Cooking The Books

The Internet and newspapers are all agog about the new film Julie and Julia. VB couldn't wait to see it. We try to do some sort of family thing every year. One year it might be the "New Years Day Hangover Movie," and another year it might be a Broadway show (usually a musical) and dinner. This special day typically occurs during the fall / winter holiday season. It all started when Elmer, VB's father-in-law would give everyone $50.00 and VB decided to treat the family to a movie. As we moved on, and out of the mid-west, it eventually turned into a fancier affair. And, let VB add, it cost way more than the $50.00 we used to get from Elmer. This year, even though we will be in the USA for Thanksgiving, given the minute amount of time college students have, it renders us without a proper visit to "The City" for a play. Plus, we plan on spending Christmas in Cairo this year. Yes, we will visit a lot of antiquities, but it just doesn't match the excitement we have of taking the train to New York, going to a show, having a special dinner, and freezing our asses off, as well.

This year VB promised, if everyone went to see Julie and Julia with her, she would make French Onion Soup, which she hasn't made since we moved from Abu Dhabi. Yes, the family began to drool. So, it was decided this past week was the week for that special date. Then Awesome Daughter decided she too would contribute a dish. She's the baker of the family, having made bread from scratch and kneading it with her own two hands (VB uses the KitchenAid for that). The Boss Man added that it would be great to have steak, and so VB decided to include Julia's Caesar Salad.

We went to the matinee and a bunch of very elderly folks showed up. We're talking about the Depends group. It was somewhat depressing, but then later Awesome Daughter reassured VB that Julie, through her blog, reawakened the love for Julia and cooking amongst the younger folks, although it would be hard to discern from the average age of the audience. I particularly felt bad for Number One Son. This is not a movie he would have seen on his own. His favorite part was the SNL skit with Dan Akroyd pretending to be Julia Child.

After we came home, Awesome Daughter made VB a martini with Tanqueray Rangpur Gin (they sucked martinis down in the movie, one after another, while lounging around. Well, at least Julia and her friends did. And it reminded VB of just how good, and potent, a gin martini is.) It was delicious, and VB was pretty much plastered before half the dinner was cooked.

Days before, Awesome Daughter made Creme Fraiche for her dinner contribution. We were somewhat skeptical, leaving it out to brew (below) for 24 hours. Bubbling, it looked like some sort of ooze you might grow in a science class.



Here Awesome Daughter tops off the cake. She made Chocolate Raspberry Ruffle Cake (video), which involves quite a few steps, several of which require refrigeration in-between. If you watch the video at the link, it looks as though Julia and Alice Medrich seamlessly make this cake throughout a few hours. The creme fraiche was started several days before; the chocolate shavings too; the cake was baked and almost completely assembled the day before. Below - the final step to the cake - the topping, which included chocolate shavings, raspberries, and creme fraiche.


Awesome Daughter feels a need to taste the French Onion Soup.


And, viola! It's done.
Julia Child's French Onion Soup (video)




Meanwhile, due to differing preferences as to the doneness of steaks, two are on while the rare ones await. VB was going to buy sliced filets from COSTCO. Every time she does that, she gets at least one, but more like two crappy cuts in the package of four. So VB decided to go whole tenderloin. She bought the PSMO (side muscle and fat have already been removed.) Saveur has an excellent article on how to butcher your own whole tenderloin: Cutting a Beef Tenderloin. As a result, VB gets quite a few nice steaks, and then the end for tenderloin tips.

More on the Caesar Salad here: Julia's Caesar Salad (recipe) and Julia Child and Jacques Pepin (NPR Interview).


The cake in full.


And, everyone is excited!


That white goo is the creme fraiche. The cake was worth the while, and we devoured it, along with our neighbor.


The bookcase aka Julia Child section of our library. The recipes we used are from The Way To Cook, Baking With Julia, and Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home.


And as VB shoots the pics of the books, she's being spied upon by a nosy little kitten.


For some fun. Julia Child was a guest on The David Letterman Show several times. Here Dave is young and fresh, Paul still has a few scraps of hair on his head, and is hardly as flashy as he is these days. Julia, well she's Julia - playing along, and embarrassing Dave. And, lastly, Dave's done some cooking on his own as you will see.

Julia Child On Letterman [1988]

Funkengroovin Wednesday - VWs In Traffic, From The Car

This should be called, "The Better Late Than Never Edition."

VB has been sick. She came down with a cold the day she left Cairo (that would be last Monday). She actually felt so bad she stayed in her pajamas all day, making her a real, live pajamahadeen, more so in dress than in action. She then went on to New York City, to brave the incredible wind and cold, and indulge in semi-fine dining.

Then on to Connecticut Thursday night, where she still got no rest, and her cold seemed to get a second wind. After getting rid of The Boss Man, driving him to Logan on Sunday (he was all consumed with getting that little '65 Beetle convertible to the reupholstery man, and the tires changed on the Audi, which would then go into storage,) she finally got to take a few naps, and is starting to feel sorta real again. Her teeth still hurt, and the folicles on her head feel "touchy". Needless to say, her sinuses are having a heyday. What started as a chest cold, traveled to her head, and has decided to hang out there awhile.

VB, the generous woman she is, passed on this great gift to The Boss Man and Awesome Daughter. Okay, so this could be called "The Typhoid Mary Edition," as well. Anthony Bourdain wrote an excellent little biography of Mary, BTW. Speaking of Anthony, The Boss Man and VB ate at one of his establishments, Les Halles, downtown.

