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Cooking under the weather

Here’s a quick dish that I almost didn’t post because it’s pretty trivial, really. But there has been a clamor for more posts. Really, there has been . . . seriously . . . OK, fine, one person asked me. So here’s a quick one to tide us all over until I have the time and energy to post something more substantive.

Timing

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about cooking Christmas dinner, and the subject of timing came up—specifically, the subject of how to time a dinner party or holiday party so that the dinner was ready when the guests were ready to eat (or vice versa, I suppose). It’s exceedingly frustrating to try to have people over for dinner, only to find that the turkey you have been lovingly roasting all afternoon is done 3 hours before anyone arrives, or that your guests are on their fourth round of cocktails and you’re still in the kitchen, frantically trying to convince the beans to soften, or the onions to brown, or whatever.

Lentil Cassoulet

We inaugurate the new year with another Julia-Child-inspired recipe, alternately known as Lentilles Garnies or Lentilles en Cassoulet, or Gratin of Lentils with Meat. Given my day job, it borders on heretical for me to say that the English version of the name is the least poetic, but there it is. Let's compromise and call it "Lentil Cassoulet." 

One more thing...

Quick pic of my repast at Rudy's, home to some of the best barbecue in Texas.

Wine Cookies

To clarify: the cookies in question do not contain wine; they are meant to accompany wine. The name's origins are somewhat murky. As I recall, a friend of mine once expressed a wish that there were cookies that would go with beer. I looked around a bit, found a recipe from Julia Child's magnum opus Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and produced these. Best as I can remember, the people I first served them to determined that they were better suited to wine than to beer—possibly because of the blue cheese, but who the hell knows, frankly. For the record, JC calls these Galettes au Roquefort, or Roquefort Cheese Biscuits. I'm sticking with Wine Cookies. 

Port in a Storm

Should you find yourself in Denver Airport's Terminal A for an extended period of time, Chef Jimmy's Bistro actually has a decent burger.

"Feasting on the Remains"

I put the title of this post in quotation marks because it is an expression I took from the divine Julia, who used "Feasting on the Remains" as a chapter subtitle in her book The Way to Cook. Sounds much classier than "What to do with the leftovers," don't you think?

We interrupt your regularly scheduled posting...

End-of-semester madness has wreaked havoc on the blog and in the kitchen (don't judge me). Be back soon.

Holiday Treats

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