DOING DISHES: Chicken Parm at Bellini's

I was buzzing from a big night of fighting off more zombies in Guilderland (that's a problem out there), and I needed a pasta and chicken parmesan fix, bad, real bad.

Scenic strip malls in Albany, NY

So on Saturday noontime it was off to Bellini's, located in just another scenic strip mall down in Slingerlands at the intersection of 85 and New Scotland Road, with two great friends for toasts to summer. Yes, I love the luxury of daytime drinking, don't you? There was a nice selection of reds ($25-$130/bottle), most (if not all) available by the glass. TBB ordered a glass of the Josh Cellars, Cab Sav ($10)  - a reliable choice. There were fewer whites but what we had we quite enjoyed. I tried the Massimo Sauvignon Blanc (NZ, $8/glass) - grassy and crisp, and Stitch treated herself to the house Pinot Grigio, Tiziano, Toscano ($7.75).

A casual dining space with a touch of class - clean except for a fly that liked me very, very much

We talked a lot and finally, buzzing again and being buzzed (see above caption), we ordered.

They had "salad", and "soup". Stitch loved her soup/salad combo ($9) - choosing a small but hearty bowl of Florentine (chicken & mushrooms, spinach) - creamy, delightful, with tender greens and meat, followed by a house salad (cranberries, cuke and a cherry tomato with mesclun greens). The cranberries were delightful, as was the housemade balsamic dressing, topped with a generous helping of shaved parmesan. Not a big lunch but filling enough and delicious, especially if you have a slice of their warm, traditional light crusty Italian bread along with your meal, served with a bit of basil oil or butter if you prefer.

Florentine soup (above), and the house salad "Di Casa"

TBB asked for the Caserta Salad ($10.95) without the proscuitto or mozz, with a topping of herb grilled chicken ($6.00). She said "wow, this is the best dressing I ever had", pumping the waitress for details. We got mixed messages at first, but it's a simple mix of OJ and lemon juice and mustard, oil, S&P. Five stars!!!

The most delicious salad dressing in the universe

Of course, I ordered the Parmigiano (pan fried chicken cutlet, marinara cream sauce, lots of rigatoni/$12.95), as well as the aforementioned house salad ($5.95). The cutlet was served hot, the meat was succulent and fork tender with crispy edges, the cheese was gooey, the pasta was perfect al dente, and I would have licked the plate clean the sauce was so tasty. I tried to eat the whole thing but there WAS alot of pasta, so I finally had to stop. It was SO good, I really must go back any second now for another round. If I can take down zombies, I think I can take out a dinner portion.

A perfect cutlet - with a hearty portion of pasta. Burp. Excuse me. 

Lunch for three ladies, including four glasses of wine (yep, I had two!), plus tax, came to $84.

Cheers to friends and summer!!!  xxx

Zena, Goddess of Fire

Doing Dishes: Dining at the Diners - Mike's

short order

     noun

a dish or serving of food that is quickly 

prepared upon request at a lunch counter

Mike's Diner, at the intersection of Old East State and Carmen Road in Schenectady, is hands-down my favorite diner in the Capital Region. I'm small and ruthless. Mike's, on the other hand, is small in the coziest way possible. The staff are all friendly and attentive, kitchen service is quick, and the homemade food is really delicious, including fabulous baked goods that I can quickly dispatch.  (:

Cute building on the corner

Old fashioned in a wonderful sort of way

Breakfast is always a winner, especially after a night of fighting zombies.  I love the Florentine Super Omelette ($9.50), and the Buckwheat Pancakes with Blueberries ($8.95), though the Eggs Benedict ($9.25) is sort of like eggs in yellow gravy - skip that. Anyway there are lots of choices, including Belgian waffles (the "Dolly Parton" has two scoops of vanilla ice cream - should I laugh at that???), so you're sure to find something you like. Order off the lunch menu too, if you like, loaded with sandwiches, burgers, salads and wraps. Nothing fancy, but reliably good. 

Eggwich with fresh sliced tomatoes and a side of fruit

Peanut and Zena doing the diner

Last weekend Peanut enjoyed an Eggwich with Cheese ($3.50), asking for a tomato slice (no upcharge - nice!) - egg over easy, on a toasted English Muffin, Uhmerican cheese - all perfectly prepared. She asked for a bowl of fresh fruit - they had some choices though you could only order one kind (weird) - the cantaloupe was nice and ripe and sweet ($4.50) - a taste of summer. 

Like at so many of the other diners in the area, I ordered a Chicken Gyro ($9.50) - asking for extra tzatziki on the side (agin' no upcharge!) - lots of tender nicely marinated white meat chicken, lettuce and tomato, with just a hint of red onion in there (I would have liked more). I was told my fries would be coming - I think the oil wasn't quite hot, as I was probably the first of the day to order off the lunch menu - I appreciated that they waited until the temp was just right - these fries were hot, crispy and delicious. Not the best Gyro in the city, but I was content.

Great fries - you will have to fight the forces of evil trying to snitch off your plate

The gyro came first - it fell apart in my hands, but I have a way of doing that

Sometimes there's a line at the door (the smallish parking lot is a good indicator of how busy they are) but it's worth the wait. Once seated you will never feel rushed, and I like that.  Open 7 days a week, 700 a.m. to 300 p.m., FYI. 

Love, Zena Goddess of Fire

PS: Grab a Nut Horn on your way out the door. The cinnamon ones pack a lot of tasty in a little package.

short fire goddess

adjective

a short dish that is quickly 

dispatched to fight the forces of evil

The Blueberry Fairy

In the far away land of Colonie is a magick place we call the Shaker Shed - filled with luscious homemade pies, fresh soups and sandwiches, gorgeous fruits and vegetables, and healthy annuals and perennials galore. Wonderful enchanting staff are always on hand to assist.

