Hoo boy, this is turning into a whining about
health echo, and I am the prime culprit, I admit.
It's what's happening currently... ;)
Sad to say.
I did find a terrible secret in the bottom of
her freezer - a whole big block of frozen
chicken thighs, months and months and months
old. What other secrets are in store for me?
It sounds worse than my freezer, even... Were you able to use the
chicken thighs for anything...? or were they too far gone...? And have
you found out any more secrets in the meantime....?
I haven't looked carefully and don't plan to.
There was the 2014 bag of dried blueberries in
the cupboard, though.
Truffles add to the profit margin in a way
that vegetable-of-the-day doesn't. If one
puts truffle oil in a dish, that will justify
adding a buck or two to the price; actual
shaved truffles, even bad ones, many dollars.
Add foie gras and truffles, double the price.
So its the cachet of the item...
That's what drives profits. Asparagus just
doesn't cut it.
I'll pay the premium for foie gras, but truffles
are seldom worth it - not that I dislike them,
but it's really difficult to get good ones of
the proper species (melanosporum) - I have not
had them in the US in 30 years (other than what I
brought back myself) and seldom even in Europe.
One pays for the name, not the quality, then.... which I believe has
been discussed before... ;)
For sure - but truffles, one just can't get the
quality, especially here.
Back in the olden days there was this concept
of the Marketplace of Ideas, where truth would
be trusted to eventually supplant truthiness,
but now the latter proliferates at lightning
speed, so it's been largely replaced by Gresham's
law, where good gets squeezed out by faulty. Some
of us will do our hour a day trying to put out
interesting true stuff and to stamp out crap, but
it can be hard at times and gets some resistance.
Yeah, I know.... ;) And it's across the board, not just in cooking... I
keep hearing from a friend of mine the latest and greatest "truths" that she's just found on the Internet or seen in a TV show....
Lilli does that sometimes - she will shout from
the other room that she's discovered something,
and I'll say, where'd you read that, and it turns
out to be some insane or at least demilune site.
Spago Gefilte Fish
cat: Passover
Serves: 12
1 hd (about 2-1/2 lb) green cabbage
2 c matzoh meal
1 qt fish stock, Court Bouillon
- or good-quality canned fish broth
1 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 md (5 oz) onion, minced
2 lb whitefish fillets, such as pike,
- carp or whitefish, cut into chunks
3 eggs, separated
1/2 c chopped Italian parsley
2 Tb (6 or 7 sprigs) chopped fresh tarragon leaves
2 to 3 ts salt
1/2 ts freshly ground white pepper
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1 md carrot, peeled and julienned
1 md leek, white part only, julienned
Grated white or red horseradish
We add brilliant green color by wrapping each piece of
gefilte fish in a blanched cabbage leaf. If you like the
pungent bite of horseradish with gefilte fish, finely
grate a peeled, fresh horseradish root into a bowl;
cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until needed.
For red horseradish, boil 1/2 lb red beets until
tender; then peel, finely grate into a bowl, and add to
taste to grated horseradish.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the
cabbage and blanch it for about 5 min; carefully lift
it out, leaving the water in the pot, and transfer the
cabbage to a basin filled with cold water. When the
cabbage head is cool enough to handle, remove the whole
leaves and cut away the tough core. As you peel off the
outer leaves, you may have to return the head of cabbage
to the boiling water to soften the inner leaves. Lay the
whole leaves out to dry on a clean towel and reserve.
Put the matzoh meal in a small bowl. Cover with 1 c fish
stock and let soak until needed.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and
saute until wilted but not yet browned, 4 to 5 min.
Transfer to a bowl to cool.
In a wooden bowl or on a chopping board, chop the fish
finely with a curved chopper or a large knife. Add the
matzoh meal with the stock, the cooled onions, 3 egg
yolks, the chopped parsley and tarragon, 2 ts salt,
white pepper, and cayenne to taste, and continue to
chop until well combined.
Whisk the egg whites until they form firm but not stiff
peaks. Stir a little into the fish mixture; then, quickly
but gently, fold in the remaining whites. To test for
flavor, bring a little fish stock to a simmer, add a
small ball of the fish mixture, and cook for about 5 min.
Taste and correct seasoning, adding a little more salt or
cayenne as you like.
Heat the remaining fish stock and spoon a little into
an 11 x 17" baking pan. Divide the fish mixture into
twelve portions, about 4 oz each, and enclose each in an
oblong shape inside 1 or 2 cabbage leaves, wrapping the
leaves around the filling like paper around a package,
folding the bottom, then the two sides, and then the top
over the fish; you will find that when the leaves get
smaller, you will have to use two to wrap the fish. As
each package is formed, place in the prepared pan,
seam-side down. Pour the remaining stock over the fish
and top with the carrots and leeks. Cover the pan with
foil and bake 30 bmin. Remove the pan from the oven, let
the fish cool in the stock, and then transfer the fish
and stock to an airtight container and refrigerate until
serving time.
To serve, place one package of gefilte fish on each
of 12 plates, garnishing with some of the julienned
carrots and leeks. Pass the horseradish for guests to
add to their plates to taste.
Wolfgang Puck, Spago
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