Chopped !

I don't often get a chance to watch the Food Network show "Chopped" with one of the participants sitting in the same room with me. I was thrilled to hear that Ric Orlando of New World Home Cooking in Saugerties NY was going to compete on the show. When I heard about the viewing party at the restaurant for the premiere of the episode, I had to be there...

I don't get to dine out as much as I would like to, but when I do, New World is always one of my top choices. Fresh, local food, well spiced and lovingly presented is what you get here. This is home cooking from all over the world, evolving just as people do. Standout dishes for me are the blackened string beans, Vietnamese salad and a ropa vieja that is to die for.

My son and I arrived at New World a few minutes before the show was set to start. A flat screen TV was facing the dining area near the bar, and Ric and family were pulling up some chairs and getting comfortable. I don't know Ric personally, but anyone that eats at the restaurant with any regularity knows who he is...

There is nothing like watching a cooking competition surrounded by other food obsessed people. When Ric is introduced as the rock'n'roll Woodstocker chef, the crowd goes wild.

Other fun moments included Ric yelling out "I hated that guy" directed at one of the competitors. ( You can figure out for yourselves who it was !) Big laughs were also earned by judge Alex G's amazement at the sheer number of ingredients utilized by Ric. Just seeing Ric load up his arms with spices from the pantry is hilarious. This is a man who is not afraid of big flavors, as anyone who has had his jerk chicken well understands.

Once it gets to the final dessert course of the show, it is down to Ric Orlando and Matt Gibson, a NYC chef. This course must include rice crackers, sake, papaya and jura erguel cheese. This is the first I have heard of jura erguel cheese. Apparently the other chef is not a fan, as Matt thinks both the cheese and papaya smell like feet ! ( You can't make this stuff up, kids ) Ric has no qualms about either, and some sort of papaya tart and curd is created and ultimately gives the victory to him. The applause in the place is long and sincere, we have been eating his food for years and there is no doubt in our hearts that Ric is the Chopped Champion of Saugerties !

Fun with Spam ♥

I really should pay more attention to the Spam in my inbox. The subject lines highlighted in Blue say it all..

Did you know that if you view your credit history instantly then you can become a millionaire ? Do I need cash 'til Payday ? You bet I do, I had better work on getting extra income from home... Then I would be able to grow grass anywhere and find 1000's of cars within my budget ! As an added bonus, I would never pay for auto repairs again. I might even be able to fix up my house and get replacement windows discounted !

You will eat better too, since you're invited to the ultimate BBQ Experience. You can save on the Kitchenaid Pro line and make the Perfect Paella with the Everyday Pan ! After all this good eating you can get the revolutionary new slimming spray, so no worries...

Your personal life will be on fire because someone is waiting for you on Facebook. Plus, Jenny invites you to view photos on Myspace and wonders will Piers Morgan be the next Larry King ?

If you pay attention to your spam and embrace it, you will get more energy and maybe finally make it to Hawaii the ultimate destination.

To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Party

This year is the 50th anniversary of the book "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY was not letting this occasion go by unnoticed and celebrated with a party involving both food and music, but little nonsense...

I must admit, I read the book many years ago and liked it, but have thought little about it since. My husband, however, is a huge fan of the book and I am always up for a party, so off to Oblong Books we went... I did have an ulterior motive, the bookstore manager Suzanna has been a Twitter friend of mine for a while and it would be a nice opportunity to meet her in real life.

Oblong Books is a lovely little independent bookstore in the heart of Rhinebeck, nestled in a little nook a few doors down from The Terrapin Restaurant. This is a real hometown bookstore, small but welcoming, nothing pretentious about it at all. As we walked in, we could see a man with long grey hair manning the check out area, and little tables set up with cookies and punch and crackers and cheese. "Were we here for the party?", he asked. "Oh, yes," we replied.

We wandered in and immediately started to browse around, noticing the bright yellow sheets of paper posted about the store with popular quotes from the book. The store was small, but well stocked, with a very nice children's book section. Wandering towards the back of the store, I saw a young lady that could only be the girl with the @oblongirl handle on Twitter, Suzanna. She was immediately warm and friendly, hugging me right away even though we had just met. This is the magic of the internet, where you can be friends with people that you have never met, quite awesome in my opinion...

The grey haired man in the front of the store was her father, and her mother was also there. There were not a lot of people, but the store was never empty and the people there were relaxed and content, definitely "book people". Music by the "Boo Radleys" was playing in the background, and you could answer trivia questions about the book at the front desk in hopes of winning TKM swag.

Most surprising was the presence of Jamie, a reporter from NBC news. Armed with a large video camera and a winning smile, he circulated the store, chatting with people and on occasion filming them. My husband John is a huge fan of the book, and after Jamie spoke with him for a few minutes he asked if John would like to speak in front of the camera, which he did. With any luck, my husband may get a few minutes of fame on the TV news tomorrow.

We bought a few books and bid good night to Suzanna and her mom and dad. This is hometown American at its best, comfortable and unpretentious, celebrating a small but powerful book in a simple yet heartfelt way...

Anniversary dinner at The Terrapin

I love the Terrapin Restaurant in Rhinebeck NY. I usually only go there once or twice a year, so I was very happy to receive a 20% internet coupon for the month of June, my wedding anniversary month. John and I just made it, we finally got there on June 30th !

First, drinks were in order, a whiskey sour for him, a pinot gris for me. I am a dedicated red wine drinker, but since I was going with fish and it IS summer, I decided to try the pinot gris. I was happy with it, fruity but not too sweet.

My husband has no fondness for tofu, but the gingered tofu and leek pot-stickers have won him over.... They have great ginger flavor with a nice tart dipping sauce.

He also tried the warm goat cheese wontons from the tapas menu and liked them. I already knew that I loved them, so I went with the green salad and goat cheese wontons.... The salad is perfectly fine, very fresh with a light vinaigrette but the warm wontons with the oozy salty goat cheese inside are what really make it special !

The entree selection is where you can really see the difference in our tastes in food. My husband went with the beef short ribs with garlic potatoes, I went with the ahi tuna with miso aioli. His is well cooked beef, mine is very rare fish ..... I loved the ahi tuna, beautiful pink color but not cold, great texture and such pure flavor, miles away from canned tuna.... The tuna was resting on a bed of sauteed mushrooms and bok choy, a nice foil to the richness of the aioli.

I always say that I am not going to order dessert, but I always do. Luckily Terrapin has a tapas sized molten chocolate lava cake. I know that this is a common dessert on many menus, but Terrapin does this perfectly. The cake is never grainy like it is at many other places, the chocolate is smooth and not too sweet, just rich and wonderful. Capped off with a cup of decaf coffee that actually tasted good, the evening was complete !