February 02 2007, 11:50 PM Broil, Broil, Caramel Mine

One of the things that has been missing for a long time until recent in the kitchen of my home is a set of heating elements powered by, yes, gas. I have one of those now, a set of four ferocious burners and an oven to put a stone in. The burners are aggressive, and things they heat must be watched most careful. The oven is big and wide, comfortably holding half sheet pans; I have been using all well, and with great thanks.

The old oven did not have a broiler. The new one does. It's worth noting that it took me six months to figure this out.

But it does, it does - I have a broiler! There is an entirely new direction of cookery open, now: bluefish with lemons, crispy browned peaks of meringue. The thing I've been doing mostly though is subs (grinders). Subs (heros) are good food on cold nights; toasty, cheesy, and laden with whatnot. I've always liked the the sorts of things that can be had from corner pizza shops, but the subs (hoagies) that are to be found here are not quite like the subs (grinders) that I grew up with. Not that they are bad: they are not. I am very lucky to have a very fine pizza shop just down the street! They (the subs) are just not Quite Right.

So, I've started learning how to make them. Eventually, I'll have to figure out how to make proper bread for the things. As with everything else, using good ingredients and a certain amount of care elevates the dish; crunchy hot local bread toasted with a good cheese and local meats, sometimes with sauce, sometimes not. I put them on plates.

Above stretches a greedy, cloudless sky that pulls heat from the hills and valleys; the moon hangs plump on it, spilling with blue light to make strange shadows under the trees on the snow. The next few days will bring winter, hard winter; it is cold.