Recently there was an article in the New York Times about the negative consequences of living on vodka and cigarettes. Personally, I don't think the writer did much research because this vodka cigarette thing has some merit. At least it does for me. Like most humans, I would have never gotten healthy unless I had to. Yes, I know it's completely un-PC to say I take pure delight in smoking and drinking, yes I know, the stuff will kill me, but I'd be remiss not to point out the upside. I had lots of fun, I was really thin, vodka and cigarettes perfected my art of avoidance and denial. Come on, that's a pretty damn good life.
So that worked fine until I couldn't stand without getting dizzy, or wash my hair without having half of it left in the drain, or get a full night sleep, or....no.. I think sex was still ok. Anyways, vodka & cigarettes were the catalyst for me making a "lifestyle change". To quote my pal Peter "you got to get in to get out", I had to feel rotten so I had to learn a new way to eat, or let me put it this way, I needed to learn TO eat. Lucky for me I owned a restaurant with a great chef!
Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing excerpts from my Vodka Cigarette Diet Cookbook @2008. And I use "diet" loosely. It will be filled with swell stories of KeKA, its Spanish & Mediterranean menu and recipes, funny antidotes of people and employees, wine choices and event ideas. But most importantly I'll show you how by changing your eating habits and living a simple, flavorful, Mediterranean lifestyle, you'll lose weight, you'll be healthier, you'll have more energy and here's the perk! You can have a vodka and a cigarette.
Stay tuned!
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David commiserating with Bern
Me with the "girls". All of them
Winner of Berns wet t-shirt contest
my boy "Scout"
I know, I know.This is very scary.
I try to couple the integration of wishful thinking with the criticality of knowing better. - Barbara Kruger, artist -
- OCBI
- Small Business & Community Working Together
NEWSWORTHY
slideshow
David commiserating with Bern
Me with the "girls". All of them
Winner of Berns wet t-shirt contest
COMING SOON!
STACEY'S ORZO RECIPE!
(from the party)
(from the party)
my boy "Scout"
I know, I know.This is very scary.
KeKA EGGPLANT ROLL-UPS
Makes 24
Preheat oven to 350
Tomato Artichoke Sauce
2 cans artichoke hearts
1 small can tomato sauce
3 lbs plum tomatoes
3 tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped celery with leaves ( the inside tender stalks)
1/2 cup yellow onion
1 tbsp fresh chopped garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
In a large sauce pan heat olive oil. Add garlic, onions, celery, artichokes. Cook til slightly tender. Add tomatoes. Cook over medium heat til fresh tomatoes break down. Salt & pepper to taste. Pulse in food processor to make a small chunk sauce.
Roll-ups
2-3 lb Fryer Chicken
2 Large Eggplants
3 Leeks
1/2 lb Morbier or Smoked Mozzarella
( these are so yummy with Morbier but its really stinky when it melts and it gives you really bad breath! Because of this, for parties I use smoked mozz)
Wash chicken well and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake in oven about 35-40 minutes or until meat thermometer shows 165 degrees. Set aside to cool.
Thinly slice eggplant longway. Lightly brush with oil, salt, & pepper. Don't over oil or eggplant will fall apart when cooked.
Place side by side on cookie sheet (DO NOT STACK!) and cook until just transparent and flexible. Let cool.
Clean leeks well and slice in thin strips. Heat a dry saute pan
and lightly brown leeks. Let cool. Grate cheese.
Pull both dark and white meat off chicken into small stringy pieces.
Assemble the rollups by placing chicken, leeks, and cheese at the wide end of the egglant rolling to the narrow end. Place on cookie sheet seam side down.
To serve, warm in 300 oven til cheese is melted. Sauce can be served warm or cold. Garnish with rough cut parsley.
SUSTAINABLE SCRAPS!
I never throw anything away and use all the scraps. I keep a bucket in my fridge for all the ends and nubs and heels I don't use during the week and make stock. This is great cuz there's no preservatives or sodium and I freeze it in small labeled containers and use them as I need them!
For Veg Stock, take leeks, tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, parsley stalks, celery, carrot, bay leaves, & whole peppercorns. Add all your scraps, put all in 10 qt pan, cover with cold water and reduce at a low boil for 6-12 hours til it makes a rich stock. Do not add salt! Salt when you use it! Strain and freeze.
For Chicken stock, all the above plus the carcass
For Beef or Lamb stock, all of the above add bones and any leftover meat.
Preheat oven to 350
Tomato Artichoke Sauce
2 cans artichoke hearts
1 small can tomato sauce
3 lbs plum tomatoes
3 tbsp fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped celery with leaves ( the inside tender stalks)
1/2 cup yellow onion
1 tbsp fresh chopped garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
In a large sauce pan heat olive oil. Add garlic, onions, celery, artichokes. Cook til slightly tender. Add tomatoes. Cook over medium heat til fresh tomatoes break down. Salt & pepper to taste. Pulse in food processor to make a small chunk sauce.
