Vince - Thanks for being part of my day! Ham sounds great! Lamb would have been good too! I bet you can cook up one heck of a Leg! Happy Easter!
I have been known to cook up a great leg , but I like the rack myself, olive oil rosemary garlic, a little salt & pepper, with a light mustard seed crust, HEAVEN!, enjoy, Vince
Getting ready to head over to inlaws. They are cooking lamb. Can't wait!
I havent eaten much at my inlaws as my mother in law is not a great cook, to say she is adiquite would be a streach, my father in law would eat almost anything that was in front of him , , , good or bad, he was there for the fuel, not the taste, & since she was the teacher of my wifes skills, she isnt much better , but this Aug we will be married 40 years, my mother in law is in a nursing home & my father in law is "fertilizer" I realy dont have inlaws to get a meal, my parents have been long gone for many years so I am the cook here , but after being a chef for 40years before I retired its second nature to me , & I love the time in the kitchen. Enjoy, Vince
I started out in my grandmothers bestro called the casa de leon, the castle of the lion, , back in the mid 50's , went to a country club near the Pittsburgh airport in the 60's when she sold the place , worked there till i got my draft notice & enlisted in the Navy, , spent a few years cooking on a few ships & when I was at a shore station , i worked in a lot of the local places off the base, steak houses , german food, fish houses, & what ever I could do to keep my skill sharp & keep the food moving, then I had my own catering business for a long time then I RETIRED, it has been one h3ll of a life, worked in Philly, Chicago, San Diego, Cleveland,& PittsburghCulinary school for a short time, , but that was restricting in what I was doing, you had one class 3 or 4 times a day, the same stuff all day, I liked being out in the world, never knowing what was comming in next, , Now i just cook for the wife & grandsons, , if the oldest grandson didnt have a talent for music & computers , he might end up a chef himself, but he spends more time with the piano & computer, than he has time in the kitchen, he is 14 , the younger one (12) isnt big on food but can fend for him self if need be , how ever he is a cigar fan so there is hope for him hahahaha , Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday April 11 ,2010, a cool clear morning here in da burgh, a nice day by the words of the weather channel with a high of 65F , not a day to get a trip to the beach , if there was a beach here in da Burgh, swimming in the river is way to cold as of today, the water temp is in the low 50's F so it is chilly to say the lest, we have had a busy week at the shop 2 days were outstanding, but Wed. was so slow I could have mailed it in , we had a master roller in the shop Tuesday, From Don Gonzalez's cigars , Alehandro is a pro , he was a roller at the famed Partagas factory for 7 years in Havana showing me how to roll the correct way, it gets some getting used to , as I have been rolling cigars for some time now & he showed me the classic Cuban cap , which I seam to get on with fine, but with my poor eyesight I have a little problem with the right & wrong side of the leaf, dammmm its tuff getting old, from 10 feet I see the difference but at arms lenght both sides look the same , I guess I will have to trust my finger tips to tell me the difference hahahaha yea like these old crab claws have much feeling in them after years of pulling stuff out of boiling water & flipping stuff on the grill with the fingers & not a tool, dammmmm God gave us fingers long before some one thought of Tools hahahaha
I am so glad to see a blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds , vs the dark gray sky with gray to black clouds we have had most of the winter, right now there is a bit of haze in the sky or do I need to clean my glasses again hahahahaha , yep its the glasses hahahaha , the ham & cheese omlet I made this morning seams to have left a light coating of evoo on the lenses , nothing new about that !! , last night the BOSS & I watched Saturday Night Live , & for a long time it has been rather slow & not as funny as it was 35 years ago, dammmm its been on that long ! well last nights show was funny , SNL has given us a lot of great comic's over the last 35 years & the Orginal not ready for prime time players were IMHO the best ,yea some of the later replacements were good , but JUST LIKE LUCY , some of the ones who came after Her were as good but never BETTER ......
