Much thanks to Joe who many may know as the man behind the popular The Closet Professor blog, which I have in my blogroll. This is the first time I’ve posted a Men In Kilts video from Tik Tok but if there are more videos like this on the site it won’t be the last time. Thank you again Joe.
May this post help distract you from the fact that it is a Monday morning.
I’ve been making a modified version of the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe each winter for a few years and it never disappoints. It’s best to prepare this over the weekend and always tastes better if you serve it a day or two later. Just be sure to clear out enough space in your refrigerator for the giant pot once it has cooked and cooled.
While this requires more ingredients and is a bit more work than my usual recipe, it is worth it. This recipe will feed 4-6 people. Ingredients include:
8-12 oz of cubed Pancetta
2 1/2 lbs cubed chuck beef
1 lbs of carrots thickly sliced
1 lbs of mushrooms (stems removed thickly sliced)
1 lbs of frozen pearl onions
2 sweet onions (I like Vidalia)
4 garlic cloves minced
4 tbsp of butter
1-2 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp of flour
Sourdough Bread sliced and grilled
1 bottle of dry red wine
2 cups (8oz) beef broth
1/2 cup of Cognac
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 cup of parsley chopped
Generous portion of dried thyme
Ground black pepper and salt
Step 1: The prep work takes about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees, pull out all the ingredients, chop your veggies and using a paper towel, pat dry the beef cubes and place them on a tray with a paper towel. If you skip this step they won’t sear correctly.
Step 2: Drizzle a little olive oil into a large pan that can hold all the ingredients above (remember you’re going to use an entire bottle of wine!) and can go into your oven. Once the oil is hot (I keep this on medium high heat), add the cubed Pancetta and stir for approximately 5-7 minutes then scoop onto a plate (try not to scoop out the liquid) and don’t worry about bits being stuck to pan.
Step 3: Lightly salt the beef on your tray and add these into the pan (a few at a time) and turn to sear on all sides. You only want the outside lightly browned (1-2 minutes) and you’ll need space to rotate the meat. Then remove and place on the same plate as the Pancetta and sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper.
Step 4: Add carrots, sweet onions and a dash of salt. Let this cook in the oil and fat from the meat for about 5 minutes until they start to brown then throw in the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Step 5: This is the fun part! Add the Cognac and light on fire to burn off the alcohol. After the flames are gone, add the Pancetta, beef, bottle of wine and beef broth. Make sure the liquid just covers the meat and vegetables. Also add the tomato paste and dried thyme, cover and bring to a simmer.
Step 6: Bring to a simmer then place it in the oven with a tight fitting lid for ~75-90 minutes.
Step 7: Make a quick roux just before you take the pan out of the oven. This is an easy and important step to thicken the stew. Combine 2 tbsp of butter and flour. First, add the butter in a pan over low heat and once melted stir in the flour (you can whisk it with your fork). Then pour it into the pot along with the 1lb bag of frozen pearl onions, cover the pot and place it on the stove for ~15 on medium low heat. When done, the meat should be soft enough to cut with a fork.
This may sound like a lot of work but it’s delicious and after making it once, it is pretty easy to follow. There is a lot of food so you’ll likely have plenty of leftovers (and the leftovers always taste better).
One other note: I like to use Ina’s suggestion of getting thick slices of sourdough bread toasted in the oven to serve as the base for this stew. It is a lighter and easier option than making mashed potatoes but Sergio loves mashed potatoes so that is what I’ve shown at the top of the post.
Bon Appétit
Earlier this week photos of the Portuguese Bakery in Provincetown were making the rounds showing for sale signs in its windows. This set off a series of emails and comments on Facebook and conflicting stories about what was happening (so typical for Ptown). Some people were saying the owners are retiring and looking for someone to take over the business others said the Janoplis Family had no intention of selling and to quote the text from Mylan Janopolis that was shared with me, “The Provincetown Portuguese Bakery will live on…”
However, listings like the one below are what set off the chatter and made me wonder what exactly was going on. I suppose it gives townies something to discuss and gossip over during the quiet winter months.
But in response to all the chatter, the owners of the bakery took to Facebook this morning to post the following on their page, assuring customers that they are going nowhere.
The Portuguese Bakery first opened at its current location around 1900 (nobody can confirm the exact date). It remains one of the most affordable and least pretentious dining options in town and is a reminder of Provincetown’s more humble roots as a traditional Portuguese fishing village.
