Dinner in Red

I love a theme dinner.

I haven't done one in a while.  Is it possible that I haven't really done one here at "Player"?  I think it might be.   I'm not speaking of the general "Mexican" theme, or even "Local".  I'm talking specific.

In this case the occasion was this:



The theme: Blood.

I know, it's creepy, but that's just the way it is.  Vampires love blood.  It has it's place in cuisine for sure, but not on a Thursday night after a long day.  Luckily blood is red.  Red I can deal with.

I walked around the Whole Foods for inspiration.  These babies caught my eye for obvious reasons:

A beet gratin,  decided.  Thinly slice six beets.

Then I saw these babies: blue potatoes.  Those would be a perfect addition to my gratin, and they'd soak up that beet red color and keep things nice and dark.

Slice up about an equal amount of potatoes:

Now start your layers in a buttered oven-proof dish.
Note: Make sure your pan fits in the oven.  Mine didn't, but I didn't realize that till the dish was assembled, and I had to cook the thing on the stovetop, browning it in the oven with the door slightly ajar.  Don't make that mistake.  Let's go ahead and pretend I didn't either. 

Layer your crazy blue potatoes.  Then add some of the beets.

Grated gruyere and emmentaler.  They're Swiss.

Give that mixture a sprinkle.

And more beets and potatoes:

And more cheese:

And more beets and potatoes:

 

Now you'll want to add your moisture.  I added a cup and a half of chicken stock:

 

And about 1/2 cup of half and half.  Feel free to experiment- all milk, all stock, cream and stock- any combo would work.

Top everything with cheese, and dot some butter on top.  This dish is sinful.  Just like vampires.

I served my gratin with paprika marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs.  (The marinade is one sliced red onion, a tablespoon paprika, the juice of 1/2 lemon or lime, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup red wine, or in my case, Marsala) Let that marinate for 20 minutes in the fridge, then bake at 400˚ until the internal temp is 160˚ish.  Chicken thighs are higher in fat and therefore more forgiving than breasts.

Bake your gratin at 400˚ for 45 minutes covered, then remove the lid/foil and let the top brown for about 15 minutes.

We served our chicken and gratin with a simple radicchio salad, which fit the palate, but was a bit bitter despite my honey mustard vinaigrette.

It was a delicious meal.  The gratin would have been perfect had it not been cooked on the stovetop.  The combination of flavors and textures was great. 

The midnight showing of Twilight was intense.  I think I was the oldest person there who wasn't a chaperone.  It was a great experience, though.  Sometimes it's fun to be silly.

Playing,
Meredith

Tarte Tatin

It's pie but better.

For our fabulous enchilada dinner, I wanted to use up the apples we picked back in October, but I didn't want to go the all-American apple pie route.  I wanted something caramel based, as it's a very popular flavor in Mexican cooking.  I couldn't find a specifically Mexican apple dessert, so I went with the caramel theme and picked tarte tatin.  I picked up Alice Waters' book the Art of Simple Food, and found this incredibly simple recipe.

Peel and core 8 or so apples, depending on their size.  You'll have to forgive me for being vague, as I didn't write down the recipe and the cookbook is in Hudson.  I'll update it if I get anything really wrong.

Make sure you use an apple that's going to hold up for cooking.  Mine, being a bit old, were a little soft, and broke down a bit too much during cooking.  Granny Smith, Cortland or Empire would be great here.

My usual Hudson sous chef Wenonah cored the apples after I peeled them.

Now it's time to make your caramel.  Don't be scared.  I know I was, but it really wasn't a big deal.  I used a cast iron skillet, which worked quite well.  You are going to assemble your tarte in the pan you cook the caramel, so make sure it can go in the oven.

In this cast iron skillet I think there are two tablespoons of butter and six tablespoons of sugar. 

Doesn't this look like a 2:6 ratio?

Sure.  That seems right.

Now cook that goodness over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon.

Cook and stir, cook and stir.  It will start to brown.  For this recipe we're going for "dark brown" which is very close to, but not quite "burned".  So be careful, and remember that when you turn off the heat, there will be some carry over cooking.  Don't be scared, but do keep an eye on it, and take it off the heat when it reaches this very nice color:

Arrange your apples, which have been cut in half, those halves cut in half to make four wedges out of each apple.  Make sure your bottom layer is nice and pretty, as that one will be on top.  Don't worry so much about the next layer, as long as the apples are pretty much evenly distributed.

