Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen

1. Water: On demand. Out of multiple taps. Hot and/or cold. CLEAN and mostly potable. Seriously, this is NOT a worldwide luxury and year after year I am grateful to have it.  2. Shelter: Yeah, maybe I am in the middle of a tediously slow renovation, but how awesome is it to not be living in a tent, or under a bridge? Pretty fricking AWESOME! 3. Food: I am never hungry. This is a huge luxury in my life and I am grateful beyond measure that I do not feel hunger pangs daily, or ever. 4. Family & Friends: They like me! They really like me! And this year I got a bruthah so all in all I am happy with where things stand in this department.  5. Work: I love my job and feel lucky to have one that I like so much in these difficult economic times.  6. The Showtunes-NASCAR fantasy league: I was invited to join this 3 years ago and saw as a way to see if I could change my opinions about things or if this old dog had learned all the tricks she was going learn. Previously my opinion was that

a) This year there was no Turkey Shoot. No Grandpa = No Turkey Shoot. I just could not do Turkey Shoot without the oldest gizzard of all. I miss him and this only makes me miss him more. But we still got ourselves a gorgeous big ole birdy from Diemand Farm because they really do have the best birds, thanks to Dad for picking it up. and b) This year there was no insane excel spreadsheet for the Thanksgiving shopping list. I simply went shopping for everything last night and bought stuff that looked good. I have a couple of recipe ideas and basically I am winging it. More or less. At the very least we'll have turkey and gravy and pie. You know what else? I am not even stressed out about it. If I totally f*ck it all up then we're going to have pizza and beer. With a side of turkey and gravy and pie. No sweat, no problem. But keep this between us. No one else needs to know.

My Greek friends from downstairs are awesome. Not only are they some of the nicest people in the restaurant business, but they are also incredibly kind and generous. In the year that I have been working in this building, I have been the happy recipient of many delicious Greek treats - spanakopita, galaktoboureko, Easter bread that my family devoured in seconds. Always a little something that is mouthwatering and which makes my whole day. Today I hit the jackpot with a bottle of olive oil. Pressed for the family and shipped over from Greece in a giant container, it is pungent and delicious, and I have a precious bottle of it. It tastes the way I imagine sunlight must taste on a hot, dry summer day when the sun is long in the sky and the soporific buzzing of bees is the only sound in the olive grove. *sigh* (not the most glamourous bottle, but I have the perfect container at home)

Last night I met up with the lovely Pam of Cave Cibum for a second go at the Gallows . The reason I say second go is because the first time I went to the Gallows I was completely sh*t-faced. So much so that I couldn't recall if I liked it or not, and that is saying something when fries and gravy are involved. But hey, a bottle of Goslings with your best friend will do that. Also, I kind of have this prejudice against new South End eateries. My god they can be totally pretentious when they want to be and frankly the Gallows does seem to be hideously pretentious on the surface. The reclaimed barn wood interior, the faintly steampunk decor, the hip lightbulbs.... *eye roll* where are we? Brooklyn? Give me a break. Well as it turns out I am the one who should have given the Gallows a break. True, the decor grates on my design sensibilities - only because I feel like it has been done, done, and over done. I mean, the big amber ball lamps in the bar area could have come from Lind

Great Monday in the morning! This is the kind of buffet you don't usually see in the city. I think this is the very same bird that my Mom caught checking out my sister's little puppy. We all had a big laugh at the idea of Mom trying to explain what happened to little Coco. Not so funny now. That bird sure enjoyed the breast of pigeon it caught for itself this morning. Shortly after I made this clip, it flew away with the rest of the chest cavity in its claws. RAWWWWWR!!!!! Now THAT is the way to bring nature to the masses!

I am not at all surprised that Don Otto 's has gone out of business. When they first opened I was looking forward to a place within walking distance that carried local produce. I went in exactly once and never went again.  The guy behind the counter was really rude and tried to get me to buy the whole 5 pound piece of turkey when all I wanted was enough for one. He said that I had asked for a piece of turkey and if I didn't take the whole piece then he'd be stuck trying to sell the rest of it. He then banged the smaller piece on to the scale, and basically let it be known that I was really just being an annoying customer. I also bought a shallot that turned out to be shriveled up inside and some greens that wilted and got soggy on the 15 minute walk home.  Thirty dollars later ( yes, the most expensive turkey I have ever bought and I still regret not just literally running away from the whole situation ) I walked home wondering how exactly I let myself get suckered int