Introduction
The secret is out, and newly-engaged Alice wastes no
time staking out Bettina’s kitchen.
“I have all this to learn, and I’m depending on you to
help me,” she pleads, knowing full well soon-to-be Hubby’s animosity toward
“frivolous” women.
Never one to shrink from a challenge, Bettina
generously invites her friend to dinner, agrees to provide a crash course in cooking,
and volunteers to host an
announcement luncheon for the newly betrothed.
“Why, Alice, I just enjoy that kind of work,” she
avows. “I’m sure between us we can think up just the prettiest, cleverest way
of telling it that any prospective bride has ever had!”
Part 1
The
Menu
Creole
Lamb
Potato
and Green Corn Croquettes
Rhubarb
Sauce
Bread
Butter
Head
Lettuce
French
Dressing
Lemon
Chiffon Pie
Cheese
Preparing the Meal
Creole
Lamb
As this dish is made from leftover lamb I can the
basic ingredient any way I please and hopefully come out with a tender chunk of
meat to work with.
After some thought I decided to brine and then poach
the lamb with the same technique I use for skinless chicken breasts. I
discovered this process on thekitchen.com and, as the author asserts, it almost
never fails.
Since
only ½ cup of leftover lamb is required I felt that two chops (riddled
unfortunately with more fat and bone than expected) would be sufficient.
As
the meat’s already been brined in salt water I only need to season it with
pepper.
Heating
up the oil in my Dutch oven…
…and
into the pot the chops go.
The technique is pretty simple: lower the heat, brown
the meat for one minute, turn, clap on the lid…
…and
let poach, undisturbed, for ten minutes.
It’s
been about five minutes, and these chops still look quite raw. ☹
As
per the recipe given by thekitchen.com I’ve pulled the pan off the burner and reset the timer for
another ten minutes.
It’s
been twenty minutes since I slapped the meat in the pan, and I believe these
chops are cooked (not a problem if they’re still slightly underdone—the meat
will cook a bit more after it’s been added to the sauce and reheated).
Later
Chilled
and chopped…now to brew up the sauce!
Melting
butter over low heat.
Chopping
onions and peppers.
Sautéing
the vegetables.
Adding
and then letting brown some flour.
Adding
water (I had the option here of using beef stock but unfortunately had none in
the pantry).
Now
some tomato pulp…
…and
lemon juice.
Adding
horseradish (alas not the plain root I’m sure Bettina uses—the prepared stuff
was all I could find).
And
of course the “leftover” lamb. I’m not sure yet how this will taste, but it
smells fantastic.
Potato
and Green Corn Croquettes
I’ve seen many recipes that call for “green corn” but
never exactly understood what that meant or how unripe vegetables could
possibly be fit to eat.
But, according to The
Free Dictionary, green corn simply means “young, tender ears of sweet
corn.”—that “green” is definitely a misnomer!
But even with that mystery solved and Bettina’s avowal
that Bob is very fond of these croquettes, I’m still a little uncertain. I
really don’t see how on earth I’m going be able to get the pulp out of a
hundred or more corn kernels without driving myself insane.
As
corn season is long past I purchased a pack of frozen.
“Press
out the pulp with the back of the knife”…umm, OK.
To
heck with this…I’m going to toss the corn in my electric chopper and hope for
the best.
The
“pulp” is now to be cooked in butter…hard to tell though when it’s officially
“done”.
These
are the mashed potatoes to be mixed with the corn. They’ve been sitting in the
refrigerator for several hours and need to be warmed up.
Adding spices.
As
per the recipe I shaped the mixture into cylinders—an odd shape, I thought,
until I realized they’re supposed to resemble ears of fresh corn.
Rolled
in bread crumbs…
…and
then dipped in egg.
Hmm…even with the coating these croquettes seem alarmingly
soft. I’m going to refrigerate them and then fry them at the last minute.
Rhubarb
Sauce
Like
fresh corn rhubarb is not be had in November. Faced with that undeniable fact I
had no choice but to substitute rhubarb jam.
Bread
and Butter
It really didn’t seem appropriate to serve expensive
breadstuffs at a meal made from leftovers. In this case pre-sliced commercial
French bread will do just fine, I think.
Head
Lettuce and French Dressing
Wow, this has got to be the easiest dressing ever.
Olive
oil, vinegar, paprika, and salt.
Simply
measure the ingredients into a jar, shake, and refrigerate until ready to
serve.
Lemon
Chiffon Pie
Well, A Thousand
Ways To Please A Husband has certainly perfected the art of giving with one
hand while taking away with the other…this fiendishly difficult pie more than
balances out the oh-so-simple salad dressing.
The
first thing I noticed was that Bettina forgot to include a recipe for a
pre-baked pie shell…no choice here [insert crocodile tears] but to use one
purchased at the supermarket.
Squeezing
the lemon.
Scraping
two tablespoons of lemon rind.
Beating
egg yolks.
The
beaten yolks added to a mixture of flour and salt, and then sugar, the lemon
juice and rind, and a cup of milk.
Now
the eggs whites have to be whipped. I won’t even bother to justify my use of an
electric mixture for the job…simply don’t have the time or the patience to manage
without it.
Folding
the beaten whites into the lemon mixture.
I’m
rather surprised to see that this is the perfect amount of filling for the
crust. Generally when I make a pie there’s either too little or too much.
And that’s about it. The pie is to be baked in a
“moderately slow oven” for thirty minutes, allowed to cool, and then garnished
with whipped cream.
Cheese
Lemon pie served with cheese? I definitely thought this
a bit strange, but after a quick Internet search The Huffington Post assures me (“Cheese And Dessert Pairings That
Will Blow Your Mind”) that both cheddar and/or gruyere are suitable. As I
already have a block of the former in my refrigerator guess I’ll use that.
How It Looked
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