food and Jacques Pepin, not to mention tennis

So after I had my two knee MRI's today, like I said in an earlier blog entry, I bought some food.

And tonight I fixed the poached cod with browned butter and some artichoke bottoms stuffed with snails, from the Jacques Pepin coffee table memoire or whatever it is I bought remaindered the other day. Both were really, really good. I served them with some good bread (hey, Kroger...from somewhere...) and a VERY good Languedoc Cote de Tangue (Tongue?) not sure, but don't much want to go have another look. I bought the wine at Jungle Jim in Cincinnati when Tino and I went there a couple of weeks ago. Used it in the snails. The problem, which is not at all uncommon when I cook things like this, is that both dishes (the cod with browned butter, capers and parsley, and the artichoke bottoms stuffed with snails cooked with lots of mushrooms, and shallots and garlic and wine) along with the bread, didn't quite hang together. Everything was REALLY good, including the wine, but it didn't quite work.

DAMN. This has been the story of my culinary life...

I seem to be (almost) always put together a Mexican meal, Tex-Mex, Mexican, or whatever, that works, but I don't seem to be able to put together a continental meal that actually works. It may be that I sort of cook what has caught my fancy within the last 24, 48 or 72 hours, but it seems, at any rate, to be a chronic problem.

So there.

Federer lost the final in the U.S. Open. Tino is happy; I'm sorry. Along with Tino, though, I'm sorry it wasn't between Federer and Nadal. They are always a treat to watch. BUT that one shot Federer made yesterday (? I think) in the semi-final, that basically won it, although it wasn't the last one, the impossible one that there was NO WAY he could get to it, but he hit it from behind through his legs ??!!? sealed it for me. He's one of the all-time greats. Tino thinks it's boring that he's won so many, but I'm not convinced.

Lillie