Won't You Smile Awhile For Me

Brunch in Clinton Hill with our friend J. We didn't know but it seems brunch has become a thing out here. There are so many great spots all over Brooklyn to have brunch and there are competing menu deals to make it fun, including drinks.

My friend M at work spoke to me about an all you can drink fixed price brunch on 5th Avenue. When I asked how many drinks can someone drink at noon, she said her highest was 8. That's not brunch, that's a bender. She's a wreck.

Anyway we went to Maggie Brown where the service was so pleasant. We had an especially sweet waitress and host. We sat outside and enjoyed our first al fresco dining experience of the year. I love these little backyard patios because it's all sort of Alice in Wonderland feeling back there. Apartments on all sides and up the side walls so you can peak at the back end of what you never see of these blocks. But in that little patio they create a tiny world for you to sit back, enjoy the sun and actually relax as though the hustle bustle of the sidewalks in front is not happening.

J ordered the corned beef hash and eggs. It came with a little homemade biscuit and some interesting looking flavored butter or jam, I forgot to ask. But a huge portion and from what I heard, pretty tasty.

For what reason I can't remember but me and P stuck to cheeseburgers and fries instead of being adventurous and trying one of the great brunch options. But the burgers were great and we loved them. I'd love to go again.

Good friendly service is worth so much and in a town where smiles are an anomaly, I find myself craving a friendly face just as much as a good egg.

This is the End Beautiful Friend

It's the end of the ham, the post Easter baked smoked ham that I slow baked all night in my little Barbie oven. We've reached the bone. It's like the carcass of a wildebeest and we're the lions lying around licking our chops.

I froze the bone and some big chunks to use for the split pea soup finale. I used my freshly made stock that I poached the chicken thighs in along with root vegetables and spices.

This was a super rich soup and since the smoked ham wasn't as salty, you really tasted the pea. We've had way too much ham but I have to say it was so incredible that you just couldn't help yourself. This soup didn't even need the croutons.

When it Comes to Eats Well I'm the Fiend, I Like My Sugar With Coffee and Cream

We were off the chicken for a month or so but with thighs for $5 a family pack, it would be a crime not to take them. I baked half and poached the others also making a nice rich stock.

My sister had mentioned she had pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches from her deli and that sounded so good. But I forgot I had no BBQ sauce. Like pizza sauce, like many sauces, its easy to whip up your own but you forget just how easy.

First I made a quick roux in my cast iron pan with flour and oil and I toasted up cumin seed, chili and cumin powder. Then I added some chicken stock, orange juice and whisked that. Added a splash of red wine vinegar and a couple tablespoons of ketsup, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder and let it heat to bubbling. Robust and Amazingly simple.

For that extra umphh I added chunks of pineapple to the shredded chicken into the sauce and let it all marry before piling it on my toasted potato rolls. I don't suck tonight!! This dear friend is a winner! The way the heat of the BBQ sauce lights up when you chew into the sweet juicy pineapple and then get a bite of the roasted spicy chunks of chicken. And the comforting soft slightly toasted potato roll blankets each bite and mellows it all out.

Using my Cuisinart for ease I also made a Red Cabbage Green Apple slaw with carrots and red onion dressed just with EVOO and red wine vinegar and a little sugar. Perfect match.

I don't even want to look on the web and see if someone has thought of this already, the pulled chicken with pineapple. For tonight I want to believe that I alone came up with this winning combo. I'm out of this world, intergalactic, dyno-mite! Thank you, thank you. No, please, sit.