SOMETHING FUNNY HAPPENED ...

On the way home last night. We had previously planned to make some meatballs with some of that delicious sauce Meena picked up yesterday, but as soon as I found Meena at 42nd for the ride home, she had another idea - Lobo.

Not having been to Lobo since the unfortunate Meena-hits-subway-turnstile-with-foot incident of 2007, I figured it was fine to hit it again. Sometimes a little Mexican does a body good on stressful Monday nights, right?

Nothing unusual for us. Just the normal deal as far as orders.

Meena had:
- edwin's enchiladas (chicken with spanish sauce)

Alec kept it straight forward with:
- chicken soft tacos

I didn't realize it at first, but Meena was right. We needed to hang at lobo and have some chips and salsa. I'll cook on Wednesday!

PASTA BY MEENA

Meena was kind enough to make some dinner last night because I had spent a large part of the day committed to football. So while I was over at James and D's house, she hit the store and got everything ready for a delicious pasta dish to cap off our lazy Sunday.

The big bowl featured the following:
- linguine
- pancetta
- cajun turkey
- broccoli
- parmesan
- marinara
- garlic

This one was good. In addition to it making the kitchen smell like a dream, it ended up satisfying the palate in a major way. The little bits of pancetta gave the whole thing a really rich, salty flavor. And the garlic just permeated everything perfectly.

BREAKFAST IN BED!

I woke up this morning with plenty of energy and a desire to make Meena a little breakfast in bed. And for some reason, I felt compelled to make pancakes. This is a weird Sunday. I don't know what is going on.

Anyway, I hit Pacific Green for a couple supplies and I got going as soon as I hit the door. With Meena still slumbering, I tried to be quiet as I mixed up batter and got pancetta sizzling. I think I succeeded because when I rolled on downstairs with my little platter, she was just opening her eyes!

Anyway, no real ingredients to mention. Some Swedish pancake batter, a little granola and an egg. I whipped up the syrup with some cherry preserves and balsamic vinegar. The pancetta obviously needs nothing other than a little heat.

Lovely breakfast. Now bring on more football!!

STRASS-DINNER

It had been weeks since we'd seen Dan and Steveo, so we were all pretty stoked to see each other when we made it to Park Slope last night. And as an added treat (and because Dan got some awesome new knives) we were all set to enjoy the results from some of Dan's hard work in the kitchen.

Dan got us started with some homemade hummus and plantain chips. Actually, I should say, this whole meal had a neo-Columbian vibe. Which was awesome. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that.

After that, we got down with some polenta cakes that had a variety of nice toppings. One had hummus and sun-dried tomato. The other had an avocado salad. Like, seriously ... does it get better?

Then for dinner, we got super special with amazing little tacos. We had a talapia variety. We had a chipotle chicken variety. We had avocado and manchego for toppings. We had a chipotle mayo. We had slaw! With a couple of corn tortillas? It gets no better.

After dinner, we had some more wine and then engaged in a little friendly competition on the boys' new Wii! That's right, we all got it now baby. We're in business.

Awesome meal. Thanks so much Danny!

PERFECT CONCLUSION

It was a short week but it felt ... so ... long. Three days, but three terrible ones. Everyone was itching to get back to business and I somehow ended up on the receiving end of all their post-holiday efforts do disguise late December slacking.

I digress.

Given the stressful work climate, we figured we'd go somewhere that always centers our minds and gets us back to where we need to be.

And no surprise, we did exactly what we always do.

Alec had:
- baked pear with blue cheese and honey garlic oil
- rabbit and ginger sausages in miso and carrot sauce

Meena had the:
- smoked mussels in cilantro chili butter
- broiled chicken with goat cheese and papaya puree

Seriously, this place is perfect. And thanks to a nice little post-holiday gift Artie hooked me up with, we even enjoyed a delicious pinot noir with dinner.

Long live the weekend.

TAKE TWO

Meena and I had a very late night again. I had to work at some Us Weekly event and Meena was doing some extra stuff to get acclimated with the new gig. So when we finally got home around 10ish, we weren't sure what to do about food. Our natural inclination was to go the delivery route, but in the end, I just thought the stuff we had in the fridge from the previous night's adventure in sandwiches would be ideal. And fast.

So I piled on the Turkish Delight bread just like last night:
- tomato sauce
- turkish delight bread
- roast beef
- grilled onions
- fresh mozzarella
- crushed red pepper
- salt
- dried basil

After a little hard time under the broiler, our sandwiches emerged from the heat looking ... well, a lot like they did last night. And that was a good thing. The onions and beef and cheese and sauce? Delicious.

And after a little TV time, that was that. On to Friday!

COLD NIGHT, HOT SANDWICH

Last night was the beginning of the bitter, bitter cold. That horrible wind that sweeps through your jacket and chills you to the bone? You know that one? Well we got it.

So we figured some warm sandwiches and a couple quick greens would be the best way to go from icy to cozy and content.

