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All Small Things Considered.com

~ Because it's the little things that make your day

All Small Things Considered.com

Monthly Archives: April 2014

Sox in the City

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Leah in THE SPORTING LIFE

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Tags

1918, Bill Buckner, Boston Red Sox, Game 7, Jeter, New York Yankees, Nomar, World Series

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Sox fans in NYC

The bloom is off the friggin’ rose. Yes baseball folks, it’s time to admit the truth – it’s not as much fun to be a Red Sox fan in New York anymore.  And by fun I mean contentious, controversial, painful!  Boston fans in NYC, like me, used to wear our Sox gear around town as a badge of honor, a kind of “yeah we lost again but we’ll get ya next time” pledge that elicited a few smirks, a lot of pity, and always a conversation.  But now the unthinkable has happened – we won.  And won again, and again!  So now Yankee fans look at me when I’m wearing my Sox hat and, to my great disappointment, just look away.

It wasn’t always like this, of course.  I moved from Boston to New York in October of ’86, when just days into my move I couldn’t believe my luck as the Sox were about to win the Whole Thing in Queens.  Queens!  Just a few miles from where I now lived, I excitedly told a friend back home, and said “I”ll call you back when we win!”  I never called her back, of course.  Was the universe trying to tell me something?  Let’s just say Bill Buckner and I probably went into therapy around the same time.  Years passed, I started hanging out at a Sox bar in the Village, and then 2003 happened – the would-be classic Game 7 in the Bronx where we were finally going to put the ghosts to rest and head to the World Series by beating our heated rivals.  Um, it didn’t happen.  It was bad.  My friend had to walk me home that night, even though I lived only blocks from the bar, because he feared for my safety.

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Thank god for 2004 and the “Greatest Comeback in Sports History” (it’s true, my t-shirt says it!) or my mental health bills would rival, well, Bill Buckner’s.  For the first time in 86 years, we were World Champs and lovable losers no more.  All Yankee fans could yell at us now was “Enjoy your ring, we’ve got 26!”  And then the strangest thing happened … we won again!  We started getting used to winning, and when we won again last year, it seemed like Yankee fans got used to us winning too.  I’m ecstatic, of course,  but I must admit it’s sort of taken the fun out of it.  Gone are the days of my heated debates with Yankee friends about Jeter vs. Nomahhh, A-rod vs. E-rod, the Bronx vs. Kenmore Square.  Gone, too, are those “Aw, good for you” looks when I’d wear my Sox t-shirt to the gym, those drunken “1918!” chants when I’d head to a game, even those “Your dog sucks!” shouts when I’d proudly walk my dog Ruby along the Hudson River in her, ahem, Sox coat.  Ah, memories.  Now all I get is “Isn’t she pretty?” or worse – nothing.  The bloom is off the (Bucky) Friggin’ (Dent) rose, right?!

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Ruby along the West Side Highway 

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Friday Night Dinner

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Leah in RECIPES

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Tags

Lawry's Seasoned salt, Manischewitz, Orange chicken, Orange juice chicken, Shabbat dinner, Three Ingredient Cookbook

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my mother Phyllis

Winner winner, chicken dinner!  I grew up Jewish, and Friday nights at our house were pretty sacred. No parties or outings for us at the end of the week, no siree.  Instead, we had the traditional Shabbat dinner at home, complete with yummy challah bread, icky Manischewitz wine, and chicken. Always chicken.

Meanwhile, my mother Phyllis was a “Three Ingredient Cookbook” kind of cook – the easier the better. And my favorite Friday night dinner, by far, was her super-simple Orange Juice chicken. It’s sweet and tart at the same time, with just a hint of a kick, and couldn’t be easier to make. And the best part? The tangy orange sauce that we used to spoon over white rice. I’m serious when I say that for all my high falutin’ foodie airs, if I had to choose a “last meal,” this would be it!

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BUT, since I am a foodie, I wanted to see if I could come up with a new, revised version, using real oranges instead of the canned stuff – go figure! – and making my own “Lawry’s” seasoned salt.  The first is decidedly simpler, but the latter packs a great punch, if I do say so myself!  See which one you like better!

Phyllis’ Orange Juice Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken, cut up (or 8 skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces of your choice, preferably dark meat)
  • 1 lg. can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
  • Lawry’s seasoning salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 orange, sliced*
  • 1 small yellow onion, sliced*

*Optional – my mother never did this, but when I make this dish now, I add some orange and onion slices to the roasting dish halfway through the cooking time. It gives a little oomph of flavor, plus it’s nice for presentation.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Clean chicken pieces and trim off any fat or extra skin. Season generously with the Lawry’s salt and a little pepper and place in a large roasting pan.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the can of orange juice concentrate with 1 can of cold water and stir.
  4. Pour the juice mixture over the chicken and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or when the meat is tender and no longer pink. If adding the onion and/or orange slices, put them in the roasting dish after about 20-25 minutes and continue cooking. And that’s it!

