This is my blogchalk:
United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

Subscribe to this blog in Radio:

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Foreground:   The chateaubriand section of the tenderloin.   I tied it up and am letting it dry out a bit in the fridge overnight. In olden times, butchers aged beef, but the new economy demands fresh and constant supply, so we have cryovac rosy red beef. This can’t fix all of that, but it does help. The two tenderloin ends are in the freezer. I’ll vacuum seal them in the morning. Freezing first keeps the shape intact under pressure in the FoodSaver.   Background:   My roux-stained December issue of Gourmet.   I’m exhausted. Time to hang it up for tonight.     10:25:18 PM    comment []

The Court Bouillon   10:12:39 PM    comment []

The Final Roux   This one was for the court bouillon, which is dancing with diced tomatoes, onions, and green pepper in the fish stock (picture to follow). Mama Dip was just on NPR explaining the significance of a southern New Years meal (served on the day, not the eve): Pork wards off evil, the greens are for “dollar bills,” and the black-eyed peas (in the hoppin’ john) are for “change.” She didn’t say whether that is change for money or change as in things being different. Liz called and youngest son has decided to go to the beach this weekend, but she managed to round up a friend as a substitute eater. It took her about 5 minutes.     10:10:01 PM    comment []

And this is the finished cake. Toasted shredded coconut pressed into a 7-minute frosting (which took half an hour) nearly completes the ambrosia part. There is orange in the filling and sugar in everything, but no bananas.           5:21:55 PM    comment []

Oracle Sara warned that the ambrosia layer cake was a real time hog, so I made it a day ahead. The lemon custard filling can be seen here. This is my first attempt ever at a layer cake and the Tortenbodenteiler really helped keep the layers even. You might notice the filling is a little skimpy between the bottom two layers. That is a lesson learned.       5:15:22 PM    comment []

Oh what the heck – here is the close-up so you can seriously grok the deep significance of this New Year’s feast. Those baubles, in the middle, they’re just the kind I would buy.   Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jinga-linga Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads Sparkles, spangles, your heart will sing, singa-linga Wearin' baubles, bangles and beads 3:48:40 AM    comment []

Here is a scan from Gourmet showing the ambiance and types of individuals they envision pigging out on the feast I’m replicating via the radio signals they are sending me. I think the lady resembles Liz and I picture myself as the dude. No, really. Well, at least the kind of people we like to hang with. Speaking of hanging, check out the chandelier. In another shot I didn’t scan they did a close-up of it. It is a mighty fine chandelier - I can almost taste it.     3:40:01 AM    comment []

Have you ever deliberate how much an ordinary chap hires for his medication? Painkillers, medicine to make better the quality of life, mass cut medicine, and much more. We conduct you the equivalent tablets, the plant version -- the equal select, the equal formula at a greatly reasonable price.     3:12:14 AM    comment []

I roux another day. Sara Dickerman, my oracle, warned that there would be three roux. Now there is only one left, for the court bouillon. Gourmet, once again, proposes techniques unfamiliar to me. They say cook the base, onions in this case, in butter, then add the flour – all familiar. But then they say to heat the liquid for the sauce. I generally add it cold, it gets hot in a hurry in a cast iron pan. They say to drizzle in the liquid to avoid lumps. I add a little liquid (milk and cream in this recipe) which foams up an immediately vanishes as I stir furiously. Then some more liquid, which vanishes more slowly. Then some more, repeating until there is a manageable even thick base. Then you keep adding liquid as the base begins to bubble, and stir that in. Keep adding liquid until you reach the desired consistency. Not as definite as a recipe that calls for ¼ cup of this and ½ cup of that, but it gets the job done.   A grating of nutmeg makes this dish. A Microplane is the perfect tool to grate nutmeg. Get one if you haven’t already. This is so tasty I better put it up quick before I eat all of it.   Jimmy Page, he coulda been Clapton if he ate this spinach before his guitar solos.     2:42:25 AM    comment []

A cool technique…   The spinach (soaking here, soon to be spun dry), is wilted and rinsed in cold water. Nothing new there, but then it is wilted about a minute in an inch of boiling water and (cool part) then you wring it out and it forms a little spinach log. You cut that up like a chiffonade. I used to roll raw greens (you know, collards, kale, mustard) for the chiffonade, but this technique is easier because wilted greens are more manageable.   New Years greens are a traditional entree in the South. I think they say greens represent money. I don’t know what color Confederate dollars were and, when our greenbacks take on colors in the near future, I suppose we’ll be eating persimmons or kumquats instead. Hoppin’ John is another tradition for New Years. I forget what that represents but I always eat some so I don’t get left out, whatever it is.      1:43:22 AM    comment []