Ling is going to a CNY party tonight. I am not. Before she left, she asked what I was making myself for dinner. Her party would be a lot of chinese barbeque (in other words, gross). So I said I’d do something.
Figured it should be vegetable-centric, as I gave myself a CNY indulgence today and ran to Choupinette, the French Bakery, and bought two strawberry beignets that were, literally, still warm from the kitchen. Unbelievably good. Donut flesh as soft as a boob, but filled with strawberry jam, instead of watery milk.
Saw a few worthwhile ingredients, a box of fresh spinach, a bag of thin French beans. I had a brick of feta and some ham from last week’s sandwiches. Simple matter to make a plate of beans and a spinach salad. Lightly sauted the lean ham and made a vinaigrette. Haha I’m quite smitten with this “handprocessor” and its massive whisking properties. I have some learning to do, however. I poured some 10 year old balsamic vinegar into a bowl and then drizzled in some nice olive oil, whisking it with my Braun. I don’t have much emulsion experience, and the whisking action was exhilarating. Suddenly I found myself with a mayonnaise-like vinaigrette jelly that was firmer and stronger than a meringue. I could have held the bowl upside-down. Oh well, it tasted good, so I knocked it down a bit with some blasts in the microwave, then it was pourable.
To cook the beans, I used the technique described in “Staff Meals” — put a thin layer of beans in a pan, fill with cold water to half-depth of the beans, lots of kosher salt, a knob of butter, and bring to high boil until tender. Then out they go, onto a plate, a blast of salt, and they’re ready. They were nice. Good color, good smell, nice texture, and the touch of salt made them munchable.
Speaking of not-munchable, I tried to use some of the old peanut oil from our turkey and a couple russet potatos I picked up yesterday and make potato chips. Yuk. Burnt, inedible, grease-logged junk. So I tried another potato into french fries. Practically as bad. I decided not to waste any calories on that slop and tossed them out. The fundamental problem is that my stove is a fucking piece of shit. I’m lucky in that it uses piped gas, not LPG canisters, otherwise it would be even weaker. But basically what I have is four shitty, tiny burners that are as controllable as a camper stove. They’re mostly just tiny-diameter point flames with little adjustability. There is a snobbish taint to things like Viking stoves, but on the other hand, those are big, controllable burners. There is no reason a stove shouldn’t be able to bring a pot of oil easily to 350F and fucking keep it there. Since I couldn’t keep the oil hot enough, the potatoes couldn’t generate enough steam to keep the oil at bay, thus the grease-logging.
To finish up tonight I took some soon-to-spoil packages of raspberries and blueberries from the refrigerator, some unsweetened yogurt Ling made ?when? and some confectioner sugar. Into her little ice cream maker and ran it till it was like a sorbet. Her icecream maker is clever. The big mixing boil is basically a giant icepack that you keep in the freezer until you need it. Then the mixing arm latches on top and stirs your ice cream till it’s done. The mixing bowl is about a quart size but seems to have pretty strong cold ‘horsepower.’
That’s all. Going to finish up my Japanese vocab now… nearly done with the list.
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Grill them.
wash and cut potatos, into 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. spray with pam, or lightly apply olive oil. Apply your favorite seasonings, grill until you get nice grill marks.
Finally, potatoes! I can contribute!
The best (and easiest) prep method is cut baby red potatoes in quarters, spread on cookie sheet, season with italian herbs and grated parmesean cheese, drizzle with EVOO, and bake until nicely browned. They are flavorful and great with almost anything.