with butter. I think both met with general approval, the preferences determined by whether you favored grilled or buttery flavors.

Both worked well.... There were a few core pieces left over in the end,

Cooked pieces or raw? The raw ones Ruth wanted to experiment
with on her own, though I thought it would have been sporting
if she'd done her method while we were here, so we could do
some more sampling.

and I took a couple of those home with me... ended up chopping them
fairly small and cooked with onions to go with the couple of lamb hearts
I'd bought at the market Saturday as a treat for Richard... those I cut
in half lengthwise and pan-fried in butter... and to fill out the meal,
we had the steak and kidney pie leftovers... so he got at least a taste
of the picnic... :)

:amb hearts are pretty good - I hope they were nice and cheap.

Aleppo brand halvah with pistachios was pretty much as expected
but a little greasy in the mouthfeel. It had a high proportion
of pistachios, which almost justified the elevated price.

I was surprised a bit at the feathery/grainy texture of it... but it was

That texture comes from the kind of mixing, which makes
the sugar crystals or whatever they are align in needle
shapes. I find it kind of cool. If they'd used granulated
sugar in the making, that probably wouldn't have happened.

still quite nice, and the pistachios did enhance it... :)

They'd better have, at the price.

lot else; and the orange, which didn't taste like orange at all
but a very fleeting fruitiness, not even citrus, was in fact pond
water green. I suspected that it had been past its due date, but a
check revealed a 2020 expiration. I think this was also Aleppo brand.

I don't remember the brand on that, so you may be right... a good thing
for me, the coffee flavored one didn't have enough coffee to trigger my allergy, so I was able to taste it, along with the other two... :) They
were ok, but not as addictive as the stuff poor Edmund got in Narnia...
of course that stuff was also enchanted.... ;)

I'm pretty sure that it was made by the same people who
did the Aleppo brand. That was a Turkish-dominated store.
I know Aleppo is in Syria, but tell that to the Turks. We
don't realize the depth of stability Ataturk brought to
that part of the world.

It was an uneventful trip punctuated by substantial showers
in a couple places. It being unpleasantly glarey I kept my
eyes shut most of the time and certainly took a nap or two.
I don't know if Nancy felt left alone, but I can and do carry
on conversations with my eyes closed and possibly even asleep.

You were sufficiently engaged... and I'm pretty used to traveling alone anyway, so wasn't concerned... :)

I actually considered flying back from RDU but figured
that would have been unneighborly, though if I'd been
headed straight back west, I might have done so. And it
was nice to get another day with the Shipps.

Clement violin concerto in D, which seemed an amusing mishmosh
of violin works by Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn. It
was interesting enough for me to look it up, and guess what?
It was written before Beethoven's violin concerto and when
Schubert was 8 and years before Mendelssohn was born. The
others were cribbing from him, not the other way round! This
composer deserves another look for sure.

Who'da guessed... :) Their cribbing might have been unintended, just

So I saw Rachel Barton Pine later (she's the performer we
heard playing that piece), and it turned out that she did
album pairings of famous concerti and the formerly famous
ones that inspired them, and the Clement was on an album
along with the Beethoven.

happenstance... similar musical idioms.... :)

Completely impossible. We're talking note for note cribs.
not just stylistic similarities. Most likely these were
homages to a formerly famous piece that people of the time
would have recognized.

It turns out that my rule of thumb "outer loop good, inner
loop bad" obtained, and if we'd gone the normal way we would
have lost half an hour.

Just as well that my brain was too addled to realize that I really
didn't want to stay on I95 at that point... ;)

Doesn't matter much, it did work out.

half an ounce of butter. The steaks had been Choice and quite
marbled, so a little extra cooking didn't harm the flavor or
the texture.

I suppose cooking with a thermometer is the acceptable way to do it...
but, in my usual minimalist way, I've never seen the need for it,
especially for meats and entrees and such...

I never used them until I met Lilli, but someone at her house
(I think the cleaning lady, whom I don't trust) busted hers, and
the steaks I made after the incident have been better.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

Title: Pork Tenderloin With Cilantro-Lime Pesto
Categories: Mexican, Pork
Servings: 6

MMMMM------------------------------PESTO-----------------------------------
1 tb Garlic; minced
2 tb Ginger; minced
1/4 c Green onions; minced
1 tb Cilantro; minced
1 ts Jalapeno; minced
1/2 ts Freshly ground pepper
2 tb Lime juice
2 tb Olive oil
1 1/2 lb Pork tenderloin
1/2 c Hot pepper cheese; grated
1/4 c Pine nuts; toasted

For the pesto: Combine first seven ingredients in a food processor or
blender and puree. Slowly add olive oil until the mixture thickens.

Assembly: Cut tenderloin in half lengthwise and lay out flat. Spread
half
of pesto mixture over tenderloin and sprinkle grated cheese and pine nuts
over the pesto. Reform tenderloin and tie to secure. Spread remaining
pesto
over tenderloin and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Place tenderloin on a rack and bake in preheated 400F oven until firm, 30
to 40 minutes. It should reach an internal temperature of 155F. Remove
from oven. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes, reserving all juices.
Slice and serve with reserved juices.
Source unknown. M says nonsense; ten degrees less is fine.

MMMMM
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