I watched two soccer matches and the news programs this morning and then at 10:00 we began prepping the 4.4 lb. whole chicken I bought Friday at Smith’s.
We sliced 5 lemon slices and coated them with dried tarragon and slices of garlic and pushed them under the skin of the chicken and trussed it on a spandex cooking frame so it stood up in a ceramic baking dish with two cups of water. Suzette Baked it for ten minutes at 450 and then lowered the temp to 350 degrees and Roasted the chicken for an hour. We also made a mirepoix of a carrot, ½ onion, and three stalks of celery plus the bottom of the asparagus stalks and simmered those in a pot of about two quarts of water to create a vegetable stock.
While the chicken and stock were cooking Suzette and I took a short walk. We were going to walk ½ mile but the cold north wind forced us to cut short our walk.
Willy got up around 11:00 and we watched the Liverpool v. Sheffield match, which Liverpool won 2 to 0 to continue its remarkable unbeaten streak this year.
Suzette strained the broth to remove all the solid ingredients and added some of the Tortilla Espanol and the rest of the asparagus stalks.
After those ingredients cooked a bit Suzette emulsified the soup and added several T. of heavy cream to make it into a cream soup.
We ate a hearty lunch of roasted chicken, cream of asparagus soup, and gourmet salad greens plus candied pecans, preserved guayaba cubes, pickled beet cubes, and cubes of Manchego Cheese dressed with Suzette’s pomegranate dressing.
I poured glasses of La Granja Viura/Verdejo blend, which is my favorite under $5.00 white wine with chicken (Trader Joe’s).
After lunch Suzette took the car to get serviced and Willy went to the gym, and I rested until 2:30 when the Cowboy game started. I watched most of it until it appeared that Philadelphia was going to win their game against the Giants and knock the Cowboys out of the playoffs.
At 6:30 suzette sautéed the teriyaki salmon fillet in peanut oil, which was not the best way to prepare the salmon. Suzette was trying to crisp the skin but the skin was scorched by the direct heat while waiting for the rest of the flesh to cook because she placed the fillet skin down in the skillet. We will work on this. I loved the fish though. Except for the excessive amount of oil, its flesh was cooked to pink, just beyond seared. My favorite.
We usually grill it outside on the propane grill but that was out of consideration on such a cold day.
Also, the PPI short grain brown rice was amazing. And I loved the steamed broccoli.
I heated a pitcher of sake and heated it in a Bain Marie (water bath) on the stove. Suzette fetched her new small cups, which I filled them with sake.
I also made cups of green tea for Willy and me.
This was a great meal because of the combination of great rice and well cooked salmon with a lovely steamed vegetable. I love the flavor and texture of brown rice and the feeling that I am eating something with real nutritional value. The same is true of the salmon. Its clean teriyaki flavor dispels any storage of fishy flavor. In fact, the oil and teriyaki sauce created by Suzette’s cooking method mimicked a style of Chinese cooking of fish, which is to add a sauce of peanut oil and soy sauce to steamed fish. The same is true for the broccoli; it had a freshness to it that complemented the flavor of freshness of the fish. Suzette added some of the teriyaki marinade to the skillet, which created a sauce for the broccoli and rice.
I felt like in a very special way Suzette had created a meal with a unified flavor profile, namely the use of a teriyaki and peanut oil sauce.
I have been trying to explore Japanese Cuisine lately and this meal seemed to open another door to understanding it, if only in a Chinese or American way.
We watched TV and drank small glasses of limoncello after dinner for an end to a wonderful meal. The freshness and intensity of the lemon and alcohol cut through any residual oiliness from the teriyaki and peanut oil sauce.
After lunch today we prepared our food to take on our trip to the Big Bend area tomorrow. I diced the rest of the chicken meat, four stalks of celery, ½ of a red onion and the rest of the bunch of fresh dill and Suzette added mustard and mayonnaise to make chicken salad. She also packed crackers and rolls, pate, and cheddar cheese cubes, while I cut and wrapped five sections of the thick brownies I made yesterday. We also packed an assortment of chocolates and the spicy pecans Suzette made for Christmas.
We went to the basement and decided to take a bottle of 2003 Prager Winery and Port Works’ Royal Escort Port that we bought at the vineyard in St. Helena (Napa Valley) about 15 years ago. We also took a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, a White, and a Gruet extended triage Blanc de Noir.
We also called Anne Adams and left a message and called the Gage Hotel in Alpine to make sure it will be open on New Years Day.
Tomorrow we drive to Marfa and then the McDonald Observatory for a tour and night sky viewing at 7:00 p.m. with a full larder.
Bon Appetit
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