Chicken Parm Burgs & Penya Rouge

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Jim

I have been following the Delish recipes on Facebook for some time. The recipes look catchy, fairly simple & straightforward and the fast-motion video clips help with the techniques to use. The last clip invariably shows a fork digging into the finished product; and even if it’s something I wouldn’t like, I find myself thinking: “I gotta give that a try!”

The featured recipe from a couple of weeks ago was “Chicken Parm Burgers”… not only did the recipe (and video clips) entice me, but there was a “tickler” advert for a Delish cookbook Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend. I immediately ordered the book. What can I say? The recipes are diverse, fun & easy to follow; the photography is top stuff (too bad, no video clips); and the writing is very good, laced with wit and a touch of smart-ass.

About the Chicken Parm Burgers, this is the lead text: “These are for everyone who loves the idea of making Chicken Parm but who don’t actually want to deal with the whole dredging thing. The chicken patties simmer in marinara, so they’ll never turn out dry.” Homerun, out-of-the-park!

Wine? Comfort food calls for comfort wine… heretofore referred to in these pages as “bistro & café” wines. Italy abounds with Reds that I would so classify: Barbera, Valpolicella, Montepulciano, Primitivo & etc. And certainly these wines would fit to a “T”. But there are other Reds that would also pair superbly with this dish that come from other Countries and Regions. One of my go-to sources for this style of wine is the Southern Rhône and the French South. These are areas noted for their tasty blends that have beautiful fruit, and a palate cleansing level of acidity that works so well alongside of food. Have a bite of food, take a sip of wine, talk, have a bite of food, have a sip of wine, talk — and repeat ‘til wine, food and charming anecdotes/observations are finished.

This wine recommendation is from an area that was part of Spain up thru the 1600s. And the varietal blend is not only typical for the French South, but could just as easily pass muster in Montsant and the Priorat from the other side of the Pyrenees!

Penya Rouge ’15 (Côtes Catalanes, France)
Cases-de-Pène is a tiny village in the Roussillon region of Southern France, just 30 miles north of the Spain. Ceded to France in the mid 17th century, the area is still known as “French Catalonia”. The 2015 Rouge is a blend of 52% Grenache, 36% Carignan and 12% Syrah fermented and aged in tank. This medium-bodied blend is packed with flavor, offering aromas of plums & cherries with smoky notes. The palate yields red and black fruits, spices, a hint of bacon, and silky tannins.

Chicken Parm Burgers

Ingredients

6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
1 lb Ground Chicken
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
2 cups Marinara, plus more for buns
¼ cup shredded mozzarella
4 Hamburger buns, toasted
Freshly sliced basil, for garnish

Directions

  1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, and Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Form into four patties.
  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Cook patties until the bottoms are golden, 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and add marinara to the skillet. Bring to a simmer (reduce heat to medium if sauce is bubbling to rapidly) and top each patty evenly with mozzarella. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through and the cheese melts. 10 minutes, or so.
  4. Spoon sauce for skillet onto the bottom halves of the burger buns and place patties on top. Top with basil, and the burger bun tops.

n.b. I used slices of fresh mozzarella instead of the shredded kind. There is something about a thick slice of mozz that puts a smile on my face. My bun of choice is sesame topped. Something else that makes me smile!

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The Viennese Dessert Table, 25 Alston Ave

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Jim

Now that I have gone to Walt Disney World for 4 consecutive years, I am willing to admit that I am out-of-step with many Disney goers.  I am now referring to those amongst the throng who stay “on campus” at a Disney Resort and revel in the at-hand dinning opportunities, more specifically to indulge in the insane desserts that are offered.  Regardless of whether the eateries are at a Resort, at a theme park or at the gastronome’s ultimate: Disney Springs… one thing is for sure, desserts… nay, fancy desserts are well covered.

