And That's a Wrap. See You Next Year.

And with that,... that being the Red Sox four-games-to-two series win over the Cardinals, Major League Baseball 2013 comes to an end. I shan't wax nostalgic or bemoan the tribulations of the Nationals' season, mostly because the Red Sox, my favorite American League team, are the World's Champions--which means the H A T E D* Atlanta Braves are not. Nor are the L O A T H E S O M E** New York Yankees. Nor are the..... well, you get the idea. In 150 days or so the boys of summer will be the boys of spring training and the world will resume its proper cycles. Until then: work on the next book, Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey, the Army-Navy Game, furnishing the cottage, and other wintery pursuits shall prevail.

*Hated for the arrogance of their fans. Drop the chop, buttheads.

**Loathed primarily for their ownership and management. Although A-Rod has single-handedly driven the levels of both loathing and schadenfreude to new heights.

Comfort Food: Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes

Ms. F has been injured and is stuck at home for a week, recovering. The weather has just in the past 24 hours turned pretty cool here in the D of C. The World Series is on. These three events conspire to demand comfort food. Tonight: Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts with leeks.

Just getting started. Those are onions cooking in the pan.

To start: go to the butcher and get a good Meat Loaf mix. I use about a pound or pound-and-a-quarter of meat in the loaf, an even mix of beef, veal, and pork. A former relative of mine used country breakfast sausage instead of straight, ground pork. It worked beautifully. Either way, they will come in separate piles, mix them evenly in a good sized bowl with the following:

--a cup of breadcrumbs
--two or three large eggs
--half a good sized onion diced and sautéed (let it cool before mixing it in)
--2/3 cup of catsup
--1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
--a good pinch of dried thyme
--salt
--pepper

All together now. Just dig your fingers into it and give a good mixing. 

Pile all of this on a baking pan or in a baking dish, as you prefer and put it in the oven, preheated to 350F. Cook until the temp is 160 degrees (60-ish minutes); let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Going in. 

Coming out. 

This goes perfectly with mashed potatoes. There are many ways to do these, this is one that I use regularly. Start with fingerling potatoes and slice them into 1/4 inch disks--don't bother peeling them-- seriously why so picky? Put them in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat a bit and simmer until they are just cooked through. Drain these and place them back into the pot.

Now you get to be creative. You can add milk, butter, sour cream, horseradish and/or some combination of the above. I use pretty much everything I've got in the fridge. You don't have to whip these into submission, either. If you mash them with a fork, they will be terrifically chunky. If you use a masher, they'll be about a medium mash. Mostly mash them first, then start adding extras.

We also serve brussels sprouts and leeks. Slice off the nub end and then slice the sprouts in half. Now the leek: slice off the dark green end and sprouted end of the leek. Clean it well to get the sand out, then slice the leek in half lengthwise, then into disks and then again into 1/4 inch slices. Drop all of the sprouts and leek into a heated pan with a couple spots of olive oil and maybe a tab of butter. Stir regularly until the sprouts are cooked through.

The loaf goes well with a medium red. We had a very nice California Pinot Noir.

Never, Ever, Not Even Once....

I have never ever seen this. In tonight's World Series Game One, Umpire Dana Demuth totally Magooed a call at second when Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma inexplicably let an easy toss from second baseman Matt Carpenter slide through his mitt. Maybe Demuth's arm was going up to call Dustin Pedroia out even before Kozma booted the ball and he couldn't stop it. But seriously, this call was so bad that Demuth must have been looking for a way out--remember this was barely 20 minutes into a World Series game. Almost immediately the other umpires began to move towards Demuth--circling the wagons

Red Sox manager John Farrell came out and asked Demuth to get a second opinion. Then, crew chief John Hisrchbeck joined the other five umpires in the infield. Hirschbeck and four other umpires (minus Demuth) agreed that the call was wrong and reversed it. We know this because Fox sports had a mic on Hirschbeck and we (later) heard Hirschbeck tell Cardinals manager Mike Matheny that all five umpires had agreed that Demuth blew the call and had overruled him. Here's one of probably one thousand links where you'll be able to find to a .gif of the play.

I've watched a few games over the years and I have never, ever, not even once, seen this happen. I am really, really impressed with both Hirschbeck and Demuth. Bravo.

Ms. F's Pan Roasted Chicken on the Grill

Well, we're back at that pan-roast-grilling thing again. This time it's a whole chicken. This recipe and process are Ms. F's so I can claim nothing from them except to add that it is undoubtedly my favorite chicken on the grill result.

So, start with a whole bird. Stuff some herbs under the skin--she used rosemary. Rub salt on the skin of the bird liberally, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

This is roughly the same technique used at the Zuni Cafe in San Francisco; if you have not been, you're missing out. There are, I suppose, other things on the menu than the chicken but trust me, roll with it.

The next day, about 90 minutes before you're planning to serve, you should get started. Light your grill and set it up for indirect heat. Get out a 10" cast iron skillet. Pull the bird out of the fridge and wipe off any remaining salt. Put some wood smoking chunks in to soak--we used applewood.

You should also prep whatever you're planning to serve with the bird. We served a rocket salad with goat cheese croquettes, and haricots vert with some toasted almonds.

When your fire is ready, set the skillet on the cool side of the fire. Let it get good and hot. Make sure the bird is dry, then set the bird in the skillet on its back. The searing helps insure the skin doesn't stick to the skillet. Cover the grill and go do something else for about half an hour.

When you come back, 30 minutes later, flip the bird onto its breast in the skillet. Cover and leave it for about ten minutes. Then flip the bird back over and cover for about five or ten minutes, until it is 145 degrees F.

By now, after about 45 minutes, it should be done. Check the temp and when its ready, carefully -- the skillet is hot, remember -- pull the skillet off, loosely tent the bird with foil, and leave it be for about ten minutes.

Et, voila.

This really is exceptional. I wish it were my creation, but alas it is not. All kudos to Ms. F.

Serve with a top drawer pinot noir. It deserves good wine.