As Provincetown became a destination mostly for affluent gays and lesbians, small businesses have struggled to make ends meet. The Portuguese Bakery seems to have weathered all these challenges without ever losing their identity despite different families and owners over the years coming to run this successful business. If you’ve never visited Provincetown, I recommend ordering a Pasteis de Nata and coffee to go from the bakery. It’s a wonderful treat to enjoy while walking down Commercial Street or sitting on the beach in the morning.
Posted in Dining, Provincetown
While the weather outside hasn’t been exactly frightful it has hardly been warm and sunny either. However, it is exactly the weather one should expect in New England this time of year and following the Thanksgiving holiday many neighbors started decorating.
The main difference between the decorations you see in the suburbs vs. the city come down to space; there is no yard in the city, lights (for the most part) are used with restraint and since few people own an entire building you rarely see an entire Bowfront Victorian decked out.
However, what residents lack in space they more than make up for by decorating their entries, doors and windows. I captured a handful of photos after a walk around the neighborhood.
I love everything about this week’s post. The coffee even looks tempting.
Song Inkollo is a comic book artist of Chinese descent who is from Nantes, France. He uses his comics to share his stories, and I really enjoy his comic series “Daily Life of a Gay Couple” and recently shared his work. If you like what you see, follow Song Inkollo on Twitter or better yet check out his Patreon site.
Click on this week’s comic strip to enlarge
One of the few good things that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic was the city of Boston’s outdoor dining pilot program that was intended to help restaurants faced with strict indoor dining restrictions. The move was enthusiastically supported by restaurant owners, their staff and patrons so yesterday the city of Boston announced that it would resume its outdoor-dining pilot, allowing restaurants to use street parking and sidewalk space outside their doors for tables effective April 1, 2021 (or possibly earlier depending on the weather). Below are some key dates for Boston restaurants to note.
January 18, 2021: The initial deadline for licensees to submit an application to receive a decision or follow-up questions from the city of Boston Licensing Board is due by February 19, 2020. Licensees may also submit an application after this date to participate and those applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
February 19, 2021: The city of Boston Licensing Board will notify licensees of approvals or requests for more information if they submitted their application by January 18.
April 1, 2021: The 2021 Outdoor Dining Pilot will start on April 1, 2021, weather permitting. This may start earlier if the weather permits. More updates will be shared in the future.
Boston Outdoor Dining Application
According to the mayor’s office approximately 550 Boston restaurants extended their dining space outdoors (415 of them on public land). Click here for more information about 2021 Outdoor Dining Pilot Program.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the annual fundraising party that Toys for Joys hosts to raise money and collect gifts for underpriviledged children in our community. The cruel irony is this year there are more children living in poverty and in need of your kindness and charity.
Without having the benefit of a large party to bring people together, that makes this year’s challenge to collect enough donations to distribute gifts to children that much more difficult. As a long time supporter of T4J and someone who believes in their mission, I’m asking you to share this message and join me in making a donation to this worthwhile charity that was started and has been nurtured by our LGBTQ community.
This year T4J is teaming up with The Wonderfund of Massachusetts, a private non-profit organization that works on behalf of children engaged with the MA Department of Children and Families. Donations to T4J will help fill most of the Wonderfund offices with toys and gifts for the children and families they serve. Your dontations will also go to support the following groups with toys and gifts this year:
Click the link above to learn more and to make a donation so the Toys for Joys charity can continue their good work, and please help spread the word.
I dedicate this weekly post, featuring vintage gay photographs, to the men and women who lived in a more critical time where being true to yourself and loving who you want wasn’t always an option and came at a great price. Do you have a photo you would like to share? Email me at bosguymail@gmail.com.
It was just one year ago that Sergio and I were traveling through Buenos Aires, Argentina where this handsome guy calls home but sadly our paths never crossed. I only discovered his Instagram after our visit but he has a respectable following with more than 70k people so maybe you follow him already.
I wish I knew more about this guy. Anyone recognize this cuddly bear who lives in the San Telmo neighborhood of B.A.? I can tell you he enjoys posting photos of his backside and other suggestive photos so you may want to look over your shoulder before you check out his account which is linked below.
You can follow this week’s featured account on Instagram here, and you can check out previously featured IG accounts here.
In case you missed it, on Tuesday, Governor Charlie Baker announced that due to rising COVID-19 rates, the State of Massachusetts would roll back to Phase 3, Step 1 beginning this Sunday.
What does Phase 3, Step 1 mean?
The rollback will reduce indoor capacities across a broad range of sectors of the economy and tighten several other workplace restrictions. It will require the closure of certain businesses designated as Step 2 industries and capacity limits will be reduced to 40% for places like:
Finally additional safety measures will be applied to restaurant dining which will include:
You can read the full media release here.
BosGuy 