This is for Lou, our Smoke King:
A few years ago, Cook's Illustrated announced that they would ask the members to test recipes before production. Many of us signed up to receive test recipes that were not to be discussed on the bulletin board. We received recipes, bought the ingredients (I had never purchased chicken stock until that first test!), and reported results.
A few of us came up with a wonderful idea that would be a present for Smoke King. We would ask him to test a recipe that was fully developed and sure to put a smile on his face.
I had a wonderful and simple recipe that was a family favorite. I spent some time actually documenting both the amounts of the ingredients and specific detailed procedures. I then formatted the recipe to replicate to the letter, the look and feel of a Cook's Illustrated recipe. I even specified that the two teaspoons of lemon juice come from only one lemon.
Eric, the Veal Boy had some finely tuned computer skills and began researching methods of sending an email that Lou would assume came from Cook's Illustrated. Eric came up with the procedure but was not quite able to pull off the trick; he was concerned about legality and risk issues.
Eric and I decided to call in the big guns for lobbying assistance with the corporate leadership. Crystal was more than happy to help and phoned her contact. Eric and I were hopeful that there would be lots of humorous banter in Brooklinene and they would be happy to provide our generous gift to Smoke King. I think Rebecca was the Moderator at that time and we were sad to hear that our modest request was being denied. We must have been naive to assume a corporate sense of humor; live and learn.
Finally you all know the reason that Smoke King never had the opportunity to make really excellent Cilantro Pesto. I still am certain that it would have become Judy's favorite dish and Lou's favorite story.
Tim
ps: That recipe is still available, Lou, although I have not brought the format up to today's standards.
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