Dinner with Gigolo, Part Two

Gigolo Boy never made it: evidently he was too busy flogging the latest Apple product on the streets of 'Beijing to hop on a subway and come all the way out here. The same paralysis that affects many people--the sudden inability to work their fingers and thumbs well enough to text a "regret" or even to dial and say those simple words, "Don't wait dinner for me"--apparently struck him as well. Such a pity. The Rose and I dined on baked potatoes, asparagus, and chicken.  (I forgot to put out the minted cucumber/tomato salad, and am having it for breakfast as I type away.)

This is my favorite way of cooking asparagus: after washing it and snapping off the yucky bits, I throw the spears into a frying pan which has a small amount of stock or water in it. They form a single layer and cook quickly this way. I cook them until  they're bright green and almost, but not quite, crispy-tender. I quickly drain out the water, then throw in a small lump of butter. I let the spears soak up the butter and brown a bit on medium-high heat until just about done, then throw in a squeeze of lemon juice, and a good grinding of salt and pepper. This releases a lovely juice from the asparagus: I swirl it all together to make a wonderful lemony-buttery sauce, then serve on a hot plate.

As for the chicken, I simmered it until it was barely done and still tender. After my guest arrived and was seated comfortably on the floor, bottle of Jameson's at one hand, remote control on the other, I slipped into the kitchen and browned the chicken in a mixture of butter and virgin olive oil. After a had a nice brown crust all over (I had breasts and drumsticks) I threw in a handful of dried cranberries and the liquid they had soaked it, namely, Cointreau, and made a quick and lively sauce by scraping up all the brown bits from the botton of the pan, incorporating it into the mix. This is quite nice, especially served with baked potatoes.

A hint on baked potatoes: electric circuits blow here quite easily, so to shorten the cooking time, I cut the well-scrubbed potatoes in half, and microwaved them until nearly done. Then fifteen minutes in a hot toaster oven took the curse off them, giving them a fluffy, dry interior and a crisp shell. The Rose asked plaintively if I knew how to cook them in aluminum foil and if I had ever used sour cream on them--I promised him that next time. Although I loathed foil-wrapped steamed potatoes, I'll do them for a friend, particularly one who serves as the contact person with my landlady: should she ever find me dead on the floor with Dickie fighting off the rats who are nibbling on my face, she'll know who to call. 

Consumed: Six potatoes, 40 spears of asparagus, three drumsticks, two sets of breasts, six raspberry Devil's Cakes, half a family-sized bottle of Jameson's, three trays of ice, 1/2 liter of Cola.

Viewed: Star Trek (The Next Generation, Season 7, some episode with Lwaxana Troi who is a favorite in our household) and The Danny Thomas Show ( aka Make Room for Daddy, Season 2, after they killed off the fantastic Jean Hagen) Also: assorted commercials from the 50's on a DVD I picked up at a supermarket in the US.

Discussed: New ideas for Chinese prime-time TV shows, early childhood education. Not discussed: although I kind of wanted a man's point of view about this bizarre date I'd had recently, it just didn't happen.We did, however, discuss the ongoing saga of a mutual friend's love life which makes anything on "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" sound like "The Total Woman." Ah, other people's sex lives----something to discuss when you don't have one of your own...