Goûter - To taste

A goûter (pronounced goo- tay) is the snack that all children in France have at 4pm. Believe it or not this is a very popular afternoon snack among French children, a chunk of baguette with a bar of chocolate in the middle! If that seems excessive, get hold of a jar of Nutella - chocolate spread - as a good alternative. Every single person in almost everywhere is familiar with Nutella.

Well since I had no chocolate and we are on a nutella break- and by the way I like my goûter with unsalted butter spread on the baguette first then the milk chocolate - I went for mexican cream and raspberry jam. I heat up the jam in the microwave for a couple seconds to loosen it up. "Alternatives include a cake from the local delicatessen, a biscuit, even fruit if you have compliant children." (the previous quote was brought to you by the food pyramid) As far as I can tell there is an alarm clock built in to the heads of children that rings at 4pm to remind them it is time for a goûter. Any other meal can be delayed indefinitely with no consequence but the danger of missing a goûter is simply not to be considered. Well it must be the same for little New York kids as well. You can see the 'flurry' in which this was prepared....hardly a clean presentation.

skirt the issue

( I deleted the diagram deciding it was more graphic than meat)
A skirt steak has much more marbling than a flank steak and as a result, it is more juicy and very flavorful. It can be prepared with almost any type of cooking method, but it should be marinated first if using a dry heat cooking method such as grilling or broiling. The skirt steak is also known by the following names: Outside Skirt Steak, Inside Skirt Steak, Philadelphia Steak.

The flank steak, skirt steak or whatever you are comfortable calling it is a delicious cut of meat that can be prepared in a variety of ways the most common being fajitas or grilled. This is a braised dish that is later crunchified by blasting under the broiler just before serving.

Oh and sobrebarriga means the diaphragm or literally

'above the stomach' and 'a la brasa' means grilled

Sobrebarriga a La Brasa
(Colombian Style Skirt Steak)

6 ounces beer
1 medium onion chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup water or broth
2 lbs skirt steaks, very lean, trimmed

In a large pot, combine everything but the steak and bring to a boil.
Add the meat, lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer till very soft and tender--about 1 and 1/2 hours, depending on the thickness of the meat.
Pre-heat the broiler or prepare a charcoal fire.
Drain the meat well and grill it over charcoal or under the broiler, turning once, and just long enough and to heat it and give the outside a crispy texture.

Note: The meat can be cooked on the stove in advance as long as it is brought to room temperature before being grilled.

Serve this with a salad or with mashed potatoes or fried ripe plantains.

suave

What is it about 70 degrees fahrenheit....it is a magical number. All summer long I crank the AC hoping to get to seventy. All winter long I am pumping out the heat wishing it were seventy. Seventy the perfect temperature. Why? I'll tell you why, its suave.



Suave is cool if you can handle it. Sometimes suave has to take a back seat. Why? Tortilla soup thats why. Aint nuthin' suave about tortilla soup. Liquid-in this case its vegetable broth, chile, crispy corn tortillas and cheese ...I added cubed chicken...where is the suave now?

fry baby

The lure the draw the pull of hot oil is more than I can resist. I need to fry and why not its good. My excuse in the summer is that it is good for my skin since the sun and saltwater dry it out. My excuse for the winter is its good for my skin since the wind and cold dry it out. See I am covered as long as there is weather I will fry. I used to use shortening thinking it made a crisper crust and it drained faster but I was wrong it just cooled and left a film. I have been using oil now for quite some time and nothing is greasy, there is no film and it is not hydrogenated, it is healthier. So with my good health in mind it was time for some onion rings. I get what ever large onions I have and cut them thick into rings and dredge them in seasoned flour, you can use old bay or your favorite chili powder or curry, or just good ol' salt and pepper but dont salt the unfloured onions or they will sweat and sweating is not good for frying. Fully dusted they then get sloshed around in some beaten egg and then back into the flour sometimes I will repeat this step if I want a crustier crust. Shimmy off the excess and dip into 325 degree oil, turn them once, drain, salt while hot and eat.




Voila - onion rings. And now the kid likes em' too, its funny to watch evolution take place. He doesnt like onions but he likes onion rings????

like falling off a bridge

Nothing could be easier to make than a coconut macaroon, the recipe is on the bag of coconut and it is so simple, although I do alter it a bit. My big change - I beat the egg whites until stiff and then add it to the dry stuff. I think it makes a lighter cookie but I wouldn't know the difference because this is the only way I have done it. Oh plus I use less sugar since we dont eat too much of that and the coconut is sweetened anyway and I use vanilla flavor instead of almond since my vanilla is pure and the almond is an ester.



OK I dont do anything like the recipe but I do glance at it as a reference. Now there could be some debate over what is a Macaroon vs. a Macroon. From what I gather the Macroon does not have egg whites thus making the Macaroon part of the meringue family, but even this is debateable since some recipes call for egg whites and some for condensed milk, I say if you find one you like with ingredients you like then that is a good one and the one on the bag is perfect.



I did dip a few into an espresso dark chocolate that I concocted but the kid hated them and quite frankly so did I but I am sure without the espresso they would be great.