The Sandwich Life

A Sandwich Life Sunday

I love my boys.  All three of them.  They are all curled up in the media room watching the new iCarly.  I think all three of them like her...although Owen seems to have a weakness for blondes.  Ernie and Leo definitely like dark haired girls thank you very much.

Nice day today.....an outstanding batch of Ernie's biscuits this morning then some lazy time and then Ernie hit the kitchen and I cleaned our filthy bathroom.  I spent some time making lists and doing odds and ends and then Ernie and I headed out for errands.  Part of me thought I should drag the boys along but they were curled up together on the couch in the media room looking like they were in collusion....and I like it when they're like that.  So Ernie and I headed off to Home Depot for paint chips (for the bathroom....I'm leaning towards a turquoise kind of thing), Target for a rice cooker...they were sold out but found some marked down curtains really cheap for the boys' room and of course another 11x17 frame for our next house concert poster (thanks Mark).  Then we hunted for upholstery pins....you know those little spiral shaped pins????  Any ideas?  JoAnn Fabrics was out and couldn't find any anywhere else.  The cats have torn our furniture to bits so I'd like to secure the little whatyoumacallits that go over the arms.  And yes I know that means they will be up next.  Geesh.  I don't know. 

Ernie took me for a drink at Fries and Peanuts, which was delightful, and then we headed to the grocery store.  MAN I love going to the grocery store with him....especially after a glass of wine.  As we headed in he said, "I love you babe, but you're fucking insane."  I'm not exactly sure what brought that about but I took it as a compliment.  He said something similar at the end of the trip but I can't recall it right now.  Suffice to say I've always loved shopping for groceries with Ernie.  He just finds it a bit more expensive when I'm around.

We came home and he and Owen were heading out to go over to a friend's house and Owen obediently tried to pull the front door closed after him....only to slam our heavy old door on his finger.  Oh MAN.  Nothing is worse than having someone you adore in pain like that.  Owen's no stoic but I couldn't fault him as I knew this hurt like hell....a cut purple finger is just not something you want.  It totally brought me back to earth and I hugged him as hard as I could, bandaged it up, got ice on it, tossed some ibuprofen in him and kissed him a lot.  UGH.

Now I'm in the midst of preparing a lovely meal that neither one of my children will eat but what the hell.  Haddock coated in some cornstarch, salt and pepper and sauteed quickly, sugar snap peas sauteed with a bunch of fresh basil and one of my favorite Trader Joe items---they call it harvest grain mix or something like that.  It's Israeli couscous, baby garbanzo beans, red quinoa and something else I can't recall.  I cooked it with some sweet curry powder from Penzey's.....I'll throw the haddock on top and put the sugar snap peas on the side.  I love cooking on Sunday nights.

 Sigh.

And one last note.  We're using the upstairs bathroom while the downstairs one is being remodeled.  The boys and I keep complaining about how terrible the drain is, how much we hate it etc.  Today I tried to scrub the tub and yet again complained about the drain.  I poured a little drain cleaner in but there wasn't much and it still wouldn't go down.  We bought more at the grocery store and Ernie went up to pour it in.  A little while later he came down and told me that he'd discovered the drain works much better when you OPEN it.

whoops.

I'm so glad he loves me.

Chicken with Green Olives, Orange and Sherry

For dinner last night I actually followed a recipe!  And...overall it was pretty good but I'd make some changes.  Basically you brown a cut up chicken in a skillet, take it out, brown shallot (oops, no shallot, used onion) and garlic, delgaze with a cup of sherry.  Cook it down halfway add in the chicken along with chicken broth, orange wedges (I used more than I should have but they were SO pretty) and green olives.  Then put the whole thing in the oven for awhile.  Take it out, remove the chicken, cook down the sauce a bit and add a bit of honey.  I think I would use less honey and lots more olives...and maybe nix the added chicken broth.  It made for a gorgeous sunny looking dish though....  We had it with couscous with a bunch of spinach stirred in along with a bit of the sauce on top.

This is the sauce cooking down after I had removed the braised chicken....

