My Perfect Job- 5/1/09

I wish I could get paid to do this. I'd follow recipes from each month's Gourmet and write reviews. I wouldn't ask for much money, maybe just $25 per recipe plus a stipend for groceries. That would be so cool. I don't know if that job even exists but if it does, I want it. Today I would have made $125 and I would have saved over $150 on groceries, not bad for a day at the office.

Last Saturday, I asked Richard if he wanted me to make the Maverick Grits on page 55 for breakfast. He shares my opinion of grits and was less than enthusiastic so I didn't make them then. I made them today for lunch for Eyrleigh and me. I'm actually glad I saved this dish for lunch. I'm not sure I would have liked shrimp at breakfast, or at least smelling them while I peeled and deveined them at 9:00 in the morning. This was a really good lunch, though. It was pretty heavy on the meat so it was a bit greasy in my opinion but the creamy grits tempered the fat. It took almost no time to make and Eyrleigh liked it, once I mixed in some apple butter... don't ask.

In last month's Passover menu, I made a Sardine Escabeche. Tonight, I made the Quail Escabeche and realized that escabeche is a method of cooking, not a particular food item. Escabeche is a cooking method that combines a vegetable and vinegar marinade and a breaded pan-fried meat or fish. I've liked both dishes but it is a flavor I'm still getting used to. It's almost like pickled meat, something I haven't eaten much. The recipe calls for semi boneless quail. I didn't have a lot of choices. Super H Mart sold quail whole so I had to go with that. There were a lot of bones and not a lot of meat. In fact, while cutting up the quail, a bluebird flew by and I think he was about the same size as the quail. The package said jumbo quail. I'd hate to see them any smaller.

For the main course, I made the Soupe Au Pistou on page 31. If you ever want to make sure you get your green vegetables, eat this soup. There were 12 different vegetables incorporated in this soup. It was healthy and it tasted it. It was very good but the addition of a fat wouldn't have hurt. The pistou really helped the flavor pop and was a great addition.

I'm trying to finish May's recipes before we leave for San Diego, now postponed until the 10th, so I made the Pommes De Terre Sarladaise on page 123 as a side. I looked at 2 grocery stores for duck fat but had no luck. I decided that lard, fat from pigs, was still fat from an animal so it would have to work. The problem with the dish was not the fat used to cook it, though the flavor would have undoubtedly been richer had I found duck fat, but that the cook time given wasn't long enough. The potatoes were still a little crunchy, even after 20+ minutes. I should have tested them but Eyrleigh is still getting over her fever and was pretty needy by the time dinner was rolling around.

There are very few dessert recipes in this month's Gourmet so it was nice to have a dessert tonight. The recipe for Perigord Walnut Tart, also on page 123, was basically pecan pie with walnuts. The best part was how easy the tart crust was to make. I've mentioned I really struggle with making good crust and this crust recipe was almost effortless. It tasted great too. The walnuts did get too brown before the tart was done baking so I would recommend covering the tart with foil until the last part of the baking.
I so wish I was getting paid to do this!

Maverick Grits-B+

Quail Escabeche-B

Soupe au Pistou-B

Pommes De Terre Sarladaise-C

Perigord Walnut Tart-B