What a busy busy day. Woke up a little early (for a saturday) for a change. Putzed around the house then got all my crap together for the day of quick errands and a long training ride.
The weather decided to cooperate, I headed to Vienna after my errands and geared up me and the bike and had a very pleasant ride out to Hamilton and back, 52 miles (84 Kilometers). Felt like chump change.
Came home, washed up and prepared a very elaborate dinner: New York Strip Steak in a Port Wine Horseradish & Mushroom Cream Sauce, Garlic Butter Asparagus and French Onion Soup. It was a feast of sorts. Granted, I had some of my homemade French Onion Soup from a few weeks ago frozen - was easy to thaw and reconstitute with Bruschetta and Mozzerella cheese. As far as asparagus goes, steam it and then just spray garlic margarine and put on cracked pepper. But here's the real treat:
New York Strip Steak in a Port Wine Horseradish & Mushroom Cream Sauce
3 medium New York Strip steaks
2 tsp Olive oil
1.5 tsp butter or margarine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large shallots, minced
5 large mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup freshly grated horseradish
handfull cilantro, minced
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp mustard seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 cup dry Port wine
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 cup fat free Half & Half cream
kosher salt to taste
crumbled blue cheese to garnish/coat
Place steaks in platter and gently salt and pepper both sides, set aside.
In large skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over high heat, lightly brown steaks turning quickly for a few minutes. Remove steaks and place into a covered warming dish, reserved for later, keeping skillet on high heat - add garlic, shallots. Saute for a minute or so until tender then add mushrooms, port wine to help dissolve steak remains, then add cilantro, mustard seeds, broth - reduce to a comfortable boil, add butter/margarine, horseradish, salt & pepper simmer for 3 minutes. Add Half & Half and stir frequently for 2 minutes, reduce heat to low. Reintroduce steaks into cream sauce, cover. Cooks for another 5 minutes.
to serve
Tong steak(s) out onto plate, spoon sauce over top, then garnish with large chunks of blue cheese.
Finished up dinner, and had the pleasant chore of cleaning and lubing my entire bike - and to change the tires (these had over 4,000 miles on them). Took me almost 3 hours - completely dissasembled the bike head to toe, cleaned, greased/lubed and reassembled with 2 new tires. Damn tubes kept malfunctioning, took me three times to finish before I put back on. But what a purdy bike she is. I'd ride her everyday..oh wait..I already do. Heh.
The weather decided to cooperate, I headed to Vienna after my errands and geared up me and the bike and had a very pleasant ride out to Hamilton and back, 52 miles (84 Kilometers). Felt like chump change.
Came home, washed up and prepared a very elaborate dinner: New York Strip Steak in a Port Wine Horseradish & Mushroom Cream Sauce, Garlic Butter Asparagus and French Onion Soup. It was a feast of sorts. Granted, I had some of my homemade French Onion Soup from a few weeks ago frozen - was easy to thaw and reconstitute with Bruschetta and Mozzerella cheese. As far as asparagus goes, steam it and then just spray garlic margarine and put on cracked pepper. But here's the real treat:
New York Strip Steak in a Port Wine Horseradish & Mushroom Cream Sauce
 photo by d. scott gregory |
2 tsp Olive oil
1.5 tsp butter or margarine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large shallots, minced
5 large mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup freshly grated horseradish
handfull cilantro, minced
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp mustard seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 cup dry Port wine
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 cup fat free Half & Half cream
kosher salt to taste
crumbled blue cheese to garnish/coat
Place steaks in platter and gently salt and pepper both sides, set aside.
In large skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over high heat, lightly brown steaks turning quickly for a few minutes. Remove steaks and place into a covered warming dish, reserved for later, keeping skillet on high heat - add garlic, shallots. Saute for a minute or so until tender then add mushrooms, port wine to help dissolve steak remains, then add cilantro, mustard seeds, broth - reduce to a comfortable boil, add butter/margarine, horseradish, salt & pepper simmer for 3 minutes. Add Half & Half and stir frequently for 2 minutes, reduce heat to low. Reintroduce steaks into cream sauce, cover. Cooks for another 5 minutes.
to serve
Tong steak(s) out onto plate, spoon sauce over top, then garnish with large chunks of blue cheese.
Finished up dinner, and had the pleasant chore of cleaning and lubing my entire bike - and to change the tires (these had over 4,000 miles on them). Took me almost 3 hours - completely dissasembled the bike head to toe, cleaned, greased/lubed and reassembled with 2 new tires. Damn tubes kept malfunctioning, took me three times to finish before I put back on. But what a purdy bike she is. I'd ride her everyday..oh wait..I already do. Heh.
