For the second year in a row, we have enjoyed frying a Turkey on Thanksgiving Day! It is a detour from the traditional roasting spawned from my good friend Erin who lives in Virginia. I spent 1 Thanksgiving with her, and there was no way I was ever going to roast my Thanksgiving Turkey ever again. It is so much tastier and a lot more fun! It also only takes about an hour to cook, instead of the normal 4 to 5 hour roasting, AND you get to keep your oven clear for all the yummy side dishes! The key to frying the turkey is brining it overnight. We do a mixture of citrus, poultry seasoning, brown sugar, and kosher salt. Let sit for 16 hours in a cooler.
We’ve lucked out and have fantastic weather the past two years in a row. I’m not sure what we would do if it had been pouring rain outside. Four gallons of peanut oil heated to 350 degrees later, we have a beautiful golden brown bird. We let him sit for 30 minutes before carving, and then he was ready to enjoy.
There are all kinds of crazy you tube videos and nightmare stories about turkey frying, but we use a pretty solid turkey frying kit (pot + gas hookup). We also rigged up a nice little contraption for getting the Turkey in and out of the hot oil. The contraption is an arms length 2×4, with a clothes hanger type hook attached to the end. Safety first, people!
Its been a while since I did a recipe post. Tonight I tried a new dish out of the latest Rachel Ray magazine. I like her meals because they are quick, easy, the ingredients are familiar, and they always taste quite good! The recipe, called Shrimp and Spaghetti in Coconut Broth, was a fun noodle dish, and an easy way to get some Asian flavors, which are normally intimidating to me, mixed into a meal at home. The recipe in the link above is for three meals, so that you can eat one now and freeze two for later. I’m not looking to cook for an army, so I cut the recipe down on my own, making enough for two hearty main serving dishes. Here are the proportions I came up with:
- 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
- 1/2 of the coconut milk can (used above) filled with chicken broth
- 1/2 tablespoon Asian Fish Sauce (i found this in the seafood section at Stop and Shop, McCormick Brand)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger (I only had crystallized in my cupboard, which worked fine)
- 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
- 1/2 pound of Shrimp
- 3/4 a box of spaghetti
- 1 bunch of cilantro
Finally got a "best of PR" album up on picassa web albums. While I was doing this I realized picassa web albums offers a Mac plugin for iPhoto … good to know!
Quick notes on the villa …. it was called Martineau Belle Playa Villa. I would definitely go back to this specific house, and would recommend it to others. It would be great for families with children too! The location was perfect on the island, close to the airport and the ferry terminal. Private beach, gorgeous pool, full outdoor grilling area and bar, there was really no reason to leave the house! We were able to eat all of our meals there, so that was a good way to save a little $$. It was fun going to local stores and fish markets to get things to make for dinner. The local fish market was actually this guy Roberto’s house, in a small part of the barrio Martineau. We were tipped off to this fisherman named Roberto who sold his daily catch right from his house every day! We got there and he had a nice little shop set up out back. Two freezers – One for fish and the other for octopus, conch, shrimp, and lobsters! The fish freezer had probably 30 different types of fish in it … all kinds of crazy looking tropicals! We were able to get 3 huge Red Snappers for $20!! You can not beat that deal! Andy, our cook for the week did a superb job of stuffing them will all kinds of spices and cooking them up on the grill! Paired with my nana’s rice and bean recipe it was an extravagant meal that we all enjoyed!!
We booked through a company called villascaribe.com, which I was happy with. You first go through a booking agent, and then are transfered to the concierge staff who handles the details of your arrival and plans for the week. The only problem I had was there seemed to be a disconnect between the villascarbe concierge and the on-island concierge that the villa’s owner has hired to provide services to the house. The problem started with minor things, like not knowing how we were going to get from the ferry terminal to the villa. One party says there will be a taxi waiting, but the other side says they don’t know about any of these arrangements. That part was worked out after a couple of weeks of emails … fine. The real problem I had with the on-island concierge is you felt like they were really trying to scam you. They would tell us one price for a tour, and then we’d get there and ask them how much they were charging and it was less than what we were quoted. It was a little shady. The main concierge lady just had a really awful attitude, but her assistant Kim was wonderful! Just something to consider for next time I suppose.
Another great thing about the villa is it came with full maid service every day. Our lady Wanda, spent at least 3 to 4 hours at the house every day scrubbing down everything! You would think we were pigs, but we really weren’t that bad. She just did a really thorough job. She spent a lot of time on the grill outside, and washed all the windows and floors every single day! Like I said before, with such a gorgeous place to live for a week, it was tough to complain, and I would love to go back!
