It's me! Axiom the Fox!
Fried chicken patty (supermarket bought, air-fried) on a butter-toasted bun (supermarket again) w/ iceberg lettuce, mayo (Hellmann's) and...HOME-MADE chipotle-chili-brown sugar bacon jam.
The most simple of "convenience" foods can achieve glory if you put effort into one element.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lrtig3l6r22k
Grilled Montreal smoked meat with my cheese (24-month Irish cheddar, gruyère, regular cheddar, butter, milk "Americanized" with sodium citrate, sodium hexametaphosphate) on crustless Calabrese bread, home-made "fridge" pickled red cabbage.
Sometimes you just want a quality grilled cheese.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lro6gcapts2o
Mediocre tomatoes (not in season) still make for a yummy salad.
Tomatoes (chopped, salted, drained, shook dry) w/ raw white onion, cucumber (peeled, deseeded), parsley, slathered in home-made real bleu cheese dressing.
That's scallion "butter swim" biscuits cut and toasted into croutons.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lr4ml6z3ek2b
Detroit and iron-skillet deep dish pizzas, because gosh darn it, @cargo and I are worth it.
Here's beauty shots, I'll describe what's in them below. NOTE, these are NOT burnt, just delightfully dark and crispy-crunchy.
Spectacular success, just as good cold or reheated.
*sinful*
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lppcowhz5s2n
Omurice!
Honestly, I nailed these omelettes, the flavor and texture were spot on--I just screwed up the size of the rice beneath so the support broke the structure.
Rice flavored with shallot, mushrooms, ketchup and my home-made dark chicken demi reduced to a full glacé. AMAZINGLY intense.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lpjp2ov3u223
*supportive hug*
Scandinavian lunch!
I made the mustard+dill+béchamel cream sauce for the oven-roasted white potatoes, and I made the pickles (garlic scapes, Vietnamese slaw). The rest is just smoked salmon and a pickle.
Still, very delicious, hot/cold, crunchy/creamy, smooth, rich and vinegary.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lp33frcm7c2w
Cream of FRIED chicken soup!
Brown chicken stock from deep-fried "buttermilk" chicken bones & skins, strained and heavily reduced.
This time, I made a CREAMY version w/ a light roux, 35% cream, chicken & veggies.
FRIED CHICKEN CRISPY BITS + parsley garnish.
Inside-of-a-pot pie soup!
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3loti4vqiec2u
My weasel is beautiful.
Congee experiments continue.
This is congee (white rice porridge) made in my usual "Frenchified" way, "liaised" with egg yolks, heavy cream, shio ramen soup base, tempered in until rich and creamy.
It's no "looker," but it's special from everything I put in:
-pig trotter meat, pressure cooked in Chinese "master stock"
-pickled "pork roll" shoulder, pressure cooked in mirepoix
-home-pickled Vietnamese daikon & carrot shreds
-home-pickled garlic scapes
-scallions
-sesame seeds
-S&B powdered hot mustard, reconstituted
-Chinese red vinegar
Yeah, pretty bonkers. These were all heavy-duty proteins and pickles and other ingredients I had made in the past and wanted to "use up."
This thing is rich, gelatinous, fatty--but the vinegar and pickles and scallions cut through it, not to mention the "English" (Chinese) mustard.
Stupendous.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lnq5qme7bs2d
Spring means spring rolls!
Here's my mise-en-place, with freshly-poached shrimp, cucumber, fresh mint chiffonade, parsley, scallion, spicy chili sauce, hoisin-peanut dipping sauce, fresh-toasted ground peanuts, mung bean vermicelli, shredded cabbage.
I'm bad at rolling, but still: YUM.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lndq3svfss22
@stripey A superb choice. And that's a poem I've analyzed in detail! I did a "Stein and Stevens" course in my graduate work, and that's where I put my focus.
Let be be finale of seem.
Never more needed today, sorely lacking. :(
@stripey Okay, what poem? Enquiring minds want to know!
@pilou Let us know! Pics are nice too. :)
White pizza ("bianca," no tomato products in or on it) on 5-day fridge-fermented dough.
Sauce is home-made béchamel (which likes to ooze out when you slice it!), topped with pepperoni, home-made cheddar/fontina/parmesan, pre-blackened onion, mushrooms, oregano, chili flakes, MSG, garlic.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3llmdfpg4vs2b
Cannelés, absolutely traditional, and they came out perfect: crispy, shattering exterior, airy custard-soft interiors, subtle flavors of real vanilla and spiced rum, sweet but not too sweet.
STUPENDOUS. Perfect. I could sell them in Bordeaux with my head held high.
That color...wow!
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3llcdbxlilk2n
Pizza experiments continue!
5-day fridge ferment dough stretched thin as I could (so not low-carb or diabetic-friendly).
Sauce is from yesterday's blade roasts (below) as pizza sauce, pre-sautéed mushrooms pre-browned ground beef, home-made cheddar blend, parsley, parmesan.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lkbomlyxic2t
Chuck pot roast, tender but toothsome (2.5 hrs in the oven).
Blending the vegetables and braising liquid leads to a gloriously thick, substantial and velvety sauce with no dairy beyond a pat of butter. Lots of carrots and tomato paste makes it pasta-sauce-ish.
Seaweed salad for freshness.
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lk6gepukpk2p
Pizza experiments continue!
Confident in my ultra-thin, "split" naan crust, it's on to exploring toppings.
FOUR toppings (plus scallions & parmesan), all pre-cooked:
--bacon
--braised crisped beef short rib
--butter-sautéd mushrooms
--Chiniese BBQ pork head meat (mostly cheek)
DELISH!
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3lizf4rmwd22v
BUTTER CHICKEN, my first-ever attempt! I went truly old-school with this: whole spices toasted then fried in butter, hand-ground, and cashews to thicken the sauce: no onions!
Marinade for the chicken took 24 hours in Greek yogurt and just as many spices.
(Substitutions in thread.)
SUPERB!
https://bsky.app/profile/axiomfox.bsky.social/post/3liwvg2ljas2c