HAM LOAF: A blast from the past

I've only eaten this dish once in the mid-80's when I made it.  The recipe came from my mother's Lubbock Women's Club cookbook.

I was living in Long Beach (Bixby Knolls) with my partner.  I was a flight attendant for Western Airlines (later Delta).  Bixby Knolls, at the time, was this idllic place surrounded by LA urban blight. This was in the mid-80's.  The names Bixby Knolls and Ham Lear seem to come from a similar time place, by the sound of it.

We cooked this meal in memory of one of my most beloved friends, Alan Lane Hayworth.  He died in the early days of AIDS.  Not a day goes by that I haven't thought of him.  He was taken too early.  I so wish he were here in today's world to share the crazy world we're currently living in.  Alan lived in Texas, where I'm from.  We would talk long distance (a concept that current generations have no clue) periodically to get caught up.  On one of our calls he would asked when I picked up the phone: "What are you doing?"  I answered "I'm making a ham loaf."  For some reason, Alan started howling with laughter and teasing me about "ham loaf."  I think he found my response and my life bit a bit too suburban housewife.

I haven't made this recipe since.  My mother and I made this a couple of nights ago.  We did so with smiles on our faces, thinking of my friend, Alan.  Gone, but never forgotten.

I think Ham Loaf is an old time thing.  But it is heavenly.  It puts a meat loaf to shame.  The menu is below.  I think that to make this a more modern recipe I'd decrease the sugar because it is too sweet.   The sugar is used to make a sauce.  At this point in my life, I am not a big fan of sweet entrees.  

I'll make this dish again.  And everyday, I'll remember my beloved friend Alan.

HAM LOAF
3/4 lbs. ground ham
3/4 lbs. ground pork
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 t. Pepper
1/2 C. Bread Crumbs
1/2 C. Milk
1 Egg
1 C. Brown Sugar (see comments above)
1/4 C. Vinegar
1/4 C. Water

Mix first 7 ingredients together and press in loaf pan.  Mix brown sugar, vinegar, water together and pour over meat.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven 1 hr. 10 min.

Pour off liquid & thicken slightly with flour.

Meat can be made into patties.

OPTIONAL: Just before serving put sauce and pineapple (optional--I can't stand it so omitted it) on loaf/patty and broil briefly.

Mexican FOOD Memories

I'm in my mid-fifties.   I know there are people that are older and compared to them I am relatively old/young.

I have had a good life.  Bad times, sure.  But I have experience the world in ways that a stupid "faggot" from Texas would have conceived.  I graduated high school in 1980.  I did a whole lots of drugs, most of which I had no business doing at my young age.

I moved to California in 1985 when I was employed as a flight attendant.  I was wide-eye and bushy-tailed.  And dumb.

My life really began, in part, when I left Texas.  I moved to LA.  In the intervening years I've been a Southern California nomad, but for the most part I've lived in the Palm Desert (Palm Springs area).  In all of those years I was lucky to have experienced so many amazing and wonderful things in the world.

I lived a life without restraint.  The more money I made the more I spent.   I've owned and sold homes.  I've worked very hard in the healthcare industry but left it in 2007 to pursue my "dream".   There must be one person on the world that started that concept.  I hope they suffer great pain.

Since 2009 fall of the economy every single thing that I was taught in school or programmed afterwards as an adult was a sham.  The world is a lie.

I know a few things though.  Here's the upside to this blog.  I have been exposed to:

• Good food throughout life.  I love food
• I've traveled and enjoyed some of the finest of hotels around the world
• I have always loved music and I have in past years been in the fortunate position to learn and love all types of music, both in concert, on the stage, and recordings
• I've met many interesting, sometimes strange, people.   Some were celebrities or heroes.  Some were the opposite.