My soon to be ex-Manager is leaving IBM and we had a big going away dinner for him last night. It was a lot of fun, and he surprised each of us with a very thoughtful gift. He picked out a book that he thought we would like, and it was funny to see what everyone got. He even wrote a nice little message to each of us inside the front cover which just made it very special. I am American, Golf – Anika’s Way, Darwinisms, Why Women Should Rule the World, where just a few of the others. For me he picked, The Ten Best of Everything: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers, which pretty much hits the nail on the head! It’s a very cool book, with all kinds of great tips for places to see, stay, and enjoy all around the globe! As I was perusing the pages last night, I noticed Venice, Italy, came up a few times, and it got me remembering what an amazing city it is! One of my favorite memories in Venice was when we stopped by Harry’s Bar around noon on a Monday. It was a comfortably warm, but not too hot, bright and sunny day! It was so bright and sunny, that I remember the water ways sparkling, almost blinding, as the rays of sun danced around the Grand Canal. Harry’s Bar is right at the mouth of the Grand Canal, and has a famous reputation for its celebrity visitors. I was hoping to run into Ben Affleck again, but to no avail. In all the books I read about Venice, this was a MUST stop on the list of places to eat. What we didn’t realize was there are two very distinct parts to this fine establishment: a bar, and an upstairs restaurant. We should have opted to stay at the bar, but I wasn’t sure if they would serve their famous Croques Monsieur (toasted ham and cheese sandwich) down there. Come to find out they do, so I recommend staying down at the bar/lounge for other travelers. The upstairs is very formal, with impeccable service and waiters in white suits with black bow ties. It felt kind of funny only ordering a Bellini and cheese sandwich, but that is what we did, and I have to say it was still very indulgent. The peach Bellini was invented at Harry’s Bar and was delicious! I think the waiter could tell we didn’t realize the upstairs was typical for a heartier lunch, so after our Bellini’s and sandwich, he brought over a slice of the richest chocolate fudge cake I have ever tasted. Magnificent … and compliments of the house, which was very sweet! Here is a picture I dug up that Kevin took of me across our table. You can see my peach Bellini and how bright the sun was coming through the window that day!
A bi-annual tradition … we hit up Restaurant Week with our buddies Beth and Matt. We try a different restaurant every time, so this year when Beth said, where do you want to go … I said "somewhere expensive". As a veteran Restaurant Weeker, I’ve learned that you get the most for your money when the meals are pre-fixed prices all over town. So $33 at Top of the Hub is quite the deal compared to some hole in the wall in the North End. Don’t get me wrong … I love the hole’s in the walls … but if you are going to pay the same price all over town, you might as well get the biggest bang for your buck! We first tried to get into Sage, but that place books up SO fast! We settled for Umbria, in the financial district, and it was not a disappointment. As soon as we walked in, we got a "buenosera" greeting from one of the waiters …. ahh .. .brings me right back to Italy! I love it! Everyone enjoyed their meal, and I started with this eggplant and goat cheese concoction … delish!!! For my main course I stuck to the house cheese ravioli in a marinara and pesto sauce. For desert there was Tiramisu. Everything was great, and the presentation was spectacular. Each course was plated like a little piece of edible art … YUM! I would love to go back and try their gnocchi with wild boar ragu! The wild boar was very common in Tuscany and such a treat! They had stuffed dead wild boars at all the shops in Tuscany, as decorations … it was strange, but you came to appreciate their love for wild boar! The animal is about the size of a pig, but has the red meat of a cow … hence me and Kevin’s declaration that they are "mini cow pigs"! Gnocchi with mini cow pig ragu … sounds fabulous, doesn’t it?!
Since the new condos were built over by Wellington Circle, all kinds of new businesses have been popping up. Just a hop in the car, and quick 5 minute drive, brings me to the burbs, where they have a Starbucks, Pizzeria Regina, Qudoba, and many other great restruants/stores. The surprise little gem in all this new construction is Yoki a Japanese Restruant and Sushi House. It is SO good! Amber and I dined there tonight. Their warm house Saki is just delicious!! I feel like I have written about this before, but I can’t remember for sure. I guess it warrants a potential double mention. They have a very reasonable and extensive lunch menu, and dinner has some fantastic maki roll options …. don’t forget to wash it down with the warm house Saki!!!! My friend Constance, who studied abroad in Japan, and is fluent in Japanese, even likes the place … so that is telling you something!
Sushi is my favorite food, ever since I lost my sense of smell, and anything cooked tasted like grease to me. I have since regained my 5th sense, but my love for sushi has not wained. Amber treated me to Uni for my birthday last year, and that is a very special place. Not your typical sushi bar … each plate that appears before you is its very own work of art. Edible work of art. And you feel like you are paying for that very unique work of art, because the price tag matches its greatness. The problem with that is, you eat it, and you’ve just digested a Monet or a Miro. Yoki is a satisfying alternative for very exceptional and traditional sushi. With easy parking in Station Landing, Medford is the new Tokyo! Maybe that’s taking it a step too far….
While in Italy, we got into the routine of having a cappuccino and a croissant to start our morning. When in Rome, right?! Our last morning in Venice we really indulged and split a warm chocolate croissant. The sharing of a single croissant, soon turned into ordering a second one, because they were so good, and I was hording the first one!! Not only were they light, flaky, and buttery … the warm, gooey, chocolate inside the perfect pastry shell was delicious. We have not been able to find any place around us at home that is even close to the absolute scrumptiousness of the warm chocolate croissants we had there in Venice. What a find I had, when I received William Sonoma’s holiday catalog filled with gourmet food from cover to cover. You can order a box of 15 chocolate croissants that are shipped to you frozen, then you leave them out to rise for 9 hours, bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and BAM … Venetian Chocolate Croissants reincarnate!
