Sweet & Sour with Epicurous.com

Sweet & Sour Celery, Sweet Cherry Chili Spare Ribs, Candied Lemon Peel
epicurous.com

The contents of the refrigerator included produce that would eventually turn towards the later part of its life so their state of existence drove the menu selections for this particular spiritual Sunday. I, for one, love citrus fruits, not just the peeling of them to eat the meaty fruit they protect but also for their smell, taste and lingering aroma; thus, a candied lemon peel made it to the counter (which should have been prepared pre-season, but here it is post holiday). The celery recipe a Passover dish prepared out of season in this case (sensing a trend here) fit the tribute to sweet and sour whilst also serving as a fair accompaniment to the meat course. The pork spare ribs not out of the ordinary other than I chose cherry preserves as the sweet additive to the soy, lemon, honey, red pepper flakes, thai red chili basting and not found on epicurous.com. I love eating with my hands (hence the no forks or spoons apply mantra) and much like licking your fingers after really great fried chicken this baste brings that same comfort experience with the ribs. I might not cook the celery to the recommended tenderness next time as I prefer more crisp texture and I might have coated the lemon peel with granulated sugar at the backend as instructed when this time I chose to let it stand on its own.

Now on the list of holiday beverage favorites

Food and Wine: Cocktails 2007
Chocolate Raspberry Truffletini (Carousel Lounge, New Orleans)
"This is like a really fine chocolate truffle that melts in your mouth," bartender Marvin Allen

2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce irish cream
3/4 ounce Chambord
3/4 ounce coffee liquor
3/4 ounce walnut liquor (nocino from Milan, Italy)
Chocolate shavings, 2 raspberries
Fill cocktail shaker with ice and all ingredients except shavings and berrries. Shake well. Strain into chilled martini glass then garnish with shavings and berries.

Totally Nigella Sunday

Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for good food, fast.
Smoked Trout Pate, Chicken Schnitzel with Bacon & White Wine, No Churn Pomegranate Ice Cream

"Easy" would be the best way to describe the preparation of each dish. A limited number of ingredients added to the efficiency in approaching each recipe and I only found it necessary to digress from the recipes in a couple of instances. The first was to add additional cream cheese to the pate, the second a complete substitution as I lacked powdered sugar in my cupboard (which did indeed change the nature of the no churn, but still tasted good). I will agree with Nigella in the enjoyment of the carbonara essence of bacon wine and chicken of the schnitzel. Opened the refrigerator door later in the evening and stood there while I sentimentally placed a large dollop of pate on a wafer and consumed it, a tribute to this author's trademark sign off on her popular Food Network show.