We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
It's a tough but interesting career. I've learned all about it from a Chef friend (now an Executive Chef).
First, you attend, if you can, one of the top US (or French) culinary trade schools - Johnson & Wales, The New England Culinary Inst. (in NH), the CIA (Hyde Park, NY), the Cornell Hotel School, or the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas. Cordon Bleu in Paris if you can swing that.
When you graduate, having learned all the culinary basics, plus the economics, costing, buying, staffing, etc. you get to get a job as a lowly line cook. You are not a Chef - you are just a cook and not even an accomplished line cook yet.
Then the apprenticeship begins. A few successful years as a line cook (mastering all stations) and you could become a Sous-Chef. And then a fully-fledged Chef of the kitchen. That's a big deal, because you have to be a master of everything: Pastry, sauces, soups, meats, produce, salads - and presentation skills. You know the Chef from his or her Toque.
Some ambitious Chefs seek to become Executive Chefs. More money. They get to make the menus, manage and hire staff, do the buying, train staff, and run the business profitably. A high-hassle, high-complexity job. So-called "front of the house" and "back of the house."
My Chef friend gets so tired of fancy healthy food that he just likes a Big Mac, fries, and a couple of beers to escape it all.
I love cheeseburgers on the grill. Cheddar. Or even that American artificial cheese-like-substance. Lots of ketchup too, for the vegetable component. Health, etc.
I also love blue cheese on a burger - lots of it. Or bacon. Or blue cheese and bacon.
If you ever bothered to read the back of a John Kerry-Heinz ketchup bottle, they offer an alternative burger condiment. It is delicious, worth trying once:
1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup ketchup 1/4 cup sweet relish 1 tbsp cider vinegar 2 tsp sugar 1 tbsp chopped garlic 1 tsp hot pepper flakes (I added that)
Let sauce marinate in fridge for a while.
So to our Survey: What do you like on your grilled burgers?
It is parsley abundance season up here right now. I grow the curly leaf and the Italian flat leaf. They grow like crazy, and sometimes give you a second year after a milder winter.
"Pesto" means "paste." Sure, basil besto is delicious on lots of things and everybody loves it on vegetables, pasta, chicken, fish, whatever. But if you have lots of parsley, try a parsley-walnut pesto. It is perfect for grilled beef along with everything else you might use pesto for.
These are a favorite summer treat around here. Yes, you can do it with pumpkin blossoms too. Use the male blossoms, on the stalks. No reason to waste them.
A simple recipe. Do not wash the blossoms. Serve hot, with salt.
Here's how my mother-in-law does it. Slice tomato, then a whole large Basil leaf, then a slice of mango, then a thin slice of mozzarella. Repeat. She runs it down in slightly-slanted rows on a platter. Repeat in rows until platter is filled. A little salt and a drizzle of oil and vinegar on top.
Readers know we think it's a sin to grill a great steak (like a ribeye, for example), but we are totally on board with grilling vegetables, burgers, hot dogs - and fish. Fish is great for the grill.
We took my father in law out for dinner yesterday to our favorite Italian joint. I had two appetizers for supper (I often like to do that): Carpaccio, and the steamed PEI mussels in Green Harissa.
Well, that harissa/mussel broth was the tastiest new flavor I've tasted in a year. Wow. Luckily for me, there was no cilantro in it (I am among those for whom cilantro tastes like gasoline).
There are many variations on Green Harissa - you can google them. It's not meant to be overly hot, just tangy. As best I can tell, this one contained jalapenos, garlic, mint, scallions, black pepper, salt, flat-leaf parsley, olive oil, lemon zest, a little sugar. Some water. No spices, because the mussel broth had plenty of good flavor. Mix raw in blender or immersible blender.
For vegetables or fish, you might want to use some of the spices the recipes suggest.
Flank steak is from the abs of cattle. It's inexpensive, lean, a bit tough, and tasty. If a ribeye is made for pan-frying, Flank is made for a hot charcoal grill.
Here's how we make it great: Marinate overnight in supermarket Italian dressing with some honey added. Throw on a very hot grill for a few minutes on each side so you get a good crust from the marinade and the honey. It should look like the photo inside. Rest for a few minutes, then slice thin on the bias against the grain.
Really good served with grilled vegetables: peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, squash, mushrooms, etc.
I had the delight of attending a Connecticut Shad Bake on Sunday after a day of trout fishing. My pic above of shad (with lardons) on planks, with a tray of shad roe above. Shad roe is a special food for us. Shad Bakes are done on rough planks over an open wood fire.
