Chinese place in the West Village Buddha House, Rissoterria...oh, the food! And I ate at my local spots all the time - Po, especially. Maybe that's why I have so many bills now... My present social life looks hermit-quality compared to the me of two-three years ago.

The week ahead - a few food highlights: Tonight (Monday) Polish off remaining apple-pear crisp Wednesday Restaurant Week dinner at Ceiba (tentative) with a few girlfriends Thursday Pizza and maybe mini-burgers w/ onion straws at Matchbox with another friend Sunday Best friend from NYC arrives. Dinner at Palena's bar? Monday Group dinner to introduce NYC friend to DC friends at Indique. She (like me) loves Baluchi's in NYC so I think she'll have fun at Indique.

Mudpuppie, those are CLASS. Love it! My [least] favorite cookbook is neither old, nor a pleasure. It's from an old friend whose extended family compiles a cookbook from time to time. To say it was a precursor to the Semi-Homemade concept is to be kind. This family likes its biscuits from a can, I tell you.

We might have been separated at birth. One year I talked Dad into growing corn in our average sized backyard. I thought it was awesome, but oh, what the pollen did to his allergies... Back to Mom. Dear, sweet Mother whom I love so much. She's not a gourmet chef, but she always tried. She doesn't do that much anymore! Her specialties include some weird Weight Watches pineapple pie she swears my father loves and spooning gravy out of a jar. Her mother, my Nana, used to make fantastic gravy and after hundreds of "failed" lumpy attempts during my childhood, she seems to have finally given up. I was appalled. Cannot make and should not make coffee. Fortunately she's ace at cookies, cakes, etc. Her signature dish? Goulash, but it's not like any goulash you have ever seen before and Hungarians would surely disown it. Elbow macaroni, bacon, tomato soup, ground beef, baked en casserole. More like Beefaroni, but whatever. We eat it, we like it.

Thanks so much, Suzi! Today's pasta lunch has kind of spoiled me for dinner. Nothing has all that much appeal so I'll probably make a sandwich of some sort. I have some good meats in the fridge - salami, prosciutto, and plain grocery store maple turkey - but nothing special in terms of bread. Just the old standby: potato rolls. Is that a Pennsylvania thing? I grew up on the stuff, as did PLM. Speaking of PA...quite a few of my favorite snacks are PA-centric. I have boxes and boxes of smidgens from Gertrude Hawk Chocolates which was started by the parents of my mother's friend. Peanut butter, pastels with peanut butter, crispy ones and caramel filled too. Yum. They also make fantastic white chocolate covered pretzels - I love the sweet/salty combo. And then there are Tastycakes...amazing. Specifically I like the Tandycakes - sponge cake "enrobed" in a thin layer of peanut butter and then milk chocolate. Best after an hour or so in the fridge. Unrelated to PA... Finally, I have already admitted to not liking seafood so I might as well come clean about my Tang addiction. Want to make fun of me? Go for it. Everyone else has.

If I eat an apple right off the core, my gums swell and my face gets itchy. Not sure if it's something on the apple (e.g., pesticide I haven't scrubbed all the way off) or some kind of allergy to apple skin.