The Good Rabbi's Blog

Fear & Loathing in Italy: Bologna, Part II

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:17:25 -0500

Somehow on day two of our leg in Bologna, I managed to wake up. I had not yet eaten or drank myself into a stupor. I will definitely have to try harder. After a couple of cappuccinos and a very nice breakfast that includes most of my mother's fiber regimen, we set off to explore more of the town. I thought that this should be interesting, because at this point it was a Monday morning, and the opportunity presented itself to see the city as it normally operates during the week. We walked in the northern part of the city, where the university is (the oldest university in Europe, according to the guide books). What struck me about this city is that although there is almost no litter at all on the streets, almost all of the buildings are covered in grafitti (and this problem is not limited to the university area). We stopped by the renowned Tamburini market. This place was incredible. It had almost every type of cured meat, cheese, pasta, etc. that you could possibly imagine. However, given all of this, there was one thing missing: Italians. I got the impression that this was a shop that has passed its prime, and incredibly expensive. The wine store that is attached to the market was very cool, and well stocked, although equally expensive. We decided to hold off on buying anything and have some lunch. After lunch, we inquired with a travel agent about train tickets to Milan, where we were thinking about going the next day. Ultimately, we wound up shelving that idea, in favor of something else (which you'll read about shortly). We walked up to the northern part of the city, where the university is (the oldest university in Europe, according to the guide book). One of the things that strikes me about this city is that while there is no litter on the ground, almost all of the buildings are covered in graffiti. Maybe it is a form of expression here, rather than a public nuisance, but it still makes the place look terrible. On our way back down toward our hotel, we stopped at a Gelateria, and picked up a scoop of Gelato. We returned to the Tamburini market, bought some wine and cheese, and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. That evening, we ventured out again to the main piazza for dinner, and found a great little neighborhood trattoria a little bit off the beaten path. We decided to do the traditional two courses, which felt like fourteen. After dinner we decided to do some evening walking (and more gelato, of course - two scoops per day, as per doctor's orders). We returned to the hotel after walking around for a while at night, and just hung out in the hotel garden for a while. We turned in a little early, since we had to get up the next day fairly early. Another great day in Italy in the can.... Primi Piatti: Tagliatelli Bolognese Tagliatelli Pomodoro Piatti Secondi: Scallopini al Limone Penne al Arrabiata Wine: Soave Gelato: Mexican Chocolate, Melon Bacio (Chocolate Hazelnut), Milk Chocolate

Fear & Loathing in Italy: Bologna, Part I

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:52:07 -0500

Well, two years into this marriage it finally happened. We finally got around to taking a honeymoon. We bantered on about a number of possible places to go, and ultimately settled on Italy. From the outset, this was due to be one of those trips that would always be remembered. Maybe not by me, but certainly by the local folk who would talk for generations about the fat man that came through and ate his way through the country. It would be the ultimate meeting of the minds - on one hand a people who are very hospitality oriented, who would give as much as they could offer, and on the other hand a man who would eat more than anything they ever imagined. Anthony Bourdain has nothing on me. This journey started at Kennedy airport, where we waited, seemingly endlessly, for our flight to board. This was followed by our flight boarding, and our waiting, seemingly endlessly, for the flight to push back from the gate. We then took a nice leisurely taxi around the outer grounds of Kennedy airport as we waited, seemingly endlessly, for our flight to take off (after about 40 minutes of taxiing, we got word that we were 18th in line to take off). Once airborn, we waited, seemingly endlessly, for the Italian family sitting in front of us to realize that they did indeed need to change their infant's diaper, and that they could not, in fact wait until we arrived. We were starting to think that perhaps the Italians lacked that sense of urgency that seems to be abundant in American individuals from the northeast. Eventually, we landed in Rome, and took a train to the first stop on our tour - Bologna. We expected to see a good amount of Northern Italy, and seeing as how I am in the culinary profession, it made sense to start here, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, which is one of the culinary centres of Italy. On the train ride up, we had a series of conversations with a lovely eldery Italian couple. They were very charming people who collected postcards. We got off the train, and took a taxi to our hotel to check in (at this time, it was early in the afternoon). This is where we discovered our first great terror in Italy - the drivers here are crazy. It's bad enough that the streets here in Bologna are comparable to alleys in D.C. The drivers here all know about traffic regulations, they just choose not to abide by them. Now, don't get us wrong, your Rabbi has had more than his share of cardiac aromatherapy sessions in the back seat of a New York City taxi, but for some reason, it never seemed quite as terrorizing as this. Our hotel is within the walled city of Bologna. After a brief nap, we decided to walk around town, and see various parts of the city (we hadn't scheduled a lot of travelling for this day, since we had just arrived, and we didn't know how reliable Italian public transport would be). It's hard to describe the environment here. On one hand there is something incredibly small about this city that is probably older than many of its counterparts in the United States. On the other hand, it seemed very familiar, even though this was the first time we have ever been here. The architecture, or more accurately, the combination of architectures, is fascinating to me. You will have a building here, that looks like it came out of the Middle Ages, sitting right next to a modern architecture building. We stopped for an aperitif at a nice little cafe, and sat outside and drank some very nice Tocai (a white wine from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region). From there we walked a little more, and had a traditional Bolognese dinner at a local restaurant. Due to our travel schedule, neither one of us was really up for sitting for that long, so instead of the traditional two courses, we opted for one, followed, of course, by some gelato. What a great way to cap off the evening. Primi Piatti: Tagliatelli Bolognese Tortellini in Brodo Wine: Tocai (Friuliano) Soave Gelato: Chocolate Mint Chocolate

