Text 17107, 193 rader
Skriven 2008-11-29 19:32:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av HAP NEWSOM
Ärende: bloodless 288
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 HN> Indeed and when she's feeling even the 
 HN> slightest bit "off" I tend to keep an extra
 HN> sharp eye on her! 

I can see that concern for someone so precious. In my case, I'm
responsible only to me, so it's not such a big deal, and I tend
to shrug things off.

 -> Fishers, and by this time all the tasks had been allocated.
 HN> The west coast or the east coast ones?

There are actually several sets; these were an east coast
variety.

 -> sweet potato soup with rum cream
 HN> Sounds good! Was it a fairly sweet soup then?

Quite sweet, and the cream is a touch sweet as well, but I
remedied that with a sprinkle of salt.

 HN> Rum sounds like an interesting flavor match as well!

It was: sort of presaged dessert without any sage at all.

 -> arugula salad with balsamic vinaigrette - the usual, but it
 -> was cheap cheap balsamic, not worthy of capitalization
 HN> Seems to be a lot of that around these days...
 HN> oddly enough not all from Modena either...hmmmm

Hmm ... it was Colavita, one of the better of the cheap
brands: I used to prefer Fini, but it went way up in price,
and Colavita did not. My friends apparently thought the same
way, despite their being pretty well-to-do.

 -> roast turkey - I wasn't responsible for this, and as a result,
 -> it was well well done, almost enough so to bring the hostess
 -> to tears.
 HN> Anne would have loved that! As you know she 
 HN> likes her turkey done to the point of dustbowl
 HN> dryness. I'm sure you were very dissappointed
 HN> as I would have been.

I wasn't thrilled. As I said, I was perfectly happy with just
the skin (one of the vice-presidents of Audubon was there and
looked at me with envy, saying, ah, the best part: but she's
now a health nut so didn't take any) until the host plopped a
big ol' drummer on my plate.

  What's odd though is that
 HN> Anne claims to like the dryest of turkeys..but when
 HN> I manage to sneak a sumptuous moist birdy in on her
 HN> she oohs and ahhs on how good it is! 

Hmm.

 -> gravy - I made this, and it was mediocre, sort of brown
 -> tasting, as the turkey drippings were weller done than
 -> the turkey itself; I didn't like it much but it certainly
 -> improved the stuffing
 HN> I like a good giblet gravy...nice and rich
 HN> and filled with good chunks of giblety 
 HN> delight!
 
I like just about any kind of gravy except what I made.
The drippings were so heavily caramelized that the gravy
could just as well have been Kitchen Bouquet and water.

 -> brussels sprouts with walnuts and balsamic vinegar - even
 -> though made with cheap cheap vinegar, this was pretty good,
 -> probably my favorite thing
 HN> One of my favorite things to make!
 HN> Was it a balsamic reduction or just 
 HN> balsamic V poured over the roasted
 HN> sprouts?

Sprouts were not precooked (I think a mistake: they should
have either been steamed/nuked or halved); when they were
done to about half the length given in the recipe, the vinegar
was poured over and allowed to cook down.
 
 -> brown 'n' serve rolls - salty, by report; I didn't try
 HN> And I can't fault you for that! Choose
 HN> your carbs well you do!

Tonight I take my brother out for yet another Thanksgiving
dinner. I will eschew my usual two beers, substituting two
glasses of overpriced wine. Well, maybe one beer and one wine.

 -> chocolate pecan pie - quite nice and chocolaty and pecanny;
 -> I had just a taste
 HN> When it comes to pecan pie I'm a purist.

When it comes to pecan pie I'm a pig. I was such a good boy
at the table Thursday I could hardly believe it.

 -> pumpkin cheesecake - quite nice and pumpkinny; I had the
 -> smallest piece that the host was willing to cut
 HN> I like pumpkin and cheesecake and pumpkin 
 HN> cheesecake sounds like a winner to me.

Except for the fact there's cheese, yeah.

 HN> Anne had her cranberry wine and I had
 HN> a glass of 2005 Barrio La Boca Malbec
 HN> from Argentina...very dark color, quite
 HN> tabaccoish as well, nice but not as 
 HN> good as I'd hoped it would be.

Look for Norton, Santa Caterina, and Las Hormigas
brands.

 HN> We had pulled pork with an eastern
 HN> carolina vinegar sauce...it was delish!

Something to give thanks for, fer sher.

 -> Sweet potato soup with rum cream
 HN> Looks good, not cutting edge, no
 HN> real surprises, but nice enough on 
 HN> it's own merit!

Yeah, it was fine. When I checked out the recipe book
the next day, I was surprised to see how unexciting the
dishes were in concept (though they no doubt would all
be above average).

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple/bourbon Sauce
 Categories: Cheesecakes, Sauces
      Yield: 6 servings

  1 1/2 c  Fine gingersnap crumbs            3/4 ts Ginger
           -(about 1/2 lb. gingersnaps)      1/2 ts Ground cloves
    3/4 c  Chopped pecans or walnuts         1/2 ts Freshly grated nutmeg
      6 tb Unsalted butter, melted             1 c  Unsweetened pumpkin puree,
    1/2 lb Cream cheese, at room                    -fresh or canned (not
           -temperature                             -pumpkin pie
    1/2 c  Sugar                                    Filling)
    1/2 c  Lightly packed brown sugar          5    Lg. Eggs
      1 ts Cinnamon                          1/2 c  Heavy Cream

  Crust: Lightly butter a 10x2 inch round cake pan. Combine gingersnap
  crumbs, nut, and butter in a bowl, and mix well. Press mixture firmly into
  prepared pan, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Make Filling: In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugars and
  spices, beat until light in texture, 3-4 min. Add pumpkin puree and mix
  until just blended. Stir in eggs one at a time, scraping sides of bowl
  after each addition. Stir in cream.

  Pour batter into crust, and put cake pan in a roasting pan. Add hot water
  to roasting pan halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake in center of oven until
  cheesecake is firm to touch and slightly puffed, about 50 minutes.

  Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack for about 45 minutes. Cover, and
  refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When cheesecake is completely chilled,
  lower pan into a hotwater bath for 2-3 min. to loosen the crust. Invert a
  large, flat plate on top of cheesecake; invert pan, and remove. Put a
  second plate on bottom of cheesecake, and turn it right side up. Cut with a
  hot knife, and serve with maple/bourbon sauce.

  Cheesecake will keep for 4-5 days in refrigerator and 2 weeks in the
  freezer.

  MAPLE-BOURBON SAUCE 1/4 C. Maple Syrup 3 Tb. Bourbon 1 C. Light Cream 1/4
  Vanilla Bean, split lengthwise 3 Lg. Egg Yolks 1/4 C. Sugar 3/4 tsp.
  Cornstarch 1/3 C. Heavy Cream Whipped

  Combine maple syrup and bourbon in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a
  boil, and cook until reduced by 1/3, about 10 minutes; set aside to cool.

  Put light cream and vanilla bean in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil.
  Immediately remove from heat, and let bean infuse cream for about 10
  minutes. Remove bean, and scrape pulp into cream.

  Whisk together egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Stir in 1/2 C. cream and
  return mixture to saucepan with rest of cream. Stirring continuously, cook
  over low heat until thickened enough to coat back of a wooden spoon, 5-8
  minutes.

  Add reduced maple syrup and bourbon, and strain through a fine sieve into a
  bowl set in ice. Stire until completely chilled, then fold in whipped
  cream.

  New York Magazine 10-21-91

MMMMM
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