A post script before you read… hmmm, I guess that would make it a “pre-script”? I am sure if I delved into my previous writings, this story may have already been covered. Such is my plight… I love telling stories, and sometimes my friends and family have to endure a telling of a tale that they have heard before. Maybe several times. Well… too bad. And in a couple of years I may send you this story again. I love it…
Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut there is something special about a summer evening, particularly a Saturday night. And of the evening I am about to describe I was lucky to be in my “late teens” and blessed to have a metabolism of a humming bird.
Now this you have to understand of the Saturday evening noted here, I was already amply fed. Several slices of London Broil (the preferred cut on 25 Alston Ave), and multiple sweet corn (courtesy of Margie’s produce on Whalley Ave), a slice or two of watermelon, and you would think that I was good for the night.
Ahhh… teen aged boys don’t eat. They take on fuel.
So, when the suggestion came up (I’m thinking circa 9:00pmish) that perhaps we should repair to Jimmies of Savin Rock (West Haven, CT) to knock off a couple of “dogs” and a couple of dozen of clams on the half shell, Alan (my brother-in-law) was in full agreement… along with my parent’s house guest Jacques Spiro.
The stage was set. Summer. Saturday night. Air heavy with humidity, and a slight emptiness in my stomach.
Even my Grandmother, Mommie Soph, endorsed this expedition. Urban legend: Mommie Soph slipped Alan a double saw buck to cover part of the costs of this descent into additional eating. And if she kept quiet that we didn’t eat enough at the dinner table, she didn’t betray her upset.
My informal take for that night: 2 dozen clams on the half shell, 3 hot dogs, 1 order of french fries, 2 lobster rolls, 1 order of fried clams & a pineapple drink to wash it down.
I am blessed to have enjoyed Alan’s company and fellowship for 5 decades. It should seem wrong to single out one episode and place it above others. Well… I have been wrong in other matters, but I choose this night to highlight.
Today? It’s a steamy June evening, and I am drawn back to that summer evening from years ago, a simple evening really, when Alan and I just could revel in the moment. Sharing time with Jacques, telling stories & observations and laughing… laughing. Oh, yes… and tucking into Jimmies of Savin Rock’s finest. And lest you think otherwise, Alan & Jacques were not mere spectators in this culinary debauchery. Although I did not play close attention to their levels of consumption, I know that we were all on par after the initial round of clams.
In many ways Sandy is a blessing in my life. Sandy pays close attention to honoring the memory of her family members that have passed away. And she has been kind enough to add Mom, Dad & Mommie Soph to the list of departed family… family to be honored with the lighting of a memorial candle (and an extra candle to the memory of an unknown Holocaust person who may not have someone to light a candle).
And tonight I will light a candle to Mom’s memory (and also to a Holocaust victim). If the date is incorrect, it is only because I have given Sandy an incorrect date to enter into her calendar. Regardless, a candle will be lit.
And I think I am going to peruse my “memory shelf” and select an item to take down, dust off and turn into the light.
Let’s see… this is something small. And it also included Mommie Soph and Bessie. Location: Mom’s bedroom. Time: late evening, after 10:00pm & certainly around my bedtime. That old TV in the room was probably on. And the ladies were sharing a favorite 25 Alston Ave night time snack. A buttered Kaiser roll with sardines, onion & tomato.
This, by the way, was not a single occurrence event. I watched it unfold several times. I had no interest in this concoction initially, but their enjoyment of this snack became too seductive. And there came an evening that I asked for a sandwich to be prepared for me, too. Although my first dip into these waters may have been sans sardines. Eventually I came around to the full sandwich. And honestly, I can’t recall having it since.
