Cooking Event of Massive Proportions - Part I, Core Meats

The concept of this feast will be chile from around the world. We will be having a number of proteins as the core. Then there will be a variety of chile sauces and condiments, and a variety of cooling and crunchy condiments to offset the heat of the chile sauces. We will have pita bread. Our guests will be able to mix and match various proteins with various sauces and condiments.

Our menu calls for flavors from:

• India
• China
• Morocco
• Mexico
• USA
• Argentina
• Japan
• Central Asia (Tajikistan?)

The cooking got started this weekend with the core meats and a number of the sauces. This post is about the meats. I'm serving chicken (tastes just like chicken), beef, and lamb. There will also be beans if any vegetarians sneak in.

Chicken Fricassee

I know I've covered this in a prior post but I don't tab things and am too lazy to find it. You basically take cut up chicken, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika (lots), put it into a pot, squish it all up, add water (not much), bring to a boil, let simmer for a couple of hours, and voila,
a dish you can serve by itself or debone and use in other dishes.


Braised Lamb

I'm using rosemary, garlic, red wine and Dijon mustard as my core flavorings.

Garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper

Chopped together

Used to marinate the meat

Meat browned

Onions, carrots and celery roasted

Add red wine, broth, and Dijon mustard and braise the meat. When cool debone.

Finished lamb and chicken

G and S Hire de-I Sandia Outfitters

Grumpy and Spunky came to Albuquerque and wanted the Sandia Mountain hiking experience. So after doing an internet search (I think based on "lowest price") and clearly not reading any reviews, they booked a hike today with de-I Sandia Mountain Outfitters (our motto: You Have Nothing to Lose but Yourself)

On their request form was:

• A relatively easy hike
• We have feet issues so a fairly well groomed trail would be appreciated
• Somewhat afraid of heights, so please no precipices

Spunky - "Ah just what we ordered. Nice smooth trail"
Grumpy - "Yes my dear. Should be nice day."

Grumpy - "What the hell! We've been hiking on nothing but rocks and shards for an hour. What happened to our smooth trail?"
Spunky - "Now dear. I'm sure Mr. de-I knows what we want and will have us where we want to be in no time."

Spunky - "Ow! All this prickers and cactus! My feet are killing me. I thought we'd be back by now."
Grumpy - "@!#%@"

Spunky - "Oh my Gawd. This is so steep! My heart is going to beat out of my chest!"
Grumpy - "$&!@^!"

Spunky - "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Grumps love that's a cliff that the trail goes down just ahead. Do be careful please."
Grumps - "AAAAAHHHHHHIIIIIIIiiiiiieeeeeee"

Thump

Another de-I Sandia Outfitters hike accomplished.

Cooking Event of Epic Proportions!

Wife and I have committed to and will be executing a food based entertainment that is beyond anything we've done before. The impetus for this was in May when we had Cabinet Lady and Dr. Debbie over for dinner. At the time I commented on the incredible inventory of chile I had in hand and the likelihood of even more coming by the end of the summer because of gardening. I threw out to them that wouldn't it be a great idea if we pooled our resources and mutual contacts and had a big party all based on chile.

Much to my surprise they agreed and in the ensuing months continued to be supporters of the event. We expect between 20 and 25 people. Wife and I worked for weeks figuring out our menu. (We are doing all the cooking - CL and Dr. D are providing the drinks, venue, place settings, etc.) Wife jumped into this with full vigor and all of her incredible organizing skills. So we have spreadsheets that show everything we need to make, when we need to make it, ingredients require, time tables, copies of the recipes, master shopping lists broken out by store. I've never done anything with this degree of organization.

The cooking starts this weekend and I will try to be diligent on my photo journalism.

Why Would You Trust Your Life with de-I Sandia Mountain Outfitters

Well it might be because you want to see this.

Or this




To hike up here.


A chance to see both wet moss and dry cactus within 10 paces of each other



The dried remains of a former customer...I MEAN A TREE!

Newly flowering growth out of the ashes of wild fire.

Call now for reservations!

