Text 17120, 218 rader
Skriven 2008-11-30 09:36:44 av hap newsom (1:124/311)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: giblety
===============
->  HN> Indeed and when she's feeling even the 
->  HN> slightest bit "off" I tend to keep an extra
->  HN> sharp eye on her! 
-> 
-> I can see that concern for someone so precious. In my case, I'm
-> responsible only to me, so it's not such a big deal, and I tend
-> to shrug things off.
-> 
She tends to be the same way for me if
I am "off", if I even mention a nitro pill she
gets real alert. I'm like you, I tend to shrug
things off, but she won't let me get away with
it for long.

->  -> Fishers, and by this time all the tasks had been allocated.
->  HN> The west coast or the east coast ones?
-> 
-> There are actually several sets; these were an east coast
-> variety.
->
None of that West Coast Jubilance then! (grin)
 
->  -> sweet potato soup with rum cream
->  HN> Sounds good! Was it a fairly sweet soup then?
-> 
-> Quite sweet, and the cream is a touch sweet as well, but I
-> remedied that with a sprinkle of salt.
-> 
->  HN> Rum sounds like an interesting flavor match as well!
-> 
-> It was: sort of presaged dessert without any sage at all.
->
How wise is that? (grin)
 
->  -> arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette - the usual, but it
->  -> was cheap cheap balsamic, not worthy of capitalization
->  HN> Seems to be a lot of that around these days...
->  HN> oddly enough not all from Modena either...hmmmm
-> 
-> Hmm ... it was Colavita, one of the better of the cheap
-> brands: I used to prefer Fini, but it went way up in price,
-> and Colavita did not. My friends apparently thought the same
-> way, despite their being pretty well-to-do.
->
We have two bottles in the house right now
one a 250ml bottle "La Favorita Fish" (at least
that's how I read it) and a litre of Costco's 
house brand (Kirkland). the 250 ml bottle is
not much better than the Costco brand which
is moderately good for a value balsamic. But
I'm not likely to go out and spring $30 for a
250ml bottle of high quality balsamic anyway.
the 250ml bottle I have was about $7.50 or so.
 
->  -> roast turkey - I wasn't responsible for this, and as a result,
->  -> it was well well done, almost enough so to bring the hostess
->  -> to tears.
->  HN> Anne would have loved that! As you know she 
->  HN> likes her turkey done to the point of dustbowl
->  HN> dryness. I'm sure you were very dissappointed
->  HN> as I would have been.
-> 
-> I wasn't thrilled. As I said, I was perfectly happy with just
-> the skin (one of the vice-presidents of Audubon was there and
-> looked at me with envy, saying, ah, the best part: but she's
-> now a health nut so didn't take any) until the host plopped a
-> big ol' drummer on my plate.
->
I would have forgone health for a few hours
at least! (grin)
 
->   What's odd though is that
->  HN> Anne claims to like the dryest of turkeys..but when
->  HN> I manage to sneak a sumptuous moist birdy in on her
->  HN> she oohs and ahhs on how good it is! 
-> 
-> Hmm.
->
I know, but when she cooks a bird...she
COOKS the bird!!!
 
->  -> gravy - I made this, and it was mediocre, sort of brown
->  -> tasting, as the turkey drippings were weller done than
->  -> the turkey itself; I didn't like it much but it certainly
->  -> improved the stuffing
->  HN> I like a good giblet gravy...nice and rich
->  HN> and filled with good chunks of giblety 
->  HN> delight!
->  
-> I like just about any kind of gravy except what I made.
-> The drippings were so heavily caramelized that the gravy
-> could just as well have been Kitchen Bouquet and water.
->
You had no canned stock you could have 
used with it?  Bummer, gravy is goood!
 
