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Oh, good!  I have a couple of chicken cutlets I've been saving for just such a purpose.  My breading technique still needs some help, so I'll be interested to see how others do it.

Last week I was watching an old episode of “Cooking with MasterChefs” on the Cooking Channel. The original series, hosted by Julia Child, first appeared on PBS in the early 1990’s. The episode I saw last week featured the home-cooking dishes of Chef Andre Soltner, renowned Chef of the legendary New York French restaurant Lutece. Sadly, Lutece shuttered the doors in 2004, but Chef Soltner still teaches at the French Culinary Institute in New York.
After watching the episode with Chef Soltner, I remembered that I had the companion cookbook to the PBS series and so I thought it would be fitting to re-visit this topic by preparing two of Chef Soltner's favorite Alsatian dishes.
Alsatian Flammekueche-Bacon and Onion Tart with a Crème Fraiche Filling on Puff Pastry-
Bacheofe, Alsatian Meat Stew-Lamb, Beef, Pork and Pork Feet Cooked with Potatoes and Onions in Riesling.
Preparations for the Bacheofe begin a day in advance by marinating the meats in Riesling and onion, garlic and a bouquet garni-
The next day, a casserole pot is lined with a layer of potatoes, the marinated meats, a layer of sliced onions and a final layer of potatoes. The strained marinade is poured into the casserole and a cup or so of dry white wine is added-
The key to cooking the Bacheofe is to create a seal around the casserole with a paste of flour so the lid is locked down and no steam escapes during cooking. I had seen this technique in photographs in old cookbooks, but I hadn’t used it myself so I was a bit unsure that it would work-
After 3 hours in the oven, the Bacheofe was finished. It takes a sharp paring knife and prying to lift the lid off the casserole, revealing the fragrant scent of the wine and meat stew.
Bacheofe, Alsatian Meat Stew-
Chef Soltner’s menu ends with a Tarte Citron "Mama"-a Lemon Almond Tart. But seeing that I live in Washington State and that we are in the midst of Apple harvest, one wouldn’t think of preparing a lemon dessert the first week of October. Really, only an Apple Tarte Tatin can be on the menu tonight-
Tarte Tatin-
You can review our Tarte Tatin topic here. .

 
Super Bowl Halftime Tacos!

You can call the New York Bakers and ask.  They sell flours that are only available commercially - in SMALLER, CONSUMER-SIZED packages that they weigh and pack themselves so that HOME BAKERS will have access to these flours.  I think the people with this Modernist  stuff are being a bit picky.
 
I have been extremely satisfied - the "first clear flour" is excellent for artisan breads.  The ryes are also and if they aren't "fine" enough, though I don't see any problem, they can be zapped in a blender for a couple of seconds and then sifted through a very fine sieve.  
The flavors can be enhanced with malt powder or syrup.  Or this stuff, which is first toasted in a dry skillet, cooled and ground and added sparingly to the flours.  
 
For that matter, I have been "toasting" flour for my rustic breads for years. We used to have an Italian bakery near my work in Canoga Park, CA. I often went there for lunch or stopped on my way home.  One of the bakers was a patient and one day when he was in the office, I mentioned that I had worked in my mom's bakery twenty years earlier and I had been trying to figure out what gave their breads such a lovely flavor, almost as if they contained nut flours.  He said he would let me in on the "secret" - half the flour was "roasted" at 300° for 15 minutes, stirring a couple of times, cooled and used that day - it did not keep well.  So I tried it at home and the flavor was exactly what I wanted in the rustic breads.  I have also roasted rye flour, barley flour, spelt and others. I like the flavor.  The hydration is thrown off a little so I watch the dough and add a bit more water if needed.