Roll-ups
2-3 lb Fryer Chicken
2 Large Eggplants
3 Leeks
1/2 lb Morbier or Smoked Mozzarella
( these are so yummy with Morbier but its really stinky when it melts and it gives you really bad breath! Because of this, for parties I use smoked mozz)
Wash chicken well and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake in oven about 35-40 minutes or until meat thermometer shows 165 degrees. Set aside to cool.
Thinly slice eggplant longway. Lightly brush with oil, salt, & pepper. Don't over oil or eggplant will fall apart when cooked.
Place side by side on cookie sheet (DO NOT STACK!) and cook until just transparent and flexible. Let cool.
Clean leeks well and slice in thin strips. Heat a dry saute pan
and lightly brown leeks. Let cool. Grate cheese.
Pull both dark and white meat off chicken into small stringy pieces.
Assemble the rollups by placing chicken, leeks, and cheese at the wide end of the egglant rolling to the narrow end. Place on cookie sheet seam side down.
To serve, warm in 300 oven til cheese is melted. Sauce can be served warm or cold. Garnish with rough cut parsley.
SUSTAINABLE SCRAPS!
I never throw anything away and use all the scraps. I keep a bucket in my fridge for all the ends and nubs and heels I don't use during the week and make stock. This is great cuz there's no preservatives or sodium and I freeze it in small labeled containers and use them as I need them!
For Veg Stock, take leeks, tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, parsley stalks, celery, carrot, bay leaves, & whole peppercorns. Add all your scraps, put all in 10 qt pan, cover with cold water and reduce at a low boil for 6-12 hours til it makes a rich stock. Do not add salt! Salt when you use it! Strain and freeze.
For Chicken stock, all the above plus the carcass
For Beef or Lamb stock, all of the above add bones and any leftover meat.
TINA'S ARTICHOKES
YUMMMM
BRAISED ARTICHOKES serves 4
1 lemon
1.25 lbs baby artichokes
.5 cup chicken stock
.25 cup dry white wine
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste
Fill large bowl with water & juice lemon (reserve lemon halves) remove tough outer leaves of artichokes, trim pointy tops and stems, rub artichokes with lemon halves transfer them to lemon water as you work
Cut large artichokes in half lengthwise. drain artichokes & place in large skillet over med-high heat with stock, wine and oil. Cover, stirring occassionally until artichokes are tender and golden and liquid has evaporated, (about 15 minutes) season with salt and pepper, serve
BRAISED ARTICHOKES serves 4
1 lemon
1.25 lbs baby artichokes
.5 cup chicken stock
.25 cup dry white wine
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste
Fill large bowl with water & juice lemon (reserve lemon halves) remove tough outer leaves of artichokes, trim pointy tops and stems, rub artichokes with lemon halves transfer them to lemon water as you work
Cut large artichokes in half lengthwise. drain artichokes & place in large skillet over med-high heat with stock, wine and oil. Cover, stirring occassionally until artichokes are tender and golden and liquid has evaporated, (about 15 minutes) season with salt and pepper, serve
SPECIAL KISSES
Although my 50th birthday was amazing and wonderful, there was one thing missing. And that was my confidant, my travelin'man, my old fogey rockstar, my sommolier, my sous chef, my pal, Bern. There are not enough thanks or kisses for throwing me such a beautiful party, even tho you did it flat on your back from another room. I'm sure I've said it before, but I love you man! Can't wait til you're up and about. I miss ya! More kisses go to the hostess who almost died for my pure pleasure. I told ya Jen, if you were a dude...
NEW SPACES NEW ART
Stone Mad on W. 65th Street has finally opened. There's not much I can say about it in the way of food since I've yet to eat there, but I can say it's pretty impressive. Pete Lannihan has done it again supporting local artists and craftsmen. Besides the amazing woodwork and handcrafted metalwork, treat yourself to a cold beer and some remarkable artwork, including the ceiling fresco by Mike McNamara, cityscape by Cleveland legend Marvin Stevens, and the always clever glassworks by the boys at the Glass Bubble Project. See more of their work at http://www.glassbubbleproject.com/
NEW PROJECTS
MY SISTER'S BABY DADDY
Michael Heaton has a new book out which is filled with crazy stuff about being a writer and the infamous Minister of Culture. You know what a cynic I am but this is really funny. Get a copy at http://www.amazon.com/ or check out his blog at http://www.michaelheaton.wordpress.com/
Michael Heaton has a new book out which is filled with crazy stuff about being a writer and the infamous Minister of Culture. You know what a cynic I am but this is really funny. Get a copy at http://www.amazon.com/ or check out his blog at http://www.michaelheaton.wordpress.com/
4 comments:
Oh fantastic... brutal honesty and a very real blog to be sure. Well done girl!
hey scrawny food chick i need your help! i live in nyc and my wife invited the pope for dinner!!! now i'm a devout atheist and she's a jew so normally we would dine on christian babies on a friday night. but someone told me his holiness will probably want fish??!?!?! what to do??
I love it. Can't wait for the hookers to show up. Will this book have monkeys in it?
I f...ing love you. "Little Who Ha", you know how much I have praised the vodka cigarette diet for years. Share it with the world honey!!!
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