Chicken with Green Olives, Orange and Sherry

Bon Appetit

January 2005

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 4 3/4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 cup sliced shallots (about 3 large)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup medium Sherry
• 1 cup low-salt chicken broth
• 1 orange, halved lengthwise, each half cut into 5 wedges
• 1/3 cup brine-cured green olives (such as picholine)

• 1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to skillet; cook until skin is crisp and browned, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Reduce heat to medium-high. Drain all but 2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add shallots; stir until soft and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add Sherry; boil until reduced by half, scraping up browned bits, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth; bring to boil. Return chicken, skin side up, to skillet. Place orange wedges and olives among chicken pieces. Transfer to oven and braise uncovered until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken to platter. Bring sauce to boil over high heat. Stir in honey; boil until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce, oranges, and olives over chicken, or return chicken to skillet and serve.

20 Reasons I'm Happy Right Now

1.  I feel GOOD again.  Not that I like getting sick but it sure makes you appreciate just feeling good!

2.  Owen has agreed to perform in the Dr. Howard talent show.

3.  I'm going to buy myself a Le Creuset dutch oven damn it!

4.  After Ernie read my blog the other day he went to T. J. Maxx to see what Le Creuset they had.  They actually had one in the color I want but it was the wrong size.  The fact that he did that though? I know.

5.  I think I've decided what to make for the Eric Brace/Peter Cooper show.  We'll do a test run this weekend.

6.  It's Friday.

7.  We got to have lunch with our beloved Ann and Bob today.

8.  I'm listening to the Plimsoul's Beach Town Confidential from 1983 and it's freaking incredible.  Makes me feel like I can do anything.

9.  Right now they're singing Zero Hour, a song Milktoast did.

10.  Dema is over hanging out with Owen.

11.  I'm planning some kind of citrus salad for dinner with I'm not sure what else.....  I've got nice pineapple, starfruit, oranges...and fennel and basil....  Whaddya think?

12.  I woke up this morning to the sounds of Owen playing Wreckless Eric's Whole Wide World on his guitar.

13.  Leo should be home from school soon.

14.  We're going to work on the Lego room tomorrow.  Ernie finally moved the old bed out of the room so we can get to it.

15.  I thought about my sister and my Mom today but I wasn't sad.

16.  Our cat Hattie has a crush on our contractor Todd.

17.  I'm excited about a farm project my friend Bob is putting together at his church.  Details to follow soon.

18.  Leo just burst in the house and said, rather excitedly, "look at this!" and pulled out a "Highest Honors" award for this quarter.  The VERY best part?  HE was proud of it. 

19.  Peter Case and Paul Collins are doing a tour together in March. 

20.  We might get a tiny bit of snow tonight...and it's Friday.

Feeling the Winter

Well.  THAT'S one way to make the week go by quickly.....be sick for a couple of days in the middle of it.  At this point Ernie, Leo, Owen, our contractor Todd, and me have ALL had it so hopefully it's onward and upward. 

I've kind of got the mid January blahs...perhaps I'm just spacy from not feeling great and watching more tv than normal. 

Perhaps, unlike others, I NEED snow come January.

No news. 

I filed our taxes and am seriously considering blowing part of the refund (most of which will go toward the credit card bills) on a Le Creuset dutch oven.  Well French oven as the case may be I guess.  I've always wanted one and you know how obsessed I get.....  But then....all the QUESTIONS....what color?  Classic Flame or the Cobalt Blue?  Or what about sunny Dijon?  What SIZE?  One that is perfect for cooking for the family....or one big enough for a big batch of something for a house concert? What SHAPE? Oval, round?

Questions....questions....questions....  Any thoughts?

Other than that I've got a blank mind sad to say.

I'll leave you with pictures.

The other day we were leaving Fries and Peanuts (the boys no longer approve of me calling it that...sigh) and the late afternoon light was gorgeous on the Lincoln Building.  Note the little line up of birds on the chimney.

The winter mantel arrangement:  my beautiful Julie Sola (a gift from our beloved Van), my calligraphy and the abominable snowman. 

