48 thoughts on “April 20, 2020: 4202020”

  1. Wife pulled a couple pounds of short ribs out of the deep freeze. They're semi-thawed and I'm committed to doing something with them.
    Any of the Citizens Who Cook™ coalition have any suggestions for the marginally competent? I mean, I have google, but you guys are better.

      1. Bake a baguette as well to soak up the remainder. You can also reduce the sauce further after cooking to make a glaze, though the effort probably isn’t worth the reward.

        1. Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats wrote an interesting piece about this. He opined that reducing the wine accentuated too many tannins & acids in the wine. His solution to the thick glaze question was to add gelatin along with his store-bought stock before braising, then reduce a bottle of inexpensive port as the ribs braise. He skimmed & filtered the wine/stock sauce, reduced it just a bit, and then added the port to balance the sauce.

          Whether one has that kind of time on a weeknight depends on many things, but it seems like a better approach to a thick sauce, provided the ingredients are at hand.

          1. I made this recipe for my friends the weekend before my birthday. They were incredibly, incredibly good, and we served them over fresh pasta. I think the time estimate in the recipe is on the short end of the scale, but it's worth it. Probably not on a weeknight though.

            (I took the time to make my own beef stock a couple days ahead of time, which was a decision I was very happy with)

              1. My problem is I don't ever read ahead in the recipes, so I end up wasting time like "Oh shoot, I need that thing that I already put away" or "Ahh, I was supposed to do step one an hour ago and let it sit."

                Someday I'll learn. Maybe. (probably not)

              2. It's so, so rough. I do much better when I have a wide range of acceptable times for completing steps than when I'm trying to pull things together into a tight window.

          2. CarterHayes is describing how I would cook them if I had that extra time. Whenever I braise any beef, I will typically just put stock and a bit of wine in the roasting pan. When the meat is nearly done, I will remove most of the braising liquid and make my sauce out of that, adding some red wine and reducing it. Usually if it is just short of being thick enough, you can shut off the heat on the braising liquid reduction and slowly add some butter, whisking it into the sauce. This will slightly thicken it and add a nice sheen to the sauce.

          3. He opined that reducing the wine accentuated too many tannins & acids in the wine.

            That was my thought, but the port addition is interesting. Now, I have no intention of surfing the rona wave to get short ribs and port, but when this is "over" I may just celebrate with a decadent meal.

            1. Big fan of cooking with Port. The au jus we make for our Prime Rib special is a Port au jus, and it is tasty.

    1. Grilling short ribs is definitely an option. I’d prefer flanken cut over the English-style cut, but I’d guess either would work. If you’re lucky enough to have some fresh parsley — or cilantro, or basil — in the house, you’ve got great options for grilled ribs with chimichurri.

    2. Man, y'all's take on "marginally competent" and mine are...not the same. Appreciate all the help today.
      But I know what a "flanken" is now!

      1. Now you know how I feel when Twayn or Magoo or cheaps talk about car repair projects.

        1. What a great all-purpose word. Next time I'm not sure what my car is doing..."flanken's busted, man"

        2. You know, twayn, we should start a podcast about helping people with their automobiles.

          Call it "Talking About Cars" or something. Just a thought.

            1. Amazon sold out of podcast mics. Wait a few months and should be able to get them real cheap on eBay.

  2. Can anyone that watched Last Dance last night explain to me what Jerry Krause was thinking? How was he planning on rebuilding? I get if he were trading veterans for youth but I don't think he was even doing that, was he?

    For me, documentaries are the new sports.

  3. All this talk of cooking led me down a path towards dealing with the bunch of bananas that have attracted a lot of fruit flies..... Banana bread is in the oven, and banana cream pie is in the fridge. And a cup of cider vinegar plus a smidgen of dawn dishsoap is on the counter. Let the drowning of fruit flies begin.

    1. Does the banana cream pie need to be baked? I'd normally use old bananas to make banana bread, but since I'm currently without a real kitchen, I've been looking for something to do with old bananas that doesn't need an oven.

      We got through the whole bunch from last week, so no immediate need, but anyone have any ideas?

        1. Did someone say smoothies? I've been making a ton for the boys lately. I started because I had a ton of random frozen berries in the freezer, but I've continued because they like them so much.

          I'm usually pretty strict about following recipes (probably related to the fact that I bake more than I cook), but it's been fun to experiment. Tonight's smoothie was: 1/2 banana, lots of frozen strawberries, plain yogurt, flaxseed, cranberry juice, and honey.

          1. Oh, I did look up a recipe for a green smoothie (with spinach) a couple weeks ago, and that one turned out terrible and was much more beige in color than green.

            1. The most beautiful green smoothie known to humankind: Kale, frozen peaches, banana and splash of apple juice. The green is straight out of a Klimt painting.

  4. So yesterday I had quite the ride. Morning bout with Mrs. McMurphy (diarhhea) led into mid-morning chills - I couldn't even type in my password at work my hands were shaking so much). Rest of the day was blankets on by the fireside with feet alternatively inside and outside the blankets. From 96.2 normal to 99.5 by 8PM. I couldn't even take water as that was an immediate trip to the bathroom, which I've been to 45 or a thousand times.

    Talked with Dr. Fear - he said call him in the morning, but likely I will need to go in for testing tomorrow. Not sure how that works.

    It's 5:15AM now - the temp is 97.3 and as I ate nothing yesterday, I finally had sausage and cheese with Wheat Thins, and didn't explode.

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