« First World Problems... | Main | Gun Thread: Vacation Edition 1.0 »

Food Thread: Puttering And Popcorn!

One of the pleasures of cooking is the relaxed pace of a home-cooked meal. Oh, I'm not talking about the frenetic meals that provide little besides fuel and a cursory check that the brats are still alive. You know, the ones that are scheduled between homework and band practice and baseball and picking up the car from the shop and getting that last load of laundry put away.

No... I am talking about the meals with good friends on a lovely and relaxed weekend, or the last evening of a vacation (or even an impromptu breakfast of savory French Toast with salt and butter).

The Roasted Chicken With Leeks and Butter-Sautéed Carrots that you see above was the delicious result of just such an event. And even better, it included shopping for the ingredients!

There are very few things better than puttering around the kitchen with friends, glasses of wine, sharp knives, and no real plan.

But it worked out marvelously, especially since the food really was good. As many of you know, my mantra when entertaining or being entertained is that the real pleasure is the company, and if the food is good? What a wonderful bonus!

We did forget to open the champagne, so there will need to be a reprise of this meal...

******
A commenter (or reader) I will call "KM" sent me this link to a restaurant in Prague that he enjoyed. He directed my attention to the venison tenderloin tartare. Garden's looks like a fun place, and the menu is right up my alley!

The Czech Republic is on my short list of places to visit, not least because I have been assured that the food is quite good,and this menu doesn't disappoint!

******
Speaking of tartare...it's a wonderful dish, and why beef tartare is not more popular in the United States is beyond me. A fair number of the readers of this august website eat their steak bloody rare, which is essentially raw. And many of you will happily guzzle down raw oysters and clams and ... shudder ... raw broccoli. Yet you draw the line at steak tartare?

That's just weird.

If you are extremely concerned with food-borne illness, then there are ways to mitigate it. For instance, just use a very sharp knife and shave off the outer layer of the beef you are using. And of course buy it from a reputable place...nothing off the back of a truck!

Here is a solid recipe from Alton Brown, although there are dozens of different ways to do it, so don't think this is the gold standard. Here in France I have seen at least four different preparations, and I am torn between the classic, and the "Provencal" version.

Go for it! You know you want to, even if it is just to gross out your kids.

******
Well, this is a strange one. I know that people eat carnivores, but for reasons I can't fully articulate, they just don't appeal to me. And isn't that silly? I eat all sorts of fish, and they are carnovires, so why not terrestrial ones?

This is from regular commenter "Elric Blade!"

It's my July 4th menu. Roast alpaca, coyote, bobcat, python, and beaver. Who doesn't like beaver?

******

******

******
I thought France would have good garlic, but the Frogs seem to have the same problem we have in the U.S. At least they don't import filthy garlic from China. Pork is great here, but no game, so send all of your extra antelope to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Who are those poor deluded souls We know who shakes their Manhattans! These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

$1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.

The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!