Since all the snow has gone back to where ever it came from , the grass is looking a little shabby , there are a lot of pine cones , twigs , leaves & wind blown trash littering the yard & fence line , , , , ., Maybe I might get to it tomarrow, or maybe tuesday, & if I wait till the boss gets tired of wating for me to do it , she might get out there one day when I'm at work & clean it up hahahahahaha yea like that will happen, hey strang events happen when you lest expect them...
That brings this weeks BS to the grandsons, ........... whats to tell you about them, 12 & 14 , boys , computers I pods, game boys , Wii , & cell phones & the youngest one taks care of the 180 pound Mastiff who is as DUMB as he is strong.....
since today is Sunday & the BOSS wants pot roast, , well you guessed it , its in the oven all ready, the ham 7 cheese omlet we had at breakfast went down smooth with a pot of JOLT coffee, double the cafine of regular coffee, , & so one dementional , that the sample bag will be my Last purchase of this rotgut coffee , I was in the mood for a full right flavor coffee this morning & since the kona is a light roast with a grand taste i was in the mood for a fully chewy coffee, this morning so i grabbed this double cafine bag of pre groung junk, tastes like the package it came in , got my heart racing , but didnt do $hit for my taste buds , now I will need a double Lafroiag to clean out the taste buds before i brew the Sunday morning Kona , the Sunday morning Don Carlos #3 was replaced with a San Cristobol robusto this morning, great cigar in its own right but just not what i was after for the morning smoke, back to the Don Carlos asap why do I try different stuff when I have been hooked on the DC3 for more years than I care to count , yea its nice to look & dream but you go home with the one you brung to the dance ........ You Hope !
well I need to get to the kitchen fire up the coffee pot raid the humidor & get my lazy butt to the Qtr.Deck , Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday 18th of April,2010, a cool wet morning here in Da 'Burgh , I am about 25 miles, north west from the Point in PittsBURGH, a great place to grow up & live in , right now our National Football League team the Steelers , well they are having a tuff time with some of the players getting into trouble , from the kicker Jeff Reed , getting drunk & fighting with the police, to the reciever & Super bowl MVP Santanio Holmes , getting High on Weed & testing positive for a second time & the star Qterback Big Ben Rothlesburg, having trouble keeping his Pants up & his manhood under check, having maultable ladys comming forward claiming sexual assualt , Superbowl champ or not , its time to get rid of him, trade him to Oakland Or anyone who will take him , he is a great player , but a very rich child in a mans body , No social graces , he lets the little head think for the big head , he has over looked special needs children to hit on the teacher , refused to sign autographs & have his photo taken , but will chat up almost any thing in a short skirt that he thinks he might have a chance to see whats under it . , Some think he is a wild stud just out doing what he should be doing , but most people think he is a JERK , I look for the 6 time Superbowl CHAMPs to trade his
@ $ $ ,for a few jock straps & a stack of clean towls , he might be great on the field , but he hasn't the mind set or the passion off the field to be a roll modle for anyone but but for Charles Mansion.........
well now thats thats off my chest ..... lets get back to the Cigars & such.... , this Morning was started off with a pot of kona coffee & the Don Carlos #3 & a brisk walk while I sipped the coffee & enjoyed the cigar , when it was finished I came in & made a bacon & egg breakfast for the boss & my self, & I have a nice hunk of beef to roast later this morning, should be out of the oven & on the table some time about 4 PM , a few onions ,carrots ,potatos & celery with a nice dark beef gravy , I might pull the cork on a bottle of Italian red wine .......... all I need to do is figure out what to have for desert, ......... maybe a baked apple ...... who knows till I get to the kitchen & see whats in the pantry & fridge ... .... the shop was busy most of the week but Saturday was a BUST, , it was Cold & rainy all day , & after the great Friday weather we had in the day , most people stayed home & out of the rain, but the grass is green & the lawns need cutting , dammmmm I hate summer for that reason, I enjoy the beach & the warm evenings outside with a cigar & sinle malt scotch , maybe a little coffee to wash it all down with BUT that DAMMMM grass, , I think its time to sell the house & move into a high rise appartment with a balcony so I can sit outside & smoke , & Tick off the entire city with my cigar smoke , well at lest a few of the people living near me hahahahahaha , right now all I have to overcome is the aroma from the cow pasture next to me , het no problem when the wind is in my favor , But when its in the cows favor , dammmmm its a POWERFUL aroma to over come , but after 35 year here , thay are getting used to me hahahaha ,
the Grandsons are getting aling well, the 14 year old is in need of a hair cut but tells us he isnt ready yet......... well he will be ready when I go & take him to the barbers........ his 12 year old brother has no problem with a haircut, in fact he called me to take him a few weeks ago as his mother was busy & he wanted a trim before it got on his ears, ,,, , , , I know he has a motive to this & God only knows what the thinking is behind it , he is only 12 but he thinks like a 25 year old man.... always some thing in the end for himself , yea if I get my hair cut I might be able to talk myself into a new Bike or computer game.... when it finnaly comes out what he is after I will be sure to let you all in on it !
