( mostly closed )

[ettersberg]

Who: Thomas Nightingale (ettersberg) & various
What: dinner dates, accidentally stumbling about questers, a month in the life of one (1) thomas nightingale
When: january
Where: olympia
Warning(s): n/a (will warn in subject lines if anything comes up)

[ starters in comments. hit me up via pm or at abiosis if you'd like to do something! ]

Comments

[ettersberg]

( for a moment, thomas hesitates — not out of worry, but thinking it over. lingering on that laugh, too. then he nods. )

I'd appreciate that.

[apricitous]

Then the first lesson is simple enough: high heat might cook things faster, but it will also cook them more unevenly.

Which isn't to say that high heat doesn't have it's place, certainly, but it's not the solution to wanting things to go 'faster' unless you also like them burnt on the outside.

[ettersberg]

That's good to know. How long would you say this will take?

( he gestures toward the kitchen, meaning the meat in the oven. )

[apricitous]

Roughly 15-20 minutes per pound, depending on how lean the meat looks. You can cook it a little longer if it's got some fat; that'll keep it moist.

Some folks would say to start high temperature and keep it going at about 375 Farenheit, after about twenty minutes, but I've found it works better when you sear the outside in a pan beforehand, like I did earlier and keep the heat consistent.

[ettersberg]

And how does one sear properly?

[apricitous]

Your best bet [ And he's gesturing with his hands, as if he's holding the pan and the tongs ] is to make sure you get a good brown sear on every part of the meat. Old wisdom would say that it seals the juice in, but that's not necessarily true.

Mostly, it just adds to the depth of the flavor more than anything.

[ettersberg]

Do I put the meat on its short sides, too?

[apricitous]

I usually do, even if it looks a little awkward for a minute or two.

[ettersberg]

Well. ( thomas smiles for a moment. ) I imagine not many people will watch me cook.

[apricitous]

Probably just me.

[ Which comes with a smile and a teasing little waggle of his eyebrows.]

[ettersberg]

Well.

( a beat. ) Yes. ( and then thomas has to give in to the inclination to return that smile, done in by the waggle of eyebrows, the way clark so clearly doesn't mind looking a little ridiculous. it's — endearing. )

[apricitous]

[ How could he mind? He's with good company, a good friend, someone who he enjoys...]

I'll have to look forward to that then.