And they have a Blueberry Fairy, and she is small and fat and purple.

This was not the first time the Fire Goddess was taken in by a food fairy - dark and tantalizing, glowing with goodness, calling my name - and yes, I came away with four quarts of local blueberries.

Time to make jam!!!

Follow the recipe, and here's some tips:

1. You will need every inch of counter space that ever was in heaven or on earth. Start with a clean kitchen, assemble your equipment, tools, and ingredients. Plan to measure everything except your weight and height.

2. Be prepared to wash every dish you ever owned in this life and your past life. In particular wash all those Ball jars in lots of warm, soapy water and rinse well unless you like the taste Palmolive.

3. After washing the berries and removing anything that looks like a killer (small and green, squidgy) as well as stems and twigs and leaves and bugs and stuff, dump them out carefully onto a large rimmed baking sheet so you can be absolutely sure that they are clean. Be picky or be icky.

4. Puree your berries in a food processor. This is a lot less work than peeling and pitting and hulling, making blueberry jam easier to prepare than other fruits. Of course if you have superpowers all that extra effort is never a problem.

5. Cook with sugar and spices and lemon to a rolling boil, then add your fruit pectin and in another minute you can start filling jars and processing them in the water bath. Use a timer. No really, use a timer. 

6. Plan on being in the kitchen for hours, including cleanup. NOTE: No tomatoes were injured as part of this recipe. Wine helps.

7. If you end up with 44 jars of jam remember your friends and fellow superheroes when the holidays approach. It'll be like summer in a jar. Oh, and make toast.

Zena, Goddess of Fire

Courtesy of Taste of Home:  CANNED BLUEBERRY JAM

Ingredients

·        8 cups fresh blueberries

·        6 cups sugar

·        3 tablespoons lemon juice

·        2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·        2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

·        1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·        2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin

Directions

1.      Place blueberries in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Transfer to a stockpot. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, lemon peel and nutmeg. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2.      Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: 9 half-pints.

ROAD TRIP: Delaware County, NY

 A nice article in the NY Times touting cool stuff happening in Delaware County got us curious. Where is this "Delaware County"? Is there shopping? What about lunch? You know, the usual important questions before setting out on a road trip. 

Zena and the Mistress of the Hounds, with Sophie Super Puppy, left Glenmont on Saturday morning ready to explore.

• WHERE:  Delaware County is southwest of Albany, containing a good part of the Catskills, it is bordered by the Delaware River to the south (separating us from Pennsylvania), and is the fourth largest county in NYS. Also, it has the lowest population density outside the Adirondacks.  Thank you, Wikipedia. 

And it is really beautiful. Rural, hills and mountains, farms, small towns, lush with leafy trees and wildlife, quiet, and filled with easy going, gentle folks. We took 32 South to 23 West through the Catskills. Lovely. 

• SHOPPING: Our first stop was in Windham, NY - still in Green County - and we found all kinds of lovely little shops along Main Street: antiques and art and crafts abound. This is a ski town in winter (if there's snow, ahem ahem) so it's quiet this time of year. Check out the CatskillMountain Artisans Guild for soaps, ceramics, jewelry and other locally made goods, The Gallery on Main, Garden of Stone, Twigs n Things (antiques/collectables), and Spread the Light (candles). 

Candle shop - not what you'd expect - go check them out

Garden of Stone. I bought a little cement piggy. 

Lovely layout of interesting and sometimes odd antiques

The Gallery on Main had beautiful paintings 

•  LUNCH: We were getting hungry after all that poking around and decided to eat at the Catskill Mountain Country Store. Mistress of the Hounds ordered the Emily salad - dried cherries, pecans, warm goats milk cheese and organic greens with a raspberry vinaigrette on the side - delicious, but could have used more greens for the price ($10.99). I had the Big Cheese ($6.99) - asking for both swiss and cheddar, on the server's recommended "pane paesano bread", adding tomato slices ($1.00). I got perfectly melted beautiful flavorful cheeses (no Uhmerican here!), deep red tomatoes, and amazingly crispy bread - a big sandwich, rich and tasty. The fresh pickle on the side was pretty salty, as were the corn chips, but the little cup of salsa, made with fresh jalapeno, onion and tomato was crazy good.

The warm cheese cinched this summer beauty

The sandwich was amazing. Sophie enjoyed the chips.

Sophie had bacon, a treat from the kitchen. Puppies get all the attention!

She was a very good puppy

After lunch, we checked out the adjacent General Store, full of jams and jellies (including a line of no sugar added) and local honey, maple syrup, candies, crafts, homemade fudge, fresh bread, some fresh dairy - rustic and fun.

Got fudge?

Fun to explore

More candy

After we hit Grand Gorge we were in Delaware County, continuing on 30 South and making our next stop Margaretville. Home Goods of Margaretville is a fun place to poke if you like to cook. Don't miss Catskill Candies and Confections - I bought three dark chocolate turtles that I decided not to share.  (:

We drove up 28 through Delhi (the county seat) and continued north on 10 because it was raining, pulling into the very small town of Hobart, known for their second hand book trade. I bought Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, and Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice - both at a good price and in excellent condition - at Blenheim Hill Books. 

Then home, about 8 hours to do the full circle, though we did take our time when we stopped. Don't hurry a trip like this - NYS has so much to offer, and the little hidden gems always feel special when you find them.  Go explore. Upstate is really beautiful this time of year.

Zena, Goddess of Fire