I wish that I could say that this is also a pleasure for me.  But it’s not!  I have lost my desire for dessert years ago — glorious flavor and eye-appealing presentation notwithstanding.  I would rather have a tasty and savory first course, with a superbly chilled dry martini, and forego that after entrée sweet. As I say, I am out of step with many who would forego their entire meal to delight in something as wonderful as this artistic gem offered at Albert & Victoria’s at the Grand Floridian:

But there was a time that I truly did love the concluding course to a meal.  And that love could even extend to a late night raiding of the fridge to “steal” an extra slice of pie or a wedge of cake that had lovingly been prepared by Mom.

And nowhere was this love of baking on greater display than on Thanksgiving, when Mom made sure that each of us had his or her favorite dessert on the table.  The turkey & stuffing portion of the evening done, Mom would set a perimeter of pies and cakes before her, and she would then distribute the requested slices around to each of us.  Paul had Lemon Meringue pie.  Lynn, the Chocolate Cream Pie.  I loved the Chocolate Cream, too.  But I may have taken a slice of the Pumpkin or the Mince.  OR, as the case maybe, I may have circled back and enjoyed a slice of each.  She also made an admirable banana cream pie… but that may have been an “in-the-summer-pie.”

Stretching my memory, I’m trying to remember if Mom also made cakes for Thanksgiving, and while I can’t remember a cake attached to the Thanksgiving feast (maybe the Banana Cake w/Mary Oliver Frosting?  More on this later), there would be other occasions, beyond the Thanksgiving repast, when Mom would trot out an impressive collection of cakes/pies.  I am thinking of the many gatherings of the “Boopies” (the Lewis’, the Grants, the Deckers, the Jacobs, the Shures et al.).

These occasions could have been on a random Saturday night when the group would convene after the dinner hour for coffee, dessert and conversation.  OR, possibly for an elegant dinner party.  Mom’s signature dessert was her Chocolate Mousse Cake – smooth chocolate richness, spiked with bits of walnut, encased in lady fingers and topped with a blanket of proper whipped cream.  She also made a divine Vanilla Coconut Cake (I will return to this in a moment), and the aforementioned Banana Cake with Mary Oliver Frosting.

About the latter, I guess I was in my early teens when Mom asked me what I would like for my “birthday cake.”  And I chose the Banana Cake.  And so a brief tradition was created.  Mom or Bessie would make that cake for me on February 2… even thru my college years, and beyond.  When I turned 21, Ellen organized a surprise birthday party for me up at Union.  She and Gary drove up from New Haven, and brought up the “sacred” cake to add legitimacy to the celebration!

The Vanilla Coconut Cake, as brilliant as it was, is also connected to a deeply traumatic and life scarring episode in my life.  I was probably 8 or 9 (how do I know this?  Because I was still wearing pajama’s at the time, and at age 10 I switched to boxer shorts & a t-shirt for my sleeping attire), and Mom & Dad hosted a dinner party that extended beyond the regular “Boopies”, and of the night that I am thinking, it included at least the Al Small’s.  And I know that Al Small was seated to Mom’s immediate right.

I was invited to come down to say good night to everyone at about the time that the “Viennese Dessert Table” arrived.  So there I was in my PJs ready for bed, and there was Mom’s eye-popping “mile high” Vanilla Coconut Cake (amongst the several cakes presented) and positioned at the corner of the table between Al and Mom. Al must have taken note how impressed I was with the sight of all the cakes, and he said, “Jimmy, smell how good that vanilla cake is!”  I unhesitatingly leaned in to absorb the aroma, and Al, taking advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, pushed my face into the cake! I picked my face up coated with coconut frosting, and the entire table burst into outrageous laughter.

It may have appeared as if this was some vaudeville stage act, but to me it was a source of humiliation; and crying, I quickly retreated back upstairs. {see post script below}

There was another dessert that Mom made, in a non-cake/pie category, that I also loved.  It was her Jell-O mold.  She produced it two or three times a year?  Thanksgiving?  I think so.  Maybe when Mom & Dad hosted a “Before-the-Harvard-or-Princeton-Game” Party?  Or at a summer cook-out gathering?  I loved how she put different fruits into each of the Jell-O flavors that were layered into the mold. I can remember that pineapple went into the lime Jell-O, and cherries went into the grape.  Well, there you are: “There’s always room for Jell-O!!”

