I occupied a part of the last week of August reading a wonderful new book, “Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride,” by Will Leitch, which I totally recommend to you.
Lloyd McNeil is a middle aged Atlanta detective who, it is fair to say, is one of the good guys – he believes in being a peace officer, reassuring rather than provoking the community he serves. (A very different kind of cop than his father was, it must be pointed out.)
McNeil is divorced, and a doting father to a 13-year-old son – which makes it even harder when he learns that he has an inoperable brain tumor and barely six months to live. Even worse – McNeil is not well off financially, and he realizes that he has little to leave his son other than good advice.
Except – McNeil discovers that if he is killed in the line of duty, the insurance benefits that will go to his son will be significant, enough to send him to a good college and get a good start on life.
Which prompts McNeil to begin taking uncharacteristic and reckless professional risks in his work, and leads to his heroics going viral.
“Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride” never gets maudlin or schmaltzy, and, considering the subject matter, manages to be enormously entertaining, offering some perceptive insights into fatherhood, mortality, and courage.
Check it out.
A few weeks ago, a recipe from the New York Times Cooking site popped up on my computer – and it looked so amazingly delicious that I made it as couple of days later.
I wasn’t disappointed. Neither was Mrs. Content Guy, who asked me to make it again this past Labor Day weekend. Which I did.
The recipe was for corn risotto, which was a construct I’d never considered before. I made some changes to the recipe, and I’ll share it here.
Ingredients:
6 cups of chicken stock of vegetable stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 leeks, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Red pepper, to taste
3 cups arborio rice
1-2 cups of dry white wine
6 ears of corn – strip off the raw corn kernels
1-2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions:
Bring the stock to a simmer.
Melt half the butter in a large sauté pan.
Add chopped leeks, cook until softened. Season with salt, pepper.
Add arborio rice, and coat with oil and leeks.
Add white wine, stir, and cook until wine is absorbed.
Start adding stock, one ladle at a time, stirring until it is absorbed. Repeat for about 20 minutes.
Add corn.
Keep adding stock and stirring. Add in more red pepper, to taste. Continue for about another 10 minutes, tasting to make sure it is not underdone or overdone.
Remove from heat. Add parmesan, the remaining butter, and cover. Let sit for about five minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the heavy cream to the point where it begins to stiffen.
Uncover the risotto, fold in the whisked heavy cream so it is completely integrated, season to taste (maybe with more parmesan, red pepper).
Serve immediately. Goes great with an albarino or a rose – or, if you’re feeling particularly bubbly, a glass or two of the JC. Calvet Cremant de Bordeaux Brut Rose, which is a particular favorite around the Coupe household.
Mangia!
That’s it for now. See you next week.
Sláinte!!
The post OffBeat: “Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride” appeared first on MNB.
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