'Til I Come to New York Town

Virgil's BBQ in Times Square Lunch

IMAX Twisters Movie

Once in a blue moon we feel the need to immerse ourselves in the bigness of the city.  The places we never go, some awesome, some grotesque, like the IMAX Theater in Lincoln Square.  It was a matinee showing of Twisters.  I had visions of slider baskets but the concession clerks were MIA for the whole of the movie.  If you've been caught in the city not knowing where you'll eat while starving, you know the horrors of too many bad choices.  I needed a safe landing spot, so we went with a familiar old favorite, Virgil's BBQ in Times Square. Twisters sucked and the best sound system in the world could not help it out.  The tornado visuals were kind of cool, although the whole larger than life experience felt similar to having a series of strokes. 

Beef Brisket Salad

Grilled Salmon with potato salad and Mac and cheese

Virgil's on the other hand, was void of life and for being in the middle of Times Square, had a surprisingly  hit you in your face glum vibe.  The waitress turned that up to eleven with an even more despondent service.  Without giving this poor woman more problems, I will only say the moment she sat us in the corner facing the kitchen of the non-busy establishment, I was filled with the strong urge to run out of there.  Do you ever do that? Know that you should leave a restaurant the minute you sit down but you don't because that would be rude.  You don't because you should be damned grateful to be sitting at a restaurant to begin with and you think, who am I to be leaving like some snob?  We didn't because we were starved.  But our hunch was right.  This place was sadness incarnate.  Needless to say, I blame myself for this terrible day-off Big-City idea.  But the best way to appreciate how you live is go watch others. 

Central Park walk 

Just What the Truth Is, I Can't Say Anymore

White Bean Turkey Chili or Chili Verde? Which is it?  I'm not sure what I want to call this beauty although I've made her a few dozen times.  Almost everything that goes into her pot is green in color, which for me, is most attractive.  Cilantro, green onion, jalapenos, Poblano Peppers, tomatillos and topped with avocado.  However, it is exceptional to put white beans in chili and the main spice is cumin instead of chili powder, so it's fitting to say white Bean chili.  You toast the cumin seeds while browning the ground turkey.  This alongside tons of garlic provides an awesome broth.

  I added a slurry of yogurt with corn starch to thicken slightly at the end.

The verdict; After careful consideration I realize I have been making two distinct dishes.  This above would be Chili Verde with the difference being, the main star here are the roasted tomatillos and Poblano Peppers. All the green goodness makes this spectacular.  With my white Bean chili, I add a little flour to the browned meat as well as 1/2 of a packet of ranch dressing mix to create a creamier broth.  The white beans I mash up half of them into the broth to make it even thicker.  I'm so glad we could clear this up.

I Thought I Knew You, What Did I Know?

Another Mediterranean Chicken recipe.  This time with artichokes and olives.  I used chicken breasts for a low fat, low carb option.  Of course it's better with thighs, but these worked surprisingly well, especially when you marinate them first. What's great about breasts that I never realized, is that when you cook them well, reheating them does not dry them out  They stay juicy.  This was a great adult lunch box meal for that reason. 

I roasted spicy chick peas and served them alongside a cool, tangy cucumber salad. 

Take the time to open two cans of chick peas, drain, dry and then oil and spice before roasting in a single layer. These are excellent snacks for work and also serve as a nice side dish.  They're great to have around and are still very inexpensive.