In a press release March 25, state. Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), Republican minority leader, announced he will not seek reelection this election year.
“For almost 34 years I have enjoyed the privilege, honor and distinction of serving as an elected official in the New York State Legislature,” Flanagan said in the release. “The opportunity to serve the public for virtually all of my adult life has enriched every aspect of my life, and so it is a with a heavy but extremely proud heart that I announce today that I will not be seeking re-election to the New York State Senate. The wide array of emotions I am experiencing in making this decision are balanced by knowing that I am making the best decision for me and for my family.”
Flanagan’s career has spanned over three decades. The senator has spent 16 years, eight terms, in the New York State Assembly, and 18 years, nine terms, in the senate.
“I have met some of the finest and most dedicated people in my life throughout this time, and it reminds me of why New York State is so special — because of its people, both in and out of government,” he said. “It is still my fervent belief that New York is the Empire State and will continue to be so for many, many years to come.
In the press release, Flanagan added that he realized the timing of the announcing was not ideal. He said he was making it now though due to“the constraints of the political calendar that guides our elections.”
“Our great state is clearly in a time of crisis and now more than ever we need leaders to guide our public policy as true representatives of our taxpayers and constituents,” he said. “I fully intend to apply the same diligence and work ethic as the Leader of our Republican conference as I have since I was first elected leader in 2015.”
Flanagan said top-tier candidates have been recruited in races across the state which will mean the party’s conference “has the right message to succeed.”
“I look forward to continuing to be part of that process as our conferencenavigates delicate and challenging budget issues and finishing our legislative session,” he said. “Our residents and my constituents deserve no less.”
The senator said he never envisioned the opportunities that have come his way in the last 34 years.
“The gift and privilege of being elected by my colleagues to be the Senate Majority Leader is an honor I will always cherish, and I recognize that with that position comes an immense responsibility to work for the betterment of all New Yorkers,” he said. “It is a fact that continues to be the cornerstone of all my thinking and actions as the Leader of the Republican Conference in the Senate today. Working closely with my Republican Colleagues, we have advocated for vital local issues and passionately distinguished ourselves as principled lawmakers who care very deeply about public service and the people we represent.”
Flanagan ended the statement by thanking his family, friends, colleagues and the people of New York for their support.
Stony Brook University Hospital has created a new triage process for emergency services.
Patients who arrive at the emergency room between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. should stay in their cars, where a member of the staff will determine the correct emergency care setting. The staff may tell patients to go to the main Emergency Department or to a new coronavirus triage service at the South P Lot testing facility on the main campus, on the corner of Stony Brook Road and South Drive. The triage area will have board-certified emergency medicine physicians and emergency medicine nurses.
Stony Brook medicine has also created a triage phone line, 631-638-1320. Registered nurses will answer calls from 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday. Nurses will direct patients to the appropriate healthcare location.
The goal of the triage service, Stony Brook said, is to provide patients with a streamlined environment for care and treatment.
Stony Brook said patients should not go to the coronavirus patient triage unless a member of the Emergency Department staff directs them there.
The main Emergency Department will remain operating as usual.
In addition, Stony Brook has established new safety procedures to reduce the amount of time that a caregiver must enter a room. The process is best suited for the Intensive Care Unit or where a patient is non-ambulatory. Stony Brook is following procedures other hospitals are also using.
IV pumps will now be located in the hall. To reach the patient, the IV pumps will use Relocatable Power Taps, which are power strips approved by Biomedical Engineering, and IV extensions sets.
The new process will eliminate the need for staff to go in the room to change IV fluids, drips or medicines or to reset alarms, which will limit exposure while interacting with people who might have coronavirus or with patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The tubing is standard bore and can be used for all fluids including blood.
Three sets of IV extension sets can be connected together to reach patients. IV pumps in use can be located in the hall or anteroom.
The hospital ordered 72-inch IV extension sets and will work by themselves in most cases to reach the patient.
The coronavirus pandemic is going to get much worse in New York State and in Suffolk County in the next few weeks.
That’s the message from Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) and County Executive Steve Bellone (D), who describe efforts to increase hospital beds, change EMS policies, and collect personal protective equipment to help health care workers and first responders.
The state created a viral pandemic triage protocol. By taking a patient’s temperature and screening for a sore throat or cough, EMS personnel will determine whether a patient needs to go to the hospital.
