Thursday, November 01, 2012

Thursday Rolls Around Again

Sometimes the regularity of life's weekly routines really strikes me.  It's probably hitting home a little harder this week as a result of seeing the coverage on the internet about the devastation left in Sandy's wake, where people are wishing for their familiar routine.  Mine seems to vary little, week to week.  Tuesday is, of course, the beginning of our work week, a day similar to what other working people experience on Mondays.  Wednesday it is the Prix-Fixe menu and all it entails, plus the beginning of placing and receiving orders.  Thursday is Burger Mania, the weekly post and more ordering and receiving.  Friday is the first night of the weekend, open later and usually busier than the rest of the week thus far.  Final deliveries of the week.  Coffee at 8PM. Saturday is the last day of the work week, often busy at both lunch and dinner.  Saturday dinner marks "the last shift of the week", and at 8PM Saturday night we are all in "the longest hour of the week".  Coffee service again at 8, and finally, our weekend begins, which is happily routine-less. 

This week's regularly schedule program is slightly jumbled.  First of all, we did not serve lunch on Tuesday, which turned out to be a good call, as was the decision to open back up at dinner that night.  The first sign that things might continue to be a little disrupted was the phone call from the Bacchus wine salesman to say that their regular Wednesday delivery would not occur until Saturday.  And of course there were no food deliveries on Tuesday, when we usually get at least two, sometimes three.  And so it goes, right down the line, everything just a little off kilter, with Wednesday deliveries coming Friday, Friday's coming Saturday.  It will keep me severely dizzy for the entire week.   

Anyway, on with the show.

The menu last night started with something called "petite marmite".  This soup project began as a lunch special that Kevin planned to serve to a very important guest who was scheduled to arrive on Saturday, but whose plans were among those decimated by the approaching Sandy. Fast forward to Wednesday customers eating bowls of a deeply flavored beef and vegetable soup finished with beef tongue.  No photo,  I am sorry to say. 

This was followed by a plate of pork ribs and bratwurst, garnished with sauerkraut and bacon.   A hearty plate indeed.  Perfect for a chilly and damp Hallowe'en night,eh?

Kevin made the dessert of apple kuchen.  He wasn't sure how it would turn out, but in my opinion it is perfect - a sort of biscuit crust under a layer of caramelized apples.  What could be bad about that?  


It made a delicious breakfast dessert this morning, that is certain!

The lack of a produce delivery on Tuesday meant we had to come up with a substitute for the fries we serve with the burger at night.  Luckily, Kevin had on a hand a bushel of Cathy's sweet potatoes, so, one night only, sweet potato fries on the burger tonight!  The kitchen crew has been working on perfecting them for just such a debut!

Rockfish on the dinner menu last night looked really good, with a dusting of dill.  My favorite fish.


 Kevin and I lost power on Monday only briefly - a few hours that morning - and lucky for that, since we had some major meals planned for our weekend.   I love these beef ribs I get regularly at a local store.  Sure, they are not what you would call the best beef in the world, but they are meat the way I like it - on the bone.  I trim the fat and the silverskin, grind a little salt and pepper over them, and let them dry out in the fridge for a couple three hours before cooking them briefly on a hot grill.  We managed that on Sunday night, out in the rain, under the beach umbrella on the more protected front porch.  A sweet potato roasted in the same coals served as our side; we weren't going to let Sandy's rage bother us at all.  Especially since we had electric!!

Monday we planned on Peruvian Chicken, based on a recipe we saw on the MPT food network show, America's Test Kitchen, with the singularly idiosyncratic Christopher Kimball.  (This story in the NYT magazine food issue on him and his kingdom is an excellent read.)  We had most of the ingredients we remembered from the list on the show - although in the end we forgot the lime rind and the olive oil - and managed to put together a spicy paste for our beer can chicken.  That's the bird, perched on it's can, oven ready.  It turned out to be so good we think we will use the same paste on our Thanksgiving Turkey this year.  We ate by candle light, while the trees threatened to be our undoing, and hesitantly toasted our luck through the storm thus far.  Eventually we made it through with barely a scratch, like the majority in the area, and are entirely grateful for that fact. 

Next up - Belgium Chocolate Cheesecake!

 

1 comment:

  1. Shari and I always joke that we are the only people we know who take pictures of food when we go to or have a function, so believe me when I tell you that I so enjoy your pictures. Melinda

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