Category Archives: Andy

This homemade beauty was crafted by Andy in honor of JoAnn’s 50th birthday celebration, which continues just as this is being posted. Josie, Ali and Peaches will soon be en route to our little abode, where I’ve assembled a trio of her favorite appetizers and a weekend of comfort and casual glory. Andy’s cake is made of a vanilla base, accented by lavender frosting and a raspberry filling. Our home will be filled with all sorts of good things this weekend, and if the weather’s still a little chilly, at least there will be warmth in our hearts. 

Nestled amid all that glorious sauce and spaghetti is one enormous meatball, at least three inches in diameter, and just waiting to be devoured by my lucky mouth. If there’s one thing that Andy knows how to cook (and there are actually many) it’s the meatball. Despite their size, these always turn out tender enough to slice easily through with a fork. Their flavor is wondrous, yet I’m told the ingredients are simple enough. (Perhaps you can cajole him into sharing the secret with you. I’m content to have him continue making them so I’d rather not know.)

While I enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs as a kid, it wasn’t something I ever ordered or cooked for myself as an adult. Andy’s meatballs changed that, because these are an art form. 

This is merely an almost-bite of Andy’s perfecting of a chicken curry dish which has taken over two decades to reach this blissful state of warmth and deliciousness. It is the perfect antidote to a winter’s day, and even better during the early arrival of a winter’s night. This dish rivals that of Mom’s beef stew, to which Andy has also added his special touch. Comfort food to warm the heart. 

One of the first meals Andy ever made me was his pasta and meatballs. It was in the summer when we first met, and he had invited me and Suzie over for dinner. So frazzled were my nerves and so high was my anxiety that I made Suzie stop at the TGIFriday’s at Stuyvesant Plaza for a cocktail beforehand. There was no need for such worry – once we were seated in Andy’s Guilderland house, it felt comfortable and safe, and as we ate his pasta and meatballs, it felt like it could be home. 

Throughout the years that followed, this meal would become a reliable dinner of comfort food, and word of its goodness traveled among our friends. Suzie’s daughter Oona would come along, and she loved the meatballs as much as any found in a restaurant. My parents would join in the adoration for the classic dish, and our other friends would enjoy it whenever we were at a loss as to what to serve. 

Andy revised and refined his recipe, following hints from Rosanna at his favorite restaurant (hint: no garlic, only onions) and no matter what insanity was going on in the world and in our lives, this meal would ground and stabilize us – made with care, consideration and love – and enjoyed in the same manner. Andy finds comfort in making a big pot of sauce then crafting a baking sheet crowded with meatballs, and I find comfort in eating it all when it’s ready. It’s a system that works. 

Way back when I was about to move to Chicago circa 1999, my Mom gave me a book of recipes that were designed to be cooked quickly and easily – a basic entrance to cooking for someone who was about to embark on some simple housekeeping. I did my best to work through most of the recipes, and one of my favorites was an utterly-inaccurately named ‘Chicken Curry in a Hurry’. It was simple as far as ingredients went, but woefully ill-monikered because it took forever to make, what with all the chopping and cutting. I used it as a basis for branching out once I became a little more confident in things, before passing it on to Andy once I introduced him to Thai food. In his capable hands, it was modified and perfected, to the point that it now rivals the chicken yellow curry at House of Siam in Boston. Here’s how he does it:

2-3 lbs chicken of your choice (I’ve used boneless chicken thighs, breasts cut into strips and precut tenders. Also full thighs with bone in.)

4 cans of coconut milk

Package of Campari or cherry tomatoes

1 whole ripe pineapple cored and chopped into chunks

Two “handfuls” snow peas

A mesh bag of mini red or multi colored potatoes

2 cups sliced or mini carrots

1 can whole or half mini corn

2 inches of fresh ginger root peeled and minced (held separately from vegetables)

Optional: a diced onion and  a diced bell pepper

Yellow curry paste

Peanut (or olive) oil.

Chop vegetables first and put in one bowl. Set a large Dutch oven on high heat with enough oil to cover bottom. When hot, add chicken and brown it. Add all vegetables to Dutch oven and sauté with chicken for about 5 minutes. 
Add fresh ginger. Sauté another 5 minutes. Cover in coconut milk. Add curry paste 1 tablespoon at a time to taste at simmer. Low simmer stir frequently for about 45 minutes until potatoes are cooked. Add tomatoes whole and simmer another 5 minutes.

Serve over jasmine rice.