What are you eating?

[jlaurson]

Seconding Sarge: I want that Bean recipe!


Muhself, I've been experimenting with french fries... and I think I have come close, very close to home-made french fry perfection.

I even bought a nice big, very pink pot for the adventure ("it was cheaper than in white") and a fry-cutter, which saves oodles of time. My first victim was my better half, where the fries went along with, oh, I forget. Was that the day we had whale steak? Could be. The result was modestly satisfactory. Good enough to eat them all compulsively, but not to be proud of. Too soggy too quickly, yet almost burned.



The next day I repeated the performance, now considerably improved, at the father-in-law-to-be's... the fries turned soggy within a few minutes, but fresh out of the pot they were very delicious. Something was still missing.

We went back to Munich where I organized a dinner with a Chinese and Taiwanese musician friends (you never have to worry about them being picky... I asked about about possible dietary restrictions and my friend replied in earnest surprise: Restrictions? We're Chines. We eat everything) that included a lox-with-capers-in-sour-cream on self made crackers topped with roe, a salad (that didn't quite work out for lack of sufficient dressing) [that was the Norwegian contribution] and horse steak and fries [my contribution]. The horse, I must admit, I ruined... and was mortified. Started way too early and by the time I was able to serve it, it had been overcooked... a shame and a sin. I will repent. But the fries!

I prepared the day before... cutting the taters, then cooking them in heavily salted vinegar water at a lowish temperature for about ten minutes. Let them dry... then fried them in small batches at hight temperature in a mix of about 50/50 pork lard, sunflower oil (Didn't have peanut oil) for about two minutes. I let them dry, then packed them and put them in the freezer. (This step not having been included in the previous attempts.) Brought them, along with my pink pot, over to the hosts... and fried them for 5 minutes or however long it took to get them to a saturated golden yellow. The result was incredibly tasty and stayed crispy... well... I can't say how long they would have stayed crispy beyond 15 minutes, because they didn't survive longer than that. But lost none of that crispiness... even as they lost temperature. They only downside was that they were a bit on the hollow side. Not crippling to the effort, but a noticeable distance from perfection. The taste (with the effective, though unnecessary pre-salting and the use of pork lard [could not get beef or horse lard]) was very pleasing indeed... and nearly made the eaters forget the ruined horse.


Back in Oslo, the day before the whale, meanwhile, we had pan-fried mackerels in the simplest Norwegian style: With boiled potatoes and LOTS of sour cream.

[SonicMan46]

Well, Bill & Sarge have been dominating this thread in recent posts, so needs some more input! 

Tonight, Susan made a 'light' meal for us - sauteed spinach w/ fresh mushrooms + a pork tenderloin marinated for hours in a local winery discovery, i.e. Laurel Gray sauce that is great as a dressing or as a marinade - the latter option makes this just superb w/ the pork - roasted in the oven and would even be better cooked on a smoky grill (will give that a try soon!) - wine for the evening a light red Beaujolais from Fluerie - I'm getting back to lighter reds and have forgotten how enjoyable these Village wines from Beaujolais can be - 


 

[Bogey]

Oh my...I haven't checked this thread in quite awhile, and clearly am missing all the summer fun.  The potatoes, zucchini and shallots sound especially enticing...

--Bruce

They were yummy, Bruce!  


Set a plate for me, Dave!

[SonicMan46]

Soapy - that dish looks great especially along w/ the beer!   

Last night, a great sushi dinner at our local Japanese restaurant just up the road - wonderful! 

Tonight, Susan cooked in for us - pic below:

King Salmon fillets, wild - smoked w/ Apple wood on our stove top smoker w/ some special toppings - delicious!

Tomatoes w/ fresh basil & olive oil - basil grown in our basement hydroponic machines - nothing better than RED tomatoes!

Baby Bok Choy - just steamed.  Plus, an Oregon Pinot Noir - this was quite simple & just delicious!   

