The Omnivorous Fish

It’s a wonderful thing to have friends and family around, especially when they’ve come from afar. Having a whole room full of people who love each other is about as good as it gets, right? Well not for me, at least, unless they’re eating. The community is unmade without sharing a meal, preferably a home-cooked meal, assuming there is someone available who can make a decent one.

The Agent’s great uncle passed away this week, a great man by all accounts, but someone I never met. I had the opportunity, once, to meet him, but I passed it by because I thought it better to know such a man by reputation than to see him at his final, weakest moments. This man, however, loved to eat and his favorite meal was always his most recent. The first morning of shivah, I joined the avelim and other family for the traditional Jewish meal of dim sum followed by cannoli and cappucinos. We parted for the afternoon when some of the avelim went home to prepare for shivah and the rest of the visiting family did a little minor sightseeing. I went home to help the Agent with a few things and take a nap. We all were at shivah by around 3 and stayed until 8 or so when the Agent’s sect of the family left en masse, and hungry. The idea of sushi was thrown around, but eventually we decided to cook, and cook I did for a roomful of hungry Jews.

I made poached chicken with leeks and carrots, and served the vegetables with hardboiled eggs and vinaigrette. (We’ve been over this before.) A salad and an acceptable baguette from Whole Problem rounded it out (that’s what happens when you go shopping at 9PM). For dessert we had a reblochon with fruit and after that a few chocolates and anisette. With dinner we drank two outstanding rieslings, both from New York State: the Hermann Wiemer Late Harvest Reserve 2003, straight outta Alsace, and the Dry 2005. Both are outstanding wines, and show the massive depth that the grape achieves in Empire State ground.

It just goes to show, sometimes, no matter how good the food or the wine, the company makes the meal.