Call it an inspiration. Sandy was leafing thru the pages of Scientific American when she happened on
an article about Emanuel Rifkin, a Salt Lake City CPA, who decided to build a
geodesic dome in the Utah dessert out of matzo. One can only guess
that Rifikin (one of nine Jews who live in Utah) ordered more matzo than he needed for
his Passover table. Hoping that he was going to make a financial windfall, he
had been pleased when he had cornered the market in matzo for all the mountain
states, and at the close of the Passover he peered out his kitchen window to
pallets of matzo boxes stacked up on his driveway. What to do with the extra
boxes of matzo? After all, one only uses one or two boxes of the stuff during
the eight day holiday. That is, unless you live in Brooklyn and are feeding the entire congregation of B’nai
Tsuris… then you might use up to nine boxes. But as already noted, the Rifkins
lived in Salt Lake
City!
Perhaps it was to be expected when
Rachel (his wife of 17 years) suggested that Manny find lodgings elsewhere. And
that is when the ambitious Rifikin, armed with R. Buckminster Fuller’s blueprint
for a geodesic dome, loaded up his matzo into a ten-wheeler and headed for the
desert. And to the amazement of all, build it he did! Further, he saw that
when he was in the finished dome he felt an unmistakable calm as he rested from
his labors. Surrounded by walls of matzo and in the desert air his skin
tightened and he felt rejuvenated. The salutary effect was real. It wasn’t
long before word spread about this curious structure in the middle of “nowhere”.
The newsprint media covered it. Reported to be better than a salt cave, health nerds began traveling to
his doorstep, and paid a high fee to spend two hours in his matzo dome. The
Hollywood glitterati soon began chartering flights to Salt Lake City. You get
the idea. Fortune follows the
brave!
One can only imagine Manny Rifkin
in the Utah
desert sipping a chilled Mogen David and counting his Ben Franklin’s. Who would
have thought? Matzo Therapy!
And now to Sandy. She read this
article when our pantry also had a modest surplus of matzo. We had purchased
five boxes in advance of the Passover Holiday and had overshot our needs by 3.5
boxes. The words of the article danced in her head as she put the finishing
touches on her latest coloring project.
This coloring “thing” has captured
Sandy. She sets
up shop on the kitchen table. Spreads out a stout collection of pens, pencils,
markers and fine brushes in front of her… selects an elaborate drawing and
spends a couple of hours coloring it in. With music playing in the background
(or the news on the kitchen TV), she is the picture of contentment. Coloring therapy? And the finished
products are really good.
Maybe it was just a natural
progression of thinking… the article in Scientific American, a pantry with too
much matzo, and maybe a touch of “matzo induced constipation”? Sort of simple,
really. Sandy
decided to make use of the unwanted matzo, and she put her coloring talents to
creating matzo art! You could say it was a new form of matzo therapy!
This first piece of matzo art was
made while listening to Pachelbel’s Canon in
D.
Serenity,
Before the Onset of an Intestinal Blockage
Next, Sandy applied herself to
capturing the likeness of the first Hebrew Super Hero: Constipator the Great.
The roots of this legendary figure are indeed linked to the biblical Exodus
story. We have learned that the Hebrews had to flee Egypt in a hurry
before Pharaoh reversed his decision to let Moses’ people go. “They could not
tarry”. The bread was not allowed to properly rise, and so the Hebrews had to
settle to making a flat “bread” – matzo! However, a considerable excess of this
“bread” had to be left behind. And it was said that the Egyptian host spent
days gorging out on matzo and the charioteers, archers & foot soldiers
suffered from serious bloating, twisted bowel syndrome and painful rectal itch.
Pharaoh’s army was completely incapacitated before leaving the gates of
Egypt. No need for Moses to split
the Red
Sea for the escaping Hebrews. That was clearly an unnecessary
literary device exploited by Cecil B. DeMille. The savior for the Hebrews was
Matzo Man!
Drawn while listening to the
Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.”
Matzo
Man
Sandy followed
Matzo Man with a piece of three dimensional art. On a plain matzo board she
placed four slices of American cheese, which she said represented the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Then she
applied a quantity of scrambled eggs, which she said represented the Turmoil caused by the Rangers giving up the tying
goal with 17 seconds left in the game. And a sprinkle of Tabasco
Sauce, which she said represented a mistake.