I have a very short bucket list left.  My first, is much like everything in life, no longer exists.   My second still exists but it would require me to go back to Lubbock TX to eat:

• Cheese enchiladas with rice and beans and sopapillas with butter honey.  As I grew up we went Red River/Taos frequently to snow ski.  There was the BEST mexican food restaurant on the square of downtown Taos.  This would have been in the 1970's.  Does anyone know what it was named?  I know that it is no longer there now. I found a restaurant here in the Palm Springs area that served this dish exactly the way I remembered it.  It was open for many years (El Gallitto) but it closed last year.    All things good must seemingly come to an end.  Why can't my life.

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Anything from Taco Villa in West Texas.  I would be so afraid that if I went there, the food would have changed.  That's what happens when you get old.

Do you have good memories of moments that you'd like to live once again?  Can you give me update about both of these favorites. I have learned over the many years, that nothing stays the it once was..either it doesn't taste the way it did.. or it doesn't exist.

BRIE/CAMEMBERT cheese--My new food obsession

I have always loved Brie or Camembert (they are the same but have a very slight variance in taste).  Many years ago, in the mid to late 1980's I was a stewardess.  We served brie or camembert in first class.  I became addicted to it then.  When the service was over (this was usually on long hauls) we'd leave the cart out and my fellow crew members would feast.  It was I think my first exposure to this exquisite culinary experience.

Recently we've been having either cheese before dinner.  I am obsessed.  I love the cheese when it is runny and melty.  I also love the rind.  We put ours in a microwave briefly to soften and melt it.  I don't know if this is de rigueur or not to heat the cheese.  I don't care.

I love it anyone.  Do you have a preference for brie or camembert?  Or do you just not like it.

I have always loved it but I am now obsessed with it.  I will probably burn myself out on it, which is my way.

I know that no one reads this.  So I'll use it as a diary to record my inner thoughts.  I would love to have for my last meal:

brie cheese
foie gras
spaghetti carbonara
jambalaya
large bloody rare steak
cheese cake
fried okra
fried green tomato
multiple martinis

I'm sure I've forgotten something.    I would then like to lay down and die.  I read an article about a convicted, condemned to a death sentence who will be murdered by our our government.  The articles reported this man's menu for his last meal.

I admire him.  I don't want to be here.  I cannot stand this country or planet.  I am condemned, but not in a court of law.  I will never have the comfort of knowing when I am going.   Hopefully it will be soon.  I believe in euthanasia.  I think it should be legal in our country.   Oh the meal I would enjoy and the bliss of being out of this nasty, horrid world we are forced to live in.

Life is not a fairy tail.  All your dreams may not come true.  Happiness is luxury that a small segment of this world can pursue.  The majority, the billions, live in poverty.  They have no water.  They do not have food.  In our country alone, many people cannot eat or do not have a home.  Many of the worlds countries populations are being annihilated by their governments or external forces.  I have learned in my 54 years that everything I was taught in Texas/US/Christian faith is nothing but bullshit.  It is all false.

Beef with Port and Butter Pan Juices

Ingredients

3 C      Beef stock

1 C      Tawny Port
1          3 ½-4 lb boneless first-cut sirloin beef roast or fillet,    
            tied (room temp)

2 T      Minced Shallots

2 T      Tawny Port

2 T      Red Wine vinegar

8 T      Unsalted butter (1 stick)
          Salt
          Pepper

Combine stock and 1 C port in 3-quart saucepan and boil until reduced to ¾ C (about 1 hr.).  Set mixture aside.

Preheat oven to 450.  Place roast on rack over shallow roasting pan.   Set in oven and immediately reduce temp to 375.  Roast until thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat registers 125 for rare, about 1 ½ hours.   Set meat aside on carving board.   ****

Drain off all but 1 T fat from roasting pan.  Add shallot, remaining Port and vinegar and bring to a boil over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits.   Let boil about 1 minute.   Transfer sauce to 9-10 in. skillet.  Add reserved stock and bring to a boil over medium heat.   Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.   Whisk in 1T butter at a time, making sure each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Add salt and pepper.   Taste and adjust seasoning.  Pour into sauceboat and keep warm.

Serves 8.