 
This place isn't in Fresno proper, but John's Bear Club in Reedley isn't far.  My cousin took me there as a treat one time.  Some of the best steak and wine I've ever had. Their salad and vegetables were also excellently prepared.  The Cattlemens Restaurant in Selma is close, and a great place for pay-by-the-pound gluttony, even if they don't understand apostrophes. Another favorite place of mine is Bravo Farms, although you have to head south on 99 to Traver to get to it.  There's indoor and outdoor seating, plenty of kitsch, cheese and condiments to buy and take home if you wish, and a good variety of food.  (There's another Bravo Farms in Kettleman City, that makes a good stop on the way to/from the coast; there's also a Bravo Farms Smokehouse in Visalia, and what looks like a huge new place in Tulare, but I haven't visited either of them.)
 
I'll check with my cousins to see what other recommendations they might have.  They've moved from Fresno to the coast now and know Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo quite well.  
 
Are you looking for any particular types of food, or just trying to get a handle on what's available?

I confess to finding AB's recent persona tiresome.  I liked his Good Eats guy.  And the original Iron Chef America guy was ok, but the latest "Evil Grin Alton" is wearing.

I recently watched another LA-centric food documentary, The Migrant Kitchen, on KCET, a local public TV station.
It was produced by KCET and Life & Thyme as on-line series of 5 short episodes that explore the stories of Guatemalan, Mexican, Filipino, Middle Eastern, and Korean-born chefs who work in LA.  
The individual episodes and the hour-long documentary that combines them together and aired on TV are available here on the KCET site or on LinkTV.
Evan Kleiman interviewed one of the directors last week on Good Food.  You can listen to that interview here.
 
City of Gold did interview a few immigrant chefs, but I believe they missed an opportunity to delve a bit more deeply, as is done here.  

Sandwiches again last night.  Everyone was too hyped up for the football game to have a nice sit down dinner, so I made grouper reubens.  Very tasty and the outcome of the game was quite satisfactory.  
 

Indian vegetarian food has been a favorite  cuisine in our house ever since I bought Yamuna Devi's doorstop of a book, The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. I have put the Madhur Jaffrey book on my list to buy in the US the next time we drive north. It's a little tricky to get the necessary ingredients but I have a lot of the special seasonings already and I can always stock up when I find myself in the right kind of grocery store. There are many fine cuisines in the world, but I think Indian vegetarian food should be on that list. In my mind one of the great cuisines of the world. So cook away and share with us your favorites. My  mouth is watering already.
 
Nancy in Pátzcuaro
 

Perhaps some aficionado of Nutella can verify that the recipe has changed, but I tasted it recently and it is pretty much the same as I remember. Some people swear that the Nutella you get in Europe is better, but it has never been a high-end product, and it has always been oily. "Vegetable oil" is listed as a main ingredient and I am guessing that the type of vegetable oil is cottonseed or some other industrial product. Nutella's main virtue is the price. Good if you have kids! Also it seems fairly stable in a peanut butter sandwich on a long hike. There are some delicious Italian chocolate-hazelnut spreads and creams that are made with dark chocolate and premium ingredients and are sold at gourmet markets; they will set you back a pretty sum. I've sworn off the stuff!  

 
 Out of the bath and out of the bag. Patted dry. Seasoned and oiled before a quick sear. 
 

 
 Life rarely gets better than this. Freshly made Modernist lean French bread and 56°C x 24 hour sous vide chuck eye. 
 

Today’s desk lunch: Arugula salad with quinoa, black beans, avocado, bell pepper, tomato, red onion, corn and cilantro in a chili lime vinaigrette. 
 

I love fried chicken - and in particular Church's frrrriieeed chicken - it has already been mentioned on this thread.
But this love has gotten me into trouble. Once - I must have been possessed - I had all this leftover KFC. I thought too myself - why not mix it into some marina sauce and make quick chicken caccitore. I was trying to be frugal. It was the singularly most disgusting thing I have ever ever made. It looked like vomit and tasted like .... well you get the idea.
But my brother went to a potluck where someone had made some homemade vindaloo and someone else brougt over Churches fried chicken. The two mixed on his plate and he said it was soo good that his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Crispy skin and succulent curry....hmmmmm. He is now trying to recreate this mutant dish on purpose.
Fried Chicken Skin - how I love thee.
Other big guilty pleasure - frozen pizza that has been baked until super super crispy. I tell myself that this makes it closer to thin crispy neopolitan style pizza - I am surprised that I have not been struck by lightning yet.

