Text 1697, 148 rader
Skriven 2013-06-24 09:00:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: old journeys 762
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 NB> I grew up with eating what was on my plate, partly because that was
 NB> the rule, and partly because it was rarely quite enough, let alone too
 NB> much. Daddy served it all out, to make sure that it went 10 ways
 NB> evenly...

My childhood, weird though it was, was marked with always
having enough to eat, and it was generally not only good
but preeminently good. Nonetheless, I became and remain
obsessed with food - most people get stuck on something
because they haven't had enough of it; I approach the issue
from the opposite position and arrive at the same place.

My father (rather like me) didn't seem to care about money.
He just did what he liked, which luckily involved puttering
around in the chem lab all day. While I was growing up he
never made a lick of money, either, despite being on the
development teams for several chemotherapies that are still
in use, as he was working for the government, then a solid
and secure but not richly remunerative business. It was
only in the '60s that he got any recognition, when the
National Cancer Institute was gutted to aid the growth of
the M.D. Anderson Hospital in Texas (thanks in part to Lyndon
Johnson, who also brought the NASA Space Center there); by
the time he died he was fairly well-to-do, being taken good
care of by his bosses and the University of Texas. When I was
a kid, however, my mother was forced to become a great home
economist - she already was a great cook -, and we made
delicious abundant meals out of usually modest ingredients.

We (just two kids - my brother was not born until I was 21)
had to eat everything on our plates, but it was almost
always so tasty that I wanted more even when my belly was
full - my sister was never so extreme and grew up slender
but still a great appreciator.

 NB> Just checked the ingredients list for the Original Slaw dressing...
 NB> no milk at all, just a listing of ingredients that would go into a
 NB> mayonnaise.  I remember picking it over the Wegmans or the Marie's

I'm most familiar with the Marzetti ranch dressing, which by
necessity contains tons of milk. Which brings me to the issue
of ranch dressing.

It still should be trademarked, only the inventors didn't
trademark it properly.

It was called Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, coming from a
farm of the same name. They trademarked "Hidden Valley Ranch"
but not "Ranch dressing." How silly is that. Later, a new
set of owners tried to fix this by trademarking "Original
Ranch," but by then it was too late.

 NB> slaw because it used corn cider vinegar instead of apple cider
 NB> vinegar... it didn't trigger my apple allergy, so apparently that
 NB> worked... 

Interesting. Does corn vinegar come from sweet corn, or does the
term refer to grain in general?

 NB> You're being so reasonable...  (G)   But, in a bit more serious vein,
 NB> wouldn't the small snails cook in the soup water as well, and add
 NB> their own taste vector to the whole...?  I suppose there might be some
 NB> difficulty in getting them out of their shells afterwards...  :)

We're talking snails the size of a BB or smaller, which would
add more a textural than any other accent to a dish, same as
a pebble or grain of sand. Not about the winkles and similar
edibles, which would be picked off and dealt with separately.

 ML> The freezer too is full. I was encouraged to use up a pot roast,
 ML> a couple pounds of ground beef, a package of Texas toast, several
 ML> BJ's or Costco-size bags of frozen vegetables, and other things.
 NB> Ah.  Part of your pay for taking care of the house and pets, then...

I found a pound of Costco bacon (left over from a multipack)
use-by-dated November 2012. Opened it up and found it not
unpleasant, though very wet cured and hardly smoky. It is a
little sour, not too salty, good pork taste but stringy and
from perhaps too lean pigs. Carbonara tonight.

I haven't made the dulce de leche yet.

 ML> [M would remove the solids to a
 ML> warm place for the reduction time, then return them to
 ML> the sauce before serving.]
 NB> I like your method... it keeps the veggies from going to total mush...

Some people like that comforting mushiness. As I lose
teeth, perhaps I may as well.

Crawfish (or shrimp) etouffee
cat: cajun, heritage, stews and soups, main
servings: 8 to 10

2 sticks butter
- or 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1/2 c crawfish fat
1/4 c flour
1 c chopped green onions
1 c chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1/2 c chopped celery
1 bay leaf
1/4 ts thyme
1/2 ts basil (optional)
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 ts white pepper
2 ts salt
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco to taste
1 c white wine plus 1/2 c clam juice and 1/2 c water
- OR 1 c clam juice plus 1 c water
- OR 2 c water
2 lb cooked crawfish tails (sub shrimp)
1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb grated lemon rind
1/4 c minced parsley
2 Tb cognac (optional)
1/2 c chopped green onion tops (optional)

Make walnut-colored roux with 1 stick butter and flour.
Add green and yellow onions, garlic, green pepper, celery,
bay leaf, thyme, basil and the remaining butter and fat.
Saute, uncovered, over medium flame for 30 min.

Add tomato sauce, white pepper, salt, Worcestershire,
Tabasco and liquid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and
simmer slowly, uncovered, for 1 hr, stirring occasionally.
Turn off fire.

Add crawfish tails (if frozen, do not thaw), lemon juice,
lemon rind, parsley and cognac, if desired. This is better
made the day before or early in the morning. Cover and
refrigerate.

Remove from refrigerator 1 hr before serving. Heat quickly,
without boiling, and serve immediately over steamed rice
or in ramekins with French bread.

If desired, garnish with raw green onion tops. It is
recommended that if you use wine and/or cognac you omit
the raw green onion tops.

Source: The Plantation Cookbook, Junior League of N.O.

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