Food for Thought: Life

Now that I've properly given Death some attention, let's talk about Life:

"Take a moment from time to time to remember that you are alive. I know this sounds a trifle obvious, but it is amazing how little time we take to remark upon this singular and gratifying fact. By the most astounding stroke of luck an infinitesimal portion of all the matter in the universe came together to create you and for the tiniest moment in the great span of eternity you have the incomparable privilege to exist."- Bill Bryson

"It is easy to overlook this thought that life just is. As humans we are inclined to feel that life must have a point. We have plans and aspirations and desires. We want to take constant advantage of the intoxicating existence we've been endowed with.


But what's life to a lichen? Yet its impulse to exist, to be, is every bit as strong as ours - arguably even stronger. If I were told that I had to spend decades being a furry growth on a rock in the woods, I believe I would lose the will to go on. Lichens don't. Like virtually all living things, they will suffer any hardship, endure any insult, for a moment's additions existence. Life, in short just wants to be."
- Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything

I haven't read A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, but I loved his A Walk in the Woods.  I saw a young woman reading Short History in the airport a couple of weeks ago.  I may have to download it to my Kindle.

We had a dinner party last Saturday night for the members of the Executive Board of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors.  This was the menu:

Fig & Blue Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
Sweet Potato Souffle
Hearts of Romaine Salad
Triple Citrus Cheesecake

The meal was good and we had a great time getting to know these folks better.  Walter will be working with all of them this year on the Board.

Triple Citrus Cheesecake

Serves 12 to 16.   Published May 1, 2003 Cook's Illustrated

Cooks's Illustrated is the very best source for recipes if you want to know why the recipe works!

The cheesecake is baked in a bain marie, or hot water bath. To prevent water from leaking into the cake during baking, the springform pan is wrapped in a double layer of foil. To contain the water bath it's best to use a roasting pan that is just slightly larger than the springform pan so that you need not use an excessive amount of water. You will need lemon juice for both the cheesecake and the curd; it's more efficient to juice the entire amount at once. Though start to finish this recipe takes several hours, the actual preparation is simple, and baking and cooking proceed practically unattended. The cheesecake can be made up to a day in advance; leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, though crust will become soggy.

Cookie-Crumb Crust
5	ounces Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers or Social Tea Biscuits
3	tablespoons granulated sugar
4	tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and kept warm
Filling
1	teaspoon grated lemon zest , plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
1	teaspoon grated lime zest , plus 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lime
1	teaspoon grated orange zest , plus 2 tablespoons juice from 1 orange
11/4	cups granulated sugar (8 3/4 ounces)
11/2	pounds cream cheese , (three 8-ounce packages), cut into rough 1-inch chunks and left to stand at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes
4	large eggs , room temperature
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1/2	cup heavy cream
Lemon Curd
2	tablespoon lemon juice , from one lemon
2	tablespoons lime juice , from 1 to 2 limes
2	teaspoons grated orange zest , plus 4 teaspoons juice from 1 orange
2	large eggs
1	large egg yolk
1/2	cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
2	tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1	tablespoon heavy cream
	pinch table salt

Instructions

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. In food processor, process cookies to fine, even crumbs, about 30 seconds (you should have about 1 cup). Add sugar and pulse 2 or 3 times to incorporate. Add warm melted butter in slow, steady stream while pulsing; pulse until mixture is evenly moistened and resembles wet sand, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer mixture to 9-inch springform pan; using bottom of ramekin or dry measuring cup, press firmly and evenly into pan bottom, keeping sides as clean as possible. Bake until fragrant and golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes. When cool, wrap outside of pan with two 18-inch square pieces heavy-duty foil; set springform pan in roasting pan.
2. FOR THE FILLING: While crust is cooling, process 1/4 cup sugar and lemon, lime, and orange zests in food processor until sugar is yellow and zest is broken down, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Transfer lemon sugar to small bowl; stir in remaining 1 cup sugar.
3. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on low to break up and soften slightly, about 5 seconds. With machine running, add sugar mixture in slow steady stream; increase speed to medium and continue to beat until mixture is creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs 2 at a time; beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping sides and bottom of bowl well after each addition. Add lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until just incorporated, about 5 seconds; add heavy cream and mix until just incorporated, about 5 seconds longer. Give batter final scrape, stir with rubber spatula, and pour into prepared springform pan; fill roasting pan with enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until center jiggles slightly, sides just start to puff, surface is no longer shiny, and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of cake registers 150 degrees, 55 to 60 minutes. Turn off oven and prop open oven door with potholder or wooden spoon handle; allow cake to cool in water bath in oven for 1 hour. Transfer springform pan without foil to wire rack; run small paring knife around inside edge of pan to loosen sides of cake and cool cake to room temperature, about 2 hours.
4. FOR THE CITRUS CURD: While cheesecake bakes, heat lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, and orange zest in small nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk eggs and yolk in medium nonreactive bowl; gradually whisk in sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to cling to spoon, about 3 minutes. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in cold butter until incorporated; stir in cream and salt, then pour curd through fine-mesh strainer into small nonreactive bowl. Cover surface of curd directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until needed.
5. TO FINISH THE CAKE: When cheesecake is cool, scrape citrus curd onto cheesecake still in springform pan; using offset icing spatula, spread curd evenly over top of cheesecake. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, remove sides of springform pan and cut cake into wedges. (If desired, to remove cheesecake from springform pan bottom, slice thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving plate.)

