Day 24: Expensive tools

Last night’s dinner was still filling my belly so I didn’t make breakfast.  I needed to head downtown, so I figured I’d grab an early lunch while I was out.  I met some friends at the Home Show and was immediately struck with a small measure of barbeque envy.  Only the best of the best were on display and they were built like stainless steel weapons of barbeque supremacy…expensive weapons of barbeque supremacy (we’re talking over $10k).  I freely admit to wanting one of them, but I was also reminded of The Black Hoof’s humble electric stove and how expensive tools for the delivery of heat and flame are just that…expensive tools for the delivery of heat and flame.  Just like having a more expensive car doesn’t make you a better driver, having a more expensive barbeque doesn’t make you a better cook.  At least some cars will hit the brakes for you in an emergency or parallel park for you, but I don’t yet know of a barbeque that will cook you the perfect meal unassisted.  I’ve been to more than one cookout where a powerful grill in the wrong hands only ensured that your overcooked steak was delivered to you quickly and with the texture of show leather…the clueless cook saying “How about those grill marks?” in complete ignorance of the fact that the steak was inedible.

As the day began to get away from me, skipping breakfast turned out to be a mistake.  I stopped in to see the friendly guys at Totera, my neighbourhood’s best butcher shop.  Sam confirmed that there wasn’t much left for me to try, so I walked away with some fresh liver and plans to order a suckling pig for the final Saturday dinner.

On the way out, I grabbed some porchetta and a prosciutto shank so I could make a late lunch.  One might not think of a slab of porchetta as fitting the category of “snack”, but when you really think about it everything is potentially a snack, it just depends on how much of it you eat.  I managed to restrict myself to just a few bites of the porchetta, choosing instead to share it with my family at a birthday dinner tonight.  Lunch was a sandwich of thickly cut prosciutto with fresh mozzarella, and crispy bits of fried diced prosciutto.  Although intended to be a snack sandwich, it turned out to be a decadent indulgence…I felt sleepy.

Dinner was prepared at my parents’ house and although I originally intended to merely take a few pointers from my mom on my planned liver dish, her cooking instincts kicked in and I was forced to take a back seat.  It’s amazing to watch her work in the kitchen, everything comes together so effortlessly.  The process punctuated by pauses where she says “we should add this”, or “we should add that”…always in the right order and never too late.  Coming out of my pork liver congee experience, I insisted on plenty of ginger to “get the liverness out”.  Mom was hesitant but went along with the idea.  What emerged looked and smelled great.  Even some of the liver haters tried it and while it didn’t convert them into liver lovers, they admitted that it wasn’t bad.  I reluctantly admit that I seem to be developing a taste for it.

Plenty of ginger