A Bomp to the Spirit: The Plimsouls' Beach Town Confidential

I'm home sick today.  I guess I can't harass Owen since I got it too.  I'm the last one down with it so hopefully we'll all be better soon.  I slept most of the morning and worked on our taxes sporadically this afternoon.  I think I'm done for the day though.  The bright spot of the day?  A package from Bomp marked "phonograph records."

Love that Peter Case.

And my guy....

 

Shooting TVs, Buying Produce and CynthiaFEST Plans....

I almost murdered my youngest child last night and I wasn’t too fond of certain other members of the family either.  Actually I didn’t REALLY want to murder Owen….mostly I wanted to throw a glass at the tv.  That just seemed SO appealing to me.  I totally understand why Elvis shot his TV….well not that I’m a gun person and I suppose Elvis and I had different reasons but honestly if the fact that we can’t afford a new tv weren’t in the way I swear I would have done it just for the sheer satisfaction of it.  MAN that would have felt good.  Although I would have felt obligated to clean it up.  So…..I restrained myself.

Of course Dr. Howard called this morning and Owen was in the nurse’s office sick so perhapssssssssss  I’ll say it was because he didn’t feel great.  Yesterday was just one of those days.  Unsatisfying.  I worked on our taxes a bit but some of the 1099s I need won’t be available for import until the 27^th  so I couldn’t finish them.  I went grocery shopping with Ernie  That was actually the highlight of the day---I like shopping with Ernie.  So many people seem to be getting divorced….perhaps they should spend more together in the produce section---we have a delightful time and he didn’t even reign me in so I got starfruit and pineapple, collards and kale, lots of fresh basil, carrots and spinach, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas and some walnuts among other things.  I suppose not everyone loves buying produce with their spouse though.

Leo had really wanted to go to lunch at Fries and Peanuts but I said no because I wasn’t in the mood.  Then I felt kinda bad because Leo hardly ever asks for things so when we got back from shopping I told him if he carried in the groceries he and Ernie could go together.  Owen and I hung out and he talked to me about Ezio and taught me how to swear in Italian.

That was pretty much my Sunday.  We had curried oven-fried chicken, spinach and roast carrots for dinner.  Pretty damn good dinner…thank you Ernest for making the chicken so perfectly.  Then, God help me, I watched the atrocious Rachel vs Guy Celebrity chef thing on the food network.  Then I went to bed.

Bleh.

HowEVER…..I think Phil Lee is going to play CynthiaFEST this summer.  We don’t have a definite date but sometime in June or July.

Something to look forward to.

 

Evidently poor Michael was killed in some kind of battle....

Random Notes from the Sandwich Life

1.  When Ernie plays Tom Verlaine singing Walking Home from Stalingrad.....it's a good night.  That, and a gorgeous fire in the fireplace, made for a lovely evening last night.

 

2.  Owen told me he was a little tired this morning because he stayed up so late last night talking to Leo.  He seemed kind of excited about it though and then he went on to tell me they talked about a lot of things: God, the universe, the Big Bang, etc. He seemed so happy.  I wanted to ask more but I kind of didn't want to intrude on their private conversation.  I just told him how pleased I was that he had a brother with whom he could talk about all sorts of things.  He nodded happily and kissed me before darting off.  Man, I love those boys.

3.  I felt rather smug that when I went in to kiss Owen goodnight last night he was humming Whole Wide World to himself.

4.  Can we talk duckfat?  I mean I know the legend of duckfat fries, etc. but good LORD yes.  I made a five hour roast duck just before we went out of town.  It was really good but for the price you pay for duck I didn't know if I was something I'd do too often.  But I used some of the duck fat to saute some potato wedges and they almost outshone the duck.  Then the night we got back from Birmingham I was scrounging in the refrigerator to figure out something for dinner.  There was just a little leftover duck and the saved duck fat.  I threw a bunch of potatoes in a pan along with the diced leftover duck and duck skin, some leftover orange bell pepper and a bit of garlic.  I cooked all of that in the duckfat and once it was done I cracked a couple of eggs on top and finished in the broiler.  That simple leftover hash dish was worth every penny of the WHOLE  duck.  Duckfat....yes....absolutely amazing!