Now, you cover it with your pastry.  You can use puff pastry, which would be super easy if you plan ahead.  Or if you fly by the seat of your pants like me, you can quickly make your own pastry.  We used my old standard, the all-butter pie crust, and it worked perfectly.

Roll it out on parchment paper into a round that will definitely cover your skillet.

Place the pastry on your apples:

And tuck in the edges.

Bake at 350˚ or maybe 375˚ (my memory fails me) for 30-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and delicious.

Let that cool for a few minutes (NOT 15 minutes, more like 3) and tip it over onto your serving plate.  There are no pictures of that process because it was a group effort including Michael to get the heavy cast iron skillet filled with hot apples and caramel out of the pan.  I highly reccomend having a tall dark and handsome man around for tasks like these.

Here's my tarte out of the pan:

I gave it a sprinkle of grey salt to give it some oomph.

Serve with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

I'm glad to have this one in my repertoire.  It really is a nice change from apple pie. 

I'll post the real recipe when I get back to Hudson on Wednesday. 

Stay tuned for A Player's First Officially Blogged Thanksgiving! 

It's gonna be fantastic.

Playing,
Meredith

Enchiladas Verdes

We have the sauce, and now it's time to put it all together.

You'll need a cooked chicken.  We poached ours with onion, a bunch of cilantro and Mexican herbs.  I have to say it turned out a bit dry.  Barefoot Contessa always roasts the cut up chicken with the bones and skin attached, and it seems to yield moist flavorful chicken (350˚ for 35-40 min).  Or you could go the easy way out and buy a rotisserie chicken.  That would make this a pretty simple meal to make actually.

Anyway, here's our chicken coming out of the poaching liquid:

Hello my friend, did you have a nice soak?

I know, I'm insane.

Pick and shred that chicken.  I moistened ours with a bit of the broth, which really helped things.  The dryness of the chicken really had no effect on the final dish.

Now get your little assembly line ready to go.  Put some of your salsa verde at the bottom of your baking dish.  In a moment of irony, these chicken enchiladas are being baked in a vessel decorated with a rooster.  I felt bad for the bird, but it's the best pan for the job.

Heat up a small skillet with canola oil about 1/4 inch deep. 

Now take a tortilla and give it a little fry.  You don't want these to get brown, this is about softening them up, not making hard tacos. (That's another post...)

Now fill it with some chicken;

And roll it up and put it in your dish. 

I had a lovely helper, Wenonah.

When they're ready to go cover them with more salsa and put them in a 400˚ oven for about 20 minutes or until they start to get bubbly.

Then cover them with cheese.  We used this cotija which is kind of like unaged Mexican parmesan.  Ricotta salata would be a good substitute, or feta.  Cotija is the best though.

Pop them back into the oven until they're brown and delicious. 

Eat topped with sour cream.  It's a must.

Playing,
Meredith

Salsa Verde

It's green.

This is an all purpose sauce.  Okay, I mean all purpose in the Mexican realm.  Eat it cold with chips.  Use it as a sauce for chicken enchiladas like I did.  Top your huevos rancheros with it.  It's a salsa- go crazy.

Tomatillos are not green tomatoes.  They are their own thing, related to the gooseberry, I think.  They have a nice tangy taste that is balanced by roasting as it is in my recipe.

Take off your tomatillos' husks and give them a rinse.  I used about 23 or so, but use as many or few as you like, depending on how much salsa you want to make.

Put them on a baking dish and oil and salt them.  While your at it throw in a coarsely chopped onion and 1-2 jalapeños, depending on your spice tolerance.

Roast everything at 400˚ until the tomatillos are soft and brown.

Now throw everything into the blender or food processor.  Make sure to take the stems off your jalapeños.  And de-seed them if you're a wimp.

Let that rip, and make sure you put a cloth on top to prevent scalding explosions and all.

Add the juice of a fresh lime:

And a bit of cilantro:

Give that a whirr, and call it a sauce.  Or rather a salsa.  Which is just spanish for sauce.

