Halloween On Madison Avenue

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I had never thought Halloween could be so cool in a city until I visited New York this past week.  I guess it all depends on the neighborhood and the people who live there and boy was I in the right place at the right time!

The area of New York called Carnegie Hill in the Upper Eat Side is home to more kids, dogs, nannies and Ladies Who Lunch than I have ever seen in my lifetime.  I loved it.  I never thought New York could possibly be a fun place to be a kid until I stayed at my BFF's new apartment in this part of the city.  If you want to see kids of every age and dogs of every breed, stroll along the avenue north of 79th Street at around 4:00 in the afternoon on a weekday.  Here is where you will find all the chic moms, and the best behaved kids and dogs in the world.  Here is where the children of the Masters of the Universe go to school, play in the park and have ice cream cones in places like Ciao Bella and Yura while moms sip their lattes and cappuccinos and dogs wait patiently on the sidewalk.  Now tell me, ice cream cones from Ciao Bella, when you were a kid?!

It is also amazing to see the concentration of stores catering to children, from clothes to school supplies with prices to match.  Oh, and these children are fed from the likes of  Dean & DeLuca, Gourmet Garage and Food Emporium all within a 5 block walk from each other.  Need a place to get your nails done? your clothes dry cleaned? There are two on every block.  Mommy heaven! Grooming must be at the top of the list with this group... But can you imagine going trick or treating in this neighborhood?  To die for!

All photos by S. Suarez And Lindaraxa

Start Spreading the News...

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Lindaraxa will be on a short break but back before you know it!

I'm leaving a simple video on how to butterfly a chicken from the folks at Fine Cooking.  So easy a caveman can do it.  Great for when you want to cook a whole chicken on the grill.  You can also catch another video on splitting a chicken which is the best way to get uniform pieces for fried chicken.

When I get back I should have a lot of new things to show you, so stay tuned!


Photo: lost the credit but think it's from Martha

Remember When...What A Year!

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The August Vogue Cover, Red Rose,  Norman Parkinson

If you are not a baseball fan, then you don't know that last night one of the most important records in sports history was broken. Roy Halladay of the Phillies broke Don Larsen's record of the only perfect pitch game in the post season. So what year was it?

Hints:

• The cost of a new car was around $2000

1956 Cadillac Coupe De Ville

• A gallon of gas was 22 cents

• Elvis Presley entered the charts with Heartbreak Hotel

• Steve Ballmer was born

• Grace Kelly married Prince Ranier

• The only perfect pitch in World Series Game (Dan Larsen for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers) until last night.

• Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal

• The hard disk drive was invented by a team from IBM

• Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria sank off the coast of Nantucket

• Fidel Castro and Che Guevara landed in Cuba aboard the boat Granma

• Marilyn Monroe married Arthur Miller

The 1956 kitchen

• Soviet Union invaded Hungary to quelch anticommunist uprising

• I Love Lucy was the No 1 show

• My Fair Lady opened in New York City

• General Electric introduced "The Snooz Alarm"

• To Tell The Truth, Truth or Consequences, The Huntley Brinkley Report and As the World Turns first aired on television

• Elizabeth Taylor was still married to hubby No 2. Michael Wilding!!

• Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson for the second time, as an incumbent, in the U,S, Presidential Elections

• 13-year-old Bobby Fischer beat GM Donald Byrne in the NY Rosenwald chess tournament

A Typical lunch for the Ladies Who Lunch was....

Whiskey Sours

Tomato Aspic

Shrimp Newburg

Peppermint Ice Cream With Chocolate Sauce

If you've made it this far and still don't know, it was 1956! Wow, that was the year that was!

Ooops, and I almost forgot!

When was the last time you saw one of these!

I know you are wondering what this has to do with cooking and entertaining.. Nothing at all. I was just at a loss for a new recipe and thought we all needed a break.

We Are Having a Baby, My Baby And Me!

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This has to be one of the most endearing of all the Lucy/Desi episodes.  For those of you wondering, My Baby in this case is my son Ted and the Me, well that would be my daughter in law, Jan Marie of Asian Style Salmon Jan Marie fame.

                                         

These days when you know everything about everything, including sex, time and place and possibly even weight, we know that my second grandchild, a boy, will be born this Sunday, sometime around noon.  Gee, I can even look up his horoscope and if I don't like the Ascendant (determined by time of day), maybe we can delay the birth an hour or two? Somehow, I don't think that will fly. .  Well, in any event, we are all soooooooo excited and cant' wait for the newest cook in the family to be born.  How do I know he will be a great cook? In this family we start them early.  We have to give them a head start otherwise they will never survive the onslaught of lifetime criticism they will endure from the rest of the family cooks.  In this family, we take no prisoners!