“If a patient doesn’t qualify to be transferred to the hospital, the on-site emergency responder will provide a hand-out with a list of what you need to do and whom to contact should the symptoms worsen,” Bellone said on a daily conference call with reporters.
The new policy shouldn’t create alarm for residents, Bellone said, but merely reflects the current state of the pandemic.
Indeed, on the same day Cuomo created this new EMS protocol, he indicated the need for hospital beds for the state was even greater than anticipated just 24 hours earlier. The number of hospital beds in the state, currently stands around 53,000, with 2,626 beds currently in Suffolk County. Based on the current trajectory of infections and hospitalizations, the number of beds necessary for residents of the Empire State will be closer to 140,000 at its peak, which means that hospitals will need to more than double the number of beds in a short time.
What Cuomo had requested by doubling the number of beds was a “Herculean effort,” which may not be adequate to the anticipated need, Bellone said.
“The surge may be happening much earlier than anticipated,” Bellone added. “It is a reminder of what we need to do.”
To prepare the health care community and first responders for that increase, Bellone has been urging people to donate personal protective equipment. Two days after his office started collecting the gear in Yaphank, Bellone has received 284,000 pieces of equipment, which includes five van loads from Eastern Suffolk BOCES. Over the next 24 hours, Bellone’s office is working to create additional donation sites on the Western and Eastern ends of Suffolk County.
As testing for the coronavirus Covid-19 increases, so, too, do the number of positive cases. As of this morning, 1,880 residents had the virus among 7,000 who were tested. The number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds has increased to 50 from 38 yesterday.
For the sixth day in a row, Bellone’s office announced additional COVID-19 related deaths, as four people passed away with the virus, all of whom also had underlying medical conditions. A woman in her 80’s died at Mather Hospital on March 19, a man in his 60’s died at Huntington Hospital on March 20, a woman in her 80’s died at Huntington Hospital on March 22 and a woman in her 70’s died at Southside Hospital yesterday.
Bellone extended his condolences to the families. The death toll for the virus in Suffolk County is now 17.
Meanwhile, Stony Brook Hospital is expected to receive 25 ventilators, although the delivery date is undetermined at this time.
Bellone said Amneal Pharmaceuticals, which manufacturers an anti-malarial treatment that the state is testing as a potential treatment for coronavirus called hydroxychloroquine, has donated two million pills to the state.
“We are grateful that a local company is helping to contribute to this effort,” Bellone said. Amneal, which is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, has a factory in Yaphank.
During the pause in activities in New York that Cuomo created and that started yesterday, landscapers can continue to perform necessary maintenance functions. Bellone said he was still awaiting clarity from the governor’s office about construction jobs.
In the first day of soliciting donations of Personal Protective Equipment to help health care workers and first responders, County Executive Steve Bellone was pleased with the outpouring of support from the community.
“Today we have seen, in the spirit of cooperation, an outpouring of generosity of people who come together in a time of crisis,” Bellone said on his daily media call with reporters.
Residents and business leaders brought 40,000 gloves of various sizes, 3,000 N95 masks, 1,500 gowns and over 3,000 ear loop masks to the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank. Bellone is seeking donations from 10 am to 2 pm during the weekdays.
Given the shortage of masks, some people have started sewing homemade masks.
Gregson Pigott, the commissioner of the county Department of Health Services, cautioned people about their effectiveness.
“That’s not advised,” Pigott said on a conference call. The masks need to be “properly tested and certified.”
Stony Brook has started to make face shields with 3-D printers, which hospital personnel has reviewed and determined to be medically compliant. The team that designed these shields, call iCREATE, made some parts of the shield replaceable so health care professionals could change them out.
Today also marked the first day of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) order to pause, as he asked all non-essential businesses to close to reduce the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19. Suffolk County received some clarity from the governor’s office about whether landscapers would be able to continue their work. Landscapers can continue to work for maintenance and the control of pests. These workers, however, cannot do any ornamental planning and are restricted to mowing lawns and protecting the public against health risks that might occur if they didn’t do their jobs.
Meanwhile, the number of people with coronavirus continues to climb, with 1,458 people testing positive. Among those with the virus, 116 are in the hospital, with 38 in the Intensive Care Unit. The County suffered another coronavirus-related fatality, as a woman in her 80’s passed away at St. Catherine’s Hospital. The death toll in Suffolk County stands at 13.