->  -> brussels sprouts with walnuts and balsamic vinegar - even
->  -> though made with cheap cheap vinegar, this was pretty good,
->  -> probably my favorite thing
->  HN> One of my favorite things to make!
->  HN> Was it a balsamic reduction or just 
->  HN> balsamic V poured over the roasted
->  HN> sprouts?
-> 
-> Sprouts were not precooked (I think a mistake: they should
-> have either been steamed/nuked or halved); when they were
-> done to about half the length given in the recipe, the vinegar
-> was poured over and allowed to cook down.
->
I like to blanch them, even if I do 
cut them in half. I think it brings out
a sweetness of flavor in conjunction with
the roasting. 
  
->  -> brown 'n' serve rolls - salty, by report; I didn't try
->  HN> And I can't fault you for that! Choose
->  HN> your carbs well you do!
-> 
-> Tonight I take my brother out for yet another Thanksgiving
-> dinner. I will eschew my usual two beers, substituting two
-> glasses of overpriced wine. Well, maybe one beer and one wine.
->
Have you been keeping track of your 
blood sugars? Anne was getting upset
that hers was seeming to run high (115-120)
and she could not seem to get it any lower....
turns out her monitor needed calibrating
and her numbers are more accurately reading
in the 90-105 range now.
 
->  -> chocolate pecan pie - quite nice and chocolaty and pecanny;
->  -> I had just a taste
->  HN> When it comes to pecan pie I'm a purist.
-> 
-> When it comes to pecan pie I'm a pig. I was such a good boy
-> at the table Thursday I could hardly believe it.
->
My grandmother's pecan pie was so rich
I've never been able to eat more than a slice
at a time...but WHAT a slice! She also made
divinity at Christmas time that was absolutely
magnificent...and that I could eat until I could
not hold anymore....if I'd ever had the chance!
 
->  -> pumpkin cheesecake - quite nice and pumpkinny; I had the
->  -> smallest piece that the host was willing to cut
->  HN> I like pumpkin and cheesecake and pumpkin 
->  HN> cheesecake sounds like a winner to me.
-> 
-> Except for the fact there's cheese, yeah.
->
For you that's not the best thing...for me it 
IS the best thing!
 
->  HN> Anne had her cranberry wine and I had
->  HN> a glass of 2005 Barrio La Boca Malbec
->  HN> from Argentina...very dark color, quite
->  HN> tabaccoish as well, nice but not as 
->  HN> good as I'd hoped it would be.
-> 
-> Look for Norton, Santa Caterina, and Las Hormigas
-> brands.
->
I had another glass last night and it had 
gotten quite a bit better after getting 
a bit of "air". Strong tobacco notes still
but cherry and plum I think as well. Also
oddly enough (to me at least) I seemed 
to be getting notes of sandalwood or 
dry cedar. I liked it better the second 
day and will take care with it tonight if
I have another glass, I'm a long way 
from the bottom of the bottle!
 
->  HN> We had pulled pork with an eastern
->  HN> carolina vinegar sauce...it was delish!
-> 
-> Something to give thanks for, fer sher.
->
Amen! A totally delightful veggie dish!
and lots of leftovers!!
 
->  -> Sweet potato soup with rum cream
->  HN> Looks good, not cutting edge, no
->  HN> real surprises, but nice enough on 
->  HN> it's own merit!
-> 
-> Yeah, it was fine. When I checked out the recipe book
-> the next day, I was surprised to see how unexciting the
-> dishes were in concept (though they no doubt would all
-> be above average).
-> 
There are loads and loads of 
unexciting dishes out there! Mediocre
is what a lot of folks know as "good"!
Great does not always mean 
complicated or even "fancy".
Too many people just settle for
what's convenient and easy when
just a little thought and effort could
make all the difference! Clean Dave 
could probably make a fortune selling
his smoked turkeys! More because he
cares about them and pays attention
to what he's doing, than for any 
super secret technique, or ingredient.
He does it right and knows not
to screw it up.

A famous painter (William Merrit Chase) once said
"It takes two people to make a painting, One to
paint and one standing behind him with an axe to
kill him before he ruins it." I think that's true 
in cooking as well!
chat with you soon!
hap 
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