Life Has Changes

After a my laptop and best computer died in June I was stuck with my desktop- an old Pentium 90 that had been rebuilt 4 times. It was ssssllooooooowww! And frustrating. And made doing anything nearly impossible. For less than 24 hours, I now have a state of the art laptop that is a joy to use. So a new look on the blog and a (hopefully) a new commitment to keep to post. Life often gets in the way of blogging, but at least now it won't be a chore to do so.

Last night we had a wine tasting dinner- A Taste of Italy. it was well attended for this time of year and was our best Friday night dinner in the last month. The fires in the state- especially the one more than 45 miles away from us, but that the national media kept saying was near Silver City- has kept tourists away from our town. 50% of our business comes from tourism so we, like every other restaurant in town, have been off for our summer figures. Its been picking back up but hasn't gotten back to normal levels. The problems of living in a small town- population 11,000- includes the fact that the locals leave during the hotter months, though we are cooler and greener than Tucson, El Paso, Phoenix and other southwestern cities in our area that we draw a large percentage of our out-of-town guests from. So if tourism is down because of perceived smoke in the air and the locals are on vacation business slows.

Then there is the Presidential Election. Every 4 years in the summer retail/restaurant business slows down and doesn't recover again until a few weeks after the election- around Thanksgiving. Studies show that people slow spending due to the "uncertainty's" as to who will be the next president. This cycle has, unfortunately, never failed to materialize. In a small town one feels it stronger.

We will survive this as we survived 9/11 being our fourth day open, the lack of spending as we entered each of the wars, the loss folks felt after the Enron/World Comm debacle and every other circumstance of economic downturn thrown in our path. But it will be nice when the recession/depression ends and people start spending again after the election.

On a more fun note, we are adding Rauchbier to our menu- a traditional Bavarian style that almost was lost. the hops are smoked over beech wood, which gives the lager an almost smoked meat taste that goes well with sausage and barbecue- both of which will be on our August/September menu.

Be well and dine well.

Recipe: Moroccan Date & Orange Salad

I promised a guest I would post this recipe, but the marriage and several other things have happened since then. Sorry, but here it finally is. There are several steps to this recipe which makes it very moderately difficult, though not one step is particularly hard. Mildly sweet and tart with the notes of toasted almonds and orange water makes this salad a cooling and refreshing summer treat. My take on a classic, this recipe can also be eaten as dessert due to its natural sweetness. Orange water can be found in specialty and gourmet food shops. Try it over ice cream, in custards and in baklava.

2 cans (15 oz) mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained
2 each carrots, peeled and julienned or large grated
1/2 cup almonds, slivered and toasted
10 large dates, pitted and sliced
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tbs orange water
1/2 rounded tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces mixed salad greens or spring mix
As needed fresh lemon zest

Mix the lemon juice, orange water, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Add all the other ingredients EXCEPT the greens and zest. Gently stir and marinate for at least 2 hours.
Serve over the greens and garnish with the lemon zest

Yield is 4 to 6 portions.
Preparation time is about 20 mints plus the marinating time of 2 hours.

To toast the almonds bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F for approximately 8 minutes.
Buying pitted dates makes life easier. If the large dates are unavailable just slice more.

Amberwind & I Got Married & Other News

On June 5th, 2012 at about 3;30 Pm East Coast Time at the Staten Island Borough Hall in NYC with my parents as witnesses, Amberwind and I got married on our 20th Anniversary! we finished our cross country trip as broke as any 2 newly weds could be, so we had the full experience.

Since we got back business has been slow for this time of year- the national news stories on the fire in the area scared off the tourists! Its been over for a while and was actually 46 miles or more from Silver City but the news made it sound like it was next door- since we are the nearest town of any significant size or reputation.

I've also not posted since I have taken on a major project in an attempt to guarantee the future viability of the restaurant- more on this as it gets closer. Until then, be well and dine well!