French Food

The meat pie that provided 3 scrumptious meals is history, and I had to think hard about why it was such a savory dish.

The combination of bacon, red wine, meat, onion, carrots, mushrooms, garlic and herbs and spices is dynamite, a typically French concoction with a flavor that never stops. Consider that these are typically common ingredients, no shopping at the inconvenient ethnic food store, no expensive ingredients, no fancy cooking technicques, no sinkful of dirty pots and skillets--have we found the perfect meal? Just add a salad and some bread. Actually, I added a couple small potatoes to the mix, so it even had starch, especially if you count the pre-made pie crust which you better do.

The time involved is the chopping and slicing, browning, and then a stint in the oven. Most home-cooked meals involve slicing and chopping. Now that I am not in the work force, I have found a new cooking process, which I do in steps, and it does make life easy.

Step 1. Round up all the ingredients. Put the non-perishables together on the counter, and put the stuff that needs to remain refrigerated together in the fridge. If you need to bring an item to room temp, this is the time to do it.

Step 2. Prep. Measure out anything that needs measuring, and do the sliicing and chopping. Cover anything that will dry out.

Step 3. The actually cooking. In the case of the meat pie, there is a slow simmer in the oven, then the crust is put on the "pie," and the pie is baked.

Naturally the time will be the same, but the work is broken up, so and the steps can occur hours apart and the cooking chore is not so onerous. This works for me.

I am thinking of blowing off this writing blog and starting a money-saving tips blog, since I have been through several recessions, layoffs, and various financial crises and know a bit about belt tightening and it looks like we're due for a spell of it. I'll let you know.

The new blog, should I start it, will be The Cheeseparer. Cool, eh? Now go make a yummy pie, or ragout, or something bourgignon or au vin.

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