Last Meal

I read a book last night that was called "My Last Supper" that basically interviewed famous chefs with questions about what they're last meal would be. It was very interesting and got me to thinking about what my last meal might be like.

So here it goes. My dinner would have to entail the clause that you could eat as much as you wanted and not feel overfull. The book asked 5 questions: where would this meal be, who would attend, would there be music, what would you drink, and what would be on your final menu.

My location would be under a large tree, in an open field in France behind my fabulous (nonexistent) house, in late spring or early summer, where I could smell honeysuckle growing.

My dinner companions would be my family and close friends, Tony Bourdain for those hilarious kitchen stories, Alton Brown, Dave Chappelle would perform, Marilyn Monroe for my brother, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Marlon Brando (circa Guys and Dolls days), the Angryblackbitch.blogspot.com, Shirley Corriher, my Aunt Gailon, my old dog Georgia, and all the various musical, culinary, and cosmetic persons named later. Oh, and Edgar Ramirez, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Olivier Ramirez just for me to look at. :)

My musical guests would include Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Anna Netrebko, Jill Scott, The Fugees, Aretha Franklin, Bonnie Raitt, and Ella Fitzgerald. And when Ella sang "Rocks in my Bed," and sings that part about being underloved and overfed, for once I would disagree.

To drink I would have Gallons of made from scratch margaritas and tequila shots, untold bottles of champagne, Fiji water for when the tequila made me dizzy, and pitchers of my mint iced tea.

For my last meal, we would start with warm La Brea or Kayser baguettes split and spread with french butter and drizzled with tupelo honey from the Savannah bee company. Then Tom Douglas's panzanella salad and the caprese salad from Taverna, Mario Batali would cook a seafood course with shrimp and scallops, someone from Louisiana would make a crawfish poboy and crawfish etouffee, Mario would also make polpettini, for the main course there would be organic grain fed Bistecca alla Fiorentina with rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper cooked in butter and olive oil till Medium, fried chicken from John T Edge, a risotto from Taverna, my baked penne with sausage and lots of balsamic, a chili cheese dog from Coit's with a homemade Root Beer, my Mom's mashed potatoes, fried okra, grilled zucchini and squash, my Mom's sauteed mushrooms, my grandma's green beans with bacon (the ones from years ago when she had her eyesight), canned asparagus cooked in butter (yes, I know, but I grew up eating them), and fresh corn.
For dessert, there would be in season fruit at it's magical peak, peaches from the way they tasted when I was a kid, fraise de bois, raspberries, blood oranges, cantaloupe, cherries from Alice Waters, who would handle all of the fruit and veg, then Ina Garten's brownies without the instant coffee, pastries from Pierre Herme, Dalloyau, Gerald Mulot, Francois Payard, and Laduree, my pralines or prawleens if you will, a cake or cookie from Martha, chocolates from Valrhona, La Maison du Chocolate and Scharffen Berger, a selection of Bologna's finest gelato and Sicily's finest granita, my peach and strawberry ice creams, Terry's butter cookies w/vanilla sugar, cream puffs, and at very last, a cappucino w/sweet whipped cream and another warm baguette, buttered and honeyed. Then we'd listen, dance, and sing along with all the concert performers. Then I'd bid adieu to everyone but my closest family, then go inside and shower and then Federic Fekkai, Oribe, Oscar Blandi, and Orlando Pita would fight to do my hair and Keyvn Aucoin would do my makeup (I want to look pretty when I go). I'd get into the softest, fluffiest bed with soft sheets and my husband would hold me and I would hold my kids (neither of which I have right now) and then I would retire.
So, how about you? What would you want for the last meal of your life?

Hip, Hip, Hooray! They're Here!

Happy Marzipan Frankenstein Day!!!
Back for their second year in a row, it's the lovely
marzipan Halloween figurines from Rebecca Russell.
Her website is in my blogroll and I highly recommend it.

These Halloween truffles are also really
cute! But I have to say the ghost's mouth
really gives me a good laugh! It looks like he's seen a ghost.

Honey, We're Killing the ... World

I saw an episode of Oprah where they were speaking about the show, "Honey, We're Killing the Kids." And they were talking about how they are seeing patients in their mid-twenties and beyond with these fat-related problems. Diabetes, knee problems, back problems, etc... All of these problems from just carrying all that fat around. Sadly enough, I realize I'm one of these persons, but without health care, which I don't have right now, I'm not able to see a doctor. And if I was able to see a doctor, with the lack of preventative care in this country, they'd probably give me a pill.

If you haven't seen Sicko by Michael Moore, I urge you to. I saw the doc and afterwards, I was literally mute. My dad had been bitten by a snake a few days before and the hospital told him that anti-venom would not be covered by his health insurance or Medicare, and that a single vile of the anti venom was $10,000 and that they would start with 2 vials and could use as many as 9. So, they pumped him full of anti-inflammatories and other assorted drugs and after 3 weeks, the toxins in his body regenerated (supposed some snake poisons do this) and tried to kill him again and his whole arm was swollen like he'd just been bitten. Which could have been prevented by the anti-venom. Which he could have received in another country. Yes, I understand that they pay exorbitant taxes, but look at what gains they reap from those taxes.

Sorry, my train of thought derailed a little but the condition of health care in this country is ridiculous. I was talking with a person in a bookstore a couple of days ago, and we agreed that Oklahoma City is playing at being a "city" and in the same context, America is playing at being the world's greatest country. We have all of the resources, but none of the execution.

Truths

In the mists of crazy that I'm currently experiencing, I'm looking for all the truths I can find. Not anything specifically true, but something or someone who speaks truthfully to me, something that resonates within me. Some light within the darkness, if you will. It is during this quest, that I have found wonderful things and people. And I choose this post to name one of them. Elizabeth Gilbert, and specifically her book, "Eat, Pray, Love."

I found it one day in Borders and very unlike me, I didn't read the back cover to see if it was of interest to me. I just sat down and read it, crying and laughing in the cafe of the local Borders. Yes, I'm a sorry sight right now. But this book helped. I read it cover to cover in one sitting, which for me is the true test of a book's "truth" to me. If a book speaks to me, I read it cover to cover and am normally both simultaneously crying and smiling at the end of it. I recently checked out the book on tape from the library and I highly recommend it as it's read by the author.

As weapons against the storm of my darkness, books and Jill Scott CD's are not the best weapons, but they're the best I have available at this moment in time, other than myself, and she's quite bruised and tired, so I guess they'll have to do.

Song of the Day

Hate on Me by Jill Scott, http://www.myspace.com/whoisjillscott. Listen and sing along.

Lemon Blueberry Yumminess!

Hi All or None,

Had to share my triumphant dessert with ya'll. Yes, I'm from Oklahoma. No, I don't normally write this way. Yes, it's a joke. Little touchy, aren't I? Anyways, I made Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, thanks to Tyler Florence and foodtv.com. Tyler, I always think it's amazing that a man can be a cute as you and cook as well as you do. Here's the recipe. I used frozen blueberries, thawed and drained of juice. I also just eyeballed the berries as in a dessert like this, more berries can be a good thing, just don't go crazy. And these are so good, there's no need for powdered sugar, just a fork.

Update: These are even better refrigerated with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007
For the base:
Butter, for greasing
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9 graham crackers
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
2 lemons, zested and juiced
About 1/2 cup sugar, eyeball it
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

For the base:
Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the texture of bread crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.

For the filling:
Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined. It should have a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed -- as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 10 rectangular bars. Dust with powdered sugar.


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 10 bars
User Rating:5 Stars

Episode#: TU0301
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved