Rating 💋 💋 💋
I was in Philly all weekend for a gig (masks on and distance maintained, thank God) and then I raced home on Sunday to prepare my family's dinner. Reilly was out with friends, so it was only my parents, but oh the nerves! I was so worried! I was making Szechuan Pork Bowls. What if they did not like them? My parents never cook anything like this, so the pressure was on. I had to put on my Spotify party playlist to calm myself down.
The cooking process went very smoothly. I made sure to get all of the ingredients, pots, and pans out before I even lit the stove. The only issue was, I did not use Hello Fresh to buy the ingredients. I got this meal from them back in May and loved it so much I copied it into my cookbook. This time around, I went to my local Acme for the ingredients. Well, Acme does not stock sweet soy glaze or szechuan paste, nor does anywhere else on the island. I closed my eyes, substituted regular soy sauce and szechuan spicy sauce, squeaked, and hoped for the best.
My mom insisted on taking a photo of me, so there you go. She liked it! She likes Chinese food so that had reassured my nerves a little. My dad liked it too, but he recommended using less soy sauce if you are making that substitution. It might be thinner than the glaze, but it is just as salty, if not more so. I cut the salt a lot and I was still chugging water later. My brother told me chefs make everything taste better because they add so much more salt and butter than home cooks do. To a point, he is probably right, but only to a point. I hate overly salty food so if every chef did that, I would never want to eat out ever again. Still, this was not too salty, just be conscious of the soy and salt when you are cooking it. It was very filling and I could barely finish. I wanted to so badly though. Not to brag, but I thought it tasted really really good.
After dinner, I settled on the couch with my parents to watch two episodes of Chef's Table. The restaurant Alinea in Chicago intrigues me, but I preferred the episode about Enrique Olvera. He was more my style. I wonder how they are doing now in this new world?
Recently, our family friend Geoff came walking down the beach towards us, and gave us all the local gossip. He is great; he sets up a chair across from my family's camp so he can talk to us while still maintaining a safe distance. Since I was a kid, I have loved listening to his conversations with my parents - they are so interesting! They discussed how different colleges are tackling going back to school, COVID's affect on Philly schools and the lunch program specifically, Pennsylvania versus New Jersey testing centers, and more. While discussing the Flyers, our beloved hockey team, my dad referenced his cousin, whom he described as a classic Philly guy. His cousin is super intelligent, but super easygoing and down to earth. He does not need to tell you how great he is, he just is. It is one of those things I love about Philly: the people tend to be so clever without being pretentious. They are real. (I couldn't resist linking this amazing scene from the best movie, which is only relevant due to the pursuit of 'real' people, but what a great pursuit.) This topic bled into how Philly fans have wreaked havoc on opposing teams despite not being allowed to attend the games. Apparently, one guy found a hotel he thought our opponent was staying at (and he was right). He ended up circling the hotel all night blasting an air horn to keep the players awake. It is wicked perhaps, but it is a special, genius kind of wicked. Only in Philly could a team manager legitimately complain about our fans when they’re not even in the stadium! I love us. It was funny to see how the conversation worked its way inward, from the global pandemic to its specific effect on our city to our city's sports to the happenings in our very small town. Their descriptions of the silly island drama here and how the Surfer Kings of the 1970s have turned into the town legends of today were super funny. My favorite story involved the best pizzeria in town, which is run by a bunch of surfers. If the waves are really good, the pizzeria is not open. The employees cannot resist the the ocean's pull, it seems. Back when Conor visited in early July, my dad went to get us a pizza for dinner and came back empty-handed. There was a curious chalkboard sign out front that read, "Closed: Sorry guys, just couldn't do it today." It was the day rolling out pizza dough became all too much 🥺 I suppose we all have those days from time to time.
Anyway, I hope you all are doing well. Much love!
XX,
MK