Mets are on a 2-game losing streak thanks to some sloppy outfield play.
First, on Sunday, Daniel Murphy dropped an easy flyball which led to 2 runs in a 2-1 loss to the Marlins.
Second, on CitiField opening night, Ryan Church dropped a ball in right field and the winning run scored just after David Wright had tied the game with a 3-run homer.
The Mets could be 5-2 instead of 3-4 right now. Can anybody catch the ball?
In last night’s Mets, Jerry Manuel took out Pedro Feliciano with 2 outs and a man on first who got on via an weak infield hit. He brought in Darren O’Day who gave up hits to the next 2 batters and handed the Mets their second loss of the season.
Why did Jerry take him out? What was he thinking. It looks like a long season with the Mets pitching staff blown out by the end of April.
Yesterday, Nick Adenhart, a rookie pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels, was killed by a drunk driver after he had just pitched 6 scoreless innings. He was one of 3 who lost their lives in this tragic accident.
The driver was driving with a suspended license from a previous DWI. What a waste.
In ballparks all across America, teams and fans alike observed a moment of silence. Nick was 22 years old and had his whole career was ahead of him.
His father was in the stands on Wednesday night proudly watching his son pitch. On Thursday, he stood on the mound and mourned the senseless loss of his son. My heart and prayers go out to his family.
The Mets suffered their first loss today in their 3rd game of the season. The continued failure of Oliver Perez to pitch consistently is driving me nuts.
I was not in favor of Omar resigning Perez in the off-season and now it appears I may be right. What a waste!
More about the Mets manager, Jerry Manuel, and the way he handles the pitching staff later.
When I was a kid, today was the beginning of an 80 hour marathon of my mom’s baking and cooking. For weeks leading up to Easter, Mama would collect as many coffee cans and tomato paste cans as she could accumulate. Holy Thursday morning was a beehive of activity. Mama would start with her Easter sweetbreads. She made 2 kinds. One was a doughy mix, sort of a sweet pizza dough, which she would make in anything that would hold it, mostly cans. The coffee cans would produce the larger sweetbread. You may know it as a pantetoni. Some were made with raisins and some with dried citrus fruit. The ones made in the tomato cans looked like little mushrooms and became Mama’s famous ba-ba-au-rum. These breads would take most of the morning.
In the afternoon, Mama would start making the Easter breads with the eggs. You’ve seen them in the stores sprinkled with candy beads, etc. They may look good in the store but they never taste as good as Mama made them.
By the end of day one, there were at least 100 of these sweetbreads made in varied sizes and shapes. She would say that all her grandkids liked them.
Friday began a whole new round of baking – the Pastiera. This is known to non-Italians as the Easter Grain Pie. Mama would spend most of the day making these. Usually about 15-20 of them. They would look something like this:
Saturday was a day for making sausage breads, pepper breads and the best one of all, the Pizza Rustica
Here’s an easy recipe (Not my Mama’s because she never measured anything and would use whatever meats were available. It didn’t matter because it always tasted good.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASY PIZZA RUSTICA
1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie shell
FILLING:
1 1/2 c. Ricotta
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. diced combination of several or all of these hams: prosciutto, salami, capocollo, pepperoni
6 oz. diced Mozzarella
Dash of ground pepper
Combine all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Sunday, we would have a feast. The main attraction was a whole baby lamb. But, eating in our house was a marathon and not a sprint. By the time the lamb hit the table, we had already eaten antipasto, lasagna, artichokes and other Italian specialties.
You’re probably asking: what did you do with all those cakes, pies and breads? You gave them away. That’s what I would be doing most of Saturday. I would be sent all over the neighborhood giving these Easter goodies to family and friends.
My Mama passed away in 1993 so these things are just some wonderful memories that always come to mind on Holy Thursday. My sisters are all good cooks and make the Pizza Rustica and Grain Pies very well but not in the quantities Mama made them.
Every year, I buy the breads and pies in a good Italian store but it has yet to match the taste of Mama’s breads and pies.
