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.
I am more of a beer or wine guy, but for treats with buddies I am known to go for a whisky. That means Scotch, not bourbon. No bias, though.
I was introduced to Highland Park by Craig McDonald in Scotland. A man who knows his whiskys and lots of other things. If you can put up with male teasing, he's good company on hill hikes in the highlands.
With the kids mainly out of the house, I began a plan in 2017 to catch up with pals alone or as couples at least twice a week. It has been great fun. As a natural introvert, I recommend it as a plan.
I am blessed with interesting, smart, creative, and amusing pals who, like me, always have stories to tell. It's a very good thing for guys to get together, and not just in guy Bible study groups, poker, or with sports. A good reality check, laughs and tears, tragedies and triumphs. Very little politics.
Mrs. BD has been in charge of the social life in the past, but I take care of my own now. Drinks, burger, whatever. Connecting is not just for the gals. I believe that gals need gal time and guys need guy time.
A whiskey makes guy communication more open, because guys tend to be reserved. God made spirits for a reason.
The problem with home-made pizza is that an oven does not have the hot surface or heat of a wood-fired or commercial pizza oven. That's why we usually pre-cook the crust before cooking again with the toppings. 500 degrees or close is oven pizza temperature. Also, pre-heat the darn oven.
Pizza dough is easy to make, or to buy fresh pizza dough balls at your market. My preference is a thin, cracker-like crust with burn marks on the bottom.
Our current favorite topping is rather effete, but don't knock it if you haven't tried it: Olive oil, Goat cheese, arugula or dandelion, sliced fresh figs, and sprinkled with pignoli and then with some ground pepper. Best to wilt the bed of arugula in some oil for a minute first.
I worked late last night, so Mrs. BD and her Dad brought me a take-out Osso Bucco from one of our favorite Italian trattorias where they had had dinner.
I've made it several times, and have eaten it out for dinner several times too. This was the best. Done right, the veal shank meat falls off the bone and can be cut with a fork. The jus has to be thick, flavor-packed, with no darn tomato in it. Porcinis - ok. They added a handful of small apple cubes towards the end of the long cook which added a bit of sweetness to the jus - perfect touch.
It was on a very small bed of papparedelle - my favorite. Just enough to grab some jus. Since it's a northern Italian specialty, it's sometimes served on a bed of polenta or rice. Or just plain.
That's real Italian cuisine. My advice: Have a great one in an excellent restaurant, and then try to copy it at home. No tomato.
A chef friend brought me this canned treat from a trip to Paris. She swears it is delicious, and she is always right. It's a goose confit cassoulet. Cassoulet is peasant food, and confit is for things that would be difficult to eat without the confit treatment.
If you've made a cassoulet yourself you know how much work it is, mainly making the confit. I've done it only twice, making confit of things my friend and I shot: Snow Goose breast, wild boar sausage, wild duck leg, pheasant leg. It is remarkable how the confit process can dissolve all of the tendons in a duck or pheasant leg.
Anyway, if you want to try the canned I discovered that you can get them via Amazon, shipped from France. What can't you get on Amazon?
Here's a homemade cassoulet, correctly finished with breadcrumbs on top. You serve it with baguette. Yes, it's a white bean casserole with sausages and confit meats.
100 classic French recipes. Every chef owns a copy of this. Lots of photos. Try the mussels in cream sauce. The Techniques section at the end is clear, with photos.
Maggie's Farm is a Stilton cheese place. It's our favorite artery-smoother, although there are hundreds of other cheeses we love too. We also believe that great cheeses should be served after the main course - either instead of dessert or before dessert. (I agree with that article that you can and should eat the rind of cheeses - unless coated with wax or stuff.)
Somebody you know needs a Stilton Spoon. Give them a wheel of cheese to go with it - or what good is the spoon?
I see Williams Sonoma has them. They have the proper spoon, and the cheese too. Who needs bread or crackers? You could eat it right off the spoon like ice cream. (Correction - they don't seem to have them anymore.)
