The Schindlers' List. From the how-low-will-they-go department ... Terri Schiavo's parents the Schindlers are likely to see a drop in the level of public sympathy for them after this:
"Ghoulish" ... "distasteful" ... yep, that just about sums it up. Should we be surprised by this, though? It seems that the Schindlers were very close to Michael Schiavo during the first three years of their ordeal, until Schiavo won a malpractice judgment against Terri's doctor -- $750,000 for her care, and $300,000 for himself. According to an article in last Sunday's Los Angeles Times, he estrangement between Schiavo and his in-laws began when "[t]he father demanded to know how much money he would be getting from his son-in-law's share of the settlement. 'He always wanted the money," the son-in-law said in court testimony. 'He wants the money. He wants the control.'" The Times article also notes that the accusations levelled against Schiavo by his in-laws seem inconsistent, considering the fact that Schiavo went to community college and earned a nursing certificate so that he could better take care of his wife (he now works as a nurse full-time), and that the Schindlers encouraged him to move on with his life and see other women. "They understood that he might need new companionship, according to court records and family memebers," but now argue that his relationship with his current partner amounts to adultery, and have argued that he is an adulterer, abuser and murderer ... since the family split over the in-laws' desire for the settlement money. Sigh. [ Link to today's entries ]
Christian soldier. From Billmon, whom I'm very, very glad is back, and who is very, very good at finding stuff like this:
Jesus Christ. Then again, as one of Atrios' commenters pointed out, "There's nothing inconsistent with this man's position. Everybody knows torturing somebody stops being fun when they slip into a coma." (And if torture is what we have to do to "win," then we don't deserve to win.) [ Link to today's entries ]
Gumbo z'herbes. "Green gumbo", as it's also called, is a fantastic gumbo that's virtually unknown outside of New Orleans (and even there it's not as well-known). The most traditional version (served on Good Friday) is strictly vegetarian, using up to a dozen or more kinds of greens, but I like mine with andouille and/or smoked pork chops. It's a great idea for dinner tonight. Check out my version, plus Tom Fitzmorris published Chef Leah Chase's version from Dooky Chase's Restaurant in yesterday's issue of The New Orleans Menu Daily. He also talks about a wondrous ingredient in Gumbo z'Herbes, which I remember from childhood:
I don't remember any of my relatives cooking with pepper grass, but I remember picking it and chewing on it as a kid (and that peppery flavor is wonderful). Any o' y'all New Orleanians remember this? Any o' y'all know any neutral grounds or vacant lots where it grows? The Cocktailian. In today's fortnightly column by Gary Regan, the Professor hooks a cocktail from a Russian Hill restaurant -- The Romanza, which looks pretty good. (Gimme just about anything with Campari in it.) Happy Easter! Via Rick, who says, "This may very well be my favorite news story ever."
Yeah, throw the book at 'im, the lil' bastid! (A psychiatry textbook, preferably.) Actually, it's a good thing Bryan didn't get his head bitten off. That's how I always attacked my Easter bunnies (the chocolate variety, at least). Despicable. (Via Armando at dKos: "What's in the Schiavo travesty for the Extreme Right? Green money.
Jesus wept. Blood sport. This entry, about how the utter lunacy involved with the Schiavo case is getting dangerous, is lifted in its entirety from DailyKos under their posted "Steal what you want" policy. This bears reading by all. The rest of this entry is by dKos writer Hunter (emphases mine):
Which of these deeply disturbed people is going to be pushed over the brink by this behavior from the media? We may well find out soon, after she finally dies. Video of the day, and quote of the day. First ... I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Jon Stewart and The Daily Show = brilliance. Here's a clip from The Daily Show where Stewart looks at the abysmal performance of the 24/7 cable "news" networks with regards to the Schiavo debacle. Next, James Wolcott diagnoses the same TV clowns:
Very astute diagnosis, doctors. [ Link to today's entries ]
A case for Sculler and Mouldy! I subscribe to the Irish music/politics/arts magazine Hot Press online, and I get their weekly newsletter as well. Every now and again something from that cries out to be posted, such as today. A thread in their message board asks, "What's the strangest place you've woken up and wondered, 'How the fuck did I get here?'" This cries out for participation from our audience as well. Here are some of the replies:
Thank you, Ireland. Lovely stories. Now it's our readers' turn. I'll begin ... Your tax (and retirement) dollars at work. (Via Wes.) Nice to know that over 70% off us can expect to earn LESS under Dubya's plan for Social Security than we would earn under the existing, "destined-for-bankruptcy" plan.
Nobody's buying your Social Security bullshit, Mr. Shrub. Also, 80% of the country disapproves of what you and your party are doing to interfere in the Schiavo family's private tragedy. Keep it up. [ Link to today's entries ]
Activist legislators. There's an excellent article by Dahlia Lithwick in yesterday's Slate about the boundless overreaching behind Congress' Schiavo bill.
Cocktail of the day. Wes dug this one out of The Stork Club Bar Book, and given the location of that legendary nightclub the drink's name is only fitting. We had a slight variation -- Wes used Old Overholt rye instead of the "blended whiskey" the original called for; for the most part I have no use for most generic blended whiskey.
For such a simple drink, it's quite tasty. Quote of the day. Arguing that politicians were not qualified to make medical decisions:
(Thanks, Shari!) [ Link to today's entries ]
The "Culture of Life." The moral of this appalling spectacle, folks? Write a goddamn living will NOW, for Christ's sake. Did y'all happen to notice that the whole rallying cry for Congress to interfere in this case came from Tom DeLay, the ethics-challenged (to say the least) House majority leader who was "facing inquiries into fund-raising improprieties in Texas and potential violations of House travel rules in Washington, [when he took] a prominent role in rallying conservatives to the Schiavo cause, [which] also provided a sudden distraction from his troubles"? They don't give a shit about this woman or her family, or how much worse they're making an already painful situation. This is pure politics at its most disgusting. My friend Rick adds, "The other thing I
heard this morning which proves this is all just political grandstanding
(as if we didn't already know that) is the fact that there was absolutely
no reason for Bush to 'rush back to Washington' to sign the bill. He
could've signed it at the ranch in Texas but wanted to make a point of
going back to DC to do it.
