New Year's Resolutions

2008 is coming to an end. With under a week left I think it's time to start thinking about what to resolve to in 2009. 2008 was a good year highlights can be found by looking through the prior posts of this blog. 2 weddings no funerals a couple of births by close friends, all you could hope for in a year. What will 2009 hold for us? I don't know, but let's try to make it a good one.

Resolution 1: Get healthy
Some of you might know that I've been suffering a little more than usual lately. In 2009 I resolve to get healthy. Heike and I have signed up for Tai Chi classes, taught by our friend Bede. Tai Chi is supposed to aid both mind and body, so we're going to give it a shot. On the lines of healthy mind, I'm going to try to make a concious effort to be more positive. I was reading somewhere that there is a connection between thinking positively and being healthy.

Resolution 2: Try out this whole Facebook thing
I don't know why I'm so anti-facebook. I think it has something to do with the lack of positive thinking in 2008. But in 2009 we're going to try this thing out. I like chatting, and I like seeing what my friends are up to, so maybe this whole facebook thing isn't that bad. What I don't like is when people from high school, who I didn't like then, and never want to talk to again, ask me to be their "friend" on facebook. Too bad facebook doesn't have a "Be my aquaintance" or a "Be someone I met once but want to see what they're up to" invitation.

Resolution 3: Less stress more production at work
So over the last 5 years at work I have found a way to be very productive: put in lots of hours and lots of stress and a lot will get done. Thinking towards the future I don't think that this working strategy will be sustainable. I started reading this book by David Allen, Getting Things Done. It talks about a way to be more productive AND being less stressed. Wouldn't this be great? Working fewer hours and getting more done?

Christmas Eve

This year no destination Christmas for us. Last year we were in Sedona and this year we are enjoying the peaceful tranquility of Latham. Latham just got pummeled by an ice storm which was then followed by a regular old snowstorm. The result is a wonderful white Christmas.

Christmas eve tradition in the Boisvert household is usually a cajun Tortiere. This year however we didn't make the spicy one (to save my stomach) and went with the traditional French Canadian Tortiere. Delicious.

Merry Chistmas to all, and to all a good night.

Roast Chicken

So, no we didn't make Fiesta Lime Chicken last night to go head to head with Applebee's. But we'll look at the cost of last night's meal too. We made Roast Split Chicken with Mustard Crust. A Jacques Pepin fast food meal. There are some things that are really fun to do in the kitchen. One is to purposely burn your food, like in this recipe (which I thought I blogged about, but must not have.) And another, is to split a chicken. Cris, you might want to stop reading... Here you get to cut, with scissors, the backbone right out of the chicken. Then with a big knife crack the sternum (from the inside) and press it down flat with your hands. Good old caveman fun!

TIP
There was a great tip in this recipe. You know how, when you roast a chicken, the whole thing is cooked except for that one joint in the thigh? This always happens. Then to cook that joint you probably over-roast the breast...drying it out. To overcome this obstacle, you just need to make an incision in the uncooked bird in that part of the thigh to allow the heat to get in. Genius!

Approximate Cost:
1 whole organic chicken from Russo's: $9.55, out of which we only ate half
Mustard Crust: ~$1.00
Salad: $2.00
2 pieces of bread: $1.00

HighDef Grand Total: $13.55
Applebee's Grand Total: $25.00

HighDef 2, Applebee's 0
HighDef is up $14.49

Mustard Crust

• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 chicken (about 31/2 pounds)
• Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

For the crust: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut alongside the backbone of the chicken to split it open. Spread and press on the chicken with your hands to flatten it. Using a sharp paring knife, cut halfway through both sides of the joints connecting the thighs and drumsticks and cut through the joints of the shoulder under the wings as well. (This will help the heat penetrate these joints and accelerate the cooking process.)

Put the chicken skin side down on a cutting board and spread it with about half the mustard mixture. Place the chicken flat in a large skillet, mustard side down. Spread the remaining mustard on the skin side of the chicken. Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes, then place the skillet in the oven and cook the chicken for about 30 minutes. It should be well browned and dark on top.

Let the chicken rest in the skillet at room temperature for a few minutes, then cut it into 8 pieces with clean kitchen shears. Defat the cooking juices. If you like, mound some Fluffy Mashed Potatoes on each of four warm dinner plates and place 2 pieces of chicken on each plate. Pour some juice on the mashed potatoes and chicken and serve.

Applebee's 2 for $20 Deal

I saw an ad on TV for Applebees's 2 for $20 deal. It says for the price of cooking some boring terrible food at home, you can get a sweet deal by coming to Applebee's and getting great food for 2 people for only $20 plus tip and tax ($25 total). I'm paraphrasing...but that's the gist. I wonder if it is true? I don't really know what it costs to cook at home. Let's find out.