Port and Butter Pan Sauce

****Sliced Chateaubriand

Anthony Bourdain's PARTS UNKOWN starts new season

In 'Parts Unknown,' Anthony Bourdain is not a man on a mission

One of my favorite show on television is the erudite, evocative, mouth-watering, multi-dimensional Emmy-award winning CNN series, Parts Unknown, hosted by Anthony Bourdain.  Tonight, the series begins it's second season of focusing on Shanghai, a place that I long to visit because of the staggering amount of very tall skyscrapers.

This show is about food, but it transform each week to an amazing educational and informative sociology and anthropological documentary on cultures throughout the world.

Watch CNN trailer here for the Shanghai trailer:    click here.

It's difficult to watch the show because makes my mouth water.  And it makes me fill smarter for having watched it.  I am so amazed at the ability of a show which is essentially for "foodies" that is so talented it transcends to a remarkable social commentary and travelogue.

More, Mr. Bourdain!!!!

Chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain arrives at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California September 15, 2013.

CREDIT: REUTERS/JONATHAN ALCORN

Shanghai and Dubai are really becoming the most interesting cities in the world, architecturally and in other ways.   See more of my previous blog entries on Shanghai and Dubai by clicking here.

BEST cookies in the world: American Airlines' Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

http://boardingarea.com/onemileatatime/2011/04/29/review-american-airlines-first-class-from-tampa-to-chicago-to-new-york/

I just returned from a two week sojourn around the country to visit friends and family (Indianapolis, Chicago, Asheville/Hendersonville NC, Briston/Salem WV, Washington DC).   I live in Palm Desert (Palm Springs area of California) and I upgraded to first class for the outbound and return flights from Palm Springs (PSP-DFW, DFW-IND, IAD-DFW, DFW-PSP).  For most of the segments of my trip I flew my preferred domestic airline, American Airlines. *

American has a very nice first class service for a two and half hour flight.  The hot nuts are amazing.  The entrees are creative and very good.   They used to serve freshly baked chocolate chip cookies but now they offer a choice.  On two of my flights they offered a hot, freshly baked oatmeal, cranberry cookie that is truly the best cookie I've ever eaten.  It tastes a bit like a pop tart (which is a fond memory of my youth).  I was moaning and raving over the cookies and twice the flight attendants gave me an extra.

These cookies are heaven.  I am going to contact American Airline to see if I can get the recipe.  If I can I will post it here.  Until then, does anyone out there already have it?

Kudos to the American first class flight attendants that worked my flights.  With the exception of the last flight from DFW to PSP, every one of them were impeccable professionals who clearly took a great deal of personal pride in providing excellent customer and first class service.  I think they were all flight more senior flight attendants.  The last one was obviously new.  She could use some retraining on the first service protocols.

I'm an ex-Stewardess (30 years ago I flew for Western Airlines and then Delta, upon the purchase and merger of the two airlines by Delta).  I truly appreciate the demands and nuances of the job.  I was most appreciative of the excellent service, topped off with those phenomenal cookies (and the aroma as they were baking in the ovens).

*For one short leg, from Chicago Midway to Greenville SC I flew "Southworst" Airlines (as I call it).  It was wretched in every way.  I haven't flown Southwest in years and unfortunately it hasn't improved a bit.  You see the worst of human behavior on this airline.  I think they advocate the decline and fall of the United States (along with Wal-Mart).

Do you know how to order your STEAK?

A great Huntington Post article today about how to order a steak to be cooked the way you prefer.  I like 'em "blue".    How 'bout you?

Over the decades, I've ordered steak "rare" and it is usually deliver anywhere from "medium rare" to "medium well."   Which is infuriating if your paying $50 for a slab of beef.    I learned about the term "blue" and have found satisfaction with my steak orders since.  Maybe this chart will help you know how to ensure you get your beef cooked to you preference.

I find that the cheaper the steakhouse/restaurant, the less willing or the less understanding they have about these nuances.  I LOVE STEAK!

