Sunday, December 25, 2005

Um, I'm Back Sooner Than I Thought

Because Cranky gave me a fantastic, nanotech, human-genome, space-age, bells-and-whistles tripod to use with my camera. It's — yeah — "all that."
It even smells good: Black rubber and knurly (not a typo; look it up) knobs, metal, modern esters (I would guess), the smell of (well, I'm not going to say "new car") — Victory!
And, so, see... It works! Dr. Biggles told me last summer I'd have to get a tripod, and I was all like, "why?" Well. Duh. Jiggles, eh, Biggles? Bad lighting, shaky hands, focus disasters.
Anyway.
Here's the oysters with a tricked-up mignonette sauce. No shallots were harmed in the making of this mignonette, but we did sacrifice the first dribblings from a new bottle of Spanish sherry vinegar. Gosh, it was seriously good.
Then the crab, tossed in a saute pan with copious amounts of butter, and flavored with ginger, garlic, minced parsley and fresh Meyer lemon juice.
Look at the picture: The crab is surrounded by watercress. And if that's not enough, the plate — a Christmas present this morning from Cranky's Cranky Sister — is from Saudi Arabian Airlines! What a crack-up!

17 comments:

Kalyn Denny said...

I am seriously jealous of the tripod. Not that I know what I am doing enough to need one, but nevertheless, I WANT one. I did get a gift certificate to a camera store, so I may have to check it out. Merry Christmas.

cookiecrumb said...

Hi, Doll. Yeah, I was all casual about it, but -- listen, you won't have to use the dreaded flash! I think your photo skills have been meteoric, but this is hyperspace. Go there.
Bad news: The one Cranky bought didn't come with a built-in flexible platform (the device that lets you twist and torque the angle of the camera, vis-a-vis the floor), so he had to buy a separate item. C'est la vie. C'est la $$.

Jamie said...

What an excellent gift!

My grandfather always liked to use the word "knurled." When you were building something, a nut was never just a nut--it was a knurled nut.

Anonymous said...

Dude, like, oh my god, that is one totally knurley tripod.

cookiecrumb said...

Good goin', Andrew. I can't believe how much practice it's going to take, just learning to use the tripod. Thank goodness the "film" is free!
Jamie: Very grandfathery. Also sounds like he was a craftsman.
Brett: Fer shur, it's like, bitchin' tubular!

Sam said...

i am so too lazy to use my big hefty tripod which i bought second hand off someone at work for $10.

Andrew should already have seen you put it to good use. Delicious photos!

Sam

cookiecrumb said...

Thanks, Sam. Rats, $10? Well, that's Cranky for ya: always buys the most expensive thing he can find. Yeah, it's a monster. It'll probably never get put away; then I won't have to drag it out, and at least it will get some use. (Housekeeping tips from the ever-inventive excuse-making Cookiecrumb.)

Guy said...

Hey Cookie,

Congrats! Love the tripod. I have a Bogen in my kitchen at all times, just leans up in the corner.

Just wait until you see what comes out, you'll giggle.
Pork pie success, roasted turkey success and now for SOUP !!!
Tomorrow night is the roast leg of lamb dinner party. Man, I'm getting tired.

Hugs!

cookiecrumb said...

But Biggles, are you getting tired of meat? Yet? Whew.

This one's a Giottos, and the bendy thingy with the handles is Manfrotto.

Learning curve coming up. Scree! Brakes! Going too fast!

Oh, look: pyiggqb. Have a pyiggqb party tomorrow.
xx

Greg said...

That oyster photo is da bomb.

cookiecrumb said...

Yow, thanks, Greg. It's my favorite of the first three tripod pix on this blog. Still working, still learning.
Scree!

Guy said...

Hey Cookie,

Tired of meat? Yeah, it's getting a little long in the toof.

I'm making up a wonderfult turkey soup (gravy & stuffing) at the moment, should be amazing!

Hugs

nika said...

Super delicious photos!

-----------
Nika

http://nikas-culinaria.blogspot.com

cookiecrumb said...

Bigs: I love turkey soup. We still have some tubs of frozen turkey broth, maybe the best I've ever made. A little wild rice, some mushrooms, the usual aromatics... And Cranky's idea this year to add spinach.
Oh well, too late. You're already under way. Finished, maybe, even.
Nika: Aw, thanks. Still workin' on this game.

mae said...

Oysters... i've just had lunch and am hungry again! Good slurpin' CC...

I would like one of those tripod too. I badly suffer from those shaky hands syndrome. Great tip about the flexi platform. I want one! I want one!!

MizD said...

Mmmm... oysters...

I recently discovered my Dad's old tripod among his things, and more to the point, discovered that my camera actually fits on it. (And there was much rejoicing!) Granted it's very old, as in, there are no rubber parts and the lengthening and shortening of its legs is rather a pain in the ass, but it works. And it tilts. Now I just need to get Chopper to hold off on the eating long enough for me to set the damn thing up.

cookiecrumb said...

Mrs D: This blogging business, she ruins your life. Hooray for the antique tripod of your illustrious dad! Seems like they're all pretty much interchangeable with all camera makes.