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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.
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Tuesday, November 23, 2004 |
Lemon Zest
I think this is for the pear poaching liquid, but I’m not sure anymore. It might be for the cranberry-eggnog tart. I don’t care anymore. I know I need zest for something and, when I do, it will be there. At this point, boys and girls, I’ve been cooking nearly nonstop since 4am and don’t really give a shit. When it’s time for it. It will go into the right recipe.
7:52:32 PM 
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Rinsing Of The Chard
The red pepper mousse was really boring. Like the pumpkin soup, there’s nothing photogenic about puree. Even though this is just a bunch of chard stems chopped, there’s enough color to attract the camera. I bought green, red, and rainbow chard. These chopped stems with go into the dressing.
6:29:18 PM
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As The Brine Boils
These dragons’ tongues are by far the most exotic item on the menu. Okay, they’re really roasted red peppers from a jar. They’re the base for the red pepper mousse for a dollop on the pumpkin soup. An easy puree with EV olive oil, that hard to find sherry vinegar, the pimenton de la vera (smoked paprika), and salt. Next ½ teaspoon of unflavored gelatin dissolved in two tablespoons water will be whisked in. Then we’ll whip up 1/3-cup heavy cream and fold it in. When it sets, all the elements of the first round will be prepared.
3:52:43 PM
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Time to deal with the bird.
I’m going to brine it for four hours, then let its skin dry in the fridge for 24 hours. That means it should go into the brine by 5am tomorrow morning and out at 9am so its ready by 9am T-Day morning. The math is easy.
The hard part is the container. My largest stainless stockpot was too small. The only pot large enough is my canner. It has plenty of room, but it’s made of aluminum. Aluminum is reactive, a big no-no for brining, even for the shortest time. I want to brine the turkey, not electroplate it. It must have been testing to see how much water the bird displaces that led me to say “Eureka!” Yes, I will line the canner with a trash bag so the brining liquid never touches it!
Next, how much water will be needed? The turkey is still wrapped in plastic, so I put it in the canner and covered it with water. Then out again to measure the amount of water. 10 quarts. At one-cup kosher salt per gallon, that’s two and a half cups. I don’t use sugar, but some recommend a half-cup sugar per gallon as well. No garlic or other seasonings. They’ll be so diluted you’ll never know you put them in.
I picked up the bird at Cliff’s Market this morning. Cliff told me that Fox’s Turkey Farm was an artisan farm, so conscientious of the birds’ welfare that they give each turkey a name! This one was named “Biscuits.” I didn’t like that, so I renamed him “Elvis.”
Anyway, since I have the time, I’ll boil the brine now and let it cool down overnight for the baptism.
3:17:01 PM
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Here are the long dreaded, long anticipated Parmesan collars for the poached pears. I knew these would take some time and skill. The batter is simple: Cheese, flour, salt, baking soda, egg, milk, and butter. You bake them in batches of 6, rotating pans. The batter is smeared on a baking sheet in 3-inch circles with a hole in the center for the stem of the pear. As they come out, you have only a few seconds to force them into a muffin tin to shape them. I had it down by the last batch. ‘Ove’ Glove helped with the shaping.
2:34:15 PM
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Tart shell completed! There were a couple fissures on the crust bottom but they were easily repaired with a flour paste. The lower layer is cranberry jam and a leak through the crust would weld the tart to the pan bottom. For extra insurance, after the flour paste had hardened, a whole egg wash was baked onto it.
I’m still putting off making the Parmesan collars, but I did grate the cheese. Now I’m headed out to get the fresh produce for the salad and the terrible Swiss chard for the stuffing purses. I might pick up the turkey too, so I can get to work on the giblet stock for the gravy.
8:38:32 AM
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The instructions for blind-baking the tart shell say to use rice if you don’t have pie weights. I used rice and beans. Later on, I’ll cook them up with a ham hock and cayenne for lunch.
6:20:53 AM
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Religious Conservatives Battle Over Parks
The debate over "moral values" has spilled over into the nation's landmarks, including Washington's Lincoln Memorial and the Grand Canyon.
The fight over who controls the portrayal of history is playing out all over country, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Grand Canyon.
Park bookstores at the Grand Canyon now sell the book "Grand Canyon: A Different View," which contradicts science, saying the Grand Canyon was formed by the great flood from the Bible story of Noah.
The book was written by a "born again" river guide who writes his view of the canyon's being millions of years old changed after he "met the Lord. Now, I have 'a different view' of the Canyon, which, according to a biblical time scale, can't possibly be more than about a few thousand years old."
A compromise is possible here - from science! Einstein’s special theory of relativity is the key – a clock traveling at the speed of light ticks more slowly than one that is stationary. Assume that religious conservatives have been standing still since the Big Bang or moment of God’s creation, whatever you want to call it. Now assume the rest of the expanding universe traveling near the speed of light relative to them. Some scientists even say the rate of expansion has been increasing and will continue to increase! So, from the point of view of this “born again” river guide, it is entirely possible that the scientific age of the oldest rocks on earth, which scientists calculate to be 3.8 billion years, might only be a few thousand years to the river guide.
The only troublesome flaw in this compromise is that it requires an unproven assumption that the river guide has been standing still since the creation of the universe, whenever that was. But, in the mutual spirit of peace and reaching out to those with whom we disagree, it might be a leap of faith both sides are willing to make.
6:11:45 AM
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