So You Want To Be A Guide For de-I's Sandia Mountain Outfitters

Not just anyone can become a guide at the prestigious (though there are those that say infamous but we don't pay any attention to those naysayers) de-I's Sandia Mountain Outfitters (Our motto - You Have Nothing to Lose but Yourself!).

A de-ISMO guide must have a combination of physical, mental, and ethical properties that are critical to accomplishing his or her mission.

A candidate must be in good physical condition. A guide has to be at least a bit faster than the fastest person they are guiding. If the party being guided is attached by a bear or a puma, a guide must be able to leave the person being guided as bait for said bear or puma understanding that it easier to get a new customer than it is to train a new guide!

A guide must understand the values and mission of de-ISMO as reflected in these statements from its application.

• Release of Liability - Part 1 - Person being guided will acknowledge that they are the sole person responsible for their well being (even if we through our own incompetence cause you to be lost, fall down, get bitten by any wild animal or fellow hiker, etc.)

• Release of Liability - Part 2 - Person being guided accepts full financial responsibility for their guided hike. Please initial here to indicate your acceptance of financial responsibility _______ and hereby make de-ISMO your legal heir, beneficiary of any and all life insurance policies, and entitled to all assets owned by you.

A guide must be responsive and understanding of customers.

Excerpts from the de-I Sandia Mountain Outfitter Guide for Customers:

• Person being Guided is expected to follow any and all instructions of their guide (even in the event that said instructions put person being guided in danger - see Release of Liability)

• Person being Guided shall have no recourse against de-ISMO in the event of guide error if they have not pointed out guide error when said error was noticed (not withstanding that clients are prohibited from criticizing or questioning a guide)

• Person being Guided is expected to notify guide of their level of conditioning. Such level shall most likely be ignored by guide.

• Person being Guided will be given precise distances, altitudes climbed, water requirements, etc. for each hike even though the hike itself will most likely not resemble anything provided to Person being Guided previously.

A guide should be a master of camouflage. How else can you keep sneak up on the customers and hear any libelous things they might be saying about de-ISMO!


A guide must be entrepreneurial and a self-starter

Excerpts from the de-I Sandia Mountain Outfitter Guide's Handbook

• Guides are expected to find means for compensating themselves through 'living off the land'. Cash and jewelry taken from customers who have "unfortunate accidents" are considered part of 'the land'. Credit cards must be turned over to de-ISMO HQ. Guides are entitled to 10% of any assets or life insurance proceeds received by de-ISMO - See Release of Liability form.

If you can meet these incredibly high and demanding standards then yes you too can be entered into the ranks of the few, the proud, the wanted on Post Office posters,

THE DE-I SANDIA MOUNTAIN OUTFITTER GUIDES

Great Grapes

On Sunday, Gaius Derf was insistent that there was this pizza place on his side of town that we had to try. So we did and it was great. Best pizza I've ever had in Albuquerque. So thanks Derf.

But this is not a post about pizza.

After the pizza and wine we went back to the Derf/Agent W abode. They've got a lovely view of the mountains from the far west side and it's lovely to sit in their backyard and sip some wine.

We were looking at the monsoonal sky.

Then I looked across the yard and espied Agent W's grape arbor


And right at the bottom there was this beautiful bunch of green grapes. So I asked if they were ripe. I tasted one and it was fab.



So naturally one has to find a lass of Italian descent to cut your grapes like Agent W.

Which we then savored with our wine.

No Change-Good News

Around 9 years ago I found out that I had glaucoma, an eye disease that can lead to blindness. My Dad went blind because of a combination of glaucoma and cataracts. He got his around the same age as I did.

I am very blessed that medical science came a long, long way in the 20 ensuing years. Now if you catch it early enough it is much, much more rare for someone to go blind from it. I go into the eye doctor three times a year for a check up and once a year they do a complete work up. This includes this field of vision test (kind of like playing a computer game), and pictures of your retina, etc, etc.

Each year that I go in, I'm always just a little nervous because you wonder if you are going to start deteriorating. The sweetest words at these check ups are "No Change. Everything is stable".

I feel very blessed.