The Return of Scallion Pancakes to Jade in Suffern, NY

http://www.jadebistro.net/

When I first started working with the 300 +/- people at "The Company's" Global R & D, I welcomed the vast differences of coworkers backgrounds, ages, education levels, life experiences and cultures. I was introduced to foods and traditions I would never have any other chance to experience and while the simple Scallion Pancake may not seem like a life altering event to many with various simple Chinese take-out restaurants in their neighborhood, I was one to sort of stick with the items I was mostly familiar. Branching out may mean trying a different version of Four Seasons or Happy Family.


One day, a group of us went to lunch with our Director who often shared stories of her past employment in food related industries including Kraft and Pepsi (ok, she somehow worked it in to every conversation) and she ordered Scallion Pancakes to start.

I couldn't wrap my head around what was to come. Would they be like a potato pancake, a breakfast pancake, a knish? Would they have shoots of green onion sticking out? Aaackk!

When the plate was set in the middle of the table and my nose not only accepted but welcomed the warm blend of aromas from gentle oniony to the familiar whisper of fried food.  I waited to see what the proper etiquette would be for eating the new found treats - did one pick them up or use the fork?  Well, the jury is still out as my table mates were divided about the correct procedure.  However, the one thing I knew for sure was that I had found a new top 10 favorite food.

The Director has since left.  The restaurant underwent a major renovation and revamping of the menu which eliminated our beloved appetizer.  We would still go, a smaller and smaller group, and find new favorites.  I am guilty of having the shrimp with rice noodles (that I eat with a spoon and fork in a quasi-Italian fashion) so frequently that the waitress simply brings the spoon without my request.

This past Friday, a smaller more intimate gathering of myself and just 2 coworkers ordered a plate of Scallion Pancakes.  Our lives have changed vastly.  I am going through the most transition right now and try to walk a balanced line between a wildly and ever changing range of emotions.  I find comfort eating with my friends and being reunited with a wonderful food.

Rehearsal at Stony Brae

A special time, a special occasion and the eve of a special day requires celebration.  The tradition of the wedding rehearsal dinner is alive and well, the experience is personalized and tweeked to suit. 

The feeling of a custom made event should be required for all of those preparing to enter into marriage as the needs are as individual as the union itself.

Yes, the location was incredibly convenient from the church...

 http://www.cragsmoorstonechurch.org/

But, if need be, we certainly could have traveled.

The entrace and walk way were welcoming and well kept.  I wanted to go in, wanted to know and see more, to continue, to dine and start making a new memory.

And so, our party of 13 is seated in the upstairs dining room, We are family and friends, longtime relations and new acquaintances joined by a religious man and his wife.

We were given regular menus and the listing of specials. 

http://www.stonybraeatcragsmoor.com/Menu.html

A cocktail to begin - the Cragsmoorpolitan - not just a dressed up girly martini, but one with meaning for the area.  Cragsmoor was once known for its blueberries and so to offer a drink with a nod to the area's history is more than appropriate and so I make my selection.

 

The bride and her future mother-in-law decide on the Castaway.  We are all happy with our decisions. 

I offer a toast of happiness and we peruse the dinner choices.

I decide to skip an appetizer as I hope I will instead be leaving room for dessert.  However, my older nephew, seated on my left, opts for a fresh Caesar salad. 

Conversation ranges from one end of the table to the other and the edge of sitting in the middle allows me to let my attention wander from one topic to another.  The young men at the left speak with the religious man about his birthplace (Southeast Asia), the lack of ethnic variety in restaurants in the nearby geography, tattoos, professional athletes in baseball, football and basketball, moving from New York city to the country and the beauty of the area we are currently dining.



My homemade Tagliatelle is not for the whimpy of apetite.  The dish is hearty and filling with ample amounts of mushrooms, red bell peppers and topped with a bit of micro greens.  Quite a successful plate of which I am forced to take half home in order to leave room for sharing a dessert with my younger nephew.

He orders the cheesecake with caramel sauce on the side (he's not sure what it will taste like).  The cheesecake was prepared in an individual mold and so the shape is a pleasing change and makes the portion size a bit more manageable.  I am only able to have a few forkfuls before pleading of being absolutely full.  He did dip a forkful of cheesecake into the caramel sauce but the verdict is still undetermined.

A lovely local spot to which I am sure we will return, but not without remembering The Rehearsal Dinner. 

