BABY EGGPLANT

I make it on the grill.

This small eggplant is tender and not bitter.

No need to salt and bleed the juices as you do  with
the larger varieties.

A simple grill is just brushing with olive oil, salt, pepper.

The slices can be marinated ( a soy & mirin blend is very good) or

dust with a rub after you apply olive oil.

I'm making it tonight.... the marinated version to compliment

grilled swordfish and a simple salad. Yum!

TGIF

TEA WITH JET

Jet is one of the cutest puppies ever.

He is on holiday in the Hamptons visiting his grandparents, my neighbors.

I went up to say hello and was offered a wonderful freshly brewed green tea.

My friend is a foodie and she said the tea was from Tea Forte.

They have an enormous variety of high end teas and unique gifts.

One of my favorites are teas to combine with alcohol for mixed drinks.

Nice.

If you are looking for something new and different go to

teaforte.com

They have a lot to choose from.

Now if I could only order Jet on line. 

I NEVER TRIED IT

I ran into a friend at a local specialty food store. I was reviewing the vegetables.

It was my job to bring an "interesting" vegetable dish to a dinner party.

She directed me to the beautiful Swiss Chard which I had never tried.

It was so pretty I thought why not?

I Googled to find out it has lots of nutrients.

This is how I prepared it.

I took my friend's suggestion and gave it a rough chop and placed it in a pan
with a little water just to cover the pan's bottom. The SC cooked down in about
10 minutes. My friend said she just added a bit of salt and pepper but
I went a little further. I moved the SC to a saute pan with some olive oil
and added cooked, crisp bacon.

I brought my concoction to the dinner party in the pan and just warmed there.

Every one liked it and now I have a new item to serve.

Thanks Brenda.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

He was grinning when he gave it to me. It was all wrapped up.
When I opened it, I thought wow a toothbrush in an aluminum case.

Then I opened the case and for a minute I thought,
maybe a pen made out of black rubber.

Wrong. It took me a while to figure out how to open it,
but then I got it!

It was a modern take on a trivet in very cool packaging.

I love it. I have white stone counters and they can discolor if a hot
pan lands on them.

It's practical but the design makes it noteworthy.

Last night I went to a terrific dinner party.

I brought the host and hostess an over sized cooking utensil
for their kitchen which has all pots, pans, spoons, etc proudly
on display in an organized jumble.

They seemed to really like the piece which is architectural
in nature and an interesting departure from a bottle of wine
as a gift.

Tonight as luck would have it, I have been invited to another dinner
party. I'm going to find another "item" that will be an unexpected
gift. If you really study objects for the kitchen, there is a lot of
fabulous design out there at all price ranges.

I'm hoping if they like my gifts, I'll be invited back soon.

DINNER PARTY BRAWLS

I have given the book, "The Hamptons Real Estate Horror Show" by
Anonymous Times Two to many friends.
It's hysterical.

The back cover which is pictured above says it all.

My interview with author #2 ( please see March 20 post for
my interview with author #1) revealed a story which I
had to share regarding a dinner party that they gave.

Here it is :

I know it's not the topic of your book, but as you are a foodie,
did you every have a dinner party go wrong? 

"There were eight of us at my dinner party. Two of the guests had too
much to drink and became embroiled in a political discussion.
They became more and more enraged, despite everyones efforts to
calm them down. They ended up
going outside and beating each other up. Finally
one of them returned to the room and said, 'call the police, I've killed him'.
It turned out not to be true, but it certainly put a damper on the evening!"

Yours truly had a similar experience years ago. A guest at a cocktail party
got drunk, berated her husband, attacked a few guests verbally,
and then went after moi.
As I like to say about unique life episodes, " ya can't make this up".

I hope I haven't discouraged you with these stories. Go out there
and entertain and have fun, even if it doesn't go exactly as planned.

And do buy the book...you won't be able to stop laughing.

PORCHES

As mentioned, I am in real estate sales with Devlin McNiff Halstead Property
in East Hampton, NY.

It's a curious thing, but there are certain aspects of properties that are
what I call universals. Meaning, everyone responds positively.

Porches are one of those universals.

Mine multi-tasks.

The porch transforms it self from a bar, to a breakfast room, and at times a den
when one of the TV's are placed there. 

It's main function is to act as the dining room to my small residence.

My porch is heated and allows me to have dinner parties for
as many as 10 comfortably year round.

If you are thinking of doing some renovating or expansion to your home,
consider a porch.

Most of us have fond memories from hanging out on someone's as a child
or as an adult.

Believe me, you'll hear "aaahhhh I love porches. I wish I had one".

I'm glad I do.

PULLED PORK

Easter was fun.
I made the pulled pork, so here is the recipe.
Seemed to be a hit.

One 3 lb center cut boneless pork roast.
Put 1/2 cup water with 2 tablespoons brown sugar in slow cooker.
Take 3 red onions and cut in chunks. Place in slow cooker.
Cover pork densely in dried minced garlic - all sides.
Place in slow cooker, cook on high for 12-13 hours.
During cooking eliminate liquid emanating from the cooked onions.

Take two forks and shred in the pot. The texture is nice with some
crunchy bits mixed with the cooked down onions.
Add a BBQ sauce with or without heat. "I love Bone Sucking Sauce Hot".
Salt to taste. 
With time, I prepare a vinegar homemade sauce but didn't do it
for Easter...too busy.

Hope you had a fun weekend. It was sunny and just warm
enough in East Hampton to sit out side and enjoy Spring.

BAG OF GOODIES

My friends come every Easter weekend...it's become a lovely tradition.

They have also brought me a wealth of treats from NYC.

Gourmet olive oils, fig and white balsamic vinegars, specialty Italian tuna,

artisanal crackers, tapenades, fig jams, enormous mounds of Parmesan

and Manchego, bars of unique chocolates  including ginger

crystallized in dark chocolate which I love to offer as dessert.

Who could ask for more...great friends and great food items.

Of course, several of the aforementioned will be utilized at

tomorrows brunch.

Happy Easter and Passover everyone. HF