Fun

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Friday Dance Party – JTX’s ‘Love In America’ And A Love Rant

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for making it through another week and for being alive and present here on Earth.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So, are you alive this Friday?  Are you and your family safe and sound?  Take a few seconds now to be in the moment and realize what a great life you truly have.  Did you give thanks for that?

Good, now let’s dance.

It passed. 10:30 PM NYC time right now!!!

What’s the state of love in America?  It seems that everyone in politics seems to have a view on the subject these days.  If you live in the State of New York or close by in Connecticut like we do, you have heard a lot of people weigh in on the subject over the last few weeks.  This is primarily due to the New York State Legislature working to vote on a marriage act that will allow same-sex partners the right to marry in the State of New York.  Connecticut already allows it.  I first have to tell you that we are very pro same-sex marriage.  We look at it differently though in terms of views at Glen Road.  One view is that if two people love each other, than they should be allowed to marry.  Another view in our house is that same-sex partners should have the same rights and protections that others are given and this includes marriage.  Another view in the house is that they would want to be married if the church recognizes the union and they care less about the government.  Which one is right?  I think that it is probably a mix of all of these opinions.  So why does it bug me that the debate on same-sex marriage is such a big deal and so controversial?  I just don’t get it.  I just think it is so easy to see.  I don’t think that God frowns on it like some, I don’t think it dilutes the bond of marriage traditionally held between a man and a woman and I don’t like politicians weighing in on something I don’t think many of them know too much about.  Again, I like to keep it simple.  I think it all comes down to love and love is one of the most pure and simple things we have.  If you love someone, it is love.  There is no straight love, gay love, Caucasian love, African American love, Hispanic love, man love, woman love, etc.  There is just LOVE…the same feeling no matter how you get there.  There is just LOVE and if you and someone else are in love, you should be allowed to marry if you are so inclined.  The marriage that you enter should also be equal to all other marriages done in this country.  It’s only fair…this is about equality.  So to the same-sex marriage haters….if you don’t approve of gay marriage, don’t marry a gay person.  Mind your own business…God forbid if you were told you couldn’t do something that someone could do!  So that’s my rant on love.  <deep breath>

Moving on, I do think I know something that we can all agree on regarding LOVE.  I’m pretty sure that we all love living, music and dancing.  Right?  You’ve made it through another week and you are still kicking.  Celebrate that fact by turning the speakers up on your computer and shaking it to JTX’s ‘Love In America’.  You deserve it.  Go ahead and shake that money maker and remember to love the one you’re with.  What’s your opinions on LOVE…we’d love to hear them?

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Italian Braciola From Our Own Notorious B.I.G.

This is baked ziti with a piece of Italian braciola on the side.  It was made by our own Notorious B.I.G.–our Brooklyn Italian Grandmother.  Yes, she is back and making another one of her all-time favorites.  Most Sunday dinners always include her famous sauce and meatballs/sausage, but she doesn’t always include braciola.  Her braciola takes thin slices of sirloin, adds a seasoned breadcrumb mixture along with cheese, egg and sausage and then they are rolled and secured with a wooden toothpick or cooking twine.  After lightly browning them in olive oil, they are added into her gravy (sauce) to cook along with the meatballs and sausage.  When I first met B.I.G., it was one of the first things she made and served to me.  I loved it that very first time and all the times since then during the thirteen years I have known her.  There is something so delicious about this little Italian meat dumpling that stands its own against the big pile of macaroni that always sits right beside it.  I really don’t need the pasta at all.  I could be very happy with just the braciola.  I have always wanted to learn how to make it and I have finally gotten my wish.  So here is B.I.G.’s recipe for Italian braciola–one of the best I’ve ever had.  It all starts with the same bread crumb mixture she uses in her other recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 8 – 10 thin slices of braciola meat or sirloin steak (our local butcher cuts sirloin for us)
  • 5 cloves of garlic, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, plus more for shredding
  • 4 thin slices of Italian sopressata, chopped (nothing is bad with a little sopressata on it)
  • 1/4 cup of finely chopped Italian parsley (I am told to tell you that it must be Italian–do not use curly)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 Italian sausage (about 6 – 8 inches long), hot or mild (whatever you prefer) cooked in olive oil
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

Begin by preparing the Italian sausage link and the hard-boiled eggs and let them cool until they can be handled.  While they are cooling, combine the garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, sopressata, parsley, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Mix all ingredients until combined with each other.  Lay out meat slices and sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the top of each slice.

