So far today (1600) – highest gust recorded by the trusty weather
station; think we got lucky so far…
(56 mph at 9:36 am)
You know the feeling you (I) have when going to the doctor you sit in the reception area for maybe 20 minutes past your
appointment time? Just kind of marking
time sitting and waiting for someone to call you? Then finally sesame opens and a nurse bellows
out “WILLIAM MOODY” and you’re ushered to the exam room and after the stock
questions are answered, she leaves with a cheery “He’ll be right in”. then ensues another 15 minutes (on a good
day) before doc appears. Meanwhile you
sit in a state of suspended animation, alone with your thoughts and
apprehensions (you are, after all, in a medical facility).
Well, I see parallels between that and the “virus”
lifestyle. You sit, sort of waiting for
“something” to happen (or not). But it’s hard to get on with life or interest
in any endeavor, like reading for instance.
So you sit waiting for time to pass for….. anyway, that’s me. Hopefully you are not similarly
afflicted.
Side dishes
The closing of restaurants appears to be causing devastating
consequences for those whose only/largest source of income came from serving,
washing, on up through cooking. So
called “relief checks” while helpful, will not make
Restaurateur (note: no
“n”) Gerard Craft* puts it thus on the cover of “Sauce" a magazine that
follows the food trail in St. Louis
*Gerard Craft last year became the first St.
Louis-based chef to win the James Beard award for Best Chef: Midwest. His cadre
of St Louis venues is large:
niche, brasserie, taste, pastaria, porano pasta; all of which receive many
accolades for their food.
Another more local instance is the pretty well confirmed
rumors that “Smokey Joe’s on the Town”
in Leonardtown will go permanently dark, pushed over the brink by the recent
COVID-19 shut downs. The owner (Denise
Canter) has been a leader in serving up BBQ around here forever. Used to be in
that little place on 235 across from the Immaculate Heart church. Now a car staging area. Tough way to make a living, thank goodness
there are those that choose to..
We got the meats!
Since housebound, have been messing around with cooking beef
(in the Ninja Foodii) Turns out there is
a learning process involved which I have not yet mastered. I figure if you’re stuck in the house, eating
well is the best revenge (as FOJTE is fond of saying – and he does).
Experiments so far have included a strip steak, from a local
source of local beef (along with all the essentials of a good cook)
And pre-grilled a bit for me by the source. Turned out pretty well. Am having trouble getting a nice sear on the
outside and still rare/medium rare on the inside. As usual, got involved with consumption and
forgot to document results.
Another attempt was with a filet obtained from Double R
ranch, a partner of Snake River Farms.
Decided to try a technique from Thomas Keller’s Master Class. He used a rib eye, but figured the filet
would be worth a try.. SO, the day before we figured to eat it, I unpackaged
it, salted both sides, ties a string around to hold shape, and stuck it in the
refrigerator for overnight “dry aging”
When I took it out the next day, it had darkened
considerably (it started out rosy pink)
I made some compound butter for it
and got it ready for the "device"
Results much better, I think the aging tightened it up a
bit, and only took it out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, so maybe
that helped keeping it rare. Once again
it was plated and consumed without pictures..
So latest (aren’t you glad?) was last night with a locally
raised and butchered cow resulting in a nice “(boneless) prime rib”
Well while browsing around the web I
found a recipe called “Chef John’s Perfect Prime Rib” (“This is a specific
formula for achieving a perfectly pink prime rib cooked somewhere a shade under
medium rare”)
What I found intriguing was that it called for being coated
with another compound butter recipe (Herbes de Provence – which I had to
substitute for) and then put into the oven at 500 ͦ for a specified time, turn off oven, keep the door closed and leave it for 2(!)
hours. That meant that cocktail hour was unsullied!
So, I cobbled together the butter mixture
Slathered it on the meat
And stuck in into the 500-degree oven for 11 minutes (weight
times five) and at the end of the 11 minutes, it looked like this
Turned the oven off, closed the door and proceeded to
cocktails
After two hours, I sliced into it and by golly! Much to my
surprise (and relief) was a nice rosy pink
It was plated and served with MFO’s twice baked potatoes, and
a glass of Hanna Cab. Happy Easter!
And, it appears that we are (hopefully) out of the woods on
the weather..
Be safe, be isolated, protected, observe social distancing,
and I guess
DFTV
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