Check out the Huntington Post article at:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/steak-cooked-photo_n_4240121.html

BEST new show on TV: Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown on CNN

I always thought that restaurateur, author, chef, Anthony Bourdain, was a bit of a prick, although I like that sometimes.   Especially his very personal attack on Food Network's chef Paula Deen (didn't disagree with his issue about her diabetes, but the rather nasty way he treated her.

I was totally shocked when I watched one of the first shows of his new show, Parts Unknown, on CNN and was completely enthralled.   The first episode that I saw was the Korea Town in LA.   I became addicted immediately.  I've watch every episode since.

Bourdain, a dude who captures my heart with his profanity

First of all, the dude has a sailor vocabulary that he shares unabashedly on the show.   He said 'fuck' several times.  He said 'shit'.   He said 'god damned'.   I relish others who swear the way I do.  I fell in love with the show instantly with the first 'fuck' that was uttered.

Myanamar episode

But more importantly, Parts Unknown, is a very intelligent sociological, journalistic show in addition to being a "foodie"-oriented show.   The essence of the show is about discovering food in all sorts of exotic far flung places.  But like I said, the show transcends a food discovery show.

Last week's show from Libya, was perhaps some of the most impactful reporting I've seen since Gaddafi's death.  And yet, it ultimately made my mouth water.

Libya episode

One example, a breakfast item, which is sort of a flattened "donut" fried with an egg or to in it.  Another segment at a seafood shop made Seattle's Fisherman's Wharf's vendor offerings pale in comparison.

Dish from the Los Angeles Korea Town episode

Since the first LA Korea Town episode I've watched with more and more obsessiveness shows profiling:  Colombia, Canada (Quebec), Morocco (Tangier), Libya.   In fact, I've viewed each episode multiple times.

A Tangine from the Morocco episode

Canada (Quebec episode)

Libya episode

I'm bored with television for the most part.  I've lost any interest in the faux reality shows (Housewives, etc).   But this show is as real as it gets.   And Bourdain, who often looks haggard in a dashing way, is so very erudite, humorous, and ballsy, that you must check out this show.

After only a half a dozen episodes CNN has renewed the series for a second season.  It seems that I'm not the only viewer impressed with Parts Unknown.

Bordain in the Morocco episode

The show is on at 9pm Eastern on Sunday.   Please go to the website to learn more (click here).  But more importantly, give yourself a gift, and became a viewer of this show.  You'll become a more educated foodie, but more importantly, you'll be eminently aware of the diverse world in which we live.

Food from the LA Korea Town episode

OMG.......where the pho-ck has PHO been all my life.

A friend just recently introduced me to the Vietnamese soup, named 
pho (phở pronounced [fəː˧˩˧] (  listen)).

It is the most heavenly dish ever.

I think it is the broth.  Or, maybe it's the rice noodles.....or maybe it's the beef tendons.  No, maybe it's the garnishes.  All of these things together create the most amazing culinary experience.

Pho is served in a bowl with a specific cut of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with slim cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations feature tendon, tripe, or meatballs in southern Vietnam. Chicken pho is made using the same spices as beef, but the broth is made using only chicken bones and meat, as well as some internal organs of the chicken, such as the heart, the undeveloped eggs and the gizzard.

Broth

The broth for beef pho is generally made by simmering beef bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, charred ginger and spices. For a more intense flavor, the bones may still have beef on them. Chicken bones also work and produce a similar broth. Seasonings can include Saigon cinnamon or other kinds of cinnamon as alternatives (may use stick or powder), star anise, roasted ginger, roasted onion, black cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, and clove. The broth takes several hours to make.[14][15] For chicken pho, only the meat and bones of the chicken are used in place of beef and beef bone. The remaining spices remain the same, but the charred ginger can be omitted, since its function in beef pho is to get rid of the "cow's smell".

The spices, often wrapped in cheesecloth or soaking bag to prevent them from floating all over the pot, usually contain: clove, star anise, coriander seed, fennel, cinnamon, black cardamom, ginger and onion.

Careful cooks often roast ginger and onion over an open fire for about a minute before adding them to the stock, to bring out their full flavor. They also skim off all the impurities that float to the top while cooking; this is the key to a clear broth. Salt, or preferably nước mắm (fish sauce) is added toward the end.

