Author Archives: Rick

House of Roy

House of Roy was a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts in the 1970s, a favorite of MIT students and others.  Rick and his MIT cohorts, particularly from MIT’s MacGregor House B-entry (Marc Blank, Joel Berez, Mike Dornbrook, Mike Riley, … Continue reading

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Les Halles

Ah, we miss Les Halles (also known as Brasserie Les Halles, pronounced as LAY ALL). This modern and fun French restaurant at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC was a favorite of many, not just us.  This location closed … Continue reading

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Bertucci’s in Old Town Alexandria

We enjoy eating at Bertucci’s wherever they are located.  The food is always fresh and tasty. But we find ourselves often heading to the Bertucci’s in Old Town Alexandria at 725 King Street because they’re close and we can eat … Continue reading

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Hard Times Café

A perennial favorite of the ginHill crowd is the original Hard Times Café at 1404 King Street in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.  We enjoy the Santa Fe egg rolls as an appetizer. Rick always goes for the five-way Texas chili … Continue reading

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Thai Pilin

The Thai Pilin restaurant is a lunch-time favorite of Rick’s  It’s located on Route 7 in the Tysons Corner area, or, more precisely, at 8385 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia 22182. My favorite is Pad Thai Pak (vegetable Pad Thai, with rice noodles, … Continue reading

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Dirty Martini

Ingredients (per glass) 2 jiggers (around 3 oz. or 100 ml) vodka, unflavored (if possible, use vodka that’s been stored in a freezer, otherwise, wing it) 1 oz. dry vermouth ½ oz. olive brine juice (what’s in a store-bought olives jar … Continue reading

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Blue Drinks

Ingredients 1 12 oz. can of frozen margarita mix (Bacardi brand or similar), slightly thawed so the can can be squeezed Blue Curaçao liqueur Tequila (Herradura or other brand) Ice Preparation To blender pitcher, add partially frozen margarita mix from … Continue reading

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Kir Royal

Ingredients 2 oz. chilled crème de cassis (blackcurrant-flavored liqueur) chilled Champagne of your choice, preferably dry (optional) fresh raspberries Preparation Select fluted Champagne glasses (preferably chilled) Add crème de cassis to flute Add 1-2 raspberries to each flute Fill to … Continue reading

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Spanish Rice

Ingredients 1 lb. ground beef ½ cup chopped onion ⅓ cup chopped green pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 1 can tomato soup 1 cup water ½ cup rice ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce Preparation In … Continue reading

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Grilled Swordfish with Couscous

I’ve always said that if swordfish is on the menu at a restaurant, I’ll order it!  Swordfish has been a top-notch favorite of mine for as long as I can remember.  There were some years in the 1970s or thereabouts … Continue reading

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Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

This is the spaghetti sauce my mother made in my youth.  We didn’t buy bottles of already made pasta sauce… was there a market for them then? Ingredients 1¼ lb. ground beef ½ large onion, chopped oregano chili powder 6 … Continue reading

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Porcupine Meat Balls

Ingredients 1 can condensed tomato soup 1 lb. ground beef ¼cup uncooked rice 1 egg, slightly beaten ¼ cup minced onion 2 tablespoons minced parsley 1 teaspoon salt 1 small clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon shortening 1 cup water Preparation … Continue reading

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Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients ground beef (or other meat) chili sauce 1 egg (optional) ½ green pepper, chopped green pepper, whole Italian-seasoned bread crumbs garlic salt Preparation In bowl, mix ground beef, chili sauce (to moisten), egg, chopped onions, chopped green peppers, bread … Continue reading

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Johnny Mazolla

(pronounced: JON-ee ma-ZO-lee) Ingredients ground hamburger chopped onions garlic powder salt 1 can, tomato soup parmesan cheese macaroni, cooked Preparation Cook macaroni in boiling water.  Drain. Place hamburger, chopped onions, garlic powder, and salt in pan.  Brown hamburger.  Drain fat. Combine … Continue reading

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Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients 1 spaghetti squash Preparation Bake or microwave spaghetti squash to soften skin. Cut spaghetti squash in half along the longer dimension.  Remove seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet.  Bake at 450ºF for 45 minutes until skin is … Continue reading

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Florentine Squash Bake

Ingredients ¼ cup all-purpose flour ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper 2 cups skim milk vegetable cooking spray ½ cup chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup (2 oz.) grated Gruyère cheese 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, … Continue reading

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Norwegian Butter Cookies

Rosslands of Bergen, Norway Ingredients ½ cup margarine ½ cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon vanilla (if recipe is doubled, use 1 tablespoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon almond extract) 1¼ cup flour Preparation Pre-heat oven to 375ºF Mix all … Continue reading

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Fudgy Chocolate Cookie Bars

Ingredients 1¾ cups unsifted flour ¾ cup confectioner’s sugar ¼ cup cocoa 1 cup cold margarine 12 oz. package of semisweet chocolate chips 14 oz can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shelled walnuts, … Continue reading

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Rick’s Beef Stew (for clay cooker)

Ingredients 1¾ lbs cubed beef for stew 1½ cups of red wine ¼ cup brandy 4 stalks celery, cut up 3 turnips, cut up into cubes 1 tomato, cut up into cubes 2 carrots, cut up ½ large onion, cut … Continue reading

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Beef (or Irish) Stew

A great dish to cook when it’s cold outside… or in any season due to its nutritious ingredients.  Start with beef for Beef Stew or lamb for Irish Stew.  Cook in your crock-pot! Core Ingredients 2 pounds of beef, cubed … Continue reading

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