My daughter turned 21 the other day. I'm older than I once was, but
no matter.

She picked scallops at the Whole Foods fish counter for her birthday
dinner, instructing me to cook them with a light sauce that wouldn't
mask their flavor. Sides were to be angel hair pasta with pesto and
roasted asparagus with garlic and lemon and olive oil.

I'd been reading Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook that
afternoon, getting properly inspired to do a decent meal. His
tough-guy commands about a proper mise en place got me thinking about
how inefficient I am in the kitchen. So I took to the task with every
intention of getting organized.

Butter out and softened. Check.

Veg trimmed and washed. Check.

Garlic chopped and handy to the cook top. Check.

Lemons cut for juicing. Check.

Wine cork popped. Check.

Salt and pepper ready at hand. Check.

Pasta water hot. Check.

Skillet oiled and heating on the stove. Check.

That last one was trouble, it turned out. During my efficiency
experiment, I neglected the skillet while I drained the pasta and
tossed it with the pesto. It had to do with switching out the rinsed
and drained scallops (Check) with the angel hair in the collander. I
only have the one collander, you see.

I knew the skillet was way hot. But holy flamola! When I set the
scallops in it, flames shot up to the vent hood. The smoke detector
in the hall outside the kitchen went off. The hair on my knuckles
vaporized. The dogs ran from the room. It looked like something on
Iron Chef. Like something on Iron Chef on acid.

The birthday girl stopped the wailing smoke alarm. I recovered my
wits and seared the scallops till they caramelized lightly on both
sides. Setting them in the warming oven, I deglazed the pan with a
dash of white wine, reduced it some, incorporated about 3 tablespoons
of butter (off heat, natch) and plated it all.

They were delicious, lightly crusted top and bottom, warm and tender
in the center, buttery and sweet with the sauce on top. It turned out
to be a lovely meal with a light sparkling white wine.

But I gotta work on my mise.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:46:53 -0600, Michael Odom >
wrote:


>But I gotta work on my mise.
>
>
>modom
>
>"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
> -- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

You mean your "meez"......

I know what you mean.. I have that book as well, and it has inspired
me to work on mine as well... He drums it into you recipe after
recipe...

Christine

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:46:53 -0600, Michael Odom >
wrote:


>But I gotta work on my mise.
>
>
>modom
>
>"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
> -- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

You mean your "meez"......

I know what you mean.. I have that book as well, and it has inspired
me to work on mine as well... He drums it into you recipe after
recipe...

Christine

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:00:16 -0800, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:46:53 -0600, Michael Odom >
>wrote:
>
>
>>But I gotta work on my mise.

>You mean your "meez"......

Yeah, meez. I stand corrected.
>
>I know what you mean.. I have that book as well, and it has inspired
>me to work on mine as well... He drums it into you recipe after
>recipe...
>
>Christine

I have to admit, I'm actually beginning to like him. There was a time
when I only admired his prose and was satisfied that I'd never meet
him. But Les Halles is my current favorite cookbook, its author is
beginning to grow in my esteem.

It's boef Bourguignon tonight, by the way.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:06:23 GMT, Dog3 > wrote:
>
>LOL... I got a kick out of this story. My niece wanted crab for her 15th
>birthday. What a mess. We always boil 'em. She wanted grilled. So we put a
>gob of butter on them. OMG, the grill hated the butter. Grilled crab was
>different but okay.
>
Maybe the grill loved the butter a little too much?

I grilled crabs once, fresh live ones from a boat canal on Galveston
Island. They scuttled around the grill enough to make me
uncomfortable. Not enough to keep me from eating them, though.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:06:23 GMT, Dog3 > wrote:
>
>LOL... I got a kick out of this story. My niece wanted crab for her 15th
>birthday. What a mess. We always boil 'em. She wanted grilled. So we put a
>gob of butter on them. OMG, the grill hated the butter. Grilled crab was
>different but okay.
>
Maybe the grill loved the butter a little too much?

I grilled crabs once, fresh live ones from a boat canal on Galveston
Island. They scuttled around the grill enough to make me
uncomfortable. Not enough to keep me from eating them, though.


modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

"My daughter turned 21 the other day. I'm older than I once was, but
no matter"

Happy birthday to both of you (?)!

If you could have kept your cool, it would have looked damned
impressive. <g>

Dean G.
I meant to do that.....

"My daughter turned 21 the other day. I'm older than I once was, but
no matter"

Happy birthday to both of you (?)!

If you could have kept your cool, it would have looked damned
impressive. <g>

Dean G.
I meant to do that.....

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:46:53 -0600, Michael Odom >
wrote:

