Tuesday, November 23, 2010
T-Day: 2 Days to Trencherman's Feast
I've been very late on this year's Thanksgiving Day menu listing.
After 20 years of slaving over a hot antiquated stove, the Ever-Loving Wife and I decided to stimulate the economy this year and we upgraded from a barely-detect-the-flame stove to a heat spitting model. Gas, for sure, but a 5 burner special that should serve us well for a while. T-Day will be the Testo Supremo & we'll see if Consumer's Reports was accurate in their high judgement of the cooking instrument.
Milling around circling the table munching foods:
1) Pick salami (since Gavrilovic is not available)
2) Cheeses
3) Nuts & Berries & other bear-ameanable hand foods.
The start of the meal commences with a shot of Slivovica (n.b. NSFW!!), as it is necessary to clear one's throat and one's mind before setting forth on a solid meal of food, drink, and friends.
Roots, the vegetables not the Band and other introductory platings:
1) Ginger Carrot Soup
2) Lemony Brussels Sprout Slaw
3) Mushrooms Berkeley - the old Traditional
4) Mashed Russet and Golden potatoes made with goat's milk, sweet butter and crème fraiche because...well, it's time for deep sleep. A olive oil-garlic "sauce" is sprinkled on for those in need of sprinkling.
5) A mystery vegetable to be determined on the last pre-cooking shopping day. Color seems to be the chief desired quality, at this point.
De-Feathered Fare:
1) (You cut the Toikey without me) Turkey Breast, brined to within a feather of its ability to absorb flavor in a rosemary-garlic clove-peppercorn bath for a full 18 hours. The local favored purveyor of all things flightless has changed his supplier this year, so we will be rolling the dice on the Turkey this year.
2) Fried chicken a la Panko, cuz we want to eat Fried & Healthy (all served with a dollop of Self Delusion Sauce). And...some of us still enjoy the cluck more than the gobble.
Associates Vying for Munching Attention:
1) The Ever-Loving Wife's Homemade Bread, slices of which disappear off the table in ever-increasing temerarious style even before seats have been taken.
2) Cranberry sauce form scratch- The Ever-Loving Wife's secret recipe of which she is the sole living keeper thereof.
3) Wild Rice, Almond & Mushroom Stuffing/Pilaf (Your choice of ending words.....). This will simply be a side dish hopefully satisfying on its own merits and will not be stuffing since there's not a bird to stuff, simply the Turkey Breast...and stuffing seems false to me.
4)
Justified Desserts:
A slight twist here. In previous years, this pecan pie was the beginning course. It was always well-received and I may be tarred and feathered for going with
1) this version of the Pecan Pie this year. But....how can you resist the adjective "Deep" when placed in front of "Pie". I, unfortunately, could not. So, we shall see and we shall taste.
2) Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie - The Ever-Loving Wife is keeping mum on which of these will be coming out of the oven.
3) Sorbets of the pallate-clearing sort.
4) Promised mystery desserts ferried in by dinner guests.... We will be checking papers.
In Vino give me that ol' Veritas:
With suggestions from the best wine store in the greater Philly-Wilmington area, IMHO, the following choices will be poured at various times.
1) Beaujolais-Villages Tracot Domaine Jean-Paul Dubost 2009
2) Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Rive del Ciliegie Francesco Vezzelli 2008
3) Rheinhessen Beerenauslese Pius Weingut Keller 2009
Beer choices from Delaware's own will be in the ice bucket.
Finishing off will be assorted teas, nibbly chocolates, and Turkish coffee (or Americano).
I'm leaving all of the interesting conversation to the incredibly interesting guests that day. Doing the cooking makes it very easy for me to beg off on the opinionating and the story-telling. Which is good, because the cast of performers that day is quite impressive in experience, in age,& in wisdom. Plus, there are fine voices in the folks that will be sitting around the table so singing will be welcomed & encouraged.
...and on the stereo, set way down low, will be some Grant Green, Ella (in Hollywood), and Brad Mehldau.
Thanksgiving Day. Almost probably my favorite day of the year. I lift a stamful of Slivovica to you my gentle readers and wish you all of the best at whatever gathering you find yourself at on Thursday!!
Labels: Domestic Burdens, Food Issues, Holidays
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Outdoor Dining
Where to Eat
A Package? Pour Moi?
Voila!
Sunday in the Park with....
One last look before....
..the forks attack! And then...
..tout est finit!
Click! on any image for a larger version. Bring a napkin along, just in case.
Labels: Food Issues, Paris
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Bears, a Convoluted Theory
While strolling around Morain Lake just outside of the villages of Banff and Lake Louise, we came across a side path seriously guarded by an intense and fit Canada Park Warden (am I inventing this position? She had a uniform, badge, and hat so I'll go with that title). Next to her was this sign. 
Standing off to one side was a group of hikers, three in total, loudly discussing their hopefully-soon trek up the trail into the woods. The written rule in Canada's national parks is that hikers have to comprise a minimum group of 4 prior to heading off onto the ursine trails. Due to time constraints and a group-fear fueled by our self-delusion that we exuded odors of edibility, the eight of us, though large enough by a factor of two to take on these bear trails, opted to not head up the tasty human morsel trail.