Next, take the cooled sausage and remove the skin.  Chop it into small bite-sized pieces and spread them on top of the meat slices as well.

  She’s back with jewelry galore.  A ring on each hand for balance.  You don’t want one hand being heavier than the other.

Do the same with the boiled eggs.  Chop the eggs into small bite-size pieces and spread them on top of the meat slices.

  Tennis (bracelet) anyone?

Finish by grating some additional parmesan cheese on the finished meat slices.

  A diamond ring, a gold ring and a gold bracelet.  The only way to shred cheese.

Carefully roll each meat slice and secure with a wooden toothpick.  You may need more than one toothpick to ensure that the inside stuffing does not come out during browning and then simmering in the gravy.

Heat the olive oil.  When hot, add each braciola and lightly brown the meat.  Continue turning until they are lightly browned on all sides.  At this point, you can continue cooking if you would like until the braciola are completely cooked and eat them on their own.  Most of the time, you will put them into your prepared gravy (sauce) after lightly browning them and let them continue cooking in the simmering gravy (sauce) until they are completely cooked through.

I have been to some of the finest Italian restaurants in the world and have quit ordering braciola because nothing compares to the braciola made by B.I.G.  I tend to find that many times the restaurants where I have ordered it bring it out with little taste.  Maybe they are scared to serve it to large numbers with too much seasoning in it or our family just loves large amounts of flavor coming from garlic, sopressata, egg, cheese and sausage?  Who knows!  However, these braciola pack a lot of flavor and taste.  I can see them being eaten on their own with a salad or a side of broccoli rabe or as part of the traditional Italian dinner with macaroni and gravy.  Whatever way you choose, you are in for a treat.  Man, our Notorious B.I.G. knows how to cook.  Did you learn to cook on your own or with the help of a relative like our Notorious B.I.G.?

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Lemon Lovers Unite

This is some finely chopped sage.  It is for the crust of a lemon tart that I made for dessert.  It is no secret that I don’t really like citrus flavors in the food I cook.  I’m not a big fan of  zest in anything and I don’t like to punch up any flavor with citrus juice.  When the troops were asking for something that had lemon in it, I had to think what recipes I had that at least had something in it that would interest me.  I have been reading Martha Stewart’s ‘Pies and Tarts’ and I saw this recipe for a Marbled Lemon Tart with a Sage and Cornmeal Crust.  This sounded different enough.  This was what I would make to get the lemon lovers their fix.  I was actually surprised.  A crisp crust that contained sage and cornmeal, along with lemon curd that had its bite taken down a few notches by the addition of creme fraiche.  It was pretty good.  So let’s make a lemon tart that even non-lemon heads can handle.

For the Sage-Cornmeal Crust:

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 3/4 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 5 tablespoons ice water
Directions:

Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, sage, salt and lemon zest in a food processor until combined.  Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Whisk egg yolks and ice water in a small bowl.  With machine running, add to flour mixture through feed tube; process until dough just holds together.  Turn out dough onto a work surface.  Divide in half, and shape each portion into a disk.  Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 disk to a 10-inch round.  Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges flush with rim.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day).  Reserve remaining dough for another use (it can be frozen up to 3 months).  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Dock the shell by pricking the bottom of tart shell with a fork.  Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Let cool.

