The Rest of Us

[joethefoodie]

1 hour ago, Wilfrid said:

Out of stock, I just saved $90, what shall I spend it on?

Does that include shipping? "Cause otherwise, you'd be out another $210.

[Wilfrid]

Ha, I believe it.

[Sneakeater]

Get some sole, sable, and uni along with your percebes, and there you are. 

[Sneakeater]

This is the dinner I had planned for last night.  But I didn't feel like getting out of bed last night -- much less getting out of bed and having a cheeseburger.

Tonight, I had planned to go to a Modern Guatemalan place I like after a nearby (quasi-outdoor) show.  But I think percebes is Galician dialect for highly perishable, so I figured I shouldn't put off eating another portion another night.  Anyway, would the food I'd buy out be better than the perecebes-including dinner I would make at home?  Doubtful.

So, percebes.  Here's evidence of my new cooking skills:  the first night I made these, I steamed them for one minute, and they were a little bit underdone.  So the next night, I steamed them for three minutes -- and they were a little bit overdone.  So what did I figure out to do tonight?   I figured out to steam them for two minutes.  And they were just right.  I can cook yo!

Then, a cheeseburger (Flannery's Adventurous blend) with some charred cordyceps (more wasted male vitality) and special early Spring leeks (great enough that they make me less impatient for RAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPSSSSSSS). 

Fiddleheads sautéed in butter on the side.  And some pretentious but delicious artisanal local-farm potato chips.

I drank just what you'd think.

2016 Lapierre Morgon

Is there a better cheeseburger wine than this?  If there is, I don't know it.

One of the signature Natural Beaujolais from one of the Gang of Four who invented the style.  All the funk and laser-focused fruit of Natural Wine, but on a bed of velvet.

I could drink and drink and drink this.  Fortunately, bottles have bottoms.

[Sneakeater]

I should go on about these leeks more.

They're called Three-Cornered Leeks.  They don't look like leeks.  They look more like scallions.

But they don't taste like either scallions or leeks.  They're much much MUCH earthier.  They have the garlicky accents of ramps, which I guess is the allium they're closest to.  To me, ramps are just that tiny bit more piquantly garlicky and earthy.  But that is probably just conditioning.  If I came from the Pacific Northwest, where these come from, I'd probably get as excited about them as I do about ramps here.  As it is, I can't deny they're just fabulously great.

[Sneakeater]

Oh, and research discloses that, unlike ramps on the East Coast, Three-Cornered Leeks are, in North America, an invasive exotic species (from the Mediterranean, I think) that it's a good thing to eat, rather than a threat to sustainability that satisfies your base cravings but helps destroy the local ecosystem.  (Not that anything could keep me from eating ramps.)

Okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bloviatrix]

Were the potato chips from Rick Bishop? (aka Mountain Sweet Berry) Because they're really good.

[joethefoodie]

2 hours ago, bloviatrix said:

Were the potato chips from Rick Bishop? (aka Mountain Sweet Berry) Because they're really good.

Yeah, dangerously good.

[Sneakeater]

Those very ones.

[Sneakeater]

Could their now having a potato chip stand at GAP Greenmarket mean they'll eventually be selling, like, berries there?

[Sneakeater]

(Or maybe they're this year's Temporary Ramp Purveyors?)

[Sneakeater]

Two appetizers = one dinner.  Especially when portions are um large.

First, the last of my percebes.  I am now returned to a state of percebelessness.  Bereft of percebes.  And if anyone wants to talk about cost:  $90 for six large portions.  That's $15 a (large) portion.  If there were more (meaning any) people here to share the percebes, and I didn't eat out once last week and miss one other meal owing to Moderna coma, I'd have gotten even more portions out of the $90 batch.  Try to even approach that in a restaurant.  And, unless the chef fancies them up (which percebes manifestly DON'T need), they don't cook them much differently than I do (hell, they might not have thought of my secret dashi ingredient).

Then, ankimo.  But the superstar here was the mound of grated daikon with lazyboy ponzu I made as a condiment.  Lazyboy because, instead of citrus juice, I included some jarred yuzu/chili paste.  For this gaijin, the chili made it.  It was SO good.  (Also, of course, some finely chopped Three-Cornered Leeks on top.)

Pea Shoots Goma-Ae on the side.

On the assumption that Sherry can almost always sub for Sake (I even used it to rinse the salted monkfish liver before steaming) (OF COURSE Sherry will go with percebes):

Bodegas Tradición Fino Tradición

This producer prides itself on how long it keeps its Fino under flor.  And this is particularly big and bold for a Fino.  It doesn't have that light Fino sharpness.  Instead, it has increased salinity (if you can imagine that), and one of the longest finishes I've ever had in a Fino.

Not hitting the astonishing heights of that Equipo Navazos Fino a few weeks ago (which managed to maintain all the usual qualities of a Fino but supersize them, and then put them into lazer focus).  But very good.

[Wilfrid]

We just grew some pea shoots. 

The percebes now sound like a steal. If only they were in stock. I am in a state of perpetual percebeslessness.

[Wilfrid]

We just grew some pea shoots. 

The percebes now sound like a steal. If only they were in stock. I am in a state of perpetual percebeslessness.

ETA: I am live chatting with Browne Trading right now. I may have news...

 

[Wilfrid]

"They should return at the end of the week for weekend sales/start of next week. They will typically update on Thursday/Friday or Monday/Tuesday if we do have them in."

Now that wasn't so difficult, was it?