Welcome to the Bistro!

​Another fine week it has been!  The weather has been magnificent for working and playing outside.  I had a particularly great ride on Z yesterday. He was quite sweaty by the time we were done so I had no choice but to “walk him out” until dry. So we took a leisurly stroll around the farm property. What a great way to bond with my horse. Picasso was already out in the pasture munching away so we waved hi on our way by. After leaving my “boys” I headed to Ann Arbor to meet Roz for lunch at Miss Kim’s in Kerry Town. It was my first visit and I’d highly recommend it if you like authentic Korean food. Then I popped into Jim Brady’s on Main to check out the latest happenings. There have been too many delays but Tommy has a great attitude and takes it one day at a time. It makes me marvel that Sharon and I were able to turn around a Mexican fast food spot into the Bistro in 8 months. A totally different project for certain but it could have taken so much longer without all the “pieces” falling into place. Later the pups and I got our together time outside.  They’re getting their monthly haircut as we speak. Just in time too. They’re pretty gamey from running around the woods and rolling in whatever it is that smells so good to them. 
 
NEWS FLASH:  NEW AC UNIT IS INSTALLED AND DOING IT’S JOB!!!  YAHOO…
 
Today, August 10th is Grandma Edick’s birthday. She died in 1979 at 87 years old. She was quite an amazing woman, bearing and raising 10 children in probably the worst economic times ever. She was a visionary when it came to meals. Meat was a luxury and only “cheap” cuts were put on her table. Shanks, hocks and ribs were the norm. Smoked pig’s feet were the base for bean or pea soup. Short ribs were slowly simmered with onions, carrots and potatoes and lamb shanks the same. Any leftovers were made into stew and served the next day. There was always a big hot breakfast to hold you through the day. Fruits and vegetables, reasonable back then, filled her pantry. The only canned goods were those she “put up.” I remember bushels of tomatoes and peaches on her back porch waiting to be peeled and processed. My grandfather and uncles were hunters and fishermen so many times some sort of wild game or fish were part of supper.  Mealtime was important, not only for nourishment but also catching up on the day’s happenings. Grandma always smiled. She was truly a happy person.  A devote Catholic, she promised to attend daily mass if her son’s returned home safe from war. They did and she never missed a day for the rest of her life. She’d walk to the bus stop on Niagara Street, a main drag in Buffalo, and ride downtown to her favorite church. This was her “social” life too as she became friends with many of the fellow passenger’s that rode the route each day too.  I was fortunate to be the one (of 50 cousins) to inherit her Chamber’s stove. Now nearly 70 years old it is the showpiece of my kitchen.  I think of her, my grandfather and my Aunt Betty each time I use it. They were great cooks, my food mentors from an early age. I am proud to be a Certified Executive Chef but much more important to me is that I’m a good cook who learned from the best!

​Sharon’s off so Chipps is the man behind the Chalkboard Features this week.  As a Starter there is a Michigan Banana Pepper Stuffed with Hot Sausage with a Palomino Sauce and Shaved Parm.  Bistro Plates Include Chicken Parmesan Topped with Mozzarella and Served Over Linguine tossed with Marinara; Panko Crusted Rockfish, Similar to Grouper,  Accompanied  Brown Rice and a Michigan Yellow Wax Bean and Heirloom Tomato Salad; Sweet and Buttery South American Corvina, AKA Drum Fish, Pan Roasted and served with  Green Coconut Rice and Mango Salsa and for the Meat Lovers a Bistro Filed Grilled, Topped with Crumbled Blue Cheese and DJB Zip sauce and Presented with Horseradish Mashers, YUM!!!
 
AS ALWAYS WE WISH YOU MANY MILLION DOLLAR DAYS!!
 
AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT THE BISTRO!
 
XXOO, Mary, Niki, Pico, Picasso and Z
​