Bastards. Scott Bateman comments:
More on that Texas law from Digby:
Here's what We the People think, via an ABC News poll. (.pdf file)
Prepare your living will and/or advance health care directive today. The U.S. Living Will Registry provides a way to store your wishes with constant access to family and health care providers; you should also file hard copies with various family members and/or your attorney. You must leave instructions if you want control over what happens to you when you're incapacitated; otherwise, as Josh Marshall put it, Tom DeLay will decide it for you. UPDATE: Scott McLellan lied about the Texas bill today (via Think Progress, via Kos): At the gaggle this morning, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan defended a law Bush signed as governor of Texas in 1999: Kos: "McClellan's response was a flat out lie. There's no gray area in the law." Civilized America. We're a beacon of light, freedom and civilization for the entire world, right? Try again.
Would you like to know how many American prisoners died, from ALL causes natural or otherwise, while in the custody of the North Vietnamese during the entire 11 years of the Vietnam War? One hundred fourteen. Gee, y'all! All we have to do is off seven more innocent pe-- er, terr'r'sts, and we'll beat that V.C. record! That'll teach them for whipping our asses in that war. 'Scuse me while I go be sick now ... They're tryin' to wash us away. There was a great series of subplots in Star Trek: Deep Spece 9 where Captain Benjamin Sisko, who was from a 24th Century New Orleans, would sometimes return to his dad's Creole restaurant to visit. Unfortunately, we have to ask the question -- Will there be a New Orleans in the 24th Century? (Via Mike.)
All I can really say is ... if New Orleans is to be destroyed, please -- not until after I'm dead. I think we'll hold out that long, barring a direct hit from a Category 4-5 hurricane. [ Link to today's entries ]
Cocktail of the day. Our pal Chris Viljoen has sent in yet another fascinating cocktail recipe, providing a glimpse of the cocktailian culture in Brazil. Chris says this drink is very popular in São Paulo at the moment. This was the most fascinating one yet, although one that can get a little expensive. It calls for fresh passion fruit pulp, two passion fruits' worth for each drink, and in supermarkets those little suckers can go for $2.50 each. Try to find one in a farmer's market, where the price is more likely to be reasonable ... or else, move to a place like Brazil, where I assume they're cheap and plentiful. Make sure your passion fruits are wrinkly but not dry and overly shriveled before you cut them in half and scoop out the pulp -- that's when they're at the height of their ripeness. You can make vanilla sugar by slicing a vanilla bean in half and, after scraping the seeds out for another use, placing the bean husk in a bowl of sugar. The bean pod will add a wonderful flavor and aroma to the sugar. I didn't have any of that handy, so I used Monin's Organic Vanilla syrup, which is an excellent, shelf-stable product. Chris says he watched the bartender as he made it, but the guy wouldn't give him the measurements under orders from his stinky boss. It may need some tweaking, but was pretty good as is.
It was pretty weird, but really enjoyable. The slight tartness of the ripe passion fruit pulp with its heavenly tropical perfume, the additional perfume of the vanilla, the tartness of the lime and the touch of fire from the cayenne (the weirdest part) made for quite an experience. Maybe when the weather gets warmer we'll have these as well as Caipirinhas. Thanks again, Chris! A cocktail for Hunter. The new issue of the Regans' Ardent Spirits newsletter is out, and there's a fascinating cocktail-creation challenge within:
Wes got busy last night while I was at the radio statoin, but didn't care for the result; doubtless he'll try again. I'm giving it some thought myself, but I'm extending Gary's challenge to Looka! readers. See what you can come up with, and email Gary Regan -- gary (at) ardentspirits (dot) com -- with the results. Quote of the day. Priceless. From The New Republic issue of November 23, 1987, via BeatBushBlog:
Heh. [ Link to today's entries ]
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig agaibh. Or to break out of my extremely limited ability as a gaeilgeoir ... Happy St. Paddy's Day, all o' yis.
A glass of 12-year-old John Power's for me today, I should think. Maybe something a little nicer when I get home from my radio shift tonight ... Wes, should we open the Midleton Very Rare 2003 and have a drop of that later? It's been over a year since we got that bottle, and sure if St. Patrick's Day isn't a day to open it I don't know what is. Oh, speaking of my radio shift ... tonight on "Down Home" I'll be doing my annual all-Irish St. Patrick's Day special. Expect to hear music from Planxty (natch), The Bothy Band, Gráda, Altan, Mark Geary, The Frames, Mic Christopher, Kíla, Ron Kavana, Patrick Street, musicians from Matt Molloy's Pub in Westport and Tigh Neachtain in Galway, and a whole lot more. The craic will be ninety, so tune in at 7pm Pacific Time, 88.5 FM in Los Angeles, and streaming at www.kcsn.org everywhere else. Cocktail of the day. I had one all ready to go, but of course I can't be featuring a Brazilian feckin' cocktail on St. Patrick's Day, so we'll do that one tomorrow. Today we drink the pure drop, the old craythur, the best thing in nature, for sinkin' your sorrows and raisin' your joys. No poití today (for that'll surely take off the top of your head, as I recall from one evening years ago after an after-hours session in Lisdoonvarna), but fine Irish whiskey. Neat is a great way to take it, with a drop of water to open the flavor. However, as much as such a thing might be frowned upon in the thirty-two counties (despite concoctions such as Paddy's and fizzy red lemonade), I'll recommend a cocktail based on Irish whiskey for today. It's one of my own creation, featured here before but due for a revival, as I rather like it. I'd recommend a pint along the way as well, as long as we're celebrating, and a soundtrack provided by myself if you're tuning in at the proper time. I'll make sure I've got Van the Man and Dónal on during the show -- when you hear them, you'll know when to start mixing.
