Tuesday, October 19, 2010

White Wine and Oysters Rockefeller


Over at the Querencia blog
, they have taken the plunge and upgraded from OLD Blogger to "NEW and IMPROVED" Blogger.

I have been putting off doing the same thing for a long time, but I fear that I too must take the plunge sometime soon.   I must do what is necessary, not just what is fun.  Sigh....

I am flattered that Steve Bodio and Matt Mullenix have stripped in a line from an email of mine at the top of the rebuild:  

"The worst you could say about them was that too few of them knew anyone who owned a gun, and too many of them had an opinion on what type of wine went well with Oysters Rockefeller."

No doubt a placeholder, but for the record I was referring to the editors at The New York Times who are not bad people; they just see the world through a different set of lenses, which are too often set in Armani frames.  Somehow that seems to color a great deal of what they see. 



Steve and Matt are hawkers and dog men, and so they see the world through an older, more primitive, and more essential lens. 

As do I.

In the wild eye of the thing that is barely tamed we know that there is a code that pulses and which can explode, revealing the rust-free framework upon which all life is hung. 

As I wrote on this blog back in 2005:

One of the great things about going into the field with the dogs is that they are able to "see" so much more than we can.

For me, one of the great joys of working with dogs, is seeing the world through their eyes. With the turn of the seasons I am aware of what food sources are about. Walking across a field I think of drainage and look at slope and soil, and think about the distance to water. Are the fox mating now? Are the raccoons coming down from the trees and moving their young to ground dens? Are possums starting to jungle up in the trashier hedgerows to get out of the cold? Where have the gut-shot deer been dumped? What fields are in corn and in soy? What fields are in cut hay, and which are being grazed by beef cattle and will, as a consequence, have much harder ground and fewer critters about?

If you dig very often you cannot help but think about these things. You come to learn the difference between a black cherry and a black walnut, and to appreciate the birds that spend the Winter almost as much as you delight in the ones that return in the Spring.

It really is like seeing the world through a new set of glasses.

I suppose that sounds like nonsense to some, but I suspect Steve and Matt understand.

We would not trade what we can see through the eyes of a dog and the glare of a hawk, for all the chrome and glass to be seen through the clearest lens set in the most expensive set of designer shades.

And we are quite happy not to know too many people with strong opinions on what kind of wine goes best with Oysters Rockefeller!
.

4 comments:

Matt Mullenix said...

Patrick---the lens given us by the animals does make things look different. Certainly a cow pasture takes on a new dimension when seen as the ground of an afternoon's hawking campaign. The same field cut down by the mower or (so much worse) turned over to development, looks through the same lense like a miniature version of hell.

Hunting the landscape is one lens by itself; sharing that with animals brings it into sharp focus. Right on!

For the record, though, I'm certain Steve DOES have an opinion about best wine for shellfish, etc., being the cultured sort he is. He has many lenses to choose from. :-)

Steve Bodio said...

Well sure I do-- there are many lenses. But I think Liz Thomas's "Old Ways" are often clarifying ones to see the world through. The others may not let you see so far or deeply.

Moochies Mother said...

I know this may not be important but that photo of the oysters are not "Rockefeller", they look more like raw. For both dishes I would drink a Sav Blanc from Marlborough if I could get it. And I do own guns. I don't kill my bobcats or mountain lions or bears because they don't bother me. However, if I find strangers with loaded weapons on my property I shoot first and ask questions later.

PBurns said...

Yes, I knew that, but it was hard to find a picture of oysters and a wine glass among the hillbilly photo bins where I hang out.

Did you know Oysters Rockefeller was invented in New Orleans?

True!

I am told that down there they serve the same wine for them as you do with Nutria. And the Marlboros are smoked ;)

P