Chargrilled Swordfish

Sandy d'Amato has a weekly column in the local paper called Kitchen Technician. It is read every week but sometimes it is ignored. Which means that at the moment his output does not appeal to me. The recipe on May 27 was a particularly intriguing one since I have tried many times to get a consistently moist outcome. This recipe not only accomplishes that but also gives it wonderful flavor with the marinade/salad dressing.

When I bought the swordfish there were two options: fresh or frozen. Since this fish was going to marinate for four hours I chose the frozen. It also calls for curly endive. Out here in the tundra, sometimes the exotic items are not readily available. I sliced/chopped up some Belgian endive and added local fresh spinach and lettuce. Not as bitter as the curly stuff but we liked it.

One tablespoon of smashed anchovy fillets is about one small can. Mix all of the other ingredients except for the swordfish and use half for the marinade. 

Enjoy this easy to make, delicious dish. Click the title to go to Sandy's original or click here to a get a pdf version.

Rauchbier

Not a big fan of dark ales such as Porter and Stout. They seem to be too heavy for my palate. And in the past several years I have been focusing my attention, as far as beer making is concerned, on lagers. Lighter, some a bit hoppy. Also needed some way to maintain fermentation temps in the 50's. 

Temperature science was solved for me by filching my mothers upright freezer. Mentioned it in a blog several years ago. Which means that brewing, fermenting and conditioning lagers can be done at a constant and cooler temperature.

So, when Horst Dornbusch published a smoked beer from Bamburg, Germany in Zymurgy a couple of months I thought it was about time to see how a dark lager would taste. Horst is a German ex-pat living in Massachusetts and is a regular contributor to Zymurgy. He has been involved in beer activities what seems like forever. A good place to start.

Brewed my first dark lager, a rauchbier, was brewed in early November, 2010. Rauchen in German means to smoke. Rauchbier, therefore, is brewed with part of the ingredient bill with smoked malt. Fermentation and  conditioning took about two months.

And I have been sampling a light, smoked lager for the past couple of months. If the sampling is as frequent and the past, then I will need to brew again soon in order to maintain a reasonable supply of this excellent tasting beer. If you happen to come across a rauchbier, give it a taste. You will not be disappointed.

March Madness

March Madness certainly brings thoughts of basketball, hoops, round ball or whatever other name can be given to the games in March. Heretofore, the length of the tournament certainly was mind numbing with 64 teams playing over three weekends in March. This year four additional teams are being added. Let's hope that the NCAA does not duplicate their efforts in football. Not many want to watch a game when the contenders have either a .500 record or barely above it. Of course, being among the legions of Buckeye fans, I can be somewhat smug about the process. The last decade has seen the Buckeyes' hoops and football teams at the top of the heap or close to it. 

Most people think that there is only one definition to the term March Madness. And up until today I was a member of that huge body of sports fan. What changed is when wife Mary Ann returned home this Sunday AM and peered into the kitchen along with the exclamation that 'you have given March Madness a new dimension'. What she saw was 11 pounds of chorizo hanging from the pot rack drying. SWMBO (she who must be obeyed for the uninitiated) had some idea that the drying process could take up to 18 days. I tried to reassure her that the 23 links, each weighing about eight ounces, would only occupy this highly coveted spot for a couple of hours.    

She did, however, suggest/insist that a picture be taken and sent to the children along with selected others. Well, if you happened upon this site, you belong to the group of selected others. This shot showing the prized chorizos should, hopefully, persuade you that this is truly a labor of love. These chorizos are of the Spanish type to add dining pleasure to paella and many other dishes. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration since there might be some obligatory sharing with the chillin.

What do ya think?

POA and Social Security

My Mother-in-law died January 25.A sad day, indeed. She was about to be 93. Unexpected, nope. Dementia was her commander the last several years of her life. She will be sorely missed by her daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and many cousins and friends. She lived a long life, mainly in Wetumpka, AL. About 20 miles north of Montgomery. Wetumpka is another story.

Eula M Dickson's - Gam as we called her - POA was my wife, Mary Ann. Been doin' that for many years. All of Gam's mail was delivered to our mailbox here in the tundra. Gam had two social security numbers. the second was her late husband's number which was used for medicare purposes. Seems that the guvment can do nothing without a social security number.

Now enter the POA and the proof that was required when talking to the bureaucrats was her social security number. When Gam died, Mary Ann called Social Security and tried to tell the lady that her mother had died. Several times during the conversation the lady called my wife Ms. Dickson. The error was immediately corrected, or so Mary Ann thought. After the funeral, Mary Ann headed south to join two close friends in Florida and I headed back to the snowy tundra.

Yesterday a letter addressed to Estate of Mary Peterson arrived at our PO Box. It was dated February 2, 2011. It said 'Medicare told us about the death of Ms. Peterson. Please accept our condolences.' No need to use a speedier service since all who knew Mary Peterson knew that she was in the nether world as of sometime in January, 2011. Everyone in social security, that is. The letter was sent by her Part D insurance carrier

Quite puzzling since I had talked to the supposed deceased, my wife, just the day before on February 7, 2011. So  I called the part D carrier and of course they wanted to talk to Mary. Many hours later wife Mary Ann called to let me know that the person who declared Gam dead also did the same courtesy for Mary, to whom she was speaking. And to think this bureaucrat votes and walks among us. And she is not alone. Probably has already breeded.The picture of that is unimaginable or the outcome of the coitus between this clerk and a male is even more unimaginable.

It will take two to three days before any outcome is known. If I ruled the world you can well imagine what would be the outcome for this clerk. Mark Twain once said 'No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the congress is in session.' Let's expand that to say while we have bureaucrats with room temperature IQ's.

I considered writing to a congressperson but then remembered Mark Twain's quote. So, beware for you too will deal with the unimaginable sooner or later.