Yeah, it's a long way to Buffalo, and a long long way to Belfast city too ... The (rest of the) Top 100 Irish albums of all time. Well, Hot Press lot finally published the people's choice of the Irish top 100, to go along with last year's list of the Top 100 as voted by Irish musicians. We left off with Bell X1 at number 11...
I own 55 of these; not bad, for what it's worth. But in the don't-get-me-started department, I'll add more in the comments section. [ Link to today's entries ]
Eight hours of food and wine. You may recall a couple of months ago I did a post about The French Laundry's Chef Thomas Keller's technique for poaching lobster in butter. Our friend Robb said, "Mmmm, that sounds so good!", and I said "We should try it sometime ... maybe Jaason can pick some wines," and he said "Pick a date." So we did -- a week ago last Saturday. Robb's partner Jaason, out of all my friends, is probably the most knowledgeable about wine, and we had been talking for ages about my preparing a multi-course dinner for which Jaason would choose the wines. The initial idea was to do an all-Mario Batali meal, mostly from the Babbo cookbook, but butter-poached lobster beckoned instead. I've got lots of pictures and descriptions of technique; it was so relatively easy to do that I wanted to prove that none of you should be intimidated by cooking lobster this way. It's a snap, really, and resulted in the best lobster I've ever tasted in my life. It was the centerpiece of a meal put together with a bag of blood oranges from a friend's tree, some handmade andouille sausage, a lot of lobster stock and cream, stinky blue cheese and honey from one of the remotest points on Earth, and Venezuelan chocolate kissed with a touch of South Africa. The day before Robb had called to relay about a thousand questions from Jaason about the dishes, the flavor aspects, how spicy they were or weren't, whether they contained dairy or not, the specific seasonings used. He apparently had about half his cellar laid out, and was in an agony of indecision. From the background I heard him shout, "Ask him if we can have two wines for each course!" Considering that four bottles of wine plus cocktails and after-dinner Scotch was likely to be too much as it was, I gently encouraged him to decide on only one per course. This, of course, told me that the wines he did end up bringing were going to be fantastic.
My own prep began the day before as well, with the shopping trips, almost as much fun as the cooking. Surfas in the morning, then the European Deluxe Sausage Kitchen at lunchtime. I love going there, with their array of sausages and smoked meats, even though 90% of the time all I get is their excellent Louisiana andouille. This time, though ... the lady in line in front of me ordered a pound of veal bologna. "Veal bologna?" I said. "I've never heard of such a thing!" She boggled. "Oh, I grew up on this stuff! My mom's been coming here since I was a kid, and I'm 50 now ... I can't live without it." I asked for a taste, and ... um, half a pound of veal bologna, please, thinly sliced. This stuff's amazing, spiced in a similar manner to the stuff you ate when you were a kid but more complex, and a real flavor of the meat. Take Oscar Meyer baloney and raise it several exponents, and you'll have this stuff. I also spied a whole side of beautiful smoked pork chops and, thinking ahead to a meal a few days down the line, asked for two of 'em, 3/4" thick. There were several people ahead of me, and by the time I left I smelled like a smoked sausage; the aroma from their big smoker in the back fills the entire place. But I digress ... Next morning's shopping trip was a quick drive to Fish King in Glendale. I wanted the lobsters to be nice and perky, and when you're cooking lobster it's best to buy them as near as possible to the time you're going to cook them, and for me that would be Saturday morning.
I am not normally wont to name my prey, but I decided these two extremely perky specimens ... George and Richard. (Hey, classic ingredient, classic names, right?) George and Richard hung out in the sink while I prepared the water in which they'd briefly steep. The idea behind this technique comes from a lifetime of tough lobster -- how many times have you had lobster, the flavor or which was glorious but the texture of which was like chewing a pencil eraser. Chef Keller's theory is that boiling a lobster for 10-12 minutes is violent; the meat "seizes up", and you can't get any flavor into it. Here we steep the lobsters in just-boiled water with a little vinegar, and for only two minutes -- just long enough for the meat to firm up on the outside enough to remove it from the shell. To 8 quarts of water I added about 1/2 cup of white vinegar and brought the pot to a boil. When the water was fully boiling, I turned off the heat, let the bubbles subside, and into the pot they went for two minutes. You have to work somewhat quickly, because you don't want the meat to overcook at this stage. As soon as the timer chimed I removed the lobsters with tongs and, using heavy cloth oven mitts, went to work on them. The tail was quickly twisted off, and the claws were removed; the claws went back into the hot water to steep for five more minutes. I grasped the fan of the tail and pulled it to one side to remove it; after that, all you need to do is poke your finger into the end of the tail and the tail meat pops right out. Remove the vein, slice in half lengthwise and place on a plate lined with a damp paper towel. Remember that lobsters are juicy and will take in some water when they're boiling/steeping -- I twisted off the tail a bit carelessly, and was rewarded by a huge squirt of hot lobster juice right in the face. (All right, all right ... it's food porn, not that kind ...) When the claws have done their time, twist off the small pincer. If you do it carefully, the cartilage will come right out. Crack the claw along the bottom, and you should be able to remove the meat completely intact. Crack open the knuckles and remove the half-thumb-sized pieces of meat from them as well. I didn't take photographs of these steps, as I was by myself at the time and kinda busy, but Joe at The Gothamist posted pictures of these steps. Here's what George and Richard looked like after their bath:
Next step, the lobster stock. Making stocks is really easy -- all it takes is time. I used the same big stockpot after dumping out the steeping water and giving it a good rinse, then heated a couple of tablespoons of oil in it. Into the pot went all the lobster shells, which got a nice sear in the oil, then into the pot went a couple of chopped tomatoes, about a cup of chopped carrots and a couple of large sprigs of tarragon. All that was covered with cold water and brought to a boil, then simmered for an hour. After that the stock was strained through a coarse strainer (or a China cap if you've got it), pressing on the shells to get out all that lovely liquid, then strained again through a fine-mesh sieve. I ended up with about two quarts of stock. That stock went into another pot on high heat and spent the better part of the next hour on its own, reducing until there was one cup left ... pretty concentrated stuff.
