Text 19834, 165 rader
Skriven 2014-11-26 07:20:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: wanderings 346
======================
 NB> Insurance is a cost-benefit equation... good to have, but no need to
 NB> overpay for unneeded coverage.  Good that you haven't had to take
 NB> advantage of it yet, hopefully (knock on wood) never...  :)

The whole point of insurance is, well, insurance. I will
pay enough to forestall catastrophic expenses, and the
companies will charge enough to cover those expenses -
so it is to my substantial advantage that the insurers
cultivate undue fears in the general population, especially
those who have no real reason to expect that they will use
the services.

 ML> I actually think it would be better for the patients
 ML> if the hospitals allocated space like this rather
 ML> than according to the convenience of the staff.
 NB> I tend to agree.  :)  I suspect your griping phlebotomist was just
 NB> tired out that day... and inclined to be grumpy...  ;)

Oh, sure. She introduced herself as the one they assigned
all the tough cases to (probably true) and remarked that
they've been trying to get rid of her for 40 years (maybe
true). One of the ones whose eccentricities are tolerated
because of their general level of competency, no doubt.
But she failed on my veins anyway. That's when they pulled
in the chief, who was expert in using equipment that was
not widely used in this country - it's much more painful
and much less convenient but I think is used in less
developed countries and in combat situations (involves a
long rigid steel shanked needle such as you used to see
in horror movies, cartoons, and the like). And it still
took the chief 3 or 4 tries.

 ML> Contrary to what Dirty Dave tells us is the proper
 ML> procedure, most chili is cooked with beans in it.
 NB> You mean they wouldn't pick out the beans for you...?  (G)

Doesn't matter, there's bean juice in the stew.

 ML> I was in Boston South Station recently, and Heineken is
 ML> advertising a new enhancement in beverage technology -
 ML> offering 8.5 oz in a fashionable slim can. Of course, you
 ML> pay a small premium for this fashion. (I was surprised
 ML> to find it was only 5 or 10%.)
 NB> Anything to shore up sales...?  ;)   Does it make the beer taste any
 NB> better, or for that matter, different...?

They say that it keeps the beer colder. In which case, why
not just serve shots?

Roast kudu in red wine and chocolate sauce
cat: game, south african, main
servings: 10 to 16

1 leg kudu (2 1/2 kg)
25 oz red wine
a whole bulb of garlic - halved
2 ts salt
5 bay leaves
10 juniper berries
sprigs rosemary and thyme
2 ts black pepper
2 onions roughly chopped
1 chilli
1 lemon, zest of
h - preparation
1 lg piece of pork fat
2 pk streaky bacon
string to tie the piece of meat up with
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
100 g garlic and herb butter
oil - to seal the meat off in
salt and pepper to season
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 md onions, chopped
1 L chicken stock
h - to finish
100 g Lindt 85% dark chocolate
100 ml Port or to taste
50 ml quince jelly or to taste

Venison meat has big, strong robust flavours - you cannot
be namby pamby around this meat - big flavours are called
for in your marinade and even in the cooking.

Place the leg (or whatever joint of meat you have chosen)
into the marinade and cover with cling wrap and leave it
to suck in all those flavours for at least 1 day - 2 is
even better.

When the meat is positively "drunk" on red wine, remove
it from the marinade and keep the marinade set aside.
You will use this marinade to roast the meat in.

Remember than all venison is very lean meat. The animals
roam around free to forage and don't get all fat and podgy
like other animals so we need to add some fat in order to
boost the flavour and keep the meat moist.

This is really important to remember - don't overcook this
meat or it will punish you!

Go to your butcher and buy some caul fat - or in this case
i bought a nice piece of pork fat and some smoked streaky
bacon - to wrap the leg up in to keep it moist. I also
stuffed the meat with herbs and garlic butter to add
flavour and moisture to the middle of the meat.

In a heavy frying pan - seal the meat on all sides in
olive oil. Stuff the meat cavity with the rosemary and
garlic and herb butter. Season the meat all over with
plenty of salt and pepper and wrap it in the bacon and
then cover the bacon with pork fat and tie it in place.

You can then either use string the tie the pork fat
in place or tin foil. Personally - i prefer not to use
the tin foil. This removes the meat from the marinade
which i feel keeps the meat more moist. In a roasting
pan - cut up the following veggies roughly and place
them in the bottom of your roasting pan. Carrots -
Celery - Onion. Put the meat in and pour over the
marinade and 1 L of chicken stock.

It's best to use a roasting pan of oven proof pot
that is roughly the same size as the meat - you want
the meat to cook IN THE MARINADE - therefor not l
osing moisture.

Place the roast into a preheated 220C/450F oven. This
joint weighed approx 2,5 kg (5 1/2 lb) - I roasted the
meat for 30 min at this temperature and then turned
the heat right down to 170C/350F for 30 min or so.

The rule of thumb is after bring the meat to temperature
- turn the oven down to 170 and roast 20 min per 500 g.
When it's cooked - remove from the pan and place into a
dish and cover - don't let it dry out.

Now - here comes the fab part of the recipe ... .

You are left with meat juices that are sublime - but that
need a wee bit of tweaking into "ambrosia". To achieve
this we will use a bar of 85% dark LINDT chocolate ...
drool! a good slosh of port and some quince jelly.
The sauce needs to be a balance of sweet and salty to
compliment the meat. Strain the meat juices and place
them in a heavy bottomed pot.

Add the chocolate - a good slosh of the port and a whole
jar of quince jelly. Reduce the juices right down to a
thick and unctuous dark sweet and aromatic gravy. Carve
your roast and place on a serving platter together with
the bacon that you wrapped it in to roast it - pour over
the juicy chocolatey rich gravy and serve.

I served the roast with potatoes roasted in duck fat and
zucchini and mushrooms. The meat is rich - so a nice
clean and fruity dessert really goes down well after
this dish.

Source: after Janice Tripepi (Food24.com)
http://thefoodmarket.co.za
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