Now, to the Funkengroovin part. Here are photos of cars in traffic, in Cairo.

(Below, Leaving the Alabaster Factory at Mokattam.) OMG! Just missed it!

(Below): No, caught it from the rear window.

(Below): On the highway, doing a U-Turn, and so is this guy. Blow it up for a closer look.

(Below): Oncoming! Just caught it.

(below): A Vanagon in traffic. Cars often get very close in traffic in Cairo. This is not considered "close" by any means.

(Below 2 Photos): Beetle turning to the left of us.

(Below): White Bus ahead of us, looks totally washed out in the sunlight.

(Below): In better lighting, a much nicer looking Bus.

(Below): Another oncoming Beetle.

NEWS:
Volkswagen's Autostadt: Image Is Everything

Her first set of wheels: a '69 VW Beetle

This article: Hippies Long For the Sixties, Get Slapped Upside the Head by VW is a review of an ad for the Routan (known on this blog, as The Rotten). Any "60's retired, long, grey haired boomer, who thinks The Rotten will bring back endless old memories, took way too much LSD! (Just sayin'.)

Award winning Archie can get you to the altar
"Nicknamed ‘Archie’, the mint-and-velvet green split-screen Samba has won a total of eight awards on the show circuit, including the Split Screen Van Club’s Van of the Year award for 2008 and has featured in several VW magazines."

Madcap mechanic set to be next Damien Hirst as his fun cars are recognised by art world

The Autopia WTF? Art Car Photo Caption Contest

Mideast anti-Americanism doesn't apply to Harley-Davidsons

Car Buyers Predict Presidential Race
"The top three brands among Obama supporters are Mini, Subaru and Saab, and we suggest that Obama play up the first two. The Cooper S and WRX symbolize youth, energy and responsiveness -- and both cars are financially responsible choices. " (Psst! VB owns a Mini Cooper S.)

Oct. 17, 1973: Angry Arabs Turn Off the Oil Spigot
"1973: The Arab oil-producing states impose an embargo against nations supporting Israel in the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, also known as the October War or Yom Kippur War. The effect upon petroleum-consuming countries was immediate, profound and long-lasting.
The oil embargo, and the cut in production that accompanied it, doubled the price of crude and reduced overall supply. That forced gas prices to skyrocket at the pump and led to rationing and the imposition of price controls in the United States and Western Europe. Long gas station lines and frustrated motorists became iconic images of the early 1970s.
It also awakened the West to just how dependent it was on Middle Eastern oil, and how fragile that lifeline really was."

Egypt:
SWITCHING GEARS: DRIVERS INCREASINGLY CHOOSING AUTOMATIC CARS TO NAVIGATE CAIRO’S TRAFFIC


VB and Awesome Daughter are on to their second pot of homemade chicken soup since last Saturday. It seems to be the stuff of substance these days. It soothes the throat, and with a bit of lemon, is probably the only thing we can really taste right now. After the holy trinity, and a few parsnips boil down, a few skinny Amish noodles, and chicken bits are added, they go down like a liquid slider.


Bruce Springsteen - Badlands - Live in New York City

Recommended: Books

stalking the wild asparagus, Euell Gibbons (great for identifying odd edibles found in the bazaar in Baku)



CENTRAL ASIA/OIL:

Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia, Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac
A review from The Middle East Policy Council Journal

The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland, Karl E. Meyer
Book Review: upeace.org

The New Great Game: Blood And Oil In Central Asia, Lutz Kleveman
Article: thirdworldtraveler.com
http://www.newgreatgame.com/

Crude Politics: How Bush’s Oil Cronies Hijacked The War On Terrorism, Paul Sperry
Author's Website: Sperry Files



MIDDLE EAST:

Imperial Life In The Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, Rajiv Chandrasekaran (12/2006)
Rajiv's Website

Leap Of Faith: Memories of an Unexpected Life, Queen Noor
Personal Page: Her Majesty Queen Noor

Blood and Oil: Inside The Shah’s Iran, Manucher Farmanfarmaian and Roxanne Farmanfarmaian
Family genealogy page: Shajarehnaameh Project Farmanfarmaian

Empires of The Sand: The Struggle For Mastery In The Middle East 1789-1923, Efraim Karsh and Inari Karsh
Mediterranean Studies, King's College, London

All The Shah’s Men: An American Coup and The Roots of Middle East Terror, Stephen Kinzer
Wikipedia

Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed The World, Margaret Macillan
Wikipedia

A Peace To End All Peace; The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, David Fromkin
BU Webpage

The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing The History, Mystery, And Lore Of The Persian Carpet, Brian Murphy
A nice blog review of the book - Imad Moustafa:The Blog

Arabia: A Journey Through The Labyrinth, Jonathan Raban
About the author: Jonathan Raban

Expats: Travels In Arabia, From Tripoli To Tehran, Christopher Dickey
Personal Page

Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia, Peter Theroux

Baghdad Without A Map: And Other Misadventures in Arabia, Tony Horowitz

Motoring With Mohammed: Journeys To Yemen and The Red Sea, Eric Hansen



GENERAL TRAVEL:

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad, Edited by Don George and Anthony Sattin (Lonely Planet)

A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives and Inspiration with Michael Shapiro

Culture Shock: Living and Working Abroad, Monica Rabe

Culture Shock: A Wife’s Guide, Robin Pascoe

Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell




MOST RECENTLY READ:

River In The Desert: A Modern Traveler In Ancient Egypt, by Paul William Roberts


CURRENTLY READING:

The Best American Travel Writing, Tim Cahill, Editor