Serves 4-5

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Revised Version! (aka Leah’s Orange Chicken)

  • 8 chicken thighs
  • 3 oranges
  • 3 shallots, coarsely sliced
  • 6 rosemary sprigs
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp. butter

Homemade Lawry’s Seasoned Salt:

  • 2 tbsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • ½ tsp. paprika
  • ¼ tsp. turmeric
  • ¼ tsp. garlic salt
  • ¼ tsp. onion salt
  • ¼ tsp. corn starch

(mix together in small mixing bowl and put in old seasoning bottle if available)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean and trim chicken pieces and season generously with the homemade seasoned salt. Heat olive oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium heat and place chicken in skillet, skin side down. Sear about 7 minutes, until the skin is a nice golden brown. Transfer chicken to a plate and pour off fat from the skillet. Return chicken, skin side up, and add rosemary and shallots. Slice 1 ½ oranges into wedges and put in pan, squeezing a little juice over the chicken when you do this. Transfer to oven, and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes.

When chicken is done, take the skillet out of the oven (don’t forget to use a towel or oven mitt!) and place on stovetop. Using tongs, remove chicken to a plate, along with the shallots and oranges. Discard the rosemary, leaving just the sauce. Squeeze the juice of the rest of the oranges into the sauce and heat over medium heat. Add vinegar and stir, then reduce by half, about 3 minutes. Take pan off heat and add butter, stir, then put the chicken, orange wedges and shallots back into the pan and coat. Serve warm, especially over rice!

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LA dee dah

10 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Leah in TRAVEL

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Tags

LA hotels, Petit Ermitage, rooftop pool, West Hollywood

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Petit Ermitage Hotel

West Hollywood, CA

What do a skinny celebrity stylist from NYC, a nouveau-riche televangelist from Seattle, and a retired lesbian couple traveling with their pet shnoodle have in common? They all stayed at the Petit Ermitage in West Hollywood, a little gem of a hotel that even my most in-the-know Angelinos didn’t know existed. And what attracted them there, as it did me, was its stunning, sexy rooftop. Up top is a charming restaurant, a cozy, laid-back vibe, and most of all, a lovely European pool (no kids! bikini tops optional!). As I partook in the overflowing breakfast buffet every day – served till noon, my kind of place – and swam in the warm-as-bathwater pool, all surrounded by orange trees and wildflowers, I wondered if I’d ever stay at the W again. (Answer: hell no.)  And at night, it transforms into a candlelit outdoor lounge with an inviting fire pit, animal print blankets, and ne’er a bad attitude in sight. Truly!

The hotel has spacious, comfortable rooms that run a little more shabby than chic, but they’re reasonably priced and really, it’s all about the upstairs. Book a room, invite some pals, and head to the most charming rooftop in town.

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Rooftop restaurant

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Rooftop pool

 

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Open This.

07 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by Leah in THE SPORTING LIFE

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Opening Day

Opening Day @ Fenway Park, 4/4/14

Opening Day @ Fenway Park, 4/4/14

Is there anything really left to say?

 

 

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Have a nice day!

03 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Leah in TV / POP CULTURE

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Alan Cumming, Damien Lewis, Eddie Izzard, Homeland, Hugh Dancy, Hugh Laurie, Idris Elba, Joshua Bowman, Kate Winslet, Kevin McKidd, Mildred Pierce, Minnie Driver, Natasha McElhone, Nick Brody, Simon Baker, Stephen Moyer, The Forsythe Saga, The Good Wife, The Riches

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“Aye, that’s right…” I heard Alan Cumming say on NPR the other day, and I did a double take – Eli Gold is Scottish! Cumming has been so convincing as a slick Chicago politico on “The Good Wife” that I had completely forgotten his nationality. Ditto Damien Lewis. Can you even remember how frightfully British he was in the BBC’s “The Forsythe Saga” when you watch him as the plain old frightful Nick Brody on “Homeland”? Here are some other Brits on TV with bloody good American accents that might surprise you…

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Alan Cumming in “The Good Wife”

Hugh Laurie – “House.” You mean he’s not a slightly strange doc in Princeton?
Josh Bowman – Daniel on “Revenge.” What a dopey character, but at least he nails the accent.
Simon Baker – as “The Mentalist” (My mother says he’s quite good.)
Natasha McElhone – David Duchovny’s ex-wife on “Californication”
Hugh Dancy – as an FBI guy on “Hannibal”
Kevin McKidd – Owen on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Again, he’s a Scot!
Stephen Moyer – in “True Blood” ….. that is, if those vampires are actually American!
Idris Elba –Second-in-command Stringer Bell in “The Wire” AND corporate guy Charles Miner on “The Office”
Kate Winslet – as “Mildred Pierce.” A mini-series long over, but come on, how good was she?!
Minnie Driver & Eddie Izzard – “The Riches.” And how good were they, both of them!  (for the 20 or so people who watched…. )

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Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard in “The Riches”

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