Emily In Paris (2020)

 I guess I should start off by saying that we watched this during the pandemic, a time when we cannot travel.  Once we can go back to international travel, France is on our list of first possible destinations, but Paris is really not.  There are great museums but for the most part I like France outside the larger cities.  I like regional France, where it is part of the culture to grow food and make jam and to savor the attainable rather than to reach for the best.  Just as I don't get the hustle and bustle and shopping aspect of New York, I do not get it about Paris either.  I do the cultural tour of each and enjoy, but it is not my favorite.

So, that is to say that all the snobby things about Paris and the French that are portrayed in the most exaggerated manner in this series worry me not at all.  This is not an accurate rendition of life in Paris, but rather a culture clash played out in a very amusing way.  It is American culture and values juxtaposed with the French counterpart.  It is youth culture and values meets the way we have always done things.  And it is how to make the old ways hip again.  I would recommend it as escapist  television, and hope there is a season 2.

Georgia Peach

Wowza.  It has been a week since Georgia certified their vote, and a Republican governor got up in front of national media and said that Joe Biden had won Georgia.  He did so by the slimmest of margins, and that shrunk a bit in the hand recount of the vote, but still it stands.  On the very same day Michigan GOP lawmakers announced after their visit to the White House that the electoral vote in their state will go to the winner of the state, Joe Biden.  They affirmed that this was never in doubt, that they have always done it this way, and will continue to do so. 

So why is all of this even news?  The outgoing administration is determined to break every thing that they can grab on their way out, and sow seeds of distrust and discontent in the wake of their destruction.  Truly, who thought it would be otherwise.  I wish the media had a ho hum approach to this, balancing each announcement from the petulant narcissist with something more appropriate and factual, rather than fanning the flames of his chaos.  The main one would be to examine every claim he is making about Democrats because a narcissist projects blame onto others for their wrong doing, so let's start investigating wrong doing on the president's behalf.  That should be the story.

Southern Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Biscuits

My youngest has been obsessed with Babish for quite some time, and my spouse and I have been less enthusiastic.  However, having made several things following his recipes and videos and they have really been very good.  So this past week, even though the main event was Thanksgiving, we undertook a traditional southern meal.  These are THE BEST biscuits that we have made at home (grating frozen butter, then turning the dough like it was puff pastry apparently works), the addition of soy sauce to gravy adds just the right amount of umami and color, and ricing the mashed potatoes makes the texture fantastic.  And yes, we did use the MSG.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

• 1 whole chicken

• 16 oz of buttermilk

• 12 herbs and spices

  • ⅔ tsp salt

  • ½ tsp thyme

  • ½ tsp basil

  • ⅓ tsp oregano

  • 1 tsp celery salt

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 1 tsp dried mustard

  • 4 tsp paprika

  • 2 tsp garlic salt

  • 1 tsp ground ginger

  • 3 tsp white pepper

  • ¾ tsp MSG

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• ½ cup of corn starch

• Canola and Peanut oil, for frying

Creamy Mashed Potatoes & Homemade Gravy

• Gravy

  • 6 tbsps butter

  • ⅓ cup all purpose flour

  • Soy sauce

  • 3 cups chicken stock

• Mashed potatoes

  • 4 lbs russet potatoes

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 1-2 cups warm milk

  • Kosher salt

  • White pepper

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 13 ½ ounces all purpose flour

• 2 Tbsp sugar

• 4 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 2 sticks frozen butter

• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk

Method

Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Babish Style)

1. Break down chicken into 8 pieces. Save wing and spine pieces for making chicken stock.

2. Into a large food-safe bucket, add 16 oz of buttermilk and 12 herbs and spices along with an extra tablespoon of kosher salt and chicken pieces.

3. Press chicken down into the buttermilk brine and give it a good mix until they are evenly coated and keep the bucket in the fridge for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. Take it out once or twice during its marinade time to give it good stir.

4. In a wide casserole dish, add 12 herbs and spices, 2 cups of all purpose flour and half cup of corn starch, and whisk together. 

5. Add a few tablespoons of marinade to the dredge, and mix it up with your fingers or a fork until creating tiny little bits of breading that are going to stick to the chicken.

6. Bread all of the chicken at once and let those sit there for about 10 minutes.

7. Heat canola and peanut oils to 400°F, frying for 6-9 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Dark meat should reach 175°F and white meat should register 165°F. Place on a wire rack and keep in a low temperature oven until all of the chicken has finished frying.

8. Optional but you really should: Scoop up the brown, sloppy gold off the bottom of the pot and add it to the gravy.

Homemade chicken stock

1. Add chicken bones and vegetables to a large saucepan with oil. Brown all of the pieces.

2. Once the chicken has some color on it, deglaze the pot with 8 cups of cold water.

3. Bring the whole thing to simmer lower heat until it reaches a bare simmer, and keep it there for about 4 hours.

Gravy for Mashed Potatoes

1. In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons of butter until foaming and add ⅓ cup all purpose flour, and whisk to cook for an additional minute.

