83. Filet of Sole a la Lindor

I wrote this post on Sunday, October 4th. It was a special day. The Jets and the Dolphins played in London. At 9am. Let’s take a trip in the wayback machine…

I got up this morning at 8:30, finished up my Cider Slow Cooker Applesauce (will post later), and then put on the game. I cleaned the house (because I have guests coming at 4), put away my laundry, took a shower and then came down to the kitchen.

Which is where I am now. At 12:52 pm. I haven’t “live-blogged” a meal in quite a while, so, why not today?

OK, looking at the card here, here are a few items that I can do ahead of time. I decide to start with the baked tomatoes.

But what does one put in baked tomatoes? Cheese and breadcrumbs, no? Hm. But I need bread crumbs for the fish and I don’t have that much. OK, I look in the fridge. I have a lot of cheese. And oh, lookie here!

I can make some bread crumbs out of that!

12:57 I crush the panetini with a rolling pin. I use the bag that they came in, so I don’t have to use a new Ziploc. 

1:00 I clean the tomatoes and hollow them using a melon baller. I reserve a little bit of the tomato guts to mix with the garlic bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I also add a bit of olive oil.

1:11 I pat the tomatoes dry and stuff them.

1:17 I sprinkle them with some Penzey’s Frozen Pizza Seasoning and put them in the fridge.

1:18 I take the frozen fish (flounder because the Giant doesn’t have sole) and defrost it in a colander.

OK, I couldn’t help myself! Writing in the first-person, present-tense just sounds like Will Graham describing a grisly murder scene.

1:23 I fear the fish will take a long time to thaw….due to all the  Hurrican Joaquin business, I took a look at my emergency kit earlier this weekend and relized that since I’ve moved, I haven’t put together a new one. So I started one. And I bought these little cans because they (who is THEY? FEMA?) say that you should have enough food and water to last 3 days. And, well, they’re individually sized, so they don’t need to be refrigerated. So they’re perfect for an emergency kit, right?

Is this an emergency?

Mmmm. These a pretty damn good. I’m gonna have to buy some more of these. And a pint of Vodka. Because I have single-sized cranberry juice in my kit as well. Vodka may be the most versatile of all the hard liquors. Therefore, it’s best suited for times of crisis.

1:32 The fish still needs a little bit more to defrost all the way. In the meantime, I enjoy my bloody Mary, plug in my diffuser, and dry my hair. The last time I tinted my hair, with one of those L’oreal color and highlights pack, I think I overdid it with the highlights. So now I think it looks best curly. I like to use a John Frieda anti-frizz on wet hair, put it up in a towel, let it dry for a bit and follow it with a Tresemme curling mouse. I scrunch with a diffuser.

Yeah, this is another guy who likes to hear himself talk. He also has a way with grisly murders.

On another note, I think my hair is way too brassy now and next time I will just do base color and no highlights. And I need to get my ends trimmed. Also, I need to quit my gym.

1:52 The fish is defrosted!

2:05 I roll, dip, and bread the fish and place it in the baking dish. Looking at the directions I’m not quite sure what to do. It says to make the fish up to the whatever little crossy looking mark but that includes drizzling with butter. Should I do that now? Or should I do it when I am about to bake it? Hm. Perhaps it matters not. I melt some butter and put it on the fish.

2:10 I wrap it up and put it in the fridge.

I clean up the kitchen a bit.

2:15 I check my fantasy football match-up. Hannibal Lecter’s Facemask (my team) is 3-0 and at the top of the standings. Today I am playing Ben’s team, Pitt Shit Tits (original, no?) He is currently up 51.60 to 29.80. He’s playing Andrew Luck. Has he already given up on the league or is he completely unaware that Luck didn’t play today? He has 7 positions in play right now. And two have already finished. I have 3 positions in play today and only 1 has finished. If I don’t win the game this week, I am going to be pissed. I’m up against someone without a QB.

2:29 I go upstairs to put on some makeup

2:49 I pull out all of the ingredients to make the sauce for the filet of sole a la lindor

3:03 Mushrooms have cooked a bit–put in the flour to start the thickening!

3:12 sauce is at the “boiling for one minute” point.

3:16 I put the sauce to the side to cool. the card says that I should refrigerate it at this point, but I want it to cool down a bit before I do so. I’ve done everything that the card says that I can beforehand. I decide to take a break.

3:43 I wake up. Margot is sitting on my chest. I must have dozed off.

3:49 I think I’ll put out a little cheese and cracker plate.

3:57 Cheese plate!

4:05 I pour myself a glass of wine.

4:10 Dan and Jon arrive!

4:20 Manny arrives!

4:32 Kristen arrives! (wearing fabulous boots)

5:09 I open the cans of green beans I put in some pats of butter, salt and pepper.

5:13 rice cooker on. Oven on to pre-heat

5:27 I put the sole, tomatoes, and green beans in the oven.

6:11 Let the plating commence!

6:15 I take pictures of the food. My guests take pictures of themselves watching me take pictures of the food.

How meta.

Dinner is Served!

This dinner was pretty damn good. And I am proud of my plating. Seriously, go back up to the top and check it out. I did good.

Also, shout out to Dan and Jon for bringing an excellent berry crumble pie in lieu of a boysenberry pie. Where the hell does one get boysenberry pie? Has anyone ever tried boysenberry pie? What does a boysenberry even look like?

P.S. my fantasy team won that week.