Insomnia, and wishing for a brain aneurism... and a recipe....

Up in the middle of the night, so I went floating about the blogosphere, to see what is going on.
Pretty much as I suspected. Everything in the US election campaign will degenerate from one of ideas to a Punch and Judy Show. How depressing....

Why on earth did John Edwards throw in the towel so EARLY?

Did he get threats? Inquiring minds want to know, hey. Huh.... And all that get left are the corporate-approved way-bought whores. Sad.

Whatever, am going to impart my recipe for Szegediner Goulasch, for all you Amis... Because I outdid myself yesterday, making it. According to Peter, who has often been the victim of my experiments.

So first: you get some very lean pork. I get to go to a butcher, and get it cut small, the way I want it. For four portions, you need a pound. And then you need about one and one half pounds of Sauerkraut. Not the packaged stuff, the real thing open in wooden buckets. Otherwise the mildest you can find. And a small onion. 'And a clove of garlic.

So you cut up the onion and garlic fine, braise it in one tablespoon of lard---yeah, I know, but it doesn't work without, and then you braise the meat lightly, and then you add the Sauerkraut. And add some water. NOT much, it is supposed to steam, hey. Keep the heat way low.
And then you add one teaspoon of paprika, and one of ground caraway. NOT MORE! It will look pale, but is just exactly right. Add a bay leaf. Cover, let simmer.

And then you can clean the house or watch a film for ninety minutes. Just check that the water hasn't evaporated.... and add if necessary....

When the Sauerkraut is soft, you add one little container of Creme Fraiche to it. And mix it well.

Works every time. And if there are leftovers.... it is absolutely better the next day.
But do it on a day when you can open a window... it kinda smells strongly at first.

I ated me an ostrich steak for only five Euros...

tuns out it is kinda creepy meat, and THAT is what you get for being curious, hey.

It was a left-over at the supermarket from the horridays.

And what did I get? Beef liver. It has that taste, underneath. If I had known that, I would have gotten something else, but am a curious peroson.

Now I know.

So here is what you do with venison. Because I had that taste on my palate long after the dinner and that means it was especially good.

First you have to start with a 'sofritto'. That, in this case, consists of the root things chopped up fine like carrot, turnip root, celery root, parsley root and so on. And you have to be patient, frying them in a bit of olive oil. It makes the base. I learned this from a gifted chef in Taormina.

Then you braise the meat---un spiced. Both sides. And then, Preciouses, you covers it up, and some delicioussess juices comes out. On low heat. And after about one half hour, you starts to spice it, oh yes. You add a bay leaf--one if big, two if small. A bit of salt, not much. Some pepper, pinch of majoram, oregano, tiny bit of thyme, and let it stew a while in that. Then comes the MASSIVE ATTACK. You press an orange into it, scrape a little of the rind and two cloves and a couple of cardamom pods into it. Add a bit of red wine, and let it simmer.

If it is Bambi's father, they are tough and need the long cooking time.
If it is Bambi's mother, the cooking time is less. ninety minutes to two hours does the trick.

Add a little water if the juices go down.

And now you know...