Bellone said he is working with town supervisors and mayors to encourage residents to follow the governor’s order. As with other parts of the country, Suffolk County is working to encourage younger people to maintain social distancing.
Younger people may feel “they are not vulnerable to the virus,” Bellone said. “They [need to understand] that they can not only contract it, but they can also contract it and can transmit it to others around them. They pose a danger to vulnerable populations.”
The county executive added New York Mets pitcher Steve Matz, who is a graduate of Ward Melville High School in Setauket, has been putting out the message.
At the same time, Bellone has been gathering information about the impact of the virus on businesses. Over, 4,000 furloughed or laid off employees have reached out to the County Executive’s office through 311.
These are “some of our more vulnerable employees,” Bellone said. His office is reaching out to the employers, so they can connect with their staff so they “don’t fade into the background.”
In his daily press conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) urged the Donald Trump (R) administration to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow them to order manufacturers to increase production of much-needed PPE items. The president has signed an executive order invoking the act, but has yet to make a single order. Cuomo said those companies would be “paid handsomely” for the effort, but that it was needed more than ever.
The governor also said he was signing an executive order mandating hospitals around New York State to increase the number of available beds by at least 50 percent, with the goal being to reach a turnaround of 100 percent. Stony Brook University is also the planned site of an additional hospital pavilion to add extra beds to the area, though Bellone said details on that are still being worked out.
At the urging of his wife, Bellone himself contacted the mobile unit at Stony Brook Hospital to seek a coronavirus test. He was exposed to the virus from meetings with one of his deputy chiefs, Peter Scully, who tested positive last week.
Bellone called the mobile unit number, waited half an hour on the phone to speak with a medical professional, and is awaiting a call back for an appointment.
Bellone plans to have a Facebook live town hall on his page tonight at 6:30 pm to provide an update to residents.
“There continues to be a lot of anxiety,” Bellone said. “our lives have been turned upside down.”
Above, from left, Kenneth Kaushansky, Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine; Anissa Abi-Dargham; Henry Tannous; Ute Moll; and Michael Bernstein, Interim President of SBU.
By Daniel Dunaief
A heart and lung doctor, a researcher who works on imaging for schizophrenia and a scientist working with a mutation that affects cancer last month received endowed inaugural chair positions at Stony Brook University.
Ute Moll is the Renaissance Endowed Professor in Cancer Biology, Anissa Abi-Dargham is the Lourie Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and Henry Tannous is the General Ting Feng Cheng Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
In addition to adding the prestigious titles and winning support from local benefactors and philanthropists, the three researchers will each receive annual financial support from their positions that will sustain their research and education efforts. TBR News Media is highlighting the research from each of these standout scientists.
Ute Moll
Ute Moll
A native of Germany, Ute Moll, who is studying the six most common mutated forms of the highly researched p53 gene, is grateful for the donors, the funds and the recognition. “It’s pretty prestigious to have an endowed chair or professorship attached to your name or title,” she said
Moll described the p53 mutations as the “most common mutation in cancer.” She has been working with a mouse model. The p53 R248 hotspot is the single most common variant in all p53 altered tumor types, which occurs in about 66,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients in the United States each year.
If these mice also have a gene called Myc, they get either liver or colon cancer. By receiving an estrogen derivative drug called Tamoxifen, which is used in breast cancer, the active, mutated version of the p53 gene is turned off when another gene called Cre recombinase is activated. By removing the p53 gene, the mice live two to three times longer than they would have.
In a typical mouse, cancer can cause over 100 tumor nodules, leaving almost no normal liver. When Moll and her colleagues turned off the mutant gene, the size of the cancer is much more limited, with only a few remaining nodules.
One particular mouse lived for more than two months, eventually dying of an unrelated lymphoma. The liver, however, which had an infection across the entire organ, didn’t show a single trace of a tumor. It was completely normal, despite the ubiquitous tumor nodules before treatment.
Thus far, targeting this mutated p53 is a concept Moll and her colleagues have developed in pre-clinical mouse models of lymphoma, colon and liver cancer, but it doesn’t yet have a clinical application.
Liver cancer used to be relatively rare in the population, driven largely by infection from hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as through alcoholism. Amid an epidemic of obesity, people are developing a chronically inflammatory liver condition, which increases the incidence of liver cancer.