Some pics of somebody else's Shad Bake. Yes, you nail the filets on the planks. The only seasonings are salt and pepper.
Shad are anadromous fish which migrate up rivers to breed in April and the beginning of May. The jolly bake I was invited to attend had Connecticut River shad, expertly-boned (few people know how to filet a Shad) along with whatever sacks of roe that the female Shad contained.
Nice outdoor party, in the woods by a large pond. Seemed like I had two degrees of separation from people I met there.
Serve it up with beer, cole slaw, potato salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert.
A daughter visiting from LA helped me work the garden today, and decided to make a tart for her friend. Crust from scratch, of course. That's a BD family specialty- flakey pie crusts.
Rhubarb tarte is amazing, in my opinion. We grow good rhubarb here. I took it from my Mom's rhubarb patch when she died. Rhubarb takes minimal care, grows like a weed but does not spread. Just a pile of cow manure on top in early Spring.
Ribeye, whether as a roast or cut into steaks, is the tastiest and most succulent cut of any ungulate. I prefer the steaks over the roasts, because I love the contrast between the surface, caramelized char and the almost raw center. Pan broiled, of course. Salivating as I write that... To me, regular prime roast is just an excuse to eat fresh horseradish.
Since we're on the topic, what's a New York Strip Steak? Not my favorite, but ok in a pinch. In my opinion, the only cut suitable for a grill.
Some of our readers, like me, have butchered countless deer (not perfectly, but well-enough) and know all the cuts of hoofed critters first-hand.
One more: Italians (Northern Italians) love their steaks. It's the luxury Secondi in Italy. When I cook a steak, I sometimes throw a couple of sliced onions in the juice, sometimes some garlic too but it's not needed. Good steak needs only salt and pepper, maybe some olive oil, and butter. Italians like to flavor steak with lauro (laurel leaf) or rosemary. I do not care for that Lauro (Italian Bay) flavor.
The BD family will also be celebrating another almost- arising from death on Sunday. My father in law recovered from his quadruple bypass after a near-fatal heart failure, returning back home from San Diego on Saturday and we'll all provide an Easter feast for them down in NJ after their Mass - if they can get to Mass. They never miss Mass. At worse, a priest visits but they do not need that yet. Guy emails me that he feels great.
Along the way, he learned that one or two drinks per day can help prevent future heart problems. Will not need to twist this Irishman's arm about that wholesome remedy. It seems mild to moderate alcohol enjoyment prevents heart disease. Diet, otherwise, does not seem to matter at all so no fruits and greens and nuts for this Irish meat and potatoes mensch.
It's a tough but interesting career. I've learned all about it from a Chef friend (now an Executive Chef).
I love cheeseburgers on the grill. Cheddar. Or even that American artificial cheese-like-substance. Lots of ketchup too, for the vegetable component. Health, etc.
Simple
Peak mid-summer. Try a deeply refeshing Beerita at your local Tex-Mex joint. 
Simple, light, and good
It is parsley abundance season up here right now. I grow the curly leaf and the Italian flat leaf. They grow like crazy, and sometimes give you a second year after a milder winter.
These are a favorite summer treat around here. Yes, you can do it with pumpkin blossoms too. Use the male blossoms, on the stalks. No reason to waste them.
Sarsaparilla Float: Just with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Root Beer also ok, but not quite as good)
Summer really begins this weekend, up here, with Independence Day. Just a few summery links:
Readers know we think it's a sin to grill a great steak (like a ribeye, for example), but we are totally on board with grilling vegetables, burgers, hot dogs - and fish. Fish is great for the grill.
We took my father in law out for dinner yesterday to our favorite Italian joint. I had two appetizers for supper (I often like to do that): Carpaccio, and the steamed PEI mussels in Green Harissa.
I have always preferred my marshmallows to catch on fire to produce a somewhat burnt crust. Others like them just browned. 
Ribeye, whether as a roast or cut into steaks, is the tastiest and most succulent cut of any ungulate. I prefer the steaks over the roasts, because I love the contrast between the surface, caramelized char and the almost raw center. Pan broiled, of course. Salivating as I write that... To me, regular prime roast is just an excuse to eat fresh horseradish.
Better than I could have done:
Popularly known as Easter. The word Easter comes from the Teutonic goddess of spring, Eustre.
A Greek Salad seems too healthy to be tasty, but it is.