Back on the Bike The easiest update is the marvelous international efforts to get Jen back on her bike. My brand new, ever improved carbon fiber fork and matching headset were quickly installed by the French bike mechanics, and I was able to ride again just three days after returning to France. There will be action photos in the future.
The cloak of invisibility is beginning to dissolve. Two mornings in a row now, I have been engaged in friendly conversations with my neighbors. There are at least three older women who seem to be at their gates whenever anyone walks by, and now, I am known as the American femme (wife) who is able to speak un petit peu francais (a little bit of french) so now they attempt to discuss various topics with me. Interestingly, the weather has never come up! Chi Chi we are not in Ohio anymore. I get about 20% of it, which is a significant increase over my initial complete ignorance and confusion. Something about the sun shining and hand motions and repetition makes the whole conversation go easier.
Grandma turned a happy 91 last week. The photo exhibit at Times Square was the topic of her community newsletter, and I think she is even starting to wonder if this drama will ever end! All is well there, thanks for that.
I am about to make my second and third cheesecakes. One is for our second dinner party and I am taking one to the wonderful butchers (Jan. blogs) who have been having great fun helping me learn my french. This week the conversation was about cooking with chickens. I ordered, un poulet pour la soupe, s'il vous plait. (one chicken for soup, please). Non Madame, une poulette pour la soupe, n' est pas le poulet. (No Madame, a hen for the soup, not a rooster.) Silly me, I thought the french word for chicken was "le poulet", and it is, but not for a hen....you can see where this gets really confusing. So I brought home my perfectly ready for the soup pot hen, and checked my recipe .... sure enough it says, "preferably a stewing hen." C'est parfait!
Well I am off to search for whole Allspice. We are cooking a dinner for 6 this week-end and Pat wants to grill brine soaked pork chops. I had a great time ordering the pork chops, and finding the Juniper Berries (genievres), and this time finding cream cheese was simple....
Brine-Cured Pork Chops
3/4 cup sea or kosher salt (large grain) and 2/3 cup sugar dissolved in a large bowl or pot. Add
20 juniper berries, lightly crushed and 20 allspice berries, lightly crushed and 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns. Now add 4 bay leaves, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, and 3 sprigs fresh marjoram, preferably right out of the garden. Cool the brine and then submerge the chops in there, weighting them down to keep them submerged for 2 to three days, refrigerated the whole time.
For the Chops:
6 x 1-1/2" thick center-cut or loin bone-in chops. Remove them from the brine after at least 2 days, and then rub them with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Perfume them with several sprigs of fresh rosemary, by laying the rosemary on the chops and then letting the chops come to room temp, before grilling on medium for 5-7 minutes on each side. Allow them to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
This recipe originally ran in the New York Times with two other great pork chop recipes. We are going to serve our chops with twice-baked potatoes, using blue cheese, parsley and chives and a side of asparagus. Of course, there will be great wine, fresh bread, new friends and cheese cake with raspberry sauce for dessert.
