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December 22, 2006

Trombone Shorty's 'O Holy Night' mp3; Science of UPS; Chateaubriand; Hubble telescope cards

NOLA.com: A musical Christmas miracle
All of America is buzzing about Trombone Shorty's prime-time performance of 'O Holy Night'

Download the mp3

YouTube video of the Studio 60 episode containing the tune (and an out-of-nowhere bit of TV drama).

New Orleans Tipitina's Music Foundation

Efficiency experts: The science of UPS. Milwaukee JournalSentinel. I wouldn't want the job, but I'm glad they're getting the packages out efficiently.

Christmas dinner update: We're blowing the rent on a tenderloin, cut into steaks for Chateaubriand for Christmas Eve dinner. We'll all have gathered for the Patriots game anyway, so this will be our feast.

Legend has it that Montmireil, chef to Vicomte Francois Auguste Chateaubriand, invented this recipe in 1822, grilling the steak between two flank steaks till the outer, tougher steaks were charred and the Chateaubriand was perfectly pink throughout.

Turns out the Stop & Shop butcher from whom I ordered the tenderloin serves his family the same thing on Christmas. He's going to cut mine his way, and I'll pick it up Sunday morning.

"How many bags of money should I bring?," I asked him.

"You should mortgage your house," he said.

I'm looking at these recipes: Chateaubriand with Vegetables; Herbed Beef Tenderloin (Chateaubriand). With Martha Stewart's sauce recipe:

Sauce Bernaise:
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/4 cup very finely chopped shallots
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, more if desired
1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon leaves
3 egg large yolks
6 to 8 ounces (1 to 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
Coarse salt
Pepper, if desired
Lemon juice, if desired

Combine vinegar, wine, shallots, black pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until reduced to 1 tablespoon, 5 to 10 minutes.
Add egg yolks and 1 tablespoon water to reduced vinegar mixture. Whisk until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Set pan over moderately low heat and continue to whisk at reasonable speed reaching all over bottom and insides of pan, where eggs tend to overcook. To moderate heat, frequently move pan off burner for a few seconds, then back on. As they cook, the eggs will become frothy and increase in volume, then thicken. When the bottom of the pan is visible in the streaks left by the whisk and the eggs are thick and smooth, remove from heat.

By spoonfuls, add soft butter, whisking constantly to incorporate each addition. As the emulsion forms, add butter in slightly larger amounts, always whisking until fully absorbed. Continue incorporating butter until sauce has thickened to consistency desired. Season with salt, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped tarragon and, if desired, pepper. Add a few droplets of lemon juice if necessary.

Yield: about 1 cup

Here's to my late aunt Helen McQuillian, whose motto was, "You only go this way once." She'd love to be with us for this one.

Starry nights: Shelley Powers: HubbleSite has card designs that you can use to make your own cards.

They're very nice, especially for printable free cards.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 10:49 AM | Permalink