[Sergeant Rock]

For dessert tonight we had baby pineapple slices. Delicious. It reminded me how much better baby anything tastes (turkey, veal, suckling pig). And then, coincidentally, I saw this in a cracked.com photoshop contest. Gross...but funny...and who knows, possibly true? 




Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Mondays are Mrs. Rock's worst days. She usually just wants to come home and crash, while I prepare food and drink. But today was different: she called from work, saying she wanted tapas (which I don't make). She went to the market after work, bought the ingredients and spent two hours in the kitchen making this feast. We drank a 2001 Rioja reserva. We are so stuffed and happy.





From bottom left to right: peppers stuffed with feta cheese. Olives stuffed with almonds, marinated in chilis and garlic. Pickled artichoke hearts. Fried onions and potatoes. Chevre (French goat cheese) wrapped in bacon. Figs wrapped in bacon with fried sausage. Boiled artichokes with two sauces. Stuffed grape leaves (from our own grape vines, the filling ground pork, tomatoes, garlic). Capers. Chorizo (a fiery Spanish pork sausage). Baby pineapple slices for dessert.

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Hey Sarge - Susan & I love tapas - can't really get them locally nor does she make them, but on trips we often find some great places for these tasty little snacks - hard to stop ordering them!

Those look great - I'm sure that we would enjoy!  And w/ any kind of wine - Dave 

[Sergeant Rock]

Nothing special for dinner tonight (charcoal grilled beef filets, roasted potatoes and onions, steamed broccoli) except the wine. I raided the cellar and opened a 1990 Chateau Pape Clement, one of a half dozen that's been residing there for about 17 years. Fully mature now, concentrated, tons of sweet blackberry fruit, a whiff of Graves tobacco.






Sarge

[mc ukrneal]

Nothing special for dinner tonight (charcoal grilled beef filets, roasted potatoes and onions, steamed broccoli) except the wine. I raided the cellar and opened a 1990 Chateau Pape Clement, one of a half dozen that's been residing there for about 17 years. Fully mature now, concentrated, tons of sweet blackberry fruit.






Sarge

Very nice indeed - and a great year!

[Sergeant Rock]

Hey Sarge - Susan & I love tapas - can't really get them locally nor does she make them, but on trips we often find some great places for these tasty little snacks - hard to stop ordering them!

One of the saddest days in recent memory was when our local Spanish restaurant closed. The tapas there were just sensational. We have to make our own now.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

Very nice indeed - and a great year!

It was, everywhere. We invested quite a bit in 90s Bordeaux, and to a lesser extent the 89s. Much is gone now but none of the wines show any hint of being over the hill yet. They'll probably last another ten years easily...or rather, they could. Most won't make it 

Sarge

[mc ukrneal]

It was, everywhere. We invested quite a bit in 90s Bordeaux, and to a lesser extent the 89s. Much is gone now but none of the wines show any hint of being over the hill yet. They'll probably last another ten years easily...or rather, they could. Most won't make it 

Sarge

Sadly, all of my wines from 88-90 are gone. I was just getting into wine then, and not very much money was available, but everything I got lasted well and tasted great. I know you will enjoy them.

[Sergeant Rock]

Sadly, all of my wines from 88-90 are gone. I was just getting into wine then, and not very much money was available...

Me too, both the timing and the lack of serious funds for wine. Before then I was interested in wine but the constant Army assignment shuffle made it impossible to collect, store and watch wine mature. Shortly after Desert Storm (1991) I retired. The 88s and 89s were being released. We'd bought a house and most of our money went to paying it off but our budget allowed for some wine purchases. Living close to France helped: wine is cheaper there--almost affordable 

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

Hey Guys - believe that I also had some of that '90 Pape Clement but long gone for me!  I've not bought any Bordeaux futures since 2000 which is all that I have left in my cellar - just downsizing & 'down pricing' I guess - plus, Susan does not drink these wines anymore w/ me, so my cellar has drastically shrunken in the last 10 yrs or so - sad but as one gets older just not looking to save wines for 20+ yrs!    Dave