These are the potato wedges I made to go with the duck the first night:

 

 

5.  Something has come up with my mother's estate and I needed to find the court paperwork.  I sent Ernie scurrying upstairs and downstairs looking for it while I sorted through stacks of papers that I shove into a drawer everytime we have to clean up for a house concert.  I couldn't find the original court paperwork but I found the paperwork issued after everything had gone through probate.  I sighed, thinking perhaps that would work and then it dawned on me that all that was from JUDI's estate not my mother's estate.  Geesh.  Too many estates I guess.  Midway through this Owen asked me what was going on and I told him it was just something about Grandma.  He asked if this was hard for me and I said, "no, not so much---it's been long enough."  But then, as I dug through tubs and bins it did begin to get to me.  I found a plastic bin that holds some of the things Judi brought with her from South Carolina.  There's a cookbook from our childhood, a framed collection of photographs of her as a child, a bag of completely dried out weed that she used during chemo and a couple of cards that people sent her at the very end.  There are also some of the calendars I had made every year with pictures of the boys.  I would make them for my folks and my sisters.  I sniffed the bag of pot, read the cards and looked at the calendars.  It always touched me incredibly that she had kept all those calendars and brought them with her.  I looked at Ernie and told him that I was wrong when I told Owen it wasn't that hard anymore.  I guess I should throw some of that stuff out but I still can't.

6.  Judi's house in South Carolina was set into a hill so that the main level was on the first floor in the front, and on the second in the back.  There was a huge magnolia tree on the side and it always felt like you were in a treehouse.  The landscape in Birmingham reminded me so much of South Carolina.  I hadn't quite expected that.  Sort of scrappy with southern pines and the kind of strung out development that comes with a lot of cheap land.  I love the magnolias...this one was at Arlington, the antebellum house we visited.

 

 

7.  Yesterday I told the guys that we were going to go to Allerton today.  This morning?  Feeling kind of lazy.  So then I decided we'd work on cleaning upstairs---which we dearly need----and yet?  Still feeling kind of lazy.  I had to work a bit yesterday---not for long but it still feels like it's been awhile since I had day with nothing in particular calling to me.  Maybe I'll make the boys go get some more firewood and we'll just all be lazy together....

 

Wreckless Eric and Owen

I told Owen he should play for this for the Dr. Howard talent show and he refused.  In fact he totally refuses to enter the talent show despite the fact that he does a killer acapella version of XTC's Dear God.  That was the first song I suggested.  He only does it when he doesn't think we can hear him but it's pretty wonderful....

He HAS promised to learn this song though, and sing it for me.

My sweet pea.

 

Maybe we can get Amy Rigby to come back with Eric and THEY could get Owen to sing it.  Hmmmm.

Sandwich Life House Concerts Update

Now that we're past the holidays and thick into January, it's time to update everybody on our Sandwich Life House Concert plans.

As some of you may have noticed I recently sent out a save the date for Eric Brace and Peter Cooper via email rather than facebook.  Facebook works fine if everyone you know is on it but it gets confusing when you're trying to keep people that aren't on it in the mix as well and I'm not organized enough to keep two systems going so I think I'm going to try to switch to primarily email.  I'll still keep the facebook page.....we'll see how it all works.....  If you would like to be on the email list (if you've been to one of our house concerts already, you should be on the list) just let me know at thesandwichlife at gmail.com.  If you did NOT receive an email about the upcoming Eric Brace and Peter Cooper show and would like one, again just send me an email or leave a comment on this post.

We've got a few things floating around.  We're not really planning the year out as much as things are just popping up----there's more good music than there is time!

The schedule right now is:

ERIC BRACE and PETER COOPER
Friday, March 2, 2012
http://www.reverbnation.com/ericbraceandpetercooper

AUDREY AULD
Friday, April 27, 2012
http://www.reverbnation.com/audreyauld

ROD PICOTT
Friday, May 18, 2012
http://www.reverbnation.com/rodpicott

WILL KIMBROUGH
Friday, June 1, 2012
http://www.reverbnation.com/willkimbrough

Later in the summer will be CynthiaFEST.....and we've got some ideas for fall.  We try not to schedule too much but it's hard when there's such wonderful stuff out there....