And since we are on the subject of Jell-O, I have to give a shout out to a “guest appearance” to the dessert offerings… Sadie’s “Cracked Iced Cake”!  A sinful concoction of tiny cubes of multi flavored Jell-O suspended in a vanilla cream! Off-the-charts great!

Desserts, desserts, desserts…. Wonderful to recall the memories; but as previously noted, no longer an active interest of mine. On the other hand, give me:

Charcuterie! At the California Grill

And of course, a Tanqueray Martini!

P.S. The cake “incident” at the table continued in the memory for both Al Small and me.  Whenever our paths crossed (at Racebrook, for example), Al would ask, “Jimmy, do you forgive me?”  And I would shake my head no!  And then he would laugh. By the time I reached mid-teens, I would fake my sustained indignation. By then I knew that Al was a wonderful and kind man. Regardless, our “set piece” would continue. Al never failed to ask my forgiveness, I always pretended to withhold it.  I learned of Al’s passing when I was at Union.  I asked Mom to send me his address so that I could write to Mrs. Small.  I shared the memory of that Saturday Night, and I told Mrs. Small that I never thought that God would take away Al until I forgave him.  Forgive him?  Why would I do something that would hasten his departure? 

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Top Ten Disney Animated Films, Revisited

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Jim

Maybe it was just a break from our usual “convos” about sports or music, but there came a day when Zack and I got to considering the canon of Disney animated films. What were our favorites? Favorite characters? Best music?

From the post in 2006, “I rattle off my top 3, thinking mainly music: Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty… He counters: Jungle Book, Aladdin, and The Lion King… although the music is key for me, Zack feels it’s secondary… Then he tosses down the gauntlet to me, “and my Parrot (Aladdin) trumps your Crab (Little Mermaid)!”

Then I upped the ante: “In an unprecedented move I have decided to list my 10 favorite Disney’s in a specific order (as opposed to an alphabetic listing of the Top Ten)… each film listed is accompanied with a few articulate observations and enlightening details. Bear in mind, I’m not a movie critic… and who knows, next year I might change my mind, and besides, you can never tell what new magic Disney may produce”.

OK. I have seen any number of Disney films over the last 13 years, both in the theatre and on DVD; and after reading through my list from 2006, I thought that a repositioning of my Top Ten Favorites was in order. Yes, changes abound. Five titles have been dropped, and there has been some internal shuffling on the remaining five.

My List from 2006

  1. Beauty and the Beast
  2. Sleeping Beauty
  3. The Little Mermaid
  4. Lion King
  5. Aladdin
  6. Winnie the Pooh
  7. The Jungle Book
  8. Fantasia
  9. Pinocchio
  10. Robin Hood

My List, Updated 2019

  1. Beauty & the Beast (1991)

    Beauty and the Beast

    I think I have seen this film more times than Casablanca, and that alone is reason to secure this Disney in my top spot. From the opening sequence when David Ogden Stiers intones the “backfill” to the story, to the ending credits when Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson sing their version of the title track, I am in my glory.

    Above all, I love the music… and in particular the staging of the initial musical number with Belle walking into town… interacting with the locals. And then, more spectacular, the waltz scene has a “state of the art” 3D quality and plays to Angela Lansbury’s more vulnerable version of the title track… a version I actually prefer to the ending track. There is more, also memorable is the ensemble rendition of “Something There” which is well presented with the music simply backing the sequence when Belle’s tenderness for the Beast emerges.

    Other Disney story lines maybe superior… but this is simply my favorite… and when I need 40 winks, I will seek out a couch, get comfy and wait for the music to ease me… tale as old as time…

  2. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

    Sleeping Beauty

    When “Disney naps” became a feature of my life, this film got its major boost into a top 10 slot. Unlike other Disney’s that feature original songs and scoring (songs, by the by, that often are Academy Award winners), Sleeping Beauty’s score is predominately adapted from Tchaikovsky’s Ballet Suite of the same name. And I love Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. I have never tired of their main themes.

