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Sunday Morning Bread Baking
This morning, as I occasionally do on Sunday mornings, I baked up this nice loaf of crusty, rustic European bread. This particular loaf is destined for Elisa’s Ribollita recipe, but I’m also baking a second one, just to have around for the next few days. One of life’s pleasures, which I first experienced when I was in the army and stationed in Italy, is a nice slice of a good, rustic, European loaf of bread. I still remember fondly a particular bread known as Pane di Lucca that I had in a trattoria called In Pelleria, which is located inside the ancient walled hill town of Lucca, in Tuscany. But that…
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Dinner at New World Bistro Bar, Albany, NY
My wife and I drove to Albany a few weeks ago to see the Doc Watson concert at The Egg. Elisa had researched the restaurant scene in Albany, and after she showed me the menu, we decided that the New World Bistro Bar would be a great place to have an early dinner before the concert. We called ahead from the road and made reservations for two, and we arrived right on time. The New World Bistro Bar is a cozy location in the corner of a building on Delaware Avenue. There is ample parking in a lot behind the building. You can tell that the owner, Ric Orlando, has put…
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Concert Review: Doc Watson
At eighty-seven years of age, legendary guitarist Doc Watson still maintains a touring schedule. Usually when a musician of his stature continues to perform this late into his career, he begins to be described as a “musical treasure.” Often, those are code words for “lost his chops.” I tell you what, Doc has certainly not lost his chops, although to be fair, his playing does not have the same sureness or consistency as it once had. Elisa and I saw Doc play in Albany, New York at The Egg on Sunday, August 1. It was the fourth time I’ve seen Doc perform. Unfortunately, Albany, a little over three hours by car…
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Spicy Basmati Rice with Black Mustard Seeds
Ingredients 2 cups basmati rice 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into paper-thin half rings 1 red bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips (optional) 2 teaspoons black mustard seed 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 3/4 teaspoon garam masala 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock, heated Instructions Place rice in a bowl. Add water to cover. Rub the rice grains with your hands until the water turns milky. Drain the water. Add more water and repeat the process four or five times until the rise is well washed. (the water…
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Day Trip to the Berkshires: The Clark & Tanglewood
Elisa decided that our Mother’s Day gift to her mother would be to take her on a day trip to the Berkshires, a part of Massachusetts that my mother-in-law, who was visiting from her home in Italy, had never visited. So after a date was settled on (Sunday, June 27), we got to work looking for some fun things to do that she would enjoy. The wonderful thing about visiting the Berkshires is that you could spend a week there and not see everything. But that also means that if you only have a day trip in front of you, there is a wealth of attractions from which to choose. We’d…
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Concert Review: Leo Kottke and Jerry Douglas
My wife Elisa and I had decided to treat ourselves to a concert for Valentine’s Day, and while this show was two months removed, it was the one that we picked. It was our first visit to the Stockbridge Theatre in Derry, and we both thought the venue was great. Seating just under 900, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house, and every aspect of the place was very well thought out. Jerry Douglas, well known these days as a sideman in the band Alison Krauss and Union Station, opened the show with an amazing display of virtuosity on the dobro. I’m completely unfamiliar with Jerry’s solo repertoire and…
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The Hunt for Better Chicken
Over the past thirty years or so there has been a steady decline in the quality of the chicken that can be purchased at the supermarket. The flesh has no firmness because the chicken industry primarily raises chickens crammed together so that they don’t have room to walk, and they often have difficulty standing when not being propped up by other chickens. That issue aside, the chickens we buy just don’t seem all that … fresh. They were likely slaughtered and then flash-frozen for transport, although your grocer will probably deny it. The flesh has often been injected with water, so that you’ll hopefully fall victim to the illusion that the…
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Concert Review: David Bromberg Quartet
Thanks to a great Christmas present from my Son Adam, Elisa and I went to see David Bromberg perform on Friday, February 26 at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We’ve both seen Bromberg several times over the years, but since he started touring the northeast with his Big Band, we have been going to see that show when it comes to The Egg in Albany New York. We were both looking forward to seeing him in a more intimate setting. Bromberg opened with one of my favorites tunes from 1973’s Midnight on the Water, Summer Wages. The tune, penned by Ian Tyson (of Ian and Sylvia fame), included an…
