Menus, April 4, 2014

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. 

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” 

Franz Kafka

Schedule-stopping sports events are rare around here. The Olympics and World Cup Soccer are capable of rearranging an evening's plans every leap year or so, but hockey, baseball, golf? Sure, there fun and interesting, but they lack a certain fascinating something..they lack the power to turn television

into Tractavision

But you know what can`turn the television into a tractor beam? This:

The NCAA Championship Tournament.
(that's Michael Jordan,
playing for North Carolina in the 1982 final)

There's something about the madness that fills March and spills into April that's irresistible- the brackets, the drama, the sudden-death, the parents in the stands, the passionate fans, and all those young hopefuls playing their hearts out on the court. Such energy, such heart, such courage, such desperation, such foolhardy disregard for the limits of the human body- such youth.

I love it. 

Although sometimes, watching all those young people throwing themselves into the game as if they are unbreakable and unbeatable makes me feel maybe a little old....

no, not THAT old,

Yep, that's about right.

Youth and beauty, arranged in brackets and fighting hard for the love of the game, and honor, and their parents and their coach and the love of everything but money. Or at least that's what I tell myself.  And woe to anyone who tries to darken the games of March with cynical observations about impending pro contracts and fat scholarships and unsportsmanlike behavior. Because if Kafka is right,

(and who's brave enough to say that a
 Russian who writes stories
that everyone says they understand but
no one can understand is wrong?
 In fact,
who can say they even understand that
sentence about understanding Kafka?)

if Kafka is right, then as long as we can see the beauty in these games of youth, then we are young ourselves.

The final four were, um, Dukeing it out as I made the first tentative passes at this week's menus, so in their honor, I visited their respective home states for dinner. The confetti has dropped on the triumphant UConn huskies as of this writing, but that won't stop me from eating my way around Kentucky, Wisconsin and Florida too. Here's how it might work:

Wednesday: Marinated Cod with Pineapple Relish

Connecticut! Who knew there were so many types of food! At least two of the main courses are inspired by the home state of the NCAA champions, and this is the first. From the New Haven Sentinal (which in turn got it from another paper) Miso marinated cod. There's a terrific book about cod and the way it shaped New England and the world with its little fins. If you like that sort of thing, the book is here.
As far as this piece of cod goes, I may be using a broiler or a pan instead of the grill, and odds are that this whole lovely composition will go on top of a nice bed of salad greens.


Thursday: Roast Turkey with Blackberry Salsa and Sweet Potatoes

Kentucky, I was cheering for you in that final, and not only because the food from your home state was the most interesting of all the final four. The recipe I've linked for a Kentucky specialty called a hot brown (a turkey sandwich first served at Kentucky's Brown Derby) will be split into two nights- the roast turkey tonight and the leftovers in a sandwich on the weekend. The blackberry salsa is something that's been of interest for weeks, and since blackberries are one of Kentucky's state foods, this is a great time to try it. (Does it surprise anyone else that Kentucky fried chicken is NOT on this list of official  state foods? ) I'll bake the sweet potatoes whole along with the turkey breast, and bake a few extra for a salad tomorrow night.

Friday: sweet potato salad and beer-braised brats

From the Sun Sentinal in Florida, a recipe for a really great looking potato salad that will be perfect with one of Wisconsin's favorites, bratwurst. We'll probably have the sausages plain and save our gluten indulgence for the sandwiches tomorrow.
Here's a picture of the salad, complete with a fun Florida style serving hat:

Saturday: Kentucky hot brown sandwich

Here it is, the sandwich with the intriguing name. Interesting name or not, you're looking at sliced turkey breast topped with bacon topped with cheese sauce. This is by far the most indulgent meal of the week, so we'll cancel out some of those delicious cheese and bacon calories by serving this alongside lots and lots of leafy greens and some pan roasted tomatoes.

Sunday: White pizza

It's not surprising that people who live by the ocean put seafood on everything. Nor is it surprising that in places where shipping and fishing shaped history, the food is a glorious combination of places and cultures. What is a little surprising to this landlocked Texan is pizza with white sauce and clams.  But I'm going to try it anyway, though I may use the stellar no knead bread dough as a crust.





 If you're in the Northern Hemisphere, youth and beauty 
are right outside your spring time window. 
And even though summer's on it's way,
and there will probably be another spring,
It matters that you don't miss this one.
It matters, every time you stop in the middle
of the rules and tasks that govern our
grown up lives
and open yourself 
to the beauty of book and blossom.
 the beauty of breeze and branch.
it just may be 
the very best way to stay

forever young.