Not Hangover or Bridesmaids - reality at Torches on the Hudson

The tradition used to be for the future groom to gather up his male friends for a night of drinking before the wedding.  Over time, brides-to-be wised up and asked the gentlemen to move the bachelor party celebrations away from the wedding date to ensure fewer hangovers at the alter.  As evolution continued, women began to embrace this custom for themselves and movies like "The Hangover" and "Bridesmaids" pushed the envelope for creative outings with as much debauchery as possible.

Doesn't mean that is what everyone wants.

My sister, a few friends and our mother went out for a nice meal and a few drinks.  Simple.

The menu included a long selection of beverages and one of the specials of the evening was the Pear Cosmo.   Here is the menu description:

Torches Grey Goose Pear White Cosmo:

Goose Pear Vodka shaken with Cointreau, fresh lime and white cranberry juice

served with a pear slice.

Sold!

Smooth and delicious.  Not too strong and alcohol tasting.

To start for 3 of us - the Seafood Chowder with crispy garlic croutons.

I never imagined it would be a giant, seemingly never ending bowl of luscious and creamy silkiness.  While I very much enjoyed the croutons, I may have preferred smaller cubes as they were difficult to halve with the spoon and a whole one felt like I was cramming too much food in my mouth.

I seem to order an appetizer as an entree more and more.  Since most restaurant portions sizes have grown, and Torches is no exception, more than enough food is offered and sometimes it can cut my expenses in half.

The Filet Mignon Quesadilla described on the menu as:  Filet Mignon tips, melted onion, shaved cremini mushroom, Swiss cheese and horseradish dip was perfect.

The beef was tender and soft, the blend of onion, mushroom and Swiss is classic and familiar as a take on a Philly Cheese Steak and the zippy sauce kept things interesting!  After about half my serving, I simply opened the tortilla, peeled it away and simply ate the filling.

The night continued further along the waterfront.  Stories were shared, the ladies wished the future bride well and no one lost a tooth, had their face tattooed, found a baby or a tiger, but memories were made just the same as the ladies were all Fed Well.

Not Just Any Friday Night

I met my sister for one of her last wedding dress fittings and tried on my matron-of-honor dress as well.  We decided that although we will be getting together with a few others tomorrow for a "Girls Night Out," we went out for dinner, just the two of us.


What to have?  The menu is pleather bound and full of pages of choices and yet like a woman's overflowing closet, somehow seemed empty.  I had reviewed the white board of specials before we were seated and had decided on the crab cakes appetizer as my entree with a salad.

Though the crab cakes seem a bit small in the photo, they weren't a bad size for an appetizer.  Full of real lump crab meat which made the difference for me.

My sister's meal was a cajun pasta dish with chicken, mushrooms, scallops and shrimp.  The photo, well, either I need a new cell phone or it needs a tremendous cleaning.  I don't understand why some shots are just ok and some are simply horrid.  Sort of like life, some days are great, wonderful, fabulous and others well, not so much.  True, both are memorable and sometimes you get both in one day.  This week I have been hanging on a swinging pendulum riding from the lowest low through simply content and then all the way over to pretty angry.

Nice to unwind and share it all with an understanding sister who patiently listened.  Cheers to sisters, the first best friends...

It's a Whiskey Sour and though I can never finish it, it was the perfect cocktail.

Spontaneous Lunch Date with the Mr.

For the first 20 years or so of our marriage, my husband rarely called in sick to work.  Though he does work for the U.S. Government, it is not the postal branch so I could never understand his devotion to making it in regardless of blizzards, illness, etc.  It has only been fairly recently that he has felt comfortable taking days off (and he has banked hundreds of hours of paid leave) and so on a recent day when I worked until noon we met for lunch at "that Italian chain restaurant."


The Mr. typically avoids chain restaurants.  We only went to one for a time when our younger son worked there but I will never see the inside of many unless I go with friends.  Luckily we have a wide array of privately and corporately owned eateries in the area and once in awhile I can coax him into the seafood chain because I can't help the way I feel about those amazing little biscuits!

We looked over our menus and I skimmed it at least three times before realizing nothing was screaming out, "Pick me!  Pick me!"  I go with an old classic - the soup and salad.  For the Mr., the chicken parmesan with spaghetti.

Pasta e fagioli.  Pasta and beans.  The waitress is trained to describe it back when ordered, "That soup is like chili with pasta."  I assume this is to help clarify for diners who are shocked when they receive their soup?  I just love soup and this style is clearly in my top 12 favorites regardless of the season or that it is a beautiful pre-summer day.

Ah, the never ending salad bowl.  Some love the dressing and I'm not saying I don't like it, but as readers may remember, I prefer a dry salad.  The crisp, fresh vegetables are what defines a perfect salad so I try to take my serving from the top and leave the wet bits behind for the Mr. who prefers his a bit on the drippy side of the scale.