Anissa Abi-Dargham
Anissa Abi-Dargham
A specialist in Positron Emission Tomography (or PET) imaging for schizophrenia, Anissa Abi-Dargham is pleased with the opportunity to deploy the funds for her work at her discretion.
“The beauty of these funds is that they are totally flexible,” she explained, adding that she plans to use the funds to pursue new research ideas that might not otherwise get funding until she can use data to prove a concept or principal.
“This is really a great honor because it means that the institution believes in you and wants to invest and retain you,” she said.
In her work, Abi-Dargham has been using imaging to see what is causing dopamine dis-regulation, either with too much or too little of the neurotransmitter.
She is looking at two systems that may explain the imbalance: the cholinergic system and the kappa opioid system.
Abi-Dargham had been at Columbia University for 20 years before joining Stony Brook over three years ago. She appreciates the school investing in a state-of-the-art imaging center. “The people in charge of this imaging center are very much investing in promoting imaging for neuroscience and psychiatry,” she said.
Based on her findings in schizophrenia, other investigators in the United Kingdom have documented dopamine levels before schizophrenia symptoms begin.
She hopes her research discovers biomarkers that can be used to predict who is going to convert to having schizophrenia.
Patients do better when the onset of symptoms is later in their lives because their more mature brain has fostered better organized life, skill sets, and relationships.
She is also testing whether other markers, such as a neuromelanin, which is a metabolite of dopamine and binds iron-like materials, will show up on a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan before the disease.
Henry Tannous
Henry Tannous
Henry Tannous joined Stony Brook University in 2016 and is excited to be a part of the current team and to help shape the future of clinical practice and research.
Tannous called the endowed chair position an “absolute honor.” It will not only allow him to continue with his current work, but it’s also going to enable him to expand his research. He will also use some of the funds to provide continuing education for his staff.
The financial support will allow him to hire research assistants and access national databases. Tannous and his research team of cardiothoracic and lung scientists use registries from the New York State Department of Health registry and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, each of which provides the data for a price.
With his lung work, Tannous focuses on state 1 lung cancer. Traditionally, he said, people have received a diagnosis late in the development of the disease. Over the past few years, doctors have diagnosed patients at an earlier point.
Earlier diagnoses became more prevalent after Medicare approved lung cancer screening in 2015, which picked up more cases while patients were still in the earlier stages, when the cancer might otherwise be asymptomatic.
“We would like to know more about how the disease affects [patients] and their quality of life,” Tannous said. His lab has a collaboration with Mount Sinai Hospital to learn more about the effect of the disease on the lives of the patients.
With his heart research, he’s focusing on aortic disease and is testing the limits of the Trans Catheter Aortic Valve Replacement.
Everybody loves potatoes. Everybody cooks potatoes, and everybody eats potatoes (unless they’re on a crash diet). Mashed, baked, home fries, French fries, roasted, chips, salad, boiled and steamed and more. They lend themselves to so many preparations and cooking methods that it’s no wonder they’re the staple of many diets and figure largely in cuisines all over the world.
But good as potatoes are, even they get boring. So here are a few recipes that take potatoes to a new level where they are so delicious that they’re sure to nudge over even the crispiest of French fries and the creamiest of mashed potatoes. One is for a rösti, a Swiss version of a large potato pancake. Another is for Hasselbacks, russets cut accordion-style, drenched with butter and olive oil and cooked to golden perfection. And the third is for Duchess potatoes, mashed and then baked to fluffy scrumptiousness.
Rösti
YIELD: Makes 3 to 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl or food processor coarsely grate potatoes; thoroughly mix in salt and pepper; let mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a second bowl (and don’t worry about any discoloring).
Over medium-high heat, pour oil into heavy 8-inch skillet; test oil by dropping in a potato shred, and if it sizzles, it’s ready. Being careful of a few inevitable spatters, gently drop mixture by handfuls into hot oil, starting with center of pan and moving outward to edges; using the back of a spoon or spatula, flatten into an even pancake. Lower heat but keep it high enough to maintain a good sizzle (don’t let bottom brown too quickly), about 15 minutes.
Carefully slide rösti onto a dinner plate; keep skillet over heat. Put another dinner plate over rösti and holding the two plates tightly together, invert them so brown bottom of pancake is now on top. Remove top plate and slide rösti back into skillet, brown side up. Continue cooking until potatoes are tender and new bottom is browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Slide onto platter, cut into wedges and serve hot with meat, poultry or fish and a green vegetable.
