Warm weather means BBQ season’s back. Not a moment too soon, winter was long … and nasty. And with hotdogs, hamburgers, steak, chicken, etc., set to sizzle, the time for replenishing supplies is prime … talkin’ ’bout the essentials … A1 Steak Sauce, Heinz 57 Sauce, Cheez Whiz, and Kraft Singles … yep, I’m good to grill!! 😎
Category Archives: food
Leftovers: Indian food
three meats tomato sauce w/ casareccia
Today I pan seared ossobucco, Italian sausages, and my famous meatballs … then gently plopped them into my homemade tomato sauce letting them slowly simmer for a few hours creating this flavourful gravy. Casareccia pasta, with its great texture really helps the sauce cling, sopping it up … oh I also added a bit of broccoli rabe before serving to give it that extra oomph. Freshly grated Grana Padano Scelto, and a glass (or two) of vino … yep, life don’t get no better!!
my thick ass ossobuco
Had these sexyshanks a while back with the family … believe me, there’s enough meat here to feed the troops, and then some … finally got around to bloggin’ pics ’bout it. Real easy & simple too … key is to have a butcher who’ll go out of his way for you, willing to work with you … getting the exact piece you ask for, and cutting to your specs. Season liberally with salt and pepper, brown in olive oil … then, add the shanks to 1.5 – 2 litres of the best homemade tomato sauce/passata you have, and bake in a dutch oven at 350° for a couple of hours till falling off the bone tender, the marrow oozing/melting into the sauce. At this point, I pulled out the ossobuco and cut/broke apart into 1-2 inch portions. I also extracted any remaining marrow from the bones, adding it to the sauce, discarding any sinewy/grisly bits as well. Served up family style with my best al dente Italian linguine (sorry, no pics … was crazily rushing around …and stressing, lol)!! 🙄
yeah, thick ass is right …
browning away #1 …
… and #2 …
meat, cheese, bread!!
… what else is there, lol? Absolutely LOVE putting together a simple platter like this. Admittedly, it’s a basic one compared to my other efforts … but it was only the two of us, and there was plenty of food … plus I don’t need to always impress the hellouttaya … for a last minute, quickie-throw-together-thingie, it worked out great. That’s my fave focaccia again, Jarlsberg, extra old Cheddar, salami, another salami, ham … but what really got me excited was the new speck available at my Highland Farms. My receipt in shorthand form referred to it as H/TYROL SCHINKENSPECK SMKD … it’s Austrian, it’s smoked … and it’s FANTASTIC … 3pics y’all, enjoy!!
braised oxtail
Lucy, I wanna kick ya in the cunt!!
… ya ALMOST ruined ma b-day dinner for TIFF K!! Yer recipe writing skills leave a lot to be desired … lucky for you I have shittywrittenrecipefixingskills!! 👿
reconstituted rehydrated … redux
… yesterday’s leftovers; collard greens, tomato sauce and potatoes that I baked. Knew that it wanted more liquid/sauce, so today I added between 500 ml and a litre of water and stove top cooked it (basically reheating, letting it slowly simmer) in my All-Clad saucier. Transforms it to more of a soup/stew … just loosened it up, and changed it completely. A few pics y’all.
potatoes and collard greens
… completely made this up. Had a Lock & Lock container of leftover homemade tomato sauce w/ chopped collard greens (was from my baccala holiday meal) in my freezer, and a 20 lb sack of spuds sitting chilly in my root cellar (ok, I don’t REALLY have a root cellar, but my parents did when I was a kid, lol). I defrosted the collard green tomato sauce (put the ice chunk in a sauce pan on low heat), peeled 6 or 7 potatoes into large chunks … oh, for added flavour, thinly sliced a Spanish onion and sautéed till translucent … then combined everything thoroughly and dumped it all into my Le Creuset Stoneware dish to bake for an hour … voilà, danistrulythemakingshitupman … 💡
NOOOOOOOOO …
South St. Burger Co.
… made it here … finally!! Had the group discount WagJag from what seems ages ago, and today decided to go. Oh, and I’ve never been to South St. … famous for their mango chutney (and no if you must know, not on you life, lol), as well as other fun (unique) offerings. I loaded my burger with gorgonzola, chipotle BBQ sauce, spicy onions, dijon horseradish mayo, w/lettuce and tomatoes too!! Tiff had guacamole, spicy onions, hot peppers, garlic mayo, honey mustard, w/lettuce and tomato (sorry, no pic). We agreed the food was good, Tiff especially loved the fries, and I second that – they were great. The burgers were good too … but nothing outstanding, we’ve def had better. Must admit, I really enjoyed the chipotle flavour on mine, the spiciness was perfect. Unfortunately the bottom line is we probably won’t go back … er, unless we snag another WagJag, lol!!
