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Food Thread: Pâté, Sweet Tea, And Cheese Puffs? Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad!

That is called Oyakodon, and it's a very simple dish that lots of different food cultures make, or at least their version of it. Some sort of flavored protein (in this case it is chicken simmered in dashi), eggs, onions or some other aromatic, and starch. This is obviously rice, but potatoes or pasta or beans will work.

It's delicious, and one of my favorite simple meals. But as I said, lots of other countries make something like it. America's Hash & Eggs works just fine for me. Eggs in Purgatory (Italy), or Shakshuka (Mediterranean), etc. Hell, I guess Chinese fried rice falls into this category. And Chilaquiles.

Maybe it's just a "whatever leftovers we have goes into the skillet" sort of dish, but I like them all!

[What? Life intrudes? How dare it! The Food Thread^TM will be a little light today, since I have been busy eating and drinking as research for future additions!]

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What am I drinking? Burgundies. The entire region let me down a few weeks ago, as a friend who for some perverse and disturbing reason likes Bordeauxs, competed with me and won. The Burgundy I chose was crap. Flat, boring, thin. Thoroughly insipid. His Bordeauxs were simply better. And that really pissed me off, because he won't let me forget it.

So I figured I had to see if they can redeem themselves, and what better way to do that than take a very fast and comfortable train (thank you French taxpayers!) to the heart of the region.

And hopefully I will find good examples of their wines, which are notoriously difficult to make, and painfully expensive sometimes. I won't be drinking DRC wines (four figures is common), but rather the off-the-beaten-path wines that should be wonderful. I hope.

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What am I eating? Oeuf en meurette is definitely on the menu. Eggs poached in red wine, with thick bacon, mushrooms and shallots. Yeah, sounds awful.

And Gougères, which are nothing more than cheese puffs. But that isn't a bad thing!

And I will probably have a lot of Kir, which is white wine with a splash of crème de cassis, or black current liquor, which is a specialty of the region.

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Sweet Tea is weird. There...I said it! There was a discussion in Friday's Art Thread about it, and there didn't seem to be much support for it, which makes perfect sense to me. If I want to eat that much sugar I'll just buy...you know...candy!

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Yes, it is a NY Times link, and for that I apologize. But in my defense it is a solid recipe by one of their most famous food writers. Craig Claiborne knew his stuff, and this is an excellent recipe for Pâté de Campagne. Too many recipes add all sorts of extraneous spices, but the original dish is simple, and Claiborne keeps it that way!

I visited some cooking shops with friends a few weeks ago, and they sold special molds for these sorts of pâtés. Tempting, but ultimately silly for the home cook. Unless you want to make the pâté wrapped in a flaky crust, but that adds complexity to a simple dish. It is mighty tasty though!

See? I am convincing myself to buy one of those baking molds!

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Uh...what?

That is an apparently well-regarded restaurant in a great little neighborhood called "Shepherd Market" in London's Mayfair.

No, I didn't try it. There is a very nice pub a few doors up the street that served a solid Sunday Roast!

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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!