Friday, September 11, 2015

What's For Dinner?

Since the wife is away this and next week, I will be doing at least some cooking for me and Brendan and it certainly will not be vegan. For the most part it won't be health food either. Today, I went to a local Korean market and picked up a couple of thick salmon steaks, a couple of octopus arms (pre-cooked), just over a pound of shrimp, a small package of sushi, four small flat iron steaks nicely marbled, and some thick cut marinated pork belly (or was it pork tenderloin - whatever, it is laced with fat). I grabbed a variety package of Korean pancakes, some mushrooms and scallions too. I already had some lettuce at home in the event either of us feels like having some salad. I was thinking of getting some lobsters too, but they can wait until next week.

So, most of that, if not all of it, will be cooked up for tonight's dinner (and a midnight snack or leftovers for tomorrow). I was going to take Brendan out tonight but figured why not just do it at home and spend just as much money but on better food than jalapeno poppers and burgers or buffalo chicken wraps at my local pub. That too can wait until another day, I am in the mood for seafood this Friday night. (Yes, I was brought up Catholic but that has little to do with it for me except my wife usually makes seafood on Fridays.)

The other things that are for dinner, and even for my early appetizers as I am enjoying them already, are Sam Adams Oktoberfest beers and some vodka. I picked up a jar of maraschino cherries and am marinated them with vodka right now, they will be ready for dessert in a day or three. I find them better than the Moonshine Cherries I love so much even though the vodka is only 80 proof when it goes into the jar, as opposed to the 100 proof of the moonshine. I also get about 4 times (or more) of the vodka for darned near close to the same price as the moonshine, so it's a bargain too. Right now, I am enjoying a cocktail made from the juice that was in the jar, some club soda and about 2.5 to 3 ounces of vodka. Tastes like the best Shirley Temple in the world, as a kid I could never have dreamed them tasting as good. Yummy, no after-bite but I expect it will have a decent kick as in to my head.

Once Brendan gets in touch to let me know he is leaving work, I will give him about 45 to 60 minutes, then fire up stove. The shrimp will get boiled on the stove. The rest of what I will cook all goes on the grill - the salmon, the flat iron steaks and the marinated pork but I won't need to start that up until he arrives because it will all cook quickly; it's that damn pot of water that takes forever to boil especially since I tend to watch the pot until it does. He is probably less than 20 miles away but now that school has started, the traffic has returned from being a bad dream to being an absolutely unbearable nightmare as is the norm around the NYC area. I don't know how I am going to heat those Korean pancakes but I figure on the top rack in the grill might be okay. As for the salad, I probably will start that before too long just to have it done and waiting whether either of us wants it or not. As long as I don't throw on the dressing it could last through tomorrow.

Holy shit, it almost sounds as if we could survive without the women folks being home. Not only are my wife and daughter in Europe, the mother-in-law is upstate, until this Sunday, with my brothers-in-law. Me and my son might manage to have some fun. Now if only I was about 35 or even 45 again, I could really live it up but then I would have to either swear my son to secrecy or leave him out o the picture for those good times! Yes Phil (my son-in-law) you are invited to come on over; heaven knows I want you implicated in all Brendan and I do too so you don't rat us out!!! Not that I think you would, mind you, I just want to cover mine arse.

All the best,
GB