Playlist for 2012 for Playtime at Home

Thinking Outside of the Box

OMG, what an annoying day at work. Talk about High School Confidential  - a cabal of office workers GOSSIPING as if their life depended on it.

Well…I came home and decided to cook and try to forget about small-minded people. Cooking, at the right time and place, is something I love doing — as long as the iPod player is cooking, too.

On the menu:

Peppers and Eggs (because in NYC, I am reunited with my beloved Italian frying peppers and thoughts of my parents’ kitchen  – Italian peppers were unknown, unfindable in my former residence, L.A.)

A hybrid recipe combining what I’d learned (by watching) as a kid and what I gleaned from Frank Pellegrino’s Rao’s Cookbook (steam the peppers and onions, instead of frying – healthier).

But…this time, I had leftover shallots, so I diced them, FRIED them in olive oil (let’s face it, a slightly browned shallot or onion is to die for), added the peppers, covered the pan and let them steam for 10 minutes.

Poured a glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle chardonnay, still in the fridge, a gift from dear friends visiting on the eve of New Year’s — unbelievably delicious.

Queued up the iPod:

- Bad As Me – Tom Waits (from his new album) – INCREDIBLE!!!!

- Cracked the eggs into a bowl (as  I learned on a old Jacques Pepin video – crack them on the SIDE – no shells in the egg mixture – PERFECT!

- Next on the queue: Baby I Don’t Care - Elvis Presley  (if you think the real Elvis is the one you heard on AM radio, you are so WRONG!)

- Took out the fork (also from Jacques Pepin – use a fork, NOT a whisk, for a perfect blend) and beat the eggs…

- Largo al Factotum (Figaro, Figaro, Figaro…) (Barber of Seville) - OMG, so beautiful and exciting as I beat the eggs – I add some Locatelli Romano, black pepper and a tiny pinch of salt to the egg mixture, continue beating…

- Taste the peppers – about five minutes to go…I heat a croissant in the toaster oven –  I am decadent tonight with no thoughts of calories…

-Una Voce Poco Fa (also from The Barber) begins – I am enraptured!!! Ecstatic!!!

- Pour the egg mixture into the peppers and shallots, stir around gently…

- Pour more wine; Voce Poco Fa  is crescendo-ing…

- Croissant is ready – I take it out…

- Flip the peppers and eggs (I remind myself to get a stove-to-oven pan to avoid the step of “flipping”)

- from iPod player: The Barroom Girl by Chuck Wells – ahhhh, the sublime juxtaposition!!!

- Peppers and eggs are ready; slide them onto an oven-proof dish for warming up later when my man gets home from work…

- Slice open the croissant, place a couple of wedges of the peppers and eggs on top, drizzle the AMAZING “Austin’s Own” Original- Mild Barbecue sauce on top – a gift from my brother in TX and his very special S.O.

- Take a bite…and I’m in HEAVEN with scrumptiousness!!!

- suddenly, on the iPod: Be-Bop-A-Lula by Gene Vincent (which makes me think of an excellent movie scene in: The Year of Living Dangerously (a gem of a Peter Weir film) – where that song is playing, and in Saigon!!! During the war!!!

- bite into my sandwich — OMG, it is SO good..

- Because the Night starts playing — no.. not Bruce Springsteen (though he wrote it, of course, propers to him…) — not Patti Smith (an amazing cover!!)… no…my favorite rendition by Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs – MTV Unplugged) – if you’ve never heard it, you must find it. It’s ravishing…

- almost done with my fantastic meal…then, Airmail Special by Benny Goodman starts playing – my brother, Will, turned me on to this piece — and, what can I say? Thank you, Will! It really SENDS me!!!

Life is beautiful and Good Night!

Tags: Barber of Seville, Because the Night, Benny Goodman, Chuck Wells, cooking, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Italian frying peppers, Jacques Pepin, music, Natalie Merchant, peppers and eggs, Peter Weir films, Rao's, The Barroom Girl, Tom Waits