2. Slowly stream in 3 cups chicken stock, and whisk constantly to prevent clumping.

3. Add a good glug of soy sauce.

4. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until it gets nice and thick. Taste for seasoning.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

1. Peel 4 pounds of russet potatoes and chop into 1 inch cubes. Place into a pot of cold water.

2. Bring the pot to a boil. Once a boil is reached, cook for 12-16 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.

3. Rinse the potatoes with hot tap water.

4. Place a few chunks of potato in a potato ricer and press them through. Repeat with remaining potatoes. Add 1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature (cut into 1 inch pieces) , 1 or more cups of warm milk, some kosher salt and white pepper.

5. Mix together.

Buttermilk Biscuits

1. Start by combining 13 ½ ounces all purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt in a bowl. Whisk with a fork until homogeneous.

2. By using the slightly larger holes on a cheese grater, grate 2 sticks of frozen butter.

3. Add butter to the flour mixture, and mix around until all the pieces are coated.

4. Add 1 ¼ cups buttermilk to the mixture and give it a good stir.

5. Remove the mixture from the bowl and continue to try to coax together into a sort of rectangle. Using a generously floured rolling pin, roll it out to a 16 by 9 inch rectangle and fold in thirds like a letter.  Watch the episode above if you need help!

6. Repeat this process five times.

7. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

8. Roll the dough out to a roughly 9x9 square-ish shape, and trim off the edges using a very sharp knife that was dusted in flour.

9. Cut cleanly into 9 square biscuits.

10. Place back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with butter.

11. Bake the biscuits at 400°F for 20-25 minutes.

12. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before consumption.

The Good Liar (2020)

There is little that can be revealed about this movie except to say that the issue is who is zooming whom.  There are two very heavy hitting actors at play here, and that is at the core of the film's charm.

Set in London in 2009, the film opens as two people late in life find themselves chatting on a dating website and agree to meet for a casual dinner. This is where Roy (Ian McKellan) and Betty (Helen Mirren)) come together and after an initial bit of awkwardness—each one utilized a fake name online—they quickly hit it off. Their relationship is not so much romantic—Betty just lost her husband a year earlier and is not ready for something along those lines—but companionship. The only fly in the ointment in this otherwise sweet-sounding story is Betty’s grandson Steven, who is instantly suspicious of Roy and worries that his vulnerable grandmother is rushing into things far too quickly.  And he isn't wrong about that, we know right from the beginning.  It is a fun movie, that is low key entertainment.
 

Pumpkin Peanut Soup

November has been a month of cooking East African food every week, but this week I made this recipe, which I saw in the New York Times that heralds from West Africa.  It is appealing on several levels.  First, peanut butter as a component of soup give you depth of flavor without much effort or adding salt.  Second, having a couple of potentially vegan options in your back pocket is always a good thing.  Then there is the fact this is largely a pantry soup, so if the food supply tightens because of the raging pandemic, then you can whip this up with what is on hand. I did not puree and it was very good that way too.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped
• ½ habanero or bird's eye chile
• 1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin purée
• 3-4 cups stock
• 1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon agave or honey (optional)
• ¼ cup unsweetened natural peanut butter
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons sliced fresh chives
• ¼ cup crème fraîche or yogurt (optional)

1. In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently until softened and just beginning to brown around the edges, about 4 minutes. Stir in the chile and pumpkin purée, and whisk in the water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer on low, giving an occasional stir, for 20 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened. Remove the chile after the soup simmers if you don’t care for much spice.
2. Add coconut milk, agave or honey (if using), and peanut butter to the pot. Using an immersion blender or working in batches in a standing blender, purée the soup until smooth. Season with salt and keep warm over low heat. Do not bring soup up to a simmer or boil at this point. (This reduces the risk of the oils in the peanut butter separating and breaking the soup's smooth texture.)
3. Divide soup between bowls, sprinkle with the chives and a dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt, or a drizzle of olive oil to make it vegan. Serve with a warm crusty baguette or chunks of warm sourdough for dipping.

 

 

 

50:1 (2018)

This movie is a horse-racing drama inspired by the true story of long-shot Mine That Bird, the horse that had an upset victory in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.  Watching it is a lot like watching the original race — as long as you factor in about 100 minutes of pre-race  programming before you get to the main event.. As in real life, the exciting part lasts only a minute or two, and then it’s over. The rest of the movie is background to get you to that point.
I liked this movie, probably because the genre, sports movies about underdogs who go on to upset victory, but I did not particularly care for the people who inhabit the movie.  The owner and the trainer meet in a bar fight, and the depth of their relationship starts and basically stops there, in terms of the emotional depth of the movie.  However, in telling a mostly true story, you are stuck with the details, and in this one New Mexico cowboys bring a horse they don't quite understand to a big race, get treated like yahoos and snub their noses at tradition and snobbery in thoroughbred racing.

Toasted Sesame Cookies

We are late to the cookie banging party, and Sarah Kieffer's new book 100 Cookies, which we had some delay in being able to obtain--I guess with everyone home cooking and baking, cookbooks will go through an uptick of popularity--but now we have it and we are off and running.  These are beautiful and unusual to look at and delicious to eat.

