short takes

[cellio]

Seasonal food question: What goes well with latkes? I don't mean the sour-cream-vs-applesauce question; I mean: what (dinner) main courses work well with potato pancakes? Suggestions for dairy (or parve) options are especially welcome, but meat is fine too.

We pretty much completed our holiday shopping (for my relatives) last night. Not only did we go to some actual physical stores, but we even ventured into a mall. Haven't done that in years, but the only local instance of a certain store was in the mall, so off we went. It was surprisingly uncrowded. I wonder if that's because shopping is moving online, because we're between waves of shoppers (the ones who were done in October and the ones who will start on December 23), or because people just aren't shopping as much. As a bonus, yesterday featured the good weather for this week.

We did a chunk of our shopping online, of course (we rarely go that long between instances of giving Amazon our money). But sometimes you've just got to see the item in person.

The release of Blake's 7 on DVD has been delayed yet again. Amazon.uk sends the most polite apologies for things beyond their control, in contrast to most US companies. And it's not like they have my money (only my credit-card info), so I couldn't possibly have any complaint against them. I wonder if the BBC's plan to put all their old stuff online will preclude DVD releases. I don't want to watch TV while sitting at my desk; I want to watch it while sitting in the comfy chair in front of the 32" TV.

I've been doing a lot of D&D catch-up in ralph_dnd. One more major missive to go, and then I'll be caught up to where the characters are. I don't usually write fiction, and this is only semi-fiction because it's reaction to events that have occurred in a shared game -- which is probably why I can write it at all. I've never been very good with fiction, but I seem to do ok when I've got hooks into a set of characters.

I've been meaning to write a proper review of The Kiruv Files for a couple weeks now, but I probably won't get to it this week either. Next week, maybe. If I keep saying that, it'll be true eventually. :-)

Tonight's commute featured ugly traffic snarls. There was an accident on 376 that closed the road in both directions for a while; I don't use that highway, but there was spillover. What surprised me was where the spillover was; after sailing through what I thought would be the worst part, I spent 15 minutes going about two blocks near my house. Unfortunately, those two blocks were right after the point where I could have made a better decision. Oops. :-) (Mind, the accident was around 4:00, and I was doing this after 6:30...)

Comments

Latkes and ...

[goljerp]

For some reason, Briscuit and Latkes goes together in my mind. Mabye because my mom used to make that on Passover for the seders (sure, latkes aren't really Passover food, but they're a form of starch that's yummy and passover-friendly...)

Re: Latkes and ...

[cellio]

That sounds good. I've been meaning to learn how to make brisket anyway. :-) (I have not yet achieved that falling-apart-in-your-mouth-while-still-tender state.)

Re: Latkes and ...

[goljerp]

This is a recipe for Brisket that I got from my mom:
Breast of Beef [Brisket]
[First cut Brisket of Beef 4 lbs to serve 6 - 8]
Flat cut fresh brisket 2 1/2 - 3 lbs for 4 servings ?

Trim all fat from the meat. Dice an onion and brown it in oil. Sprinkle the meat with coarse salt and pepper. Put it on top of the browned onions. Add 4 oz. tomato juice and 4 oz of water to the pot. Cook on medium low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from pot, turn it over, and slice. Try to cut thin slices; cut against the grain of the meat. Return meat to the pot and cook for additional 1 1/2 hours. Check periodically to make sure you have sufficient gravy. If it seems low, add water as needed.
This is a good company thing. It is easy to cook the day before, let cool, slice when cool (slicing is easier then), continue cooking and serve. Freezes well.

Re: Latkes and ...

[goljerp]

Oh, and because it isn't specified in the recipe: my mom uses a large covered pot which I think of as the 'brisket pot', even though that's not the only thing it's used for.

Brisket & Latkes...

[patsmor.livejournal.com]

(I have not yet achieved that falling-apart-in-your-mouth-while-still-tender state.)

I believe, if my memory is at all correct, that state was called by my friend Susan's grandmother as schlumpf (Please don't bite my Yiddishe spelling....). And as best I can tell, the trick is to be sure and cook it with fat or oil, because the strawlike texture seems to happen if it isn't moist enough. I have had lots of pot roast and corned beef that falls apart but tastes dry.