Text 18506, 105 rader
Skriven 2008-12-26 13:05:00 av Michael Loo (1:18/200.0)
Ärende: xmas eve 2 431
======================
Pearl onions a la creme

Lee has no idea how to make this and tried to force Barbara
Kafka's recipe on me. I told him I knew how to make creamed
onions with the best of them and to go away (he wanted me to
reduce vast quantities of cream, which he had failed to buy).
I parboiled some onions, made a thick white sauce, added
Cheddar (2-year-old Grafton - really quite wimpy and creamy,
although beginning to go crystalline), white pepper, and
(sigh) a tiny bit of nutmeg. Then in the oven on low for an
arbitrary length of time. This resulted in some of the best
creamed onions I have ever slapped a lip over.

Candied sweet potatoes

Mary informed me that Lee likes marshmallows on his. So
I took five big sweets, par-roasted, skinned, and sliced
them, and layered them two deep in a greased, sugar-sprinkled
oven dish. Over this went a sauce of maybe a cup of brown
sugar and a cup of OJ, reduced by half. Marshmallows over
half of the casserole. In the oven on low for an arbitrary
length of time, then (the non-marshmallowed half) turned over
in the sauce and the heat cranked high until the marshmallows
browned and gooped. These were quite good, but somewhat more
candied than I like. The non-marshmallowed half went rapidly;
then people were reduced to scraping goop off the sweets
before serving themselves.

Cranberry-orange relish

Nathaniel made this - very simple: you take a couple bags
of cranberries and an orange and chop them fine in the Cuise.
Sweeten to taste. Et voila. I'd have added a shake of salt
and maybe a few pecans.

Bernadotti Barbaresco 78 (G. Mascarello)

Another of Nicholas's superannuated wines. The last I tasted
this, it was tannic and vigorous, with lots of ripe fruit.
That was at least a decade ago. Now, it's beginning to lighten
at the edges, still a nice ruby color, still tannic and vigorous.
Ripe or overripe plums, walnuts, pepper, a little bit of green.
Longish tannic finish. I think it still has a decade of life in it. 

Epoisses Berthaut

One of the most famous stinky French cheeses, this was runny and
pungent, reminding one of paper mill and overboiled cabbage with
a touch of mold. Taking a few grams of it every year or two for
the last millennium or so, I've gotten used to it if not really
turned on. It totally ruined the

Taurasi riserva 68 (Mastroberardino)

- the combination produced an incredibly fetid quality, the
cheese perhaps bringing out a touch of rot in the wine, either
that or the wine accentuated the smelly cruciferousness of the
cheese. I washed my mouth of the cheese and retasted - a medium-
bodied medium red wine, a bit tart, with cherries and maybe
raspberries, a not overpowering finish. It was hard to tell as
my taste buds had died by this time. I think this wine had
passed its ideal drinking date but surprisingly not by much.

Buche de Noel (Whole Foods)
Chateau La Rame 00 (Ste-Croix du Mont)

I'd have gladly made a yule log, but Whole Foods was handy.
I didn't have any cake, which looked stiffly commercial, but
did taste the Sauternes-analogue, which was bitterish with
apricot and also notes that reminded me of citrus and almond:
perceptible Botrytis, but not a particularly rich or exciting
experience.

(off menu again)
Nuyens Kummel - from a stash long forgotten and that came to
light only when the house owners cleaned their basement prior
to moving onto a boat to live - I think from the label that
this was at least 40 years old. I didn't want to open it, but
Lee insisted on pouring me a tot; it was bright yellow, sort
of like thick pee, and had a varnishy nose. On the palate,
much more than caraway going on - lots of herbal things,
kind of unidentifiable, especially in my impaired state. The
overall effect was somewhat Chartreuselike though not nearly
so nice.

Black Forest Kammer Kirschwasser - this was from the same
stash but probably only 20 years old, the label kitchy and
multicolored and unfaded. Nose of airplane glue, with that
artificial cherry cyanide aspect that makes you yearn (not
pine) for wild cherry cough drops. On the palate, surprisingly
almondy and not unpleasant, though a slightly harsh drink.

Grappa Rovero Barbera (Asti) - fairly fresh, considering. Probably
bottled within the last year and bought recently. Though it's
said to be Barbera-based, I thought I detected lots of floral
tropical fruity Moscato-like notes, slightly rotten like an
old papaya, some vanilla. Interesting. On the palate, though,
all I could get was burn. Turns out this is 92 proof. Aftertaste
had the tropical fruit thing going, heading toward the Juicy
Fruit end.

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30

--- Maximus/2 3.01
 * Origin: Get your COOKING fix here! - nsbbs.info (1:18/200)