I will be the first to admit that I am a Monarchist, but I have a good reason. When I was 14 and my brother, Billy, was 12, our parents took on a pretty grand tour of Europe in 1960. We took the SS United States from New York to Southampton and spent a week to ten days in and around London. We were in London on May 6, when Princess Margaret wed Tony Armstrong-Jones, so we went to the parade route and Dad talked to someone who lent us a second story window overlooking the parade route, from which we directly witnessed all the pomp and ceremony associated with a Royal Wedding. I guess the pageantry and seeing how the Brits loved their monarchy made me into a monarchist that day.
I woke up at 2:00 and blogged until 4:15, when I turned on the coverage of Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding. I loved every minute of it. Especially, the inclusion of so many black persons in the ceremony. But the moment that moved me most deeply was after the ceremony and the signing of the registry, just before Harry and Meghan left the church everyone stood and sang “God Save the Queen” to Elizabeth II. The National unity, tradition, and heart felt devotion to their leader really moved me. It made me realize there was something very special about being British and, in juxtaposition, I sadly wondered if I would ever see or feel that type of spirit of national unity ever again in the U.S.
After the wedding I drove to Sprouts for its 72 hour sale and bought 7 lb. of scallops for $9.99/lb., 2 lb. of colossal shrimp for $5.99/lb., artichokes for $.98 each, a red bell pepper for $.77, bulk Swiss cheese for $2.99/lb., red seedless grapes for $.77/lb., white pepper, and chicken breasts for $.99/lb.
I then drove to Donut Mart and picked up three bagels and some cream cheese.
After I returned home and put up everything, I started the artichokes simmering and then toasted two slices of bagel, spread them with the delicious fresh cream cheese and slices of Lax and red onion and dotted them with capers and nibbled them as I drank a couple cups of Earl Grey tea.
I then worked until 1:30, when I worked with Suzette to fix dinner.
Boeuf Bourguignon
I removed the fat and diced the PPI steak from Mother’s day into 1 inch cubes and put them into a large enameled casserole, then I peeled and quartered three small white onions and put them into a skillet and a Suzette sautéed them and added them to the casserole. Then Suzette quartered ½ lb. of mushrooms and sautéed them and added them to the casserole with the PPI roasted root vegetables. I finely minced and added a small head of garlic to the sautéing mushrooms.
I then added about 1 ½ cups of PPI red wine and I went to the garden and picked six or seven sprigs of thyme that I added with a bay leaf. Finally, we added enough lobster stock to just cover the ingredients. Suzette cooked casserole in a 225 degree oven until 5:30. The addition of the PPI root vegetables made the dish into more of a beef stew.
I then I took an hour nap. At 3:15 I rode to Rio Bravo and when I returned at 4:30 took a shower and dressed.
Suzette re-heated the Mother’s Day Mashed Potatoes and I opened a bottle of 2010 Montecello Spanish Rioja Reserva that I bought for $11.49 at Costco. The wine had a dark berry bouquet and a really smooth front end. The wine’s slightly bitter back-end evaporated after 30 minutes, at which time the wine became very pleasant. It is a highly rated wine and worth the money.
Suzette heated the potatoes and we each took some potatoes, then some beef stew, then some cranberry chutney, and finally a spoonful of crema.
Bon Appetit
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