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triumph of the ill (the aspic of evil)

"danish garden salad" aka aspic of evil aka miss congealiality

don't ask. just a reworking of a recipe that should probably not have been reworked. thank bunchofpants for the delightful transcription which includes almost three pounds of frozen brussel sprouts, two cups of lima beans and a cuppa bleu cheese. what was i thinking?

these congealed salads of yore were probably based on dishes of weropean origin involving aspic--basically a savoury meat jelly, yom---holding together scraps of ingredients that were too tasty or too pricy to throw away but not enough to make a complete meal. i doubt these cold molded terrines were ever meant to be eaten in great quantity, a fact lost on the creators of this so-called danish garden salad and the classic ring-around-the-tuna. i understand that again, economy is at play but can you really be saving pennies when the result is really unappealing?

aspic of evil innards

in an attempt to de-evolve (i don't think 'devolve' actually works in this case) the dish, i encased lima beans slipped out of their skin, finely diced zucchini, carrot and prosciutto, in a chicken broth-based aspic with just a tiny bit of gelatin, mixed in with a v. small amount of bleu cheese. however, there isn't an amount small enough that would make the bleu cheese work in this, it's a bad match with the spring-ish veggies and it even overwhelms the pork. the three tons of brussel sprouts are also a bad idea. however, even if neither were added, it would still be sort of blandular--a bland so bland that it actually hits a profound depth of nothingness. pretty, though.

8 comments:

Oh my goodness....all that...for that? Makes for a lovely photo though.....

sigh. yeah.

In spite of a bland flavor, the photo looks colorful and lovely! I've had similar culinary debacles before, but at the very least it is always a learning experience!

hey ablykins, congratulations on your internship! yeah, it was a learning experience. FAIL!

looks cool. The pictures look so inviting.

hi karina! i've never had aspic before i think. maybe once korean way. but it's always intrigued me about the french and their aspic. especially when it gets made in a fish mold or something!

May i know what camera you are using in regards to photos in your food blog? I am doing a personal survey before buying a new camera as current photos in my blog kinda sucks, i am using a 5-years-old Pentax Option4S. Thanks for your help

possible email me back at vivien_1223[at]yahoo[dot]com

It looks like summer! I'm glad I decided to check on your blog, it's been awhile since I did. Happy Easter, Santos!