We'll get back to that stuff later. I thought I'd make the soup next, so that could sit on low heat and simmer all day. I've done this many times before, and it's a favorite at our house, but Robb and Jaason had never had it before. Deep, rich (although this time made less rich by using milk instead of cream; I figured we already had enough cream in two out of the five dishes), intensely flavorful. You should definitely try it sometime. (Well, you should try all of this, actually!)
Next step, preparing the garnish for the lobster dish, which also provides an intense flavor component. Parmesan crisps are, again, really easy to make, and you'll want to make lots of them to have enough to snack on in addition to the ones you'll need for the dish. Heat your oven to 325°F, and using a non-stick cookie sheet (or a sheet pan lined with a Silpat, preferably), sprinkle a two-inch circle of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. A ring mold comes in handy if you like even edges and perfect circles. Bake them for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Using a metal spatula, remove the crisps (which are actually soft at this point) and set them on a paper towel; they'll crisp up in a few minutes as they cool. These are incredibly yummy. (Oh, and it goes without saying, use the real Parmigiano cheese from Italy, not the domestic product or ... shudder ... the stuff from the green can.)
Okay, next up, making the dough for the tart crust for dessert. This was the tricky part, as I suck at baking and most things involving dough (particularly yeast doughs). I suppose I just need more practice, and managed not to mess it up. I adapted a recipe (also recently posted here) by Clotilde Desoulier of Chocolate and Zucchini that looked good. I love chocolate ganache, and her short tart dough looked pretty easy, and it was. Just mix the room-temperature butter and the flour with a fork until it looks like coarse bread crums, then add a splash of milk and bring it together. Don't overknead it, just add the tiniest bit of milk you need to form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for half an hour, then roll out to about 1/4" thickness and press into your little tart tins. (I found some great nonstick ones at Surfas for about two bucks each.)
The ganache was easy -- six ounces of fine Venezuelan chocolate (another Surfas buy), which some say is the best in the world, chopped with hot cream poured over and stirred until smooth. That gets poured into the prebaked tart shells and chilled until an hour before serving. Oh, another thing ... I decided to infuse some flavor into that cream before melting the chocolate into it. More on that later. Okay, doing pretty well by this point ... got the lobster meat and stock ready to go, the soup's made, the salad'll go together in five minutes, the cheese and honey go together in two minutes, and the tarts are chilling. Most of the real work involves the lobster dish, and lots of that is done á la minute, just before serving. I'll skip ahead to those steps, so that we can present all the courses of the meal to you together. One more step to making the lobster broth was to take the one cup of concentrated lobster stock and add two cups of heavy cream to it (sigh) ...then reduce those three cups to one cup. (Oh my.) Rich, rich, rich beyond belief, is how this stuff tasted, and that was before we started doctoring it up. I cooked 1/2 cup of orzo, drained it and rinsed it in cool water, then combined it with the super-reduced cup of creamy lobster broth. Into that went 2 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese (oh my, my), a couple tablespoons of chopped chives and salt to taste.
Now, time to prepare the lobster. By the time you're ready to cook the lobster, the meat should have been out of the fridge for at least 15-30 minutes, coming down to room temperature. Now, boys and girls, we get to employ a classical French technique -- making beurre monté. Again, it's easy. Cut two or three sticks of butter into chunks, and in a saucepan boil about a tablespoon of water. Into the boiling water toss a chunk of butter and swirl until it melts; continue until all the butter is melted. The boiling water helps form an emulsion so that you get a smooth, emulsified butter sauce that doesn't separate into butterfat, water and solids.
While keeping your masarpone-enriched orzo warm, bring the beurre monté to a temperature of between 160 and 190°F, and plop in the lobster meat. Poach it for about 5-6 minutes. It's actually difficult to overcook it at this point, but try not to leave it in longer than you have to. The finished dish calls for coral oil, but there wasn't a whole lot of coral (roe) in these lobsters, so I made a tarragon oil for garnish -- a fistful of fresh tarragon and about a half cup of canola oil in the mini food processor, whizzed up and into the squeeze bottle. To plate this dish, squeeze about a three-inch circle of tarragon oil (or lobster coral oil, if you care to make some of that) onto the plate, and put a heaping 1/3 cup of the creamy orzo in the middle. Top with a nice arrangement of the lobster meat, and top that with a Parmesan crisp at an appropriately jaunty angle.
