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Sunday, April 7, 2019

In the thrall of moving.
We’ve all been there.
My friend is there now.

Some stuff at her sister’s.
Some in storage.
Some packed in her car.
Some strewn over my apartment.

Running her home office from the far side of my kitchen counter.
Can’t find the wireless connection to her printer.
Frustrating search of boxes for a particular file, remembers, in another box, at another location.
Clock ticking: daughter’s release from school in ninety minutes.
Clock ticking: client wants her work.
Clock ticking: the floor being installed, (her entire apartment being retrofitted to create another room) won’t be delivered until 1.00pm. But the reservation for the elevator needed to carry materials to the upper floors expires at noon. Contractor quick to deny responsibility.

Tick tock.
Tick tock.
Frustration to tears.
Almost.
In the thrall of moving.

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Postings Count, Weather Brief, and Dinner
Sunday, April 7, 2019

My 366th consecutive posting, committed to 5,000.
After 366 posts we’re at the 7.32% mark of my commitment, the commitment a different way of marking the passage of time.

Time is 12.01am.

On Sunday, Boston’s temperature will reach a high of 61* with a feels-like temperature of 61* with a chance of rain.

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Question of the Day:
What is a dry-aged tomahawk steak?

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Chuckle of the Day:
The thief who stole the calendar? He got twelve months.
Not as bad as his partner, the semi-colon who was given two consecutive sentences.

Q. What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy?
A. I don’t know and I don’t care.

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Sunday, April 7, 2019

Love your notes.
Contact me at domcapossela@hotmail.com

My dear friends, Ann and Kay, sent a series of personal notes that were emotionally and culinarily supportive, and most welcome.

Web Meister Responds: My dear friends, your support and enthusiasm have already given the truth to tomorrow’s birthday celebration. Thank you.

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Answer to the Question of the Day:
What is a dry-aged tomahawk steak?

Dry-aged beef is beef that has been hung or placed on a rack to dry for several weeks.
After the animal is slaughtered and cleaned, it is hung as a full or half carcass.
The beef is placed in a refrigerator unit, also known as a "hot box" which involves considerable expense, as the beef must be stored near freezing temperatures.
Moreover, only the higher grades of meat can be dry aged, as the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content.
Because of this, dry-aged beef is seldom available outside of steak restaurants and upscale butcher shops or groceries.
The key effect of dry aging is the concentration and saturation of the natural flavor, as well as the tenderization of the meat texture.

The process changes beef by two means.
Firstly, moisture is evaporated from the muscle.
The resulting process of desiccation creates a greater concentration of beef flavor and taste.
Secondly, the beef's natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which leads to more tender beef.

The process of dry-aging usually also promotes growth of certain fungal (mold) species on the external surface of the meat.
This does not cause spoilage, but rather forms an external "crust" on the meat's surface, which is trimmed off when the meat is prepared for cooking.
These fungal species complement the natural enzymes in the beef by helping to tenderize and increase the flavor of the meat.
The genus Thamnidium, in particular, is known to produce collagenolytic enzymes which greatly contribute to the tenderness and flavor of dry-aged meat.

Dry-aged beef is typically not sold by most supermarkets in the U.S. today, because it takes time and there is a significant loss of weight during the aging process.
Dry-aging can take from 15 to 28 days, and typically up to a third or more of the weight is lost as moisture.
This type of beef is served in higher-priced steakhouses and by select restaurants.

Few people have tried a Tomahawk, and if you had you certainly wouldn’t have forgotten, as it is the ultimate ‘wow-factor’ steak.
Named because it allegedly resembles the Tomahawk axe, Tomahawk Steak is becoming more common and although it isn’t very common on restaurant menus, (mainly because of price) you can usually get one at an upmarket steakhouse these days.
It is popping up in more places for the home cook and you meat fans to get hold of, particularly in Boston at Eataly.

The Tomahawk Steak is an on-the bone Rib Steak, cut from the Fore-rib with the entire rib bone left.
The long bone is french-trimmed, leaving an amazing presentation, and dinner table discussion point.
As it is bone-in Rib Steak, it has quite a large amount of inter-muscular fat, which gives it a load of flavor when cooked, as flavors are released from both the huge bone, and inter-muscular fat during roasting to give a sweet gelatinous flavor.

The Tomahawk is cut based on the thickness of the rib bone and is usually 2 inches thick, weighing approximately 2.6 pounds.
 
A Tomahawk makes an ideal sharing steak for a special occasion or romantic meal, as it can easily feed two people.
If you like bone-in steaks such as T-bone or Porterhouse, you’ll love the Tomahawk Steak as the primary muscle is the longissimus dorsi (back muscle), which is also the main muscle on the T-bone and Porterhouse.

Although technically a steak, at 2.6 pounds the Tomahawk many people oven roast this, because it can be awkward for frying as it is so large.
If choosing to oven roast, you’re best off searing it all over in a large frying pan first (you might not need any oil/fat just a pretty how pan), before transferring to a hot oven (200ºC) for 15 minutes.
Arguably the best method for a Tomahawk Steak is to grill on a barbecue.

Because of its size it needs to be properly rested after cooking, at least 15 minutes, to allow the heat from the bone to redistribute across the meat to give a lovely succulent juicy steak.

When cooked and rested, hold the bone in one hand and cut along the bone lengthways to separate the meat from the bone.
Slice the meat across the grain into slices as thick as you need them and serve.
It's certainly not an everyday steak, but then it's not every day you get to eat like The Flintstones.

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Good Morning on this Sunday, the Seventh Day of April.

Today we talked about caught in the thrall of a move.
About the weather, calendar, and dinner, a dry-aged tomahawk steak.
We posted a joke,  the essence of support from two dear friends, and finally we asked and answered what a dry-aged tomahawk steak is.
 
And now? Gotta go.

Che vuoi? Le pocketbook?

See you soon.

Your Love