Aperture Science...

What an insane week at work.  I wanted to make so much this week, but I didn't figure out what to make in time.  Daniel Boulud, I love your work and your book is gorgeous.  The food inside makes me all giddy, but ya know...I can't realistically make any of it.  The majority of the recipes listed in there require some sort of incredibly expensive and hard to get item and that makes a quick planning of dinner near impossible.  So what did I do this week?  Honestly, only 2 dinners were worthy of note. 

I'll start with the Boeuf Bourgignon that I just finished eating.  What a great hearty dish.  I sincerely believed that the rustic nature of the dish adds to its charm.  Anthony Bourdain was right.  There wasn't much in this recipe that a reasonably intelligent trained Yorkie couldn't accomplish.  What can I say about this dish that isn't pathetically stupid?  It's simple, filling, tasty, and very satisfying to serve and prepare.  I'm used to preparing meals for 1 or 2 people.  This usually only requires about 3 - 4 lbs of meat.  I left the market with 6 lbs of beef.  6 lbs.  It took me a while for that number to sink into my skull.  That's a heck of a lot of meat.  Oh, and the onions.  There were so many onions that I cut up that would make a 6'6" trained assassin cry.  I decided to toss the carrots in when there was about 30 - 45 minutes left of cook time.  They ended up coming out the way I like them: soft but with a bit of bite to them so they're not too mushy.  Anyways, technique aside, I love this dish.  What's not to like?  It's beefy.  Wow the fat just melted right into the stew and the meat was left incredibly tender.  The taste is so classically old school and it's pretty much one of my comfort foods.  And the preparation.  Yeah, it was a little annoying having to hack through the mounds of cow to remove the bits that were too sinewy.  But pound for pound, this meal had the best ROI on flavor. 

The other meal I made was more of a bit of insipiration from nowhere.  I was strolling through the market trying to figure out what it was that I wanted for dinner.  I didn't have much time, but I didn't want to get takeaway.  I had gone all week and had no decent meal to show for it.  It was time I made something....but...what?  Ugh.  None of the cuts of meat or fish really stand out to me.  I can't rely on my protein to be the inspiration of my meal.  Alright, vegetable section it is.  Then there they were.  These gorgeous little Belgian endives.  I've seen it done before where there was this cooked thing that was using the endives as a boat for it.  Brilliant....but what was the cooked thing that went in it?  Alright, time to think.  It's got to be small bits of diced up stuff, quick to make, and not fattening, and filling.  Aside from loading it with such alien zygote looking quinoa, I can't think of anything fast enough.  Then I saw the limes laying around and I knew exactly what to make: Ceviche.  I grabbed a hunk of yellowtail tuna and some nice grouper.  I came right home and tossed it all together.  It ended up tasting quite nice.  It was surprisingly filling despite the fact that it's just a bit of fish and veggies.  The presentation of the meal turned out better than I had hoped.  And to quote of my favorite nerdy songs, "This was a triumph.  I'm making a note here, huge success.  It's hard to overstate my satisfaction." 

Anyways, I'm calling it a night.  I'm going to chill out with a beer in hand and some Torchwood on the television.  'Til next time.