A Quill which is a Negroni variation with a dash of absinthe. 33 Portland dry gin, Campari, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, St. George absinthe.
I put in a couple of sprays of absinthe but will have a heavier hand next time as you could barely detect it.
 
 

@Shelby, I make a gratin similar but without the addition of flour.  I let the potatoes simmer in a pot with cream, with a garlic clove and some fresh thyme, until the starch from the potatoes thickens the cream and then into the oven.
That lodge pan is perfect for so many things.   I've been using it as roasting pan.  I haven't turned on my big oven in two months.   Not since I started using the CSO.  Thank you again for your recommendation.  I know a half a dozen people now that have gone out and bought one since I got mine.  And I think all of them were under the mistaken thought that they did not need or have room for another countertop oven.   And now they don't know how they lived with out it. 
 
This morning I warmed up a piece of leftover pizza for Moe in the CSO, on the stone, but not preheated.  Bake steam setting and in 6 minutes it was bubbling hot and Moe said it tasted just like it did last night.   Normally I just threw out leftover pizza since I'm not a fan of leftovers.

Used the other half of the dough for a Batard.  Baked on the Bread setting for 30 minutes.   The stone was preheated on the convection setting first.    And I find that if I turn the oven down to 425°F instead of the 450°F that I don't have to worry about the top getting too brown or burnt.  

I am posting this here (it already appears on the breakfast thread) Because it was first cooked in the instant pot before it was carefully broiled. 
 

 
 But also because nobody’s curiosity was piqued by the object directly in front of the pork.  That is a hunk of brass wrapped in foil. There is one on the other side of the pork. It was the only thing I could come up with that would allow me to keep pork steady as I turned it to broil all of the curved sides.  Worked like a charm made the pan extremely heavy to lift. 

I just tossed out my scraggly batch of fall basil, moved the winter batch up from under the lights and planted a spring batch near the woodstove in the basement.
The keen observer will note a bottle of Prosecco chilling outside for dinner.
HC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Someone needs to look in David Thompson's Thai Food and find me a recipe for the Nam Tok Beans to give me a reason to pick up some Rancho Gordo Cranberry beans tomorrow.
 

Hi, rotuts:
  In Washington state, Total Wine is the clear winner as to both price and selection.  I've also been impressed with the helpful expertise there--I was recently recommended a Reposado tequila there for $25 (before taxes) that is definitely superior to the $50 one I had been buying.  You do not get that kind of help from Costco.
  OTOH, you don't get free samples of frozen, oversalted, pre-prepared food, or hellacious lines, either! 
Cheers.

Macarons. The shells are flavored with some lime rind. I'll fill them later with lemon buttercream. 

went to the big city and bought curry at the cool big city super h mart. its 2.5 hours away by car so we stock up.
bought enough for one year (half a block about once a month which is good for about 2 dinners, maybe a lunch).
i admire glico for pushing the boundaries of curry blocks. strive harder for a better world!!!
all three glico ones are new for us. the s&b is new to me only in that its “extra hot”. java and vermont are our old standards.
i would have bought hot for all of them, but there wasnt a selection for all varieties.
our library for 2011

@Kim Shook, must be nice to be enjoying warm weather at this time of year. 
 

  Made a pitcher of Sangria, a salsa and guacamole and called it dinner.

Dishwasher salmon was around long before the Surreal Gourmet. I recall my folks doing it for a dinner party when I was a kid.

Pimento cheese spread on whole grain bread, toasted is a fantastic late night snack and a good I'm-feeling-sorry-for-myself snack.
You can run it under the broiler, too. Tasty!

 
 Perhaps one of the easiest recipes I have yet attempted in the mini.  Only two main ingredients – – pork shoulder and barbecue sauce.  It was a desperation move on my part. There was a small piece of pork shoulder in the refrigerator that needed to be dealt with and I was running very short on stamina.  I have always said I am not a fan of pulled pork but this was perfectly adequate for a quick lunch and there are two baggies ready to go into the freezer for the next time I need something fast and tasty.