First I got the sandwiches together:
- tomato sauce
- fresh mozzarella
- grilled onions
- olive oil
- roast beef
- turkish delight bread
- salt
- dried basil
- crushed red pepper

I threw those suckers under the broiler for a few minutes and we were in business. Delicious, warm and comfortable business.

While those were under the flame, I quickly did up some veggies to accompany our meal:
- snap peas
- onion
- black sesame seeds
- rice wine vinegar
- shiitake mushrooms
- salt
- crushed red pepper

I think everything turned out well. I probably didn't do the peas long enough. I like them crunchy, but I could have gone a little further. I'll refine that one though. The flavor was on. Just need to try it again.

And that Turkish bread ... man. Very good. I don't know how I've managed to keep walking past it in the store. It's amazing!

BACK IN BROOKLYN

After a few flights and a cab ride, we finally made it back to Brooklyn and honestly, I felt like I needed to cook as soon as the bags were partially unpacked. So I hit Pacific Green for a few quick ingredients and got moving on pizzettas once I walked through the door.

I pretty much made the same one three times. Here's how it went:
- crimini mushrooms
- red pepper flakes
- fresh mozzarella
- anchovies
- flour tortilla
- dried basil
- black pepper
- tomato sauce

I did one with a little Mexican spice mix and another with the tandori mix we had in the spice rack. Just a little flavor weirdness. I didn't really need to add that stuff. But whatever. I thought it might be fun. I probably should have just kept them normal. What fun is the kitchen if you're not messing around though? No fun for me.

They were all good though. It's sorta good to be home. Neither of us want to go to work. But this is our house. It's always good to be in your house and sleep in your own bed. I just miss all the family we just spent the last week with, though.

Back to reality!

PARTING EGGS

We had our final breakfast in Florida this morning and it was delicious - although it was sad to head out, we certainly left with delicious breakfast in our bellies.

I started with some great local citrus (I assume it was local. I guess I don't really know if the store was honest about that). But it was good.

Dad then whipped up some omelettes with ham and cheese. Dad does these things very well. He gets the eggs perfect and thin and the interior is wonderful. I've watched Jacques Pepin make his true version and this isn't that, but whatever, man. This is a great breakfast and it's something I'll crave for weeks to come. Dad is just just good at this stuff.

He threw in some cantaloupe and we called it a meal. One last spin on the terrace overlooking an ocean that was as smooth as glass.

TO THE MAX

One last dinner in Florida and subsequently, 2007 as well! It seemed fitting we hit one of our favorite spots - Max's Grille. It's a Mizner Park favorite and over the years, we've spent many an afternoon or evening on their outdoor patio sampling the best stuff they have.

Yesterday we kept it fairly simple. Here's how it went:
- Mom and Dad: southwestern cobb salad
- Allison: salmon of some sort
- Meena: crispy chicken salad
- Alec: blackened dolphin sandwich

I probably should have ordered one of those lovely salads, but I hadn't had any local fish since I'd been down here and I thought I should before we split. It was OK. And it filled me up. Can't complain.

That salad Mom and Dad had ... amazing. The dressing is out of this world. It's some sort of smoky cilantro and lime number. Unmatched.

When we got home, we broke out some lovely shrimp dad picked up from Bob's fish market. We had to live it up for the new year! So several shellfish and a couple bottles of wine later, we were hooting and hollering for 2008. Not really. We were actually pretty subdued. But we were still merry and happy.

It's been such a lovely trip. Florida is so important to us. I love this place. Meena loves this place. It's the best there is.

A ... SMOKIN' BREAKFAST

So I'm running just a wee bit short on the original name front. Sue me. I gotta keep the smoked salmon thing going because it really was the primary ingredient here.

I made breakfast this morning because dad's cell broke and he had to run up to the Verizon store. Due to that fact, Meena had to eat more smoked salmon so we could burn through the remnants. Our little sandwiches featured:
- smoked salmon (obviously)
- whole wheat english muffins
- swiss cheese
- egg
- salt
- black pepper

We tossed on a slab of cantaloupe and called it a breakfast. Off to the beach for our last full day of fun in the sun!

LILLY'S AT LONG LAST

Lilly's is one of those great places that just makes you feel a little better when you're there. Like Tartine in New York or Lucali in Brooklyn, you just really know life is good when you sit down and place an order.

Lilly's also will do WHATEVER you want. Many places are too pompous to allow such a practice. But they don't care there. They want you to be happy. They want you to like what you're eating. So you get what you want. No matter if it's not on the menu.

I did order off the menu, but most of the family didn't. Here's how it went:
- Alec: tortellini caprese with fresh basil
- Meena: pink sauce with whole wheat fettuccine and shrimp
- Allison: butternut squash ravioli with pink sauce
- Dad: pink sauce with black pepper fettuccine sausage, sun-dried tomato and mushroom
- Mom: spinach ravioli

The food was fantastic. Excellent dining experience (I even got to watch a little football because my seat looked into the bar). I mean, what a perfect vacation dinner, right?