    And as much as I love the music, Sleeping Beauty features one of my favorite “bad guys” (but in this case the “bad guy” is a lady): the powerful sorceress Maleficent.

    And for humor, I love the scene in the cottage when Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather get busy making a cake and special dress for the Princess Aurora’s Birthday.

    But when all is said and done… for me, it’s about the music.

  3. Tangled (2010)

    Rapunzel

    I love the color palette used in this film. Softer tones… more like pastel rather than oil. This effect is well seen in the outdoor settings around Rapunzel’s Tower, as well as in the dance scene in the town. The story line is one of Disney’s best, supported with very clever dialogue. Funny, rich with sarcasm and a touch of smart-ass.

    The assembled thugs at the Snuggly Duckling Tavern are brilliantly drawn, and are turned into a rogue’s band of “merry men” who contribute to the developing mayhem in the plot.

    I never tire of the scene when Flynn first meets the frying-pan-wielding Rapunzel in the tower. It is hysterical, loaded with classic rapid fire slapstick sequences.

    But the prize in this film has to go Mother Gothel, as evil a looking crone if ever there was one, but who we see predominantly as a rather chic-looking-diva-Cher wannabe. A splendid “bad guy” in the best of Disney tradition. She has show piece songs, and wonderful lines: “Rapunzel, look in that mirror. Do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady…. Oh look, you’re here too!”

  4. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

    Alice with caterpillarI don’t recall seeing this film in a theatrical release. And truth be told, I only picked it up in the DVD a couple of years ago. In short time it has become one of my Disney favorites. This movie has more songs and characters than any other Disney animated film. And while I usually place highest stock in music, my love of this film is based on the “hodge-podge” of characters that populate the film’s vignettes.

    Each sequence has its featured performer. There is a talking door knob, the Mad Hatter (superbly voiced by Ed Wynn), the Cheshire Cat (Sterling Holloway of Winnie the Pooh fame), the March Hare, the oyster-eating Walrus, the White Rabbit and the highly irritable Queen of Hearts.

    But my favorite character is the hookah-smoking caterpillar. Although the film offers an excellent collection of unconnected scenes, the caterpillar scene is my favorite. The caterpillar draws a puff from his hookah, sends a ring of smoke in the air, and corrects Alice’s recitation, “That is not spoken correctically. It goes: How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail. And pour the waters of the Nile, on every golden scale. How cheerfully he seems to grin, how neatly spreads his claws. And welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws.”

  5. The Little Mermaid (1989)

    Little Mermaid

    I love the opening sequence showing the wooden ship pitching in the rolling sea… we listen to Fathoms Below and then follow the path of a fish that escaped from the deck of the ship to the undersea world of Triton, King of the Mer-people, Ariel his daughter, and a terrific villainess, Ursula the Sea Witch (wonderfully drawn with a fabulous voice over by Pat Carroll).

    But the character who steals the show is Sebastian the Crab. His lilting “island accent” sets the tropical tone of the film… and I don’t whether Samuel E. Wright, Sebastian’s voice, sounds like that naturally or if the accent is staged. No matter, he is a perfect and he leads two songs that both get nominations for the Academy’s Best Song Award: Kiss the Girl and Under the Sea… which is why the “crab” takes Aladdin’s “parrot” hands down.

  6. The Jungle Book (1967)

    The Jungle Book

    This Disney has a real good story line and another all star cast of voices. My favorite voice is George Sanders as the Tiger Shere Khan. I have a real soft spot for Sanders… his role as the supreme cad Addison DeWitt in All About Eve combined the elegant sophisticate with the low gutter snipe. In Shere Khan he brings that lofty patrician Lloyd Harbor tone combined with the menacing sense of evil.

