Text 13441, 109 rader
Skriven 2008-09-07 23:04:08 av Michael Loo (1:18/200.0)
Ärende: dinner pt 1 890
=======================
This dinner had been planned for quite a while, as there was a
bottle of this 1928 wine sitting around ... and Nicholas asked
me to find a bottle of the 2003 from the same vineyard to
compare the doddering 80-year-old to the infantile one of 5.

For some reason, he had got it in his head that he wanted
sweetbreads for the main course. Our friend John pointed out that
this was a bit much of a good thing - the organs being though
rich and delicious not only monotonous in texture and subtle in
flavor but also #2 on the scale of cholesterol-rich foods, after
brains. He also said that it would take a kitchen crew several
hours to prep the things for a main serving. Nicholas was
undeterred and went to great lengths to get 3 lb of the things
for an anticipated party of 6 (twice too much, I pointed out),
calling ahead to a wholesaler in Boston and making an appointment
to pick them up. Unfortunately Monday was a holiday, and the
dinner was Tuesday, so there wasn't any time to prep (as usual I
was assigned the hard stuff). I got picked up in Salem at 3, and
we landed at his house shortly before 4. Dinner was to be at 7.

Sweetbreads are supposed to soak overnight and then be poached,
rinsed, and then pressed with a weight for a couple hours before
cooking. Plus they are very tender organs covered in a very tough
membrane, so that has to be removed in a very fiddly way. So I
had 3 hours to do a dozen hours of prep. What I did: I rinsed
them continuously for half an hour and then poached them in
heavily acidulated and salted water: this produced a firmer
result than I'd like and didn't get quite as much of the abattoir
smell out as I'd have liked. Plus with all the handling I smelled
like a butcher for a whole day afterward.

In between chores I tried:

Trader Joe's chile spiced mango - quite good though a tad
sweet; a nice sneaky heat with some pepper flavor and maybe a
hint of smokiness.

A piece of peel from a jar labeled "Greek grapefruit 7/14/89."
This was incredibly delicious. Nineteen years of aging in sugar
had produced a confection that was the essence of grapefruit
without the harsh and bitter quality. I was surprised that it
had no trace of oxidized taste.

Shagbark hickory nuts from one of Nicholas's trees - the things
are delicious, tasting like a tenderer and more subtle black
walnut. They are also as hard to crack as black walnuts.

A "strawberry apple" from another of his trees - this is an
"heirloom" variety that is supposed to have a berrylike aroma
and a good acidy crispness. I got more tropical fruit than
strawberries. It too was a culinary experience of great rarity
and some pleasure.

John and Irene showed up early to help prep, but most of the
work was already done, as I'm pretty fast in the kitchen. So
they provided entertaining company as I did some cleanup.

Gus from Toscanini's called to cancel - his father was ill or
something. Later, almost at dinnertime, our friend Veronica
called to say she would be late. Whereupon John started
grousing about being hungry; so Nicholas pulled out the
first course to be served in the library. It was a fish and
fruit course, something I'd not encountered in quite this
way before; it was actually quite successful.

Smoked bluefish, salmon, & trout - these were all average
hot-smoked product, origin unknown. Paired nicely with the
fruit (below), surprisingly enough, but not so well with
the wine, despite this being a classic combination. I'd
have paired this with a Pilsener I think.

Mango & nashi pear - I didn't know what a nashi pear was:
it's just a fancy name for your standard Asian pear. I had
the pear tossed with a little lemon juice; it contrasted
nicely with the perfectly ripe mango.

G. H. Mumm et Cie Societe Vinicole de Champagne, Cuvee
Rene Lalou, 1985 - I thought that this very dry, yeasty
wine was out of place here. The citrus notes did marry
well, but the nuttiness was submerged by the fish oils,
and the perfect little bubbles that scoured the taste buds
of these oils could just as well have been those of Sprite
in the setting. I did my best by trying to separate bites
of fish from the wine by a bit of fruit, then letting the
sweetness dissipate in my mouth before sipping the wine.
Should have passed on the appetizers altogether, but it
was getting late and the tummy was starting to talk.

off menu: ragout of sweetbreads and garlic chive stems with
mustard - Veronica, who spends her time between Cambridge
and near Turenne (in the Correze) and thus is not Boston area
automobile savvy, was caught in traffic, so I made this
little amuse out of trimmings to satisfy John and his
grumblings. It was pretty good, I thought more interesting
than the official main course, but Nicholas wouldn't eat
any, because the sweetbreads weren't crispy. It was a ragout,
for crying out loud.

Veronica showed up just after we'd polished off the
sweetbreads and were about to dispatch the fish. There was
enough of the latter for a ladylike little serving to go
with the glass of Champers that remained.

Presently we repaired to the table for the rest of the meal.

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30

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 * Origin: Nocturnal State BBS - nsbbs.darktech.org (1:18/200)