Weak Sauce

I like applesauce, especially fine textured applesauce. While at Trader Joe’s the other day, I was sorely tempted by two varieties of fruit sauce I had not tasted before. I impulsively snapped up a jar of pearsauce and a jar of spiced chunky applesauce. This was a mistake, and now I know that I do not like chunky applesauce or pearsauce.

The texture of the pearsauce was horrible. Pears have that sorta hard grainy texture near the core and this does not mix well with the somewhat gooey nature of the outer parts of the pear. I think the texture was the main thing that drove me away, although I didn’t like the overly sweet taste either. The chunky applesauce was not quite as bad, but I realized I don’t like having big chunks of apple in my applesauce. The chunks are typically not as sweet as the rest of the applesauce which is a bit off-putting. Bunky suggested that the applesauce would have been better with a meal. I think she could be right, but I still didn’t like the chunky applesauce.

Foodsitting

I tried making risotto for the first time this weekend, after trying some tasty risotto from the ready-to-eat area of my local grocery store. I glanced quickly at a generic recipe for ideas of what to buy, and I went and bought some chicken, chicken broth, Arborio rice, and Crimini mushrooms. As it turns out, I was not prepared for how much chicken broth was required (like 6.5 cups, what the heck?!) so I had to use about 2 cups of water to round out the recipe.

The recipe looked easy enough, but I now know that risotto needs constant attention. I figured it would be like normal rice where you just dump all the liquid in and let it steam, but apparently you are supposed to put in a half cup of the stock mixture at a time, and this is pretty tedious (as you have to stir every so often to avoid having burnt rice at the bottom). I added a very small amount of smoked bacon to the recipe as well to compensate for the diluted stock mixture, and to give the risotto a slightly smokey flavor. I then topped it off with some grated mahon cheese.

Overall it was excellent, although the recipe ended up producing way more risotto than I could eat in one sitting. Risotto doesn’t seem to be great as a leftover, but it was very tasty when eaten immediately after cooking.

I Like Them!

I was reading this fun article about mooncakes shaped like cell phones, when I noticed this line:

A couple nights back, I mentioned mooncakes at a dinner in Beijing and the table erupted in hilarity and derision — my hosts advised me that mooncakes are the Chinese equivalent of Christmas cakes — no one likes them, everyone gives them (I like Christmas cake!). They are haloed with weird possible urban legends, like the scandal of a mooncake manufacturer that was recycling last year’s filling because no one can taste the difference between year-old and fresh mooncake stuffin’.

WHAT?! How can this be?! I freaking love mooncakes!!! The Mid-Autumn Festival is like one of my favorite holidays ever, and I never get any gifts! While I am not a huge fan of that awful little yolk ball in the middle, that can be easily removed, and many cakes are sold without it. I prefer lotus seed, black bean, and red bean fillings, but I’ve had some other good fillings. Wiki had the following snippet:

But despite its central role in the Mid-Autumn festival, the popularity of mooncakes has declined in recent years. Part of the reason is that people are becoming more health-conscious. Traditional mooncakes are made with lard, and a lot of sugar. Another reason for the decline in popularity is that the Moon Festival has become increasingly commercialized. People are focusing more on the exchange of gifts, and less on the traditional celebrations, such that its symbolism has eroded. Many mooncakes are bought by businessmen who give them to their clients as presents.

I guess that makes some sense, but it doesn’t change the fact that mooncakes are delicious. Plus they’re not that large, and you don’t eat them that often, so what is the big deal about how unhealthy they are? I am very sad to learn that mooncakes are not held in esteem by people in China, because there is always a special place in my heart (and belly, and mouth) for the mooncake. In fact, I am honoring the mooncake by making this the first post that I used the new WP 2.3 feature of tagging on, in case I ever want to find this post again.

I Want To Eat One

I was writing about Claymore, and I had to look up something about turducken. You can’t talk about Claymore without mentioning turducken. It has this intriguing paragraph:

The largest recorded nested bird roast is 17 birds, attributed to a royal feast in France in the 19th century: a bustergophechiduckneaealcockidgeoverwingailusharkolanbler (originally called a Rôti Sans Pareil, or “Roast without equal”) - a bustard stuffed with a turkey, a goose, a pheasant, a chicken, a duck, a guinea fowl, a teal, a woodcock, a partridge, a plover, a lapwing, a quail, a thrush, a lark, an Ortolan Bunting and a Garden Warbler. The final bird is small enough that it can be stuffed with a single olive; it also suggests that, unlike modern multi-bird roasts, there was no stuffing or other packing placed in between the birds. This dish probably could not be recreated in the modern era as many of the listed birds are now protected species.

ZOMFG, I wonder how you would prevent it from tasting too gamey.