Turn the lights off when you leave...

It's done. Twenty-four hours. Sixteen dishes based on four theme ingredients. A tidy little pile of money raised for a very worthy cause.

I'm tired, y'all. So. Very. Tired. It's worth it, every minute of it.

Readers, sponsors, commenters - all of you - to you I offer my humble thanks. I wouldn't have made it without you.

Good morning and good night. Iron Chef Moo has left the building.

For David

So here we are at the end of another Blogathon. It was different this time.

The anxiety from previous years was not present this time. It was replaced with something far, far better. Relief. Happiness. I don't have to worry quite so much about you now, what with you being all super-duper technologically enhanced and all that, now. Isn't modern medicine grand?

We've been friends for nearly ten years now. And thanks to modern medicine, you'll be around for me to pester for many, many more. That makes me feel a whole lot better about being in this world - it's always better when you've got your dearest friend to ward off the Bad Guys.

Happy Brand New Life, David. You take care of that new-fangled kidney thing, OK?

I did this...why, again?

Three years running now, I've stayed up all night like a hyperactive little kid to rustle up some funds for the National Kidney Foundation. Why?

Because they do important work.

The National Kidney Foundation works to provide eduction not just to kidney transplants and their families, but to the general public as well. They help fund research that may find a CURE for chronic kidney disorders like Alport Syndrome, offer free screenings for patients to determine if they have a chronic kidney disorder and provide emergency funding for pre- and post-transplant patients to provide for their basic needs as well as transportation to and from their treatments.

Chronic kidney disorders are dreadfully common in the US - 1 in 9 Americans suffers from a CKD. Eleven patients die every dy while waiting for a kidney - there just aren't enough donors to go around.

If you haven't sponsored yet, please consider it. Sponsorships don't close until Tuesday night. The NKF needs your help if CKDs are to be stomped out and invasive transplants are to be made obsolete. Give 'em a hand.

Nearly there

We're done with the cooking, the eating, the nibbling here and there. Neither Alex nor I can even consider the idea of food right now - we've both hit that icky part of the morning where your tummy is just off and cranky and in the mood to tell you where to go. We're both going to sleep like babies, without a doubt.

Alex is talking to friends on the other side of the world, pointing them to his favorite parts of the Blogathon day. He's happy, excited, exuberant.

I'm listening to bellydance music, stretching, sliding, circling. I keep getting out of my chair to do the "three minute shimmy". Of course, people are sleeping, so I have to do it without benefit of a hip scarf. That's just not as satisfying as busting out of the char and laying down some mad hip work. *sigh* I shall, of course, cope.

And I will amuse you by giving you silly music.

Morning has broken

My carriage light, with the morning glories creeping up. There's enough light to see by, but not enough to convince my carriage light to turn off.

I've already been up for more than 24 hours, having not slept well Friday night and getting up early on Saturday morning. The sun is laughing at me, asking me what I'm still doing up at such an hour on the weekend.

If he only knew...

Pork with Gorgonzola Sauce

Toodling around the Intertron, I find an intriguing dish from Epicurious:


ingredients
Pork
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 3/4-pound pork tenderloins

Gorgonzola sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 4 ounces)

preparation
For pork: Oil large rimmed baking sheet. Whisk Dijon mustard, olive oil and thyme in small bowl to blend. Sprinkle pork tenderloins with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pork and sear until brown all over, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Transfer seared pork to prepared baking sheet. Spread Dijon mustard mixture over all sides of pork. (Can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate pork uncovered.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 150°F, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon flour and whisk 1 minute. Gradually whisk in whipping cream, white wine and chicken broth. Boil until mixture is thick enough to coat spoon, whisking frequently, about 1 minute. Add crumbled Gorgonzola and whisk until cheese is melted and smooth and sauce is reduced to desired consistency, about 5 minutes.

Slice pork and transfer to plates. Ladle some sauce over pork. Serve, passing additional sauce separately.

Trivialities

General Mills developed Bisquick in 1931

In 1941 M&M's Plain Chocolate Candies debuted in six colors; red, green, yellow, orange, brown and violet. Tan replaces the violet eight years later.

Scott Lee founded his new baking company in Chicago during 1949, naming it after his 9 year-old daughter, Sara.

Bon Appétit begins as a free promotional booklet distributed through liquor stores in 1955.

You just can't get good help these days...

We lost Ernie...



...but Beelzebubba is still going strong...

Cooking with Vincent Price

I'll bet you didn't know Vincent Price was a gourmand. Listen to him talk about his recipes for mushrooms and stuffed eggs and roast pork sirloin with prunes, onions & red wine.

Why don't I have any of his four cookbooks on my shelf? Oh, that's right...if it's Vincent Price, I want it in AUDIOBOOK!

Mah entertainment. Let me show you them.

What's keeping me amused at 4:30AM? My critters.



Yes, Bailey has a bald belly. It's because he's so fat, it sometimes drags.



Miss Lulu is not inclined to hold us high in her esteem.



Jack is very tired. So am I. It's hard to create interesting content when you're completely wiped out