Text 11281, 132 rader
Skriven 2008-07-28 22:45:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Re: fancy 674
=====================
-=> Quoting Michael Loo to Jim Weller <=-

 JW> the glory of ground beef on a bun

 ML> "Jim's on a roll."

[groan]

 JW> Then how about dried crumbled thyme mixed into the meat along with
 JW> salt, pepper and just a touch of garlic powder?

 ML> Just stick a fork in me and call me meatloaf.

Ah but I stopped short of bread crumbs and eggs. Sometimes I like my
burgers plain, sometimes salted and peppered, sometimes a bit
fancier and yes, sometimes I fry little meatloaf patties. They're
good too.

 ML> I used to go to Radius only when 1. Nicholas was paying; or 2. the
 ML> Radius publicity director was paying. That's to say I haven't been
 ML> in several years.
                             
I might visit Pierre upstairs twice a year, downstairs twice more. I
can get away downstairs with as little as $15 for mussels or fondue
if I just need a small one course meal (and $6 for a beer.) But I
have far fewer choices than you and I've stopped going elsewhere
(except the really cheap Vietnamese noodle house) as I am the second
best cook in town, after Pierre. With all the money I save on not
going to restaurants I invest in better quality ingredients and do
more home entertaining.

 JW> Pierre's expansion plans have now become clear.
 JW> a million. Quite an undertaking for a little hick town!

 ML> Presumably he's counting on the mining industry continuing to
 ML> burgeon the way it has done in the last couple decades.

Yep! The average pay check is over $85,000 up there and rising as
the global resource business is humming and there's a lot of
corporate raiding going on.

(Brag mode on) 

My boy just got promoted again. He is now the Water Management
Co-ordinator for Rio Tinto's Diavik mine. De Beers calls him weekly
dangling lucrative contracts and signing bonuses in front of him.
Nine years ago when he first got out of community college he was a
mere water sample collector. Now he designs dikes, tailings ponds,
pipelines, filtering systems etc. The company has been sending him
out to universities for intensive courses in engineering. A full
year (one subject) packed into 14 days, five times a year. These
courses are held at various campuses including Simon Fraser in
Vancouver and UCLA so he gets some nice trips too.

He once got a raise because he innocently told his boss he had to
take Monday off for an interview. He came back to work Tuesday and
they handed him a $12,000 raise. They assumed he was talking to
De Beers but in reality the interview was with Neekha's grade 2
teacher at mid-term. Like I said, lot's of raiding going on.
 
MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Fregola With Mushrooms, Rosemary, And Sage
Categories: Italian, Pasta, Vegetarian, Mushrooms, Herbs
  Servings: 4

      2    portobello mushrooms,
           cleaned and chopped into
        lg chunks
      2    cloves garlic, roughly
           chopped
      5    sage leaves, sliced thinly
           (chiffonade)
      1    rosemary sprig, leaves
           chopped
    1/2 lb fregola (or substitute
           Israeli cous cous)
           Olive oil
           Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salty water to boil and cook the fregola until
soft and chewy, 10-12 minutes.

In the meantime, heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium
heat and add the mushrooms. Cook until they begin to release their
liquid, then add the garlic, rosemary, and a good pinch of salt. Let
the moisture cook away, then let the mushrooms gently brown and toss
in four of the sliced sage leaves just as they finish.

Drain the fregola well, then return it to the pot and add the
mushrooms. Toss and moisten with olive oil as desired. Top with
freshly ground pepper and the last sage leaf.

Like cous cous, fregola is not a whole grain but a semolina flour
pasta rolled by hand (or machine). Hailing from Sardinia, fregola's
coarse spheres are much larger than cous cous, giving them more heft
and texture. Once dried, fregola is toasted, which imparts an
amazing nutty flavor and also helps it keep an appealing sturdiness
even after it's cooked.

Fregola can be added to soups, cooked gently in stock like risotto,
or simply boiled and tossed with olive oil or butter and some herbs.
A traditional pairing is clams and tomatoes, but I had a couple of
portobello mushrooms that needed to be cooked. While the fregola
boiled, I chopped the mushrooms into large pieces and sauteed them
with garlic and olive oil. Then, just after they had released their
water and begun to caramelize, I tossed in a handful of chopped
rosemary and sage. The nutty fregola complemented the tender, earthy
mushrooms beautifully. The meatiness of portobellos was especially
wonderful, but any mushroom would work. Look for fregola in Italian
markets or online, or substitute Israeli cous cous, which is larger
than traditional varieties.

About the author: Blake Royer lives in Brooklyn and spends most of
his free time cooking and writing about it here at Serious Eats and
on The Paupered Chef. From 9 to 5 weekdays, he works as an assistant
book editor in Manhattan.

Posted by Blake Royer

From: Www.Seriouseats.Com
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

YK Jim


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