I am pretty damn confident that every one of these will be great shows.  There's a chance Tommy Womack will be with Will Kimbrough---don't know definitely yet.  Either way it will be great (oh, and I can't wait for Tommy's new album coming out in February!).  Oops, I keep saying great....must think of different adjectives....

a taste of what's coming:

 

 

 

  

Mark Gerking, Lego, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper

Here it is folks.....the poster for our Eric Brace and Peter Cooper show.  I know.  It kind of makes you love Mark Gerking, Leo, Owen, Eric and Peter---just all of them, doesn't it?  I bet Eric and Peter never thought they'd have the honor of being Lego mini-figures, huh?

Thanks Mark!

And yes, Eric and Peter, you WILL get a special tour of the Lego room....

 

 

A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

 

On Sunday in Birmingham Ernie and I wandered around downtown (close to our hotel) while the boys reveled in Lego.  Wandering around and looking at buildings is one of our favorite things to do....

One of the things I worry about lately is the loss of all the old storefronts.  TONS of empty buildings but some nice old storefronts....

again with the weird spacing....gotta figure out what's going on with Typepad....

 

 

 

lots of nice old facades waiting for someone to take care of them....

 

 

 

 

 

And we were sad that we were a year too late to visit the iconic Pete's Hot Dogs....

 

 

Random Notes from the Birmingham Trip

1.  The boys came back up to the room (I really could only do so much BrickFair) and were delightedly showing us their purchases.  Then Owen grinned excitedly and said, "and I bought something for YOU Mom!"  He pulled out the most gorgeous pair of Lego earrings you have ever seen.

I almost cried....because that's just how I am.

 

 

2.  I decided we should do barbecue one night while we were there so I poured myself into barbecue reviews, hunting down forums and lists....  Is it really any wonder that I understand the boys' obsession with Lego so well?  Anyway, after much consideration I decided on Bob Sykes Barbecue.  We headed out, and although the sign said "Ribs, Ribs, Ribs," there were no ribs to be found.  They were out of ribs.  Owen just kept saying, "OUT of RIBS? But they're a BARBECUE place."  Oh well.  Ernie and I went with the pulled pork and Owen had the barbecued chicken.  Leo had fries.  I think Owen fared the best....Ernie was damn jealous of that chicken.  The pork was good but nothing blew me away.  I was a tad disappointed.  I did like the neon arrow though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Never one to let go of an obsession however, I decided we'd try for a better barbecue experience the next night.  We had planned to go out but we were all pretty tired at that point so Ernie and I ran and picked up ribs (for Owen and me) and chicken for Ernie.  Finding an open place on a Sunday really narrowed down choices so I went with Jim n Nicks in the Five Points area.  I'd read about the cheddar biscuits but oh MAN.  No wonder they've been noted in Saveur Magazine, Bon Appetit, etc.  I know barbecue is a personal kind of thing but Owen and I loved our ribs.  The collards and mac and cheese were fine but there was only so much room and the collards had so much ham that they distracted from the ribs for me.  We ate leftover cheddar biscuits for breakfast the next morning as we headed out of town.

 

 

4.  When I planned out the trip I told the guys that I got to pick something to do too...and I chose Arlington, an antebellum house  museum that is owned by the City of Birmingham.  I adore Greek Revival houses.  The boys didn't really want to go but I said we were ALL going.  It turned out to be wonderful way to spend a bit of a sunny Sunday in Birmingham.  The tour guide was great, asking the boys questions and I was rightfully proud of their responses (I am SO easy).  They got to hold a Civil War rifle with a bayonet.  I was nervous about Owen and a bayonet and a chandelier above him but all went well.  Later Owen proclaimed the whole thing to have been AWESOME and even Leo seemed to have had an o.k. time.  It made me happy.  It made me feel like the child Cynthia who loved to visit old houses.....