The food is getting better and easier, but the pictures are getting worse. I hereby vow to take better pictures in the future. This menu was my personal favorite so far. Also, it seemed the most like the food we eat usually. I had Trout Almondine at one of those famous restaurants in New Orleans over 30 years ago and I remembered it. In fact, I have tried to replicate it many times over the years, and not just with trout. Last night, I learned the secret I had missed for so many years- cleaning the pan and replacing the butter to make the sauce. One more confirmation of Mom's adage that if you put enough butter on anything it will taste wonderful. Oh! the almonds, brown and crispy with that wonderful buttery taste! Had to plunge the pan in dishwater to prevent myself from licking the last few almonds out of it. I will definitely add this to my personal repertory. Although, 10 TBSP of butter means I won't cook it very often.
Turning the potatoes was.... I don't know if it's worth the effort. The Men of the Bride's household did not notice the cunningly shaped potatoes. Naturally, I will do it again because I'm OCD that way. The other problem with it is the amount of waste. Now I know that in a professional Cordon Bleu kitchen, the waste would be made into Vichyssoise, or something. But in my kitchen, not so much. I did have good intentions so I didn't throw them in the compost immediately. But after 20 minutes, when they had become a disturbing reddy-brown color, in they went. The picture shows the turned potatoes and the pile of parings.The dessert was fabulous. I had intended to do angel hair from the caramel, as the picture in the book shows. But I didn't and the just plain caramel sauce was really yummy. I love custard so much and the little meringues had such a wonderful texture in the mouth - like eating clouds. Hmmmmmm must try this with the custard colored sky blue. It would be like eating the sky.
2 comments:
I forgot to add in my own entry:
1) I used about 2 Tablespoons of butter with the almonds (about half as many almonds as called for -- I made half as much trout), and it worked just fine.
2) Do you think the trick of emptying out the pan of the butter and oil before adding new butter for the almonds clears out the trouty taste? I didn't empty, because I had no butter/oil left to speak of. Still, almonds were delicious!
I don't think it's the trouty taste that it gets rid of so much as the bits of flour and the butter/oil that's already a little burnt. I didn't have much butter left either, but i wiped the pan with a paper towel before putting in the remaining 4 or 5 TBSP (I, too, halved the recipe) and cooking the almonds in it.
When I have made it before, there is always a little bit of grot in the bottom of the pan which gets overcooked by the time the almonds are golden. Thus, the taste isn't so clear and clean.
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