Stay tuned to hear how it all comes together.

Playing,
Meredith

I'm Still Here

Yikes!

Sometimes life just comes at ya full speed and you have to go along with it. Sometimes I wish I had a desk job so I could secretly blog all day long. Maybe I just need an iphone...

Anyway, with Tal having the day off yesterday and working on a new awesome scene study class I'm in, I just haven't gotten it together to have a completed post ready for you yet. And I'm sorry about that. But I promise, you'll have a new post Thursday and Friday.

Look forward to more beans, enchiladas verdes, and my first attempt at tarte tatin.



Ooooh


Ahhhhhh


You're excited. I can tell.

More soon!

Playing and Procrastinating,
Meredith

Cocktail Monday: The New 1920 Cocktail

You know you love it.

On Friday, Michael got home to find a lovely gift from is mom, Sue.  She sent sorghum molasses, which I can now tell you is the best molasses ever.  It's everything that's good about molasses without that bitter tangy element. 

I digress.  Sue also sent this great book: Cocktail Hour.  It has all kinds of cocktails and interesting facts and vintage images.  I knew we had to try one for Cocktail Monday.

Which one did we choose?  The New 1920 Cocktail.

Rye, sweet vermouth and dry vermouth.  Simple as it gets.

Oh, but don't forget the bitters- in this case, orange.

We happen to have three different types of orange bitters.  We did a little taste test to see which one we'd use.

The lineup:  Regans', The Bitter Truth, and local New York Fee Brothers:

Regans' was very spicy with lot's of clove, but it was very very bitter.  Bitter Truth tasted much more like orange.  Fee Brothers was the perfect balance between spice and orange flavor.

The winner was Fee Brothers hands down.

Pour 1 1/2 ounces Rye Whiskey, and 3/4 ounces each of sweet and dry vermouth into an ice filled shaker.   Carpana Antiqua is the best sweet vermouth out there- remember people,  it's all about the quality of ingredients.

Add a dash of those orange bitters:

Shake that up,

If you're feeling fancy you can garnish your chilled glass with a twist of orange peel tied into a knot.

Strain and enjoy.

This cocktail goes down easy.  It's like a lighter, fresher Manhattan.

It does a Monday good.

Playing,
Meredith

Creamy Spaghetti Squash

It's so good you'll forget it's squash.


Spaghetti squash is one of those veggies that we all got familiar with back in the days of no-carb-dom.  What's that?  You never fell for that silliness?  Well, my parents got into it when I was in high school, and it just kinda seeped into my consciousness.  It's squash that cooks up a lot like spaghetti.  I know!  It's crazy!  And healthy.  And good. 

That, obviously is what I care most about these days.

This recipe is from The Kitchn via Serious Eats.  Obviously I'm really into cooking the blogs this week.  It can be great inspiration sometimes.

Here's my squash.  Looking at it you'd never think there was spaghetti inside.

Preheat your oven to 375˚.

Give your squash some good pokes with a fork.  I put my squash on some foil on a baking dish for easy cleanup.

Bake it until tender- about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, until it can be easily pierced with a pairing knife.  Let it cool a bit while you get the sauce going.

Take six sage leaves.

Fry them up in a few tablespoons of olive oil until they're crisp.

Trust me, even though they're blurry, they are crisp.

Now measure 3/4 cup part skim ricotta into a large bowl.

Smash a clove of garlic.  The instruction wasn't that clear, but this is my interpretation.  I crushed a clove of garlic and peeled it.  Then I sprinkled it with a little salt.

I gave that a chop chop.

Then I used the knife to smash the garlic into pulp.  The salt works as an abrasive to help the process along.

I was left with a garlic paste that will incorporate easily into the cheese.  This is a great technique when you aren't going to be cooking the garlic.

Mix the garlic, ricotta and crumbled sage leaves.

Now slice open your squash.

Remove the seeds and pulp:

Now use a fork to seperate the strands of squash.

Add those to the ricotta and mix.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now toast some walnuts.  The recipe actually calls for pine nuts, but those things are really bad for you.  At least walnuts have heart healthy oils and such.  They have a nice mild flavor that's a good substitute.