N.b.The bacon-like
objects I photo-shopped in.
Made while listening to Al Roker’s
weather report.
Eggs
on Matzo
After breakfast Sandy returned to two
dimensional art. I asked her to knock-off my favorite Georges Seurat canvas.
She agreed; but first she wanted to find a way to overcome the handicap of
coloring on matzo’s irregular surface. Particularly the perforations. The
problem was solved by mixing matzo meal and anchovy paste and applying it to the
matzo board. Voilà! An ideal surface to use! The
results are uncanny! Her best piece of art to
date!
In the manner of, A Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte
How to follow up that superb
rendition of Seurat? First, let me say I don’t want to limit Sandy’s enthusiasm for her
art. But she may have over-reached her skill set. But she is set on giving
this a “go.” We have just taken a long term lease on a vacant aircraft hangar
at Oxford Airport, and Sandy has decided to make a 1:2 scale model of
a Blue Whale out of matzo. Costco has agreed to sell us 30,000 boxes of
their surplus matzo. We were
able to get a very good price, even better
than their usual low price. The trucks arrive next week, the sound
system will be installed by mid-May, coloring will begin in June and
construction will follow in November. Stay tuned.
The “one dish” aspect of this recipe caught my attention. I have used another more traditional Stroganoff recipe, and greatly enjoyed the results. But? One dish? Less to clean-up? OK, let’s give this a shot. A couple of notes about the appearance of this recipe. First, typically the noodles are prepared separately from the meat, then the noodles are drained, plated on a platter and then the meat is spooned over the noodles. In this recipe the noodles are cooked with the meat, and have an alreadyblended appearance when plated. Next, the meat is cut into thin strips, rather than into cubes. Similarly to stir-frying steak in an Asian recipe, it does speed the cooking process.
For wine I wanted to choose a 2015 from France or Italy. We are going to be beating the drum for the next 2-3 years about the excellence of Western Europe’s broad success in the 2015 Vintage (the best since 2010). The modest wines are the first to reach our shores. And theSouthern Rhône that I have selected provides an introduction to the greatness of the vintage as we wait for the Châteauneufs that will release later. Other wines that would complement this dish… Loire Valley Reds from Chinon or Saumur-Champigney. A Ripasso Valpolicella would also be a good choice here. All these wines offer good fruit, balance & a cleansing level of finishing acidity that make them a natural for “comfort food” dishes like Stroganoff.
Domaine de Fondrèche Nature Rouge ‘15 (Côtes du Ventoux, Southern Rhône) Checking in as a mix of 30% each of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, with the balance Cinsault. The 2015 Côtes du Ventoux Nature is a plump, fruity, rounded and sexy wine that has lots of dark fruit and herbal aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness and a great finish. I wouldn’t push the aging curve, but it’s a superb wine to drink over the coming year or two. 90pts Wine Advocate
ONE-DISH BEEF STROGANOFF
Ingredients 6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin ½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth 3 Blue cheese stuffed olives 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1lb boneless strip steak, sliced into thin strips 1 medium onion chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 1 tsp dried parsley flakes 1¾ cups low sodium beef stock 6 oz sliced mushrooms 3 cups uncooked medium egg noodles ½ cup sour cream Chopped fresh parsley
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. Heat oil in a 12” nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until well browned, stirring often. Add onion, garlic and dried parsley and cook until the onion is tender-crisp.
3. Stir the stock and mushrooms in the skillet and bring to a boil. Stir in the noodles. Reduce heat to low & cover. Cook for 10 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
4. Stir in sour cream in the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve with fresh chopped parsley.
n.b. The next time I make this I will cut back the noodles to 2 cups. Although I prefer broadernoodles with Stroganoff, for this recipe stick with medium-sized.
