Text 24578, 68 rader
Skriven 2007-12-25 21:54:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Happy Christmas 600
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Had a nice Christmas. Hope you did too.

Christmas brunch -

Smoked salmon and tofu cream cheese on bagel bread
- the salmon was I believe wild Coho (the package said
Chinook), with a lovely flavor and a creamy, melting,
almost effervescent texture, not too smoky and hardly
salted at all; the cream cheese was almost convincing
(I don't complain about such things, being thankful for
what I can get), and the bagel bread, from Thomas's,
was your pretty standard whole wheat, not bagelicious
in any way except that there was a ghost of a hole in
the center of each piece. Mimosas made with Marques de
Monastrell cava were fine I think, though I drank most
of my cava straight (nice, clean, dry, toasty, almost
as good as Champagne for a third or a quarter the price).

For afters, Jablum coffee (Carol had this, I had just a
taste) was pretty good but not so delicate as I recall.

Dinner:

Oyster stew had been thought of but was deferred until
tomorrow.

Roast leg of free range Australian lamb (rare) - rubbed
the thing with pepper, thyme, and Tony Cachere's seasoning,
stuck it in a 500 oven for 15 minutes and then turned the
oven off. Four hours later, a quite delicious roast, rare
in most spots with a bit of medium rare, which I cut for
Carol. Sauteed asparagus was sprinkled with lemon juice
for contrast and paired with oniony lamb-flavored pilaf.
Carol really liked the meal. I thought just the lamb would
have been fine, the heck with starch and vegetables.

Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 93 (Faiveley) - this was
the last of a case shared between my brother-in-law and me.
It was a pale shadow of what it once was, mostly black fruit
and earthy spices (star anise). Some woodiness. Also it started
out way too acid but mellowed out. Its gaminess was enhanced by
that of the lamb, a mixed pleasure.

Ditters fruitcake, made in October 06 with a use by date of
one year later. So a little superannuated. A tad dry, with
some of the nuts slightly rancid (Brazils go especially fast).
This particular "cake" is almost flourless, the body of the
cake being mostly dates and glace cherries. Too sweet for me.

My friend Mary, who is the budget director of the MBTA, made
me a Jamaican spiced black fruitcake, which I took on the plane
with me (the TSA picked up on it immediately, but I told the
examiner that it was a fruitcake and right on top of my bag; a
cursory inspection determined that this was true, and I was
shortly on my way with grins all round): this was very fruitcaky
tasting, lots of figs and raisins, just a little glace fruit
and candied rind; it was soaked in rum and therefore very nice,
more attractive I thought than the Ditters cake, but of course
it was 14 months younger. Carol pronounced that it was just what
the doctor ordered, especially as she had recently read a Times
article about just this very kind of cake. She had her cake with
a glass of milk. My glass had Cruzan rum in it instead.

Whew, that was enough food for the week.

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