All costs listed below are apporximate because you always have to put in some initial money to amass all of the ingredients, but you can use them more than once. Anyway, no more excuses, let's see who wins.

Last night we had Panko crusted tuna steak, with a beet salad, squash,regular salad and bread.

Panko-crusted Tuna:
Tuna: ~$24, but we only ate half so let's say $12
Panko Bread Crumbs: $1.59 for a bag we've had for over 6 months. $0.50
Served with Wasabi and Soy Sauce: $0.50

Beet Salad:
2 Fresh Beets: $0.25
1TBSP Heavy Cream $0.25
Pinch White Pepper $0.10

Acorn Squash: $0.59/lb we had about a pound. $0.59

Regular Salad:
Lettuce: $3.59 for fancy organic salad mix from Whole Foods. Makes 3 salads. $1.20
Radishes: $0.25
Celery $0.25
Olive Oil: Trader Joe's Greek Olive Oil $8.99 for a Liter. 2TBSP=$0.27
Balsamic: Also from Trader Joe's but I couldn't find the price. Let's say $0.25

2 Slices of Bread: $1.00

Total: $17.41

At Applebee's you get an appetizer which we didn't have. But we could add in the Martinis that we had before dinner. If you don't know Lukusowa vodka, you should take a look. It is by far the best Martini Vodka, and its cheap enough to use as a mixing vodka too.

Dry Martini
4 shots (6 ounces) Luksusowa Potato Vodka: $15 for .75 Liter (25.35 ounces) : $3.55
4 Good Big Olives: $1.00

HighDef Grand Total: $21.96
Applebee's Grand Total:$25.00

Applebee's 0, HighDef 1

Maybe this isn't a fair comparison. What we should do is cook one of Applebee's dinners and see how much it costs to do it at home. Look for fiesta lime chicken coming up...

Vacation

It's Sunday so you can imagine how the day started. NPR and the Globe, washed down by a couple of Mocha Lattes from Darwins. See here for more details of Sundays in the Boisvert household. The Globe had some interesting stuff today. The Travel section had a nice article about where to go for great but not expensive vacations. With the Euro so strong right now it looks like a lot of people are looking into different locations (us included). When thinking about a week vacation in the spring sometime, we initially thought about Costa Rica. We have heard good things from friends of ours, but are concerned that it might be a little too commercialized. Also, it's kinda a long flight for only a week (like 5 hours). The next thought was Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is close, there are plenty of direct flights, and there is both rainforest (for hiking) and snorkeling opportunities, and some bay that glows. A quick look into accomodations proved fruitful as we found loads of VRBO houses at very reasonable rates.

Anyway, back to the Globe. I'm not going to list all of the them here...just the ones that caught my eye.
1. Honduras - I have no idea how safe Honduras is. Does anyone know? It looks beautiful. Look at this hotel. Are the rooms really under $30 a night? They have guided tours from the hotel into the rainforest to a 300' waterfall that you can swim in. Sounds like something Heike would like... VRBO has some nice places too . Ideal vacation here would include some Jungle time, and some snorkeling time.

2. Guatamala - Is Guatamala safe? Don't know. I'll have to look into it. Take a look at this hotel. Are you kidding me? This is so beautiful and under $70 a night. Guatamala looks like it might have a little more emphasis on culture...lots of Mayan culture still kicking around.

So, it comes down to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Honduras or Guatamala. What would you choose? Life is full of difficult decisions....

Voting Notes

Election Day tomorrow. Maybe I should figure out what I'm doing...Note that I don't really know anything about politics.

Let's see. What's on the ballot?
◆ President/Vice President
◆ US Senator in Congress
◆ US Representative in Congress
◆ Governor's Council
◆ State Senator
◆ State Representative
◆ Question 1
◆ Question 2
◆ Question 3

Actually Massachusetts makes it very easy to make these decisions as barely anyone runs against the democratic candidate. I had to look up what I'm actually voting on tomorrow (maybe you Germans don't know, but it's not just one check box). There are always surprises on the ballot, for example on the Presidential ticket there are actually 6 choices:

John McCain/Sarah Palin, Republican
Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root, Libertarian
Chuck Baldwin/Darrell L. Castle, Constitution
Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzales, Independent
Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Democratic
Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente, Green-Rainbow

If you thought McCain was terrible, check out Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin. Wow.