Regular readers know I am no fan of pasta but if you stick with the Italian traditions (I am married to a half-Italian), the Vigilia on Christmas Eve is a fast day - meaning tons of seafood. And in southern Italy, a mean without a primi is no meal at all.
I've never refused a well-made Linguine alla Vongole. Delicious. Those European and Mediterranean clams are small, sweet, and just right. Around here in Yankeeland, you just have to find the smallest Littlenecks you can find and if overcooked, they get too chewy.
It's how to do pasta too - cook with the sauce in the pan. Never on top. Usually needs some of the pasta water too.
You can go French with Bouche de Noel, or you can go Brit with Figgy Pudding. Are there any other choices? Oh yeah, Struffoli. I do not like that one even though it is Italian.
Struffoli:
Do not even try to make a Bouche. Order it from the bakery. They will make whatever size you want.
In Yankeeland, it's Apple Pie. Certainly after Thanksgiving, when there are always a few leftover pies, Squash, and Apple. Mrs. BD makes one heck of a good pie crust.
Apple Pie gives you the morning energy to go out in the cold to milk the chickens, feed the cows, and to get to the gym as I did this morning.
To foreigners, a Yankee is an American. To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner. To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner. To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.
- Attributed to E.B. White, but he might have quoted it from elsewhere.
I mean the body of the scallop, not just the adductor muscle which we all love. With clams and oysters, we eat the whole succulent body and toss away the adductor muscles (which are small, anyway).
Scallops have big muscles because they swim around. I've seen them swimming in shallow water at low tide. It's sort of crazy to see a bivalve swimming.
(You know how to rememberAdduction vs Abductor muscles? Abduction means to take away.)
We have Bay Scallops (expensive, small, with sweet and tender muscle) and Sea Scallops (large, chewy, with those big muscles).
We are making scallop/bacon hors d'oevres for Thanksgiving, so scallops are on my mind.
Photo is an opened Bay Scallop. Lots of gills but not a plump body like a clam.
Do you have any favorite scallop recipes? In my view, Bay Scallops only need 45 seconds tossed in butter on a hot skillet. A sauce with Bay Scallops is obscene. Recipes come into view with the big Sea Scallops. Broiled with bacon wrap is great. So is making a ceviche with them. That is dynamite. The trick with all scallops is that it is better to undercook than overcook them.
It has plenty of kale to which I am ideologically opposed, but whatever. I've made it a few times, and it is blandly good. Filling for sure. I tried it twice in Tuscany a couple of weeks ago. In Italy, lunch is typically the big meal and supper is soup or something light, but tourists like something light at lunch so I made a small study of local ribollitas.
We're getting towards Brussel Sprout season. Delicious baby cabbages with a strange appearance in the garden.
A tip or two to make them better: People who grow them in their gardens leave them standing all winter and harvest as wanted. They taste better after frosts or coated with snow. If store-bought, throw them in the freezer for a couple of hours or days.
A secret warm salad family recipe: Steam them (still firm, not mushy), cut in half, toss with pomegranite seeds, pecans, goat cheese, and a maple syrup vinaigrette. Then try to tell me you do not like Brussel Sprouts.
Chicken Soup is a force for good in the world. Without being Jewish (my Mom used Campbell's), I try to make it the Jewish grandma way but with minor adjustments.
Here's what I do about 3 times a year:
Take a half-eaten chicken carcass (so there's plenty of meat left on it), cover it with water in a big pot, and simmer. Meanwhile, cut up a bag of carrots, a few onions, a few parsnips, small bag of celery, some chopped garlic, and toss them in whenever.
Throw in some thyme and bay leaf, a few whole cloves (of clove, not garlic), some chopped parsley, a bunch of peppercorns, and salt. Simmer for a couple of hours..
Do not skim off the fat. Then strain it all through a coarse strainer and put the soup into another pot. Salvage all the carrot, some onion, celery, parsnips - and all the meat you can find in the strainings - into the soup. Salt and pepper to preference, and a little more chopped pasley.