 

Hearts of Romaine Salad

Let me know if you can't read this...

Fig and Blue Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 3 slices)

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 cup dried figs, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon apple jelly, melted


CALORIES 274 (30% from fat); FAT 9.2g (sat 4.6g,mono 3g,poly 0.6g); IRON 1.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 80mg; CALCIUM 135mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.7g; SODIUM 581mg; PROTEIN 28.4g; FIBER 2.5g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007





An apple glaze and sweet dried figs complement the savory blue cheese in this simple yet refined dish. Serve with wild rice and steamed green beans.

Preheat oven to 450°.

Slice the pork in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open the halves, laying pork flat. Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle figs and blue cheese over pork, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around outside edges. Roll up the pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper, and place on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Brush jelly over the pork. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard twine; cut pork into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices.

Food for Thought: Selections from Whiskey River

I've been derelict in reading Whiskey River lately.  Here's a couple of recent posts on one of my favorite subjects, death:

PERFECTION WASTED
And another regrettable thing about death
is the ceasing of your own brand of magic,
which took a whole life to develop and market -
the quips, the witticisms, the slant
adjusted to a few, those loved ones nearest
the lip of the stage, their soft faces blanched
in the footlight glow, their laughter close to tears,
their tears confused with their diamond earrings,
their warm pooled breath in and out with your heartbeat,
their response and your performance twinned.
The jokes over the phone. The memories packed
in the rapid-access file. The whole act.
Who will do it again? That's it: no one
imitators and descendants aren't the same.　
- John Updike

" . . . when you die, you are grieved by all the atoms of which you were composed. They hung together for years, whether in sheets of skin or communities of spleen. With your death they do not die. Instead, they part ways, moving off in their separate directions, mourning the loss of a special time they shared together, haunted by the feeling that they were once playing parts in something larger than themselves, something that had its own life, something they can hardly put a finger on."
- David Eagleman
Sum

I don't know why I think so much about death.  I don't want anyone I know to die and I'm not quite ready to die myself.  Maybe because it's the ultimate mystery.  I'm mightily curious about what happens when we die.  When my brother was ill, death seemed a very real and close thing to me, as though I could sit down and have a conversation with it.  When he actually died, it seemed so surreal that he could be present as a distinct personality one instant, and the very next instant be totally, irrevocably not present.  Now that some time has passed, the immediacy and closeness of Death has passed and it's more of a concept than an actuality.  I guess that's normal.  But I still think about it.

Back in town and back to a routine - whew!

It seems like we've been on the road for weeks.  NW Arkansas for the wedding, then to San Diego for a meeting for Walter (it's a hard life, right?)

Sunset at Coronado Island

We were back in Memphis for one day after returning from San Diego, then left earlier than planned for Blowing Rock so that we could get out of town ahead of the snow event last Wednesday.  It's a good thing, too, or we may not have been able to leave on Thursday as planned.  We've heard horror stories of the long commutes home on Wednesday afternoon!

This BR trip was hard, as we took two cars.  That means that we both had to drive 100% of the time, both ways (a nine hour drive.)  The reason we took two cars is that we were bringing back our former dining room furniture to give it to Clean Memphis for their new office space.  We took the Tahoe and the Denali and they were both jam-packed on the way back.  But we got everything back to Memphis, delivered to the Clean Memphis space, and all is well.  But last night I was exhausted - went to bed at 7:00 and slept til about 6 this morning!

Now I'm rested and ready to go, which is a good thing, 'cause I have a lot to do this week, including getting back to my cooking routine.  We've spent the last two weeks either eating out or raiding the freezer, so it's time to get back to normal.  Having said that, we'll be eating from the freezer tonight - jambalaya - cause my Lore of Literature class starts tonight.  Oh, well.