Okay. Now, I think we're ready to serve. Hors d'oeuvres and apéritif: Alas, no picture of this dish because it disappeared so quickly, and I was busy attending to a few things in the kitchen. You've heard me talk about this before, Wesly's signature appetizer (lifted from a recipe from A.O.C. restaurant in, of all places, Premiere magazine) which we frequently serve to guests and which is a universal favorite. Pit your dates, stuff with a little chunk of cheese, wrap in a good applewood-smoked artisinal bacon (like Niman Ranch) or even good ol' Oscar Meyer (the center cut variety, preferably), on a rack over a sheet pan and into a 500°F oven for 10-12 minutes, until the bacon is cooked to almost-crisp. Sprinkle with parsley for a garnish if you care that much; they won't last long. With these we served the forgotten cocktail that I was proud to have had a hand in resurrecting, the Mother-In-Law Cocktail, named for Brooks Baldwin's grandmother's mother-in-law, who invented the drink in what we presume to be the late 1800s. You mix it by the bottle, and although the fact that it's pre-mixed wasn't the sole reason for serving it, it certainly helped. Fortunately we don't ever need a lame excuse like that for serving this drink -- it's outstanding anytime. First course: "Stuffed" Eggplant Soup
As I mentioned before, this started out as a puréed cream of eggplant soup from Chef John Folse, and with the addition of some shrimp and andouille and a more rustic, chunky texture calls to mind the Creole-Italian stuffed eggplant dish we all love so much in New Orleans. There's so much flavor in this soup that it will not fail to make you grin with delight, if you're not already sitting back moaning with your eyeballs rolled back in your head. This is Creole-Italian, about as good as it gets. Wine: Domaine Léon Boesch, Grand Cru Zinnkoepfle 2001 Gewürztraminer, Alsace. I had mentioned to Jaason that the last time I had served this dish I poured a red, a La Crema Carneros Pinot Noir which worked beautifully. He expressed some reservations about starting the meal with a red, preferring to start with a white and work our way up to "meatier" reds, and I agreed. The Alsatian Gewürztraminer was a perfect choice. Some of the best Gewürztraminers in the world come from Alsace, and that varietal tends to go very well with spicy food. This dish wasn't terribly spicy-hot -- it got all of its heat from the andouille, there but subtle -- but was highly seasoned, with many layers of flavor. This wine was dry and fruity, cutting through the slight creaminess but contributed a spicy bouquet of its own. It was perfect. Second course: Blood Orange and Shaved Fennel Salad with Arugula, Toasted Pistachios and a Creole Mustard-Blood Orange Vinaigrette
A friend of ours has a blood orange tree (jealous!) and gave Wes a bag of 'em a week before. I decided to use them in a salad, and the combination of blood oranges with shaved fennel is a classic Sicilian combination. I thought that'd keep a nice connection with the Creole-Italian soup starter, as the vast majority of New Orleans' large Italian community are Sicilian in origin, and contributed those aspects of Italian regional cuisine to New Orleans cuisine. Rather than just the oft-repeated classic of just the oranges and fennel, I threw in some arugula for some green and a peppery quality, and a touch of richness from the pistachios. The dressing was fairly low-acid, as I didn't want it to compete with the wine; just a simple vinaigrette of blood orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, a minced shallot, salt and pepper, plus some Creole mustard to bring it all together. Wine: Domaine Léon Boesch, Grand Cru Zinnkoepfle 2001 Gewürztraminer, Alsace, yet again. Jaason wanted to try having the same wine with the first two courses, and see how it behaved with each. It went just as well with the salad as it did with the soup, with its spicy characteristics playing off the pepperiness of the arugula. Third course: "Macaroni and Cheese":
This was sheer, unadulterated heaven on a plate. I'm sure that my execution did not even approach that of Chef Keller and his amazing kitchen team at The French Laundry, seeing that they're one of the finest restaurants in the world and I'm just a good cook, but man ... for a dish that while somewhat labor-intensive is actually pretty simple to put together, the results were astonishing. The incredibly concentrated flavors; the richness of the reduced cream with the cheese; the sweet, sweet, delicate lobster meat that for one, for once thank CHRIST I didn't have to chew like lobster gum, which parted gently when I bit into it and which fell apart as I chewed, infused with the flavor of butter but not overly buttery or heavy ... God. We were pretty speechless at first, except to make exclamations like "Oh man", and there was some moaning and giggling. Then not long after the first bite, Robb pretty much summed it up for all of us: "This is one of the best things that's ever been in my mouth." (Hee hee.) My head spun, this was so good. I don't think I ever want to have lobster again unless it's prepared this way, and I certainly don't want to have a lobster that's been boiled to death until its meat is like a rubber gasket. I'm now spoiled for life. And that orzo ... the mascarpone almost puts it over the top, but adds a smooth, rich tanginess to the deep, deep lobster flavor. The serving was only 1/3 cup, but I tried not to think about how much reduced fat was in that serving. (Well, probably not all that much, right? Riiiight.) My grandmother would have noted: "Where's ya vedge-a-tibbles with this?!" Indeed, she would be right. We needed something green, and Trader Joe's had a good price on one-pound bags of the thin French-style green beans. I blanched them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, drained them and plunged them into ice water to stop the cooking, then heated some olive oil in a skillet. Into the skillet went the beans, add a tablespoon of blood orange juice until reduced to a glaze along with the grated zest of one blood orange, salt and pepper and onto the plate. Wine: Champagne Pol Roger Brut, no vintage, Epernay, France. This pairing was sheer genius. Jaason had wanted a sparkling wine to go with the seafood, particularly one with such a rich preparation, and the one he chose -- one of his favorites -- could not possibly have been better. I was already in the midst of a wave of pleasure from the first bites of that dish, when I took a sip of that Champagne ... and I nearly leapt out of the chair. All I could say was "WOW!" The perfect amount of acid as a foil to all that cream, but a bit of creaminess of its own, and a fruity nuttiness to its flavor that combined with the symphony of flavors in the dish to create yet another level of new flavors in the mouth. This is what wine and food pairing is all about, and Jaason did a spectacularly good job on this one in particular. Man, I want more of this stuff already. Fourth course: Roquefort Cheese drizzled with Pitcairn Island Honey