Serve the squash sprinkled with the chopped walnuts.

This was a great light lunch, and would make a great side to any simply grilled protein. 

Spaghetti Squash With Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts (or Walnuts)

- serves 4 -
From Serious Eats

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Ingredients

1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup part skim ricotta
1 clove garlic, mashed
Olive oil (about 1/2 to 1 full tablespoon)
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Pierce the whole squash in several places with a knife or fork, place it in a baking dish, and bake until flesh is tender (easily pierced with a fork), about 60 to 75 minutes.
3. Remove squash from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a little bit of oil in a small pan. Quickly fry sage leaves until crispy but not burnt. Crumble sage leaves into a large bowl and combine with ricotta and garlic. Set aside.
4. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Pull a fork through the flesh to separate and remove the strands from the shell. Add to bowl with ricotta mixture.
5. Combine squash and ricotta mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Sprinkle with nuts before serving.


Mmm.  Creamy and healthy!  I love food.

Playing,
Meredith

Blogging Homesick Texan: Apple Wacky Cake

The easiest cake in the whole wide world.

I love HT.  She's an awesome lady who cooks the kind of food I miss every day: real refried beans and chicken fried steak.  I think it's probably good for my health that I live in New York and not Texas...

Some of her recipes are time consuming and intense.  And then, every once in a while a recipe comes around that's simple and delicious. 

Wacky Cake.  Why wacky?  Heck if I know. 

HT says, "Wacky cake is so named because if you look at the recipe you’ll scratch your head when confronted by the absence of eggs, butter and milk. (At least that is my theory, if you have a better explanation, please, by all means share!)"

I like to think it's wacky because it's actually mixed in the vessel you cook it.  I think that's not only wacky but amazing.

HT gives you two options: regular Wacky Cake and Apple Wacky Cake.  I went with the apple, as it was a beautiful fall day and I happened to have one in the fridge.

First I prepped the apple.  I thought I'd show you how I chop up an apple.  It's easier than you think.

First, peel that baby.  I like to peel horizontally.  I also like to try to get it in one strip.  It's a fun game.

Now I just slice off the "cheeks" around the core using four slices, so that you're left with a square core.

Slice those chunks into thinner slices, and then the other way into sticks.  Chop the sticks into little cubes:

Does that make sense?  It really is very easy.  I save the extra clean-up of the corer for when I'm using lots of apples.

If you aren't using the apples right away make sure to toss them with a little citrus juice to keep them from browning.

Oh!  And now for a special bonus tip! 

Since we've gotten a CSA, the amount of vegetable waste in our household has skyrocketed.  The big problem: breaking down a leek or a head of cauliflower leads to very pungent garbage almost immediately.  Back in Texas where space isn't an issue, my dad likes to freeze the garbage until trash day, which is a good option if you have an extra freezer.  We don't even have a full sized one, so that really isn't an option.  The necessity to keep odor at bay is even more important in our century old apartment building where rodents can be attracted to the smells. 

The solution?  An air tight container (once home to my now slumbering sourdough starter) on the counter to hold vegetable waste:

For a while we were using the container without any liner, which meant we had to wash it all the time.  I recently bought some bio-bags, which are biodegradable compost bags for this very purpose.  We don't have compost here, but it sure does make it easy to run a full bag to the trash downstairs on our way out. 

Any container will do as long as it has a tight lid.  You can buy specific compost buckets, but they are pretty expensive and not any more efficient.

We keep ours on the counter, but if you have the cabinet space, under the sink would be a great place as well. 

I love walking into the apartment and smelling clean air and not sulfur. 

Okay, back to Wacky Cake.

Get your sieve.  Place it in your baking dish.  You can also use a cast iron skillet, as I did. 

Measure your dry ingredients into the sieve.

1 1/2 cups flour:

1 cup sugar:

1 teaspoon baking soda:

1/2 teaspoon salt:

1 teaspoon cinnamon:

and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, of course preferably freshly grated.

Sift those ingredients into your baking dish/cast iron skillet.

Make three little holes in the flour.  Why?  I don't know, that's what HT said to do.

Pour 5 tablespoons of canola oil into one hole:

Pour 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar in another hole (no action shots- they were too blurry for some reason).