Now for the noodles, because Jewish chicken soup needs some noodles. Some people prefer just a few, some people like lots of noodles. Regardless, the only correct noodles for chicken soup are luchen (Jewish), aka kluski (in Polish). Very firm egg noodles which stay firm and expand minimally. Throw in a handful or two when you warm up the soup for serving.
I agree with most of Bird Dog's review of The Labyrinth. In the comments you'll see I'd take task on the over-40 commentary. A good gym regimen is enough to keep you going and the fact one of our group did the scramble with a new hip says much about will as it does skill or fitness (admittedly, she runs marathons with that new hip, so she's not lacking in fitness). You DO need to be in shape. A good number of us emerged without our jackets, soaked in sweat. Those two fellows waiting at the top of Lemon Squeeze (both in late 20's, early 30's) were laughing in part from our dialogue, but also at the surprise of seeing a group of nine people aged 55+ emerging from that space. If you remember The Phantom Tollbooth, it pays to be Canby, as well. I can be young, I can be strong, I can be tall, I can be small. Be what you can be. It pays off in the scramble.
Hiking and some mountain climbing (my 2 experiences with rappelling were in New Mexico when I was 14), from my Boy Scout days, provided an edge. Mrs. Bulldog has only taken on hiking recently, though she does quite a bit of walking around town. Her 4 experiences of this sort of activity are limited to a climb up Quail Mountain at Joshua Tree with me in 2012, the Labyrinth, and our two previous hikes with Bird Dog and Mrs. Bird Dog.
Best consumed on a Bermuda beach or the veranda of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club after sailing down from Newport.
Bermuda is a delightful place, and a quick trip from the East Coast. My Dad was kind enough to pay for our honeymoon there, and we have been back many times since then to refresh our honeymoon whenever needed. My parents had their honeymoon there too.
We have each done our time in the Caribbean. We don't really care for it much. Decadent, uncivilized. How many hours do you want to sit on a beach like an idiot? Well, renting a bareboat for a week might be ok, visiting de islands, mon.
AKA doughnuts, aka donuts. It seems like almost every culture has some version of sweet or not-sweet fried dough. The problem in the USA is people baking it instead of deep-frying it in fat. To me, that's just sweetened bread.
Because I do not work in law-enforcement, I am not a fan of jelly donuts. The only kind I like are "plain" donuts, not too sweet, deep fried and crusty, with or without a dusting of confectioner's sugar or sprinkled with sugar crystals. If the bag doesn't show grease, they are no good.
Donuts and coffee. Good ones are hard to find these days.
Many Kosher Lower East Side delis have gone out of business, but Katz's is a survivor. There's nothing special about it - basic Jewish home-style and deli food in large portions. All the pastrami, matzoh ball soups, and latkes that gentiles love too.
Besides the place staying in the family, I think one of their secrets has been NOT to change. We've all seen popular little old funky places decide to expand, renovate, and go upscale. And then go bust.
I am more of a beer or wine guy, but for treats with buddies I am known to go for a whisky. That means Scotch, not bourbon. No bias, though.
Like Apple Pie and a bit easier. Much easier than a Tarte Tatin.
"Osso bucco" means marrow bone. 
100 classic French recipes. Every chef owns a copy of this. Lots of photos. Try the mussels in cream sauce. The Techniques section at the end is clear, with photos.
In Yankeeland, it's Apple Pie. Certainly after Thanksgiving, when there are always a few leftover pies, Squash, and Apple. Mrs. BD makes one heck of a good pie crust.
I mean 
Many if not most classic recipes had their origins in humble peasant food. Ribollita is 
We're getting towards Brussel Sprout season. Delicious baby cabbages with a strange appearance in the garden.
Chicken Soup is a force for good in the world. Without being Jewish (my Mom used Campbell's), I try to make it the Jewish grandma way but with minor adjustments.
The real cocktail of Bermuda:
AKA doughnuts, aka donuts. It seems like almost every culture has some version of sweet or not-sweet fried dough. The problem in the USA is people baking it instead of deep-frying it in fat. To me, that's just sweetened bread.
Summertime. You need an ice cream machine. Th