We were chuckling over this last night.  Thanks Sof, a bit of light in all the darkness.

Dmtdust wrote:

We were chuckling over this last night.  Thanks Sof, a bit of light in all the darkness.

You have to hand it to the German police. I would have died laughing.

This is one of those times when I wish I could fast-forward time... I'd love to see if they eventually hook up.  Call me romantic.

I have a cousin in TN, and he and his wife have been in love since kindergarten.  Joyce declared at the age of 5 that "Travis is the man I'm gonna marry", and from that moment on they were sweethearts.  They married after high school, raised 3 good sons, and are now in their late 70's, having lived a happy and simple life together on a farm.  He has Alzheimer's now, and she remains by his side nursing him and remembering for him.

And I can't help thinking of Michael Smith's song, "The Dutchman"....

(...or if you prefer, here's the Steve Goodman cover)

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman's not the kind of man
Who keeps his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in,
But that's a secret that only Margaret knows.

When Amsterdam is golden in the summer,
Margaret brings him breakfast,
She believes him.
He thinks the tulips bloom beneath the snow.

He's mad as he can be, but Margaret only sees that sometimes,
Sometimes she sees her unborn children in his eyes.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The Dutchman still wears wooden shoes,
His cap and coat are patched with the love
That Margaret sewed there.
Sometimes he thinks he's still in Rotterdam.

And he watches the tug-boats down canals
An' calls out to them when he thinks he knows the Captain.
Till Margaret comes
To take him home again

Through unforgiving streets that trip him, though she holds his arm,
Sometimes he thinks he's alone and he calls her name.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

The winters whirl the windmills 'round
She winds his muffler tighter
And they sit in the kitchen.
Some tea with whiskey keeps away the dew.

And he sees her for a moment, calls her name,
She makes the bed up singing some old love song,
A song Margaret learned
When it was very new.

He hums a line or two, they sing together in the dark.
The Dutchman falls asleep and Margaret blows the candle out.

Let us go to the banks of the ocean
Where the walls rise above the Zuider Zee.
Long ago, I used to be a young man
And dear Margaret remembers that for me.

Oh, for god's sake, would someone post a gangbang/mutilation/embarrassing Bush photo now? Please?

sofaking wrote:

Taint wrote:

Oh, for god's sake, would someone post a gangbang/mutilation/embarrassing Bush photo now? Please?

Only if you provide me with a good recipe to cook veal shanks (osso bucco?). For now you get this:

https://cruelery.com/uploads/thumbs/3_m … mbnail.jpg

Since I contributed to the mushiness, let me cure the ills. 

From epicurious, which I've found to be a reliable source of goodies, I offer this....

Ingredients:
*  8 to 10 large 2 1/2-inch-thick veal shanks, each patted dry and tied securely with kitchen string to keep the meat attached to the bone
    * all-purpose flour for dredging the veal shanks
    * 7 tablespoons unsalted butter plus additional if necessary
    * 3 tablespoons olive oil plus additional if necessary
    * 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
    * 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
    * 3/4 cup finely chopped carrots
    * 3/4 cup finely chopped celery
    * 1 teaspoon minced garlic
    * 3 to 4 cups chicken broth or beef broth
    * 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato or 1 1/2 cups drained canned plum tomatoes, chopped
    * a cheesecloth bag containing 6 fresh parsley sprigs, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt


For the gremolata

    * 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leafed)
    * 2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
    * 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Preparation

Season the veal shanks with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour, shaking off the excess. In a heavy skillet heat 3 tablespoons of the butter and 3 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, in the fat brown the veal shanks in batches, adding some of the additional butter and oil as necessary and transferring the shanks as they are browned to a platter. Add the wine to the skillet, boil the mixture, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the bottom and sides of the skillet, until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, and reserve the wine mixture in a small bowl.

In a flameproof casserole just large enough to hold the veal shanks in one layer cook the onion, the carrots, the celery, and the garlic in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and add the shanks with any juices that have accumulated on the platter, the reserved wine mixture, and enough of the broth to almost cover the shanks. Spread the tomatoes over the shanks, add the cheesecloth bag, the salt, and pepper to taste, and bring the liquid to a simmer over moderately high heat. Braise the mixture, covered, in the middle of a preheated 325°F. oven for 2 hours, or until the veal is tender. Transfer the shanks with a slotted spoon to an ovenproof serving dish, discard the strings, and keep the shanks warm. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan, pressing hard on the solids, and skim the fat. Boil the juices for 15 minutes, or until they are reduced to about 3 cups, baste the shanks with some of the reduced juices, and bake them, basting them 3 or 4 times with some of the remaining juices, for 10 minutes more, or until they are glazed.

Make the gremolata while the veal is baking:
In a bowl stir together the parsley, the zest, and the garlic.

Sprinkle the veal shanks with the gremolata, pour some of the juices around them, and serve the remaining juices separately.

What can I say.  Love is in the air.



Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs

Last edited by whosasailorthen (2009-01-06 15:58:20)

I *never* eat veal.  Grew up on a farm, and I know how some folks make (good) veal... and I can't eat something that's been treated that way.

Sorry.  I'll supply the recipe, but I won't condone it.

sofaking wrote:

Maybe I'll give it away to someone ignorant of the whole yucky process. I dunno.

Yeah, like feeding a Jew pork.  Long as they don't know, it ain't against their religion.

Ew.  I can't eat veal.  And seeing veal shanks in Wegmans makes me want to vomit.

Go go baby cow!

The baby cow is safe for now. It's in the freezer.

Another animal has to worry about its leg. I'm making split pea soup with a hambone.

Last edited by sofaking (2009-01-07 11:57:11)

Try this... mix split pea soup 50/50 with tomato soup.  Yeah, I know it takes on a horrid colour, but trust me... it's DELICIOUS.

She is high if she thinks I'm going to eat that crap in the freezer. I like the pea soup though.

George Orr wrote:

Look, the big-eyed baby cows are already dead, right?  So their tender flesh will just go to waste if it's not eaten and the poor dear baby cowlets will have died for nothing...

I don't like veal because it's too mushy.  But shank would make excellent stock...Vegetable-beef soup sounds nice.

My recipe for Chicken Marsala uses veal stock, but I use chicken stock mixed with beef stock.

There was much pea-ness going on with dinner.

WTF?

Does Sofakid peruse the HS daily?  Doesn't that fall under child-abuse?

Dmtdust wrote:

WTF?

Does Sofakid peruse the HS daily?  Doesn't that fall under child-abuse?

No and not really.

choad wrote:

sofaking wrote:

Dmtdust wrote:

WTF?

Does Sofakid peruse the HS daily?  Doesn't that fall under child-abuse?

No and not really.

How does he ordinarily pay for his snark privileges?

He's the best kid in the world. That's payment enough.

He answered this topic because when he came home from school, the first thing out of his mouth was, "I'm not eating it.". I replied that I had recieved a recipe off High Street to make them. He wanted to let you all know he was having no part of the veal shanks.

Osso bucco is terrific. He doesn't know what he's missing.