My granddaughter's first cooking lesson...age 4 weeks!

I will have to say, and believe me, I am NOT bragging, that I am happy my granddaughter eats everything, from avocados to blueberries.  When she comes to my house and I ask what to cook for her, her mother tells me she'll eat whatever we are having, and she does.  I will be eternally grateful to my daughter in law for introducing her to a variety of fruits and vegetables and different types of food at this early age.  If there is something I can't stand is kids and adults who have pet peeves about food.  Oh, oh, and she drinks water when she is thirsty, none of this juice thing, WATER!  I tell you,  this kid is well on her way to perfect nutrition!

The product of good nutrition!

One of the things that got the ball rolling was a gift my daughter gave them (at my suggestion) of the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker available at Williams Sonoma.  It got my daughter in law making her real food from the start instead of  feeding her baby food from a jar.  From then on,  there was no turning back.  I think it is the best gift you can give an expectant  mother.  

Well, I guess what I'm also trying to say is that Lindaraxa will be very busy for the rest of the month, enjoying and helping with her new grand baby and will not be posting as often as she would like to.  But I'll be back full force in September... with pictures!

Take the time to look over the Master Recipe Index on the right.  I'm sure there is plenty of stuff you haven't seen or made.  Well, I don't know why I'm so concerned.  After all, I'm not your analyst taking the month of August and worried you will all be pregnant when I come back.  That's what usually happens, or so I hear!

Transfer Your Shopping Skills to the Grocery Store

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If you have to be on a budget, you don't want to live in Manhattan right now. Every Thursday, I receive by email a copy of the week's specials at nearby grocery stores. What you can save, if you pay attention, is amazing. This week, rib lamb chops at the Coral Gables Milam's are $8.99, versus $16.99 on sale at the Food Emporium in Manhattan. A 1 lbs. box of strawberries is $1.99 in Miami and $3.00 in New York City, on special. Rib eye steaks are $7.99 at my daughter's Kroger in Atlanta and $6.99 at Milam's here in Miami. I didn't even bother to check in Manhattan.

Since meat is the most expensive item on a weekly budget, I try to do my shopping where the sales and the quality are best. Everything else is not going to make a big difference, except for cleaning supplies which you can always get at Costco or one of the wholesale clubs. The reason I have been featuring Milam's here in Miami is simply that their meats and produce are tops and recently, they have been having incredible promotions to attract customers. In this economy, every market in the country is doing the same thing, so place close attention where you shop.

One of the first things you should do is look up your favorite grocery stores online, and take a look at what is on special before you go on a shopping expedition. You will save a lot of money and eat better for it. If you are not a techie, look for special circulars in your local paper. They usually come out on Thursdays. I never paid any attention to circulars or specials, just shopped on a whim, but at times like these, you need to plan ahead and be very creative. For me it is actually a lot of fun, as I have been resuscitating old recipes and trying new ones which I will be sharing with you.

If you happen to be in the Miami area and have a Milam's nearby, go get some Bottom Round Roast for $2.49 lbs and make the Yankee Rot roast which I posted last week. Buy some Rib Eye steaks for your Saturday Night on the Grill dinner, fresh salmon steaks for $5.99/lbs and my favorites... bay scallops for $4.99/lbs. The latter, although previously frozen, are very good. Just cook them the same day you buy them and do not refreeze. You can also ask them to go to the back for some frozen ones if you want to stick them in the freezer. The bay scallop season is not until September, but who can wait? Oh, and don't forget some strawberries, for a Strawberry Shortcake. If you don't want to go through the trouble, get some sponge cake cups and some ice cream and you are all set for dessert.

Let's face it, we can't go to the Mall anymore so why not transfer your shopping skills to the grocery store? I have.

As the stock market turns...so does your stomach!

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My mother was on her way to the supermarket this afternoon, car keys and grocery list in hand, when she took a look at CNBC turned around and without one word headed back up the stairs. What's this, not going out? But you are out of Scotch!! "The market is down 300 points and I don't feel like going shopping", she said. My feelings indeed. I feel sorry for the millions of retirees on fixed income who's portfolios have been cut in half, in spite of solid and safe investments. If this is the collective attitude of millions of Americans every day, our economy and our stomachs are in for a long recession. So with that in mind perhaps it is worthwhile to take a moment and consider what is often said of the French who no matter how strapped, are never too poor to eat well.

Hello Costco...Goodbye Dean & DeLuca

Pin It None of my friends understand why I, an empty nester, go to Costco. If you like to eat well, enjoy a glass of wine every night, entertain occasionally and have a freezer, you have every reason to have a Costco card. Besides, it's fun, the meat is superb, and you can't beat the prices.

