The Thrill Of The Grill

I've gotta give some love to another 'Dena original, Smitty's Grill. Not BEC in the strictest sense, but still a great place for reasonably-priced and utterly excellent comfort food. Last night we chowed on some ree-dunk-u-lous chicken pot pie and a delicious cornmeal-crusted rainbow trout. Washed down with a Sapphire martini, we had everything an end-of-the-work-week meal should be about. The hostess even brought out a free serving of cornbread.

Gettin' Some Tail

I was at Ralph's seafood counter buying us some shrimp for dinner. And lo and behold, I spied the price on lobster tails: 9.99 each! You know I grabbed one for the Jackal 'cause she loves em so. Then I broiled that bitch in the toaster oven and served it to her on a TV table. What a fun appetizer that looks as great as it tastes. And here's an excellent video showing just how simple it is to get yourself a great piece of tail in under ten minutes:

Who's Got Beef?

This is just a short note paying homage to the best fucking hamburger joint I've found. That would be Pie 'n Burger here in Pasadena. It's a diner, replete with a counter, real sodas made with syrup, and chocolate malts. And it's not one of those dreadful Silverlakesque diners filled with bearded hipsters and thin-hipped women either. This is real good food and good people -- especially the old folks who seem to always crowd the counter at lunchtime.

I do not know why the Pie 'n Burger burger is so good. I only know that I love it. It looks incredibly simple: a loose patty on a regular sort of thin bun covered on one side with thousand island or perhaps Russian dressing, some dill pickles, an onion and a tomato slice (I add bacon). It's fried on a flat grill, not flame-grilled. Like I said, simple. Simply fucking DELICIOUS!!!!!

Shell Game

I fucking hate being fat. And one of the things I hate most about trying to lose weight is avoiding carbs -- especially pasta!!!

But weekends were made for indulgences here at Casa de Carne, and this was our latest one: stuffed shells. Such a simple and delicious meal it was. I put a bunch of spinach, garlic, white onion, basil and Italian parsley in the food processor. This was added to a couple beaten eggs. Throw in a package of rockin' ricotta from Rosario down at Roma Deli and you've got a stuffing that can't be beat.

But wait, there's more . . .

Rosario has about the best prosciutto you'll lay eyes on outside Parma. So you just know I had to put some of that into the mix. Then, after the shells were stuffed, I laid them in a dish lined with spicy marinara. After sprinkling more marinara on top, I added slices of buffalo mozzarella. Then I baked that bitch on 350 for an hour. We ate it piping hot with bread soaked in olive oil while we watched TV. Coz that's how us fat people roll.

Poachers!!!

The day after the latke-fest, I was stuck with many delicious leftovers. What to do, what to do . . .

The task was a daunting one, but I dug into it with enthusiasm the very next morning. Jackie loves a good poached egg, and her favorite way to have it is over some bitter greens. So her delicious and utterly easy first meal of the day was poached eggs on a bed of arugula and cucumbers lightly sprinkled with red wine vinegar. Our leftover latkes and delicious black bread toast served as the sides.

"This is living," she said as I served her in bed.