• 1 ³/₄ cups (249 grams) all-purpose flour
  
• ³/₄ teaspoon salt
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoon baking soda
  
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks or 170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  
• ¹/₂ cup (100 grams) brown sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  
• 1 tablespoon water
  
• 1 ¹/₂ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  
• 3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into bite-size pieces (averaging 1/2-inch with some smaller and some larger, optional)
  
• Black and white sesame seeds, for rolling

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line three sheet pans with aluminum foil, dull-side up.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, toasted sesame oil, water, and vanilla, and mix on low speed to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Add the chocolate, if using, and mix until combined.
4. Form the dough into 3-ounce (85-gram) balls (1/4 cup). Roll in the sesame seeds, and place 4 cookies an equal distance apart on each sheet pan. Bake the cookies one pan at a time. Bake until the dough balls have spread flat but are puffed slightly in the center, 9 minutes. Lift one side of the sheet pan up about 4 inches (10 centimeters) and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the center falls back down. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake for 15 to 16 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
5. Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (or refrigerate for up to 3 days).

 

 

Eagle Huntress (2016)

Ethan has a whole long list of movies that he wants to watch, gleaned from various sources, and while some of them are clunkers, this one is really very good.

I have watched one, maybe two movies set in the steppes of Mongolia, and I am again struck by the ability of man to live outdoors in harsh conditions, and not just make it but look comfortable doing so.  There is a hunting scene late in the movie where daughter and father are traveling in cold, snow covered mountainous terrain, not seeing a soul for days on end, and they are calm as they can be.  The rapport they have with their animals, each other, and the terrain is beautiful in and of itself.

The movie revolves around documentary  is propelled by a humbly determined 13-year-old Mongolian girl, Aisholpan,  who is on the brink of breaking through an ancient gender divide.  She is about to enter the world of Mongolian eagle hunters, a world inhabited only by men.  So the movie is a salute to girl power in a culture that has very rigid gender roles, and it is at its best when it soars with a purity of purpose.   By her side are her two faithful companions, a majestic golden eagle chick that she is about transform into a mighty pursuer of prey and her supportive nomadic herder father—Nurgaiv, a two-time champion hunter himself—who proudly oversees his daughter’s own training so she can become the first female to compete in the Golden Eagle Festival.  

 

Bariis

 

We are cooking African food this month and the Somali food is absolutely fabulous.  This is a flavorful Basmati rice.

• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 1 Medium red onion sliced
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 Whole cloves
• 3 cloves Garlic minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground cardamom
• 1 Medium tomato chopped
• Kosher salt to taste
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 2 tablespoons Xawaash spice
  

Rinse basmati rice in a medium bowl under cold water until the water runs clear. Then cover with cold water and set aside, at least 10 minutes or up to 30 minutes.

In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat until it shimmers. Then add sliced red onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add cinnamon stick and cloves and continue cooking until spices smell fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes, then add ground cardamom and minced garlic and cook 1 additional minute.

Increase heat to high and add chopped tomato with a pinch of kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the tomato’s water has evaporated and you’re left with a jammy paste. Then drain basmati rice and add to the pot, stirring to coat the rice with oil. Fry rice for 5 minutes.

Stir xawaash into rice along with 4 cups of warm to boiling water, along with raisins and another pinch of salt. Stir well to combine and bring rice to a boil. Then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover pot, and cook until rice has absorbed all liquid, about 20 minutes. S

Green Chili Chicken in an Instant

We were gifted some small and exceptionally tough chickens and found that the best way to prepare them was in an Instant Pot.  Pressure cooking them was the only way to make them less tough, and then to use the meat to make something.

This recipe made a delicious sauce.  We cooked the chicken whole, pulled the meat off the bones, made enchiladas, then used the sauce to pour over them, So that is one variation, but if you are searching for things to cook in your Instant Pot, this is a good option, coming from the Food Lab.

 

• 3 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3/4 pound tomatillos, quartered, husks discarded (about 4 tomatillos)
• 1 pound poblano peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (about 3 peppers)
• 6 ounces Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers, roughly chopped, seeds and stems discarded (about 2 peppers)
• 2 Serrano or jalapeño chilies, roughly chopped, stems discarded
• 10 ounces white onion, roughly chopped (about 1 medium)
• 6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seed, toasted and ground
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems, plus more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• Fresh corn tortillas and lime wedges, for serving

1. Combine chicken, tomatillos, poblano peppers, Anaheim peppers, Serrano peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and a big pinch of salt in a pressure cooker. Heat over high heat until gently sizzling, then seal pressure cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 15 minutes. Release pressure.
2. Using tongs, transfer chicken pieces to a bowl and set aside. Add cilantro and fish sauce to remaining contents of pressure cooker. Blend with a hand blender or in a standing blender and season to taste with salt. Return chicken to sauce, discarding skin and bones and shredding if desired. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve immediately with tortillas and lime wedges.