That didn't prevent yours truly, in bear-thought mode since we came out West, to start inventing scenarios as to how the Canadian National Park service came up with the ideal number of Four. I'm sure the Chinese National Park Service would have opted for another number as Four is not the number one would want to be grouped in when hiking in China's national forests. Although, the bears there are not close to Grizzly size and pandas (yes...they are not bears) would not be mistaking hikers for shoots of bamboo. So, Four. Was it a trial and error situation wherein groups of one, two, three, and four were sent up various Grizzly Bear infested mountains and then interviewed when (and if) they came back as to the grizzliness of their Grizzly encounters? Were the weights, sex, and tastiness of the hikers taken into consideration for the group size? What, as Mr. Gaffigan opines, were their thespian skills? And the Group of Four? Does this ideal group size mean minimal attacks or NO attacks/encounters? What if someone in the group was feeling particularly frisky, adventurous, or demented?
Before we headed off into the Canadian wilds, I hope we would have asked for some published test results or at least some smelly carcass we could haul with us to dump as soon as a bear approached. Save for one short bear sighting form the safety of a ton and a half car, our vacation was filled with the giddy anticipation of spotting (and then running/playing dead/talking softly/other tricks allegedly know to work) a bear. We maintained a minimal bear quorum of five, cheating on the long side of things. Our conversations were loud, thorny topic-ed, and packed with laughter, all human cacaphony guaranteed to run off any wildlife. Except for magpies and crows, 2 animals sounding similar shrill calls to ourselves.
All through our vacation, whenever we were on the trails, even when chances of bear encounters were nil, I was humming this little ditty (Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Bears"). One never knows when a well-hummed lyric could sooth the savage beast and my East Coast Sensibilities (or lack of sensibility, as opined by several Montanans) inclined me to hum. Loudly. And with a cowbell. Din-din is on the way and it'll be singin'.
Quicksilver Messenger Service: "Bears" lyrics-
"Quicksilver Messenger Service - Bears Lyrics:
(Crazy Laughter)
When walking between the lines and the squares,
Be careful that you don't step on the bears.
(snorting)
There are bears on the stairs, often in pairs,
And they're very hard to get along with.
(sniff, Sniff Sniff)
There are bears in the gutter, so be careful not to utter,
A sound that will disturb.
(burp)
There's something about honey, makes a bear kinda funny,
especially when it's time to eat.
(Sniffs.... SHHHH.....
There's a bear
(crazy Laughter"
Standing off to one side was a group of hikers, three in total, loudly discussing their hopefully-soon trek up the trail into the woods. The written rule in Canada's national parks is that hikers have to comprise a minimum group of 4 prior to heading off onto the ursine trails. Due to time constraints and a group-fear fueled by our self-delusion that we exuded odors of edibility, the eight of us, though large enough by a factor of two to take on these bear trails, opted to not head up the tasty human morsel trail.That didn't prevent yours truly, in bear-thought mode since we came out West, to start inventing scenarios as to how the Canadian National Park service came up with the ideal number of Four. I'm sure the Chinese National Park Service would have opted for another number as Four is not the number one would want to be grouped in when hiking in China's national forests. Although, the bears there are not close to Grizzly size and pandas (yes...they are not bears) would not be mistaking hikers for shoots of bamboo. So, Four. Was it a trial and error situation wherein groups of one, two, three, and four were sent up various Grizzly Bear infested mountains and then interviewed when (and if) they came back as to the grizzliness of their Grizzly encounters? Were the weights, sex, and tastiness of the hikers taken into consideration for the group size? What, as Mr. Gaffigan opines, were their thespian skills? And the Group of Four? Does this ideal group size mean minimal attacks or NO attacks/encounters? What if someone in the group was feeling particularly frisky, adventurous, or demented?
Before we headed off into the Canadian wilds, I hope we would have asked for some published test results or at least some smelly carcass we could haul with us to dump as soon as a bear approached. Save for one short bear sighting form the safety of a ton and a half car, our vacation was filled with the giddy anticipation of spotting (and then running/playing dead/talking softly/other tricks allegedly know to work) a bear. We maintained a minimal bear quorum of five, cheating on the long side of things. Our conversations were loud, thorny topic-ed, and packed with laughter, all human cacaphony guaranteed to run off any wildlife. Except for magpies and crows, 2 animals sounding similar shrill calls to ourselves.
All through our vacation, whenever we were on the trails, even when chances of bear encounters were nil, I was humming this little ditty (Quicksilver Messenger Service's "Bears"). One never knows when a well-hummed lyric could sooth the savage beast and my East Coast Sensibilities (or lack of sensibility, as opined by several Montanans) inclined me to hum. Loudly. And with a cowbell. Din-din is on the way and it'll be singin'.
Quicksilver Messenger Service: "Bears" lyrics-
"Quicksilver Messenger Service - Bears Lyrics:
(Crazy Laughter)
When walking between the lines and the squares,
Be careful that you don't step on the bears.
(snorting)
There are bears on the stairs, often in pairs,
And they're very hard to get along with.
(sniff, Sniff Sniff)
There are bears in the gutter, so be careful not to utter,
A sound that will disturb.
(burp)
There's something about honey, makes a bear kinda funny,
especially when it's time to eat.
(Sniffs.... SHHHH.....
There's a bear
(crazy Laughter"
Labels: Canada, Food Issues, Turistas
Monday, June 15, 2009
"I like pretty much all food, but eat that Croatian food, man, and you just feel the power in your veins" - Judah Friedlander
