Weekend at the Catskills: Bryan's Chop Shop Edition

 

 

 

 

 Our recent visit upstate wasn't just filled with brunching and boozing, but with LOTS of cooking and eating too.

After a drizzly and chilly Saturday afternoon we were all looking forward to making that fire and cozying up back at the barn. Jamie's Survivor skills were put to the test and within minutes he had a gorgeous roaring fire going, Kim poured the wine and I shuffled a deck of cards. Heaven.

Bryan, meanwhile, was unpacking the totes and coolers of food he brought up from Brooklyn and was beginning to prep for dinner. He was planning this menu all week and I know it was his truest pleasure to be able to cook in a big country kitchen for his friends. Now, let me backtrack for a second here. Picture this: I enter the apartment Thursday night, home late from work, and this one is in the kitchen, pans everywhere,  smelling like marshmallows, making popcorn balls. Popcorn balls!! There was stuff everywhere, but I didn't care because the second I saw that giant bowl of popcorn mixed with fluff and m&m's I knew I had married well.

So there he was, filling the barn's fridge with juice, milk, butter, red snapper, vegetables, and popcorn balls. For dinner he had prepared a feast: Baked whole red snapper stuffed with lemon, fennel and garlic, roasted garlic smashed potatoes, and roasted zucchini with parmesan. Dinner was SO delicious, made even better by actually sitting at a dining room table (someday we'll get one!!), several bottles of really good wine, and great friends. Afterward we sat on the floor around the fire and played some crazy version of rummy that Kim has played all her life with her Newfoundland relatives. And after that, as if we didn't have enough, we moved over to the couches and watched old episodes of Tales From The Crypt and ate chocolate dipped popcorn balls while the rain poured down around us. And by the way, if you haven't seen this show in years it might be worth renting - it's beyond campy and totally ridiculous. We saw two episodes with Demi Moore and Kelly Preston, directed by Schwartzenegger. God I loved the '90's.

The next morning we woke up well rested and ready for some sunshine. It was glorious outside, the kind of crisp weather where you wear a shirt and sweater, some sunglasses, and you're good to go. Bryan made us some Costa Rican coffee that we still have from our honeymoon (we smartly got several bags) and we chilled on the back deck enjoying the view. Breakfast was a light and delicious treat, grilled grapefruit and buckwheat pancakes with fresh pears. No one wanted to leave, but we had to and we each took with us our own dreams of being out in the country. City life will do that to you...

 

 

Barn photo by Trey Speegle