We had a nice quiet breakfast this morning , just the boss & myself, , no outside interference , no phone calls , just a little music from the wind chimes on the back porch, the birds at the feeder & the the sound of Bacon in the skillet ..... what a way to start a wonderful Sunday Morning .
Enjoy, Vince
I think your weekly updates should start to have a recipe included. Especially grilling/bbq/smoking recipes. Big fan of yours and read every week. Keep it up.
I think your weekly updates should start to have a recipe included. Especially grilling/bbq/smoking recipes. Big fan of yours and read every week. Keep it up.
so you want recipes , dammmm , I have a cook book ( unpublished ) but after 40 years in the kitchen I just might be able to jot down a few ideas or dig out my manuscripts & copy a page every week hahaha, Ok , If i remember I will get on it this Sunday , Enjoy, Vince
so you want recipes , dammmm , I have a cook book ( unpublished ) but after 40 years in the kitchen I just might be able to jot down a few ideas or dig out my manuscripts & copy a page every week hahaha, Ok , If i remember I will get on it this Sunday , Enjoy, Vince
so you want recipes , dammmm , I have a cook book ( unpublished ) but after 40 years in the kitchen I just might be able to jot down a few ideas or dig out my manuscripts & copy a page every week hahaha, Ok , If i remember I will get on it this Sunday , Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday 25th of April,2010, a wonderful warm morning here in da Burgh with a projected high in the mid to upper 70's , we should get a thunderstorm this afternoon, , but right now the sky is blue & there is a warm wind out of the south west & I will be out on the back deck asap, the Sunday morning coffee is a pot of Kona & the cigar is a Don Carlos #3, but instead of the traditional hunk of Beef to keep the boss happy , I have a big old hunk of TURKEY , defrosting , it will hit the oven about 1 PM should be done in 3 hours , it is all boned out but for the ***, , I like to keep the *** intact to stuff it with a bread, cornbread & vegatable mix , , witch is a simple mix of onions, celery ,bell peppers & carots. that gets mixed with the breads, a tin of milk,eggs ,butter, salt, sage & a little rosemary, pepper & a pinch of citrus , that all gets stuffed in the bird , in the oven at 325F for 3 hours, should be just fine ..... a little gravy , mashed potato's ,cranberry relish,& some sort of veggie , maybe corn or peas, but I have to look in the freezer to see whats still in there ..... should be on the table about 4 /4:30 so if your in the area be shure to stop ...