>My daughter turned 21 the other day. I'm older than I once was, but
>no matter.
>
>She picked scallops at the Whole Foods fish counter for her birthday
>dinner, instructing me to cook them with a light sauce that wouldn't
>mask their flavor. Sides were to be angel hair pasta with pesto and
>roasted asparagus with garlic and lemon and olive oil.
>
>I'd been reading Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook that
>afternoon, getting properly inspired to do a decent meal. His
>tough-guy commands about a proper mise en place got me thinking about
>how inefficient I am in the kitchen. So I took to the task with every
>intention of getting organized.
>
>Butter out and softened. Check.
>
>Veg trimmed and washed. Check.
>
>Garlic chopped and handy to the cook top. Check.
>
>Lemons cut for juicing. Check.
>
>Wine cork popped. Check.
>
>Salt and pepper ready at hand. Check.
>
>Pasta water hot. Check.
>
>Skillet oiled and heating on the stove. Check.
>
>That last one was trouble, it turned out. During my efficiency
>experiment, I neglected the skillet while I drained the pasta and
>tossed it with the pesto. It had to do with switching out the rinsed
>and drained scallops (Check) with the angel hair in the collander. I
>only have the one collander, you see.
>
>I knew the skillet was way hot. But holy flamola! When I set the
>scallops in it, flames shot up to the vent hood. The smoke detector
>in the hall outside the kitchen went off. The hair on my knuckles
>vaporized. The dogs ran from the room. It looked like something on
>Iron Chef. Like something on Iron Chef on acid.
>
>The birthday girl stopped the wailing smoke alarm. I recovered my
>wits and seared the scallops till they caramelized lightly on both
>sides. Setting them in the warming oven, I deglazed the pan with a
>dash of white wine, reduced it some, incorporated about 3 tablespoons
>of butter (off heat, natch) and plated it all.
>
>They were delicious, lightly crusted top and bottom, warm and tender
>in the center, buttery and sweet with the sauce on top. It turned out
>to be a lovely meal with a light sparkling white wine.
>
>But I gotta work on my mise.
>
>
Bravo. You didn't get discouraged and they probably came out better
than if you had sauteed gently. I do them that way by choice without
putting fat in the CI pan.




Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

Entering your freshman dorm for the first time, and seeing
an axe head come through the door on your right.

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 14:43:02 -0600, Michael Odom >
wrote:


>I have to admit, I'm actually beginning to like him. There was a time
>when I only admired his prose and was satisfied that I'd never meet
>him. But Les Halles is my current favorite cookbook, its author is
>beginning to grow in my esteem.

He is a regular contributor on eGullet, where he has nearly godlike
status in the view of many of it's members.

I haven't tried anything yet from the book, but I have read it nearly
cover to cover. I have heard good things about the recipes from
eGullet members who have tried them...

Christine

In article >,
Michael Odom > wrote:

> On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:06:23 GMT, Dog3 > wrote:
> >
> >LOL... I got a kick out of this story. My niece wanted crab for her 15th
> >birthday. What a mess. We always boil 'em. She wanted grilled. So we put a
> >gob of butter on them. OMG, the grill hated the butter. Grilled crab was
> >different but okay.
> >
> Maybe the grill loved the butter a little too much?
>
> I grilled crabs once, fresh live ones from a boat canal on Galveston
> Island. They scuttled around the grill enough to make me
> uncomfortable. Not enough to keep me from eating them, though.
>
>
> modom
>

Ouch... :-(

Reminds me of the threads we have run here about the least cruel way to
boil crustaceans.

Can't you kill a crab by stabbing it between the eyes prior to
grilling???
--
K.

Katra wrote:
> In article >,
> Michael Odom > wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 20:06:23 GMT, Dog3 > wrote:
>>>
>>> LOL... I got a kick out of this story. My niece wanted crab for her
>>> 15th birthday. What a mess. We always boil 'em. She wanted
>>> grilled. So we put a gob of butter on them. OMG, the grill hated
>>> the butter. Grilled crab was different but okay.
>>>
>> Maybe the grill loved the butter a little too much?
>>
>> I grilled crabs once, fresh live ones from a boat canal on Galveston
>> Island. They scuttled around the grill enough to make me
>> uncomfortable. Not enough to keep me from eating them, though.
>>
>>
>> modom
>>
>
> Ouch... :-(
>
> Reminds me of the threads we have run here about the least cruel way
> to
> boil crustaceans.
>
> Can't you kill a crab by stabbing it between the eyes prior to
> grilling???

You could always pull a Nancy Y. and put them in water in the bathtub first


Jill <----ducking and running

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 05:22:20 -0600, "jmcquown" >
wrote:

>Katra wrote:
>>
>> Can't you kill a crab by stabbing it between the eyes prior to
>> grilling???
>
>You could always pull a Nancy Y. and put them in water in the bathtub first
>
>
>Jill <----ducking and running

Hey, she thought it was a humanitarian gesture!

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 05:22:20 -0600, "jmcquown"
> > wrote:
>
>> Katra wrote:
>>>
>>> Can't you kill a crab by stabbing it between the eyes prior to
>>> grilling???
>>
>> You could always pull a Nancy Y. and put them in water in the
>> bathtub first
>>
>> Jill <----ducking and running
>
> Hey, she thought it was a humanitarian gesture!
>
> Carol

Surprisingly, John did the same thing when some friends brought over live
lobsters. He had no idea. I found it funny I'd run into two people who
thought a dunk in fresh water would do them good

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:

>>> You could always pull a Nancy Y. and put them in water in the
>>> bathtub first

>> Hey, she thought it was a humanitarian gesture!
> Surprisingly, John did the same thing when some friends brought over live
> lobsters. He had no idea. I found it funny I'd run into two people who
> thought a dunk in fresh water would do them good

Hey, I thought it was a good thing to do! Plus, they'd be nice and fresh
when all my friends got there!

(laugh) nancy

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> Damsel in dis Dress wrote:

>>> You could always pull a Nancy Y. and put them in water in the
>>> bathtub first

>> Hey, she thought it was a humanitarian gesture!
> Surprisingly, John did the same thing when some friends brought over live
> lobsters. He had no idea. I found it funny I'd run into two people who
> thought a dunk in fresh water would do them good

Hey, I thought it was a good thing to do! Plus, they'd be nice and fresh
when all my friends got there!

(laugh) nancy