I usually skip by the electronics, pause at the books, and move straight to the meats and produce. If it's June, I look for the fabulous white peaches from California to squeeze and freeze for Bellini's in the summer. A box of Campari tomatoes is always in my kitchen, for salads, sandwiches or pasta. They are the best. From the refrigerated area, Prosciutto, and the Kirkland Smoked Salmon alternate on my list and a can of White Star Alaska Crab meat is always in my refrigerator. If my daughter is home, I pick up a bag of clams or mussels to steam for lunch together with a baguette and if I'm having company for dinner, Shrimp Scampi is always a favorite.

I only buy Parmeggiano Regianno at Costco, it's the only place I can afford to. Besides, if you stick it in a Ziplock, it lasts forever. Now that imports are so expensive, Costco has cut back on European cheeses but the Dubliner cheese, which they still carry, is pretty good. The Ile de France goat cheese is still also reasonable and it always comes handy for appetizers, salads, omelettes and sandwiches. I promise to post my goat cheese roll appetizer real soon! They used to have a fabulous Manchego from Spain, but not anymore.

In the meat department, you can't beat the quality of their steaks or their lamb chops and their whole chickens are small enough to fit two in the freezer. Of course, their Rotisserie chicken is pretty good if you are in a hurry!. I do not buy their leg of lamb, simply do not like the taste of it, so I skip that. I also skip through the frozen foods, and the paper stuff and pick up a bottle of their Kirkland Olive Oil from the recent harvest on the way to the cash register. Did you know that olive oil, like wine, has a harvest? well I didn't, until a few years ago. Don't confuse this with their regular olive oil which comes in a plastic jug and is just okay. This comes in a glass 1 Liter bottle that says Toscana as well as the year of the harvest. It's in now, so get it, you won't be sorry. After it runs out you won't be able to buy it until it's bottled again after the next harvest. I usually get a case, as I use it practically every day for cooking, salads and marinades.

I spend most of my time in the wine department. Boy, do I love that place. Even though 90% of their wines can be categorized as plain and "boring" you can get some really good bargains sometimes on the other 10% if you know what you are doing. The best time to go shopping for the top wines at Costco is on Thursdays, after lunch. That is usually the day when they put out their new arrivals. You also need to know the time of year when certain wines are released to get a jump start. In my case, Bordeaux have always been my favorite wines and I know they start being released in late March or April, so I pay weekly visits during those months, always on Thursday afternoons. So guess where I was today just before this post?? Right. I am sad to report that no Bordeaux have arrived as yet, but I did come upon 8 bottles of Caymus 2006 for $58.99, a very good price compared to what they are asking at my favorite wine store in NYC. I also picked up a couple of bottles of Prosecco, the Italian wine from the Veneto that is used as an aperitif or in Bellinis, which I serve in the summer. Now, all I need are the white peaches which should be around soon.

About Lindaraxa's Garden

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Lindaraxa's Garden is one of the most photographed parts of the Alhambra Palace located in Granada, Spain. Washington Irving wrote in his Tales of the Alhambra:

"One window of the royal sleeping-room commanded a prospect of the Generalife and its embowered terraces; another looked out into the little secluded garden I have mentioned, which was decidedly Moorish in its character, and also had its history. It was in fact the garden of Lindaraxa, so often mentioned in descriptions of the Alhambra, but who this Lindaraxa was I had never heard explained.

A little research gave me the few particulars known about her. She was a Moorish beauty who flourished in the court of Mohamed the Left-Handed, and was the daughter of his loyal adherent, the governor of Malaga, who sheltered him in his city when driven from the throne. On regaining his crown, Mohamed rewarded the governor for his fidelity. His daughter had her apartment in the Alhambra, and was given by the king in marriage to Nasar, a young prince descended from Aben Hud the Just. Four centuries had elapsed since the fair Lindaraxa passed away, yet how much of the fragile beauty of the scenes she inhabited remained! The garden still bloomed [66] in which she delighted; the fountain still presented the crystal mirror in which her charms may once have been reflected; the alabaster, it is true, had lost its whiteness; the basin beneath, overrun with weeds, had become the lurking-place of the lizard, but there was something in the very decay that enhanced the interest of the scene, speaking as it did of that mutability, the irrevocable lot of man and all his works."

Lindaraxa was also the name of my home in Havana, Cuba from which I departed in 1960 and have never returned. This blog is in memory of a time gone by but a lifestyle not forgotten.

Lindaraxa's Garden, the blog, is my recipe journal where I write about recipes I have collected, cooked and served throughout the years. Often the recipes are from my cookbook collection, sometimes not- they might come from a family member, the Internet, or I might write about a recipe I created myself.  Regardless of  the source, cooking has always been a passion and no matter the circumstances, we will always entertain