Saturday night – we haven’t had dinner at home on a Saturday in forever. Don’t get me wrong. We eat at home every night during the week. My chef de cuisine, Roy always has dinner waiting when I get home from a long day at work. Saturday we like to go out as you know. But there are extenuating circumstances to staying home tonight, namely the PATRIOTS!! I can’t miss this game – we all want to see Tim Tebow’d into the dirt (sounds a little aggressive, right??).
So what’s for dinner at the pop-up restaurant called Chez Podell? Lobster! But first we have to do a little shopping.
Have you ever been to Russo’s in Watertown? I’m sure if you’re reading my blog and you’re from Boston you’ve been there. Lots of produce, some of which is very unusual like the Asian greens that will just wilt in my fridge if I buy them. I do buy kale with plans to make a Portuguese kale soup today. There are beautiful cheeses, breads, a great charcuterie department but with Roy on his diet we have to forego that beautiful Italian salami that’s making my mouth water. Oh, and the pastries – they look so good but we bypass them too!
I was given a gift certificate to Russo’s and that’s why we’re there on Saturday at noon. There are so many people in the store it’s almost impossible to navigate your cart through the aisles. I want to focus on what I wouldn’t ordinarily buy so a $5 bottle of Dijon mustard from France, a package of Pasta Di Stigliano Fusilli Paesani from Italy, lots of greens, baby artichokes and there’s still money left on the gift certificate for another visit or two. Next time we’ll go during off hours.
On the flip side of Russo’s is Market Basket. That’s our go-to grocery store. I’m a total convert. I used to turn my nose up at it but then one day they were having a special on lobsters so we went, saw the prices, the fresh produce, the impressively clean store, and did a little shopping, saving about 20%. Now I feel guilty if I shop anywhere else. So that’s where we went to get our lobsters, steamed and ready to go.
After throwing the frisbee a hundred times to Romeo I started to prepare dinner. Yes, I prepared dinner. I can still cook!
Carciofi al Forno (baked baby artichokes), baked potato, lobster and a light, flavorful Pinot Grigio.
That’s a nice Saturday night pre-game dinner. But I saved the best for last. Haagen Dazs Rocky Road with some hot fudge in front of the TV watching the Patriots obliterate the Broncos!! Yes!!
