Drunkblogging

While taking a Personal Growth Break at work today, I surfed upon a new concept: Drunkblogging. The Valleyrag website (find it yourself, but it’s really not that interesting), some kind of social news site for Silicon Valley hipster/geeks, tags as such the blog entries they make while drunk. 

 We all know the dangers of Drink ‘n’ Dial, and I would tend to think that Drunkblogging would have the very same ones, with the added pitfall of the ability to post realtime pictures. And – although I know that my blog has exactly 3 readers at this time – there’s the potential of exposing your drunken foibles to the WORLD.

I think my blog is fairly safe, because if I did start Drunkblogging, the worst I could do would be to tell you what I RILLY FINK about Calphalon or what I RELLY THIMK about Information Mapping. And attach a photo of my beautiful enamel-coated cast-iron Dutch oven.

Would you like some sodium with that?

Yeah, I know: chain restaurants love the salt.

 Still, sometimes it’s just the course of least resistance to run up to the Max & Erma’s on the corner for an appetizer or burger.

I went there yesterday for a late, surprise lunch with the 19- and 22- year olds. We had the barbecue chicken quesadilla, french onion soup, a sandwich, and a burger. I’ll have to blog sometime about french onion soup, because if you make it at home, it’s beyond divine. But when you go to a restaurant for it, you know what you’re getting: salt. So, OK, we knew what we were in for, and we got it and it was pretty good considering we knew what we were getting into.

 But I specifically told the waiter to hold the seasoning on the barbecue chicken quesadilla, which is a nice, grilled, sliced chicken breast quesadilla with a little barbecue sauce, lettuce, pico de gallo, etc. But even with the “hold the salt” instructions, it was pretty salty. 

The final straw was the fries. Neither of the kids could eat the fries that came with their sandwiches! That’s a lot of salt!

It’s too bad that the “local” oversalts things to the point where we, expecting salty, fatty barfood, can’t even eat what we ordered.

 (I will avoid cranky posts in general, but ya know….)

A multi-tasker! Alton would be proud.

Last summer I bought a pancake cozy from Crate & Barrel.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=385&f=23232&q=pancake&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

They call it a “Pancake Warmer” but that’s not as fun. They should hire me.

Anyhow, I initially thought it was a unitasker. You make a big batch of pancakes, put them in the cozy, and keep them warm in the oven until noon when the teenagers decide to get up. They don’t dry out and they stay nice and warm (the pancakes, not the teenagers).

Then one day, I was steam heating tortillas for fajitas by layering them between damp towels, spread out on a cookie sheet. You tend to lose a few by this method, because the ones in direct contact with the towels tend to stick. It occurred to me that I could use the pancake cozy for the tortillas, and it worked great! You still have the sticking problem with the bottom one. Maybe I’ll try parchment paper. I did still use a damp towel. The best tortillas are the ones they steam in the taquerias, so I think having the extra moisture is important during the heating process.

 Next, it occurred to me that you could steam vegetables in this in the microwave. Now, I’m sure some of you have some kind of fabulous veggie steamers that not only retain the veggies’ best properties, but also cause them to make you smarter, faster, and better-looking. I, however, just want unadulterated, reasonably crisp-tender broccoli. I cleave the stalk off an entire head of broccoli (no, I am not a stem-eater) and place it, florets up, in the pancake cozy. Add a small amount of water, microwave a couple of minutes, and voila! I think this is an improvement on doing the same thing in a bowl, because in a bowl, the outside cooks faster than the center. The hole-y lid of the cozy appears to even that out.

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Tarragon Cream Sauce

Last night I made one of the kids’ favorites. I’m not going to post a proper recipe, since most of my readers are really good cooks and can put 2 and 2 together. And this recipe is not exactly rocket science.

 The basic recipe is to cut pork tenderloins in 1/2-3/4 inch thick medallions, and then sear them in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. You can remove them to finish cooking in the oven, but sometimes if I’m using a big skillet, I just push them around the edges of the pan. In the meantime, I add butter and flour to the pan, then create a creamy sauce using some of the following: milk, cream, stock, white wine. Salt, pepper, and tarragon to taste. Serve over pasta.

You can add some minced garlic with the butter, too. A sprinkle of green onions over the top is nice.

Last night I wanted it to be a little lighter, so I made it without making the roux; I just didn’t add the flour. I guess that doesn’t really save much in the fat/calorie department, but it seemed lighter and I guess less of it stuck to the pasta, so maybe that was slightly healthier. It was nice, so I think I’ll add it to the rotation.

Cuban Reuben- neither Cuban nor Reuben?

I enjoyed a pre-wedding lunch on Saturday. My dear friend Liz and her girlfriend Martina were set to wed at 4:30 pm, but it was snowing at noon, and over lunch we worked on risk management in case the worst happened and Atlanta became paralyzed by our inability to handle icy weather. After what turned out to be some uneccesary handwringing, the wedding (and afterparty at 10 Pin Alley) went off gorgeously!

A small detail of this lovely day was that the pre-wedding luncheon was at Vickery’s in Midtown. I don’t like Reubens (the sandwich, not the painter or the comedian*) so I don’t know why I even read the description. Vickery’s version is a grilled chicken breast smothered in cheese, cabbage, and onion, on a kaiser roll. Pretty much not a Reuben. I loved it. It’s a good way to get some cruciferous veggies. I adapted it as follows:

 Makes: 1 Fake Cuban Reuben

• 1 flour tortilla
• Grilled chicken breast, cut in slices (I used leftovers, flavored with garlic and cumin before cooking) How much? How much do you want on your Reuben? That much.
• Jarlsberg cheese, finely grated
• 3/4 cup shredded cabbage (I mixed purple and green)
• 3-4 finely sliced rings vidalia onion
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tb parmesan peppercorn dressing (I use Ken’s)
• a tiny amount of butter

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Toss the cabbage and onion over medium high heat with a little salt until just beginning to wilt. While you’re doing that, put some cheese on the tortilla and microwave for 15 to 30 seconds, just to soften. If the chicken needs warming, hit it with about 15 seconds in the microwave. Dump the cabbage and onions onto the tortilla, followed by the chicken, salad dressing, and a few drops of hot sauce (optional). Put a bit of butter in the pan, or you can just coast on the residual olive oil for the last step: Fold the tortilla in half (good luck with this part!) and fry for a few seconds on each side, to get a little crispy crunch going.

 I think the next time, I’ll try a few crushed red pepper flakes in the cabbage instead of the hot sauce.

*Yeah, yeah, I can spell. Just go with it.