June 19, 2022. Juneteenth and Father’s Day Brunch

June 19, 2022. Juneteenth and Father’s Day Brunch

We drove to Burque Bakery this morning to buy some breakfast baked goods but when we arrived there was a line around the block of 25 to 30 people, so we drove home.

I decided to make the style of cinnamon toast my mother used to make.

I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and then buttered four slices of raisin bread and then sprinkled the cinnamon and sugar mixture Suzette had made and then sprinkled a light layer of sugar on each slice and baked the toast in a 350 and then 450 degree oven until the sugar melted.

The only difficulty with this technique is that there is a very short time between when the sugar melts and when it burns, so you must check it constantly.

After our breakfast I put a bottle of 2021 De Ponte Melon de Bourgogne in the freezer to chill.

We worked until 12:30 when Suzette started cooking our Father’s Day Brunch of Fried Oysters and Corn and chard pudding.

Suzette followed the Chef John recipe for the corn pudding except she added a handful of fresh chard and kale from the garden and pureed the corn and chard and kale, which raised the dish from American regional to French Haute Cuisine and from pudding to soufflé.

Here is the recipe:

The Fried oysters

We got very lucky at Smith’s yesterday.  We found five bottles of oysters within three days of expiration that the deli guys discounted from $5.99 to $1.99.  We decided to celebrate by making fried oysters, which we both love and is very Southern, so fit into the framework of a Juneteenth celebration along with corn pudding.

Suzette froze two jars and we fried the 12 large oysters in the remaining three jars.

Suzette dipped the rinsed and dried oysters first in a mixture of egg and milk and then roughly pureed saltine crackers and sautéed them in about 1/4 inch of canola oil.

While Suzette fried the oysters I made tartare sauce by slicing a green onion into thin ringlets and then soaking them in lemon juice for about ten minutes.  I then added two heaping tablespoons of pickle relish, about 2/3 cup of mayonnaise and about 1 T. of prepared horseradish .

I also sliced thin slices of French baguette and toasted them. As we ate I made small poorboy canapés by slicing an oyster in half and then slicing that half in half and laying the two halves on a toast spread with tartare sauce.

When the oysters were all fried we opened the white wine and carried our brunch and wine to the table under the gazebo and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Melon is the variety of grape and De Ponte produces a wine with huge amounts of fruit and huge acidity; a very imposing wine that cuts through the grease of the fried oysters while offering a lovely fruity flavor. We thought it was a great choice to complement the fried oysters.

We were so satiated that Suzette did not eat any dinner, but we sipped a glass of limoncello as we watched the new Masterpiece Theater series called Hotel Portofino.  There is a scene that triggered us to sip limoncello.  A very stayed and proper matron is having trouble digesting the Italian food and claims to be a teetotaler and refuses to drink wine, but when the hotel gives her a glass of limoncello flavored with fresh mint and tells her it is Italian lemonade, she loves it and keeps asking for more.

After Hotel Portofino we watched the first episode of the new season of Endeavour until 10:00.

During Endeavour I re-heated the corn and chard soufflé and ate a few bites of it.

Then after Endeavour at 10:00 I drank a cup of tea and ate three chocolate chip cookies.

Suzette went to bed at 10:00 and I followed at 10:30 to blog and read a bit.

The pain in my hips and legs seems to improve as I increase the dosage of turmeric and collagen I take and increase hydro-therapy. I am now experiencing little or no sharp pains, just dull pain, which I count as progress because I seem to be able to walk through the dull pain with the hope of greater mobility.

Bon Appetit