Happy 4th of July, Y'all

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:24:43 -0500

Arlington: The Rap

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:44:00 -0500

Great Expectations

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:16:17 -0500

NO ONE should doubt the magnitude of what Barack Obama achieved this week. When the president-elect was born, in 1961, many states, and not just in the South, had laws on their books that enforced segregation, banned mixed-race unions like that of his parents and restricted voting rights. This week America can claim more credibly than any other western country to have at last become politically colour-blind. Other milestones along the road to civil rights have been passed amid bitterness and bloodshed. This one was marked by joy, white as well as black.

I've Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:05:49 -0500

This past weekend, I ventured up to the Big Apple to see Billy Joel's "Last Play at Shea." For those not in the know, Shea stadium is going to be torn down at the end of this year's baseball season to make way for one of those new stadiums designed to look like an old stadium. This was easily one of the best shows that I've been to in a good long while. I have a number of observations after taking this trip that I thought I'd share with you. First, I have no use for the state of Delaware. There are exactly 35 people that live there, and the stretch of I-95 that runs through it is only about 18 miles long. Yet, this is always where the delays are, and now the people who run the Delaware department of transportation have decided to put the entire stretch of highway under construction during the day. It's obvious that they're fairly retarded. I have no objections to construction. Hell, I'm from the northeast, and we always joked that there were four seasons up there - almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction. The only thing is, most states have figured out that you should do construction at night, when there are fewer cars on the road. Instead it took me an hour and a half to travel 18 miles (twice - it was equally delayed on the way back). New York City is rapidly becoming a place where it is illegal to have any kind of personal enjoyment whatsoever. You can't smoke, you can't listen to an iPod if you're walking on the street, you cant eat any foods with trans fats in them, and now, restaurants have to post the calorie counts for everything. When did the big apple become the peoples' republic? As for the show itself, it was amazing. A full string section, and guest stars including Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltry (from The Who), and during the encore, Paul McCartney. The set list was amazing - lots of stuff from the 70's, and as any Billy Joel fan could tell ya, that was his best stuff. Dana, over at club D has a good review of the show. She caught most of it, except the part during Summer, Highland Falls, as she was being administered oxygen (seriously, this chick loves her some Billy Joel).

My Shot at the Title

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:21:20 -0500

Pretty good coverage if you ask me...

A Farewell to an Old Friend

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:46:59 -0500

While I'm catching all of you up on my life and happenings, I'm afraid I must relay news of the death of Louie, my best friends' English bulldog. Those of you that have either known me for a while or read this site from the beginning know that Louie (in his own distinctive way) had staked his ownership of me, and I was all too happy to oblige. He was a great companion, and even though he wasn't actually my dog, I'm pretty sure he didn't realise it (he seemed just as comfortable with me as he did with his actual owners). Here's to the smoothest of criminals (well, maybe not); I hope you're up there chomping away on the biggest milk-bone you've ever seen.

