A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Umberto's oyster's and littlenecks

 

Calamari with "spicy," & I do mean spicy

We went to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx last weekend. It's "little Italy."! Wonderful lunch at Umberto's; cannolis, pane di casa from Madonia's; ammaretti from Morrone's; pancetta and smoked mozzarella from Calabria Pork Shop.  All in a two block walk from each other. I linked to available websites.

Then we went to the Bronx Zoo to walk off some calories. Dinner that night was antipasti/cheese/bread. Lunch the next day was one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever had with smoked mozzarella and pane di casa. Thank you Arthur Avenue!!

Antipasti & some cheese from Pecorino

grilled Smoked Mozzarella sandwich & tomato soup

Hungry Mother 2

Hungry Mother (see 3/22 post) was everything we hoped it would be. When we were contacted to confirm the reservation I explained about son's birthday and queried if they might have an appropriate dessert with a candle. The suggested dessert, Smith Island Cake, was unerring. Excellent wait staff, comfort food brought to the next level and a genuine interest in the customer's enjoyment. Started with the Bartender's Choice using dark rum: wow! future reference, always go with BC. Crisp, flavorful, on target! My main course was too salty. The staff removed it and ordered another portion. When informed that the components of the dish were already seasoned and would probably have the same saltiness an alternative was suggested that was perfect. My favorite dish?

Spring Dug Parsnip Soup with Maine PeekyToe Clam Hush-puppies

Pie! Pie! Pie!

My mother made a great crust. I aspire to her flaky, golden brown pastry. My family thinks I'm there. I don't think so but maybe that's just memory of something being better than the actuality. Anyway, you can see a sample of Thanksgiving pies in my first post.

I'm always looking for new recipes for pie. Here's a shout out to a blog called
"Our Best Bites."  How cool is this? A single serving pie in a small canning jar that you can make, bake and eat (or freeze for later). The original recipe is for fruit pie but in a new post "Shepherd's Pie" is the featured filling, no crust, potato/cheddar topping.

Shepherd's Pie in a Jar

Hungry Mother

Going to "Hungry Mother" on Sunday for my son's birthday. Looking forward to it because we've never been there. More later. It's currently in the Munch Madness running in the Boston Globe along with "Craigie on Main" (see the video in my sidebar) Compare menus. Check it out...

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About Me

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I love to eat. My family loves to eat. We communicate, reminisce, commiserate best when we"re cooking, eating, cleaning up. Thanksgiving is a cooking fest in my family. This is after the meal  but before dessert. All of our major celebrations revolve around food.

Here's the issue though, as you grow older it becomes more and more difficult to lose those extra pounds. Whereas before exercise was an option, now it has become a necessity. And CARBS, yikes, have become an anathema. How do I deal with this dichotomy?