    Then there is Sterling Holloway, one of my Disney favorites (Winnie the Pooh and the Cheshire Cat), this time in the role of Kaa the Snake. Phil Harris as Baloo the Bear is lovable and hugable… I just have a hard time squaring the Disney image with his public persona of the hard boozing, heavy smoking reprobate of Vegas lounge acts. Louie Prima as King Louis is top stuff, too. As is Sebastian Cabot’s Bagheera.

    But my favorite character is Pat O’Malley’s Colonel Hathi of the Elephant Dawn Patrol. He executes a near perfect parody of the aging British Officer serving out his time is some Colonial backwater, reliving memories and glories of “Chinese” Gordon and Khartoum.

  7. Peter Pan (1953)

    Peter Pan

    This is not only a terrific Disney “classic” film, Peter Pan is also a terrific attraction at Disney World! And what’s the best part of the ride? It’s when your pirate ship flies above the City of London and circles Big Ben. The illusion is perfect! A superb rendition of the scene from the film.

    Yes, Peter Pan has an engaging story line, but I watch this film as often as I do because of Hans Conried! He, the voice of both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. If there was a contest for Best Disney Voice characterization, Hans Conried would be a finalist (and favored to win!).

    Captain Hook is Disney’s most lovable villain. More bumbling than truly evil, yet skilled in the art of intrigue. And besides, he was a snappy dresser!

  8. Moana (2016)

    Moana

    Great characters, good story, funny lines, a tropical beach setting and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music. Need I say more? This is the most recent Disney release to make my Top Ten!

    Once again we meet an outrageous scene stealer: “Do you know who Maui is? Only the greatest demi-god of all the Pacific Islands, with his magical fish hook he slowed down the sun, pulled islands out of the sea, battled monsters! And I should know, because I’m Maui.”

    Maui, oversized and with a penchant for perfectly timed side-splitting sarcasm! And he has a show-stopping tune “Thank You” that dips into some clever rap:

    Well, come to think of it, kid, honestly I can go on and on
    I can explain every natural phenomenon
    The tide, the grass, the ground, oh
    That was Maui just messing around

    I killed an eel
    I buried its guts
    Sprouted a tree, now you got coconuts
    What’s the lesson?
    What is the take-away?
    Don’t mess with Maui when he’s on the break-away

    But by far the best and most clever song (“Shiny”) is reserved for the giant crab Tamatoa. And it certainly sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda was channeling David Bowie with the tune.

    Did your granny say listen to your heart
    Be who you are on the inside
    I need three words to tear her argument apart
    Your granny lied!

    I’d rather be shiny
    Like a treasure from a sunken pirate wreck
    Scrub the deck and make it look
    Shiny

    Shiny indeed. And this film shines on all levels. From charm, to funny, to poignant, to scary and back again!

  9. Pinocchio (1940)

    Pinocchio

    This is one of my favorite Disney story lines, and more than anything I love how the characters are drawn… I don’t like cats but Figaro is a cat you want to cuddle, only Disney artists could create a flirt in the form of Cleo the goldfish, and Monstro as the whale frightened me when I was a kid… but my favorites in the cast were Stromboli the “impresario” and Lampwick the juvenile delinquent.

    The opening scenes in Geppetto’s work shop remains one of my favorite sequences. Jiminy warming his tush by the log fire, the clocks, and the merry dancing after the Blue Fairy converts the lifeless marionette into a wooden boy.

    And yes, I have a soft spot for Jiminy Cricket, too. You got to love “small folk”. And his rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star” garnered an Academy Award for the Best Song.

    n.b. The voice for Honest John’s side kick Gideon is Mel Blanc — he of Warner Bros. cartoon fame.

  10. Hercules (1997)

    Hercules

    This is the long shot, or the surprise from left field, or I have only seen it fully thru once! Then, you may ask, how did this happen? If blame is to be cast, look to Zack. Hercules was completely off my radar. I didn’t see the theatrical release, nor did I see it in DVD. Until. Until Zack told me that the drawing of Hades, and his voice characterization (James Woods), was beyond Mars.

    Zack underprojected! I loved the film. And I have an interest in antiquity that touches on Greek mythology. Disney spins the classical muses into a Motown singing group. Thumbs up on that!