It's Been A While...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:15:48 -0500

It's been a while since I last posted here. Things have been busy, and to be honest, for a while this blog wasn't really working for me. I've recently decided to start my writing again, and I think I'm planning on changing this blog a bit (more on that later). In the meantime, a lot has happened since my last post, so I thought I'd update all y'all. My last post was toward the end of March. The biggest news I have is that in that time, I've gone from practically unemployed to overemployed. I assisted a few friends of mine in opening a restaurant here in D.C. that focuses on comfort food, with an international flair. Thus far, it seems to be doing pretty well. A writeup on that venture will be coming at some point soon. I'm also working as a professor in the culinary arts programme at Stratford University in Falls Church. During my days, I work as the food service director at Gonzaga College High School (a fairly exclusive Jesuit school here in D.C., with a number of famous alumni). It's an extremely busy job, but a good one that is giving me a lot of good experience and skills. In addition to my three jobs (yeah, I know, I'm almost Jamaican), I've been trying to get out around town and catch up with some of my disciples around this area. I've also managed to travel to Texas again to spend some time with the family out there, and to attend Amber & Chris's wedding (photos are in the photo gallery). As I mentioned earlier, I'm planning on retooling this site. The changes to the overall look and feel will not be all that huge, but there will be more of a change in the content. I'll let all y'all know as I put things in place. Please bear with me as I attempt to put some newer stuff out here...

It's Holy Season!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:18:10 -0500

As everyone knows, there are three holy seasons in my life - the annual chase for the Stanley Cup, World Cup (every few years), but most importantly, the NCAA post-season college basketball tournament. Well, March madness starts today! As such, I'm posting my brackets (PDF). We'll see how everything shapes up. A few notes: First, you'll notice that I have three number 1 seeds going to the final four. While normally, I wouldn't put more than two there, I believe that this year the number 1 seeds are particularly strong, with one exception. That would be Memphis. Memphis is an extremely overrated team that plays in a weak conference. I think they're going down fairly hard fairly early. On that note, I have Tennessee losing to Butler in the second round. Tennessee has shown some very worrying cracks lately that lead me to believe that they won't go very far in the tournament. I think that Wisconsin is the dark horse this year. They certainly will not be taking the crown, but I think they will probably knock out Georgetown, and (dare I say it?) they stand a decent shot at knocking out Kansas. All told, I think this is Carolina's year. Hopefully they won't fuck it up.

A Rabbinical Analysis of the 2008 Election, Part II

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:48:57 -0500

Yesterday, I posted my analysis of the 2008 election thus far from the Republican perspective. Today, I'd like to focus on the Democratic perspective. Before I continue with my look at the two main candidates (curiously enough, Mike Gravel is still in the race, despite the fact that he's basically polling exactly even with me, and I'm not even running), I'd like to address a main difference between the Republican and Democrat approaches to primaries. In keeping with their general philosophy of sharing, holding hands, and singing Up With People! songs, the Democrats tend to split the state and district delegates proportionally. Republicans tend to be more about winning, so their primaries are winner-take-all (i.e. if a candidate wins a state, they get all the delegates from that state). Figuring out the delegate counts involves an abacus, and a very complex formula, that closely rivals handicaping college basketball teams during the Holy month (which may explain why my previous attempt showed that the Carolina Tar Heels would secure the nomination). Because math is not exactly the forte of California hippies, the San Francisco Chronicle has an excellent article that explains how this all works. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, the big news that came with Super Tuesday is that believe it or not, Obama seems to have overtaken Hillary's delegate count. Whether or not this turns out to be true (remember, the math here is hard), I think that I have to give the man his dues and point out the obvious: Obama won super Tuesday, hands down. I say this because Hillary Clinton has over a hundred super delegates (delegates to the convention that are not bound to a particular candidate), and is still barely ahead, if at all, in the overall delegate count. She has all the machinery and the operatives the Democratic party has to offer, including the ultimate political juggernaut in the party, her husband. Even with all this, Obama continues to show increasingly stronger results. What's really telling is the margins between Clinton's and Obama's respective votes. Clinton only won the states that she needed to survive super Tuesday (although the sheer size of New York and California obscure that fact). The momentum has definitely shifted to favour Obama, as even in the states he did not carry, he was right behind Clinton. Clinton won California because of a deliberate attempt to stoke a disdain for Blacks among Latinos and Asian Americans. Amongst White voters (even women) he pulled even with Clinton in California. In most of the toss-up states (Utah, Missouri, Minnesota) Obama has won handily. He even managed to get at least 40% of the vote in Clinton's adopted home state of New York, came in under ten points behind Clinton in New Jersey, and out-and-out won Connecticut (both of which are in New York's back yard). All of this was done with about two weeks for Obama to campaign in states where the Clinton had name recognition and a comfortable double-digit lead for months. He's managed to bridge the racial divide in the south, as well has win states such as Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota, that are not exactly known for their huge Black populations.

