Pie #2

by Grant Achatz

You folks got together and, by clicking on Amazon links on this weblog, bought me this lovely book about Alinea , Grant Achatz’s Chicago restaurant that specializes in molecular gastronomy. It's fun to look at. It’s fun to imagine. Not the sort of things I'm likely to cook much, but plenty of ideas. (The book production is incredible; I'm astonished they can sell this retail at $30)

Last night I made a gratin with lots of roots from Maggy’s Farm — potatoes and turnips and celeriac, bathed in cream and topped with plenty of real parmesan. It went with a hanger steak and some sauteed brocolli and a bottle of The Stump Jump, and was followed by Apple Pie #2 of the season: Cortland apples this time, precooked with 3/4c sugar (which was too much) and cinnamon.

Part of cooking for the season this year is going to be cooking plenty of apple pies. Hooray for eating local.

Current headache: I've got lots of braises queued up. Duck legs and lamb shanks ready to go, and a hankering for a good pot roast. And maybe I'll try pork belly again? But finding time to get braises started with my 10-14 hour work day is rough, and with the economy crashing down around all of our ears it seems wrong, somehow, to knock off early in order to go cook. Got to get back to bringing work home, I suppose.