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Today is R's birthday! Like everything else in 2020, this one will be a bit different. Instead of having a party we'll do something small but special -- cooking in a requested dinner. He asked for filet mignon and scallops with roasted broccoli (his favorite), and I threw in a risotto for free because, well, I fucking love risotto. :) I found a pretty neat recipe that I'd love to try, though it does sound like it'll be a bit of work. I'm not entirely certain I'll be able to find the rice for it at the neighborhood grocery, but it shouldn't be too hard to find.
He's been having trouble with his mood for the last month or so, which is understandable. There's so much to be anxious about, and with the strange alchemy of the brain to deal with on top of that it's a minor miracle either of us has held up as well as we have. But I see this as the opening salvo of the holiday season, and I'm determined to make this birthday a good one for him. After work we'll share a celebratory glass and I'll get started on dinner!
I'm getting more and more into cooking these days, especially since I've (finally) learned to account for the specific...personality of our stove and oven. I've been a bit too slavish to the times the recipes call for, which yields frequently overcooked results. Now I err on the early side, check with the meat thermometer to ensure doneness, but also rely on my eyes and nose to tell me when something is ready. It's really neat being able to tell when something is the right shade of brown, or something carries the right scent to let you know it's cooked. This will be my first time cooking scallops OR filet mignon, and I've been doing some research to make sure I know my stuff.
The scallops will be relatively easy to cook; just five minutes or so over medium-high heat, basting in oil. I'm thinking a simple reduction of olive oil, butter, white wine, and garlic will work well; R prefers to showcase the meat with these dishes, and making the recipe basic gives me fewer failure points to worry about. :)
The filet mignon will be a little different. I've done less research on that so far, and I know that it deserves careful handling and preparation to really do it justice. I'm not sure if the meat should be tenderized or brought up to room temperature ahead of time; whether or not to rub salt/pepper into it (I think salt breaks down the meat to make it more tender, but also leeches moisture?) some time before cooking; whether to sear it on the stove and finish it in the oven. Either way, I think the actual prep and cooking will be relatively simple, I just need to know what to do. Again, nothing fancy to accompany it; maybe a warm butter with chives or green onions or a quick pan sauce to bring the natural taste of the beef into focus.
The risotto will be the most complicated (and time-consuming) part of the meal. The recipe calls for toasting the rice with onions, adding a half-cup of white wine, and then slowly adding the stock a cup at a time to give the rice time to absorb it. Mushrooms, peas, and Parmesan cheese are added and tossed to complete. I have portobello mushrooms, though the recipe calls for button. I don't know if that's an easy substitution to make, but I guess we'll find out!
Work has picked up again this week. We launched (and extended) a Black Friday promotion that has generated a ton of tickets, and in my particular neck of the woods we have the traditional rush of students asking questions after the results of a scholarship program have been posted. In addition to a surprising number of meetings, I've been running around like a headless chicken without a lot to show for it. But, such is life. I'm trying to organize my time better, but that's still an illusive goal. I have no idea how long something will take when I'm planning, and my energy frequently deserts me with surprising speed. One minute I'm humming along; the next I stop and quick-set inertia comes on. I'm done.
I've picked up a new meditation app called Balance, which aims to provide more personalized meditation courses based on your goals, comfort level, and feedback. I've chosen to improve my focus, and I guess that means a whole lot of body-work. Training to be mindful of the breath and really sitting with the sensations of the body, getting to know what it feels like to be in my own skin. It surprises me how...difficult it's been to really notice the way my body feels during these sessions. I'm getting better at it, but you'd think it wouldn't be so difficult. I think I've spent a long time ignoring my senses, or at least the interpretation of my senses from my brain. Somewhere along the way I really stopped trusting myself, and it's been this fundamental drive that have locked away huge parts of my experience from me. Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but...it intrigues me that such a simple exercise can uncover such a deep-seated thought distortion.
He's been having trouble with his mood for the last month or so, which is understandable. There's so much to be anxious about, and with the strange alchemy of the brain to deal with on top of that it's a minor miracle either of us has held up as well as we have. But I see this as the opening salvo of the holiday season, and I'm determined to make this birthday a good one for him. After work we'll share a celebratory glass and I'll get started on dinner!
I'm getting more and more into cooking these days, especially since I've (finally) learned to account for the specific...personality of our stove and oven. I've been a bit too slavish to the times the recipes call for, which yields frequently overcooked results. Now I err on the early side, check with the meat thermometer to ensure doneness, but also rely on my eyes and nose to tell me when something is ready. It's really neat being able to tell when something is the right shade of brown, or something carries the right scent to let you know it's cooked. This will be my first time cooking scallops OR filet mignon, and I've been doing some research to make sure I know my stuff.
The scallops will be relatively easy to cook; just five minutes or so over medium-high heat, basting in oil. I'm thinking a simple reduction of olive oil, butter, white wine, and garlic will work well; R prefers to showcase the meat with these dishes, and making the recipe basic gives me fewer failure points to worry about. :)
The filet mignon will be a little different. I've done less research on that so far, and I know that it deserves careful handling and preparation to really do it justice. I'm not sure if the meat should be tenderized or brought up to room temperature ahead of time; whether or not to rub salt/pepper into it (I think salt breaks down the meat to make it more tender, but also leeches moisture?) some time before cooking; whether to sear it on the stove and finish it in the oven. Either way, I think the actual prep and cooking will be relatively simple, I just need to know what to do. Again, nothing fancy to accompany it; maybe a warm butter with chives or green onions or a quick pan sauce to bring the natural taste of the beef into focus.
The risotto will be the most complicated (and time-consuming) part of the meal. The recipe calls for toasting the rice with onions, adding a half-cup of white wine, and then slowly adding the stock a cup at a time to give the rice time to absorb it. Mushrooms, peas, and Parmesan cheese are added and tossed to complete. I have portobello mushrooms, though the recipe calls for button. I don't know if that's an easy substitution to make, but I guess we'll find out!
Work has picked up again this week. We launched (and extended) a Black Friday promotion that has generated a ton of tickets, and in my particular neck of the woods we have the traditional rush of students asking questions after the results of a scholarship program have been posted. In addition to a surprising number of meetings, I've been running around like a headless chicken without a lot to show for it. But, such is life. I'm trying to organize my time better, but that's still an illusive goal. I have no idea how long something will take when I'm planning, and my energy frequently deserts me with surprising speed. One minute I'm humming along; the next I stop and quick-set inertia comes on. I'm done.
I've picked up a new meditation app called Balance, which aims to provide more personalized meditation courses based on your goals, comfort level, and feedback. I've chosen to improve my focus, and I guess that means a whole lot of body-work. Training to be mindful of the breath and really sitting with the sensations of the body, getting to know what it feels like to be in my own skin. It surprises me how...difficult it's been to really notice the way my body feels during these sessions. I'm getting better at it, but you'd think it wouldn't be so difficult. I think I've spent a long time ignoring my senses, or at least the interpretation of my senses from my brain. Somewhere along the way I really stopped trusting myself, and it's been this fundamental drive that have locked away huge parts of my experience from me. Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but...it intrigues me that such a simple exercise can uncover such a deep-seated thought distortion.