And 1 teaspoon vanilla in the other:

There they all are in their little holes.

Then you wack it up by pouring 1 cup of cold water onto the whole thing.

Mix that up well, then add your one diced apple (and 1/2 cup chopped pecans if you like).

Bake at 350˚ for 45 minutes or less, until done.  I only had to cook mine about 40, and then a toothpick came out clean, so I pulled it out of the oven and let it cool.

Cut into squares and remove from the skillet.  (Note: it was a bit hard to get out of the pan because the cake was so moist and kind of stuck.  I wonder if using a cake pan would have been easier...)

Dust with confectioners sugar:

 

And serve.

The cake was especially good toasted the next morning and topped with a little cream cheese.

Wacky Cake is fun, easy and delicious.  It would be really fun to make with kids. 

Wacky Apple Cake
From Homesick Texan

 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
5 tablespoons of canola oil
1 cup cold water (not iced)
1 cup of diced Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored (1 medium-sized apple).
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine dry ingredients in flour sifter and sift into an ungreased 8x8 square or a 9-inch round baking pan. You can also use a 9-inch cast-iron skillet.
3. Poke three holes into the flour mixture. In the first hole, pour the vinegar. In the second hole, pour the vanilla. In the third hole, pour the oil.
4. Then pour one cup of water into the pan and mix very well.
5. Stir in the apples and pecans.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or less, until done.
7. Cut in squares and sprinkle top with powdered sugar.


Make it!

Playing,
Meredith

Remember the Boat Times?

I know I do.

When Brent asked me if I'd like to go out on a boat on the Chesapeake Bay and eat some crabs and oysters, how could I possibly say no?

So the day after Halloween we all packed into the car and drove to a warehouse to get the boat.  I was thinking yacht. 

Yacht it was not.

But it was an incredibly fast and powerful floating machine, or so I was told.

We drove some more to the bay.  Then we had to get suited up.  This is serious boating, folks.

This yellow thing is the special survival container we have to save if we get shipwrecked.  It contains useful items, such as a compass, so we can find our way to the shore. 

This whole leisurely boating trip is getting a bit intense, don't you think?

Check out Michael- how does he actually make those yellow overalls look good?

Captain Brent readied the boat for departure.

Second Mate Bryan fiddled with some rope.

We made a call to make sure we were accounted for in case of emergency. 

And made our way into the blue yonder.

Except we didn't make it far.  And our big powerful boat wasn't so powerful, because something was wrong with the cooling element.  So we barely made it out of the no wake zone before red lights blared, and we had to stop.  Luckily other friends were boating as well.  They picked us up, helped us tow back to the docks, and gave us all a ride to the crab place.  The ride was indeed beautiful, if a bit intense.  My upper body strength was just barely enough to keep me on the boat.

The crabs were awesome, but I could barely taste them because I was so hungry and tired.  I do love the messy hands-on experience of the crab boil though, and would definitely do it again.

I think next time maybe we'll just drive. 

Remember the boat times?

How could I ever forget?

Playing Pirate,
Meredith

An Election Adventure

We were two girls with a dream.

That dream was to vote in Manhattan, and then find our way to our Nation's capital to celebrate one of the most important moments of our time: the election of Barack Obama.

Things got started early. And when I say early, I mean really early. G was a bit paranoid about all the poll site hullabaloo. I was pretty sure our site was going to be just fine, as it has all the other times I've voted, but I figured better safe than sorry, so I indulged her. Our compromise was 6:30, though the voting started at 6. Voting took about 15 minutes, which is about 8 minutes longer than usual. Still, 6:30 was really early.

On the plus side, we had plenty of time to get ready for our adventure. We wanted to go to Shopsin's at the Essex Market for breakfast, and it didn't open till nine anyway, so we had some tea and figured out our special Election Day outfits.

Shopsin's is pretty great. There are a plethora of insane people there, including the Grand Puba of Insanity, Kenny Shopsin, who is the large and opinionated chef/owner of the establishment. He's pretty awesome, although he yelled at G for taking pictures. Just so you know, he hates that.

She got a few in before he noticed:

Ooh, amazing photo-journaling G.