Pastry chef Jean-Yves Charon makes our croissants in the traditional French style, using butter and ultrathin layers of yeast dough. The chocolate croissants have a filling of premium Callebaut chocolate. Serve them warm from your oven, and enjoy their flaky texture, buttery flavor and irresistible aroma.
Nine hours to let the croissant rise may sound intimidating, but it is such a breeze when you take them out just before bed the night before. Then they are ready to cook for breakfast the next morning. We just finished the last three croissants this morning … what a delicious way to start the new year!
One of our favorite Christmas gifts was a 38 bottle, dual controlled, wine fridge. I had ordered some special wines from Greece, and we had about a handful of nice bottles we got as gifts for the Holiday Cocktail Party, so over the past few days, we have started to fill the fridge. As we were trying to find the value of some of our bottles, we came across this really neat little website call Snooth. It is attractive, well developed, and very "web 2.0" … the content in the site isn’t too shabby either! 
Actually, it was extremely helpful in finding the values of some of our wines, and we even signed up an account and used the feature, where you can add the wines to your virtual cellar. Kind of an online wine dossier. Along with the ability to give ratings on bottles, Snooth will also send you wine recommendations … the more wines you rate, the more accurate your recommendations will become.
Back to the architecture of the site. It feels like Ruby on Rails, but I’m not sure what it was developed in … maybe a mix of technologies. The fact that they are looking for a PHP developer does give something away. The look and feel is very slick. One neat feature is the ability to bump up and down the font size of the page. Also, when saving wines to your profile, instead of a clunky change of screen, it simply "blinks" … the screen darkens while it is saving, and when it is finished, it goes back to normal. Very subtle and sleek.
Last night we tried another new restaurant in town, with a couple of friends. One that I have been trying to get into for months, but they have always been booked up at the prime times. Toscano is in Beacon Hill, and just reopened in the fall. The north end has some amazing Italian places, but I have been wanting to try Toscano, because I’ve heard it has more authentic Tuscan style cuisine. Let’s just say you won’t find Chicken Parmesan on this menu, just like you wouldn’t find it on any menu in Italy! The atmosphere was cozy and rustic … but with an upscale feel. Our waiter was young, casual, and fun pronouncing all the Italian titles with a spirited Italian accent, although I’m not sure he actually could speak Italian. I started off with some yummy Prosecco, while Kevin opted for a glass of Morretti … one of our favorite beers on our trip. For an appetizer we shared the steamed mussels, which were delightful, and then I had the gnocchi … which is always a good choice in my book, covered in a lovely white cream sauce. We also shared a nice Sangiovese wine, which I prefer over the typical Italian Chianti Classicos. Their wine list was impressive by the way, as was the entire menu, and they also had about 7 different specials that night. For desert we split the cheese tray, with honey and truffles, but after a bad experience I had with truffles in Cortona, I wasn’t able to really enjoy the cheeses. Luckily we also ordered a blueberry tart which was a nice departure from the usual tiramisu. We capped the night off with a delicious glass of port, which I think put me over the edge just a tad, because I stumbled up the stairs and passed out when we got home! The prices were very reasonable as well … all the pastas were under $20, and entrees under $30.
All in all, I would describe Toscano as extremely authentic, and more specialized Tuscan Italian, than what you might find in the North End … although chicken parmesan is still my all time favorite meal …. EVER!!
Yep, I guess I do! I have been busy with some other projects the last 6 months, and have been neglecting the blog. This neglect was very specifically directed, so I am okay with that. I am reorganizing some things though … so the blog is back to being a priority. Some things I have been up to these past months include …
- Turkey Frying
- Writing a Rails App
- Traveling to Italy & Greece
- Trying some new restaurants around town: L’Espalier, Petit Robert Bistro, Cottonwood Cafe
- Planning a Holiday Cocktail party
- Researching the ancestry of our home at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds
Some things I have learned in the last 6 months …
- Although it wasn’t needed, it doesn’t hurt to have a fire extinguisher handy when frying a turkey. Video available upon request.
- I hate Internet Explorer and how it renders (or doesn’t render) CSS properly.
- Greek wine is fantastic, but difficult to find at home! Boutari’s Vinsanto 2003 …. amazing!!!
- L’espalier is for special occasions, Petit Robert Bistro is reasonable and great for any night, Cottonwood Cafe should never be visited unless you are in to overpriced crappy tex mex food.
- Never use a giant candy cane as a stirer in a large picture of peppermint martini’s.
- The Charlestown Preservation Society offers these really cool bronze historical markers for houses that are at least 100 years old in town. You have to do a little research and send in an application to obtain a marker for your house, and it took about 5 months for our marker to actually come in! We just got it last week though, and it looks great! At the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, I was able to trace our house back to it’s original deed and owner which was Weston and Mason Painters. These two guys seemed to build a lot of the houses in this neighborhood, and our specific property dates back to 1858. Now we are just waiting for the CPS to come around and mount the marker for us … and I would not be surprised if that takes another 5 months!