SMOKIN' LUNCH

We'd picked up some smoked salmon at the store the other night and hadn't had a chance to get into any of it. Facing a rapid decay rate down here in this humidity and salty air, we figured it'd be best to just break it out and make some appetizers before our light lunch yesterday.

So we did.

I made two types of bites. One had a potato chip base and the other a whole wheat toast. The consensus of opinion seemed to favor the chips. I agreed. At any rate, the first option included:
- wasabi mustard potato chips
- goat cheese
- smoked salmon
- chives

And the second was nearly the same ... only on a wheat toast.

Something about the wasabi chip gave the first option a little kick that made it better than the other. Creamy cheese, smoky salmon and just a bit of wasabi bite. Perfect.

Lunch was more from the sandwich stable. Meena and I split a wrap filled with roast beef, cheese, lettuce, mustard and mayo. Couple of carrots and that's what we called lunch.

THE DAD-WICH

Another morning ... another delicious breakfast sandwich from Dad. This time he used some "southwestern" eggs and a little ham and cheese to get down to business. Another wonderful way to start a day.

LUX FEAST

Dinner last night was in a word, HUGE. We did some shopping duty at Town Centre and after we'd worked up a sufficient appetite, we stopped off at one of the mall's eateries, The Grand Lux Cafe. It's a derivative of the Cheesecake Factory and it shows in nearly every aspect of the operation. From the MASSIVE space to the GIGANTIC proportions and EPIC menu, they seemed focused on size from square one. And they've achieved. Because the place truly is massive in every way.

Even the booth we were assigned proved to be one of the largest I'd ever occupied. It swallowed the five of us.

Anyway, not that any of this is really bad. I'm just trying to set the stage.

Once we'd finally finished reading the lengthy menu, we decided on a few things. We ordered as follows:
- Mom: pasta with balsamic chicken and cherry tomatoes
- Meena: pasta with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms
- Allison: salmon three ways (miso, ginger and something else ...)
- Dad: that massive southwestern salad you're seeing up there
- Alec: pizza bianca with prosciutto and balsamic glaze

It was all good but decidedly WAY too big. We all had leftovers. And lots of them. I don't think my prosciutto was really that. It was just ham, really.

But everything was good and after all that shopping, it was nice to be full and content. On home to hope and pray for a Patriots loss (to no avail ... evil is on quite a tear these days).

ANOTHER LUNCH IN PARADISE

The beach was lovely yesterday and the winds that brought big waves and lots of jellyfish subsided and gave us a few hours of glorious sunshine and lovely heat.

After we had our fill, we brushed off the salt and sand and came to the kitchen for a bit more lunch. Nothing spectacular. Just some turkey, ham and roast beef with some swiss, pepper jack and cheddar to go along with our pilfered Panera mustards.

We threw in some carrots and chips for good measure. Excellent additions, both.

BREAKFAST BY THE SEA

Dad is always good to make us tasty little breakfasts when we're in Florida and yesterday was no different. With the working fridge, he had a whole host of lovely ingredients to work with and we wound up with some nice little treats when the plates were served had and the pans removed from flame.

I only took a photo of Meena's, but mine was largely the same. I think mine just had some turkey. But in addition to those lovely strawberries, we had:
- egg
- fresh salsa
- english muffin
- salt
- black pepper

Delicious. I fully expect to consume bunches more of these before we head out of here.

PRAISE BE TO CHANG

Florida has many things. Lovely weather. Beaches. The ocean. But delicious independent restaurants seem to be the minority around these parts. Lots of chains are around, though. And more often than not, we hit them up. And one in particular that Meena and I can't get in NYC is the storied P.F. Changs.

It was loud and noisy and I could hardly hear Mom and Dad on the other side of the booth, but once they brought us some chicken lettuce wraps, nobody had much to say anyway!

After that lovely starter, we got down to business with the main course. The table received brown rice and the rest of the orders shook out as follows:
- Mom had some sort of lemon chicken
- Allison had mongolian beef
- Meena had chang's spicy chicken
- Dad and I both had the kung po chicken

It was a ton of food, but as always, pretty darn delicious. I ate my weight in spicy red peppers. Dad parted with his so I could indulge in one of my favorite tastes.

I ended up WAY full. INSANE full. I'm not sure if it's because the portions were bigger than I'm accustomed to navigating or if I just ate too fast because I was so excited to be having it, but it matters not - it was good and we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

OCEANSIDE LUNCH

We typically keep it strictly sandwich style down here for lunch and yesterday was no different. We were having the fridge replaced (they don't hold up over time when you keep them on for two weeks at a time twice a year!) so everything was still coming out of coolers. No problem. We had turkey pastrami and all the fixings. Dad was smart enough to lift some mustard from Panera and with that, our sandwiches were complete. Add some chips, a nectarine and some of Uncle Donnie's venison jerky and you've got yourself another lunch in paradise.

PANERA PARTY

I wasn't feelin' 100% when dinner time rolled around last night but it was high time I ate and to Panera we went. Again, the lingering illness kept me from snapping shots and stuff, but if you've been to Panera before, you know how it went. Soups, sandwiches and salads. Finally. I could handle food again.