    But that’s not why Zack pointed me to this film. It was James Woods’ portrayal of Hades.

    Hard to believe that based off of one viewing of this film, it would make my Top Ten. That speaks to how fabulous Hades is!

    And it’s not only me who thinks highly of Hades —

    “The role of Hades is one of James Woods’ all-time favorite characters. So much so, any time Disney needs him to reprise the character for any cartoon show and video game, such as Hercules: The Series or Kingdom Hearts, he has agreed to do so. When this film was about to go over-budget, he offered to refund his salary and finish the film for free. Disney decided against this, and finished the film anyway.”

The Afterword

Fun for me to review my choices from 13 years ago. As I predicted in my original post, things can change. What we love today, we might not love as much tomorrow. And who knows when something new will catch our eye and heart. From my original Top Ten, the loss that troubles me most is “Fantasia.” I love the music in the film so much, that I can enjoy the variety of pieces with my eyes closed. Yet the animation adds a special dimension to the music that should never be kicked to the curb.

Maybe the problem is limiting what you love to a Top Ten format?
The Lion King and Aladdin are both missing here. So is Lilo and Stich, and Frozen. And more can be mentioned.

Sometimes you just have to go thru the discipline of picking “win-place-and-show”. Which is what I have done… just expanded it to: Win, Place, Show… yadda, dadda, dah — to ten.

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Church on Fire

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Jim

I so admired you both for the wonderful friendships that you had. Even for me, 11 & 9 years your junior, I loved that you had friends that felt that 25 Alston Avenue was a welcoming place. And while I was far removed from your social activities, there were brief episodes when I could revel in the joy of that camaraderie, while still being very junior in your company.

Was there a better place for spending time with friends than our kitchen? Maybe. But of the night that I am thinking, it was the kitchen that was the “stage” on which an epic event occurred – and to which I now relate (to the best of my ability… remembering, that I was quite “junior”).

I assume the day was a weekend. A weekend night. Other than you, the only person who I can remember that was there: Jeff Gordon. Although I am sure others were involved. Judy Poverman? “Hangin’ out” was an expression that was not in vogue then, but it describes what you were doing. If memory serves, folks were standing around, and maybe one or two of you were perched up on the counters that framed the kitchen space. Why was Jeff Gordon stretched out on to the floor, I can’t say. Not enough room on the counters? No comfortable place to lean up against? Maybe just looking to take a load off his feet?

Regardless. There he was, a step or two before the refrigerator. Hands comfortably clasped below his head and sharing in with the conversation.

Enter Dad. He surveyed the scene of young people in the kitchen. And then made his way to the fridge looking to have a cold beverage to relieve a thirst. He steps over Jeff… and it is my assumption that he in no way wished to distract from the conversation at hand… but he definitely was aware that Jeff was an impediment to accessing his route to the fridge.

Notwithstanding, Dad takes a seltzer bottle from the fridge, and I am confident that his original intent was to drink a good sized glass of seltzer, and then he paused. Why?

Why? Well… let’s just say it was “Dad being Dad.”

He paused, he sniffed the air. And then announced, “I think I smell a church on fire!” And with this, he shot a healthy stream of seltzer into Jeff’s snoot.” Jeff, innocent Jeff, unsuspecting Jeff, defenseless Jeff, Jeff lying on the floor with hands clasped behind his head.

As a result, Dad had “unleashed the beast”, and I think a more typical “teenaged water fight” ensued. It may have spread to other rooms in the house. But for sure, shrieks and laughter abounded & 25 Alston Avenue suffered no serious damage.

Ultimately, cooler minds prevailed. Perhaps sadly.

Over the years, there have been occasions when the “Church on Fire” story has been illuminated in our shared stories. Or, invoked as a possible activity… as in: “Shall we do puzzles tonight, or play Church on Fire?”

How could we not feel the warmth from that weekend night? There is nothing that surpasses a beautiful memory that produced such joy, laughter & mayhem.

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