I am getting back into the swing of things, though.  I decided to draw inspiration from a previously discussed experiment – the Don Quixote burger.  I didn’t want to go quite as all-out as a full burger (holiday shopping is wearing me out), but I felt that it would quickly come together to get me thinking about new foods.

To begin, as I mentioned, I picked up some pane rustico.  Between two slices, I had one covered in a rich black olive tapenade, and the other had a bit of quince paste.  I used jamon iberico, and in honor of the Don, I used Manchego as I had previously described, which had herbes de provence encrusted on the rind.  I toasted it for about five minutes, and I enjoyed it immensely.

I guess in some ways, this sandwich was like Quixote himself – full of grand aspirations, but really nothing more than a ham and cheese sandwich, with an olive and an over-glorified apple.  Is it a bit much to claim that this sandwich is anything more than that?  But at the same time, I’m not deluding myself into thinking that I’m any great chef because I make classics out of fancier ingredients.

Instead, maybe the key to this is to act opposite to how Don Quixote himself acted – take something basic, and build on that to make a classic that can re-energize the mind and soul.  For all that it was a basic sandwich, I do feel a bit more energized and ready to make an excellent meal – at the very least, I’m going to make those Hobbit cupcakes for a holiday party very soon.

Even though I actually added extra stock and wine to the soup, it also came out with roughly the same consistency as mashed potatoes.  Now, it occurs to me that this is still a delightful side dish with that consistency, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it for that purpose.  I just was hoping that, when I recommended a soup, it actually had the consistency of a soup.  Anyhow, as I said at the beginning, not everything is going to work.

It kind of reminds me of when I tried to make cheesy oatcakes.  My idea was to make steel-cut oats, mix in some cheddar cheese, and then fry on a griddle (like pancakes) until they were firmed up.  I discovered that oatmeal doesn’t really firm up when baked like that – gluten plays a much bigger role in the process than I had anticipated.  It resulted in a loose pile of buttery, cheesy oatmeal. I did consequently discover that it meant that you could produce a savory oatmeal that works much like polenta/grits for a side dish to an entree, but it wasn’t exactly what I intended.  I think that’s what I’ve managed to do with the squash “soup”.