lobster roll

• cooked and chilled lobster meat
• celery, chopped fine
• mayonnaise
• adobo
• sub rolls
• fresh lettuce, torn into pieces

Combine lobster meat (you can use our old friend crab stick in this recipe, but the real thing is such a nice treat) celery, mayo and adobo to taste in a large bowl. Pile onto lettuce placed on the rolls.

The dish: Not too long ago, after a particularly rough week for both of us, Kim and I decided we needed a brief break from everything. Not wanting to stray too far from home, we wound up in Albany to poke around the capital and check out the World Trade Center exhibit at the New York State Museum. If you haven't been, then go. The whole museum is great, but the WTC display is quite moving. The rest of the Empire State Plaza has quite a bit to see as well. Walking along the reflecting pools at the base of the large marble buildings, it's easy to get the feeling that you're in a mini-DC (another awesome place to check out). We killed a whole day exploring and as the sun began to set, darkening the sky behind the shillouette of The Egg, we decided to find somewhere to eat. We wound up in a place that was really unremarkable in every way, but figured any grub was good grub when you're starved and away from home. They advertised their "delicious" lobster roll, but I was a little reluctant to lay out too much cash for a sandwich in a dive. Kim convinced me to indulge, and the damn thing turned out to be great. Shortly after we got home somebody turned me on to 3 Kids Corp, and excited about the new source of cheap lobster and wanting to re-create our fun meal on our weekend away, I made this sandwich. It turned out great, but I think it tastes even better if you're wearing an I heart Albany t-shirt.

grilled zucchini

• fresh zucchini
• olive oil
• coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper

Cut zucchini in half lenghtwise, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, or better yet spay some on if you have a Misto. Grill over a medium flame for about 10 minutes, turning once.

The dish: So it finally happened, the rain stopped for about 7 minutes and I was able to unwrap my grill from its cover and fire it up. For those of you who don't know me, I have a beautiful condo (technically my wife has it, she's just cool about letting me crash here) with a balcony about the size of an unfolded newspaper. There's no chance of me fitting one of those behemoth grills that seem to be so popular, and here in sunny New Windsor our elected officials have nothing better to do than dream up inane laws that prohibit me from having any bbq. All grilling that appears here is done on the down low using a grill that's about the size of a large shoebox (hey, like Bob Dylan said, if you're gonna live outside the law then you have to be honest). If you don't like zucchini, then try it grilled, it takes on a whole new flavor. It becomes crisp and moist all at once and begins to taste like the flame without overpowering the natural taste of the zucchini. It's one of my favorite veggies on the grill and I recommend trying it even if it means chancing a visit to the local kangaroo court.