A Rabbinical Analysis of the 2008 Election

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 23:27:57 -0500

Well, the 2008 presidential election, which, curiously enough, started in 2006, has entered a new phase. Instead of the 47 people that originally declared their candidacy, we've now been whittled down to two real candidates and two fake candidates in each party. There's been a lot of posturing going on, analysing the results, so I thought I'd add my own perspective. I'll start today with the results of the Republican party. Now that Mitt Romney has effectively ended his campaign, the nomination has basically been handed to John McCain, which is just as well, because he is the most qualified of all the Republican candidates. McCain stands an excellent chance of winning the presidency in the fall, but first, he'll have to unite his party. A lot of the conservative talk-show windbags have been spouting off about how McCain is not a real conservative, and is not a real Republican (practically Democrat, blah, blah, blah). This drives me crazy. I will be the first to say that these blubbering vaginas certainly have a right to their opinions, but they do not have a right to spread untruths over the airwaves. So in addition to an excellent op-ed about the hypocrisy of McCain's critics, I'd like to add some thoughts, courtesy of Michael Medved. I think his analysis is spot-on. I would also like to say that I think this so-called Republican civil war is much shallower than people think. There is something rather ridiculous about people that want to prosecute the war in Iraq, but threaten to vote for Hillary Clinton in a hissy-fit because they don't like John McCain. These windbags are not the only ones that are sharpening their knives. People like Dick Armey and Phil Gramm see this as an opportunity to expunge the Republican party of those that hijacked the party earlier in the decade (people like Tom DeLay and Bill Frist). I think that Senator McCain will soon consolidate power and ranks within his party, and will put this to bed for good. More on that later. Now, the top six lies that people say about John McCain.

A Russian Dinner: Cedar Smoked Salmon & Cinnamon Chipotle Spiced Greens

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:26 -0500

For the record, there is nothing remotely Russian about these recipes. I call it "Russian" because these twists on some old stock favourites in my repertoire were inspired by two Russian friends of mine (more on that later). So before all of the culinary readers write in, keep that in mind. :-) This past week, the weather here in our nation's capital has been unseasonably warm (given that it's January). As such, I determined that a little bit of grilling would be in order. Since the lovely market down the street from me had a sale on salmon, I bought a couple fillets, and I decided to cedar smoke them. Apart from this, I had no idea what I was going to make, or what kind of glaze to use for the salmon. Here's where my Russian friends come in. My friend Olga has many talents. She's an amazing salsa dancer, she has excellent taste in fashion (especially shoes), and she's a very crafty person. One of her "unsung" talents, however, is that this girl can open her refrigerator, look at a number of items in it that are seemingly unconnected, and concoct a meal (and a good one at that). This kind of improvisation was the inspiration for the side dish I made. I opened up my fridge, and saw I had some extra firm tofu, some Swiss chard, half of an onion, and some white wine. I also had some leftover cinnamon-chipotle rub that I had made for some steaks not too long ago, and some fresh garlic. After cutting, washing, and spin-drying the swiss chard (stems and leaves), rubbing the tofu, and searing it on the grill, and dicing up the onion and garlic, I was in business. I heated some olive oil and sautéed the onion and garlic. I cubed up the seared tofu, and added it to the pan with the swiss chard. After sautéing for a minute or so, I added some more of the leftover rub (which contained both salt and pepper for seasoning), and some of the white wine, and lowered the heat and covered it. Meanwhile, I went to tend to the salmon. Olga has a twin sister Anna that I'm also pretty friendly with. Despite our both having started our professional lives as economists, we've both managed to wander into the culinary arena. I was in pretty constant contact with her while I was in culinary school, and now she's in culinary school up at the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to sharing a lot of the crafty talents that Olga has, Anna has been one of the quiet inspirations behind some of the winning items I've put on menus recently. She has a particular gift (even if she may not know it) for balancing flavour profiles in order to create combinations that really engage the palette. Remember that watermelon & feta cheese salad I served at my wedding? Guess who turned me on to that? In a saucepan, I mixed some maple syrup, with some grapefruit juice, roasted garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a wee bit of olive oil. I brought it to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer, and let it reduce for a while, until it reached a glaze consistency. Some of this would be used as a basting liquid, and some of it would be for the finished product. Anyway, I have always liked cedar smoking salmon. It produces a light kiss of smoke that perfectly complements the salmon, whereas most smoked fish dishes have an element of burning building. I've used this recipe with much success over the years, and I've managed to pass this on to various people, including a certain disgracefully-aging gentleman. Basically, I soak a cedar plank in either water or wine for at least an hour (you really want the liquid to penetrate it so it smoulders and smokes, instead of having a dry fire in your grill which, needless to say, will destroy your fish). Once the grill is good and hot (whether you're using charcoal, or propane with propane accessories), you want to put the plank directly over the coals or the burner. When the wood just starts to smoke, put the fish on the plank skin side down, and let it cook for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, or about 9-12 minutes per pound. When salmon is correctly cooked, it should be creamy in the middle - often people think that this is undercooked, but that would be mistaken. Baste with the glaze every now and then, but resist the temptation to keep opening the grill. The smoke has to work its magic. You'll want to take the fish off (plank and all) when it registers a temperature of about 135 degrees (it will continue cooking when you take it off, so let it rest for a few minutes with some foil on top). I serve it right off the plank, as the skin sticks to the plank, so people take what they want, and the skin remains. Pour some of the remaining glaze over the top, and you're ready to go. To further toast my Russian friends, I paired this meal with an extra-chilled vodka grapefruit martini, as I was in the mood for a cocktail. If you're in the mood for wine, a chilled glass of either Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer.

