I Think My Cooking May Be Dangerous

Although the title of this blog is “Friends in Our Kitchen,” I am wondering if it should be “A Fiend in the Kitchen.” I was raised in Texas and, growing up, thought I was being raised in the South. After living in Georgia for a while, I now know the difference between Texas and the Deep South. In both places, however, ladies are not supposed to be ugly or mean. Killing people with kindness is the way to get things done.

I haven’t really ever thought of cooking as a weapon. This morning, my father-in-law called and woke us up. He and my mother-in-law were in an ambulance on the way to the emergency room. My dear mother-in-law was having a cardiac episode (what kind is still to be determined) and my first thought was that I had killed her with cream, butter, and eggs. My next thought was how I was going to continue this blog while cooking a cardiac healthy diet. I shouldn’t have worried…Lucille assured me while in the ER, that she was certain it was not the food, and if it was, “What a way to go!” I am feeling a little bit better.

Fortunately for my conscience, last night she wasn’t feeling up to coming over and so I was spared the guilt of having served her a very rich meal. Jerry and I selected Veal Tenders with Goat Cheese-Thyme Grits and Mushrooms and Royale of Leeks and Mushroom. I made the veal dish and Jerry made the Leeks and Mushrooms.
Both were wonderful, I thought. The morel mushrooms in the veal stock made an incredible sauce over the sautéed leeks, mushrooms, and onions. The grits were sort of scary. I thought they were going to be too soupy, but they seemed to become more firm as they cooled in the pan. I wish that the veal had been a bit more browned, and next time, I will make sure that it is. It just seemed to be more appetizing. The dish was constructed by making a small mound of the grits. Make a small well and place in the well the sautéed vegetables. Place two small medallions of veal on the grits and then drizzle with the sauce. This was a really pretty dish.

The Royal of Leeks and Mushrooms were really good. They were baked in a ramekin and then inverted and plated. They tasted, to me, like an omelet in a ramekin. I liked them very much. Next time, if we make both of these dishes together, I will make certain that I liberally top both dishes with the sauce. It was tasty!

Because Lucille is still in the hospital, we didn’t make big plans for dinner tonight. In fact, we went shopping without a menu and this is a very bad way to go about doing business. I bought leeks and potatoes. I thought for tonight, I could make Julia Child’s leek and potato soup. I read the menu again when I got home and realized that the soup needs to be chilled. No freaking way! It is 30 degrees outside. The wind is howling. I do not want chilled soup. Luckily, Jerry picked up some steaks (and whipping cream, because we don't seem to be able to get through a meal without it) and so tonight we ended up with Pan Seared Crusted Sirloin Steak with Cayenne Butter and Lyonnaise Potatoes. First, let me say that the recipe for the cayenne butter called for two TABLESPOONS of cayenne pepper and 20 cloves of garlic. If you don’t like spicy and garlic, this is not the recipe for you. The steak was delicious. I overcooked it. (Evidently, the recipe wanted thicker cuts of meat.) The flavor was delicious. The potatoes where thrice cooked potatoes. I was supposed to dump four cups of oil into a deep skillet to fry the already baked and cooled potatoes. Instead, I cleaned my deep fryer. The clean oil made sure that the potatoes didn’t have a weird taste to them. After baking and frying the potatoes, the only step left was to sauté them with the already sautéed onions. It was a great dish…lots of interesting texture, and the cayenne butter went extremely well with this dish too.

I am going into butter and garlic shock. I guess I should go to bed and hope that there is enough toothpaste and mouthwash tomorrow morning!

Cook something great soon!