I wanted to do a cheese course but thought we should probably take it easy, given how rich the previous dish would be. I had also hoped to find time to get to the Cheese Store of Silverlake to pick up some Papillon Roquefort, just about the best there is, but alas, the time escaped me. Trader Joe's came through with a perfectly decent Roquefort, though, and the crowning touch was what went on top. A while back, thanks to a series of articles written by fellow Louisianian and weblogger Josh Benton, I learned about the fascinating and peculiar culture of Pitcairn Island, where the HMS Bounty mutineers ended up with their Tahitian wives. Those people have had to struggle to maintain a life on that tiny island, one of the most remote places on the planet (which involves a 10-14 day boat trip from New Zealand to get there, often in rough seas). As the remnants of their culture hang on, they've learned the uniqueness of a few of their natural resources, in particular their honey. The strain of bees on Pitcairn is the most disease-free in the world, and the mixture of the flowers from which the bees get the pollen -- mango, lata, passion flower, guava, roseapple and others -- is unique in the world. Consequently their honey, as Josh puts it, is The Best Honey In The World. Fortunately they're exporting it now, as a means of income for the islanders, and you can order it via the web, as with so much else these days. He's not kidding, too -- it's the best honey I've ever tasted. A slab of Roquefort that had spent the last hour or so attaining room temperature, drizzled with a few tablespoons of this fabulous honey. Pure amazement, a dessert for grown-ups, and it couldn't be simpler. Wine: Mi Sueño Cellars 2001 Los Carneros Pinot Noir, Napa, California. We drank this before, during and after the cheese course, as we relaxed and conversed. I'm a big Pinot Noir fan, but I try to restrict myself to Pinots that I know are good -- this is a varietal that's easy to screw up, and I've had enough disappointing Pinot Noir. This was superb, full of ripe berries and concentrated flavor, and again just enough acid to play off the creaminess of the cheese but not be overpowered by the sweetness of the honey. As with the previous two bottles, we killed this one too. Fifth course (dessert): Fruity Rooibos Chocolate Ganache Tarts, with Sweetened Yogurt
I mentioned that I wanted to take the ganache tart in a different direction, so here's what I did. Rather than stud the tart with candied ginger as Clotilde suggested (as good as that sounds), I wanted to personalize the dessert. Wes and I had been enjoying our bonbons from Recchiuti Confections, filled with chocolate ganache infused with myriad flavors and enrobed in a pure 70% bittersweet chocolate coating. I had been inspired by the piece that was infused with Earl Grey (bergamot) tea, and had an idea. We always keep about eight or ten different teas and tea blends from Bamboo Tea House in Pasadena, and during the holidays we picked up a couple of blends based on rooibos (ROY-bosch) tea, an herbal tea that's been enjoyed in South Africa for ages and ages. It's a red-leaf herb once it's fermented and has a sweet, somewhat fruity and altogether delightful flavor. One of the blends we picked up was called "Fruity Rooibos Blend", which blended the rooibos with essence of citrus and vanilla. Robb and Jaason had taken a wonderful trip to South Africa a while back, and thought this would be a noble experiment. I infused the cup of cream with a tea ball full of fruity rooibos blend, then made the ganache with it. Boy, did it work. First taste gives you a deep, rich chocolate flavor, and the fruity rooibos flavor only comes in in the background and in the finish. Chalk that one up as a good idea for making ganache. For garnish I fished out some dried purple flowers that were part of the tea blend and garnished each tart with one of those. Following Clotilde's suggestion I sweeted some full-cream Greek yogurt with some Acadiana wildflower honey and served a dollop of that on the side. Wine: Cline Big Break Vineyards 1999 Late Harvest Mourvèdre, Contra Costa County, California Wonderful. I was completely unfamiliar with this varietal, but it doesn't surprise me that this winemaker also specializes in Zinfandels (a longtime favorite of mine). Intensely, beautifully sweet without being cloying or overpowering; this wine's earthiness wouldn't allow that. Rich fruit, berries and notes of chocolate made this the perfect wine for this dessert. I want more! Unfortunately, as my wine-addled brain recalls from that evening's conversation, Jaason said they don't ship and you have to buy it at the winery. I'll need to look into this. A (brief) liquid epilogue. The original plan had been to sample a couple of single malt Scotches Jaason had also brought along, but by the time we finished the dessert and the Mourvèdre it was pushing 2:00am. Jaason begged off the Scotch (even though Robb, as a non-drinker, is the permanent designated driver) but was kind enough to offer a wee taste of each. There was a Caol Ila and ... um, another one. By this time I had had a significant amount of wine, having felt guilty about the very idea of allowing any wine to remain in the bottle and therefore go to waste ... a noble effort, perhaps, but not necessarily the best idea I'd had of late. I was pretty loopy by this time, although fortunately, as Wes told me later, not so loopy that I did or said anything embarrassing in front of our friends. (The next morning, though, when I was cocooned in that head-pounding, cottony feeling of "Quiet darling, your Auntie Mame is hung" Wes said, "Did you remember how loopy you were when we were on the veranda after the boys left, and I was making fun of you because you were slurring your words?" Oops.) Perhaps next time I need to feel a little less guilty about letting wine remain in the bottle. Heck, that wine preserver gas should give us at least another day. We had a fantastic time. I had a blast in the kitchen all day (although I think I need to work on my posture; I had an annoying lower backache the next day), and to have several hours of great food, great wine and fun conversation with good friends is just about the best possible way I can think of to spend an evening. Give it a try. [ Link to today's entries ]
(Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) They say it's your birthday! (Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) It's my birthday too, yeah! (Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) They say it's your birthday! (Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) We're gonna have a good time! (Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) So glad it's your birthday! (Da-da-da-da-da-daaaaa) Happy birthday to ya! On and on, Lennon and McCartney, apologies to Mildred and Patty Hill but their song's overplayed.
Anyway, it's Wes' birthday today, his mumblety-mumbleth (and he gets to stay at this one for a good long while). We had a blast of a birthday weekend, and each put on three pounds that now have to come off (more on that later). Ooh, here's another one ... Happy birthdayyyy ... happy birthday bayybeee ... (See, there's plenty of other stuff; that hoary old "Happy Birthday To You" has got to go.)
