Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Special dinner
In college, my friend Sam lived in a co-op called Ridge Project. Once each quarter, they would have something called Special Dinner. The Special part was, I gather, the lack of Tuna Jello on the menu. Sam had me over for Special Dinner once, but I don’t remember what they served. I was too effed up on Olde English 800.
Hmm. Maybe that was the special part.
For tonight, I made filet mignon wrapped in bacon, seared on a cast iron pan, dressed in mushrooms and shallots; steamed broccoli; focaccia. Dessert: classic strawberry shortcake with buttermilk biscuits, fresh strawberries, and mascarpone whipped cream.
All dinners are Special at Chez Walnut. This has nothing to do with Steak and BJ Day.
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Admittedly, I’m violating the spirit of the holiday by preparing the steak myself. St. Fellatia would not be pleased.
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I was trying to explain chastity belts to Jake when I found this image. Owie.
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Ever wonder what you get when you search Flickr for Steak and BJ Day? The answer below the cut.
Note to those of you who are fond of saying “I should know better than to follow your links”: DON’T GO BELOW THE CUT.
pre-dominare, originally uploaded by goph51.
Told ya.
D.
ROFLMAO! Both dogs’ expressions are worth the price of admission on that one. (Menu looks great, by the way. I always look to Chez Walnut for inspiration.)
We went sorta Southern tonight: red beans & rice, braised kale w/ shallots & bacon, and cornbread. Didn’t make the cornbread from scratch, but hey…
And you’d think that dogs would have doggy-style down pat. My illusions continue to be shattered.
Lyn! You’re back! Or you’ve delurked or something. Long time no see 🙂
ps: sounds great, especially the braised kale. I love that kind of stuff. Unfortunately, I think I’m the only one.
What cornbread recipe do you use?
In all of that, I am most disturbed to learn that Olde English 800 has won multiple awards.
I don’t have any one particular favorite recipe for cornbread. Our ancient Fanny Farmer cookbook has a pretty good recipe; so do a couple of our other cookbooks. Even though it’s a quickbread, most nights when I make it I’ll usually just add stuff to a decent pre-made mix. Last night was a package of Marie Callendar w/ whole-kernel corn added to it.
Come to think of it, there are really only a couple of recipes that I use over & over again. Lots of times I’ll search Cooking Light, Epicurious, and RecipeZaar to get a sense of the possibilities, and use the one I like best more as a rule of thumb for cooking temps, timing, and ingredient proportions.
I use the recipe on the corn meal box, and folks are happy. I don’t gussy it up (as much as I would like to) because my son objects to inclusions in his food. Have to avoid, at all costs, anything that might provoke the question, “What is this stuff in my . . .” Mashed potatoes stay pure. Corn bread stays pure. But God help me if I leave out the onions and rosemary when I make focaccia.
I’m using online recipes more and more, too. As a Berkeleyite, I still have a soft spot for Recipe Source, since you can find damn near any ethnicity represented. Great Ethiopian recipes there, for example.
Dean: I can’t remember what the stuff tasted like. Best I can tell, the appeal of malt liquor is its high alcohol content. I suspect that masks all flavor issues.
The recipe on the corn meal box? You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s late here, but remind me to send you cornbread recipe I use. Buttermilk, and it’s baked in a cast iron skillet. Once I used that recipe, I never made any other kind.
Ooh, that sounds good.
I have corn meal.
I have buttermilk.
I have a cast iron skillet.
Send away!