Varmint

Well, I used gray sole that I found at Whole Foods. Filets. That means they needed one minute per side -- hardly enough to get any sort of crust on them. I'm not sure about the meuniere -- it was tasty, but I could have browned the butter a touch more. A bit more lemon would have helped, too. Even a dash of salt! Accompanying it with sauteed spinach was perfect. Good complementary flavors. The duxelle stuffed potato worked well, but I had to hold it in the oven too long, causing it to collapse. Flavor was outstanding, however. Fried pies kick ass!!! I used granny smith and braeburn apples that I had cut into 1/4 inch dice. I cooked them earlier today with applejack, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon until there was no liquid left. Once the apples cooled, I made a simple pie crust using mostly vegetable oil and a bit of very soft butter for flavor. I pan fried them in vegetable oil, dusted them with a cinnamon/confectioners sugar combo, and served with the egg nog ice cream. The pies were nearly perfect, although next time I may add a touch of sugar to the pastry. I did take pictures with my son's camera, but I can't find the USB cable. Bummer. Looking forward to others' reports.

I'm taking a major detour, except for the sole. Sorry, folks. Yes, the artichokes looked shitty and were 2 bucks a pop. Not worth it. It's going to be spinach instead -- probably just sauteed with EVOO and garlic. Nothing that exceiting. I'm also doing a duxelle stuffed potato rather than a pilaf -- wanted something earthy. For dessert, apple fried pies with homemade cinnamon egg nog ice cream. Not sure if I need a sauce -- probably not.

I really want you to try a relatively thin burger in there. No bread, just meat.

OK, why not do fried apple pie? It's simple, but it involves some special techniques. We can come up with different sauces (Calvados, anyone?) and accompaniments (whipped marscopone, cinnamon ice cream?). Here's a copy of a post from the fried pie thread from fistfullofroux:

Actually, that was for a new copy. The used bookstore didn't have it either. I can get one from half.com for 15 bucks, delivered. I just wanted it for tomorrow, when I planned on making my dish. Have we decided on a dessert?

You must have visited Whole Foods. I never buy artichokes from them. My neighborhood independent bookstore sold their last copy of J&J 2 days ago.

And then there's the new Soylent Vodka everyone's talking about. That uses... Mmmmmmm. Soylent Vodka with Tabasco. It really gives it that extra meaty flavor!

Yeah, Larousse has 3 pictures on it. OK, OK, OK, once I finish eating my Chinese leftovers, I'll check out the used bookstore. If they don't have it, time to buy it new!

What are we doing with the artichokes? I don't have J&J.

Katie can be such an SOB* sometimes. *Smug Oenophilic Bastard

Not true. But your picture is remarkably close to every dartboard down here.

Do you know of any wine that works with artichokes? Something bone dry. As an appetizer, you could serve an ultra-dry sparkling wine. Of course, what could we do to the artichoke to allow the G-man's Sancerre to work. If this single thistle is going to throw everything off, then the hell with it. Mind you, I also mentioned asparagus, which ain't too easy to pair wines with either.

Do you know of any wine that works with artichokes? Something bone dry. As an appetizer, you could serve an ultra-dry sparkling wine.

And artichokes would go well with the mild sole.

If I could ever find them on sale, I'd really like to learn how to do more with artichokes. They're Mrs. Varmint's favorite!!!

Yeah, they're moving down here because there aren't enough NC eGulleteers and too many DC ones. Plus, we have good barbecue. Oh, and our clubs are as good as the ones in DC.

Chicken fried steak, fried chicken, pork chop on a stick. There's lots of great examples of breaded meats. What are your favorites, why are they your favorites, and where are the quintessential examples of each?

Asparagus? Artichokes?

Sorry they weren't "Grahamazingly Good." Tee hee. I truly think you need to try to sear some sort of meat product in there. Perhaps a cutlet. Even better, have Mr. Cutlet suggest something.

Gesundheit.

Yeah, isn't it related to prisons?

Done. Go here.

Checkmate! That wouldn't suck. BTW, elyse, have you ventured into the land of fried pies? They're good cold weather fare.

How about a fried pie?

But of course, nothing from North Carolina. Sorry, I couldn't resist.