Thursday, December 20, 2012

Peas On Earth, Good Shrill to Men

I see we’ve returned to what somebody called the “smartest man in the room” swagger. This “eat your peas” scold was last heard during the fiscal cliff talks 2011.

gerber-peas_thumb_thumb

Butt yesterday’s presser completed Big Guy’s on the job growth curve: from whiny baby,

bo no pouting in politics

to petulant child,

pout sarah

through cocky adolescence,

                 hee,hee,heeok now werefaking

before emerging in tact as the peevish, hubristic adult he is today.

cleveland bo in silhouettebo smirk

All the while staying true to his community organizer roots.

bo christie

And when asked where he’s been on gun control for the last 4 years by that uppity ABC reporter, Big Guy really put him in his place: “I don’t think I’ve been on vacation,” he said.

Like many of BO’s statements, the facts do not bear his words out. And just for the record, I should note that it hasn’t exactly been a picnic for the rest of us either, Big Guy.

will work for powerups

Anyway, I thought I should dedicate today’s holiday recipe thread to the little green legume in honor of yesterday’s second annual “shut up and eat your peas” speech, butt aside from pea soup, I don’t really care for peas very much.

no you eat your peas

Fortunately I ran across another story to inspire today’s culinary direction. It also qualifies as this week’s most ironic story: “Iodine Deficiency – An Old Epidemic Is Back”. As the Instapundit put it, “It doesn’t help to put iodine in salt, if people quit using salt.”

Since it turns out, despite everything you’ve heard to the contrary, salt is actually good for most people, I’m focusing on salt-centric recipes today. This is all I’ve got, but somebody must have a a good recipe for corned beef, pickles, sauerkraut and gravlax. Or pretzels! And how about salted caramels?

 

Salt Crusted Baked Potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Russet potatoes: 1 per person, scrub clean and dry thoroughly. Pierce the flesh with a fork 6-12 times; make sure you poke deeply to allow the steam to escape.

Using olive oil or canola oil, coat the potatoes generously.

Roll the spuds around in kosher salt or sea salt to coat.

Place your spuds directly on the oven rack. Put a cookie sheet underneath to catch any salt that falls off

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours – again, dependent on size. Test for doneness by piercing flesh with a fork, should be soft all the way through.

Cut the baked potatoes in half lengthwise, squeeze the potatoes a bit by adding pressure at both ends.

Add any or all of your favorite toppings: sour cream, butter, chives, cheese, bacon - although it will taste quite fine unadorned if the skin has become properly crisped. Butt remember: fat slows down the rate of absorption of carbohydrates, thus giving your potato a lower glycemic index! And that’s a good thing, so load ‘em up.

Oh, and while you probably won’t need it if you eat the skin – and you should – feel free to add more iodized table salt if you want. It’s good for you.

Note: some real chefs skip the oil, beat an egg white, add kosher salt and smear it over the skin before baking. More salt sticks this way, butt I like the olive oil flavoring.

salted_caramel_cupcake_0034aHmmmm…maybe this would’ve been a better choice.

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