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Phew - after the snow and ice last night, I thought it would take me forever to get all the ice and snow off this morning before I could drive to work. It was suprizing how quickly I got to the office - all schools were out, same with federal govt. I zipped on in to work in a jiffy. Work went by quickly as Fridays always do with drama and tight deadlines. Meh.Funny thing, is that by mid afternoon, all the roads were entirely clear - not a bit of snow, ice, nor moisture. I was ready to head out on a medium chilly training ride. But the temperature dropped. I suited up, headed out - had a great ride, albeit short (a tiny 28 miles).
Came home, did a few things around the house, did some reading - installing some software to burn some CDs and looking forward to a productive yet relaxing weekend.
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my day has been all off key... well...was a very busy day at work...then we had about 4" of snow dump here...no bike ride...foot hurts like hell...may go see a doc soon
came home, shovelled the snow...ate dinner..watched a little tv...iced my foot...then came online.
if swelling and pain in foot doesn't stop, may not bike tomorrow night. Don't want to injure it further.
came home, shovelled the snow...ate dinner..watched a little tv...iced my foot...then came online.
if swelling and pain in foot doesn't stop, may not bike tomorrow night. Don't want to injure it further.
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I woke up early this morning - too too early, felt like the bed was moving, an earthquake. It wasn't - just a messed up side perceptual side effect of the odd dream I was having about being on a boat. Went back to bed, couldn't sleep - just got up and started my morning routine. Headed into work early, heavy traffic - made me wonder - sheesh, did my dream wake my ass up to make sure I leave the house earlier? All sorts of stuff like that was happening all day. Work went by quickly - I'm digging this new project, love the work and the client. It's a lot of fun. The weather was nice out, despite what the weather people had been predicting - was supposed to get flurries. It was clear all day, in fact - it went up to the low 50s. Not a cloud in the sky.
Went out on my training ride - a glorious 41 miles. It was more that fabulous, it started out light out, then watched a really weird sunset on one hemisphere of my loop, and the orange full (really big) full moon on the other. I'd bike 2 miles watching the sun setting, then on the other end of the loop the full moon rising.
The sun finally set, and the moon was at full glow in the sky, like an eye winking down on me - the nightlight of my ride. Then on the 5th loop, I did a hard downstroke while crunching up a serious incline and felt a "pop" in my foot - sorta like when you crack your knuckles. But it hurt a tiny little. Probably just a cartilage popping.
Then on the 8th loop, I'm rounding this corner and there was this wooooosh! that came too close - wind or something - until I realized that it was a truck without any lights on, didn't see me (I couldn't see it, even though I had on both my front halogen lamps and my rear flasher). It freaked me out a little but I continued on. Later on this same ride, this same truck drove up to a stop sign and then gunned the gas as I was just about to cross. I skidded to a stop about 2 inches from colliding with him, he skidded too realizing his mistake. I unclipped out of my pedals and smached my fist on the hood of his truck and then flicked him off. He sat there with a glazed look of horror in mis face. The fucker could've run me over. I clipped back in, and continued on.
Damn full moon.
Came home, seemed to hit every green light on the way - all 21 lights (in a 17 mile drive) I hit 3 red lights, got home in 24 minutes. Ate dinner, read a little of my Lance Armstrong book - then my foot started to really hurt. Oh, and the snow - we're supposed to get somewhere between 4-8 inches. Looks like I'm going to be riding my trainer tomorrow night (depending on when I can leave the office).
Just watched the news - yes, we did have earthquakes in the area this morning. Tiny tremors. I'm gonna ice my foot again and head to bed soon. Looks like I may be doing a little bit of shovelling snow tomorrow.
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Very busy day at work, I was prepared - and knew it was going to be brutal. I was assigned sr projectlead/project manager for a very large project, today was the meet and greet with a very distinguished client. I was nervous, but it went really well. I rather enjoyed myself with this challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing where this will lead to.
In addition, twas a beautiful day - in the high 50s/low 60s, beautiful crisp sky, with some nice wispy clouds, no breeze - just calm. Headed out on a very nice casual 38 mile training ride. I now have these hispanic kids counting my laps. THe first 2 laps, they heckled me as I passed by, then the 3rd lap one of them says "yo, poppy - wuz kin'd bike is that yo?" I slowed and stopped...they were a little embarrassed, I said "it's a road racing bike" "yo dawg, that shit is cook, look at how slim those fuckin tires is " I corrected him "are". I asked them how long they were hanging out..."oh for a while"....I said "you can count my laps - to help me practice my spanish ..."