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:32:07 -0500

November is Peanut Butter Lovers' Month, so I thought I'd post a recipe to celebrate. Since very few of you are into a cream of peanut butter soup, I thought that a good dessert recipe is in order. Enjoy! Ingredients 3 oz (¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp) Unsweetend (Baker's) Chocolate, finely chopped 8 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, cut into chunks 1 Cup Sugar ½ Tsp Baking Soda ¼ Tsp Salt 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour 2 Large Eggs ⅓ Cup Peanut Butter (at room temperature) Instructions 1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. 2. Coat an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray or shortening. 3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl in the microwave or in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir the mixture occasionally to combine. Once melted, let the mixture cool for several minutes. 4. Whisk the sugar, baking soda, salt, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the chocolate/butter mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks of flour remain (be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl). Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan. 5. Drop the peanut butter in small dollops over the batter. Without touching the bottom of the pan, run a paring knife through the batter to create swirls. 6. Bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and the center of the pan comes out clean, 22 to 27 minutes. 7. Let the brownies sit in the pan (outside of the oven) for about 10 minutes. Turn out brownie block onto a wire rack to cool completely. When cooled completely, cut into 2 inch squares and enjoy!

Why Think When You Can Scream?

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:39:44 -0500

Yesterday I witnessed something extremely bizarre. As some of you know, I've recently started working at a local brewery here in our nation's capital for some side income. Yesterday, there was a fairly large party that came in for dinner and drinks. During the course of their sojourn there, they would occasionally break into a large cheer while looking up at one of the several televisions on the floor. Since I was working, and couldn't see the tv's I assumed that they we're cheering for a team, and watching a sports game (most likely football), as that's what's normally on those tv's. I had the occasion to go out on the floor, and to my utter astonishment, those idiots were watching Hardball with Chris Matthews. Setting aside the fact that Chris Matthews is a moron who plays a journalist on tv (really, the man is a complete fraud - check out his bio sometime), who cheers for one of these televised screaming matches? What a bunch of pinko commie liberal hippies. I guess I'm just not the Washington type. Really, all these clowns I run into around town (especially Democrats) all think they're saving the world, and none of them realise just how intellectually vapid they are. I mean seriously, there is absolutely zero thought and intellectual realism in their arguments. The Republicans can be just as bad too. They defend ideologies and policies that are so damn low on the totem pole (given all the problems we face), but still think I'm wrong to advocate a more intellectual approach. I actually think things through, and while my reactions to things may not be the most popular (or popular at all, for that matter), they are always the right response (in terms of what is best course of action). People like Chris Matthews just foster a climate where people compete not for who has the best ideas, but simply who can scream the loudest. This type of environment leads to a world where we substitute shrillness for intellectualism. We either need to collectively start thinking again, or I guess I just have to get out of this town, as it just simply isn't me...