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MY SUN DAY NEWS

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April 5, 2012

Sam Geati

Cooking with the Geezer: Apple Pan Walnut Cake

This week’s recipe comes from N-33 neighbors, Eileen and Dave Liebhart. Here’s what Eileen wrote to me.

A “special” dinner at Francesca’s Campagna

Recently, my wife Judy and I celebrated our 51st anniversary dining out with a few friends from the days when we were just teens. Joining us were Larry and Joy, married 54 years, Jim and Judy K., married 50 years, and Bob and Judy S., both widowed and now engaged to be married. This made the occasion even more special.

Cooking With The Geezer: Meatloaf or Meatballs

Our special recipe is another treasure from Emma Burns of Neighborhood 33. Emma invites you readers to make use of this great soup. Thanks, Emma, for contributing to the column.

A “fresh” look at Biaggi’s

Recently, I had the pleasure of enjoying a gourmet meal served “family style” at Biaggi’s Restaurant in Algonquin. The Sun Day owners hosted the evening for regular contributors to the newspaper. Previously, I had dined at Biaggi’s, but never in this style. Eighteen of us were served at one long table. Along with our beverages, homemade focaccia bread with olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese was placed on the table.

Table talk at Kobe

Recently, 19 women from Neighborhood 33 joined together for lunch at Kobe’s Japanese Steak House. I asked them to participate in a short review of their outing. Each person was given a form to complete at the conclusion of their visit.

Cooking With The Geezer

The following recipe comes from one of our dear neighbors and a terrific cook, Emma Burns. It’s not too big a surprise to find out that Emma’s an expert in the kitchen, when you consider she’s Italian and learned from the best in her family. The surprise comes when you find out that the recipe has nothing to do with her Italian heritage.

Turkey – Doug Dunlap style

So, at the recent N-33 Holiday Party, I’m stuffing my face with hors d’oeuvres and talking to Grainery neighbors Doug Dunlap and Chuck Maniscalco. What were we discussing? No, not sports, not politics, either. You guessed it: cooking.

ser•en•dip•i•ty / ˈserənˈdipitē/

Recently, my wife and I, along with Grainery Lane neighbors and friends, Chuck and Jan, headed out for a restaurant in Marengo called Dino’s. When we arrived, it was closed. We also discovered that they only serve breakfast and lunch. What do we do now? Driving through Marengo, we noticed Café 20.

Catching up with Jimmy’s Charhouse

My guess is that many residents have been to our dining spotlight for this edition, Jimmy’s Charhouse of Elgin. It’s been a fixture on Randall Road for many years, but as we all know, restaurants change managers and chefs over time, sometimes quite often. So, our mission was to see if there’s been any radical changes in the quality of the food and service, new items on the menu, and overall healthiness of this dining establishment.

Cooking with the Geezer: December 1, 2011

In the last edition’s column, I gave you my mom’s turkey stuffing recipe and hope you have a chance to try it sometime. If you’ve tried it, I’d like to hear from you with your comments. This week, I’m sharing one of my own creations.

Geezer Moments: December 1, 2011

Instead of the usual Geezer Moments, this time I have something different, but really the same. You say, what are you talking about, Sammy? Ever heard of “Baby Brain” or “Pregnancy Brain?” Well, I hadn’t until my personal banker told me about her pregnancy experiences, suggesting a strong resemblance to Geezer Moments. Read these and see if you find similarities between the two afflictions.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The answer: to get to Checkers II, of course, because that’s where the other good chickens end up! Seriously, we recently were joined by our Grainery Lane neighbors, Bob and Roberta, for a delicious meal at this country restaurant just a short distance from Huntley in the little town of Union.

Cooking with the Geezer: November 17, 2011

Perhaps you have read my “Dining Out with the Geezers” column, which covers one of my passions in life. You’ve probably heard the old saying that some people “Eat to live, while others live to eat.” Well, the latter describes me pretty well, except it’s not complete without the cooking component. I live and love to cook and eat.

Put me on the train!

On Saturday, October 22, almost 5,500 first-nighters and I were present for the Inaugural Season Home Opener of the Chicago Express Hockey Club at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates.

Dem bones, dem bones, dem finger-lickin’ bones

Recently, my wife and I invited good friends and backyard neighbors Kay and Lou to join us for a trek to try the famous ribs at the Crystal Lake Rib House. We were warned ahead of time not to expect anything fancy, which was right on from the moment we walked into the house-converted-into-a-restaurant.

Geezer Moments: November 3, 2011

“On Tuesday I was notified by the Huntley library that the book I had put on hold had arrived. I went to the shelf and retrieved my book. I then proceeded to the self check-out, which I always do. I scanned my card and followed the directions to scan the barcode on my book. I scanned the code and the screen read SORRY. I scanned it again and it repeated SORRY.”

No bones to pick

This week, my colleague Sun Day Ad Representative Pat Hatton and Sun Day Owners Chris and Erika La Pelusa accompanied me to do a review of one of the well-known dining establishments in Algonquin, Bonefish Grill. It’s a national chain, so I have dined not only at this site, but at others while traveling around our country. Upfront, I have to say that I can’t afford to eat out too often, and certainly this is a special-occasion type of place for my wife and me. This has been one of our favorites for birthdays or anniversaries. This occasion was a celebration of sorts for the four of us. In general, it is the sort of restaurant that you’d treat yourself to.

Geezer Moments: October 20, 2011

Claudia Anderson of N-11 is back with another of her “moments.” Thanks for your contributions, Claudia.

Geezer Moments: September 22, 2011

Claudia Anderson of N-11 is the big winner this week, as she sent in not one, but TWO of her “moments.” Thanks for your contributions, Claudia.

Geezer Moments: August 25, 2011

My wife is always good for a “moment” or two. For this column, she was forthcoming with a daily double. Recently, she put the correct attachment onto the vacuum hose, starting pushing it around on the floor, and realized she forgot to turn the vacuum on.

It’s all Greek to me!!!

This week, we ventured out and beyond Randall Road for dinner at Yanni’s Greek Restaurant. We were with Nick and Nancy, friends who now live in Michigan but were in town for their family picnic. We all love Greek food, and this turned out to be a great choice.

Geezer Moments: July 28, 2011

Let’s start this week’s column off with one from the sweet mom of one of my fellow members of the Hunks. She told this one about herself and asked for anonymity. She recently purchased candle stands for her son’s fireplace as a gift. When she took them out of the box, something wasn’t right. They didn’t match.

Geezer Moments: June 30, 2011

I have had some very funny and often strange “moments” sent to me by readers since I started this column last year. This one, however, probably most typifies life as an active senior here in our Sun City community. It comes from Joan and Jim Rice, and originally was too lengthy to use in the space allotted for my column, so I’ve had to do some serious editing to make it fit. Here’s their story:

Celebrity Scramble: June 16, 2011

These are cryptograms consisting of quotations by famous people, past or present. Each letter in the puzzle stands for another letter. Today’s clues are as follows.

Geezer Moments: June 2, 2011

This month we start off with one from Elba of N33. She writes: “A recent Saturday I was to pick up my husband Arnold at the Anderson Car dealership in Crystal Lake where he went to take our daughter’s car for service. He went on ahead of me, but I went to the Honda dealership instead (also in Crystal Lake), parked, got out, talked to one of the sales people, whom we know, started walking towards the service department, AND THEN THE LIGHT WENT ON.

Celebrity Scramble: June 2, 2011

These are cryptograms consisting of quotations by famous people, past or present. Each letter in the puzzle stands for another letter. Today’s clues are as follows.