barry IS ridiculousness.

so you know those people who can't make up their mind? everything sounds just dandy to them, and if they choose one option, that means forgoing the other, which is truly catastrophic and can't be imagined, so when you ask them "chicken or beef?" they just say "yes please". you know, those people??

well, clearly i'm one of them.

case in point: sunday. lovely day, sunday was. the sun was shining, it wasn't too cold; it was a day for grocery shopping at superstore on 51 avenue, without a care in the world...except for the fact that i forgot to eat before i went there.

damn.

shopping hungry is truly a massive mistake. what isn't a massive mistake are frozen kiwi mussels for $2.98. delicious, cheap, and uber tasty in a white wine sauce, served with garlic toast for dipping. nice? try frickin' amazing! who can pass that up? clearly, not i, which is what i started off the day with thanks to a super simple recipe from the reluctant gourmet.

what a delightful meal, yes? one that should have satisfied me, but was it enough? of course not! not when i could also be eating triple chocolate haagen-dazs smothered in brandied cherries. it wasn't as if i was even hungry, but the very thought of going another minute without tasting this delightful pairing was unimaginable.

dear god - i'm like a hobbit. soon i'll be eating second breakfast, followed by elevensies, lunch and first tea. why should i choose between one decadent dish, when i could have two?

...or three...

there was no stopping me.

you would think that, stuffed with mussels, cherries and ice-cream, the madness would end, but no: i needed vegetables. and steak. and why would i have a simple, boring steak salad with just a few key ingredients when i could have them all combined together in one "holy hell!" dish?

first, i started with garlic mashed potatoes, that were no ordinary garlic mashed potatoes...

there were potatoes. there was garlic. and there was cauliflower, celeraic and dill.

then there were roasted beets and grilled onions.

there was steak.

there were tomatoes and corn, spinach and shredded red cabbage.

there weren't croutons made out of sliced cheese bagels, smothered in garlic butter and toasted, but that's only because i forgot.

there was brie; there was blueberry-cinnamon rolled goat cheese.

there were apples and guacamole.
finally, there was a dusting of cinnamon and a drizzle of mustard vinaigrette.

and yes, i ate it all. and yes, it tasted damn good. and yes, i am ridiculousness - hear my stomach roar.

barry says hello to 2009 with a look back at 1959.

happy new year to all! i had a delightful new year’s eve celebration – old friends, new friends, champagne and jelled salad.

no, you heard me correctly: jelled salad.
since time immemorial my mother has made a gelatinous concoction of lemon jello, crushed pineapple and shredded cheddar cheese for us to wolf (slurp?) down for christmas dinner, and every year we patiently wait for christmas to come again so that we can have our festive treat, and every year i conveniently forget to mention this particular dish amongst the litany of others i mention to friends. until this year. not surprisingly, when i mentioned the salad to friends, it was met with a bit of incredulity, amusement and flat-out fear when i indicated it would be my contribution to the list of new year’s eve culinary delights.

so there it sat on new year's eve, jiggling slightly, surrounded by the other more favourable appetizers, whether in fear or in anticipation of midnight when it would ring in 2009 with a glass of bubbly. i’m happy to report that everyone there tried it, and i think that about 85/90% of the party-goers actually enjoyed the concoction.

here’s to a new year of trying new things.

barry’s mom’s pineapple-cheddar jelled salad.

1 – 3 oz. package lemon jello
1 c. hot water
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
4 oz. (1/2 pkg.) cream cheese, softened
¾ c. liquid, drained from pineapple
¾ c. crushed pineapple, drained
¾ c. grated cheddar cheese

1. dissolve jello into hot water. add salt and lemon juice.

2. with electric mixer, beat in softened cream cheese until mixture is smooth. add pineapple juice.

3. chill until slightly thickened.

4. fold in pineapple and cheese. spread/pour into mould. chill until firm.