the week at the shop was slower than I wanted , granted i dont want to run all day long , but sitting for hours at a time with out a customer isnt any way ro run a cigar shop, we need people sitting smoking & SPENDING , SPENDING , thats the key, hahahaha seams like I am the only one spending anything hahahaha but the coffee is always on , the music or the TV is on, the chairs are so comfortable I have gotten in a nap from time to time .......... I have been running specials & discounts & the same people come in day after day GOD BLESS THEM ALL , we need NEW & YOUNG cigar smokers, , I dont have any machine made cigars in the shop, NO swisher sweets, No black & milds or hav-a-tampa , nothing with plastic tips, JUST hand rolled cigars & pipe tobacco NO CIGARETTS...... (they STINK ) , but a cigar emits a wonderful aroma ........ well I know the kids want the junk to slice open to smoke weed in them , so I dont have anything like that, no rolling papers or blunts let them go to a shop that caters to the pot heads , we are a few steps above that, not that we are stuck up & borish, I just want a place to sit , converce, enjoy the company of friends sip a little coffee, whisky,beer, wine , what ever you want, Bring your own , as we cant sell it but I do have glasses & cups in the shop, as well as an opener or two, there is a cooler to keep you beer cold if you so desire & we do have bottled water & soft drinks for sale , so if yourin the need of some BS, a rest for your tired mind & feet, be sure to stop in KING Beaver Cigars in Monaca Pa & say hello, sit a spell have a cup of coffee, a pint or two, maybe 3 & pass the time with a Fine Hand rolled cigar .... yes I know that was a shamless plug for the shop, but its what I do , & who I am hahahahaha
the grandsons have been busy all week, I did get to spend a little time with the youngest one yesterday , he is 12 , & not in the best of health he has grown, just 2 inches & only gained 3 pounds in the past 2 years , he eats well, but just isnt growing, he has been to so many doctors in the past year, no one has an answer, , failure to thrive , is all they say, , I have spent enough time with him to find out he is a well adjusted , young man, he has a lot of friends who treat him well, he plays scoccer, plays guitar, & plays with the family dog a 180 pound mastife , the dog has him by 100 pounds but listens to him well, they get along just fine...... when the gradson was here he ate like a champ, 5 of my hand made cheese ravolis, I was only able to get 4 down myself, , they are about the size ofthe palm of your hand , the filling is rich , riccotta cheese, egg, spinich ,paramagino ,romano cheese,& a little crumble of feta cheese , the dough is semilina flour , chestnut flour , wheat flour , a pinch of salt & eggs , a drop of olive oil just because I like the taste ,,,, it gets worked into a dough by hand & rolled out , filled but the spoon full, cut ,folded & boiled , topped with a little red gravy ( tomato sauce that has been cooking all day , the pasta is FRESH but the sauce is a reduction of whole plum tomatos seasonings a spash of wine , & few pork rib bones & a beef soup bone, cooked till the marrow is melted into the sauce , a little garlic bread & a sprinkel fresh grated cheese on top & a little green salid , dammmm it cant get much better than that , so I know the kid is eating well, & not throughing up after , he just isnt gaining any weight ????? so we just feed him what ever he will eat anytime any place , but he sticks to the 3 meals a day, eats sloly but puts it away , I guess he is just going to be a very thin person , , but at times he looks like a refugee from Bergen-Bleson, or Alzwitch, , I dont know what to think about it, his mother is worried & that worries me . the older grandson who is 14 thinks is a crock, just let the kid alone , is his comments, I know they talk to each other & I am sure if there was some thing going on the big one would spill the beans as he is a classic gossip , always has the story to tell & on a mission to gather information to pass on , they are as different as night & day ...... , the Pittsburgh Pirates are getting ready to have there 18th or 19 loosing season in a row, the steelers have a problem with the star qtrback big ben rothlesburger, should have traded him for a few clean towls & a jock strap or 2 & gotten a new Qtr.Back in the draft this weekend, but , he is a 2 time superbowl CHUMPION , , maybe he should be a gelding , that might calm him down ! hahahaha , No I dont think I would wish that on my worst enemey, but since I dont have any enemys that I know of I mightjust be wrong about castration , dammmm that hurts just saying it ! OUCH hahaha, Enjoy,, Vince
Damn fine turkey recipe! Reminds me I need to buy another rosemary bush. Nothing like fresh rosemary to cook with. Fresh herbs in general are just a joy to cook with, especially when you've grown them yourself! I have a friend with just about.the same symptoms you describe in your grandson. He'd eat as much as he could and still manage to lose weight. Turned out he had hypoglycemia.
