Sunday, August 26, 2012

TGICFS.

Chicken-fried steak and eggs at Rise & Shine - Arlington, Texas. © Ryan Schierling
Texas CFS, it's been a while.

I've had some time to think about things. We've had a lot of fun together, you and I, but I guess I've just got to put this out there...

I think I need to see other breakfast options.

When you're good, you're really, really good. Sometimes amazing. But those times have been few and far between, and I expect the best of you here in this great state. I mean, this is your stomping grounds. It's where you came from.

You were certainly stunning (even after breakfast hours) in Blanco, leaving any lusty thoughts of an on-the-road, one-morning-stand in Wallace, Idaho behind (I was just passing through, on tour with this rock band from Seattle... no hard feelings). But you've been distant of late. Inconsistent. A little sloppy. If we only see each other infrequently, I want those meetings, those delicious liaisons, to be fireworks and waving flags, and cholesterol tests be damned. I want to wake up with you, start the day with you.

I'm sorry, Texas chicken-fried steak. Unless you can show me that you want to be with me for breakfast on the regular, I'm going to have to move on.

Wondrous homemade bread
cast a breakfast pall on you,
Sysco CFS

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Nuteena sandwich.

The impossible-salad sandwich. © Ryan Schierling
This is a sandwich you have never heard of. Chances are, it is a sandwich you will never make.

Not because you don't want to, but because the main ingredient was discontinued in 2005. Nuteena was the only non-meat analog product in the Worthington / Loma Linda line, which included alternatives to pork, beef, chicken and – strangely enough – scallops.

Unknown to us at the time, Julie and I quite possibly used the last can of Nuteena in existence back in 2008. 

We were in Hawaii, house-sitting and hungry after a morning of snorkeling. Perusing the cupboards, she found a single, solitary can of Nuteena, which instantly took her back more than 20 years. 

Julie, raised vegetarian, had eaten Nuteena sandwiches since she was a kid. It was part of her history and she'd all but forgotten about it. As a consummate carnivore, I had no idea what to make of the pale brown, faintly nutty loaf, and I wouldn't have had the faintest what to do with it. But, I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater and was intrigued by such a strange product. What "salad" sandwich was Nuteena supposed to be replacing for vegetarians? Tuna salad? Chicken salad? I've heard of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, but this was just bizarre. Mixing the stuff with mayo and onion and dill pickle, it looked like a simple tuna or chicken salad, but it certainly didn't taste like anything I'd ever eaten before.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The sandwich days of summer.

Blackened salmon with caper remoulade and red slaw. © Ryan Schierling

Ah, the salad days of summer. Who can forget those times of carefree frivolity and youthful enthusiasm, of innocence and sweet naiveté?

Back in the moderate month of May, we tackled five cucumber salads in five days. It was the perfect prelude to summer preparation. Now, we're in the thick of it in Austin – 100-plus-degree days, the sun beating down like a white-hot smith's hammer on our garden plots, perspiration aplenty. We spend cooler evening-time hours on the deck drinking aguas frescas and the occasional ice-cold wheat beer mixed with Limonata. Dinners are small, fresh – and while usually thrown together – well-planned for a minimum of ingredients. So we try to let those ingredients shine.

We're on to the sandwich days of summer.

And tonight, the salmon is King, dirtied with a little blackened seasoning and cooked on a ripping hot cast-iron skillet on the grill. Individual baguettes are split and toasted, brushed with a caper and parsley remoulade and adorned with a bright slaw of red cabbage and red onion. This easy summer fish sandwich couldn't ask for anything more.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Bake me a cake as fast as you can.

Lavender cupcakes. © Ryan Schierling
Practice, practice, practice. I'm honing my skills for the big day. I have been bestowed the honor of baking the wedding cake for one of my dearest friends this summer and the challenge is turning out to be an education that is even tastier and more gratifying that I could have ever imagined.

I'm justifiably anxious. It's an August wedding, out-of-doors and out-of-town. If I don't have utmost confidence in the methods I've chosen, I'm screwed. I haven't exactly spent years staking my reputation on this particular variety of baked goods. I mean, this is a WEDDING CAKE, and holy mother of all that is pink and glittery… I simply mustn't let this lovely couple down.

So, I have officially baked more cakes in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years combined. I've tested cake recipes and successfully executed my very first (ever) Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC), including variations. When the big day arrives, I plan to be cranking out several batches of that fabulously fluffy IMBC with experienced gusto, gosh-darn-it!

There is tremendous satisfaction in the mastery of a new creative endeavor, but thank goodness I didn't have to re-invent the wheel here. There are those who have traveled this path before me, and whether via online video or traditional cookbook, I have found trusted mentors in this venture. As with all baked goods there are principals and nuances and detailed instructions to attend to, but with every new batch I'm having more and more fun. Instead of late-night cookie baking for relaxation, there's a good chance that cupcakes will fall into place as my go-to alternate.
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