Dina in suburbia

Last night I cooked up the ham I was supposed to make on Thanksgiving.  I’ve never made anything but fresh ham, so I had to do a little bit of research to find a recipe that worked for me.  

I settled on a four-fork rated recipe from epicurious.com- Ham with Bourbon, Molasses, and Pecan Glaze.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to deal with toasting pecans, throwing them in the food processor, etc.. so I thought I was going to leave the pecans out.  At the last minute I decided otherwise and the result was delicious.  I ground the pecans rather fine- but still chunky enough to leave a crust on the ham.  The powdered mustard provided the perfect amount of bite to counterbalance all that brown sugar.  I didn’t have light molasses, so I used the regular molasses from my pantry- I just used slightly less than the recipe called for.  

The only change I made was that I cooked the ham with 1/2 cup apple juice and 1/2 cup of coke as cooking liquid to keep the ham moist- it did the trick.  There was sufficient pan drippings left over to use as a gravy- I didn’t even have to reduce the pan drippings- it was delicious as is.

I used a spiral-cut, hickory smoked ham- and it worked out beautifully; if the ham wasn’t already sliced, I’m not sure I would have been able to figure it out!

ingredients

• 1/2 cup apple juice (preferably fresh unfiltered)
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1 3/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 cup pecans, toasted, cooled, finely ground
• 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 3 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 whole bone-in 16- to 18-pound ham

preparation

Boil juice and bourbon in small saucepan until reduced to scant 1/3 cup, about 6 minutes. Combine sugar, pecans, molasses, and mustard in bowl. Add bourbon mixture; stir to form thick paste. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large roasting pan with heavy-duty foil, leaving overhang on all sides. Trim off skin and all but 1/4 inch fat from ham. Place ham, fat side up, in prepared pan. Roast ham until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 130°F to 135°F, about 10 minutes per pound or 2 hours 40 minutes for 16-pound ham.

Remove ham from oven; increase oven temperature to 425°F. Lightly score fat on ham in diamond pattern. Rub glaze thickly over top and sides of ham. Return ham to oven and roast until glaze is deep brown and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let ham stand at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes.

My mom wanted me to make a ham for Thanksgiving, but then changed her mind after I bought it (of course).  As I have no room in my freezer, and I don’t want the ham hanging around in my refrigerator until January (the ham’s expiration date)- I figured I’d have my parents, step grandpa, and father-in-law over for dinner.

I’m trying an epicurious.com recipe- so I’ll give a review once we’ve chowed down.  

I’m proud that I have my table set and my company isn’t set to arrive for an hour (usually I’m scurrying around and it’s the last thing I do)…

Earlier today, we set out to Port Jeff with the FIL (father-in-law) to have some lunch and walk around.  Gap was having a buy one get one 50% off sale, so we did a little more shopping, too.

We ate lunch at a seafood shack by the water.  I had a plate of steamed cockles in a white wine sauce.. was delish- but what was funny is that my 2 year old daughter loves steamed clams.  She ate about 10 of them- isn’t that weird?

Black Friday is certainly deserving of its name.  Not because stores finally get into the black, but because of the behavior the deals offered on this day elicits from others.  I sit here and try to find the proper words for what I want to say, and it is difficult.

To learn that someone lost their life today in a stampede and a Walmart really pisses me off.  I can’t imagine seeing someone down on the ground and STEPPING ON THEM to get to a cheap XBox.  If this isn’t like the “fall of Rome”, I don’t know what is.

I just don’t know why people are so “me” centric.  I’m not trying to boast, or say that my world outlook is “right”- but I just don’t see myself as the center of everything and I always take into consideration others around me and in the world.  When people need, I give.  When people are sad, I comfort… after all, the more I do for others, the better MY heart feels.  

I cannot comprehend what type of person you have to be to literally stomp on someone to death.  I cannot comprehend ripping doors off of a building and causing harm to living, sentient beings, in order to get to a cheap thing!  

It enrages me.  To think that people like me are capable of acting like this …. it makes me ashamed to be a human being.   

Couple that with what happened in India, and I really don’t feel all warm and fuzzy about human beings right now.  There are a lot of people out there that suck- and that’s putting it mildly.

Two nights ago my mother said, “I think I wanna do a rice pudding for dessert on Thanksgiving.  Do you think you can make rice pudding?”

I’ve never made rice pudding before- but I figured, how difficult could it be?  Yesterday, I spent a good hour doing some research- and settled on a well reviewed recipe from epicurious.com titled rice pudding “gonzo”.  Weird, I know- but apparently this recipe comes from a fire fighter from Company 18 of the FDNY.  Company 18 took a big hit on 9/11- so it’s only fitting, for Thanksgiving, to use a recipe authored by someone to whom we should all be thankful.