Garnishes

Typical garnishes for phở Sài Gòn, clockwise from top left are: onions, chili peppers, culantro, lime, bean sprouts, and Thai basil.

Vietnamese dishes are meals typically served with lots of greens, herbs, vegetables, and various other accompaniments, such as dipping sauces, hot and spicy pastes, and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice; it may also be served with hoisin sauce. The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, Thai basil (not to be confused with sweet basil), fresh Thai chili peppers, lemon or lime wedges, bean sprouts and coriander or culantro. Fish sauce, hoisin sauce and chili sauce may be added to taste as accompaniments.

Several ingredients not generally served with pho may be ordered by request. Extra-fatty broth (nước béo) can be ordered and comes with scallions to sweeten it. A popular side dish ordered upon request is hành dấm, or vinegared white onions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho

I have to thank my friend Zack for introducing me to this culinary experience. Where the phock have you been my entire life, Pho?

Chick-fil-A...an INTERESTING commentary from lesbian chef at CNN.com

This was a very interesting column about the recent announcement by Chick-fil-A that they no longer are financially donating to the right wing-organization that is anti gays and lesbian.

First, she is from the South and grew up with this fast food chain. We had one in Lubbock-awful-Texas where I was cursed to be born. I ate at occasionally as a kid and it was good. But I never thought of it as not as good as Whataburger, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Villa or the quasi-fast places like Chinese Kitchen (is it still there?) or a couple of barbeque haunts. Certainly, in my mind, Chick-fil-A never came near to the premier fast food experience of my life: In-N-Out, once I moved to California in 1985.

Second, the writer, Virginia Willis, considers Chick-fil-A to be a cut above the typical fast food chain fare. Willis by the way has a distinguished pedigree having trained at L'Academie de Cuisine and Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne. For fellow "foodies" who worship the fine art of eating, she poses a very interesting dilemma. The problem is that her passion for the food at the former (apparently) gay-hating Chick-fil-A makes her want to return as a customer. Reading her column also made me want to try it again after several decades. But I feel conflicted just as does this writer and slightly different, yet, for the same reasons.

Read here Ms. Willis' excellent essay at Eatocracy on CNN: Click-fil-a Controversy Leaves a Bitter Taste for Some Longtime Fans

If you are pro gay, what do you think about this column and the dilemma? Should Chick-fil-A be forgiven? Are they really sincere? If you're a supporter of gay rights and a lover of Chick-fil-A's food, should you be forgiven if you satiate your lust for the food at the food chain since they have offered a quasi mea culpa?

I am a devotee of the great show on tv "What Would You Do?".

What would you do?

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

Today is National Peanut Butter Day in the US. Peanut Butter is one of my favorite things in the world. There are numerous "healthy" peanut butter recipes.

Check out this article: National Peanut Butter Day

After reading the first article read The Huntington Post's article today about why peanut butter is healthy (yea)!

Happy Peanut Butter Day! Click below if you like peanut butter!

The Strand and Magnolia Bakery in NYC....my two favorite places on the planet

I made a quick trip into "The City" on Monday from Long Island to visit my two favorite places: The Strand Bookstore and Magnolia Bakery both in the Village.

It was worth every too short, New York minute. It was drizzling and a perfect day.

The Strand sells new and used books and is the ultimate bookstore for me. In my previous blog entry, I shared the Top 10 bookstores in the world according to a writer for London's Guardian newspaper. The Strand was conspicuously absent! The Strand is simply heaven. I wish I could work there.

Magnolia Bakery, for those of you who are unfamiliar, came to fame in Sex and the City television series. They are famous for their incomparable cupcakes (I prefer the vanilla...with that butter cream frosting). But I also tried this time the red velvet cupcakes which were also delicious. My friends with whom I was staying in Long Island, Shelly and Patti, told me that the bakery has something that is even more fabulous than cupcakes these days and which happens to be one of my most favorite desserts: Banana Pudding. And they were right. Banana Pudding is either really lousy or really spectacular, IMHO.

