Andy's Diner

Final Round...

Sunday dinner: Lamb on the grill, with garlic mashed potatoes.

It's been a great holiday. The boys got to hang out. We've come a long way in the last 10 or so years since this picture was taken:

One of us has gotten a lot taller, one has gotten a lot grayer and Grandpa looks about the same!

The girls LOVE their Grandma! Who wouldn't? They read together, played computer games and the littlest one even learned Blackjack... Can't wait for that call from the Pre-K teacher!

Hurry back Grandma and Grandpa! We miss you already!

Nonno's Focaccia RULES...

We got a little lesson this morning in Focaccia:

Pretty straightforward recipe and preparation. After tennis, we came back to a house with that unmistakeable fresh bread smell. He made focaccia with fresh sage and sea salt. Add some mayo, some fresh turkey breast from yesterday and you have a SUPERB sandwich!

The New Order of Things...

There is a new and COOLER guy in the house. It's Grandpa. He's having a blast with the grandkids... especially with the most artistic of the gang. They're doing her school art project here. Not every kid has a Grandpa who is an Art Icon!

Dinner tonight was light and tasty: Some extremely fresh yellowtail snapper, broiled in a herb butter and breadcrumbs.

On the side was a fresh salad of white beans, fresh fennel, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and fresh basil.

Oh, and the new order of things even reaches to the most SACRED of things: MY RECLINER! It's no longer mine! Puma has taken possesion of the prize seat in the house!

It's all downhill from here!

Lunch was Turkey, Dinner is... DESSERT!

We've got a KILLER French Bakery in Miami - Delices de France - on US1 in Pinecrest. Their chocolate mousse cake is to die for. Today being Thanksgiving, we had to go the fruit route:

The Pear Tart and...

The Walnut Cranberry tart. A little LaVazza espresso to wash them down. Now, where's my cigar?

Oh yeah... there was turkey too!

We'll get to the turkey in a second, but the highlight of the meal was the first course: Roasted Squash soup with crispy pancetta, fried sage and a drizzle of extra-aged balsamic. Damn, was that good.

Now, the turkey was good, for turkey... it was injected last night with a Cuban Mojo. Sides were Aunt Lily's fabulous  Cranberry/Orange/Brandy sauce and the classic cornbread/Italian sausage/Granny Smith Apple and Vidalia onion stuffing.

Let the Party Begin!

The grandparents have arrived! All the kids are bouncing off the walls as even are the pets! We'll be having quite the foodie holiday over the next few days. Tonight was a cool Florida night so we welcomed Nonno in with his favorite: Polenta. Grandma is not a big polenta fan, so she and the kids got gnocchi. The Bolognese was the sauce of choice.

Wine was a sensational Seco Bertani Valpolicella. One of the best $15 bottles of Italian wine I have found.

Dinner for a "Chilly" Night...

With the "wind chill", the temperature feels like 64 degrees!!! Man! That's FREEZING! ;)

Well, I know, it's a s-t-r-e-t-c-h to call it chilly, so I'll just say that it's cool enough to make some food I don't normally make. Like this fantastic Daniel Boulud recipe for Bolognese sauce from Food & Wine Magazine. I left out the chestnuts, however.

A HUGE weekend...

My buddy's kids had their confirmation on Saturday and the celebration was ON!

Here are the great kids with a buddy in the back right... and some of the food up front.

Here are the 2 paletas - one marinated with a mojo criollo and one marinated in a more Italian blend of rosemary, garlic and sea salt.

Here are the 2 turkeys. One was injected with mojo criollo, the other with a marinade of lime, honey, garlic and ginger... and then they were both DEEP FRIED!!!! Health food!

Forza Tricolori!!!!

The colors of Italy, represented in a very simple and tasty dish. A special double-smoked bacon (sorta red) I found at a specialty store, with cannelini beans (white) and onions along with peas (green) and cherry tomatoes (real red) all in a sage broth. I grated some good Parmesan on top - that's white too, sorta. Oh, and I drank red wine too, does that count? ;)

An OUTSTANDING Find...

There I was, in my truck, going to work, listening to NPR's Marketplace and all of a sudden I heard a report on a philanthropic program I've been waiting to find for years: It's called DonorsChoose. Teachers submit proposals. You choose which to fund and students benefit. Here's the link:

It's as simple as that. I'm going to focus my first challenge on teacher requests from New Orleans. I've set a goal of $3624 to directly and entirely fund a specific proposal from the four teachers in the "Talented in Art" Program that serves children in the very challenged Algiers section of the West Bank. The program will fund a kiln, glazes and 300 pounds of clay. My mother was an avid potter, so I'm doing this in her memory. I'm in... Who else is?

Here's the link: CLICK AWAY!!!! Or go ahead and click on the widget in the upper right hand corner...