Me on the radio, again. I did another interview about Doctors, Professors, Kings and Queens for public radio this morning, this time for Wisconsin Public Radio's show "To The Best of Our Knowledge". The interviewer was a very nice fellow named Steve Paulson, and the program will be produced by Doug Gordon. It was a lot of fun, and I felt much better and more confident about this one than the NPR Weekend Edition one (which seems to have turned out okay despite my efforts). It helped to have been fed the questions in advance -- I'm all over that (hey, I should run for president!). That way I can have a few good stories prepared rather than get a curveball that causes my brain to shut down. I'm not sure when the program will be aired; "TTBOOK" is syndicated via PRI to about 100 or so stations nationwide, but not in Los Angeles. KCLU in Ventura County and Santa Barbara carry it, but you can always listen online via the show's web page. I'll update y'all when I know more. OK Go! We actually managed to drag our sorry asses out to a club the other night, even though we're old and it's past our bedtimes these days. The occasion? One of our favorite indie rock bands (although they're signed to Capitol now) were playing at Spaceland, right next to the neighborhood. We first saw OK Go at the Silverbake.org "Bake Back the White House" bake sale fundraiser last year, and have been fans ever since. They hadn't done any gigs locally since then (that we were aware of), so we didn't want to miss a proper, full-length show this time. Quirky, funny, pointed, biting, intelligent and unavoidably catchy indie rock is how I'd describe these guys, songs with hooks that sink right into you and don't let go. They ran through about three-quarters of their self-titled debut album of a couple years ago, and a bunch of new songs, all of which I liked. Very enjoyable performance, and there was a change from last time -- Andy Duncan has left the band and there was a new guitarist/keyboardist in his place. Conveniently, he's also called Andy, and was affectionately referred to a "the new Andy" or alternately as "our new bitch", as new-Andy got to handle the guitar string changing chore. He's quite the trooper as well -- when someone from the audience shouted a request of "Hello My Treacherous Friends", lead singer Damian explained that Andy had only joined the band two weeks earlier and had had only 9 days to learn 18 songs; unfortunately that one wasn't one of them. Not bad for 9 days of practice, Andy. Fair play to ya. One of the things I like about this band is that they're really good at what they do, and are serious enough about doing it well without taking themselves too seriously. They have a great sense of humor, evidenced by their rather unique encore. As I said, they ran through all the songs Andy Ross had learned so far, so when they came back after the set they lip-synced to their song "C-C-C-Cinnamon Lips", all the while doing a highly choreographed dance routine that looked like half-Toni Basil '80s pop song video numbe and half-high school cheerleader routine. It was quite possibly the funniest and most fun thing I'd seen at a rock show ... well, ever. OK Go are touring through April 10, and look for their new album in July. [ Link to today's entries ]
A weblog whose time has come. You dreamed about it, now it's true ... a weblog about bacon. It's Bacontarian, a community weblog of bacon lovers like us (or, "bacontarians", defined as a person who supplements an otherwise normal diet with large amounts of pork!" Specifically, those thin (or thick), smoky (or unsmoked), cured (or uncured), rapturously delightful strips of pork belly or pork loin that we call bacon. (Thanks, Bill!) I'll have my own bacon-related post here and there as St. Patrick's Day approaches ... Republicans seem to want sweatshops and free labor from waiters. Rick Santorum, one of the most astonishing gobshites in the United States Senate, seems to want tipped workers to work for free, rob 6.8 million American workers of their minimum wage protections, abolish the 40-hour work week and mandated overtime and ban states from having higher wage standards than federal law. Nathan Newman examines Santorum's bill which seems to do nothing other than destroy workers' rights while propping up big business.
The unmitigated perfidy of these Republican elected officials is beyond belief. Everyone who works for minimum wage and/or tips who voted Republican needs to think about what their votes have gained them. [ Link to today's entries ]
Gearin' up. It's gonna be a big food weekend. Tomorrow night we're having some good friends over for dinner -- a bunch of courses, lots of wine, and there's a rumor of a couple of Scotches to taste after dinner (woo!). I loved doing all the shopping -- produce market, Trader Joe's, European Deluxe Sausage Kitchen, and tomorrow a last-minute visit to Fish King to make sure that the stars of tomorrow night's show will be fresh and feisty. If I didn't have this highly annoying day job, I'd do my shopping nearly every day for the evening's meal, based on what's available and at its freshest. Ah well, maybe one day after my big Lotto win ... Sunday night I'm taking Wes out for his birthday dinner. Where're we going? Shhhhhhh ... it's a secret. But get ready for lots of food porn next week. Finished! Liquor, that is. What a wonderful novel. It's the kind of novel anyone can (and will) enjoy, but the more you know New Orleans, the more you 'll love it. Although Poppy does a great job explaining the eccentricities of New Orleans culture to those who may not be familiar with it, there are little things in there that only New Orleanians will pick up. It made me laugh and cry, and on several occasions my heart beat faster ... from the deep relationship between Rickey and G to the story's climax near the end. I can hardly wait for Prime! Incidentally, Poppy Z. Brite will do a book tour for Prime in April:
Official Looka! Book Recommendation -- read Liquor. If you're a regular reader of this weblog it's safe to expect you're a fan of food, liquor and New Orleans, so this'll be right up your alley. Then backtrack -- even though it takes place after The Value of X you can easily start with Liquor, then backtrack to learn about Rickey and G-man in their younger days. So do so, says I. Ireland's greatest? So saith the readers of Hot Press, who participated in an online poll to determine the "100 Greatest Irish Albums of All Time". I subscribe to Hot Press online, and unless I'm an awful eejit, there's no feckin' link to the actual list. Presumably they want you to buy the hard copy for this one (I'll have to trudge over to Vroman's and see if they've got the issue, I guess.) Fortunately I managed to find an online listing of the Top 11, as picked by the readers of HP in Ireland and abroad:
I own six of these, which isn't too bad. I must confess I'm not that big a fan of "Achtung Baby" as many others are (perhaps I need to give it another listen, as it's been years), but "The Joshua Tree" is certainly a great album. #1 though? I dunno. I'm trying to remember who I voted for, but I definitely remember Van the Man being in there, as well as Planxty (and where the feck are they, I might ask?), and just for grins I threw in Toasted Heretic too. Now, if I could only find if anyone else did too! The chef's toolbox. It always cracked me up to see these "gourmet cooking" catalogues, which sell these special little torches for making crè brûlée for $40. When I learned to make crè brûlée in my pastry class, we used a $5 propane torch from the hardware store, which did a much better job and cost an eighth the price. There's a lot you can do in your kitchen with tools that come from the hardware store instead of the high-end cooking supply store. This article in the Washington Post talks about a few of them. Bastards. This Republican president and this Republican Congress doesn't give a shit about you, me, or the "little guy" American citizen. All they care about are their wealthy buddies and contributors who run things like, say, big credit card companies. Not true, you assert? Why else would they be trying to push through these new bankruptcy laws and try to bullshit-spin it as "bankruptcy reform"? Certainly not for our good. In the eight years since they began pressing for the tough bankruptcy bill being debated in the Senate, America's big credit card companies have effectively inoculated themselves from many of the problems that sparked their call for the measure. I reckon they've got some friends who are loan sharks, too.
