Category Archives: Blog

Building Memories

“You Have Taken Something Beautiful and Rebuilt It For The Future”

That is what my 101-year-old mother said when she saw the rebuild of our home in Westhampton NY. She is kind of amazing. When mom moved into assisted living 4 years ago, we thought about selling her house in Westhampton. The decision to keep the house was driven by our kids and their children. They had so many important memories spending summers in the  Hamptons. The old house had issues. For one, it was old. It was small. It was so small that Susan and I would have to stay at the motel down the street when we had visitors. But then again, what is the key thing about real estate: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Mom enjoying the new house

Location is one consideration, economics is another. Picking an area that is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive in the country to live, is never a good idea. With ravages of Wall Street nearby, there is an abundance of “stupid money” in the hood.  There is also the adage of buy low, sell high that factored into our decision. Picking the peak of the market to buy and build can certainly be called stupid. Then again, I have never claimed to be the brains of the family. With both of my parents being college professors, one might think that brains ran in the family. When it came to me, it has been said that brains walked.

Susan and Paul enjoying an adult beverage on the back porch

After a two-year process of planning, spending, and spending some more, we moved into the new house in mid-August. It is still a small house, but we have a few more bedrooms and bathrooms. The floor plan is a little different. We live on Sea Breeze Avenue and no matter how hot it gets, you could sit under the arbor in the backyard and there was a delightful breeze to cool you off. No matter what my father tried to do with bay windows and fans you could never cool off the main living areas of the house. We worked with an architect, who lives down the street, and when we talked about the dilemma of the old house, he brought up a very simple solution, shift the living areas of the house to face the ocean and the prevailing breeze. That, and central air conditioning, make a world of difference.

The decision to go right or left is usually a political reference. Where we live in the Hamptons, from a food shopping standpoint, going right or left has an enormous economic impact. Going left (west) from our house I can get amazing seafood and local fresh produce at reasonable prices. Go right (east), and it can be crazy. There is a great wholesale/retail seafood place where I get great swordfish for $16/lb. and lobster for $8.99/lb. We went right (to a local market in Sag Harbor and the price for swordfish was $32/lb. and lobster was $24/lb. There is a farm stand 10 miles west of us where I bought 3 tomatoes at $3 per pound and the farmer threw in an additional 2 for free. That is versus the $7 tomato I bought last year few miles east. Living out east, brings new meaning to the saying “go west young man, go west!”

Mom asking for clippings of sage and lavender from her herb garden to take back to her apartment.

 

There are certainly culinary benefits to summers in the Hamptons. We had two wonderful salads for lunch with Mom:

  • Curry Chicken with Peaches

  • Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto

The salads were perfectly complemented with a loaf of olive bread brought by friends from Brooklyn.

Curry Chicken Salad with Peaches

Caprese Salad with Basil Pesto

At the end of the day, life is about building memories. And, taking something beautiful and rebuilding it for the future is not about location or economics, it is all about building memories

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are 

 

Fifty Years In A Flash

My sister Joan and her husband Brian are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. How can that be? We were there when they got married, but it seems like yesterday. They say that time flies when you are having fun, so yes, we must have been having a blast.

One explanation of  the 50th wedding anniversary for people so young, is that Joan and Brian were 12 when they got married. Well maybe I exaggerate a little, but they were only 21. I recently asked my mother, who is 100 years old, how she and my father let them get married so young. She said it wasn’t exactly her choice, but she knew they were in love. Fifty years later, one might say, getting married so early wasn’t such a bad decision.

Susan and I followed Joan and Brian at State University of New York at Plattsburgh. When we got to Plattsburgh, they were the old married couple. Here is a picture of the two young hippies in their garden just outside of Plattsburgh.

Joan & Brian in the early 1970’s

The crops from this garden were the ingredients for the first Supper Club. The fact was, we didn’t have the money for much more. It didn’t matter. Joan and Brian had rented a little house out in the middle of an apple orchard. We had many good times and too many good meals there.

For one of our early Supper Clubs, we hosted a group of our college friends at Joan and Brian’s on a meal centered around bountiful crop of late harvest zucchini. We made a dish that our buddy Ron Iles aptly called: “Seeds Parmesan”. It didn’t matter, like most of the meals at Joan and Brian’s table, it was consumed with relish. It is amazing how a little wine can mask over a slight culinary imperfection.

Fast forward over the next 50 years there have been so many great times.

  • Summers in Westhampton watching our kids grow up together.
  • Holidays between New York, Virginia, New Hampshire and Memphis.
  • Most recently, visits to Bayside Island in the Thousand Islands, where Joan and Brian have restored what was Brian’s Great Grand Parent’s vacation home.

Joan & Brian’s Island in the Thousand Island today

To celebrate the anniversary, Joan and Brian’s children, Katie and Emily, hosted a party at the island. Emily created a wonderful meal that centered around a beef roulade that would be the delight of any Supper Club. Both Joan and Brian are better than good cooks and some would say that apples don’t fall far from the tree.

Emilie’s Culinary Masterpiece for the anniversary party

Fifty years have gone by in a flash. Some things change and some things remain the same. Our definition of culinary excellence has changed from Seeds Parmesan to a Barefoot Contessa quality beef roulade. The cornerstone of love that justified getting married fifty years ago is still a cornerstone today.

To Joan & Brian …congratulations on your 50th Wedding Anniversary

 

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

 

Magical Tricks

In cooking, and entertaining, there are many magical tricks that turn something ordinary into something special. In this blog I have waxed upon more than a few such as:

Ultimate “Secret Recipe” Brownies

Doubling the recipe or reducing the pan size makes thicker “Magical” brownies.

Adding lime zest to any dish or dessert

The zest adds a “Magical” freshness to the flavor.

Welcoming guests with signature drink

Having something “Magical” prepared for friends as they enter a party can

One of the most magical things I have ever seen is NANA’S CHOCOLATE CAKE. The magic started with my wife Susan’s mother. Helen, (Nana to her grandchildren) used to make a chocolate cake that everyone raved about. The grandchildren especially loved this cake. On the surface, there is nothing special about the components of the cake.  It is made with Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix and Chocolate Icing made off of the recipe on the box of Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate. But there is a magical trick.

Helen was a beauty queen at 17 and at 80

Nothing gave Helen more joy than her grandchildren (Todd, Brian, Lindsey & Jennifer)

Back in the day when Helen was making this cake for my children, I used to run a division of Baker’s Chocolate for General Foods. One day I had a group of food scientists and chocolate experts in a room and described Nana’s cake and asked what made it magical? The magic was in the icing. It was the icing that the kids really loved and the difference was in the texture. It is firm, almost like a helmet on the cake. One nerd of a scientist, started going off on the fat system, saying Nana might use a specialty fat that made the icing firm. Then Rudy Meznick, the real chocolate expert, asked: DOES SHE PUT THE CAKE IN THE REFRIGERATOR. That is a magical trick.

The beauty of this trick, and the story, is that it is multi-generational. Susan is now Nana to our grandchildren. There is nothing more magical to them than Nana’s chocolate cake. They love it and ask for it around every birthday or other family event. They don’t care anything about the food science. To them…the cake is pure magic

Susan – Nana to this crew Hadley, Max, Dylan, Declan & Emma

Nana’s Cake is Magical

Just remember to put the cake in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before serving

The grands sharing (or fighting over) the last piece of magic

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.