Making a Big Meal

You already know I write about food, and no doubt you’ve figured out that means I cook a lot of food.  I try to time things so that I am cooking this food for an audience, but today I am not.  My last post about sharing my kitchen caused some reminiscing, and it’s fall, and the temperature is dropping this week, so I decided to make Choucroute Garnie.  By now it’s too late to invite anyone over, and it’s almost done, and it would be a nice thing to share…  If you haven’t made one I recommend it, and if you’re more clever than I, you’ll make it for some really good friends who deserve such a lovely meal.

Choucrout Garnie, or Choucroute Á L’Alsacienne is a hearty,meaty dish made of the pork products you like best, cooked with sauerkraut, apples, onions and Riesling.  It is time consuming and makes a mess of your kitchen, but is well worth the effort.  Today I made it with some good bacon, pork belly, a small pork roast, and two sausages—kielbasa and andouille.  It has taken me most of the afternoon, and it’s still in the oven.  I did sneak in a nap during one stage of cooking, but there is still more to do, and then all that clean up…

When I was in college I believed that I could theoretically get through life without ever washing the dishes, simply by doing all the cooking.  It got me through college; cooking for me and my two roommates.  It worked for a while after that, and continued to work on a limited basis in a variety of situations, but now that I live semi-alone my system has broken down. At the moment I have a big meal, and a big mess, and I must tackle them both on my own.  This will call for a mixture of restraint and discipline that can sometimes be a challenge for me.  Before I eat, I will clean up, which will take a while, then write and post the recipe, another while.  Eventually I will plate this luscious dish and get it photo ready, eat what I can best determine is a reasonable amount, and put the rest away for another meal or three.

The thing is, I love making these big family-style meals, things that will feed the army I don’t have.  Perhaps it is a hold-over from childhood; I grew up in a big family—though in my hometown there were many families with fifteen and sixteen kids, four felt like a lot to me.  I think I still cook for six. Partly because I like leftovers, and partly because cooking in small amounts seems like a lot of effort for one meal.  I’d rather cook once and have something to show for it.  This is why I like making stews and braises, soups and roasts.  It’s also why I need to have company more often.

Last weekend I visited my sister and we spent a lot of time planning our Thanksgiving menu.  I could do that for hours (in fact I believe we did).  Talking about cooking is almost as good as doing it.  A few weeks ago I read an article stating that talking about eating could be as satisfying as eating.  Hmmm. I’m not sure about that, but I know I’ll keep on making big meals, and keep looking for people to share them with.