Magnolia's Banana Pudding is simply one of the most heavenly, spectacular culinary experiences you'll have in your lifetime. I moaned and sighed and sobbed through my two experiences thusfar. Last portion will be served tonight. I'm already weeping at the thought. (I even brought home Banana Pudding and cupcakes to share with The Bug.)

After the two visits and the walk in the drizzle to and fro I took the LIRR back to Glen Cove. What a perfect day!

Magnolia Bakery (this is the original downtown location but they have two other locations)
401 Bleecker Street
(212) 462-2572
www.magnoliabakery.com

Strand Book Store
828 Broadway
(212) 473-1452
www.strandbooks.com
Get directions

JULIE & JULIA -- it was one of my favorite books and now is one of my favorite movies

The Bug lady and I went to see JULIE & JULIA a couple of weeks ago. Another perfect example of a perfect book and a perfect movie. The book was one of my top 3 favorite books in 2007. I absolutely relished its humor (Also the fact that the heroine, Julie, says the word "fuck" a lot. I know that some might blanch at this word but it is one of my favorite words).

I was very eager to see the movie particularly of the goddess, la Streep! And the movie was just AS GOOD as the book I think because of the two actresses.

There were slight differences......I don't think that "Julie" in the movie was nearly as funny as in the book. I've even seen a few reviews that called her character "whiny". But I think Amy Adams is brilliant in the film. And the other GREAT thing about the movie are the two "J's" spouses. The actor who plays Julie's husband is a total hottie (Chris Messina). And Julia's husband, played by Stanley Tucci, is equally as appealing.

The film is just a wonderful confection and most notably Streep's version of Julia Child. This actress just never does anything but brilliant and this role illustrates this. She captures the essence of Julia Child without become a caricature, a very difficult mission because Julia Child was really WAS a caricature in real life.

I'm going to go see this movie again this weekend. It is, like Cheri (see my previous post about the movie Cheri starring another godesss Michelle Pfeiffer), just so nuanced and such a work of art that multiple viewings is essential.

But I'd suggest reading the book first. It will make the film a little more interesting, I think. The book has a lot of biographical material about Julie Childs but I think they incorporate much more in the movie.

Go see this film! and READ this book. You can order it at my website: www.jmvintage.com.

Here's the movie's trailer (see how totally cute and adorable Chris Messina is!)

My ongoing Quest for the perfect Carbonara--THE PERFECT MEAL

Spaghetti alla Carbonara: How to make a real CARBONARA

As I mentioned in a previous blog (http://markgsmusings.blogspot.com/2009/06/carbonara-sauce-my-favorite-italian.html), I love Carbonara Sauce. I've spent years searching for the perfect recipe. My favorite carbonara meal was at a restaurant in Rome. The reason I loved it so much was because it was prepared the way I prefer--NO cream. It was just eggs, pancetta, cheese, pepper. I found this video of an Italian chef making "real" carbonara and I think this may be the recipe I've been seeking for years. REAL, perfect, carbonara. Unfortunately you can't embed the video but have I put a hyperlink so that you can visit youtube and watch:

Click here to visit youtube to watch the video

Here's the recipe from the video, but you should really watch the video to see his technique. Particularly the frequent use water to "amalgamate"

http://www.italianfoodnet.com - ITALIAN CARBONARA, the real one!!!

Ingredients for 4 persons
360 gr. (12.69 oz.) Spaghetti
60 gr. (2.11 oz.) Guanciale (Pork cheek) if you don't find it use bacon
80 gr. (2.82 oz.) Parmesan cheese
80 gr. (2.82 oz.) Pecorino cheese
4 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Buon Appetito!!

The recipe is from the youtube site

I'll have one of those--YUM!!

Thanks to Patticakes (Patricia Bradley) for this photo. She took it back in November when she and Shelly Mullen were visiting and we went to lunch at the LaQuinta Hotel. Gorgeous photo, no?