Good News - Almost

My sister's health problems have been weighing heavy on my mind lately, but things are looking up - sort of. She was having dizzy spells, went for a test and found out she has a brain tumor. Luckily, the tests have come back and it's not cancerous - they have not concluded that the tumor is causing the spells, so there are more tests, because of where it is located, they don't want to move just yet, they think that they can just monitor it for now - if it shows growth over the next few months, then they'll have to do something - radiation or surgery. The more troubling part is that there is significant narrowing of the internal carotid artery that is inside of the brain. For that she must see a vascular surgeon. So, we're not exactly exhaling a sigh of relief - just yet.

Pork Chops and Malbec - lovely together...

It's been a full week and not always in a good way. My sister has been having dizzy spells for the last month or so - she got the results of the tests and not good. I'm not ready to share just yet - we need some more information. Between her, my mom's ongoing illness, kid and job stress, it's been nesting time for me. Tonight I needed comfort food. So I made pork chops with apple stuffing



The stuffing is chopped braeburn apples (or any apples on the tart side), onions, celery, sage, thyme, a clove of garlic and day old french bread cubed (about a 1/4 loaf). Saute the onions and celery until translucent, add the herbs and garlic. Saute for another two to three minutes; add stock if the mixture is becoming dry, then add the bread cubes. When everything is cooked and slightly softened, remove from heat. Stuff chops, then salt and pepper the chops. Sear in a cast iron frying pan on each side until well browned (about five minutes). Splash pan with Calvados, then finish in a 400 degree oven.

I served them with roasted cauliflower (tossed with olive oil, chopped garlic cloves, salt and pepper and roasted at 375 - shave some pecorino over it after it comes out of the oven) and saffron rice and peas. I had an open bottle of Malbec - I was afraid it would be a little too heavy, but it worked really well. Enjoy...it is truly comfort food.

Drastic Changes

I was talking with a dear friend of mine this week and she mentioned that she wanted to change things in her life. Home was happy, but in her career, she felt she was coming to an age where, if she didn't make the change to follow her passion, she'd be stuck. Her income is needed, it's not like what she makes is disposable - it's truly a two income family. She has ideas about what she'd like to do, but in this economy and unsure political, financial, world climate it's a tough call. My question is, have you met or have you yourself made this sort of change? What were your experiences? My sister did it, was laid off of a very lucrative middle management job and decided to become a chef - she never regretted doing it, but acknowledges that it has not been easy and she's had to adjust quite a bit to a less lucrative lifestyle at an age when you're getting into that "red zone" of retirement planning. If you have any thoughts to share, I'd love to hear them.

Sunday Dinner

I wish I'd taken a picture of it, but we ate too quickly!

Beef Short Ribs Tagine with Blood Oranges and Sweet Potatoes

3-4 lbs beef short ribs
2-3 Sweet Potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
2 Blood Oranges, zest the skin, peel and separate into sections
3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 1/2" piece of fresh ginger minced finely
1 red onion halfed and cut into slices along the grain
Chile pepper 1 tsp
Smoked paprika 1 tsp
Ground Coriander 1 tsp
Cinnamon 1/4 tsp
Salt and Pepper to taste

If you have a traditional tagine as I did, the saute portion takes place in a large skillet. I now have an Ikea tagine that is cast iron non stick on the bottom and glazed ceramic on top, so it happens all in one dish. The recipe calls for ghee. If you don't have ghee, melt 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil in the bottom of a tagine or a cast iron casserole. Saute the onion, garlic and ginger for a few minutes until onion starts to soften. Add chile, smoked paprika, orange zest and coriander and saute for a couple more minutes. Add sweet potatoes and continue to saute until the potatoes caramelize a bit (the higher sugar content in the potatoes makes this happen more quickly). Remove to a bowl and add a tsp more oil/butter to melt. Add ribs and brown them well in the tagine. I blot out the excess oil with a paper towel and discard. When the ribs are well browned, return the potato onion mixture to the pan and add enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil and then cover the casserole and lower to a simmer - cook for 1 hour. 1 hour in, add 1 1/2 honey, and peeled orange sections. You can add a 1/2 c. of raisins at this point, too if you'd like more fruit (we don't). keep the the lid off and cook down for another 20 minutes.

I serve it with cous-cous or rice and a green vegetable on the side. I also pair it with it a Shiraz as the Shiraz will stand up to the intense flavors of the stew.

More, More, More

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Busy Busy Busy

I've been so busy lately with some travel and stuff to do around the house, I've not been able to post anything. Today, Matt and I went to Ikea so that he could pick out a new dresser/chest. His is best suited for a little kid and he's so big now, his clothes don't fit. I was trying to guide him to the Malm line that looks Danish Modern - it has a wide range of pieces and we can add to them as he gets ready to move out of his room (we've kicked around the idea of refinishing the basement and sectioning off part of it as his bedroom - he is 17, after all and they are pretty subterranean at that age). But, he picked out this:



He loves the color red and smarty pants that he is, saw that there is a black highboy to go along with it - his other favorite color - he wanted his room to be more "colorful". Serves me right....tomorrow is our assembly day. WooHoo. We also picked up a stainless steel backsplash for the kitchen, a stainless shelf and a small side table for our sunroom. We weren't the only ones to decide to shop today. I think half of Philadelphia was in Ikea today - it's the most interesting place to people watch. You see the twentysomethings who are buying for their first apartments/houses. The fortysomethings buying for their kids (I suppose there are thirtysomethings, too, either they look too young or too old to stand out).


Our other purchase was at my other favorite place, the Container Store:



I actually picked up the 40 bottle rack because I belong to a couple of wine clubs and now have more than what I can store in my dining room wine rack. I've always wanted to build a cellar and I have a spot in my basement that will be perfect for it. One of my old colleagues out in the Seattle area has a collector for a while now and publishes a wine newsletter, maybe one day he'll let me contribute, or I can start the East Coast version ;-)

The Czar Dictates: Rational explanations for movie cliches (part 1)

The Czar Dictates: Rational explanations for movie cliches (part 1)

My friend Carl is a world class cynic and his sense of humor is so dry that few get his one liners right off the bat. We worked together a few years ago and immediately hit it off (guess my sense of humor is as dry as his - we'd laugh hysterically at each other's lines while other's would give us a blank stare for 30 seconds until it finally sunk in).

Pearls Before Swine was modeled on us, or so we thought, and no, I'm not Pig (I'm Goat). This strip typifies our relationship:


(my thanks to Stephen Pastis)


One day he'll take over the world....;-)