[Sergeant Rock]

....sad but as one gets older just not looking to save wines for 20+ yrs!    Dave

I was just saying the same thing tonight, Dave. As Mrs. Rock and I were finishing the bottle, I began musing on age and the (perhaps) futility of continuing to collect wines that need another 10, 15, 20 years of cellar. She wouldn't hear of it! She's certain we're going to live another 40 years. Who knows...maybe she's right    It's not a logical assumption (at least for me) but a positive frame of mind couldn't hurt 

Sarge

[SonicMan46]

I was just saying the same thing tonight, Dave. As Mrs. Rock and I were finishing the bottle, I began musing on age and the (perhaps) futility of continuing to collect wines that need another 10, 15, 20 years of celllar. She wouldn't hear of it! She's certain we're going to live another 40 years. Who knows...maybe she's right    It's not logical assumption (at least for me) but a positive frame of mind couldn't hurt 

Hi Sarge - Susan & I are now 65 y/o (just 3 months apart in age - baby boomers from 1946!) - I just retired from my 34 yr career as an academic radiologist (I already miss my techs & my 'young' residents, but there's always a time for a change) - I'm swaying away from these aged reds (just do not seem to enjoy them as much; also getting rid of about a mixed case of Ports that date back to '77 - have a BIL that likes these) - I see my future in buying lighter reds (and less expensive ones) that may improve w/ a couple of years of aging but not much more - now I must say that recent wine making has changed so that these current reds have more mellow tannins and need MUCH less aging if much at all - fine w/ me at this age!

My favorite reds now seem to be the 'lighter ones' - Pinot Noir is now my preference - I can have the wine w/ red meats and also my choice for tuna & salmon; my current choices for deeper reds are also those that drink OK on release or may need just a year or two to improve - now in retirement, we hope for decent health to enjoy ourselves at home and in our local travels - hope that this will last for many years to come, but who knows?  Dave 

[Sergeant Rock]

Hi Sarge - Susan & I are now 65 y/o (just 3 months apart in age - baby boomers from 1946!)

At 62 I'm not too far behind (Mrs. Rock is still a relative baby)

I'm swaying away from these aged reds (just do not seem to enjoy them as much

I wish I could say the same thing. I really do! But everytime I open one of my old Bordeauxs I'm in heaven. I love other red wines too (especially Italian reds from Tuscany and Piedmont, and Rhones, and pinot noir, including our local German examples) but nothing is so transcendent to my taste buds as a mature Bordeaux. As I said, I wish it weren't so. I know you don't eat much red meat but that's still a vice I cherish    Nothing quite complements lamb like a good Bordeaux.

now I must say that recent wine making has changed so that these current reds have more mellow tannins and need MUCH less aging if much at all - fine w/ me at this age!

Me too, in fact, that was another thing Mrs. Rock and I were discussing: even Bordeaux, especially modern Bordeaux, needn't be aged. They can be quite delicious young. In fact, I think I preferred the 1990 Pape Clement when it was three, four, five years old. It's really an English thing to drink them old; the French drink them young (filthy perverts).  Anyway, Mrs. Rock prefers most wines in their youth too (she's German but has an unhealthy dollop of French blood in her veins  ). That was another of her arguments in favor of purchasing more recent vintage Bordeaux. I'm not sure I want to argue with that 

Sarge

[Lethevich]

I just tried beef jerky for the first time.

NEVER AGAIN

[Brian]

I just tried beef jerky for the first time.

NEVER AGAIN

It's okay, we must all go through that painful moment.

[Lethevich]

;__: I was under the assumption that it was some delicious guilty treat like pork scratchings, but it's sort of like leather that has been soaked in blood. Kind of like black pudding but with no moisure and an inedible texture...



Edit: Actually, this is inspiring me to see if I can make my own hybrid type. Some moisture, but still with that (theoretically) nice spices and flakey effect.