Text 19469, 89 rader
Skriven 2011-12-27 10:18:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE DRUM
Ärende: Concolences 412
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 DD> My sympathies to Annie and all. Losing a loved animal can be

Thanks. Bizzy was my favorite of the lot (Rob's also). He
didn't misbehave much, unlike the others, liked to play but
wouldn't bug you if you didn't want to, slept by himself
upstairs (though as the room I use was next to the room he
usually slept in, he periodically tried to sneak onto my
bed, which would cause me to have a sneezing attack). Annie
was very attached to him but tried not to play favorites. I
had no such qualms. He did try to steal butter from the table
(Rob taught him this); eventually Annie started putting out
a little dish of it for him, which Zach ended up learning to
like as well.

 DD> traumatic, especially when you have to be the one who makes the
 DD> decision to pull the plug. Even knowing that it's the best thing for
 DD> your friend doesn't seem to help - until much later.

I had to field the many-times-repeated question "are we doing
the right thing?" Considering how much pain Bizzy was in - he
would moan and go limp if you touched his abdomen, and in the
last couple hours he was drooling and near-comatose, it had to
have been the right thing; anyhow he had had as much time, 14.5
years, as one expects a Sacred Cat of Burma (the publicity name
of the breed) to have. Annie and Billy had one that lasted 17
years, once, but that was deemed exceptional.

Salted butter tart
Cat: fat, dessert
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

1/2 recipe Sweet Butter Pastry 
1 1/4 c superfine (caster) sugar
1/2 c salted butter, diced
1 c whipping (35 percent fat) cream
Lightly whipped cream, for serving

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and line a
9-9 1/2" tart pan. Prick the base of the tart with a
fork and refrigerate for at least 30 min.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C.

Place the tart shell on a baking sheet. Line the tart
with parchment paper and fill it with dried beans. Bake 
until the pastry is just set, about 15 min. Remove the
paper and beans and continue to cook until the pastry
is a dark golden color, 10 to 15 min. Transfer the tart
to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Combine the sugar and butter in a deep, heavy saucepan
over medium heat. Stir to mix and cook, stirring
occasionally, until the butter and sugar caramelize,
10 to 15 min. The sugar and butter will go through
several stages. First it will look like a flour and
butter roux, then it will appear curdled, and then
the butter will leak out of the sugar mixture. Don't
worry: it will all come together in the end.

While the caramel is cooking, pour the cream into a
saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from the heat and set aside.

Keep stirring the butter and sugar mixture, watching
carefully as it begins to caramelize and remembering
that the heat in the pan will continue to cook the
caramel once it is removed from the burner. You want
a rich, dark caramel color, but you don't want to
burn the mixture, which will give it a bitter taste.
When the caramel reaches the right color, remove the
pan from the heat and slowly and carefully pour in
the cream; the mixture will bubble and spit. When
the caramel stops bubbling, return it to low heat
and cook 5 min, stirring to dissolve the caramel in
the cream. Remove the pan from the heat and let the
caramel cool 10 min. Slowly pour the cooled caramel
into the baked pastry shell and chill the tart for
at least 2 hr.

This tart is easier to cut when it is chilled. Remove
the tart from the pan and, using a wet knife, cut it
into wedges. Serve the tart at room temperature, however,
for maximum flavor, with a dollop of whipped cream.

Jennifer McLagan, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient

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