use real butter

Dinner tonight included Chinese style fish and potstickers:

pour hot oil over the steamed fish

potstickers: this one is for you, heather!

This evening when I got home, I wanted to try some skillet roasted potatoes I had read about in the latest issue of Fine Cooking on my busride. It calls for – none other than – yukon golds, which I have touted before as the finest cooking potatoes I have ever met. Turns out they were developed in Canada (hence the name, Yukon) and a cross between a white American potato and a fleshy yellow South American potato. What we end up with is a most versatile, flavorful, and reliable tuber. But I digress…

delicious crunchy outside, soft and fluffy inside

As I fried up these beauts in the skillet, I had to refill my industrial salt shaker. I reached for the salt can and discovered the weight to be on the light side. Oh shit. You know what this means?!? Need to buy more salt. You know what the problem with that is?!!? Chinese New Year is January 29th. You aren’t supposed to buy salt the month before or the month after the Chinese New Year. Why? Because the translation “yien” for salt also means to “be idle”. Chinese interpret the “be idle” to mean unemployment. And even if I thought I could possibly get away with it… my grandmother told me the one year my late uncle went to buy salt during The Wrong Time of Year, he was laid off by GM that same year (seems as if a lot of folks went and bought salt lately who work for GM, eh?). I called my mom and she helped me remember that I did have enough salt in the house – in the dining table shaker, and in the little salt/pepper disposable shakers we bought when we moved into the house before our stuff arrived. Okay, I think I can make it to March. Then my mom said, “Just cook a lot of chinese food that uses soy sauce instead.” Indeed, Mother. Indeed.

We found out today that yesterday was our super’s birthday. She told us. So we felt sort of obligated to do something for her, but what? We couldn’t take her to lunch because she’s in meetings all day tomorrow and will be gone the rest of the week on vacation.  I offered to bring a cake to share with office folk and make truffles for the super.  Next time, please remind me to shut up.

use fine dark semi-sweet chocolate to make the ganache

**Jump for more butter**