Monday, November 02, 2009

Idleness has thrust it's happy self upon me....and a cry for help

OK....so, now that idleness has thrust it's happy self upon me, thank you credit crunch, financial wizards, Wolfean Masters of the Universe, and lax city regulation....I've some time on my hands. Several months worth of the stuff. And damned tricky stuff to handle it is too, I don't mind telling you. Daytime drinking only gets you so far.

However, I don't miss the chest tightening terror that regularly and habitually gripped me at about 8:55 every weekday morning. The upshot is, I had planned a year of Cooking Dangerously. Set up a blog with that name. Two of them. Email. Whole shebang happily ticking over in my idle and naive bonce.

Julie and Julia. Taglined "A Year of Cooking Dangerously". So. Eatmedrinkme it is then......

To lay out the plan for the next few months, culinary wise....

  • Brawn. Chop up and en-pate-ify a hogs head (There's gotta be a joke in there about being redundant, and stiff upper lips....). Time to look my food in the face, as it were. Going to be quite challenging, that one.
  • Pate. Several types. Ditto Rillons, rilletes, confits and terrines, and all
    things meatily preserved.
  • Sausage making, both fresh and dried. Dangerous that last one. (if I
    die, let it be for all things porky, and processed, and let no man say I died
    unhappy or in vain)
  • A smoker, and smoking. Tricky one this.
  • Classic French cooking. Time to hone those basic skills. The four sauces,
    and technique.
  • Caviars, Raviolis, Foams, Chocolate Chantilly, and Blumentahlesque
    oddities to issue forth from the kitchen Keith.
  • Make cheese, both soft and hard.
  • Butcher a carcass - probably lamb, and break it down.
  • Gravad Lax (and smoked salmon, per above....)
  • Pancetta, from scratch.
  • Work my way through the more grimly delicious parts of Grigson's
    Charcuterie
    , Ruhlmans Charcuterie, and Henderson's (profoundly delightful
    and inspiring man) Nose to Tail eating. Roast marrow bone's a must from that book.

Call for help below....

Suggestions will be eagerly taken on board for this ongoing project, and processed as happy grist in the unemployment mill, and then regurgitated as isolated moments of gustatory satori, distilled into dodgily lit video, and self-congratulatory prose. So please, feel free to post any suggestions in comments. Any challenging additions would be truly appreciated....

2 comments:

Anna Bee said...

This looks wonderful - can't wait! My first attempt at Rillettes was inspired by your blog, and they have been a success since, I'm hovering on the verge of making venison sausages - just waiting for the venison to arrive. My brother - who is a beef farmer - is diversifying into pigs- organic - the first litter born this week, so looking forward to better access to unusual ingredients and hopefully some pig blood for black pudding.

So really looking forward to you sharing your experiences - I was laid off earlier this year, but it has opened more doors than it closed.

Good Luck!

Keith said...

Thanks Anna. Glad to hear about the rilletes.

Pig blood....I was just thinking about fresh home nmade black pudding yesterday....I'm green with envy.

In a couple of months I'll be trying to source some pig parts, so please, feel free to pass on any contact details for your brother, if he is interested in selling.

My email is eatmedrinkmeblog@yahoo.ie.

Keep opening those doors....