thanksgiving

although this year thanksgiving took a bit of a beating, things finally turned out very nice. we didn't have to do any running around except to get to my mom's house in hackensack, and nothing after that except back home. at times, thanksgiving for me has meant pace yourself at house #1 so you can eat again at house #2, and digest along the way. i was spared that, and hopefully for all years to come, by deciding that if our families can manage to share the holiday, then so can we. my mom in the past has done a more latin styled thanksgiving by making the guest of honor in a fricassee instead of roasted. frankly i prefer it in the former fashion as opposed to the latter, it's more juicy and infinitely more flavorful. this year it was a more traditional bird with all the trimmings; sweet potatoes, string bean casserole; except for the rice of course. cubans have rice with everything. my grandfather used to have rice with his spaghetti. you read it right. he would just spoon some rice into his pasta with marinara sauce and slurp it up. i never tried it 'cause at that age i was into being grossed out by things like that; but now, who knows. the evening went well though, my brother behaved himself, he and i spent alot of time making fun of my uncle's side of the family (especially melissa my cousin and her daughter victoria) just because they weren't there and it pisses off my mom. don't you just love family dynamics?! we used to spend our holidays all together before my uncle (who is my mom's brother) and his family high-tailed it outta new york for the hurricane-drenched shores of miami. the story was that they were running to a better, more affordable life in warmer weather. my take is that they were running away from my cousin mark's crazy bitch girl friend who fucked him up so bad that he had to go into therapy (she actually came into the apartment one day and stole everything that wasn't nailed down-and i mean EVERYTHING!!), and my other cousin melissa's druggie boyfriend who got her pregnant and is a fucked-up psycho. but that's just my opinion. anyway, all went well right down to finding the perfect parking spot when we got back into the city. i hope you all had a great one, or at least survived it with a minimum of extra sessions with your shrink. just remember, the big one is just around the corner...AAAIIUUUUGGHHHHHH!!!!!
GEORGE WINSTON (to relax some)

The Incredible Edible Egg

i love eggs. they're one of my favourite foods and one thing i love to make with them is a spanish tortilla. the traditional recipe is just onions, potatoes and, of course, the eggs. this is what's usually called a "tortilla espanola" but like so many peasant foods, it just depends on what you have on hand, as long as there are eggs. my grandmother used to make them for dinner with sardines and that was delish! this is my mother's mother who is going to be 93 this year and going strong. she cooks and cleans and reads everything and curses like i sailor. i lived with her, and my grandfather, most of my young adult life. as i said before, i'm latin, and alot of us believe in living in the extended family system. i'm grateful that happened, it really helped me to get to know my mom's parents well. my grandfather, the maternal one, died about 11 years ago at the age of 92. he and my grandmother were inseperable, they couldn't even get dressed without each other. he used to cook too, but not so much. although he did have a specialty, chatinos, also known as tostones, and nobody could make them as crunchy and perfectly fried as he could. anyway, the tortilla can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, dinner whatever. alot of times i just make one so i can have something quick to nuke for breakfast for a couple of days. traditionally they are also supposed to be fried on the stove top, which entails having to flip it somewhere along the way. this step takes a steady hand 'cause you could easily lose the whole thing but it's do-able. you could also just cook it in the oven, especially if your ingredients are leftovers (or as my family calls them "recyclables"), and then avoid the flipping step. i just made one with leftover spinach and potatoes. the recipe and pictures are below.

THE INGREDIENTS:
This was a small one, only 6 eggs; but with a 9 or 10 inch pan you can use 8 eggs.
there's also the wilted, fresh spinach (a leftover)
and the broiled potatoes (also leftover)
just scramble the eggs in a large bowl, add a little milk; but you don't have to (or cream or whatever dairy you like),
then just stir the leftovers into the eggs,
don't forget to salt the eggs, my grandfather used to say that anyone that ate eggs without salt would eat their own mother. nice, right?


put everything into an oiled/buttered/or non-stick pan and put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. check it after 20 minutes if it's a small one like this, or it may take 30 minutes if it's larger. you can serve it just like this for the rustic feel or slide/flip it out onto a plate. just leave the pretty side up. enjoy!