Damn fine turkey recipe! Reminds me I need to buy another rosemary bush. Nothing like fresh rosemary to cook with. Fresh herbs in general are just a joy to cook with, especially when you've grown them yourself! I have a friend with just about.the same symptoms you describe in your grandson. He'd eat as much as he could and still manage to lose weight. Turned out he had hypoglycemia.
he has been checked for just about everything under the sun, even went to a shrink, she didnt find any problems at all?? just the way it is , I think its genetic his father was exposed to a lot of chemical fires in the sand box when he was in the army, he was a paratrooper at Ft Bragg, my daughter was there when he got home & BINGO , grandson #2 9 months to the day he got home hahahaha
Good morning, it is Sunday second day of May 2010, a warm wet day here in da burghts been a slow week newswise here , same old stuff, big ben rothlessburgher is embarrised , the Pirates won 3 games in a row after loosing 7 , & the Pens won the first game in the second round of the stanley cup playoffs, , I have no idea what they did last night or if they even played, I havent pickup up the sunday paper or turned on the news yet today,
we had a fair week at the shop, but a KICK @$$ Friday night , lots of coffee was consumed as well as a bottle of Laugavulin 16 Y.O. single malt , DEVINE , that all I can say !!
2 of our local highschools are merging , to be come just one larger school district, so all the sports teams are merging into one, well that leaves the coaching staff over populated , sdo the jobs were opened up for bidding , & the school board has to "Hire" the new staff, well the basketball coach is a 31 year veteran , with 462 wins,301 losses a state title , a No nonsence hard nosed old school coach, he was a state champ as a player back in the late 60's so he knows what it takes to be a winner, , he presented the board his records , along with 20 plus letters from former players , some who graduated from Harvard ,Yale , Penn, West Point , & other Fine institutions of higher learning , I read a few of the letters & it gave me chills that this man was so infuential in his art of coaching basketball , he changed a lot of lives , instilled leadership , teamwork & loyality in his players, well if you know where I am headed with this you are correct, the coach from the school that was merging , is a young carefree , new idea man with a father on the school board , his record is 32 wins & 102 losses , has no idea how to lead let alone instill values in his players, he shows up at the practice in shorts & sandels, has no morals , has been seen in the local pubs drunk, , hey i like a wee dram here & there but I dont get $hitfaced drunk & fight with other patrons at the bar, , so you understand where this is leaning, yep the guy with daddy on the school board gets the job, & GETS a RAISE over what they were paying the ood WINNING coach , he was to hard on the players , all he thought about were the better payers & he was tuff on my son , cry babys all, you show up ON TIME, you will tuck in your shirt, you will give 100 % all the time , you will keep up you grades , you will not Embarass yourself your family & the school, , they were asked if winning was importaint, the old coach said it was THIRD, behind you family & your Faith in GOD, the young free thinker said it didnt matter , one way or the other as long as every one played & had a good time, yea good for the 6 year olds who dont keep score but this is a time to be a MAN & step up & have some backbone injected to youe attitude , needles to say if your daddy has the pull you will get the job no matter how un prepaired to do the job. ........ dammmm I should write a letter to the newspaper ...... but I dont live in that new school dristrict so I will let some one who has been screwed buy the school board to do it ........
