Steve and I have been catching up on old seasons of the Showtime drama “The Tudors” on Netflix. I love the story of King Henry VIII and his court, however ridiculous and outlandish it was, and am always intrigued when they treated simple illnesses, such as fevers, by “bleeding” someone. Basically, they would cut holes in the patient’s body near the afflicted area and just let the blood flow, declaring that it would “extract” the toxins. Sheesh - I have a hard time plucking my eyebrows! I’m not sure why they thought that making a person weaker would allow the body to heal faster, but it’s kind of hilarious considering everything we know now, and scary imagining what it would have been like to face that treatment. This is slightly similar to the French cook’s extraction methods! Treating a piece of meat in such a way that it draws out its juices and goodness. Bear with me here people….my mind works in funny ways.
We made two very delicious recipes, both very different. The first, Poule au pot, sauce raifort is a boiled chicken with horseradish sauce. It’s not as gross as it sounds; it’s actually a glorified chicken soup with a spicy cream sauce on the side. We spent countless time cutting carrots, potatoes, celery and turnips into footballs as the chicken was poaching away, and served them all in the stock like a soup. Traditionally, the soup is served with the horseradish sauce, cornichons, Dijon mustard, sea salt and pickled pearl onions on the side, although no explanation was given as to why those particular items were chosen. It seems as though the chef who wrote this recipe hadn’t grocery shopped for a while and chose to throw a bunch of random jarred items on the plate.
All the while, a tasty veal shank was braising on the stove. We prepared a white supreme sauce with a simple roux, the fortified veal stock and heavy cream mixed with an egg yolk. We used the sauce to make a beautiful Blanquette de veau a l’Ancienne - a white veal stew. The veal was so incredibly tender, and the addition of pearl onions and mushrooms a blanc, served with rice pilaf, completed the dish. I was fortunate enough to take home the additional servings, and heated it up for dinner on Saturday night – which was received with what I can only translate as Husband Tastebud Satisfaction Syndrome.
I had an “off day” at school, which can happen to us all. I grabbed a hot pan handle straight on, overcooked the onions and blackened a pan in less than 10 minutes…yikes. I received an awesome compliment, however, one that surprisingly led me to believe my classmates don’t know me very well. I was washing my 15 million tools at the sink when someone approached to “get in line”. I apologized for monopolizing the faucet, and he said, “It’s no problem at all…I’m happy to wait for you.” I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, so I asked him to clarify. “You’re one of the most patient people I know, so I’m happy to wait for you to finish washing!” I thanked him for his kind words yet was a little taken aback by his assessment, as I consider myself to be many things but one of them is definitely not patient. “I’ve seen you stay calm through some pretty rough situations…and I respect that. So take your time.” Wow. I learned a little something about myself I guess, and sometimes it takes a simple compliment to turn your night around. I’ll definitely think of that next time steam is coming out of my ears and flesh is peeling off of my fingers. SERENITY NOW!
No comments:
Post a Comment