No, not the 16th c. mannerist painter. The fish!
But first this.
I had an ammo loading class. In this activity you also follow recipes! (See what I did there?) There are minimum and maximum specs to follow, depending on the caliber, type of casing, type of bullet (that’s the projectile part), and powder. Follow the recipe and you minimize the chance of bad things happening.
In case you are wondering… Colt .45. I don’t have a Colt .45, but we used that because, well, it’s big.
Moreover, I always pick up a dozen eggs at the gun shop. All gun shop owners should have fresh eggs from their own chickens. This time I got a green egg… yes, it’s really green, and it’s produced by – I am told – an Americana. Who knew?
I hope it’s not green on the inside, if you get my drift.
On the way home, I tuned in to part of James Levine’s last performance as Music Director of the Met.
Enough stalling.
Now – Bronzino, whole, on sale at the local shop. When getting whole fish, check for firm flesh, clear eyes, and fish-smell within reason. This one was lightly killed and gutted.
Hmmm…. biggest pan and it doesn’t fit. Who cares?
I salted and peppered the cavity and stuffed in chopped garlic, thin lemon peel, thyme.
For some accompanying veg. Mushrooms and green onions were on sale, so that’t what I bought. Sauteed in olive oil and lemon juice.
I had room so I quartered a couple small tomatoes.
Into the (electric) oven on the high broiler setting for a few minutes on each side.
Sauvignon blanc, in case you wondered, not blanks being loaded. (See what I did there?)
The other side was a bit more done, but I tore it up a little in the transfer.
As I dined on this crispy-skinned critter I watched the 1984 movie Amadeus, which features Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail, which was on the radio on Saturday.
As I come to an end, Archbp. Colloredo thinks that you need to order more ….
Mystic Monk Coffee….
… and then make a donation to the RED VESTMENT PROJECT.
UPDATE:
A friend set this… a splendid variation. Except… notice that the fish is backward, which changes the flavor.
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Araucana?
[That’s probably it. I heard the word only in passing and I, unlike at least one regular commentator here, am not an expert.]
Thanks for the two mouth-watering variations! (Is that spring onion, or leek, in your friend’s?)
“I hope it’s not green on the inside, if you get my drift.” You could try hard-boiling it too long if you wanted to explore the possibility (and color- / shade-combinations)…
No Bronzinos featuring a bronzino, it seems (how would one search successfully for a still life with bronzino, I wonder). Perhaps someone could do a Portrait of Andrea Doria as Neptune, with Bronzino after Bronzino.
This post is a feast. Ammo loading, eggs from the gun shop, fine dining, and Mozart.
One likes to think that Fr. Z garnered the Bronzino into his larder not at the local store, but by using a Trident. [Yes, that would have been a nice touch.]
A gas range is what you need, Father. [Here in the Cupboard Under The Stairs that is not an option.]
Farm trivia for the day:
The chickens that lay green eggs are called Araucana’s, or more commonly, Ameraucana. The first name refers to the region in Chile where they were apparently first bread. The second was an offshoot to eliminate a frequently fatal recessive gene the original Araucana’s had. I guess the Ameraucana name was too obvious to resist, since the newer breed was developed in the US.
We raised Ameraucana’s growing up. Eggs were one of many products that were great to trade among friends and neighbors for whatever other farm produce we could get in exchange, and green eggs were even more popular.
Good to see you are learning reloading, Father! It has been a fun and rewarding hobby within a hobby for me. Are you planning to get your own set-up going?
Green Eggs and Ham.
My neighbor raises chickens and they lay quite a few different pastel colored eggs. Looks like Easter eggs. Yummy too.
Well, nice job. Beautiful.
I’ve been baking fish lately, but have not used the broiler … did you preheat the skillet?
Approximately how many minutes on a side? 7 to 9?
[Yes, I warmed up the pan. Time will depend on the type of fish and its size along with distance from the heat. But you are in the right ballpark. You might check it after a while by poking it with your finger or knuckle to see of the flesh seems to be still on the raw side or if it is firming up. You can always put it back under the heat for a bit, but it is pretty hard to uncook it.]
Very cool, Fr. Z! We keep chickens of the “Americana / Ameraucana” type and they lay green, blue, and even pink eggs. It’s like Easter every day!
The fish is backwards… which changes the flavor.
Are you sure it wasn’t because you were using a left-handed pan?
[Hmmm…. I’ll go check.]
Nice RL-550. I actually met Mr. Dillon here at work for a military ordinance conference. He spends most of his time on the defense side of the house. If you ever get a chance to fire the Dillon M134D mini-gun, jump at it!!! Nothing says firepower like 2-6000 Rounds/Min and a pile of 7.62 brass when you’re done. Sounds – and works – like a buzzsaw. You’ll have a huge grin for a week at the least.
Speaking of reloading, I need to get my RL-450 going (the RL-550 is a product improvement of the 450 – they added the removable head). Just using an old single stage RCBS Rock Chucker right now, for 45 Colt, since I’m mostly going to (plan to anyway) use that for whitetail hunting (265 gr Cast Performance WFP-GC on Starline brass in a Rossi 1892 Win clone, hot loaded.) The progressive will be used for 45 ACP and 45 Auto Rim, etc. 9mm is still cheap enough, I’ll just build up a brass supply.
Reloading is one of my goals in life. Some of my dental patients do this and are trying to get me out to their place to show me how. I may take them up on it.