Grilled Romaine

Grilled Romaine Lettuce, Caesar Dressing,
 Shaved Parmesan, Garlicky Brioche Croutons

Its fair to say that it has been nothing but hectic the last few weeks.  Work have been crazy busy for this time of year and its great to see.  I have learned to appreciate my days off even more.  I have spent alot of my days off doing things with Renee, and or Renee and her family.  Alot of that time is spent around the dining room playing games and or eating.  Linda always has some delicious treats in the refrigerator.  Renee always has a plan for dinner when we are at her parents.  Theres always a selection to choose from.  One evening  there was some romaine lettuce in the fridge.  I had talked to Renee about grilling it, and i had done this also at some culinary training at the J.W. Marriott.  We had some asparagus to grill and for the main course marinated flank steak.  Renee had marinated the steak the night before so it was sure to be appetizing.  On a side note here, I would like to point out the fact that it is in the middle of February and there is no snow here in Chicago, none.  People like myself have been taking advantage of this weather in so many ways.......I choose to grill.  This was a way for me to really try something new.  I mean honestly i have never tried grilled salad greens before.  Yes i am 30 years old, this is one of the reasons i love this job, always learning something and tasting something.  So back to the romaine lettuce.  If you have large heads of romaine, you can cut the into quarters, if smaller, just cut in half.  Brush, and or spray them with olive oil  and season with salt and pepper.  Then grill on a hot grill, of medium low heat.  Don't put to much olive oil on the lettuce, the grill will flare up and wilt and char your lettuce, you do not want that too soon.  Grill for about 7-10 minutes on that medium low heat and you will end up with some fantastic tasting romaine lettuce, with that added grilled flavor everyone talks about.  -See photo above-

Super Bowl XLVI -Gameday-

Its a beautiful Monday morning, i am out having my morning cigarette, watching traffic and proudly wearing my Giants hat.   The light peaks through the clouds and all i can do is wince and lower my ball cap.  I am recovering from doing my share of drinking but also recovering from a food like coma.
Had a great time at Renees parents house, there was a few people there, not to many, and yet there was still Patriots fans in the house.  I was not very fond of this, nor was Renees mom, who is a die hard Eli Manning fan. 
The food began to flow around 1pm, pregame was on.  Renee had gotten a new fryer for Christmas and wanted to try it out.  We fried up some green beans and zucchini sticks.  We used a beer batter that we made using Moose Drool beer, i nice nutty, rich dark beer.
While this was being done, we sat down to a game of Assassin.  I have never heard of this game before, when i saw the box and the board i knew that this game had been around for quiet sometime.  With the Lewandowskis' you never know what to expect, with this came some curiosity, so i played.  It was a very easy game to understand, you pretty much are out to kills the other players if everything matches up right with the cards that you play.
By this time i made more of the veggies and the girls were all getting ready to go to a wine tasting before the game.  I found this to be the perfect time to finish off frying the veggies so i could then fry up the chicken wings.  Renees brother Todd is allergic to poultry so this was a must.
I was able to squeak in a short nap before the girls came back and then got the wings going.  The game was getting ready to start and Renee had to get ready to go to work.  We had prepared a buffalo chicken salad earlier in the day with chopped romaine, peeled carrots, and peeled celery.  On the side she had two different kinds of crumbled blue cheese, bleu cheese and ranch dressing.
Not only did we have chicken wings, we also had these chicken fry like things that were breaded, Renee had them for the salad, so we fried them up, people then could toss there wings and or chicken fries in the sauce that they choose.  It was amazing, crisp, smooth and spicy salad, i even came back for seconds.
Renees sister Julie had made some risotto cakes ahead of time and fried them in a saute pan, they came out great and tasted even better, however they did fall apart in the frying pan a little, and yet the first thing to disappear from the table.
The game cant be any better, this was what i wanted to see, a low scoring game, a close game, a game for the books.  That is certainly what we got.
After binging on chicken wings, buffalo chicken salad, chips, dip, chili, cabbage soup, high lifes and gin in tonics, just to name a few and not necessarily in that order, i had to sit down and watch this game.
By this time it is the fourth quarter and time is running out.  Renee just texted me saying she was on her way home from work, perfect timing she gets to see that last of it.  Theres only 5-7 minutes left on the clock and i am on the edge of my seat.  The Giants are loosing.  Manning has the balls, so the odds are in our favor.  Wouldn't you know it, Manning puts together a great 88 yard drive, with a beautiful catch by Manningham, capped off by Bradshaws i don't know if i wanna score a touchdown yet touchdown.  The defense held strong and the Lombardi Trophy is headed back to New York.
Even with all i ate, i was standing, i was cheering, high-fives all around, well except for those few Patriots fans that were in the house, needless to say, well they had nothing to say, Giants are Champs!!!

Super Bowl XLVI

As a Giants fan this year has been a season of ups and downs.  The secondary has been plagued with injuries, Bradshaws ankle to name just a few.  Yet Manning has a career year with a ridiculous way of putting together 4th quarter comebacks and this wide receiver Victor Cruz, who is this guy....
After week fourteen the giants stood and 7-7, no one was thinking playoffs, at least i wasn't, especially how tight the the Giants division had been all season.
All of a sudden they make the playoffs, they don't only make the playoffs, they beat Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and the 49er's Alex Smith.  Games were the Giants dominated and have shown to others that anything can me accomplished as a team as long as you all have one purpose, one mission, one goal....a ring.

Looking forward to the game, and hopefully a Giants victory, should be a good one with great friends and great food.  Pictures to follow late Sunday night or Monday afternoon.