Tracie P really pulled all the stops for my birthday celebration this year and I’ll post later today on what we ate and drank.
But in the meantime, I had to post about the “best birthday present ever”… a smile from Georgia P.
Doesn’t it just make you melt? :)
Georgia P is plum crazy about plums…
Can you blame me for being proud? ;)
Tracie P has been chronicling Georgia P’s baby-led weaning here.
Tracie P has been chronicling our “baby-led weaning” here and it’s been a lot of fun: twice a day, Georgia P sits in her high chair and we offer her different foods to eat. She loves yogurt (with blueberries), her mango phase is already over, avocados are still in, steak is king and chicken is fun, too, and she even likes baba ghanoush!
But you can imagine the anticipation — for two food lovers and Italophiles — on the evening and occasion of her first pasta (above).
Tracie P had picked organic wholewheat fusilli at Central Market (our local crunchy-feely gourmet store) and I made a summer pomodoro using tomatoes, onion, and garlic from our community-supported-agriculture farmer at Tecolote Farm (who delivers a basket of fresh produce each week).
I only lightly salted the sauce and the pasta cooking water (because salt is a concern) and of course, I overcooked the pasta (so it would be mushy enough) and I let it cool before we served it to her.
She seemed to like it and ate maybe three or four fusilli before she lost interest.
It wasn’t the first time she ate something that I had prepared (she DEVOURED thinly sliced steak I had grilled for her the other day). But, man, what an emotion to feed Georgia P pasta for the first time!
Thanks for letting me share…
Tracie P and I splurged on Friday night and treated ourselves to seventh row seats at the Merle Haggard show at the (bring your own booze ’cause they ain’t got none) River Bend Auditorium (and erstwhile church) in Austin.
We first saw him together in 2009 and the show brought back lots of memories of when I first moved to Austin and our hearts were brimming with dreams of building a financial future for ourselves and having a family (Friday was the first time we had a sitter!).
It was great to hear Merle play the hits and tell the stories again… But the song that moved me the most wasn’t one of his. It was Willie Nelson’s “Back to Earth.”
I found the clip below from a Ryman Auditorium (I don’t need to tell you where that is) performance from 2008.
It’s really a song about love lost… But it’s also about enduring, true love… It’s been nearly four years since I first came to Austin from California and I know that our song will never have a final verse… I wouldn’t trade these last four years of my life for anything in the world.
Songs our love created I still sing
Love we knew still makes the rafters ring
Tonight I’ll sing for everything I’m worth
For all the hearts that have settled back to earth
Our song will never have a final verse
Our hearts just finally settled back to earth
For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the moment I heard that the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health care reform and I’ll never forget watching President Obama address the nation on CNN with our baby girl.
From the time I became an adult in the eyes of the law to the time I filed my dissertation at UCLA in 1997 at thirty years of age, I was a student and was covered thanks to my affiliation with the university. But when I moved to New York and ultimately became a freelance translator and writer, affordable health insurance became a challenging personal issue for me: even in the toughest of times (like the years that followed the tragedy of the World Trade Center and the more recent financial crisis), health insurance was a luxury that I simply could not do without, lest my family be burdened with the cost of my care in the case I fell ill.
I’m fortunate to enjoy good health. And thanks be to G-d, Tracie and Georgia P are both healthy as well.
But now that I am a father and a business owner who insures his whole family, including our dear Georgia P, the news of the Supreme Court decision bolsters my hope that our daughter will grow up in a more “human” United States of America.
I thought that I was going to cry when the president said that insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions and that they will no longer be able to charge women more for coverage simply because they are women.
It’s still mind-boggling to me: we were the only rich country in the world that had yet to embrace a policy of universal coverage.
What a momentous day to hold our sweet baby in my arms and to change her diaper. What a glorious day for America.
I voted for Obama in 2008 and I’ll vote for him in November. I hope that you’ll do the same.
G-d bless the President and G-d bless America.
From the department of “Jar, you’re just bragging now” says Jon Erickson…
Above: Tony’s foie gras au torchon is one of his signatures and one of the dishes where simplicity and purity of flavor is offset by detail in the presentation.
How could Giovanni’s visit to Texas be complete without a meal at Tony’s in Houston?
Tony is my client (I curate his website and his media relations) but he’s also become one of my best friends in Texas and he is the architect and author of some of the most stunning meals I’ve ever had. Yesterday, Giovanni and I drove to Houston to meet Cousin Marty for lunch and a confabulatio that centered around… yes, of course… food and wine…
Above: Orecchiette with seared mortadella cubes and runny quail egg.
The secret to the rich yellow color of his pasta, said Tony, is locally sourced, organically farmed eggs. “But it’s also the fact that I use only flour and mineral water imported from Italy,” he added. Some would argue that sparkling mineral water is key to super pasta like this. But Tony insists that still water (acqua naturale) is a sine qua non.
Above: Halbut and seafood medley “al Mare Chiaro,” named after the neighborhood in Naples.
Tony’s is the only place in Texas where we eat fine seafood (a category we reserve otherwise for our trips to California). This dish was simply stunning in its simplicity and presentation (and my camera didn’t do it justice, frankly).
Above: Lamb chops.
Tony likes to tease me, calling me the chiodo (the nail) because I’m so careful about what and how much I eat. Lamb chops would have been a bit much for me for a Tuesday lunch but Giovanni dove in with gusto.
Above: General Manager and wine director Scott Sulma’s selection was right on.
And the wine? A tall order considering the fact that one of Italy’s top winemakers was seated at our table. And let’s face it, my general disdain for the Californian style is well known to my colleagues at Tony’s. But it also seemed right to have Giovanni taste something from my home state. GM Scott’s selection, Palmaz Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, delivered acidity, earth and gorgeous dark fruit, and balanced alcohol and wood. It was superb with the Bucatini all’Amatriciana that I had as my second course, playing beautifully against the savory guanciale in the dish. Chapeau bas, Scott!
Above: Nobody does it better than Tony.
I can’t conceal my pride in sharing the Tony’s experience with my good friend Giovanni, who made the trans-Atlantic crossing to see, hear, taste, and feel what life is like in Texas, California, and America.
Above: Two of my favorite fressers.
Thanks, again, Tony for yet another fantastic meal and an unforgettable experience. Ti ringrazio di cuore…
In other news…
Question: What could be better than a conversation with one of my favorite New York City sommeliers?
Answer: An interview with one of my favorite NYC sommeliers conducted by one of my favorite NYC sommeliers.
Click here to listen to Levi Dalton’s conversation with Aldo Sohm (pictured above).
Brother Tad just sent this photo from the Pike Place Market in Seattle where he and family are visiting today. I’m envious!
Georgia P and mommy made me this montage for my first father’s day (click the image for the high-res version)…
I know I’m not the only father to feel this way today but I’m the luckiest daddy in the world…
Tracie P also made me the sweetest blogication… Couldn’t hold back the tears when I got to the line, Because of you, she will love old movies, speak Latin, excel at math but have a musical soul, get exited about Hebrew National hotdogs, get to grow up vacationing in La Jolla, talk about her pancia, love Petrarch, say gazuntite instead of bless you, laugh at Mel Brooks, and be able to sing every song in A Chorus Line.
I love them so much… what a week it’s been! so many blessings, too many to count…
happy father’s day, yall…
She’s been sitting up for a few days now…
We’re going to start feeding her solid foods this evening… just a test run, probably with avocado…
And it’s nearly time to start baby proofing our house!
We love her sooooo much…
Do Bianchi 