“We went back into his little kitchen, and I sat on a stool at the tiny counter while he made the one thing I’ve never been able to get to come out right: It is an Eastern bread, only slightly raised, and pan-fried in a very light olive oil. I think the trick is getting
No, sadly, we did not get to cook a whole roast swan, although if we had, it might look something like this: It’s not for want of trying. The truth is that we’re not somewhere we could hunt our own, and they’re just too blasted expensive to order. We’ve searched online and found two options:
Thoughts: I’ve never really held with the idea that the Butterbeer in Harry Potter is basically some sort of cream soda. No way. To me, that’s a very American interpretation, with artificial flavoring, and so much sugar that it becomes horrible. My approach, probably unsurprising to many of you, was to dip into the historical
“Menolly had detoured to the Lower Caverns and shared with him the handful of meatrolls she’d cadged from the cooks.” –Dragonriders of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey Thoughts: These are terrible. A curse, in that, so-easy-to-make addictive sort of way. I made a single batch, and they were gone in minutes. I couldn’t make out all
“The lamb was as good as any he had ever eaten, and the duck was even better, cooked with cherries and lemons and not near as greasy as most. The innkeep brought buttered pease as well, and oaten bread still hot from her oven.” -The Hedge Knight Duck with Cherries and Lemon Thoughts: This was
“Jean’s dinner, smoked rock eel in caramel brandy sauce, lay chopped into fragments and scattered like debris from a battle. He was making his way slowly through dessert, a cluster of marzipan dragonflies with crystallized sugar wings that glimmered by the steady glow of the booth’s candles.” –Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch
“Queequeg,” said I, “do you think that we can make out a supper for us both on one clam?” However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me. It
“She broke her fast on sardines, fried crisp in pepper oil and served so hot they burned her fingers. She mopped up the leftover oil with a chunk of bread torn off the end of Umma’s morning loaf and washed it all down with a cup of watered wine, savoring the tastes and the smells,
“Laura made a great chili. She used lean-cut meat, dark kidney beans, carrots cut small, a bottle or so of dark beer, and freshly sliced hot peppers. She would let the chili cook for a while, then add red wine, lemon juice, and a pinch of fresh dill, and, finally, measure out and add her
Olive Loaf Thoughts: This is another easy bread recipe, and in fact, perhaps the easiest yet on the blog, as it takes no kneading. That’s right, no kneading. The resulting olive bread is very soft and airy, and the density of the olives is such that it’s difficult to find a single bite without a