Wednesday, January 01, 2003


happy new year!

i rang in the new year at home with jacques torres bon-bons and the usual glass of bubbly. hooray! a new year always gives us a reason to stop a moment, to appreciate our loved ones, our community, and all the pizzas and coffee to come. . .

actually, i've always preferred a relaxing new year's day to the crazy eve. and after having a nice morning cappucino, i set about planning what to make for a grand new year's day dinner. i had some lamb shanks in the freezer. after careful thought, i decided on a moroccan dinner, a sweet cinnamon-tinged tagine.

normally, tagines take hours and hours. but with the wonderfu kuhn-rikon pressure cooker, it takes all of 40 minutes. (and if you want to get fancy, like i do, build in some time to let the fat rise to the top of the broth, so you can skim it off nicely for a perfect sauce.) yet it tastes just as good as if you'd spent all day on it.

now my friends who are into slow food will protest that tagine is supposed to take all day. however, i have to say that part of being a concerned cook is thinking about the environment. this is one of the reasons we prefer organic vegetables, yes? and this is how i feel about the pressure cooker.

instead of cooking for 3 or 4 hours on a gas flame, i cook for 40 minutes. that natural gas comes from somewhere -- just not the alaskan wildlife refuge if i have anything to say about it. it's a simple case of voting with your lifestyle. i can easily conserve these precious resources, enjoy my day more, and still get the great flavor i'm seeking.

it's all win! another round of dark chocolate caramels for everybody!

posted by fortune | 7:08 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments