Passover 2024

At Home 2024: Signs of Spring

We’ve had a number of different trees in this spot. When the last one was doing poorly a few years ago, this one replaced it.  So far, It’s doing well. When the flowers drop off, there will be green leaves.

After we moved into the house in December 1969, we had our first landscaping done in the spring of 1970. It included masses of daffodils planted on the right side of the house which got a lot of sun. They bloomed each spring until we had a fireplace installed in our living room which required digging up the group to build the chimney. A few years ago, I asked our landscaper Ed Wendell to have his men put some daffodil bulbs in one of the beds in the backyard. Unfortunately, they don’t do well there because there isn’t enough sun.

I don’t know what this plant is called. Here along the patio, there are two side-by-side. Eventually, they will have large while blossoms.

This is one of only two trees left from the original 1970 landscaping. (The other is the huge maple tree near the patio.) I used to think this is a flowering cherry, but Wendell eventually corrected me that it’s a crabapple. In any case, it has continued to bloom faithfully each spring. Amazing!

At Home 2024: Purim Dinner

Purim was late this year. That’s because in the Jewish calendar, this is a leap year in which there is an additional month. We celebrated the holiday with a meal on Saturday evening. When it comes to the Purim menu, our tradition is for me to make my grandmother’s stuffed cabbage, aka “Bobe Bopsy Holiptches,” the recipe passed down to me by my Aunt Symie.

DINNER
March 23, 2024

First Course

Chicken Soup with Matzo Ball and Noodles
From The Pickled Herring Deli & Appetizing Restaurant

Main Course

“Bobe Bopsy’S Holiptches”
Steamed Potatoes

Dessert

Homemade Hamantaschen

Purim 2024

Lunch at Il Nido: First 2024 al Fresco Restaurant Dining…in March!

Last Thursday, March 13th, Mother Nature gifted us with weather rare for our area in March: bright sunshine, temperatures in the low to mid-70’s, calm winds, and no humidity. In a word, perfection! Since we are continuing to refrain from indoor restaurant dining, here was an opportunity to go to a restaurant and dine outdoors.

The week before, Il Nido began serving lunch which they had never done before. Available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between noon and 2 p.m. Since that perfect weather was on a Thursday, we jumped at the chance to have lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant in New Jersey located a 5-minute drive from our house. We called for a 1:30 p.m. reservation and requested a table outside. When we arrived, there were two tables set up along the veranda, one on each side of the entrance. We chose the one on the right. The sun shining on the table provided just the right level of warmth to make us comfortable.

A server came out immediately and introduced himself. While we know a couple of the other servers, this was our first time meeting James. He provided us with menus and asked for our water preferences. Tap for me and a large bottle of sparkling for Michael.

The lunch menu is much briefer than the dinner menu: six appetizers, including two salads and two sandwiches; and six mains comprised of three pastas, one meat, one chicken, and one fish. No dessert is listed. (Note: The lunch menu is on the website.)

FIRST COURSE

Ricotta Gnocchi
Pork Ragu from Modena

We shared this. The tender little pillows of pasta were bathed in a delicious ragu packed with finely chopped pork. A spectacular start!

MAINS

Roz

Red Snapper
Castelvetrano Olives, Capers, Fingerling Potatoes

I love having fish at Il Nido because it never fails to thrill me. I found this snapper, a fish I rarely order, to be quite mild. The filet was expertly prepared so that the skin was crisp and the flesh was soft. The fingerlings were hidden beneath and the plate was generously napped with what was essentially a piccata sauce. All in all, a heavenly dish!

Michael

Flank Steak
Crispy Potatoes, Salsa Verde

Michael usually goes for a ribeye; nevertheless, he was pleased with this steak. He ordered it “as the chef prefers,” and it was cooked medium rare. He liked the salsa verde that came with the very generous portion of potatoes. He also ordered an extra side, another generous portion. We took the leftover potatoes and broccoli rabe home.

Broccoli Rabe
Garlic, Chili Oil

WINE

Cabernet

One glass for Michael with the steak

DESSERT

Since there is nothing about dessert on the menu, we asked about it. James said that right now, they are only offering chocolate chip cookies and gelato, but there are plans to offer additional options.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vanilla and Hazelnut Gelato

The tasty cookies were hot out of the oven, and the gelatos were, as usual, excellent.

No surprise that this was a spectacular meal! And kudos to James for his pleasant demeanor and attentive service.

TAKE-OUT

Yes, they are offering take-out for lunch!  So, we decided to take home an order of another of the pastas to have that evening. When we have a major lunch like this one, we call the evening repast a “snack meal.”

Rigatoni
Spicy Sausage, Garlic Breadcrumbs

An extremely generous portion which I split between the two of us giving Michael the lion’s share. I had been a bit concerned that it would be too spicy for me. But the spice level of the sausage was exactly right.  Another seriously delicious pasta!

This was the earliest we’ve ever dined al fresco, and the official arrival of spring (March 19th) was still almost a week away, I don’t imagine we’ll be dining al fresco again at Il Nido — or anywhere else — anytime soon. But it’s great that they are offering take-out, so I will be adding Il Nido’s lunch options to our take-out rotation.

At Home 2024: Celebrating Michael’s 53rd Birthday with Take-out from The Pickled Herring

Since we continue avoiding indoor restaurant dining, there were two options to celebrate Michael’s 53rd birthday: I could cook a meal, or we could do take-out. Michael decided on the latter. As the birthday celebrant, of course, he chose the take-out spot — The Pickled Herring — and the menu.

The Pickled Herring Deli & Appetizing Restaurant opened in Marlboro in 2020. It’s not kosher but Jewish-style. They have the usual array of deli products (Hebrew National salami, corned beef, pastrami, etc.), very high quality appetizing (Nova and other smoked fish), and a large menu of their own prepared foods (their chopped liver is fantastic!). There is a large dining area but because they opened during the pandemic, we have never eaten there. However, we do take-out regularly as it is the best deli of this kind in our area and just a five-minute drive from our house.

LUNCH
January 26, 2024

First Course

Chicken Soup with Matzo Ball & Noodles

Chicken soup is Michael’s favorite soup, so no surprise that we started with it.

Main Course

Stuffed Cabbage

These are gargantuan! I can barely manage to finish one. When I make stuffed cabbage, I make various sizes: some large, others small. But my large ones are not anywhere close to as huge as The Pickled Herring’s. One other difference. The Pickled Herring’s sauce includes raisins, which I would never use in mine because I hate them. So, when I dished out the sauce for my plate, I avoided including any raisins. Michael had no problem finishing his two cabbage rolls and lapped up the sauce with a soup spoon.

Side Dish

Kasha Varnishkes

This was strictly for Michael as I don’t care for it.

No dessert.

This is hearty comfort food of the best kind. Just right for celebrating a winter birthday.

Happy 83rd Birthday, Michael!

At Home 2024: A Second January Snow

January 21, 2024

Yesterday, we got snow for the second time this week.  However, it was downgraded to a “Winter Weather Advisory” in our area. So instead of the predicted 3 – 5 inches, we got around two, about the same as last time.  A feathery snow, it began in the early morning and stopped at 4 p.m. Michael went out periodically to clear the driveway. Today, it’s still bitterly cold. But this coming week, temperatures are supposed to rise into the 40’s and 50’s — a mini “heat wave” for January.

At Home 2024: First Snow Since 2022!

January 16, 2024

We got about 1 to 2 inches. Snow ended early this morning. Michael easily shoveled the driveway.

At Home 2023: New Year’s Eve

Just Michael and me at home in New Jersey. We had dinner while, as usual, listening to the WQXR Countdown.

My goal in putting together the menu was to make everything as easy as possible.

For the main course, I decided to make a beef tenderloin roast. Though I had never made it before, I knew it would not require much work after seeing it prepared on a t.v. cooking show. I went to Whole Foods on Friday expecting to have to put in a special order but was pleasantly surprised to see a whole bunch of them of various sizes in the meat case. The guy behind the counter asked me how many people I would be serving. When I said two, he chose a roast that was 1.6 pounds. Perfect! No doubt there would be some leftovers which would be a good thing.

To accompany the roast, I considered making a potato gratin. But Michael said he preferred a baked potato. Even better since making a potato gratin is somewhat labor intensive while baked potatoes require next to no effort. I also decided on green beans as a second side.

When Michael I and were at ShopRite early last week, we passed by a freezer case and saw these:

I put them on the menu. Also decided to use this pâté that Jen brought us from Paris.

Exactly how I would include them was yet to be determined.

For the first course, I would make a simple salad.

And for dessert, I wanted something chocolate. I decided on the chocolate chess pie which I’d made for the first time for Thanksgiving. It doesn’t require much effort, and it is delicious.

I made it in the morning.

In the evening, the first thing I did was put the potatoes into the oven so they’d be done shortly before I roasted the tenderloin.

I prepared the salad and warm goat cheese but didn’t put it all together and dress it until were ready to eat.

I also prepared the second side, buttered string beans almondine.

Just before we were going to start eating, I got the tenderloin ready for roasting. After sprinkling it all over with lots of salt and pepper, I heated a little peanut oil in a cast iron skillet and seared the meal on all sides. I inserted the dot probe, set the temperature at 122 degrees F., and put the roast into the oven pre-heated at 425 degrees F. We had just finished our salads when the prob alarm sounded. It took about 20 minutes.

I put the roast on the carving board, covered it loosely with tin foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. I had aimed for medium rare, but it turned out to be a little more to the rare side which was fine. (Note: I didn’t take any photos of the meat on the cutting board.)

DINNER

Amuse Bouche

Cocktail Franks in Puff Pastry
Deli Mustard

First Course

Salad
Red Leaf Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Warm Goat Cheese, Champagne Vinaigrette

Pâté au Foie de Canard
Duck Liver Pâté

Main Course

Beef Tenderloin Roast
Baked Potato with Butter & Sour Cream
Buttered Green Beans Almondine

Mustard Sauce for the Beef

The tenderloin was phenomenal! True to its name, the meat was exceedingly tender! And had great flavor. Of course, Michael loved it. Surprisingly, while I don’t like steak as much as Michael does, I loved it, too.  The best steak I’ve ever made.

Dessert

Chocolate Chess Pie

The WQXR Countdown

No surprise that Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was Number 1. It’s been that way as long as we can remember.
2nd: Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
3rd: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7
4th: Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2
5th: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

The top three were the same last year. The Rachmaninoff was 6 last year, and the Vivaldi was 9. So, those two moved up.

For us, this is the best way to spend New Year’s Eve, at home eating delicious food and listening to wonderful music!