WWJD

What would Jesus do? Hell no! What would JUNE do?

Recently, my friend Priscilla was in the grocery store looking for a rather arcane ingredient, veal demi-glace, because the previous day I witnessed her trying to make a veal marsala sauce and substitute WATER for the demi-glace. My, my. You'd think she'd know by now that if she wanted to do something bone-headed like that, she should do it behind my back so that I am deprived of the opportunity to make fun of her. So she had to get some demi-glace, just so that she had for next time and so that I wouldn't have a better stocked kitchen than she does. (I do. Except when it comes to Chinese ingredients. Not to digress, but I love that if I need dried shiitake mushrooms, I know just where I can get them in town without having to drive twenty minutes to Henrietta. She likewise likes to know that she can come over here anytime and get crystallized ginger, or pumpkin seed oil.)

Demi-glace is marvelous stuff. It is almost like a thick paste when you buy it. A couple of spoonfuls whisked into a Marchand du vin sauce, the aforementioned Marsala, or a Bordelaise create a richness and depth is that is incredible.

So, as she searched out already-prepared demi-glace at Wegman's she asked herself, "What would June do?" She tried repeatedly to reach me by phone, but since I am fairly retarded when it comes to hearing my phone, or making sure it is not on vibrate at the bottom of my purse, or digging it out fromt he bottom of my purse before it stops ringing, she wasn't able to reach me to find out. She wandered aimlessly around and left empty-handed, and dejectedly, while still asking herself, "What would June do?"

I think that is a good question, one every one of you should ask yourself every time you step into a grocery store. Would June buy this pre-made pizza dough? (Yes, if I was desperate and had no time.) Would June serve those frozen corn-dogs? (Only to the kids, once in a while, if I didn't want them interfering with a good Women-Who-Wine (Whine) night). Would June like these overly-expensive champagne mangoes? (Yes, but i know where you can get them cheaper!) Where would June look for veal demi-glace? (Sometimes they have it frozen, sometimes they have it near the chicken stock. Sometimes they don't have it.)

So, Priscilla left the store without demi-glace. What would June do? When she finally reached me, we decided that there was only one thing to do: make veal demi-glace. This requires a herculean effort. You have to have the butcher cut veal and beef bones into one-inch segments. Then you have to roast those. Then you have have to make a espagniole sauce AND a brown stock. Then you have to cook those together for about twenty hours to reduce them by half. I'll let you know how it goes. If you live in Rochester, and I like you and you don't annoy me, I will probably give you a couple tablespoons of the finished product. Maybe.