President/Vice President : Obama/Biden
US Senator: John Kerry
US Representative in Congress, District 8: Michael Capuano (unopposed)
Governor's Council, District 6: Michael J. Callahan (unopposed)
State Senator, Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex: Anthony D. Galluccio (unopposed)
State Representative, 25th Middlesex District: Alice K. Wolf (unopposed)


Question 1: State Personal Income Tax
Summary: This proposed law would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for all categories of taxable income for the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010.
Dan's Vote: No. This is the worst idea I've heard in a while. Are people going to be so selfish to get back ~$3700 and cut about $12 billion from state funds? I assume this will pass.

Question 2: Possession of Marijauana
Summary: This proposed law would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana with a new system of civil penalties, to be enforced by issuing citations, and would exclude information regarding this civil offense from the state’s criminal record information system. Offenders age 18 or older would be subject to forfeiture of the marijuana plus a civil penalty of $100. Offenders under the age of 18 would be subject to the same forfeiture and, if they complete a drug awareness program within one year of the offense, the same $100 penalty.
Dan's Vote: Yes. Although an ounce of Marijauana is a lot of pot. Seems like this should be more like 1/16 of an ounce...

Question 3: Dog Racing
Summary: This proposed law would prohibit any dog racing or racing meeting in Massachusetts where any form of betting or wagering on the speed or ability of dogs occurs.
Dan's Vote: Yes. Don't have a strong opinion here, but I think they treat the dog's pretty badly, and we don't need that.

Is it exessive or just another day in New York?

Last weekend we went down to visit Alan and Mary in NY. Over the last couple years we've had quite a few adventures when we head down there...this trip also did not disappoint. Let's start with the ride down. I looked at a lot of options. I hate the bus, so we took a look at the train. But at like $400 for the two of us, I decided against it. We actually tried something new, and went with the BoltBus. The BoltBus was great. You get Wifi and a regular electrical socket at your seat. The seats are also more comfortable, with more space, and the clientele is all college students on their iPods. It was the quietest ride ever. Good thing too, because we got stuck in traffic and it took about 6 hours to get down to Penn Station. That night we took it easy, just a couple of drinks and a little Wii tennis and bowling.

Saturday

Breakfast at the Miracle Grill. Brooklyn really has some great places. This was fantastic mexican breakfast. Heike's scrambled egg fajitas were delicious, and my breakfast burrito was filling and tasty.

After breakfast we just hung out and let it rain outside. More Wii was played, a little football was watched.

Around 5 we took the train into Manhattan and grabbed a drink at the Hudson Hotel. This place is so Manhattan. It doesn't even have a sign outside. There is just a doorman, and a lighted entry. Up a small escalator is an expansive lobby with a couple of slick bars and a huge outside terrace. We opted for the Library bar (inside, cause it was starting to rain), and treated ourselves to a $22 martini.

We had 7:15 reservations at Bar Boulud. I had read about Bar Boulud in Esquire. Esquire said it was one of the best new restaurants in the country. So how bad could it be. I looked at the menu, and they focus on Lyonnais food. Sounding better and better. Boulud did not disappoint. I had Tagine d'agneau, and Boeuf aux Carrottes. Heike had Pate grand pere, and Loup de Mer. Everything was fantastic. Alan ordered a beautiful bottle of 05 Burgundy to wash it down with. Note from Alan: Every bottle of 05 French wine is great...good to know. Dessert of poached pear and a plum tart, followed by a bottomless cup of excellent coffee ended the meal.

10:30pm. Arturo Sandoval at the Iridium Jazz Club. I had seen Arturo twice before, but always at big venues. This was something special. The music was fantastic. Arturo is getting older now, and didn't really play that much trumpet. It was his second set of his second night so he played a lot of piano, which is fine, because he might be as good a pianist as a trumpeter. They played an hour fifteen set of smoking music and came out for an encore (again on piano).

Midnight. Some woman walks right in front of Alan and takes the cab he was hailing. This happens every time we go to NY. Do you think Alan was gracious and let her have the cab in peace? No. Screaming and swearing and making menacing gestures with his oversized umbrella Alan graciously told the woman what he thought about that move. We get a cab quickly and are off to Brooklyn. Should we go home and sleep off the long day? or should we continue the excess? Off to Blue Ribbon for a snack. Chicken Wings that you reheat on a Pupu-platter-style grill, 6 oysters, Perogies, and the most decadent bone marrow you have ever seen. Wash this all down with 2 Zyr dry martinis and you've got yourself a nice little late night snack.

From NYC Arturo and Alan

A $5 cab ride home. Some more Wii bowling. And good night.

Sunday:
Got up, frisbee in the park, Peter Luger steak bagel from La Bagel Delight, and back in the BoltBus (only 4 hours this time, and we watched Hot Fuzz on the laptop)

So you tell me, is that excessive or just the right way to do NYC?