DKNY & Rhubarb

I’m a hundred dollars poorer, but my charcoal grey purchased-for-half-the-retail-price DKNY suit will once again fit me. And it will fit a me that according to the tailor/seamstress must be at least twenty-five pounds lighter than the person the suit was purchased for.

I don’t think that’s true, but I don’t have a scale and only get weighed once a year when I go to the doctor’s office, so I have no way of knowing. I think I weigh in the hundred and sixty (+five) range, which would mean I used to weigh . . . you’ll have to do the math since I refuse to type a number that high.

Anyway, I didn’t work today which is too bad since I spent money. I also went to Borders to buy a copy of Tales of the City for plane reading. I might just ask Laura Linney to sign it after I see Les Liasions Dangereuses; we’ll see. I don’t want to make too much a habit of accosting the talent at stage doors.

And I will be accosting LuPone. The boots I have that she wore in a movie are not signed by her and they should be. I think I’ll just take one for the sake of space and I found that if folded in half, it can be crammed in my messenger bag. Yes, I did a dry run.

After Borders, I went to the grocery store for pasta and cheese. I bought a chunk of blue cheese from Point Reyes that I served at my dad’s birthday party. It was one of the best I have ever had and I am thinking maybe a Cobb salad would be a good way to enjoy it.

And I bought rhubarb for three dollars a pound, which I understand is actually a good price since it’s at least twice that in the East right now. By my calculations that would mean that a pie made in the East in a deep-dish pie plate (you know, the Pyrex one with the handles on the sides) with a homemade (all-butter) crust, would cost about fifteen dollars.

You have got to be seriously dedicated to rhubarb to do that. I bought five pounds myself which was a bit much, but I am hoping that by using my shallower tart pan, I can get two tarts, a batch of rhubarb syrup, with some left over to freeze in case the price doesn’t drop before the season ends.

I have heard of rhubarb chutneys served with barbecued ribs or roast lamb, and I know at some point, I made a rhubarb sorbet, so I want to keep some on hand for things more original than pie.

That reminds me, if you are a rhubarb lover, try this one out—replace the pineapple in a pineapple upside down cake with sliced rhubarb; absolutely fantastic. As is a rhubarb cheesecake which I should find the recipe for.

I thought I got the recipe from the SF Chronicle, but after searching their archives of the past five years, I couldn’t find it (virtually everything I found was something tainted by the addition of strawberries—anyone else think strawberries have no business whatsoever being cooked).

As I recall, the rhubarb was sliced thin and placed in concentric circles over the crust, then topped with the cheesecake mixture and baked. It provided a nice tart contrast to the rich filling.

I’m going to keep looking. In the mean time, I really should get something done this afternoon. Have a good weekend.