Focused at Fifty

The other day I was walking from my office in Allentown to my newly assigned parking lot. I suffer the fate of having to park in the lot furthest away from work. I quip bitterly that I park in the next town over. The first five times I guess it was funny. Now they think I am just bitter about the whole situation. And yes, they are correct. From work, I walk down a long alley in between the county government building and a 19th century church. Glancing upwards, I spied several large icicles the size of stalactites hanging off the church roof just ready to come crashing down on whomever was treading below. Now we aren't talking about the icicles that as kids we would break off and eat. Ummm...did anyone else do that besides me? (silence ... crickets chirping) Anyway, the icicles on the church are the size of baseball bats. If one hit you, it would definitely knock you out or worse like stab you like the lightening rod did to that poor priest in the first Damien movie, you know th...

Sarah and Herman Newman, my grandparents on Mom's side. These pictures was taken by my father in the early 70's. This is another recipe from Sarah Newman, my maternal grandmother, and is one which came with her from Belarus where her family hails from. Nana specifically came from a small town named Ilya, north of Minsk in Belarus.  Ilya was a significantly Jewish town which suffered incredible losses at the hands of the German solders during World War II. Luckily, my Nana's immediate family emigrated from Russia during the early 1900's, although many family members still perished during the Holocaust. An interesting anecdote I remember well from my Nana. She often would tell me we were White Russian, as opposed to Black Russian. The name Belarus actually derives from Belaya Rus , meaning "White Rus". Nana was always adamant that I remember this, "You are from White Russia.You are NOT Black Russian." Black Russia was an area in the upper wes...

I think everyone who lives east of the Rockies is just over this wintry weather. I know in Philadelphia that we broke a 130 year old record for the most 6 inch plus snowfalls in one winter!  We normally get an average of 18 inches of snow by this time but have received 50 inches plus. It's enough to give even Grizzly Adams cabin fever.  After hours of back breaking shoveling on these snowbound days, all one wants to do is just vegetate on the couch with a favorite drink watching movies or sports on cable. Thank G-d for the Winter Olympics and Turner Classic Movies.  For John, that means a glass of Single Malt Scotch, for me a glass of port. Day-drinking on a snowy day can be so much fun!  It also makes shoveling a bit easier although my walkways may not be a straight.  Another requisite for the snow day is the making of comfort food.  When I find that the temperature starts dipping below 30'F, I immediately get out that recipe box to see what "warm...

HELPFUL HINT: Mom's recipe card she wrote out for me. This is a great kitchen hint from my good friend Marie, who worked with me at the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia for years! Marie was the one of the Pastry Chefs at the hotel, then left to become the pastry chef at the esteemed Asian restaurant Susanna Foo as well as a number of other well known restaurants in Philadelphia. She currently works for The Restaurant School in Philly as the pastry chef instructor.  The great thing about being friends with Marie (besides just being a wonderful person) is that she is only a cell phone call away when I need baking advice!  And yes, I shamefully take advantage of that. Nana's measuring spoons from the 1940's. John and I were getting ready for our annual Christmas Eve open house when he was making his Mom's famous rice balls, or as the Italians know them, arancini .  He was using eggs and cracked a bit to many. My question was whether I could save the already cracked, s...