Category Archives: REDONDO BEACH

Birthday Celebration

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“Life should be lived with a smile on your face
and no one does a better job
of putting one on my face than you.”
Happy Birthday!


  • Number One Son

Shortly after our Thanksgiving dinner together, I asked my son what his plans were for his upcoming birthday. He planned to spend his birthday with his girlfriend and wanted to spend the following day with me to celebrate.

In a normal year, I would take my son out for a birthday dinner at his favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants have closed due to the pandemic. I offered to cook and bake whatever his heart desired.

He had never had Beef Wellington nor my famous family recipe of noodle kugel.  He also wanted me to make his favorite dessert I make, Chocolate Mousse. So, with that request, having never made Beef Wellington before, I had time to learn how to make this classic traditional English comfort food.

I spent hours watching YouTube videos of dozens of chefs from around the World share their techniques for Beef Wellington. Taking notes and making a long list of ingredients required, I spent one day just shopping at a half a dozen stores for all the ingredients for my son’s special birthday dinner.

The recipe I ended up using was Gordon Ramsay’s, which seemed to be the most popular among Michelin star chefs. The few changes I made to Ramsay’s recipe is, refrigerating the prepared beef tenderloin a day before rolling it up in the puff pastry. I also cooked it almost 40 minutes because the tenderloin I had bought was 2.5 pounds and required more time in the oven.

Here are some photos from my son’s birthday celebration:

  • Preparing Beef Wellington after wrapping in puff pastry
  • Egg yoke washed and salted top of Beef Wellington with fresh ground Himalayan salt
  • Beef Wellington fresh out of the oven
  • Noodle Kugel Cooking
  • Noodle Kugel right out of the oven
  • Candied Carrots with sautéed Shallots
  • Bon appétit
  • JRs Famous Classic Chocolate Mousse

Shine On

Good Writings to Read

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“I find television very educating.
Every time somebody turns on the set,
I go into the other room and read a book.”
 Groucho Marx


This year I decided that I spend too much time in front of the television, so I finally cut the cord. Not that I don’t enjoy watching all my favorite shows, but most of these shows I can watch on other noncable outlets. For example, my library has watching apps such as Hoopla, Kanopy and Pluto TV, all free if you have a library card.

Last year I promised myself that I would read a book a week. I came very close to that goal and missed it by only three books. Actually, I would have exceeded my goal if I had not watched so much television.

Most of the books I read last year were from my public library. This library is a beautiful old Spanish style building from the 1920s, situated on exquisite grounds with peacocks wandering throughout the property. I love visiting this library because of its picturesque setting and because it is rarely busy. I’m always able to get whatever books I want to read without having to wait weeks or days, even during a pandemic.

My favorite way to read is using my iPad for its ease of reading. If I want to read a magazine, my library has them for free using the app, Flipster. However, most of the books I read are downloaded to my iPad from the library using the app, OverDrive.

Whichever means of reading magazines and books I choose this coming year, I will have my plate full of good writings to read.

Shine On