Flying inverted...

A morning full of spicy bloody mary's, Palame's veggie omelettes for the house, and classic rock blaring. A rainy day, bocce ball and the guys were out to play. It was time for the very special olympic diving, starring yours truly with layout back flips by me (above) and full-on belly flops by Dan "Leave a Message" Bennett (below). Props to Lara for grabbing the camera and catching these shots.

Greg was dumped in the pool, we all survived and relaxed for the greater part of the afternoon, playing games of Stratego and Hotels. Owen and I took a ride into town to get swordfish steaks for dinner, and ended up stopping by the American Hotel for a chic, Maker's Mark manhattan and conversation with the owner of a local gallery, the Uberhouse... where she recommended Steven's Talkhouse as a fun place to go out. Greg, Owen and Dan checked it out and definitely came back in the highest of spirits. I can't wait to go myself this weekend.

Murf's Locals Crowd goes down...

After the core four arrived earlier Friday, we bbq'd a great steak, chicken in bulls-eye sauce, and self selected veggies for fresh kabobs. It was a beautiful afternoon at the house, and a great way to relax after a long week with late nights (including Thursday to watch the Lakers clinch the Western conference finals at Bounce Deuce). We decided to show Bennett the townie bars in Sag Harbor since it was his first time up at the house, and we went to Cigar Bar, Corner Bar and then Murf's. Definitely did our fair share of drinking, playing ring toss, and then darts until every local in town wanted to beat us. Dan and I held the board for the better part of the night after all of us had a chance to play together for awhile. Once we finally lost to a kid with coke bottle glasses, we decided to head out... fatefully having a cab waiting for us outside to bring us back to the house.

Burger Heaven

A simple menu while Richie and I chilled and watched the NBA playoffs: 80% lean ground beef, garlic, coarse sea salt, oregano, pepper, finely chopped red onion. Patted out softly and shaped to not bruise the meat. Topped with cheddar, then melted. This season's first burger, medium rare, and amazing on the polish wheat roll with Valentina Salsa Picante hot sauce from L'Esquina. Potatoes grilled with olive oil, red onion & jalapeños. Romaine lettuce cut lengthwise, brushed w/ olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Flash grilled for light char marks and then covered with chopped tomatoes and blue cheese. The grill always abides.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo marked the first house warming BBQ. Kate helped prepare a mean meal that was perfect for the occasion, fitting for the 15+ people that would be able to come... and I thank you. Preparations began a couple weeks earlier, with me hunting for ancho chiles. Why? Once discovered at Citarella on the UES, the fine spicy dried poblano peppers were sliced and dropped into a bottle of Sauza gold anejo tequila, to start the infusing process. It's sister infusion would be a fresh ginger and pineapple blend in Sauza silver anejo tequila. Shaken once a day, the bottles would take on the flavor of these additions for the 5th of May. Once mixed with margarita mix, people got to enjoy either the spicy or sweet side of life. Variety was not spared, with Dos Equis Amber and Lager Especial, El Presidente, Sol and Corona Light highlighting the beer selections.

For dinner, Kate helped select apt latin fares from two new cookbooks: Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill and the Barbecue! Bible. She tossed hearty chicken drumsticks in a chipotle chile and garlic marinate. I cleaned and seasoned boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a jerk/cinnamon spice blend. To compliment the jerked chicken, I made my first hot sauce! Habenero chiles were sauteed with 2 diced mangoes, finely chopped red onion and then simmered in vinegar, honey and salt and pepper. Once smoothly blended, this added a spicy sweet topping for the jerked chicken. Expecting many, Richie also graciously picked up flank steaks that I rubbed in adobo spices, which flash grilled to a nice medium rare and turned out as tender as ever. Sides included black beans and rice, each garnished with fresh cilantro, corn on the cob, and plenty of chocolate truffles for the sweet tooth.

It was great to have friends together, some that I hadn't seen in a while. It's just too bad that Cinco de Mayo came and went on a Monday, because it held us in check. However, the apartment, the garden, and the trusted charcoal fire proved to work perfectly together to entertain my friends. Can't wait to do it again.

The Secret Garden Grows

Birthday shopping by my sisters gifted plants from Buffalo to adorn the garden. They were thoughtfully selected by Kate and Megan because the plants should bloom red, white and blue. And the serendipity of the situation for me is fitting.... I needed plants, now I unexpectedly will have a garden flowering the colors of my hometown Buffalo Bills. Nice.