The Wizard of Osborne

Pot pie tragedy

This is going to be a very quick, simple post on the topic of pot pie, be it filled with chicken, turkey, or what have you. 

First, using puff pastry to form the top crust of a pot pie is wrong.  It's a horrible match.  Puff pastry on a pot pie is like a chiffon dress on a Harley rider.  It's neither pretty, nor appetizing.  Second, a  pot pie that offers no bottom crust is a sham.  You break through the top crust only to find that there's nothing waiting for you at the bottom -- no golden pie-doughy goodness at the end of the rainbow, no filling-encapsulating treasure after you've dug down to where "X" marks the spot.

Don't be fooled by these cheap pot pie imitators.  For the optimal pot pie enjoyment experience, always make sure you get a nice, lard-laden, beautifully browned top and bottom crust.

Food is what makes the world go round

I've said many times in the past that I could go on a trip to Hell and as long as the food was good, I'd look back on it as having been a great trip.  It's so true.  For me, memories -- both good and bad -- are built around food. 

Tonight is a good example.  It was my husband's and my 9th wedding anniversary.  We had a nice dinner, good conversation, I liked the outfit I was wearing, etc., but the food was EXCELLENT.  So I'll always fondly remember our anniversary, as it was built upon a good food memory. 

It usually seems to be dinners that elicit these fantastically warm, happy memories.  (I typically don't think back fondly on the lunch I had at my desk a couple of weeks ago...)  Any dinner that is multi-course, where the wine perfectly matches each course, and it all culminates in a crescendo of really good port (Taylor Fladgate 40yr works nicely) and creme brulee is definitely the making of a good memory.  Dinners that rank in this amazingly memorable category include:  the al fresco dinner Mike and I had at the restaurant near the lighthouse on Aruba in on our honeymoon, the dinner my co-workers and I had at Gallagher's in NYNY during my first trip to Vegas (when telecom still had money), our anniversary dinner at Allred's in Telluride, my birthday dinner at Kevin Taylor...and so on.  I remember those dinners vividly, yet I can barely remember what I did last weekend.   

Food is good.  Food perfectly matched with wine is better.  Multiple courses of perfectly matched food and wine, followed by port and creme brulee is...euphoric.