This recipe has 4 forks and 168 reviews.  Upon reading the reviews, I made a few changes which you’ll find in parentheses.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts whole milk (I used one 1/2 gallon of 2% milk)
• 1 cup long-grain white rice (do not rinse) (I used white jasmine rice)
• 1 cup sugar (I reduced down to 3/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used salted butter, and didn’t add extra salt below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (used 1/2 teaspoon and one whole vanilla bean seeded)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used a cinnamon stick during cooking and used this cinnamon to sprinkle on top)

I know times are hard.  You only have to turn on CNN or CNBC for 30 seconds to get an earful of what is going on.  People are getting let go left and right.  No one is safe.  BUT- with all the worry and all the doubt- maybe you can give just a little something to someone who needs it.

Just this past weekend Newsday (I know, I know- what can I say, I like the Sunday coupons) did a special feature on the horrible state of food banks on Long Island.  My church (St. Martin of Tours in Amityville) anticipates handing out 150 Thanksgiving food baskets.  That’s 150 families in one parish.  Extrapolate that across all the parishes on Long Island and you’ll see just how dire the situation truly is.  I can only imagine that it will get worse in time for Christmas; knowing how companies like to trim down their “bottom line” (read: salaries) before year’s end. 

There are so many options for every one of us to make a difference.  If each one of us spent an extra $5 when at the supermarket on canned goods like soups, vegetables, and fruits, the food pantries wouldn’t be in such short supply.  I know with the cost of food these days, the last thing anyone wants to do is add to their food bill.  But please, think about it.

There are other organizations out there, like NYCares - that get Christmas presents to children that wouldn’t otherwise get anything.  Yes, I know- when there are so many that go hungry, a kid not getting a Christmas present doesn’t seem like such a harsh injustice- but think back to your own childhood and whatever you celebrated, and think about not having a present to open.  Think about what it means to these kids, and to our society as a whole, that there are people out there willing to give to strangers.  Maybe these kids will think about this one day when they are adults and return the favor to someone else in need.  If people do, indeed, “pay it forward”- think about what type of world we can create for ourselves.  Think about the love you can give to someone without ever meeting them!  And then, think about how that would make you feel.  8,479 children wrote letters that, as of tomorrow, are going to go unanswered because people haven’t signed up to fulfill their winter wishes. 

I know there are plenty that will read this blog and will say, but I do give- and I have nothing more to give.. and that’s OK too.  But if you have anything to spare… please consider giving it to someone in need.

That’s my excuse- I was out doing stuff- so I couldn’t blog (wow, I think I missed like two days- a record). 

Saturday I drove into NYC to hang with my girl Rachel.  I haven’t had a girl day sans child in NYC in FOREVER (at least since the Elvis Costello show debacle I went with Rachel to- that’s a different blog all together).

Anyway- met Rach at her place and got a parking spot RIGHT IN FRONT of her apartment!  Seriously- IN FRONT!  AND I didn’t have to circle the block.. It was right there WAITING FOR ME!  Clearly the parking Gods were smiling down on me as I really needed to pee and was ready to orchestrate a trade with Rachel (so she could sit in the car double parked while I went up to use her loo).. but alas, that didn’t have to be! 

After the parking coup, I was so happy, it didn’t matter what we did.  But, we did have some fun!  After taking a sushi lunch break (besides drinking wine, possibly the only other thing I missed when I was pregnant) we got manicures.  It was so luxurious.  Seriously.  How sad is that?  When is the last time a $10 purchase made you feel luxurious?  I haven’t gotten a manicure in like six months.  I’m sure the nail lady (um, technician? whatever) was talking about the state of my cuticles in Korean to her colleague.  Not to mention the fact that she had to file off the “I-swear-I’m-not-6-years-old-gold-sparkly-nail-polish” off my fingers. *

After the manicure, Rachel and I decided that we HAD TO find fun, slouchy winter hats to wear.  It was also freezing, so that was a huge motivating force.  Happily, we found hats at the first street vendor we checked out on Broadway.  Armed with our new hats, we walked down to Urban Outfitters where I proceeded to do a little bit of Christmas shopping. 

What’s with Urban Outfitters anyway.  Every time I buy something there, the shop-person forgets to take the security tag off.  Is this what they do to people that are too old to be shopping there?  Harass them until they stop coming back?  Sheesh!

After the Urban Outfitters situation, we were all shopped out, so we decided to head over to Bin 71for a drink.  Bin 71 is an adorable wine bar on Columbus ave and (duh) 71st Street.  I had two glasses of a delish Cotes du Rhone (drop the S Dina… seriously- why do I ALWAYS forget to drop the S in French).  Bin 71 is really teeny tiny, so I imagine getting seats at the bar would be difficult- but the atmosphere is really perfect for a cold, blustery evening… something festive about everyone huddling together at the bar over a good glass of wine.

Oh- and I forgot to add that, since we were close, we stopped by Magnolia Bakery.  I thought it would be nice to pick a few cupcakes up for my husband, since he was on toddler duty all day.  Magnolia Bakery was packed- they must sell a LOT of cupcakes.  At $3 a pop, I thought they’d be better.  Maybe it’s just me, but I thought the cupcakes were dry (I had chocolate, husband vanilla- both dry) and the icing too plentiful and too sweet.  Oh well- it didn’t stop my husband from eating two of them one after the other!