Potatoes Duchess
YIELD: Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Ground nutmeg to taste
2 eggs lightly beaten with 2 egg yolks
DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot of boiling salted water cook potatoes, covered, until soft but not mushy, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and dry them by shaking them in pan over heat. Put potatoes through a sieve or ricer, add butter, salt and pepper, nutmeg, eggs and egg yolks; beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until very smooth and fluffy. Preheat broiler; place potato mixture in a pastry bag and pipe into desired shapes or portions in a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet; place under broiler to brown on top. Serve immediately with a fine cut of beef or delicate fish.
Hasselbacks
YIELD: Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup snipped chives
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 russet potatoes
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 F. In a small bowl whisk together the butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley and salt and pepper. Lay potatoes on a cutting board and place the handles of two wooden cooking spoons alongside them lengthwise (this will prevent your cutting all the way through to their bottoms). Cut potatoes into quarter-inch slices leaving 1/4 inch at bottom so they are still attached. Place potatoes in a shallow baking pan and, being sure to get into crevices, brush evenly with butter mixture. Bake until crisp and tender, about one hour. Serve immediately with grilled meat, poultry or fish.
Hillary Davis and Stacy Dermont have collaborated on a book that is more than just a collection of recipes. It is an engagingly written celebration of not just seasonal cooking but local sourcing. They have brought together multiple elements of Long Island and channeled them into a guide that is both entertaining and practical. The love for their home is furthered in its citing of neighborhood farms and businesses and the plethora of ingredients that they provide to make magic in the kitchen.
“Over many meals and food-oriented adventures,” writes Davis, “we came to the conclusion that we wanted to share what we love about this very special part of the world. … In the way we have chosen to live, we shop at our local farm stands and farmers’ markets for most or all of our fresh produce, as much to revel in the amazing quality and choice as to feel as if we are taking part in preserving our small-farm heritage.”
This local-centric ideology is a passion for both writer-chefs and this clearly honest zeal continues throughout the book. Prior to each recipe there is a succinct and informative narrative piece: a personal anecdote or a slice of hyperlocal detail. Both authors pen in a homey narrative, as if they are sharing a bit of themselves as they prepare the plethora of repasts. Whether it’s a history of the ingredients or a “one time when” they enrich the entire reading experience.
In the first part of the book, there is a discussion about the importance of pairings of food to beverages. Their thesis is that they should amplify or contrast to enhance the meal. Davis and Dermont explain each and propose a local drink as complement.Most often, there is a recommendation of a product from one of the 60 local wineries, 40 craft breweries, or one of the many distilleries or cideries. Sometimes, they simply advise an herbal tea. These details are a wonderful augmentation.
Co-author Stacy Dermont
The book proper is divided by seasons:spring, low summer, high summer, fall and winter. Presented is a very detailed list of what is in season and when, a list that should be kept nearby throughout the year. There is even a plea for “Nothing Goes to Waste” with ideas for using remnants in making stock or composting.
Each section of the book contains small plates, salads, main courses and desserts. In the hundred recipes, there isa nice mix of well-loved and new dishes as well as unique takes on popular favorites.
It is a tribute to the clarity of the writing that even the more complicated and challenging recipes are explained in such a way that novice cooks can accomplish them. They are given step by step with just the right amount of detail. There are also instructions on topics ranging from the roasting of garlic to the blanching of fresh bamboo shoots to the selection and cooking of clams. This is a wealth of knowledge, expertly shared.
It would be impossible to highlight all of the wonderful choices that are on offer:Potato Cheesecake with Caramel Crust, Kale Poppers, Blue Cheese Chicken with Strawberry Salsa, Long Island Duck Breasts with Duck Walk Vineyards Blueberry Port Sauce, BLT Macaroni Salad with Ham Crisps, So Many Tomatoes Sauce over Spaghetti Squash, Peconic Bay Scallops with Riesling Cream, Roasted Montauk Pearl Oysters, Wine Country Beef Stew, Cider-Poached Apples on a Cloud of Cider-Sweetened Ricotta … there is not just something for everyone — there is a bounty of culinary joys.
