Saturday, January 16, 2010

Pot of Phew

Yes, it's a rain-spattered day.
But my glasses? They're grease-spattered. We've been cooking Julia's Boeuf à la Bourguignonne, pretty much true to the recipe (damn you, Julie!). Our kitchen is a mess. There's a strange smell coming off the Martha Stewart enameled cast-iron pot (its maiden voyage); frightening indeed.
In about four hours I may have something to photograph.

22 comments:

Cyndi said...

When we know a storm's coming it, I know I can go visit your blog and see when it's made landfall in NoCal. We're expected to get FOUR FEET of snow up here in our little town in SoCal.

Looking forward to the dinner pic. I'm making something with beef sirloin - haven't decided yet what it will be.

cookiecrumb said...

Cyndi: Four feet? That's brutal.
I do hope I get a dinner pic; it's already so dark out the lighting is just horrendous.
But... isn't it a beefy day? Happy supping.

Greg said...

You need a team of assistants to come in and clean like they do on T.V.I'm guessing the results will be worth the toil.

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: Hell, I need one of those crime scene cleanup crews! Got DNA all over the walls.

Zoomie said...

Channeling you - I'm making the same meal over here. Brown, brown, simmer, simmer.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

I LOVE those glasses, sort of saucy library lass!
Sound like you're doing better than us on the meat cooking scene - I set fire to a roast rolled pork last night, SPECTACULAR flames, salad for dinner :(

kudzu said...

There are "onion goggles" -- really -- and I've often thought I could wear them when splattering my stove and everything else with hot fat. I'm sure the pot au feu will be worth all the trouble....about to start making a mess with a clutch of Italian sausages, myself.

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: How cool is that? Brown, brown, simmer, simmer. I hope yours is delectable.

Mouse: You burned that thing? Aw, tant pis!
Yeah, the glasses. Too cool for this old broad. But thank goodness I was wearing them, or the hot grease would have been on my corneas.

cookiecrumb said...

Kudzu: We have onion goggles! Pink, alas, but somebody in "corporate" decided that only girls chop onions (they were a Christmas stocking gift for Cranky last year -- and he's cool with pink). I wore my regular glasses so I could see what I was doing.
I should have had an apron on; my shirt is fragrant now.
Happy sausages!

cookiecrumb said...

Kudzu: BTW, "pot au feu," wink, wink. xoxo

Melanie said...

I really want to get that cookbook and try that recipe. Maybe I'll finally do it this year.

mentalie said...

i've been looking for glasses like that for years! ah well, bon appetit. i hope your pot turns out well :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, such a great recipe!

I made it for my hubby's Bday last month, but my pictures did not turn out very good, so I decided against blogging it, but.... it was soooo tasty, I keep looking at the ugly pictures and unable to delete them
:-)

meathenge said...

Sigh. I need a new enameled rig, down to 1 4 quart. GAH.

xo, Biggles

cookiecrumb said...

Melanie: I hope you try it. The recipe is easier than it looks. (Did you know the book is at the top of the NYTimes best-seller list, how-to division?)

Mentalie: I've had the glasses a little over a year. Donna Karan, if you're still searching. xx

Bewitch: Ditto, it was an unattractive pile of brown. I saved some to photograph in the daylight, but I'm not sure I'll even bother. Boy, was it tasty, though! M.

Biggles: 4 quart is a good size. You probably need larger, though. This new MS pot is just 2.75 quarts, which is great for two appetites. Not as good quality as Le Creuset, but way cheaper (Macy's).

meathenge said...

Yeah, need the 5 baby! My crock-pot is a 5 quart and it's perfect.

Biggles

peter said...

I saw those in Macy's a while ago and was tempted for a minute since they're cheap. But I just can't bring myself to buy anything with her name on it.

Does it smell like women's prison? It's a Good Thing™.

cookiecrumb said...

Peter: I think her commercial empire is failing, so when I bought this on sale, I felt like I was giving her the fist. However, it is cheapy. And... it smelled (only briefly) like Three Mile Island. Or like burning women's prison garb.

Sweet Bird said...

From one bespectacled lady to another, those are bad ass glasses.

cookiecrumb said...

Birdie: Thank you! Flattered.

Kelly said...

read every comment in the hope someone had asked you already how you took that shot. I cant work it out. Help please.

cookiecrumb said...

Kel: Really, really low-tech. I am holding the glasses with my left hand, and the lightweight camera is in my right. Beyond the glasses is a window; you are seeing a blur of grass and wood-fence outdoors. Especially blurry because it is a bathroom window, the kind with pebbly glass. Glass is your friend.
xx!