It was a perfect day.  I got home at 10:00pm and was immediately ready to cuddle in bed with my husband and watch TV.  Of course, my daughter was still awake- but it was nice to get some sloppy kisses from her anyway!

*Let me state for the record that the only reason I had “I-swear-I’m-not-6-years-old-gold-sparkly-nail-polish” on my fingers in the first place was because prior to the “I-swear-I’m-not-6-years-old-gold-sparkly-nail-polish” I had “I’m-really-cool-and-read-fashion-magazines-shimmery-navy-blue/purple” nail polish on.  The problem with “I’m-really-cool-and-read-fashion-magazines-shimmery-navy-blue/purple” nail polish is that when removing it, it spreads all over your nails, nail beds, and fingers, making you look as if you’re about to morph into a smurf (or that guy that drank colloidal silver and turned blue. )  To hide all the blue on my fingers, I pained them gold as the gold nail polish is very thick and would hide the blue.

Yeah- so…. I really think Twilight was the worst movie ever.  Or, at least, the worst movie I’ve seen in recent memory (not that I get to see that many movies these days).

How disappointing.  After absolutely LOVING the 2 1/2 books I’ve read (I’m half-way through Eclipse) I thought that the movie would at least be “ok”.  I found myself laughing through scenes that were not supposed to be funny. 

The meadow scene, specifically, had me stomping my feet in hysterics.  I think I actually might have snorted once or twice (causing snickers in the rows in front of me).

To be fair, I don’t think ANYONE can act the level of magnetism between Edward and Bella that’s written in the book- because, in my view, it just doesn’t exist.  With no reference point in real life, how are actors (especially super young teenage actors) supposed to act it out?

If anything- I had a fun night out… pre-Twilight beer, and a post-Twilight dinner.. and much needed kid-free time!

A few weeks, or was it months, ago I blogged about wanting to buy stocks but not sure where to start.  Well, I did it!

It’s amazing what you can learn by doing a little bit of research what you can learn.  As an analyst on CNBC said this morning, “when blood spills on the street, it’s time to start nibbling.” 

So that’s what I did!  I went ahead and took a $400 gamble on Ford buying 300 shares (we’ll see.. what’s the worse that can happen).  This bet was more for Maddie- betting that in about 15+ years when she’s ready for college, the stock will be higher and we can HOPEFULLY make a few bucks.

I also set up a bi-monthly ING sharebuilder account purchasing GE and Johnson & Johnson.  It’s not a lot- just $80/month… but hey, you CAN get rich $1 at at time!  I totally believe that.

Most of this is actually for Maddie- not for us… I don’t have a 529 plan for Maddie but do have CDs, bonds, and cash- so this will round out her portfolio nicely!

On nights when I don’t feel like cooking something major, I am glad to have trader joe’s crab cakes on hand in my freezer.  They defrost in an hour and cook up super quick.  They aren’t all filler, either- which is rare in the crab cake world.

We’re having them tonight and I’m serving them up with a side of orzo and peas.  I love orzo- it’s one of my pantry staples.

Any pasta with peas is super easy to make.  I saute 2 cloves of sliced garlic and a white onion finely chopped in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until translucent.  I then add 1/3rd cup of chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Once simmering, I throw in the frozen peas and heat them up.  Once the orzo is done, I throw them in the pot too.  If I’m short on liquid, I’ll add a little bit of the starchy pasta cooking water.

Finish with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of grated cheese (and maybe some red pepper flakes for some extra bite).

Easy & fast!

I’ve been TRYING not to blog about the possibility of a bailout for the big 3 automakers.  Last night, I took a break from blogging to write to my representation in Washington: Representative Peter King, Senator Clinton, and Senator Schumer BEGGING them to think about business before party loyalty. 

I am having an internal battle.  One one hand, I’m a Democrat AND a decent human being!  I don’t want to see people lose jobs.  Heck, I know how it feels!  On the other hand, I have an MBA (no, this doesn’t make me super understanding of everything going on) and have done LOTS of case study analysis on the American auto industry when they needed help back in the 70s.  So you see, not much has changed. 

But the question is- why can foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda compete and sell cars, even those cars made in American with American labor and the big three cannot?  I think a lot of it has to do with unions.  I think unions, as they stand now, are just as broken as the big 3 auto makers business model.  It’s unwise to throw good American dollars so people can keep their pensions.  Heck- lets face it- hardly ANYONE has pensions anymore. 

I’ve done some searching around and found a couple of great articles/blogs about why the big three should be allowed to have a controlled bankruptcy:

Becker Posner Blog

Campbell Brown

Mitt Romney (I swear this is actually a good one)

I think EVERY American needs to read up on this and DEMAND that their representatives act with prudence instead of throwing good money after bad!