Text 731, 116 rader
Skriven 2008-01-14 09:58:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av BARBARA MCNAY
Ärende: Can'ts! 693
===================
 > been there, done that, it was good but not that good.
 BM> Agreed.  You're left thinking that some of that money was a waste.

Depends on your attitude. The first time, not a waste, for the
experience; the second time, maybe, but there's some Aunt Ah-style
justification for giving it another chance. The third time, well,
we draw a discreet veil over that.

 > it becomes easier to find Kobe-standard meat - a
 > couple years ago I picked up some for under $20/lb.
 BM> Doubtless a much more satisfying experience, if still expensive.

From a cost-benefit analysis, yes, more satisfying; but from
a purely experiential standpoint, not really.

 > can't really get knowledgeable. Almost as if someone
 > was brought up thinking green peppers were mangoes,
 > then ordering mango and sticky rice for dessert at a
 > Thai restaurant.
 BM> There is that, and it can give rise to most unpleasant (as well as
 BM> most pleasant) surprises.

In fact, some old Southern cookbooks use the term "mango"
for "bell pepper."

 > Heh. I didn't take Home Ec but read the books on my own.
 BM> Really, I think that Home Ec, the cooking, sewing, money and house
 BM> management, and what else, should be a required continuing subject
 BM> through school and not relegated to an elective semester.

I agree. Home Ec would probably have more long-term financial
(as well, in the cooking and sewing department, as aesthetic)
benefit than most other subjects.

 > Poached Beef Tenderloin
 > Cat: New York, beef, main, coincidence
 BM> What's the coincidence?

The original newspaper article occurred at the same time, more
or less, as someone else's posting of "boeuf a la ficelle,"
which is essentially the same thing.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Boeuf … la Ficelle: Eduard de Pomiane
 Categories: Main course, Beef
      Yield: 2 Servings

    750 g  Rump steak; up to 1 kg
           ;boiling water
           ;salt
           ;string
           ;seasonings & accompaniments
           -to taste (see text)

    "The piece de résistance is the rump steak. Boeuf … la ficelle: beef
  on a string. It's Pomiane's recipe (not one of his quickies, but
  fairly effortless) and he has a lot of fun with it, teasing his
  guests, making them afraid it is going to be unpleasant.
    All you need is a large, deep pot of boiling water, some string, a
  cubical piece of rump steak, 750 g to 1 kg, and some salt.
    Tie the meat firmly in shape with the string, leaving one long end
  hanging. ('The roast balances itself, like a censer, on the end of the
  string.') Bring the deep pot of salted water to a good boil. Plunge
  the roast in. Tie the string firmly to the handle of the pot in such
  a fashion that the meat is perfectly suspended, not touching the
  sides. You may need two strings, one to each handle so the roast
  swings not like a censer but like a hammock. And it's a good idea to
  try it out before you start the water boiling, because the length of
  string and placing of the meat are nice matters. Put the lid back on
  and keep it boiling.
    Pomiane explains why this isn't going to turn into soup. The action
  of the hot water is the same as that of any sudden fierce heat -
  grill or oven - in sealing the meat.
    Time the cooking at exactly 15 minutes per 500 grams. Pomiane does
  it to the nearest minute. Be careful if you are using a larger
  quantity: it may not need much more time if the piece of meat is
  longer. Remove the piece of meat to a hot plate. 'It is grey... it
  isn't beautiful... I carry it to the table... I admit to feeling some
  emotion... What will this morsel of meat offer? Come on... courage.'
  (The drama of this is because it's Radio Cuisine, it's a performance.
  Pomiane is pretending it's all happening even as his audience
  listens.) 'I take a fork and a very sharp knife. I prick, I cut.
  Admirable spectacle! The cut meat is red; the blood spurts, it runs,
  it spreads on the plate. Never has such a roast given me such a
  result.'
    He's right. It's exactly like that. The guests are dubious. So are
  you. It's an ugly, grey and bulgy object that you're offering. You
  could of course cut it in the kitchen, but then you'd lose the
  contrast effect, the ugly-duckling-into-swan transformation. Which is
  certainly most spectacular. The meat is rare, meltingly tender. And
  the water it's cooked in remains perfectly clear, with a few
  colourless globules of fat on the surface. Not one drop of the meat's
  juices escapes.
    Pomiane serves only salt, watercress, bread and red wine with it.
  I'd offer several mustards, maybe some horseradish. The asparagus...
  I can't have a vinaigrette with them as well as artichokes; we'll
  have to make do with the meat's red juice. Or a bit of butter.
    You don't of course have to indulge in all the theatre. This is an
  excellent way to cook beef for serving cold; seeing it ready sliced
  on a plate, nobody would suspect it was boiled."

  "EAT MY WORDS" by Marion Halligan, (c) 1990.
  Collins/Angus & Robertson Publishers, Australia, ISBN 0 207 16823 7

  The reference is to a recipe by Eduard de Pomiane, but she does not
  tell us which of his books it was in.

  Typed by Greg Mayman, March 1999.
  Later tested - yes, it's exactly as described! GM.

MMMMM

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