30 January 2011
Beating the Spread
(A new Chrysler, or something, at the DC Car Show. Photo Socotra.)
I should have been shopping this weekend, getting ready to put out a spread for the Superbowl, but I goofed off and went to the movies and then the Car Show down at the Convention Center.
After the profound depth of anger at the Wall Street bastards who so thoroughly screwed us over, it was good to put that aside for a moment and marvel at what technology is bringing us in the motorcars that burn the fuel that powers the corrupt regimes in Saudi and Venezuela.
But then I started to get mad about that and decided to just look at the technicians who were presenting the new models this year. It was remarkably calming. I recognized the Caddies, and some of the Ford and Chrysler offerings, but by the time I got to the other marques I could not tell the vehicles apart. The old brand loyalty for the automobile is about dead, and I have transferred my fervor to other things.
I am going to stay home for the Superbowl, either at Big Pink or or head south and lie low at the Farm and hope the satellite TV stays linked to the bird in geostationary orbit. I don’t have a dog in the fight, with Cheese Heads from Green Bay going against the Steelers, so it should be entertaining regardless of who wins, or beats the spread, and the halftime show with the Black Eyed Peas should be a gas.
I hope they do the Mazel tov song, whatever that was.
I have been at war with carbs, at least the refined ones, but will make an exception for the game.
I have been wandering around with a pervasive hallucination of a buffalo burger a la Ted’s Montana Grill layered with avocado, bacon and sharp melted cheese. Not to mention extra crispy hand-cut fries and a generous dollop of chilled catsup and one of those little cups of home-made mayonnaise.
But I digress. Maybe I will have one of those this summer when it gets warmer. I read about what is in the hamburger they sell in bulk at the store and was so alarmed that I have stopped buying it. I intend, sometime, to get a grinder so I can determine exactly what is in the meat that I am cooking.
I am sure you heard about the controversy over what exactly constitutes the alleged meat sauce in Taco Bell. I read what the people at McDonalds do to create their patties. It is disgusting, and just about enough to make you go vegan.
Getting a meat-grinder is something I will get to one of these days, I’am sure. The latest development in the kitchen was the acquisition of a food processor, since it is essential to several of the recipes with which I have been tinkering.
I like Cabot’s brand, and I am not at war with those folks. Cabot Creamery is a 1,200 farm family dairy cooperative with members in New England and upstate New York. They are proud of their roots as a cooperative dairy, and they pride themselves on doing business that way.
Co-ops are member-owned and operated and hew to the famed Rochdale Cooperative principles, which include, in sum:
Commitment to Voluntary and Open Membership
Democratic Member Control
Member Economic Participation
Autonomy and Independence
Education, Training and Information
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Concern for Community
What is not to like about that?
As to the last bit, Cabot members serve on school boards and select boards, as volunteer firefighters, planning commission members and Green-Up Day participants.
It may be little more pricey, but as an alternative to some scary corporate entity like Tysons, employing people of dubious nationality to slaughter millions of chickens in appalling conditions, I am afraid I am going green.
Still it wouldn’t mean anything if the product wasn’t good. Cabot’s motto about their cheese is: “When Sharp goes awry, when Extra Sharp earns a pucker, Seriously Sharp is born. It never tastes the same from one batch to the next.”
It's a cult thing. They say it is the cheese they sold to hunters and truckers on their way out of town.
I got hooked on Cabots when a pal was over and I had no ideas and grabbed a slab of the extra sharp with horseradish, some nice bulk-packed olives, hearts of artichoke and cracked a bottle of 2008 Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Malbec.
No muss, no fuss, no cooking.
That would be fine for the Superbowl, of course, but the occasion of the Cheese Heads meeting the Steelers calls for a little more elegant presentation. I am thinking of the Big Pink Meatballs (recipe provided a summer or so ago) and something for dipping.
I like the spinach dip in a round sourdough boule loaf of bread, so that guests can just rip off the crust and slather it slather it on.
Here is a simple version you can lay up a day before and plop into the load before the usual suspects show up, or take it along if you are visiting:
Vic’s Spinach Boule:
Ingredients:
1 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise, or make your own if you are a masochist
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (1.8 ounce) package dry leek soup mix
1 (4 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 boule loaf of Whole Foods sourdough bread
Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and chopped spinach. Chill in the refrigerator 6 hours, or overnight.
Remove top and disembowel the interior of a boule loaf of Whole Foods sourdough bread. Fill with mayonnaise-spinach mixture. Direct the guests to tear removed bread chunks into pieces for dipping and or slathering.
So that is one thing, but I think something rich and pungent is also called for, and Cabot’s is the way to go. This dip took a couple tries. I got a little confused about the 1 cup cream cheese, which is four ounces, so I started out with that and found it was too runny, so added the other four and it was just right- eight ounces is precisely the amount in a block of Philadelphia-brand cream cheese.
I used the Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar and genuine Guinness Beer, the four pack of which may have contributed to the confusion.
Cabot’s Creamery Kick Your Ass Sharp Dip:
8 ounces Cabot Sharp or Extra Sharp, or Sharp with Horseradish Cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
2 cups cream cheese (8 ounces)
1/3 cup Guinness Stout. Drink the rest. Keep another couple handy.
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Large pinch fresh ground Kwang-ju (or cayenne) red pepper
Directions:
Combine ingredients in food processor or blender; process until smooth and creamy.
Serve with bread or crackers. Thin-sliced rye or multi-grain bread or crackers are fine, but there is nothing better than good old-fashioned Triscuits. I am a traditionalist in most things, but if you are daring, try the new brand with cracked pepper and olive oil.
Nutrition Analysis: Who cares? The Superbowl is only on once a year, you know?
Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
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