So I started out, "Quatro!"..then rode 4 miles heard all 4 of them yell "Siete! then rode 4 more miles, "Ses!".... The sun set, got to be a little chilly then the kids left. I was a little pooped out when I finished. Came home, had dinner, then finished my taxes - now time to relax, read some more of my Lance Armstrong book.
In addition, twas a beautiful day - in the high 50s/low 60s, beautiful crisp sky, with some nice wispy clouds, no breeze - just calm. Headed out on a very nice casual 38 mile training ride. I now have these hispanic kids counting my laps. THe first 2 laps, they heckled me as I passed by, then the 3rd lap one of them says "yo, poppy - wuz kin'd bike is that yo?" I slowed and stopped...they were a little embarrassed, I said "it's a road racing bike" "yo dawg, that shit is cook, look at how slim those fuckin tires is " I corrected him "are". I asked them how long they were hanging out..."oh for a while"....I said "you can count my laps - to help me practice my spanish ..."
So I started out, "Quatro!"..then rode 4 miles heard all 4 of them yell "Siete! then rode 4 more miles, "Ses!".... The sun set, got to be a little chilly then the kids left. I was a little pooped out when I finished. Came home, had dinner, then finished my taxes - now time to relax, read some more of my Lance Armstrong book.
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Strangest weather we've been having here. Woke up this morning to a warm morning, about 40 degrees - headed into work (great commute - President's Day, Federal Holiday - all schools, banks, federal, city & state stuff was closed), very light traffic.Work wizzed by the temperature got warmer - by the late afternoon, it was in the mid 60s, the wind picked up. I set out on a bike ride, and it was just beautiful - I ended up wearing no booties, jacket, balacava, headband or long gloves (I felt free). THen about an hour and 20 minutes into it, I start to feel a few drops of rain...it started to drizzle a little, then after 30 minutes...it decided to become a torrential downpour. I wasn't soaked when I got back to the car - i had on my light rain jacket, which is windproof and waterproof but my bike tights were sopped. I wasn't frozen though.
Drove home (horrible commute, zero visibility with rain, darkness), made some leftovers and setting up stuff for the week.
Sad note, Hunter S. Thompson died today, as result of a self inflicted gunshot wound. He was a great writer, and a classic fixture of the literary world. Gonzo, you will be missed.
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 photo by d. scott gregory |
Finally got out of the house at 3pm - headed out towards Vienna for a quick chilly 16 mile (very short) stretch - I was stiff from yesterday's long haul. Finished up, swung by Performance to exchange my tires (they shipped wrong size). The replacement ones are light blue - they gonna look funny.
Finished up, showered and made an amazing meal for dinner (pictured above), Broiled Dill Catfish in Lime Garlic Butter sauce and Herbed Country Bacon and spinach Stuffed Oda Squash (recipes will also be in my cookblog):
Broiled Dill Catfish in Lime Garlic Butter sauce
 photo by d. scott gregory |
1lb (3 filets) catfish fillets
1 lime
2tbsp garlic butter
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
Cut lime in half, one half, slice a few discs, set aside. In microwave safe shallow casserole dish, using a paper towel, wipe inside with olive oil. Place fillets in dish, drizzle 1/2 lime and then coat with the garlic butter followed by sprinkling with dill. Place several lime discs on top. Cover dish with plastic wrap, keeping one corner slightly uncovered to vent. Place in microwave and cook for 5 minutes on high (time differs per microwave to microwave - follow microwave instructions).
Herbed Country Bacon and spinach Stuffed Oda Squash
 photo by d. scott gregory |
1 tbsp olive oil
1lb fresh leaf spinach, washed and patted dry
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 medium onion, corsely chopped
2 scallions, sliced thin
1 cup Canadian Bacon, sliced
1/2 cup prusciutto, diced small
1/2 cup marsala wine
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (of pecorino variety)
1 cup grated mozzerella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil medium sized baking dish and place squash halves cored sides up, set aside. Combine bread crumbs with grated Romano cheese in small bowl, set aside.
In a large saute pan over high heat, drizzle the olive oil and saute the garlic, shallots, onion, scallions until onions become semi-translucent, then add Canadian bacon and prosciutto, stir for one minute then add cilantro, dill, red pepper flakes and drizzle in the marsalla wine, keep stirring for another minute. Add spinach, large handfulls at a time, cover, let steam for one minute - continue until all spinach is steaming and reducing. After steaming, uncover, keep stirring occasionally allowing any moisture to evaporate.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, transfer the spinach mixture, add bread crumbs/romano cheese mixture a little at a time while stirring. Spoon out mixture into the squash halves, then sprinkle mozzerella cheese over top. Place in oven uncovered and cook for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is browned and squash is tender.
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(Under development, I'm bashful)