Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Potatoes and Wasted Food

How often have you gone out for a burger and after the big sandwich you can't finish those fries on the side?? It happens to me all the time. Or, you just don't want to eat that much more.

Don't send the fries back to the kitchen to be tossed out. Take them home in a "doggy bag". "What???" you say. "Leftover cold fried potatoes are disgusting. They get soggy and are just not good tasting." Well, here is my take on that.

I use leftover potatoes from fast food or a restaurant to make many breakfast dishes. My favorite is potatoes and eggs.

Last week I took about 1/2 a serving of fried potatoes home from a restaurant. In the morning, I preheated the broiler and I sautéed a few leeks (you could use onions) and added the potatoes after I chopped them up. When they were hot through and a bit crispy again, I poured 3 scrambled eggs over them and stirred to make sure the eggs got through the entire pan. After the eggs looked dried on the bottom, I transferred the pan to the broiler and cooked until the eggs were puffed and no longer runny.

Remove from the broiler with a good mitt, careful not to burn yourself. Slice in wedges and serve with grated Parmesan cheese. YUMMY!

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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Blues and BBQ

Tonight is blues and BBQ at Theodore's in Springfield MA

Theodore's is much more than that though. They have big screen TV's to watch your favorite sports and Buzztime trivia too. The beer menu is vast and full of variety.

Try it, you'll like it.

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Memories of a dark day

One bright clear September morning, I was working from home. Well, it wasn't my home exactly. I was at the Pocono home of the man who would become my husband a few months later. He was off to work and I was lounging with my dog and a cup of coffee, waiting to take a conference call for work.

I remember making myself comfortable and turning on the speaker phone. I remember dialing into the bridge. I don't remember what the call was for however, because at this point the world changed. Someone on the bridge said "I just heard on the news, that a stray plane flew into one of the World Trade Center towers." Within minutes, the call ended as we all flew to our news sources to learn of the disaster that had befallen us.

I had no TV access at all. I did have radio though, and that is how I spent the rest of my day. I tried news sources on the internet, but I couldn't get through to any of them. It was true, the USA had been attacked by faceless, nameless enemies.

Nine years later, I wake up on 9/11 and still feel a small amount of the terror I felt that day. My heart still aches for those who lost loved ones in those towers. My mind can't fathom the courage and heroics of the fire and police responders who put their lives in jeopardy to save strangers. They do it all the time, and it is amazing each and every time.

This is a day of reflection and somber thoughts. It is also a day to celebrate freedom and family. Of course the way I celebrate always comes back to food of some sort and I will be posting more about food shortly. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this 9th anniversary of a dark day in my life.

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Find favorite foods in a new location - PIZZA

We are in the process of moving from a suburban area not far from New York City to a rural area in the mountains of western Massachusetts. The choice of the move is mine, all mine! I have been waiting since 1985 to be able to call the Berkshires my home.

One thing that has occurred to me lately though is that I need to find some "special" foods. For example, I love Pizza! It is a weekly necessity for both my husband and I. If we miss a week, we get irritable and have withdrawal symptoms. Most people think you can't find good pizza if you get too far away from NYC. Well, we have found two places that we love. The first is called Athena's Pizza in Lee, MA. They have a full Italian menu that we haven't tried yet, but the pizza is very good. The second place we found is on Route 20, in a tiny town called Russell, MA. It is in the Russell Inn. The pizza is great and the rest of the menu is just as good. The bar is so friendly, that even though we are new to the area, we felt like we were home.


Stay tuned for the next entry about our quest for good food in the mountains.

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