I was at the market last night & saw some great looking asparagas, white purple & green, all about the size of your little finger , they are going on the smoker soon , a light smoke , most likely apple wood then a few shrimp added to the smoker, finished off with some stir fry veggies & a pint of Murphys stout,( in a glass not in the pan !), , should make a great lunch , a Partagas series D #4 with a little more coffee & a wee dram , of malt whisky & I should be fine till its time to pull out the Beef roast for supper
, its in the oven & should be ready about 5/6 PM , or so, made sooner maybe later, depends on how late we want to eat, , thats up to the BOSS, well its time for me to fire up a second pot , the KONA is empty so I will try a little moka java , or a nice bright Italian roast columbian bean with a touch of lemon peal in the cup , on second thought a little Barizillian santos might hit the spot , but I have just a few ounces of a mexican delight & cant remember the name of it & am to dammm lazy to get up & go look , , but I can finish it & get something different out to roast this afternoon, , hummm roasting coffee sipping scotch, & smoking cigars , what a better way to spend a sunday afternoon . Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday , 9 May ,2010, a down right COLD & WET morning here in da Burgh , 38F right now, winds are brisk at 15 to 20 MPH with gusts of 40 , the wind chimes are broken, the flag is torn & needs to be replaced , & the bird feeder is spinning like a stripper on a pole !, it is uncomfortable to say the lest. But I have turned on the heat in the Qtr.Deck & have a pot of kona on & will be heading out right after breakfast, , I have some thick cut bacon, ready to go a few eggs & cherry tomatos a little sweet onion a bit of hot pepper cheese , Pumpernickle toast . should be ready soon, so I better get going & stop day dreaming about what cigars I will be smoking today, I might just close my eyes & grab a humidor or 2 , open them & smoke what ever I pull out , cant be all that bad , just might be needing to rethink that , I just dont want to start out the day with a Cain F , all that power before lunch just might give me a buzz hahahaha I do have a nice pair of Strip steaks marrinading in a nice herb & oil mix , there is the seasons first corn on the cob , & it will all go on the grill some time this afternoon......
the shop has been slow all week but Friday pulled it out of the fire , sales were good but they should be getting better , maybe I am being to nice to the customers, hahahaha , but some of them just want to take advantage of you, I had some cupons in a local paper good for 30 days , they ran up untill May 3 , starting back in April, I got back one cupon, ONE cupon buy one get one free , ONE out of 18,000 sent out , ONE DAMMMMM CUPON , well this guy comes in on the 7th , 4 days after the cupon expired , & I was in a grumpy mood as always & he wanted a free cigar with his EXPIRED cupon , & since I was all ready pissed about the cost of the advertisement & it going in the crapper , I told the guy it had EXPIRED, I scaned it on the computer & it woulnt take it, I did not have the over ride pass word to take it & sure as h3ll wasnt going to pay for the cigar out of my own pocket , Now if the guy had been a little friendly & tryed to be nice about it I might have let it slide , & given him the free smoke , he is always looking for a freebe, wants Montecristos at cost if he gets a box, & then wants me to old them because he dosent have a humidor , so he wants me to make ZERO profit on the box, store it for him so he can smoke them one at a time , yea like thats going to happen well when he wanted the free smoke I just flat out told him the same thing I told him about the box of monties, H3LL NO , why do you want to bust my balls, you come in my shop bring the cheep mail order bundle cigars you get on line, or at the gas station & drink my coffee & never clean up your own cup, leave your trash all over the place & want me to be your father & provide this all free , dammmm where did you grow up ?, where your parent even married ?, do you know who your father is ?, dammm cheep *** !!!!well I feel better now that I have vented a bit ! hahaha
the grandsons are busy as always & I took the younger one to Pittsburgh last Friday morning to his Doctors at Univ. of Pittsburgh , he is a case study , he has been getting taller but not gaing any weight , he is eating but burning it up faster than he can replace it , sure didnt take afer me hahahaha I look at food & gain 2 pounds !
the hockey season is here the playoffs are in full swing , Pittsburgh is in the hunt for the cup, the baseball season is underway & the Pirates are in there 18th loosing season at 2 games below a 500 season , the Qtr Back for the steelers is getting ripped on the local sports talk shows & in the papers, even some of the national magazines are ripping ben a new @$$ hole, well I guess you reap what you soe ....... the coffee is about gone I need to make a second pot so have a great day to you all , Enjoy, Vince
You know , the moochers can be a pain if your not in the mood for them , and why does it seem they never appreciate what you do to help them out , why is that ? Like their entitled or something ...
PLease , dont call me Sir, I work for a living, vetern of the USN, no one called me sir then, dont start now, makes me think I am importaint or some thing hahahaha
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