The Easter Bunny Cometh: Family, Coke and Ovens on Fire
Easter 2007 will also go down as perhaps my greatest kitchen disaster yet, of which there are many. This time, the oven caught on fire. Yes, you read that statement correctly: the oven caught on fire. Technically, Pete caught my oven on fire, but since I’m a nice person, I won’t blame him (even though he later ate my Easter bunny). And, really, the gruyere cheese that bubbled onto the bottom of the oven from the potato gratin is what caught on fire, but it happened to coincide with Pete placing the apple pie in the oven.
In retrospect, the flames shooting up from the bottom of the oven were kind of cool. And terrifying. And the giant puffs of black smoke hovering throughout my apartment were decidedly unpleasant, something noticed by a few neighbors (“Oh, that was you that caused that smell�). Thoughts ran through my mind, including “Easter dinner is cancelled…what am I going to do with 10 pounds of pig brining in the fridge…I’m going to burn down the Park Rose Terrace…� After running around like little girls, grabbing a fire extinguisher, wondering if we should call 911, the oven door closed and the fire went out. Dinner was not ruined. And in fact, dinner was pretty good.
I brined a pork shank in coca cola, salt and herbs, not exactly the most traditional brine, but one that resulted in tender, moist pork. Before roasting, I rubbed an herb paste on the skin, then basted Porky while he was cooking with an apple cider glaze. The skin and layer of fat was flavorful and chewy, the meat fabulous. Plus potato gratin with gruyere, arugula and bacon, mashed potatoes (from Simon), green beans (from Tracy), roasted asparagus with tomato basil vinaigrette and salad (from Lee Dicks). And we started with cheese courtesy of Gavin and Elaine and artichoke dip. For dessert, Pete made an apple pie and Richard a lemon tart.
Easter dinner had once been a Bay Area Olhava tradition. We would gather to celebrate with dinner on Saturday night, generally bacchanalian affairs marked by too much wine and food and traditional Polish breakfast Sunday morning. I haven’t celebrated Easter in several years, but decided that dinner was in order when I found out that Ed was going to be in Seattle for a wedding over the weekend.
Because my brother was in town, a good selection of wine was required, most of which was from the Washington area. A 2006 Columbia Winery Gewurtz (which went the best with the pork, in my opinion), a 2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay, a 2004 Hogue Merlot (also from Columbia Valley), my stand-by Rex Goliath Pinot and of course, because it was a celebration, a Lucien Albrecht Cremant Brut de Blancs.
Just as an aside, Ed, Pete and I hit Salume for lunch on Good Friday. I can only describe the place as amazing – a closet sized restaurant dedicated to perfectly cured meats. I decided to go with the basics, choosing a prosciutto sandwich. Paper-thin slices of prosciutto, salty and smokey, and creamy fresh mozzarella, sandwiched between perfectly greasy focaccia. Ed had the pork cheeks sandwich, giant chunks of tender braised pork in a baguette with peppers and onions. Lunch at Salume also coincided with a warm Seattle spring day, actually the nicest day in six months, so we went to the Seattle Library (light shining through the windows) and the Space Needle for views.