fries and shake …
ma burger (toasted bun – nice touch) …
even with the coupon – it ain’t cheap …
succulent butter roasted potatoes
more Union dues
a day late, a dollar …
didn’t know what to use as a title, this will do. and for the first time ever, I’m blogging without editing, re-editing a million times. I promise (I think, lol). so don’t be expecting the usual falling off your chair as you read this either. stuff I write is falling off the chair funny, isn’t it, lol?! mistakes, punctuation, caps be damned. today was a helluva day, plans I had were cancelled … hate that word, rescheduled is better. Tiffany K and I were dressed ready to go, but with nowhere to go. perfect time to drive to Hamilton to the brand new Anchor Bar that opened yesterday … read yesterday’s blog y’all. normally when I post pics/stories I embellish, cover faults, etc. focusing on only the good aspects … I’m not a reviewer after all, I like things to be perfect (or appear to be). today, I’m afraid I can’t, I have mixed feelings about it all. I can’t remember the last time I had Anchor wings in Buffalo, it’s been that long. fifteen years for sure, probably twenty. I remember they were the pinnacle, the best … today they were good, very good but not the best. Tiff immediately said, “Duff’s” are better. she read my mind, they are. no matter – good is still good. it was more about the beautiful city of Hamilton that depressed me, and I felt bad, I still do as I write this. we made the mistake (mistake because it exposed me to things I was unaware of) of walking out the back of the restaurant, the exit that leads into the mall. Tiff said, “it’s like the seventies in here”. as many stores that were open, an equal number weren’t. for lease signs abounded, the mall was poorly lit, very dark and unwelcoming … I could go on, I won’t. was blown away with the depressed state of it all. guess what at the time was my highlight of the day, so much that I took a moment and snapped a pic … free parking on a Saturday, downtown Hamilton, on King Street … was in fact a harbinger of Hamilton’s economic state. the pics.
Anchors Away!!
Heard about this early in the a.m. … sadly wasn’t early enough – was a little too late for me switching shit around … and believe me, even with such short notice I tried my best wing-swinging-it, wanting to be one of the first lucky Canucks inhalin’ Anchor Bar wings not from Frank & Teressa’s original Buffalo landmark, but from the grand spankin’ new one (1st franchise in Canada) opening north of the border in Steeltown today at high noon, smack-dab downtown in Jackson Square. Happy days in the Hammer y’all … I’m goin’ to Jackson, I’m gonna mess around …yeah, I’m goin’ to Jackson!!
kale ‘n garlic
… along with rapini … my favourite greens, hands down! Very healthy, and easy to prepare/make too. I grab the bunch, and chop off the bottom (thicker) stalks/stems … wash and rinse 3-4 times quickly, shaking off excess water, yet leaving it wet … heat up my pot, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and throw in the kale. You can immediately hear it crackle as the cool, watery leaves interact with the hot oil … season liberally with salt, black pepper and put a lid on it. A few minutes later when it’s wilted somewhat, I add the slivered garlic (I find they’ll burn if I add them along with the kale), allowing them to get golden, by that time it’s all done. All that remains is the plating, and tossing on a few chili flakes too. Enjoy!!
change of plans: português comida
… sorry Tiff. Stopped at my fave Sunday haunt and got roped into a Portuguese food feast. Good bud Alex didn’t even bother to ask if I wanted a beer today, he just ordered it … and he even remembered my brand, Stella (best the bar offers). He did ask if I wanted to join him/them for lunch, his treat … I can’t tell you how many times I’ve douched out and declined … not today. A few pics y’all …
Alex and me (grunge photoshopped, lol)
vino (and bread)
cabbage, carrots, and potatoes
… pic #2
… and 3
meat: chorizo, chicken, pork … unsure of the rest?
… pic #2
my plate (1st of 3 helpings)
2 bottles (these are the bigboybottles btw) down, 1 to go
after dinner espresso and double shot of brandy (bowl is deep)
Final thoughts; those three bottles of wine were drunk ‘tween eight manly men dining (seven actually … stuck with my Stella). Every Sunday, anyone who wants to eat/drink is welcomed. The bill is calculated as a whole, then divided by the number of people … roughly calculated too (no nitpicking), making paying easier. Today it was $20/head … ALL IN!! My lunch included three beers (typically $6-7 at any bar), all the food I could eat, a double shot of brandy and espresso … to call it a good bargain would be the proverbial understatement. Thanks again Alex, you’re good people!!
if brown food tastes good, blackened food must taste GREAT?!
beep beep beep
this post title has no title!! leftovers? leftovers again? tired of the same old same old blog post I mean … not the leftovers, lol!!
… I’m plum outta posts … perhaps that shoulda been the title, lol?! Anyways, you guessed it, leftovers … frozen and defrosted leftovers … this is the third and final day of my killer balls. My turkey meatballs that first started rolling Christmas Eve. Comfort food on a cold day … open faced sammy on a toasted ciabatta roll with roasted creminis, caramelized onions, hot banana peppers, and bubbling provolone after a moment under the Sally …
two for the price of one
yummo closeup
digging in
have steak knife will travel



























































