Spring Break is finally here, and brings with it a much needed slow down.  I’ve never been one of those folks to go on trips to warm sandy beaches, resulting in lawsuits and twenty years of blackmail; my spring breaks are distinguished by working longer hours and sleeping more.  Not exciting, but at least I don’t have to go to class.

Billy got back last week from New York and bought me a cookbook from The Strand, an impeachable reason for why New York is super awesome.  I’ll never understand or reconcile my fascination with the Concrete Jungle and my love for the ‘Great Outdoors’.  My battle cry as of late has become ‘Anywhere but Suburbia’, which I think is perfectly acceptable at this point and can only lead to exciting adventures.

So the cookbook… Is an older one by Craig Clairborne, who was at one time quite famous and probably considered instrumental in ‘informing’ the American palette (which I think is ascribed to most popular American chefs or food writers since the end of WWII…).  Star pull aside, The New York Times International Cook Book is quite the collection for 1973, and eclectic by todays standards as well.  Admittedly, the largest portions of the book are dedicated to France and Italy, but significant portions are dedicated to Greek and Asian cooking as well.  Two of the most significant differences between an older and more modern cook book, which I think can be applied generally, are photos and a focus on health.  The book is very sparse with photos, and it’s hard to know what anything was supposed to look like.  Often times, a photo will not correlate with the recipes on the opposite page.  I was making aioli, which is a French garlic sauce, and literally had no idea what it was supposed to look like or its consistency.

This maybe due to the fact that I was experimenting with French cooking, for which it is rightfully famous for, but good God, is this food bad for you!  I used 9 tablespoons of butter to cook a steak and make the sauce for it.  Put that on top of the 2 cups of oil and 4 egg yolks that went into the aioli and I became just a little concerned with my health.  I’m not one to worry about such things, but I am used to my cookbooks having suggestions for making a lighter, healthier meal.  Sometimes I’ll even follow the suggestions, if I think they would be tasteful.  But this cookbook has no sympathy for the healthy eater; I can imagine Craig Clairborne screaming and throwing heads of lettuce at Ellie Krieger, telling her exactly what he thinks of margarine and Egg Beaters©.

In other news, it appears that a rather large and scary bank, is on the scary road to Chapter 11.  I had mentioned before that I was a little apprehensive about the whole economic collapse thing; now I’m a little more then apprehensive.  Without a doubt, my potentials for earning are not related to mortgages or gigantic investment banks, but I am affected by the overall willingness of banks to loan money.  Companies depend on credit to do their daily operations, and when that becomes harder to acquire it has a real effect on business decisions.  And the fact that gasoline is over $3 in a state like Oklahoma is not reassuring either.

I hope I get my tax rebate before the Fed changes its mind.

I’ve been meaning to do a little food and drink section on this thing for awhile, mostly to keep track of what I like.  I’ve got a sore throat and it’s supposed to snow tonight; giving me the prefect opportunity to review the wine I bought today:

Maximin Grünhäuser is a fairly old winery; I know this, because I read about the estate here.  All in all, it seems pretty interesting and they are well respected.  What attracted me to the bottle was it’s long bottle shape (like a bottle of Michael Collin’s whisky, but without the beveled glass) and ornate label.  Apparently it’s a picture of the estate at the center of the winery; nice digs.

This is pretty much what my label looks like, except it just says “Qualitätswein” where this one says “Pradikat, blah blah".  Probably because mine is a Riesling(2004)

Riesling’s are known as really sweet wines, but I think what doesn’t get through is that they are also very rich and complex wines.  I’ve always been partial to Rieslings over Chardonnays or even Pinot Grigios.  Apparently, this all happens because they let the grapes hang out on the vine longer then usual (referred to as ‘Noble Rot’, which sounds like a gentleman’s word for STDs).  What I noticed about the Maximin was how full it was; no particular fruit flavor dominates, and the sweetness is quickly swept away by a slightly tart ‘moody’ flavor.  I’m assuming this is owed to it’s high acidity.  It’s as if for a moment you can feel Champagne bubbles on your tongue, but it quickly fades away. 

I really like this wine, unusually so since I prefer reds.  It’s a nice pleasant drink; not much in the way of ‘legs’, but the bouquet is nice and it doesn’t feel ‘weak’.  My serving suggestions would be perhaps a Carbonara or Alfredo.  I would even go so far as to suggest this as a companion to pheasant or even a gravied beef dish.  It’s not terribly expensive ($20), so check it out if you see it at your local liquor store.