Month: April 2010

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for a birthday, the meal must be special

Nothing calls to home more than Scandinavian Meatballs!

One of the nicest traditions I have observed is serving the person with a birthday the meal they most desire. It is nice to go out to dine, but something made at home has always been my favorite. Well, my birthday is coming up in a week or so, and since I could have anything I wanted, I wanted to make it myself. Some of you may not think that is a real good birthday present, but for me, preparing something special is fun…. even if it is on my birthday. Besides, much of what I am thinking about can be made the day before and so the actual preparation on the birthday is minimized.

my tiramisu with manfingers
My Tiramisu with 'manfingers' is delicious!

So, I thought that I’d prepare some  Scandinavian Meatballs,  a nice salad and my Tiramisu for dessert. I am still thinking about the wine at this point.

oh yes, let there be Roquefort!
oh yes, let there be Roquefort!

I always enjoy the simple meal on my birthday, I hope yours is as pleasant.

Roger Freberg

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Pistachio and Brazil Nut Biscotti — part deux

Brazil Nut and Pistachio Biscotti ... need coffee?


I love to tinker on many things. I find great solace in trying to solve the secrets of the universe… like how to make the perfect Biscotti? I have found using vanilla extract makes a biscotti have a ‘funny’ after taste… while using an entire vanilla bean — or two — is wonderful, but indulgent.I really don’t like plain Biscottis and those dipped in various chocolates  are more of a dessert than something light with coffee. My preference is for nuts and Pistachios and Brazil nuts seems the most fun.

Here is my Biscotti recipe with some of the tweaks noted.

enjoy,

Roger Freberg

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iPad envy is a terrible thing


Everyone in my family loves technology, especially something new. Each generation of technology was fun for us to explore. We all joke about the days when updating an Apple meant knowing how to use a soldering iron! I remember cutting into a case to add the first floppy disk, then the 3 1/4, cd and dvd and all the recording versions. If you are old enough, you’ll remember when a floppy handled a whopping 10k of memory and buying a computer without a hard disk. We’ve even beta tested a few items which was fun, especially new video game systems. We smile back at those times. We may never meet any of the geniuses associated with these great devices, but we are grateful for the sense of awe they bring, their usefulness and practicality…. and yes, for the envy it causes in others!  😉

So one day, we are all on the conference phone discussing Apple’s latest mobile devise called the iPad and ‘wondering’ which iPad — if any — is worthy of purchase? After much discussion, we agreed that we each would buy the  WiFi 6G 64GB as it had virtually everything. They’ll be shipped at the end of the month and the only question remains is who will get theirs first?

Here’s a nice discussion on iPad:

iPad-Wikipedia

iPad — at Apple


Yes, I have heard from a few friends that we are once again being mislead on the quest for truth and enlightenment. We have heard that the iPad is just a fad and this too will pass. They said the same thing about the personal computer thirty years ago.  However, I am reminded of Mark Twain’s famous remark,”denial is not just a river in Egypt!.”

iPad envy is a terrible thing.

Roger Freberg

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Puerto Rican Tostones

tostones

My daughter Karen told me that a  friend from Puerto Rico loves  this common and delicious snack of salted ‘twice-fried’ Plantains. They are called “Tostones.” I thought I’d try it myself and I am glad I did.

Slicing Plantains can be a little tricky for those who expect to be pealing a version of a banana. The fact is that Plantains are often referred to as a vegetable and prepared in much a similar fashion. Plantains are roughly 97% carbohydrate, 2% protein and 1 % fat.

The ‘twice fried” Tostones is a simple process: 1) peal the plantain, 2) slice the plantain 3) fry the slices 4) remove the slices and mash them 5) fry again and 6) remove, place on a paper towel and salt!

Enjoy!

Roger

more recipes with Plantains