Foodtopia Moments

When it come's to sandwiches, this one was delicious. The other night I pan fried three small turkey breast cutlets with a little dusting of salt, pepper, and pan-searing flour. I toasted a Del Buono's Bakery roll, then spread a little bit of mayo and some champagne dill mustard on both halves. From the bottom up I built the masterpiece. I added bread and butter pickle chips, sliced campari tomatoes, sliced avocado, the turkey cutlets, more avocado slices and tomato slices. Topped with the toasted bun, cut in half, this sandwich was rich in flavor and texture. No cheese needed with the creaminess of the avocado. This sandwich had the right amount of saltiness from the turkey breast, sweetness from the pickles, richness from the avocado, spice from the mustard, and crunch from the toasted roll.

68 Days of Summer - Days 9-18

Just thinking that I haven't worked in 18 days seems crazy, because I feel like school just ended. However, It has been a busy summer up to this point. I've cooked some delicious dishes, hung out with lots of friends, and even officiated my sister's Fourth of July wedding (#4thandwed on Instagram for plenty of pics).

As I woke up in my bed for the last time before my trip, I am having trouble getting motivated with last minute chores. I just want to lay in bed all day, but there are so many things to get done. Electronics are charged and bags are packed, so I guess I'm ok for travel. I already watched the movie "Food, Inc." today, which basically showed what we all know about our food. It ain't all healthy.

The next post will be from Milan, Italy, where I should arrive tomorrow morning.

68 Days of Summer - Days 5-8

This week has been a busy one. Watching Tim Howard try to save an onslaught of Belgian shots in the US World Cup exit game was a blast. Last night I dog sat, which was interesting with the storm. I saw the movie "Chef" with Jon Favreau and loved it. It made me want to open a food truck. Then I saw a food truck explode on the news and the dream fizzled. Today is a big day, which will be way overshadowed by tomorrow. We have Melissa's rehearsal dinner tonight and wedding tomorrow, so it is an exciting time. Then I have a little over a week before I take off for Italy, and the week is filling up fast. Vet appointments, doctor appointments, visiting friends, packing, obtaining documents...it is gonna be a wild week.

Foodtopia Moments

In my first Foodtopia Moment of the summer, I managed to make a veal osso buco. I started by searing bone-in veal chops before putting them to the side. Then I sauteed some diced carrots, onions, garlic, and celery. Once the onions were sweating, I added chicken stock and a little can of whole small tomatoes. I let that cook for about five minutes, then I smashed the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, added the white wine, sprinkled in the seasoning and let it cook for another minute or two stirring all of the ingredients together. After that, I added the seared veal and put the whole pan in the oven at 300 for an hour to braise, turning the meat halfway through. While the veal was braising, I sauteed some spinach with whole garlic cloves. The meal was delicious, and the meat was very tender

68 Days of Summer - Days 3 & 4 - The First Weekend

The first weekend of summer is in the books, and I managed not to do any schoolwork. spent most of the weekend either cooking, hanging out with friends and watching soccer, or watching movies. I saw the "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "Dallas Buyers Club." The latter was a great film. Mitty, was visually pretty cool, but not that great of a movie. It was kind of like the anti-Gump, because Forrest did everything while Mitty just dreamed about doing things.

Today I went up to Raritan to watch the World Cup and have dinner with Steve. We also worked on plans for our trip west later in the summer. Looks like Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and Seattle. We'll see Rutgers vs. Washington St. in Seattle on August 28, the Mariners game on August 29, then head back to Eugene to see Oregon host South Dakota on August 30. We'll have a day and a half to see the sights in Seattle, and a whole day to rummage around Portland. Hope to have tickets in hand soon.

68 Day of Summer - Day 2

Today was jam packed. After getting to bed late following a second-place showing at quizzo, I still managed to wake up at 6:30 without my alarm clock. I'm looking forward to the day when I can sleep past 8 am.

I decided it was time to go on a bike ride for the first time in a month. Thankfully, I managed to keep a pace of close to 12 mph for 40 minutes or so, knocking out more than eight miles. The MS Bike ride to the shore is only three months away. Then I went shopping.

Single handedly, I stimulated the economy getting little needs for the summer. Most of my biggest purchase, clothes, was done with gift cards so my buyer's remorse was minimal. I tried to buy and install a wifi light system so I could control my houselights from Italy, but the system sold at Home Depot is junk, and the app doesn't work right. So it's return it to the store tomorrow.

Now the task is searching for tickets for mom to come over to Italy. Unless she heads to JFK, which would be extremely difficult for her with a walker and a motorized rascal scooter, she's looking at about $1,700. Flying JFK would cost less than $1,100.

68 Days of Summer - Day 1

Day one of my summer break, and I am luckily back to exercising. Walked a little more than a 5K this morning for the first time in more than a month. I am starting this summer about 35 pounds lighter than last summer, and still dropping. My summer is shaping up to be a busy one, starting today with a trip to a bar in the afternoon for the USA/Germany World Cup Game and later on I'm playing team trivia for the first time in seven weeks. 

Earlier this week, I began to organize my carry-on bag for my trip to Italy. Is there ever such a thing as too many electronics? I am flying Emirates Air out of JFK into Milan. It's my first time with the airline, and my first trip to Milan where I may see more than an airport terminal (stopped there for connections in 1994 and 2005). At least the airline gives complimentary drinks and allows two bags up to 50 pounds each.

Aside from the vacation to Italy, where hopefully I'll wrap up two full-length feature scripts, this summer also includes my sister's wedding and a sports-themed trip to Seattle. So stay tuned to my blog as I plan to make posts for the next 68 days with updates about summer.