There's the menu. It has a gazillion things on it, and I'm pretty sure everything is great.

I had huevos rancheros, which were supposed to be spicy and weren't. G had some crazy combo with eggs and baked beans, and we shared some cheese grits. Except that I ate all the cheese grits...

Then, it was time to high tail it to Penn Station. G had another panic attack about printing our tickets, but everything was just fine. We picked up a few Coors Lights for the ride. You know, American beer for an American day, and everything.

Don't worry. It was almost noon.

We had a great time entertaining ourselves on the train. Check out me with this mad combover:

For craft time, I made a puppet out of a paper bag.

Yeah, that's Obama, in case you were wondering.

Upon arriving in Union Station, we had a hot toddie to soothe my aching throat.

Then it was off to lunch: Ben's Chili Bowl. This place is a D.C. classic.

At Ben's Chili Bowl, you must order a half-smoke, which is a delicious sausage covered in Ben's famous chili.

It's pretty awesome. Also, this was an Obama hotbed, so I felt extra excited. Sausage and Obama together in one establishment: what could be better?

Next up on the whirlwind tour of Americana:

Old Lincoln himself. I cannot tell a lie, it's beautiful. Also, Obama loves Lincoln. So it made perfect sense to make the stop.

Next up, Georgetown. We met Michael for a drink before heading to the viewing party. This is a famous place who's name I cannot recall. Lots of movers and shakers like to come here.

Check out these two:

The party was so cool. It was at a political consulting firm that helped bring you our new president.

UPDATE: SOOOOOO sorry to said political firm, I had no idea about your policies- don't worry- only 12 people read this. I hope I didn't cause any problems.


And then it was eleven, and Obama was officially announced as president.

The waterworks really got going then.

I was just so darned happy, I couldn't possibly contain myself.

The adventure was everything we set out to make it: fun, patriotic, and victorious!

Check out the new administration here.

Playing with politics,
Meredith

Happy Election Day!

I've voted and now I'm headed back to D.C. to be in the thick of it for election hubbub with G.  It's all very exciting.  G wants to go to the Lincoln Memorial so she can make parallels between Lincoln and Obama and have a good cry about it.  (I don't get it- I'm just there to support her.)

I'm not posting today, but I thought I'd link to this post on Election Day Eats.

It would be pretty fun to use one of the recipes for a viewing party.  I'm going to a fancy D.C. election party.  I'll tell you all about it when I get back. 

Playing with Politics,
Meredith

Halloween!

Oh how I love a good costume.

This post isn't about food.  I know, you're shocked.  It's just that costumes are just so much fun.  It totally appeals to that part of me that is an actress- I love encompassing another body, being someone else for a night.  It's fun.

This year I was in DC, which was great.  Michael's nephew twins, Brent and Bryan were in town, along with Bryan's wife Holley.  (Brent actually lives with Michael, but I don't see him that often, as I rarely go to DC.)

Guess who?

That amazing pipe gives it away, I think.  Holley was a very sassy Sherlock Holmes.

Michael and I were a duo- Bill and Sookie from True Blood. 

Haven't seen it?  Well here's a little comparison shot to show you how awesome our costumes were:

Michael may have gone a little darker than Bill usually goes, but he can be pretty scary sometimes.  If you have HBO you should watch True Blood.  It's a pretty awesome show.

Oh no!

I'll definitely have a mark...

Here we have Bryan and Brent around Holley.  Bryan was Speed Racer.  Or something like that.  We drove all over town looking for a white coverall so he could be Evil Knievel, but it just wasn't meant to be.  He did have this awesome helmet.

As for Brent, well, I think you're just going to have to watch this:



He was pretty spot on, I think.

It was a lot of fun to watch people react to him.  One car pulled up and asked, "What are you?"  When Brent answered, "I'm Old Greg!" in the perfect accent, they said, "Oh, and you're drunk!"  He wasn't yet- just excited to be Old Greg.

Oh, look.  Bill left a mark.

 

Everyone's going to give me heck at Merlotte's tonight...

Check out Bill's awesome vamp teeth.  I bought them for him.  Oh wait, I mean he got them when he became a vampire 150 years ago...

 

Just playin'
Meredith