For the Filling:

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
  • 3 tablespoons creme fraiche

Directions:

Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl, and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.  Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl.  Gradually whisk in lemon juice.  Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and whisk constantly until mixture has thickened and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.  Whisk in gelatin mixture.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until smooth.  Let cool, stirring occasionally.  Prepare an ice-water bath.  Place bowl of yolk mixture over bath and stir until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Spread curd into crust; smooth top.  Dollop creme fraiche on top.  Using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife, swirl creme fraiche into curd to create a marbleized effect.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours (or up to overnight).

In my rush to get the dessert out to the lemon lovers, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product so I included a copy of Martha’s so you get the feel.  While no one’s dessert can look as good as one shot by a professional photographer, mine was pretty close….let’s just say in a more ‘rustic’ way.  Given that I usually give citrus the cold shoulder, even I thought this dessert was pretty tasty and refreshing.  So when lemon is the name of the game, give them something different with a lemon tart with a marble swirl in a sage-cornmeal crust.  It’s the perfect summer treat.  What desserts do you make that contain lemons?

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Friday Dance Party – Solveig and Dragonette Come To Say Hello

This is another edition of Friday Dance Party on Acorns On Glen.  It’s the time where we give thanks for another week of living.  We give thanks for making it through and for being able to celebrate this fact.  How do we celebrate another week of living?  We dance.  So take a moment and be proud of the fact that you’re here and you’ve made it to another Friday.  Not only you, but your family and friends as well.  So, to that end, are you alive this Friday?  Have you given thanks for this?

Good, now let’s dance.

When I first started this blog, I never imagined how many other people do the same thing and have been doing it for years.  Yes, I had absolutely seen the bigger blogs that offer advice, communicate information or shape lifestyles, but hadn’t spent that much time understanding the number of normal folks that frequently communicate on what is going on in their lives.  The more time I have spent on WordPress.com reading these blogs from ordinary people, the more I have been impressed and inspired.  I have often wondered why everyone does their blogs on a regular basis.  What is their motivation?  It is a lot of work, there is no money in it and getting famous by writing a blog is like getting rich by winning the lottery–the odds are not good.  For me, I have enjoyed blogging for the creative aspect it provides and for it making me appreciate what’s real and great in my life.  I also like it for the chance to say ‘hello’ to so many people I would never have had the opportunity to meet and share a little about my life.  So to all the people who visit us here at Acorns On Glen each week, we would just like to say ‘hello’.  To that end, our little ‘Hello’ song this week is just perfect.  So take a listen, celebrate life and shake it in celebration.  You deserve it.  When did you start to blog and why do you like to do it (or not)? 

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Apples Of My Eye

This is a very good sign.  There has been a lot of work getting the espalier apple trees in order this season.  We’ve spoiled the trees in every manner imaginable.  We started with two trees, noticed one was not doing well, removed it and replaced it with a new tree, built a support system to secure the branches and gave them a haircut.  With all this work, we have kept saying one thing.  “We better get some apples this year.”  The good news is that it appears we may be in luck this season.  The trees are producing apples for the very first time.  There aren’t a lot of apples on the trees.  Probably 20 at the most.  However, it is just nice to see your hard work pay off, especially in the garden where sometimes the harder you work results in some of your worst harvests ever.

The trouble we are facing now is how to take care of the fruit over the remainder of the Summer.  The last thing we want to do is have disease or insects take away our apples.  We try to garden in an organic fashion as much as possible.  Many of the established gardeners here in Connecticut are telling us that organic is not going to cut it as these apples continue to mature.  We will have to use some limited amounts of chemicals on them to keep them safe.  Do you have any recommendations on how to care for the apples over the Summer using the least amount of chemicals possible?

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A Crisp Coconut and Chocolate Pie

This is the most uncomplicated pie we know.  We received a copy of Martha Stewart’s “Pies and Tarts” cookbook and knew that we would need to make this pie.  We love coconut and chocolate, so what could be bad in putting these two ingredients together.  However, we didn’t have a lot of time and this recipe obliged.  In keeping with our quick and tasty theme, this pie requires only four ingredients-butter, chocolate, cream and shredded coconut.  The press-in crust comes together in seconds in a food processor.  After you bake the shell, you fill it with velvety chocolate ganache, which sets to a smooth sheen.  If you decide you want something sweet and it’s a little late in the day for a big production, give this crisp coconut and chocolate pie recipe a try.  Here we go:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling:

  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61% cacao), finely chopped

Directions:

Make the crust:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In a food processor, process butter and one-third of the coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy.

Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning.  Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove foil and back until edges are browned, 4 to 6 minutes more.  Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling:  Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan.

Pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.

Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined.  Pour into coconut crust.  Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

There you have it:  ready, set, eat.  It sort of reminded us of a deconstructed chocolate macaroon.  It was the perfect match to our simple supper of salad, breaded chicken cutlets and whole wheat linguine aglio e olio.  Nothing fancy and time consuming–just a quick mix of chocolate and coconut.  Life is good.  What do you use when you need dessert in a jiffy?

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Estate Sale Stewartia To Honor ‘Now, Voyager’

This tree is to pay homage to our favorite movie, ‘Now, Voyager’.  Have you ever seen ‘Now, Voyager’?

The 1942 movie stars Bette Davis and Paul Henreid.  Charlotte Vale (Davis) suffers under the domination of her Boston matron mother until Dr. Jaquith gets her to visit his sanitarium where she is transformed from frump to elegant, independent lady.  When she goes off on a South American cruise, she falls in love with Jerry (Henreid), already married.  Back home she confronts her mother who dies of a heart attack.  Charlotte, guilt-ridden, returns to the sanitarium where she finds Jerry’s depressed daughter Tina.  Tina achieves happiness through her attachment to Charlotte and the two move back to Boston.  When Jerry sees how happy his daughter is, he leaves her with Charlotte.  What about marriage for Charlotte and Jerry? Davis utters one of her most famous lines, “Don’t ask for the moon when we have the stars.”

One of our favorite parts is when Jerry says that Charlotte looks like a camellia in a white dress she is wearing while on their cruise.  When she returns to Boston, Charlotte receives a corsage of camellia flowers from Jerry and then she continues to wear camellias on her dresses as a reminder of her love for him.

Two weeks ago, I was contacted that there was an estate sale in the area that included garden plants from the estate.  I have never heard of that in my life.  The estate actually dug up mature trees, bushes and shrubs and sold them.  In looking at the plant list, I saw that there was a Stewartia Pseudocamellia that was over 10 feet tall.  While not a true camellia, the flowers are so close, I knew I had to have it in our yard to pay homage to ‘Now, Voyager’.  I won the auction for the Stewartia and had it planted in our backyard.  Here’s a little background on our Stewartia:

Stewartia Pseudocamellia is a plant species in the genus Stewartia in the family Theaceae, native to Japan and Korea.  It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, often with multiple stems and/or low branching trunks.  The bark is smooth textured, exfoliating as the plants age and has a camouflaged or mottled appearance with patterns of dull orange and green with grey mixed in.  Because of this, it has great Winter appeal as it displays its bark against the snowy landscape.

The trees are pyramidal to rounded in shape with deep green colored foliage.  Young stems have a zig-zag shape with flattened, divergent buds.  The leaves are arranged alternately on the stems with an elliptical shape and finely serrated edges.  In the fall the foliage turns yellow, red or purple. 

The flowers have five white petals with orange anthers and are shaped like Camellia flowers, round and flat to somewhat cupped.  They are produced in Summer, generally in June until the end of August.  Each flower is short-lived, but many are produced that open over many weeks.  The fruit is a brown capsule, triangular in shape with four or five angles, persistent on the trees but not showy.

We’ve often said that we like plants in our garden on Glen Road that are unique in nature or have a story behind them.  So the Stewartia fits right into what we like in the garden.  So now you know that on a clear night when the moon and the stars are shining bright, we will be outside standing by the Stewartia talking about ‘Now, Voyager’.  The two of us and the Yorkie….let’s consider her our Tina.  What are your favorite old-time movies?