Special note should be made of the original photography by Barbara Lassen. Lassen’s keen eye brings the dishes to life in dazzling and vivid colors, further reminding us that there is a special multifaceted aesthetic involved in this entire process.
Davis and Dermont’s The Hamptons Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes Pairing Land and Sea will make a wonderful addition to culinary libraries throughout the Island. But even more importantly, it will find its best home in kitchens for many years to come.
The cookbook is available online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon and will be in bookstores by April 7. For upcoming book signings, please visit www.thehamptonskitchen.com.
Party City at 610 Broadhollow Road in Melville is closing in May. The announcement was made on March 12. “Party City routinely evaluates our portfolio of stores in response to ongoing consumer, market and economic changes that naturally arise in the business. After careful consideration, the Melville store location will close on May 2, 2020,” the Elmsford, New York-based party supply chain said in a statement.
The store, which shares a shopping center with a Fortunoff Backyard Store, Suburban Eats and Moe’s Southwest Grill, joins over 55 other Party City locations to shutter over the past two years. After the closing, 13 stores remain on Long Island including Centereach, Commack and Stony Brook.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of the most popular cheeses on the planet, with a rich history that dates to 1200, recorded on a notarized deed in Genoa. Parmigiano is made in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Modena, in the northeast region of Emilia-Romagna, famous for its Balsamic Vinegar, Mortadella, and Prosciutto di Parma.
Although this “king of Italian cheese” is often referred to as “parmesan,” in 2008 the European Court of Justice ruled that the word “Parmesan” could not be used as a generic term to include Parmigiano-Reggiano. However, parmesan continues to be used as a substitute name for Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Parmigiano is made from cow’s milk and the leftover whey is fed to the pigs used for Prosciutto di Parma. After a minimum of 12 months of aging, cheesemakers determine if the wheel-shaped cheese should be sold or continued to be aged for 24, 36, 40 months or longer. The rind of these gigantic wheels of cheese is embossed all over in a repeating pattern with its name in pin dots and the identification number of the production dairy, the year and month of production.
Parmigiano has a straw-yellow exterior, an inedible golden yellow rind with an oily sheen and a straw-yellow interior comprised of tiny, pale-gold crystals. The cheese is hard, granular, and flaky depending on its age. The longer the cheese ages, the more “crunch” to enjoy. It has a complex, mellow flavor — nutty, buttery, and salty in taste — with agranular smoothness and intense flavor. Parmigiano can be eaten in bite-size chunks when young. When old it is suitable for grating. While other cheeses get sharper as they age, Parmigiano-Reggiano becomes mellower.
When buying the cheese, examine it carefully. It should be a uniform moist but pale amber color with no signs of dryness, white patches or a white rim next to the rind.
To enjoy Parmigiano, take a thin velvety slice of Prosciutto di Parma and put a small piece of Parmigiano in the middle. Drizzle a couple of drops of Balsamic vinegar, then wrap the prosciutto around the cheese and pop it into your mouth.
Parmigiano should be stored in a tight layer of plastic wrap. Every time you use the cheese, use a fresh piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Some recommended Italian wines to serve with Parmigiano include Red: Amarone della Valpolicella, Barbera, Bardolino, Dolcetto, Grignolino, Lambrusco, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Nebbiolo, Primitivo, Sangiovese, Valpolicella; White: Cortese, Fiano, Friulano, Orvieto, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Verdicchio; Other: dry Marsala, Moscato d’Asti, and Vin Santo.
Bob Lipinski is the author of 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need to Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He conducts training seminars on wine, spirits and food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com OR [email protected].
This week’s shelter pet is Peggy, a six-month-old female domestic shorthair kitty currently waiting to be adopted at the Smithtown Animal Shelter.
Peggy came to the shelter as part of the town’s trap-neuter-release program, and she instantly started looking for affection. Peggy is gentle and shy, but she loves to be loved by people! She’s great with children and would do well in a home with other cats. Peggy unfortunately has a ruptured ear drum that causes her to have a chronic stuffy nose. Her perfect home would be a quiet place where she can cuddle and play all day.
Peggy is up to date on her vaccines and has received a full workup (blood work, feline HIV and leukemia tested, physical exam, etc.) by a board-certified veterinarian. If you are interested in meeting Peggy, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in their Meet and Greet room.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Walk-in hours are currently Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sundays by appointment only. For more information, call 631-360-7575.
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