Breadsticks.  Warm.  Sinful carbs.  Bits with the soup, pieces with the salad and though I am full, I still eyeball the basket.

After lunch a quick trip to his second least favorite place on earth, the mall.  I need pretty shoes for my sister's wedding.  Mission accomplished.

Though this lunch date may seem a bit every day, the special part was being able to call him at a moment's notice and simply meet for a meal.  And by the way, we used a gift certificate thoughtfully given to us by our nephew and his fiancee.  Thank you both.

With the mall errands behind us, we arrived home and pulled two chairs and an ottoman from the patio set down into the shady part of the back yard and talked a bit while the clouds rolled by.

Family Sunday Dinner in Almost Summer

Sometimes the hardest part of preparing a meal is deciding what to make.

Actually, many times the hardest part of getting out of a food rut is also choosing a new food to help get out of the hole.

This weekend when I was going grocery shopping my older son gave me several dinner requests.  Two involved chicken, but that's fine - one was for grilled chicken and the other for version of chicken and mushrooms.  Sunday was a perfect time for the grilled chicken.

With bruschetta.

It's really just chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, splash of olive oil, pinch of garlic powder, sprinkle of oregano.  The family prefers it on toasted bread (which I actually grilled) and I mixed the tomatoes in everything  I piled it on the grilled eggplant planks.

The chicken was grilled two ways, some with a dry rub and a few with Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce.

Macaroni salad - the photo version includes the chopped and seasoned tomatoes.

A crispy and fresh tossed salad.  I always eat mine without dressing and though I am sometimes teased or given strange looks, I like and enjoy the taste of the vegetables.

A quick flick of the wrist and a mini-watermelon is scooped into a bowl.  It's one thing to say we need to include more fruit and veggies in our diet, but the quickest and best way to ensure it happens is by actually putting it on the table in easy to eat servings.

The other side dish, the conversation, well, it was mostly about the week ahead and our schedules.  Work, play, and when the family will gather again. 

The memorable chat was before the meal when my older son asks how things are prepared, how much of what goes in the tomatoes or on the chicken and how long does it cook...  Someday it will be his turn to provide, prepare and independently be fed well.

Friday Co-Worker Lunch - Topics include the Celebrity Divorce Pool & Drew Barrymore's Wedding

Being fed well is often thought of as having had a good meal, and while this remains true, the primary thought does not have to center around the food but instead the company and the overall atmosphere.

Every other Friday I leave my job at noon.  On the weeks I work a full Friday I often have lunch at either the local Chinese or Mexican restaurant with coworkers I enjoy chatting with voluntarily.  This week we thought we would venture out of the routine and head to Smash Burger but instead we went Chinese.

My day job is for a global cosmetics and personal care product company and while I have seen lashes sold for car headlights on the web, I find it funny that two cars in our employee lot feature these after market add ons.  Here's a close up view. 

My role in the company would be to determine if panelists find these lashes to make their eyes look bigger, feel soft and last all day.

One of the group needs to stop off at the local Post Office and so we wait and admire the landscaping.  Whenever I see daisies, I always think of my sister and so my mind is momentarily derailed as I escape the conversation and retreat into my own thoughts for a moment or two (when will my dress come in, how will it fit, what will I say for my toast - have I changed my mind) and then I snap back into the discussion about the weather.

While waiting for a food, we almost always start by talking about our celebrity divorce pool.  Some may have death pools, but we thought that may be a little strong so instead we each picked ten celebrities we think are likely to get divorced this year and so far, none of us has had a score.  Around March we thought it may be bad karma to only be betting on bad news so we added the celebrity we think would be most likely to get married in 2012 and one of us picked Drew Barrymore.  Ok, yes, I did, I had the first point on the board!

We also discuss things like; the Beckham's - is the way they are presented in the media in any way close to their true personalities, Jennifer Aniston crying about having her man stolen only to show up in Justin Theroux's life and possibly hurt his long term lady friend in the same way, and what motivates straight men to dress up as women.

I am almost ashamed to post this sad picture of my amazing shrimp with rice noodles.  Sometimes my camera phone simply does not cooperate and when looking at the tiny screen I have a hard time judging if the image will be acceptable or not.  Here is my lame representation:

Here is a beautiful photo I found at http://www.naampruitt.com/2012/02/16/spicy-noodles-with-shrimp/

So yes, we indulge in more than our share of celebrity gossip, rating movies, actors and actresses.  I confess.  I look forward to these breaks from reality and having a great meal as well truly makes me feel Fed Well.