(Of course, the Republicans seem to be perfectly willing to step all over state laws when it suits their agenda.) No, all this tinkering with bankruptcy laws is reform. It's all for you, for us. It's just to go after the people who can afford to pay off their credit cards but don't want to, and declare bankruptcy to discard the debt. Right? Riiiiiight. (*wink* *light cigar*) [ Link to today's entries ]
Knowing where your towel is. There's a new trailer out for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", this time narrated by the voice of The Book (a.k.a., Stephen Fry, who's wonderful). Man, this is about seventeen million times better and funnier than the last one. I'm really excited! Liquor. Is quicker. Among many other things. I'm currently thoroughly enjoying Poppy Z. Brite's novel Liquor, which I began almost immediately after finishing its predecessor The Value of X. I love it, just as much as the last one if not more; it's dripping with New Orleans character and an intense love of food (a New Orleans foodie novel ... practically written for me, ya'd think)) As we follow the lives of our heroes, New Orleans' Ninth Ward born-and-bred Rickey and G-man, we learn on page 11 Rickey's brilliant concept for a new restaurant:
Y'know, if I still lived back home in New Orleans and Liquor were a real place, they wouldn't be able to get rid of me. You know they'd have one of the greatest bars anywhere, too. All the other members of cocktail museum and I would be daily barflies. Gee, only on page 21 as I write, and I can hardly wait to see what happens next ... Y'know, I bet Rickey and G-man would serve something like this ... Recipe of the day. This dish was created by Chef Kevin Curran of the now-defunct Flagons Wine Bar and Bistro. The flavors of oysters and anise are a classic combination in New Orleans cuisine (look at Oysters Rockefeller, Herbsaint-poached oysters, Upperline's Louisiana Oyster Stew, just to name three). There's an anise component to our quintessential cocktail, the Sazerac, and he thought that the Sazerac's ingredients might make a pretty decent sauce for some o' dem erstas. Turns out he was right.
I'm getting a dinner party idea here ... a Liquor dinner. I'll wait until I finish the book, in case I get more inspiration from Poppy's wonderful characters, but such a dinner would be a cinch to put together. A salad with a wine vinaigrette, Oysters Sazerac, plus I've always wanted to do a sauce with a smoky Scotch, maybe a pork dish, and any dessert with a liqueur or whiskey sauce ... hmm. Time to put on my thinking toque. Bonbon du jour. Last night after a relatively simple supper of smoked turkey sandwiches with sweet-hot mustard, mixed greens and cilantro (made on my favorite supermarket-brand bread, Oroweat's Oatnut), we went back to work on our Black Box of chocolates from Recchiuti Confections. My turn to pick, and I'd been saving this one up for a while. Bergamot Tea: "Bergamot oil and Ceylon tea infused in extra-bitter chocolate ganache. Enrobed in pure milk chocolate." Or, as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard might say, "Tea. Earl Grey. In chocolate." This is a wonderful flavor, with the delicacy of the tea flavor in the background and a very deep flavor of bergamot orbiting the even deeper chocolate ganache. And y'know what? This is really, really easy to make:
You can roll this into balls to make truffles (roll the finished truffle in cocoa, sugar, or what have you), tart fillings, icing, whatever. Ganache is delightfully versatile. Quote of the day (and more bullshit). Slate reviews the Harry Frankfurt book On Bullshit that we talked about a while back, and from that review comes today's quote:
You got dat rite, bra. [ Link to today's entries ]
Going whole hog. Today's one of those days when I slap myself for getting several weeks behind in reading my friend Meredith's fabulous food column in the SF Weekly. So I read her most recent one and think, "Great, now she's gone and done it. Now she's made it necessary to go to Oakland at least once a year to eat pig." This is, of course, a good thing. (Emphases mine.)
A very good thing, indeed. (Good God.) "But at night I'm a junk food junkie, good lord have pity on me ..." This weekend I'm going to attempt to prepare French Laundry Chef Thomas Keller's famous butter-poached lobster on mascarpone-enriched orzo with Parmesan crisps. Conversely, what might Chef Keller himself be eating for dinner that night? How 'bout a Double Double from In 'n Out Burger with fries and a shake, plus some Krispy Kremes? [ Link to today's entries ]
Recipe of the day. Desperate for something quick and healthy to make for dinner last night, I took a look at the recommended dinner in yesterday's meal plan on WeightWatchers.com. Hey ... that looks pretty darn good! Needed a little tweaking, of course, but we really enjoyed our dinner last night -- light, healthy and flavorful. The chicken was cooked and packaged in the meat case (I forget the brand, but there are several out there), and the whole thing came together in less than 15 minutes.
We served this with a simple salad of sliced blood oranges and red onion, salt and pepper with a drizzle of olive oil. The main dish as prepared is only 6.5 WeightWatchers points, and only 6 if you make it with only 2 teaspoons of oil as the original recipe called for. I used Chipotle Tabasco instead of canned chipotle, and it was mighty tasty. The Cocktailian Gazette. The new issue of the Museum of the American Cocktail's monthly newsletter is out, with some exciting news:
More details in the Gazette; this will, of course, be a must for many of our readers. The Museum needs your help! If you're particular about your drinks, if you only want the best in your cocktail glass, if you care about the classics, if you're a fan of my "Cocktail of the Day" not-quite-so-daily feature, you really should become a member of the museum (and it's mostly tax-deductible, too). We need your help! Speaking of the Cocktail Museum ... Museum founder and cocktail king Dale DeGroff was interviewed about the museum on NPR's Weekend Edition last Saturday. The link includes an extended version of the interview as well as photos of Dale and curator Dr. Cocktail. F. Ll. Wright house in danger. The torrential rain and subsequent mudslides in the Los Angeles area are threatening one of our great architectural landmarks. Frank Lloyd Wright's amazing Ennis-Brown House in on a hill that's collapsing, and has been red-tagged as unsafe for entry. It's had structural problems in the past, so I really hope they can save it this time. Quote of the day. Why anyone would use this stuff is beyond me ...
February Looka! entries have been permanently archived. [ Link to today's entries ]
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